Please Don’t Be Offended

“And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me.”  Matthew 11:6

Jesus had finished instructing His disciples as to their mission of taking the gospel to the towns and villages and then began to go out among the people to preach and teach.  John the Baptist, who was in prison for criticizing Herod, the chief governor of Galilee, for his adulterous relationship with Herod’s sister-in-law, heard about the miraculous works of Jesus.  John sent two of his own disciples to enquire as to the identity of the One who was doing all of these wonderful works–was this the Messiah?  I can’t help but wonder why John would ask that because he was the one who introduced Jesus when Jesus began His ministry, and John baptized Him.  We have to remember that John had been locked up and had likely not witnessed these miracles nor heard Jesus’ teaching.  Likely everything that he did know, he learned second hand.  I guess one could say that John was “out of the loop” and thus wanted a positive identification.

John’s disciples did go to Jesus as John had asked.  The two disciples got right to the point: “Are You He that should come, or do we look for another?”  I do not think that they were being haughty or rude, but actually wanted to make sure that Jesus was who He said He was.  Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “come BOLDLY unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  Jesus desires for us to ask honest questions.  The radio pastor Steve Brown, always says that the only dumb question is the one that you don’t ask.  Just about every time Jesus responded to a question, His answer was intended to make the one asking search his or her own soul to see if his or her life was in line with His Father’s word.  What was their true motive?  Were they serious about their spiritual condition or were they trying to justify themselves?  It was this last reason that the religious leaders were so intent in their conversations with Jesus.  They were always trying to prove themselves in the right and prove Him to be in the wrong.  They never learned that one can’t involve himself or herself in an self-justifying argument with the Lord and win.

Jesus told John’s disciples to go back and tell John about the many miracles that were taking place because of His power.  The blind were being made to see, crippled folks could walk, the lepers were healed, the deaf could hear, and some were even being brought back to life after they had passed away.  Even though the religious leaders had accused Jesus of working by the power of the devil (Matthew 12:22-30), Satan doesn’t have that kind of power.  He can’t heal the sick or raise the dead.  Even if he could, why would he?  He only cares about people insofar as he can deceive and manipulate them to stay in his corner.  John was likely familiar with Old Testament prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah, thus, Jesus’ fulfillment of some of those prophecies would have convinced John that Jesus was truly the Messiah.  One other proof of Jesus’ identity was the fact that He preached to the poor, those who had been ostracized, overlooked, and neglected by the religious leaders for most of Israel’s existence.  Their leaders had given them no hope, but Jesus did give them hope for the future as He preached to them the love and mercy of God, His Father.

Jesus’ last statement to John’s disciples was a promise to those who would believe on Him: “And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.”  While Jesus was a Man without prejudice, He felt the sting of all those who were prejudiced against Him.  They didn’t like His lowly and common upbringing, the fact that His earthly father was a carpenter and His mother a home maker, and that He lived in a modest home in Nazareth, known as the “other side of the tracks”.  People were not impressed with the company He chose to keep, smelly fishermen, laborers, and even the hated tax collector.  What these snobbish neighbors failed to realize is that to take offense to Jesus is to reject Him and His message.  Those who could and do see Him in a true spiritual light are the ones who are blessed.  All one has to do is examine the evidence that Jesus left behind in His miracles, His word, and especially His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, and an honest and seeking person will come to the conclusion that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be, the Son of God and the Savior of the world.  What more proof does anyone need?