The Threshold: Skandalon’s Door

5/3/2026

This will take a minute, but please don’t miss it. It is THE Threshold:

If we think we can have it both ways, we will NOT make the choice Moses did: give up the comfort of “all men speak well of you.”

“Yeah but, why can’t I...” (have it both ways, be a good Christian and still avoid being accused, slandered, misunderstood).

This is the verse that I woke up thinking about. Skandalon is a defining CHOICE.

“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26)

Skándalon (σκάνδαλον) is one of the most provocative words in the New Testament.

At its root, skándalon refers to the trigger of a trap—the small piece that, once touched, causes the whole mechanism to snap shut. Let that sink in.

• a stumbling block
• an offense that trips someone up
• something that causes a fall, rejection, or turning away

It’s not just irritation—it’s the moment where truth collides with expectation... and a person must decide whether to fall away or step deeper in.

Dying to comfort and reputation, dying to caring (very much) if you are misunderstood or accused... CHOOSING to be accused: Skandalon.

I woke up thinking about this Truth of Eternity, Hebrews 11:24-26. Moses messed it up, and he had a lot to learn over the next “40 years,” but it describes his heart all along. Moses’ choice:

“By faith, with abandoned persuasion, Moses, when he came to maturity, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction, to share persecution and ill treatment with the people of God, rather than to enjoy (ἁμαρτία hamartia, sin: missing the calling) pleasure, comfort, and reputation for a season; esteeming, ALLOWING himself to be led into the reproach (ὀνειδισμός, insult, defamation) of Christ, the anointed One who will anoint with the Spirit, instead of greater riches than all the treasures in Egypt...”

The message of the “take up your OWN cross” is “skandalon.”

The cross is offensive because it dismantles human systems:

Power is replaced by surrender;
Having a reputation and our own achievements are replaced by grace ONLY;
Control is replaced by dependence.

It’s not just hard—it’s structurally offensive to the human ego.

You cannot follow Christ without facing offense, friction, and contradiction. Jesus will offend your assumptions and control.

Or it is religion, not Christianity, not Jesus.

By definition.

Skándalon is what happens when a “system” meets a living “ecosystem.” The system resists. The ecosystem invites transformation.

It becomes a decision point.

Every skándalon moment asks: Will I stumble over this and quit... or be reshaped and deepened by it, going to where Jesus really lives, by choice?

This is why Jesus says, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Not because offense won’t come—but because how you respond determines trajectory.

Properly embraced, skandalon:

• exposes idols we didn’t even know we had. Lucidity.
• Skandalon breaks false frameworks, deepens dependence, and refines and matures “faith” from a system of belief into the Real “deep calls to deep.”

Improperly handled, skandalon:

• hardens the heart
• justifies withdrawal
• inescapably builds resentment towards others or even towards God

Skándalon is not optional—it’s inevitable. But it is also instrumental. It is the trigger point where:

• religion becomes relationship
• knowledge becomes surrender
• systems collapse... and ecosystems begin

Skandalon is the moment truth becomes costly.

***And in that moment—you and your personal “System” either fall away from experiencing Eternity in this Present Age, and settle for building your system out of wood, hay, and stubble...

or finally Seek and finally FIND.

Skandalon. It’s a really, really big deal. It allows us to finally Cross the Threshold, or sink back into the slough of despond.

Hebrews 10, 11 and 12: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of comfort, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”

Romans 8:28-29... YHWH planned out before you were born what would give you the best opportunities to transcend biological and molecular life, and be transfigured by skandalon into His shared DNA, the DNA of the Second Adam, the mystery of incarnation, “the mystery of Godliness.”

He planned out the things that would give YOU PERSONALLY, with your personal fears and abuses and compensations and experiences, the best chance to die to your framework of self-preservation, to “take up your own Cross” and face the skandalon that transforms from “a little lower than the angels”—to judging angels. That’s a big leap! That’s why it takes Skandalon.

From a follow-up conversation...

Following Jesus is not something you figure out. It’s like driving in a snowstorm in the dark: you follow the tail lights in front of you—because there’s no way to see very far forward. But, if Jesus is OK in front of you—and He is—and you don’t take your eyes off of Him, you’ll make it to the Destination—even if you don’t know what that is or how to get there. He does.

Important related video: bit.ly/4cZsIwJ

Important related song...

The cross, a deep offense to flesh

A stone the proud despise

For every throne the ego builds

Must crumble at Christ’s rise

The strong are called to humbly bend

The wise become the least

And all the kingdoms built by self

Must perish for His peace

At Skandalon, the threshold stands

Where all my idols burn

Where power kneels to nail-pierced hands

In this place of no return

Control dissolves in trust alone

My striving comes undone

Lord Jesus, You are worth the fires

That You have planned to come

Each wound, each slander, each delay

Each sorrow unforeseen

May be the chisels in the Master’s hand

To break what stands between

The systems to preserve one’s self

Burn down beneath His flame

Till deep cries out, at last, to Deep

And faith becomes His Name

At Skandalon, the threshold stands

Where all my idols burn

Where power kneels to nail-pierced hands

In this place of no return

Control dissolves in trust alone

My striving comes undone

Lord Jesus, You are worth the fires

That You have planned to come

So I will not retreat in fear

When truth becomes my cost

Nor trade eternal gain for You

For comfort’s impure dross

Lead me through the threshold, Lord

Where every false thing dies

For life is found beyond the place

Where my ambition lies

Skandalon, that narrow gate

Where lovers choose to stay

Or turn again toward lesser loves

And quickly drift away

But blessed are the ones that bear

The scandal of the Lamb

For losing all, they enter in

To You, the great I AM

At Skandalon, the threshold stands

Where all my idols burn

Where power kneels to nail-pierced hands

In this place of no return

Control dissolves in trust alone

My striving comes undone

Lord Jesus, You are worth the fires

That You have planned to come

Lord Jesus, I embrace the fires

That you have planned to come

Frank Viola this morning:

The religious elite ignored Him as long as they could. Since Jesus sported no theological degrees and wasn’t part of the pastors guild, they didn’t take Him seriously. He was not credible in their eyes. But they could only follow this course for so long. His influence grew so large that they couldn’t ignore Him any longer. So they must extend to Him the credibility of engagement.

They came out with all guns blazing, seeking to refute Him. First, their pushback was targeted at the content of His teaching. But after realizing that they couldn’t successfully discount what He said, they downshifted to an ad hominem assault. Personal attacks became their new weapon for dismissal: “He has no authority to say what He’s saying.” “He’s not seminary trained.” “He has no ordination papers.” “He’s not a scholar.”

Then it escalated: “He was born as the result of fornication.” “He’s a blasphemer.” “He’s deceptive.” “He’s a glutton and a drunkard.” “He’s a false prophet.” And the ultimate attack: “Satan is working through Him!”

Strikingly, this same story has been played out on virtually every bloodstained page of church history. And unfortunately, the destiny of many who have followed in Jesus’ steps has been the same as His: persecution, suffering, and even execution.

“Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” (John 15:20)

Human nature changeth not. Nor do the systems men create, be they secular or religious. The reactions are all the same. When men feel threatened, the evil they are capable of in the name of God (and while defending Him) defies sanity. Jesus was put to death chiefly because of jealousy. “For he [Pilate] knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.”

The favor and anointing of God will always garner the jealousy of those who do not possess them. Abel, upon whom God looked with favor, is not alone in those who were persecuted by a jealous Cain.

Jealousy still lives and breathes in the hearts of the religiously ambitious and insecure.

“Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed. Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.” (Acts 5:16-18)

“When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.” (Acts 13:45)

“Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women. But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city.” (Acts 17:4-5)

The ways of God changeth not either.

•  Skandalon, You, Abraham, and Family