Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copies and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
OFFENDED BY CHRIST
Matthew 11:2-3, "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"
Luke 7:21-23, " And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."
All across the church world there are those who have been offended by the message of the gospel and by the teachings of the doctrines of the Bible. The drop-out rate is very high because most people don’t want to hear the truth, much less obey it.
In the 7th chapter of Luke Jesus performs many miracles of healing, deliverance and even the raising of the dead back to life.
First he healed the servant of the Roman Centurion whose faith in the ability of Jesus to heal far surpassed the faith of those who were supposed to believe in him.
Then he passed through the city of Nain and there he found a funeral procession going to the burial site. The only son of a widow had passed away and she was grieving so terribly that it caught Jesus’ attention. He walked over to the procession, stopped it and raised the young man back to life.
The disciples of John the Baptist had stood by, following closely behind Jesus to see what he would do. I am certain that even if they had not been there on the day that John baptized Jesus, they still knew the story and events of that baptism. On that day John was convinced that Jesus was the one who was to come “… whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:" (Matthew 3:11).
The appearance of the Holy Spirit like a dove and the audible voice of the Father in approval of Jesus Christ as his son were enough to bring John and most of those around to the place where they would accept Jesus as the Messiah, at least for a while.
I think that we can see from these passages of scripture that John wasn’t so sure of who Jesus was any longer. I believe that he had fallen into the same mindset as most of Israel who was looking for a Messiah that would deliver Israel from the slavery under Roman taskmasters and give them their freedom to worship and independence from Gentile rule once again.
Jesus had been roaming about the land of Israel for some time now and John did not see any signs that Jesus would be raising an army to revolt against the Roman Legion guarding Jerusalem. He did not see a band of militia being formed or the temple guards being strengthened. He had begun to doubt within himself whether Jesus was the Messiah or not. The descending of the Holy Spirit and the voice of God that he had heard at Jordan seemed so long ago and so far away that doubts of those events had probably begun to creep into his heart.
I am certain that John was anxious to see the deliverance of Israel begin. He was already under arrest in a Roman jail and it wouldn’t be long until he would be beheaded at the request of the daughter of Herodias as a gift from Herod for her dancing skills. Herodias and Herod wanted John dead anyway because he had exposed their adulterous marriage and this was as good an excuse as any to rid themselves of this prophet who was causing them so much embarrassment.
Thus we see that John sent forth two of his disciples to seek the truth about Jesus. John’s question was, are you the right one to deliver Israel or should we seek after another?
That’s the same question that has plagued not only the Jews, but the entire world ever since the birth of Christ.
Jesus, are you really who you say that you are? Are you really the Son of God? Are you really the one who has come to deliver all men from their sin? If you are then how can we know it for certain?
As those two disciples stood, waiting for an answer, Jesus just kept doing what he always did, meeting the needs of the people. “And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight…”.
This was done not only through compassion for suffering humanity but to make a point to these curious disciples of John the Baptist. Could anyone but the Messiah, the Son of God, have power over devils to cast them out. Could anyone but the messiah, the Son of God, have power to cure withered limbs, crippled legs, blinded eyes or deaf ears? Those were the thoughts that ran through the minds of John’s disciples as they searched for an answer.
Let me say at this point that God does not get angry at honest questions. He only gets angry at questions that are worded to trick him or to get the answer that we want to hear and not the real truth.
James 1:5-8, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
So you see, God desires that we seek after him, that we ask him for help and guidance and that we expect to receive the answers we need.
It’s not sin to seek answers and question God, it’s sin to not believe when the answer is given.
Was John the Baptist offended by Jesus? I believe that the answer is yes. John was offended because Jesus didn’t seem to be fulfilling the vision that John had for his ministry. John had preached repentance to those who would listen and he expected a great delivering Messiah to appear on the scene. It didn’t seem that this would happen.
John was offended because Jesus didn’t step out onto the pages of history and overthrow the Romans. He was offended by the manner that God chose to work. He was offended by the fact that most of Jesus’ ministry was accomplished in the heart and that there was no visible evidence of getting rid of the Romans. In fact, Jesus actually encouraged cooperation with the Romans when he said that real people of God should do even more than asked help the Romans. This was almost treason in the mind of John.
John may have been offended because of the circumstances in his own life. After all, he was the forerunner of Jesus Christ and now he was in prison and Jesus made no attempt to get him free.
Jesus’ answer given to these two disciples of John may have even been a little offensive to John. He told the two disciples to go back and just tell John what they had seen without giving them a clear answer. Jesus always answered questions with answers that required the use of our faith. He rarely gave a straight answer. He made you think and work and believe for the answer.
Have you every sought God for the answer to a prayer and didn’t get a clear answer for your prayer? Perhaps you can feel as John felt – why can’t you just say yes or no. Why are God’s answers more of a question mark in our minds than a clear-cut yes or no?
Jesus was telling John’s disciples to bring this message to John – instead of a yes or no, just tell John what I am doing among the people of Israel. Tell him that I am healing the sick, casting out devils, and healing the sick and infirm. Tell John about these things and let’s see if John’s faith in me is strong.
That’s the same way he answers us most of the time. Jesus answers our questions with answers that require the exercise of our faith in Him and his power. It doesn’t take any faith to get an answer to your prayer that is cut and dry. God wants you to exercise your faith and learn to trust in him anyway.
Do you think that John had a right to be offended by Jesus’ answer? After all, he was ready to give his life for preaching the message of truth and repentance! I wonder if John felt abandoned as he stuck his neck out on a limb to preach the truth and now he was being led to the executioner without any interference from the one who had the power to deliver him. Was John offended by Jesus’ inaction? Possibly so!
1) Has your mind ever been tempted to wonder if your experience in Christ was real or not?
2) Has the devil ever sat upon your shoulder and whispered in your ear that this was for nothing and that Jesus was only a fictional character?
3) Have you ever begun to doubt that God is real and that he even hears or cares about your prayers?
4) Have you ever been offended by God’s apparent decision to not answer your prayer or to send an answer that you didn’t like to hear?
There are a lot of people in the church who throw up their hands and walk out on God because they are offended by God’s sovereign will to answer in a time and fashion of his own choosing.
If they can’t get the answer they need right now, then they get mad at God and leave.
If they hear a message from the Word of God that offends their own will to continue in sin or disobedience to that Word, they get offended and determine never to step foot inside the door of the church again.
If their prayer is answered in a way that they don’t like, they stomp out on God and refuse to pray again!
Illustration:
I know of one person who walked out of the church and didn’t return for many weeks because God allowed a child to be sick.
That’s becoming offended in Jesus and he says that those who won’t allow such things to offend them will be blessed indeed!
What does this mean to you and I? It means that if we will only trust in the Lord to do what is right and needful for us in every situation, regardless of what it may look like on the surface, then we will know the perfect will of God and we will walk in his presence.
Living for Jesus is a walk by faith for he says in his Word in Hebrews 11:6, "…without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
If we truly believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Deliverer, the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the Lord of our Lives, the Comforter, the Prince of Peace and all of those other wonderful things that we call him, then let’s trust him through every situation, no matter how dark it may seem on the outside.
Let’s not get offended by Christ! Let’s not get offended by the truths of his Holy Word!
Let’s not walk away angry and throw away the blessings that he has for us! Don’t get offended with Christ!
