And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”
- KJV And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
- BSB Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”
- NKJV And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
- NASB And blessed is anyone who does not take offense at Me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus pronounces a blessing on whoever does not stumble over Him. He gently encourages faith despite expectations not being met as anticipated.
Overview
This beatitude addresses the temptation to be offended when Jesus does not act as one expects, perhaps a word of comfort to the imprisoned John. True blessedness belongs to those who trust Christ even when His ways confound human assumptions. It calls all hearers to persevering faith in Jesus as He truly is, not as they imagine Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Pet 2:7–8For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,”
- Matt 11:6Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”
- Isa 8:14–15He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- Rom 9:32–33Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone;
- Matt 13:57–58They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.”
- 1 Cor 2:14Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- Luke 2:34and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
- John 6:60–66Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”
- 1 Cor 1:21–28For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 7:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.