The Offense

The Offense

    We've probably all been offended at one time or another, perhaps by a poorly chosen word or a perceived slight, a lapse of manners or lack of courtesy by others.  Often these are accidental, though sometimes we find them difficult to excuse.  Other offenses, such as that which we should feel (and respond to) when the Lord's Name is misused [Q&A 99] are far more serious, but most, if we look closely, are not so much active offenses against us as overactive defenses of our own pride.  An offense is best defined as an active effort -- where no offense is meant, none should be taken, and scripture warns us generally to avoid causing offense.  But there is an exception, an offense which is required of us, which is in fact at the heart of what defines Christianity itself.  In 1st Corinthians 1:23 the Greek word used is skandalon, "scandal."  Galatians 5:11 states it clearly: the Gospel itself depends on an offense, "the offense of the cross."

    In this season it is common to hear much about one offensive aspect of the cross, as various writers and speakers inform us of the horrific torture and death which surrounded the barbaric practice of crucifixion.  The medical and psychological effects were terribly offensive, to be sure, and purposely so.  But this aspect of Calvary is not the Gospel; those who shake their listeners' emotions to wrest from them a sobbing profession of pity have failed to fully grasp, and in many instances completely missed, the purpose of preaching.  "Passion Plays," and even a major motion picture of a few years ago, make this mistake, promoting an attitude which falls barely short of asking us to save Christ rather than the opposite.  This is not the offense of which, through Paul, the Holy Spirit speaks.

    Another view of "the offense of the cross" is found in images of that instrument of death.  The early New Testament Church, most of us have been taught, used the symbol of the fish, Ichthus, to represent Christianity.  A few centuries later the lamb came into fairly common use as a symbol of Christ.  Sometime around the sixth century, the image of the cross began to be adopted within the Church.  Over time, as Rome exerted more power over the Church, this symbol became more elaborate and eventually developed into the crucifix.  Though defended by Rome as a means of teaching, the use of the crucifix was (and remains) idolatry.  Superstition elevated this image to the level of magic, believing "the offense of the cross" to be some mystical power the image held over evil.  It was this belief which appears to underlie the original use of the cross as a grave marker, a supposed means to ward off evil spirits.  Today the cross is frequently seen worn as jewelry by many who are far from the Christian faith; clearly the image of the cross does not instruct, nor is that image truly an offense to those outside Christianity.  As an idol, however, the image is an offense to God, certainly not the offense meant in Galatians 5.

    John Calvin deals decisively with the entire question of the physical image of the cross.  In the Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 1, Chapter 11, he argues as follows: "Paul declares, that by the true preaching of the gospel Christ is portrayed and in a manner crucified before our eyes, (Gal. 3:1.) Of what use, then, were the erection in churches of so many crosses of wood and stone, silver and gold, if this doctrine were faithfully and honestly preached, viz., Christ died that he might bear our curse upon the tree, that he might expiate our sins by the sacrifice of his body, wash them in his blood, and, in short, reconcile us to God the Father? From this one doctrine the people would learn more than from a thousand crosses of wood and stone."

    First Corinthians shows us the true meaning of "the offense of the cross."  It is not the mere physically offensive description of the crucifixion, and it is most certainly not the offense of idolatry.  Rather, the cross of Christ is an offense to works righteousness, for we cannot save ourselves.  It is an offense to reason, for it depends entirely on faith.  The cross is an offense to the social structure, for the truth of it is revealed to babes and children and makes wise the simple; it offends the powerful for it displays, demands and is revealed to humility.  And most offensive of all, it offends human pride, for it requires surrender.  The offense of the cross, the foolishness of preaching, is the one thing which can make us wise unto salvation and remove our own offenses.

    "I live and will declare Thy fame
    Where brethren gather in Thy Name;
    Where all Thy faithful people meet,
    I will Thy worthy praise repeat."
                        [Psalter Hymnal #34]

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Gary Fisher