------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jesus offended some people by
obeying His Father, but He never caused an offense in order to assert His own
rights.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve
this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. ~
Romans 14:13
We have just finished discussing how Jesus offended many as He traveled
and ministered. It appears that almost everywhere He went people were offended.
In this lesson, I want to look at the flip side of this.
Jesus and His disciples had just returned to
If there was any place that could be considered a base for His
ministry, it was this city.
While there, Simon Peter was approached by the official in charge of
collecting the temple tax. “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” (Matt.
17:24).
Peter answered, “Yes,” and went back to discuss it with
Jesus. Jesus anticipated the tax
collector’s request, so he inquired of Simon peter, “ What do you think, Simon? From
Whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons
or from strangers?”
“ From strangers,” peter told him. “Then the sons are free” (Matt. 17:25-26)
Jesus is making a point with peter that “sons are free.” They are not
the ones who supply the taxes. They are the ones who enjoy the benefits of the
tax. They live in the palace
that the taxes pay to maintain. The sons eat at the king’s table
and wear royal apparel, all provided by the tax. They are free and freely
provided for.
This official received the temple tax. But who was king or owner of the
temple? In whose honor was it built? The answer: God the Father. Peter had just
received the revelation from God that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the
living God.”
On that basis Jesus was asking Peter, “If I am the Son of the One who
owns the temple, then am I not free from paying temple
tax?” Of course He would be exempt. He would be totally justified in not paying
the tax. Yet watch what He says to Simon Peter:
Nevertheless, Lest we offend them, go to the
sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have
opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them
for Me and you. ~ Matthew 17:27
He had just proven His liberty. But in order not to offend He said to
Peter, “Let’s pay it!” It was yet another confirmation of His freedom when He
instructed Peter to go and fish and take the first fish that came up; in its
mouth he would find money. God the Father even provided the tax money.
Jesus is Lord of the earth. He is the Son of God. The earth and
everything in it are created by Him and are subject to Him. Therefore, He knew
the money would be in that fish’s mouth. He did not have to work for that money
because He was the Son. And yet He still chose to pay the tax and not to
offend.
Is this the same Jesus we saw in the last study offending people and
making no apologies for it? He proved He was exempt from the temple tax but
said, “Lest we offend them, go and pay it!” It seems as if there is some
inconsistency, or is there? Our answer is found in the next verse.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greater
in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in
the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted
and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of
heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven.” ~ Matthew 18:1-4
The key phrase here is “whoever humbles himself.” A little later Jesus
amplified this by saying”
Whoever desires to become great among you, let
him be your servant… just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. ~ Matthew 20:26-28
Wow! What a statement! He did not come to be served but to serve. He
was the Son; He was free; He owned no one anything; He was subject to no man.
Yet He chose to use His liberty and freedom to serve.
Liberated To Serve
We are exhorted in the New Testament as sons of God to imitate our
brother, to have the same attitude we see in Jesus.
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty
as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ~
Galatians 5:13
Another word for liberty is privilege. We are not to use our liberty or
privileges as children of the living God to serve ourselves.
* A slave has to -- a
servant gets to.
* A slave does the
minimum requirement -- a servant reaches the maximum potential.
* A slave goes one
mile -- a servant goes the extra mile.
* A slave feels robbed
-- a servant gives.
* A slave is bound --
a servant is free.
* A slave fights for
his rights -- a servant lays down his rights.
I have seen many Christians serve with a resentful attitude. They give
grudgingly and complain as they pay their taxes. They still live as slaves to a
law from which they have been set free. They remain slaves in their hearts.
It is most alarming that this law is constructed from the New Testament
Scriptures. They do not have the ‘spirit’ in which Jesus gave His commands.
They have not realized they were liberated to serve. So they continue to fight
for their own benefit, rather than for the benefit of others.
Paul gives a vivid example of confronting this attitude in his letters
to the Romans and the Corinthians.
Jesus had clarified that it was not what goes into the mouth that
defiles but what comes out of the mouth. When He made this statement, He made
all foods clean to the believer (Mark 7:18-19).
Paul said that there were some believers who were weak in their faith
and still could not eat meat for fear of eating food that had been sacrificed
to idols. Though Jesus had spoken to the issue, these people still could not
eat meat with a clear conscience.
Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know
that an idol is nothing in the world… yet for us there is one God, The Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and One
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness
of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; in their
conscience, being weak, is defiled. ~ 1 Corinthians 8:4,6-7
In those churches Christians with stronger faith were eating meats of
questionable origin in front of weaker saints. This was causing a problem even
though Jesus had purified these foods. The weaker ones could not shake the
image of the meat on the alter of an idol.
The stronger saints knew that an idol was nothing and felt no prick of
conscience as they ate.
But it appears that they were more concerned with holding onto their
rights as New Testament believers than they were with offending their brethren.
Without realizing it they had placed a stumbling block in the path of their weaker
brothers. This attitude is not present in the heart of a servant. Look how Paul
addressed them:
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve
this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way…for
the
Again hear the warning given to us in 1 Corinthians 8:9: “But beware
lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are
weak.”
Here is an example of how I have seen this commandment broken. On my
second missionary trip to
An elder in the church we were visiting owned a modest hotel in a very
noisy section of town. We had traveled a long distance and had had very little
sleep. We were exhausted. That night we were awakened several times by loud
noises and barking dogs. We only stayed overnight and did not get the rest we
needed.
The following day we continued to Java and ministered for the next two
weeks on a very busy schedule. We had only one free day in that
two weeks, and that was for travel. In one twenty-four-hour period we ministered
five times at a church with 30,000 members.
At the end of the trip we were scheduled to go back through
At breakfast on the morning we were to leave Java for Bali, a precious
lady offered to pay our accommodations at one of the finest resort hotels in
As we left the restaurant to pack, Lisa told me she did not feel good
about accepting the lady’s offer. The interpreter and I reasoned with her and
said it would be fine. Again on the plane from Java to
I was foolish and didn’t listen to her. I told her it wouldn’t cost the
church anything and it would be fine. When we arrived in
When we met the pastor, I told him we would not need to stay at the
elder’s hotel because of the woman’s offer. He seemed uneasy with what I said,
so I asked him what was wrong.
Fortunately he was open with me and said, “John, this will offend the
elder and his family. They’ve already reserved the room for you, and they’re
sold out for the evening.”
I had also apparently offended the pastor because I did not appreciate
what they had arranged for us. Finally I told him we would stay at the elder’s
hotel and pass up the woman’s offer.
The Lord dealt with me about my attitude. I knew the pastor was hurt. I
saw that demanding my rights had offended this brother and it was a sin. I
asked for his forgiveness. He forgave me. I hope I don’t have to learn that
lesson again.
The Edification Test
The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Romans, summed up the heart of God
in the matter:
Therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things
which one may edify another. ~ Romans 14:19
We should make it our aim not to cause another to stumble because of
our personal liberty. What we do may even be permissible according to the
scriptures. But ask yourself: Does it seek the edification of another or myself?
All thing are lawful for me, but not all
things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let
no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being… Therefore, whether
you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church
of God, also as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit,
but the profit of many, that they may be saved. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:23,31-33
I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to funnel every area of your
life through this Scripture passage. Allow Him to show you any hidden motives
or agendas that are for your profit and not for the profit of others. No matter
what area of life you might embrace, accept His challenge to live as a servant
of all.
Use your liberty in Christ to set others free, not to assert your own
rights. That was one of the guidelines of the ministry of Paul, who wrote, “We
give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed” (2Cor. 6:3).
Next week: Forgiveness: You don’t give -- You don’t get.