“They Took Offense at Him”
“Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.” Mark 6:1-6
Intro: Today I want to talk about what happened after Jesus had performed three great miracles in the NT.
He had removed evil spirits from a demon-possessed man at the garden cemetery of
Gerasenes. (JEHR-uh-seens)
Jesus then went westward and cross the Sea of Galilee.
This is where the second miracle occurs…
As he is walking thru the streets of Galilee he heals the woman with the 12 year issue of blood.
Then the third miracle is raising the Galilean synagogue ruler’s daughter from the dead.
Here we have three powerful miracles in a row.
You probably know more about those three miracles
than you do about what happened after Jesus performed them.
Let’s first look at the setting, where and how it happened.
Jesus was in his hometown.
Jesus is with his closest friends his disciples.
It is on the Sabbath
Jesus is in Synagogue
Some of his brother’s sisters are there.
He is in a familiar place.
Surrounded by his friends and family
He is at church.
He has just performed three miracles.
He has taught bible study with great wisdom and authority.
Then the bible says at the end of verse three “They took offense at him.”
Go ahead and underline or circle that phrase in your bible.
WHY DID THEY TAKE OFFENSE at Jesus?
Why didn't they get the message?
Why didn't they understand?
But then we stop and realize we may not be much different.
There are some things we learn much later in life
That…, as we look back…, we're amazed that we didn't learn and understand sooner.
We reach a stage in life where we look back and see all the dumb things we have done,
And wish that somehow we had known then what we know now.
How much better life could have been if we had just learned those lessons earlier.
I wonder why my own children didn't learn from my mistakes.
And someday, I imagine my kids will ask why their children didn't learn from their mistakes.
It is just like Adam and Eve.
God puts Adam and Eve into the Garden of Eden.
He has that parental conversation that all parents have with their kids.
God tells them, "You have the run of the garden.
It is all yours.
You can do anything you want to
Except!!!
There is one forbidden fruit, and I don't want you to eat it.
Just one.
And just like a lot of kids today, Adam and Eve quickly hold up their hands and ask,
"Dad, where is this forbidden fruit?"
And Adam and Eve acted just like people in every generation have acted.
It wasn't long until they were eating the forbidden fruit.
Then when God asked, "Why did you do that?"
they said the same thing all kids say, "I don't know.”
Then God said, "You can't live in the garden anymore,"
and pronounced judgment and punishment upon them because of their sin.
They would have to work by the sweat of their brow.
Thorns and thistles would grow in among the good plants and have to be weeded out.
And women would have pain in labor during child birth.
Forbidden fruit: Sin is a word that often offends people today.
In a lot of ways the people of Nazareth who refused to believe were just like little kids.
They asked, “Where did Jesus get all this wisdom and power to perform miracles?”
They knew Jesus was teaching them the truth
They knew Jesus teaching with wisdom
They knew Jesus was speaking with authority
They could see something special about him.
So why did “They Take Offense at Him”
What things does Jesus teach you today but yet you are a little offend by?
1 Cor. 2:8 says, "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory."
Did you hear that?
If the rulers Gov. Pilate, Caiaphas the High Priest, members of the Sanhedrin, the Roman soldiers
if they had understood who Jesus was, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.
When the bible refers to the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross, it often calls it a "mystery."
The word "mystery" in Greek was a word used for a military strategy that is kept secret from the enemy.
On Calvary's hill, while they're driving nails into the hands of Jesus,
while Jesus is writhing in pain and His blood is dripping to the ground,
while Jesus is dying, Satan is saying, "I've won. I've beaten God.
Evil is triumphant.
Righteousness has been defeated." Satan didn't know the plan of God.
It wasn't until 3 days later, when Jesus rose from the tomb, that Satan realized that he had made a mistake.
The devil had played into the plan of God.
Satan had done exactly what God expected Satan to do.
The Lord of Glory was crucified,
and now sinners can be redeemed and saved from their sins.
Jesus told the crowds of people ahead of time, but it went right over their heads.
The mystery of the crucifixion was offensive to them.
“They Took Offense at Him”
DO WE UNDERSTAND? What about us, today? Do we understand?
It seems like this "cross" business
and this "dying" business
and this "shed blood" business is foolishness.
It's gory.
It is violent.
It is gruesome.
We don't even want to hear about the blood of Jesus.
But then the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts,
We begin to realize that this is a personal message.
And we confess Jesus as our Savior that transforms us and we become His disciples.
Then what used to be foolishness and offensive is now wisdom and salvation.
Suddenly, it all makes sense.
Here is transformation to change the way we think,
to change the way we act,
to change our lives.
Here is transformation to overcome our sins, to give us victory over alcoholism, or drug abuse.
Here is transformation to heal marriages that are broken,
Here is transformation to aid the heart torn apart by grief.
Here is transformation to bring families back together again,
Here is transformation greater than anything that the world has ever seen.
It is God's transformation to change us, to transform us, to make us new, and to give us victory.
We don't have to walk around dead and defeated anymore.
We don't have to walk around chained and controlled by temptation and sin.
God beat him,
Jesus conquered him on Calvary.
The victory has been won.
Do you Understand that now?
The Bible says that Jesus died for our sins…, every sin that has ever been committed.
He has taken all that sin on Himself and He died for that.
I'm weighed down with the burden of my own sin
and yet Jesus carried the burden of everybody's sin in every age and every generation.
"Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at time can see
The very dying form of One who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart with tears two wonders I confess -
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness."
(Hymn 297 in our hymnal vs. 2 of "Beneath the Cross of Jesus" by Elizabeth Clephane)
We'll never know what went on in heaven when Jesus died on that cross.
How can an immortal God become mortal and die?
How can a spiritual God become flesh and live with us?
I don't know. Nor do you.
We will never understand that.
We will never understand our salvation.
We will never understand what it is to be completely forgiven and cleansed from our sins.
But one day these things will become clear and our eyes will be opened and we'll be in a different place.
It will be a resurrection day and suddenly all of these mysteries will be made clear.
B. But right now, this we can understand.
There is only one sacrifice.
There is only one way to forgiveness.
There is only one plan of salvation and it is all made possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ died for you and me.
That is all that matters.
And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.” Mark 6:1-6
That amazes me. That shocks me. That is heartbreaking.
That’s also how I imagine how Jesus must have felt: amazed, shocked, bewildered, heartbroken, sad.
This is not the type of reception Jesus was looking for. They took offense at him.”
Ladies and gentlemen will you give a big warm welcome to Jesus
Let’s give a big round of applause to Jesus.
No that’s not the kind of reception Jesus got.
It is not the kind of reception Jesus gets in a lot of places today.
No people Take Offense at being introduced to Jesus.
“For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. “Romans 3:25
Sin is a poison, a toxin, venom, a contaminant, a disease.
But the Blood of Jesus is a salve, an ointment, a balm, a prescription, an anointing of healing.
Instead of living in bitterness---we can learn to live in "betterness."
Instead of living a life trapped by resentment---we can live a life of righteousness.
Instead of letting anger be in control ---we can learn to remain calm.
Instead of being prideful--- they know the joy of generous giving.
Instead of being miserable and always complaining---we have discovered how to be content.
Instead of having a heart full of hatred---we can have a heart filled with love.
Instead of gossiping and judging others---we can look someone straight in the eye and say let’s get down on our knees and prayer for one another.
We all put our left shoe on our left foot and our right shoe on our right foot.
Being forgiven takes away the malice, mean spirited, uncaring, and selfish
and the result gives us of a life of being thankful, counting our blessings, being satisfied with what we have, being in unity and love, and peace.
I will choose the lifestyle of forgiveness over the lifestyle of sin every time.
There are a lot of things out there that are spiritual killers.
But forgiveness is the first step to spiritual healing.
How do you get forgiveness? You talk to Jesus.
There was a ball team getting ready to play one of the most vicious rivals of all time.
I’m talking about the kind of game where police had to escort the buses to and from the county line.
The last time these two teams met: One player got his leg broke, another player got a concussion,
two others players got ejected from the game.
There were fights in the stands and parents were geared up for another nasty game.
The team Chaplin was sick with appendicitis and could not be there
so the coach knew one of the players on the team was named Jeffery was a Christian.
So right before the game was to start the coach brought the team together into one final huddle
and asked Jeffery to pray.
Jeffery started out, “God this is Jeffery.”
Some of his team mates snickered.
He said it a second time, “God this is Jeffery.”
A few more of his team mates chuckled.
He said it a third time, “God this is Jeffery.”
Now the whole team was straining to hold back laughter.
But then Jeffery put his shoulders back and spoke up above the noise.
He talked to God just like he would have been talking to me or you.
It’s me again lord.
I've got a prayer that needs an answer
It’s me again Lord I've got a problem I can't solve
I don't mean to worry you but here we are facing something bigger than us.
I need help that only comes from You.
It's me again Lord it is Jeffery.
You could have heard a pin drop when Jeffery’s prayer came to an amen.
That’s what prayer is.
It is Jeffery talking to God just like he would talk to you or me.
Prayer is you talking to God just like you and me are face to face, eye ball the eye ball.
So spiritual life begins with prayer.
Pray offends some people.
Don’t let offense stop you from praying.
God I have problem.
It is a problem bigger than what I can handle alone.
I need the kind of help that comes from only you.
Lord I repent of my sins and ask your forgiveness.
That is all it takes to begin a new spiritual life. Spiritual life begins with forgiveness
There was an elderly woman talking to some new neighbors who had just moved in next door.
She mentioned that she attended the church just down the street.
Her new neighbor’s response was “So?”
The Holy Spirit can use the response “So?” as a conversation starter,
but most of us hear that as a conversation ender: a not very polite brush off. They are offended “So” we stop.
Church offends some people
Don’t let it stop you from inviting people to church.
Maybe a few of us have encountered people who get offended by the mere mention of Jesus.
Jesus didn’t stop because people got offended.
It’s not as if Jesus said something that they have never heard.
He said what he says all throughout the Gospel accounts.
He spoke of the kingdom; he spoke of God’s love; he spoke of forgiveness and salvation.
He was met with laughter, scorn, rejection.
He was met with open hostility.
I suspect when we share the Gospel of Jesus many of us have similar stories that we could share.
St. Mark then records something that has always troubled me a bit, confused me. He says that Jesus
“could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them” (6:5).
We see Jesus doing deeds of power all throughout the Gospel accounts, yet here, St. Mark is quite blunt:
Jesus couldn’t do much of anything.
Well, he did cure a few sick people, and that was not nothing.
I’m sure those sick people were very grateful.
I’m sure that they rejoiced and praised God.
Even so, Jesus “could do no deed of power there.”
I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the image of a powerless Jesus.
I suppose that is where the Eucharist comes in.
I suppose that is part of the reason why we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
Surely, Jesus was at his least powerful there, suffering and dying on the cross.
At the very same time, we see, even there at the cross,
God’s tremendous, unstoppable, redeeming power and healing plan at work.
When St. Paul tells those Corinthian Christians that when he is weak, then he is strong,
he is not speaking gibberish; he is looking to Jesus Christ.
God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.
When I say made perfect, I mean that God’s strength achieves its purpose,
perfectly accomplishes what it was intended to accomplish.
When God accomplishes anything through us,
His power is made perfect, for we are all of us weak, especially when we think we are strongest!
When we mention the name of Jesus today why do people reject Him?
This reality is very close to the response Jesus got that day in Nazareth when he was among his own.
Why do they reject him?
Just look at the community around you today.
Just like those people in Nazareth, and everywhere else Jesus travels,
the people he encounters want God on their own terms,
and they reject the one who tells them that the god they have on their own terms is not God
but what the Bible calls an idol.
Jesus came to throw down that idol,
and he does so every where he teaches. That’s offensive!
We are going to go out from village to village.
We are going to teach with authority
We are going to cast out demons
We are going to heal the sick
We are going to anoint the broken with oil
We are going to trust in God for our provisions
We are going to tell people to turn from their sins
We are going up to Jerusalem
and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
Jesus said, “He will be handed over to the Gentiles.
They will mock Him,
insult Him,
spit on Him,
flog Him and nail him to a cross.
He will be crucified but on the third day He will rise again.
Stop for a moment and think about what Jesus has just said.
Did you understand what Jesus just said?
Did you understand what those words meant?
I expect you to answer, "Yes, I understood them."
After all, they are pretty simple words.
We understand words like "mock, insult, spit, flog, kill," and "rise again."
We understand very well what Jesus was saying.
But those who heard Jesus were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
Isn't that an interesting verse of Scripture?
Talking about Hell is an offense.
The bible teaches us that there is a great gulf between heaven and hell
and since heaven is a place prepared for God’s people there is no pain or suffering, or sorrow.
There is no grief, there is sickness, and there is no death.
The music is of trumpets, and harps and the choirs of heaven. It is called paradise.
Revelations 21 gives us a picture of heaven.
It is a place of light and the glory of God.
Walls made of jasper, the streets of purest gold.
It is garnished with precious stones, sapphires, emeralds, topaz, and diamonds.
Its 12 gates are made of pearl.
Its water is clear as glass.
It is a perfect place that Jesus has gone to prepare for you.
I don’t know how, but God will not allow you to suffer
or remember the lost family and friends who did not make it into heaven. For there is a gulf.
One which the saints in heaven cannot look down into hell.
For we will not grieve for those who did not make it into heaven.
We will not know or suffer for people we once knew here on this earth that are not there,
but as in the Gospel of Luke tells us the story of Lazarus and rich man .
The rich man in hell was able to look up into heaven. From hell he was able to see across the mighty gulf and into the realm of Heaven and in hell he lifted up his eyes and did see Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom.
The person in hell was tormented by what he saw.
The person in hell was in agony.
The person in hell could see the people in heaven.
Forget about the fire and forget about the flames, imagine seeing your family,
a father or mother in heaven and you are lost and undone and cannot cross that great divide.
"13 Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us” Colossians 2:13-14
You don’t have to be a Pentecostal, Holy Roller, Charismatic, “If you don’t get this you are dead spiritually.”
Raise your hands in thanks, my record is clean.
Stand up for joy, my charges have been dropped.
Clap your hands in gratitude,
I have been set free.
Weep in happiness, my hands are washed innocent.
Shout in praise, I have been pardoned.
Laugh with pleasure, I am guilt free.
Worship in delight. Kneel in humble appreciation. Sing in adoration. Jump for gladness.
You are spiritually alive because your sin record and charges against you have been cancelled.
God took his son, and God took my sin, and they crucified Jesus and nailed Jesus to the cross.
Jesus died that I can live!
That gets me excited!
If you don’t get excited about that you may be spiritually offended.
God has made you alive in Christ.
Let me say it again, “If you don’t get excited about this you are spiritually dead!!!
The Methodist were made fun of because they practiced their religion with such joy. Frontier Americans cracked jokes about the "shouting Methodists," but the Wesleyans wore that label as a badge of honor.
They felt their own joy was one of the best advertisements for the truth of the message they preached.
Proverbs 17:22 says a cheerful heart is good medicine. To be cheerful means ready to welcome others.
To speak a word of encouragement.
To be enthusiastic about your faith.
To have a positive outlook on the future.
Let me give you five words right now that should make every one of you the most cheerful people.
“Nailed---It---To---The---Cross” FIVE WORDS.
When your sins were nailed to the cross…, His death made you alive!
Talking about the cross is offensive and means death to some.
But to the believer the cross is salvation and something that I have hope in.
Closing: Have you been offended today by anything I have preached on this morning?
The apostle Paul said, “We preach unto you Christ crucified.
Unto the Jews that is a stumbling block. (offense)
Unto the Greeks it is foolishness. (offense)
But to those who are saved it is the power of God and the wisdom of God."
1 Corinthians 1:23-24
Talking about Sin offends some
Talking about the Crucifixion offends some
Prayer
Church
Warning against idols and placing our own want between us and God offends some.
Talking about Hell offends others.
Even the Old Rugged Cross offends some people today.
But Don’t let the offenses keep you from sharing salvation in your own life
Or to your family and friends who are lost.
