Confusing Sayings: Matthew 11:6

Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.

This article is part of a series explaining Jesus’s Confusing Sayings. Many of these sayings do not look confusing in English translation, but that is because much of what Jesus originally said is simplified or obscured in English.

Know a confusing verse? Write me in a comment so I can analyze its Greek in a future article. This verse is a reader’s suggestion.

This verse is, as it appears, primarily humorous. The followers of John the Baptist came to Jesus to ask if he is the one they have expected. John was imprisoned by Antipas, the tetrarch, at the time. Jesus sends them back to tell John what they have seen and heard, describing his helping people. He then adds this, an even more interesting line, Matthew 11:6:

NIV Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.

• The words in boldface are explained in this article.

A lot of the humor here is lost in translation. This line is one of those where Jesus openly declares that he is trying to confuse people in an entertaining way. This verse is a good example. Contradictorily, he is also saying that they are lucky if they are not confused.

The Blessed Are Lucky

The Greek word translated as "blessed" is the same adjective used in the Beatitudes. It is a standard in Jesus’s humor (see this article). The word means "prosperous," “lucky,” "happy," "fortunate," "blessed," and "blissful." It does not mean “blessed” in a religious sense except in the sense that all good fortune can be said to come from the Divine.

The phrase is funny because Jesus always used it to describe those who appear far from lucky, people such as beggars, widows, the hungry, and so on. Often, he does this to bring out the various shades of meaning in the Greek word translated as “blessed.” For example, when he uses it to describe the poor, the contradictory sense of the word is “fortunate,” having a fortune. When he uses it to describe those “mourning,” it highlights the word’s contradictory meaning as “happy.”

Here, however, he uses it to describe someone who is lucky, someone who is not tripped up. This is not a contradictory meaning. Someone who is not tripped is lucky. This is the same as in English were we say, we are lucky when something bad doesn’t happen to us. The word “fortunate” here has the sense of the “few.” This indicates that it was likely to happen or that it happens to most but not to the ones who a the lucky few.

Do Not Stumble

The negative here, "not," is the negative of thought or desire. Normally, it is used with actions of thought and emotion. Another negative is used for physical actions. However, here, the physical action, “being tripped up” is just a possibility. This is because the verb is in a “when” clause. We cannot see this in translation because the “when” is left out. Actions that may happen in the future are considered “thoughts” because we are envisioning them. This “softer” negative is always used (see this article).

The Greek word translated as “stumble” is the source of our word, “scandalize.” In the KJV, it is usually translated as "offend." In more recent English versions like the NIV, it is translated as “stumble” or "fall down." See this article. “Stumble” is close to its meaning, but its sense is even closer to “tripped up” since usually describes an intentional act, putting something in front of people to cause them to trip. This verb because it doesn't appear anywhere in Greek before Jesus. He may have invented it because it suited his sense of humor. The noun form appears only in the Greek Old Testament, but the verb form originates in Jesus’s words.

All four Gospels have Jesus using it. The quotes appearing in Matthew, Mark, and Luke are often parallels of each other. Matthew and Mark duplicate almost all of each other's uses of this word. Most of the verses are among Jesus’s most extreme, which is to say, most humorous or gruesome, depending on how you want to see Jesus. Jesus uses this word as a humorous part of answers to serious subjects. It is often used in the comic exaggeration that Jesus used to make real dangers seem more light-hearted. For example. this word is used when Jesus is talking about bodily parts getting us in trouble. This leads to lopping off hands and plucking out eyes.

Here, however, he uses this term as a form of mocking himself. After talking about curing people, he talks about tripping them up. Jesus uses the passive, negative form of the verb: “is not tripped up.” He understood that he was actively doing this to his listeners. This is one of the clearest statements he makes about his teaching style.

Jesus did not say “on account of me.” His statement was simpler: tripped up by me. They were not tripped up because they trusted him. They were tripped up by him directly and intentionally as part of his teaching methods.

John’s Followers Heard

What did John’s followers hear when Jesus said this? Jesus likely tripped them up with this statement. If they got the joke, they likely laughed.

Listeners Heard: Also, lucky is that one when he is not tripped up around me.

Of course, this is the last line so it is the punchline.