Today I want to start with a simple question. Have you ever been offended by God? It sounds like a stupid question. Everyone knows that you should not offend people. Some people believe offending people is the ultimate failure. Many of you know my son. He attended a college close to Pittsburg for a year. Before COVID hit and they all went virtual, they had a flag on the campus that was lowered to half-staff whenever someone reported that they were offended by something someone said on the campus. During open house, they bragged how the flag had not been lowered in weeks. In passing I mentioned to one of my son’s teachers that I found this very troubling and asked how this related to freedom of speech. The professor, who came from an autocratic country, told me that she understood my concern and that she was chairing a committee to determine if freedom of speech was compatible with the school’s culture.
I learned a long time ago that you cannot live life wondering if you were going to offend someone. I was pastoring a church one time where we lost a family because they were offended that I greeted him with a handshake and her with a hug. I offended a co-worker one time because I commented on her new haircut.
We don’t like being offended. No one does. What happens when God offends you? There are numerous examples of this in scripture. One of them is our text today.
And after the two days, He departed from there for Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, only because they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.
Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies. Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son is alive”; and he himself believed, and his entire household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee. (John 4:43-54, NAS)
It doesn’t take too great of a leap of imagination to put yourself into this situation. By this time Jesus was starting to become famous. All kinds of rumors were circulating about him performing miraculous signs including changing water into wine. People crowded around him curious about His ability to do miracles, wanting to see Him do something else. Many of them probably had relatives who were sick or maybe disabilities of their own and they wanted to see if Jesus was really the miracle worker that he was rumored to be. Can you imagine the instant celebrity in “My brother-in-law was healed by Jesus!”? One of those voices assaulting Jesus was a man who begged Jesus to come heal his son. Jesus rebuked the crowd “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe!”
I imagine at this point the crowd got quiet in the face of his rebuke. Many probably reacted by putting Jesus firmly in the charlatan category. He’s covering for his inability to do anything. I’m not the problem. He is. If He could do anything, why won’t he?
Out of the silence, a lone voice said, “Sir, come before my child dies.” I guarantee this man was like everyone else. He came to see Jesus do miracles. What set him apart was the fact that he had a higher priority. His son was dying and he truly believed that Jesus could heal him. He reacted to Jesus’ rebuke, not by being offended, but by making an internal correction and focusing on his faith in Jesus.
In Mark 9, Jesus rebukes a father whose son has been having seizures for his lack of faith.
And when they came back to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him. And He asked them, “What are you disputing with them?” And one person from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, because he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. And I told Your disciples so that they would cast it out, but they could not do it.” And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” And they brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, the spirit immediately threw him into convulsions, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” But Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again!” And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him, and he got up. (Mark 9:14-27)
He repeatedly offends the Pharisees calling them hypocrites, whitewashed tombs full of dead man bones. He offended many people when he used a whip to clean out the temple. He told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again. He offended his followers telling them that they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood. At one point, He called Peter the devil. He told Pilate that He, not Pilate, was the king of the Jews. Another example of Jesus offending someone was in Matthew 17.
Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us!” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” Yet He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
[I don’t know if the Canaanite woman is offended at this point or not, but I know I am offended. Jesus pulls from the prejudicial lexicon of his day a phrase that everyone would have been familiar with. Jews and Canaanites hated each other and frequently referred to each other as dogs. Chances are good that the woman herself had referred to Jews in this manner. Here Jesus throws it at her. His comment forced the woman to examine her own heart, and her struggles with prejudice, and decide if she was going to react with offense or in faith.]
And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at once. (Matthew 17:21-28, NAS)
When God offends, there are only two reactions – one is to reject the message. The second is to accept the truth inherent in the message and to respond in faith.
When I was in college, I joined Allandale Baptist Church. At the time it was the fastest growing church in Texas. I joined on Sunday and attended their Wednesday night service later in the week. After the Wednesday night service a member of the church approached me, introduced himself and brazenly asked me if I was a question. I was immediately offended. I had just joined the church what does he mean “Am I a Christian? Of course I am a Christian.” I didn’t’ tell him he had just deeply offended me. Instead I just said, “Yes, I am.” He went on to tell me about a bible study he was doing on the book of Romans where it says, “Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” He explained that he believed it was referring to making a personal commitment to God and had I ever done that?” I was still offended, then God said to me “You have never done that!” It was like God just said, “Ditto!” to everything that had offended me. I told him that I had done that, knew I was lying, went home that night, got on my knees before God and repented, crying out “Lord, I believe!”
God by His very nature is offensive to human wisdom and pride.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9, New American Standard Bible)
Do you remember John the Baptist? Pastor Drew calls him, JTB. JTB preached about getting ready for the coming Messiah and pointed people to Jesus as the Lamb of God. He even gave up many of his disciples to follow Jesus. The JTB was arrested.
Now while in prison, John heard about the works of Christ,
[Clearly something about these reports and rumors on Jesus’ works bothered John. Perhaps it was because Jesus ate and drank with sinners. Perhaps it was because he didn’t establish a kingdom on this earth. Perhaps it was because He didn’t do anything to stop John from being arrested.]
and he sent word by his disciples, and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is any person who does not take offense at Me.” (Matthew 11:2-6, NAS)
If you walk with God for anytime at all, you will find yourself at a crossroads. Respond in anger and bitterness or respond in humility and faith. This crossroad is inevitable because God doesn’t do things the way we want them done. He didn’t go with the man to heal his son. Instead He just sent the man away. The man had a choice. Leave in anger or leave in faith. He left in faith and he was blessed because he did not take offense.
It is important that we put the offense of God in context. Do you see these glasses? Imagine with me that these glasses have the ability to see everyone’s real character. You can see the good, bad and the ugly about everyone you look at. Would you have the courage to wear them? Would you wear them at home? Would you wear them at church? Would you look into the mirror with them on?
Who could you respect? It sure wouldn’t be me. Who could you be close to? If you wore the glasses and looked in the mirror, could you even accept yourself if you saw all your own shortcomings? We are masters at hiding ourself from ourself.
God knows who we are and exactly who we are. His reaction. He loves us. He loves us so much that He gave Himself to die for us on a cruel Roman cross. He loves us enough to want to see us become what He made us to be. In order to make that happen, He loves us enough to risk offending us.
He puts people in our life who challenge our status quo. He puts problems and difficulties in our life to force us to rely on Him. Just the time you think that your finances are doing well, the car breaks, the washer explodes and the cat needs a surgery. You go to the Word looking for help and you read, “In the world you will have tribulation.” You can react by taking offense, blaming God and storming off in anger, or you can accept God’s divine wisdom, recognize your inability to change your world, and rely on His ability. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. As the Psalmist said:
Psalm 66:10-12
For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
The man whose son Jesus healed in our text found a place of abundance as his son was healed and as his entire family came to Christ. Beloved, may we never be too proud to allow God to offend us or we will miss the blessed place of abundance that faith in God takes us to.
