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Jesus did not compromise truth
in order to keep people from being offended.
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Last week we began showing how Jesus did not compromise truth, in order
to keep people from being offended. We saw how he offended the Pharisees, and
how he offended people in his hometown. Let’s look at some of the other ways, He stayed true to the truth.
Jesus offended His own family members.
Even those of His own house were offended by Him. They were not pleased
with the pressure that was being put on them by what He was doing. They found
it hard to believe He was behaving the way He was. Let’s look:
But when His own people [or “family,”] heard about this, they went out
to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”… His brother and
His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a
multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.” But He answered
them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” And
He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God
is My brother and My sister and mother.” ~ Mark 3:21,
31-35
His own family thought that He was out of His mind. Notice that the
Scriptures say Jesus’ family went out to take Him into custody. Mark identifies
those relatives as Jesus’ own mother and brothers who later found Him preaching
in someone’s house. Even John’s Gospel says, “His brothers did not believe
Him” (John 7:5).
Many have not realized that Jesus was rejected by those who were close
to Him. But it was not the acceptance of His household He was looking for. He
would not be controlled by their desires. He would fulfill the Father’s plan
whether they approved or not.
I have seen many, especially married couples, who have not followed
Jesus for fear of offending their mates or family members. As a result they
backslide or never reach the full potential of their calling.
When I was first born again, all the members of my family were Roman
Catholics and did not share the excitement of my newly found faith. My mother
in particular was very displeased with my decision to leave the church in which
she brought me up. There are certainly precious Catholics who love God, but I
knew God was calling me out.
A second blow came when I announced my decision to enter the ministry.
I had just received my mechanical engineering degree from
In the beginning I tried to run them over with the gospel. I told them
they were not saved just by attending mass. I pushed them to their limits. I
was not wise. Then God instructed me to live the Christian life before them and
let them see my good works. I still did not compromise to please them.
Today my parents are very supportive, and my grandfather, who fought me
the most, was gloriously saved at the age of eighty-nine, two years before his
death.
Jesus’ mother and brothers may have thought He had lost His mind. But
because of His obedience to the Father, they all ended up saved and in the
upper room on the day of Pentecost. James, His half brother, became the leading
apostle of the church in
If we compromise what God tells us in order to please our family
members, we will lose the fresh oil in our lives, and we will hinder them from
being set free.
Jesus offended His own staff
In previous lesson (lesson 8) we discussed in detail the viewpoint of
the disciples when Jesus offended them. Let’s review it again and see it from
Jesus’ perspective.
Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a
hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His
disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?”… From
that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. ~ John
6:60,66
Things were already tough enough as it was. The religious leaders were
plotting His death. His own hometown rejected Him. His family thought he was
out of His mind. To add more pressure, many of His own
staff members left offended. But Jesus still did not compromise. He just told
those who were left that they were also free to go if they wanted to.
The only thing that mattered to Jesus was fulfilling the Father’s plan.
If He had been left standing alone that day, it would not have changed His
heart. He was determined to obey His Father.
Jesus offended some of His closest friends.
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of
Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. They were close. He spent time
with them. Notice His response when the news arrived that Lazarus was sick:
So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the
place where He was. ~ John 11:6
Jesus knew by revelation that Lazarus’s sickness would lead to death.
It was a very serious matter. But He stayed where He was for two additional
days. When He finally came to
Martha and Mary each said to Him: “Lord, if You had been here, my
brother would not have died” (John 11: 21,32). In
other words, “Why didn’t You come immediately? You
could have saved him!”
Most likely both sisters were a little offended. They sent a messenger
to tell Him, and He delayed for two days. Jesus did not respond as they
expected. He didn’t drop everything; instead He followed the leading of the
Holy Spirit. This was best for everyone. However, at the time it looked as if
Jesus was apathetic, as if He didn’t care.
So often ministers are controlled by their
people. They think they
have to do everything the people ask of them.
A board member at a Spirit-filled church that had lost its pastor once
told me, “We want a pastor who will meet our needs, one who can just come to my
place at eight o’clock in the morning and have coffee.”
I thought, “You will find a social man that you can control, not one
controlled by the Holy Ghost.” I found out later that this church had gone
through four pastors in a year and a half.
When I was a youth pastor, a young man came to me after I had been
pasturing for six months. “Will you be my buddy?” he asked. “My last youth
pastor was my buddy.”
The youth pastor before me was very sociable with the young people.
They majored on activities. I knew what he was asking for. It was basically
what the board member had wanted from his pastor.
I quoted Matthew 10:41 to him where Jesus said, “He who receives a
prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who
receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a
righteous man’s reward.”
“You have a lot of buddies, don’t you?” I asked
him.
“Yes,” he answered.
“But you have only one
youth pastor, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want a youth
pastor’s reward or a buddy’s reward, because the way you receive me determines
what you will receive from God?”
He saw my point, “I want a youth pastor’s reward.”
Many ministers are afraid that if they do not fulfill their people’s
expectations they will hurt their feelings and lose their support. They are
trapped by the fear of offending others. They are controlled by their own
people, not God. As a result, little of eternal value is accomplished in their
churches or congregations.
Jesus offended John the Baptist.
Even John the Baptist had to deal with the temptation of being offended
with Jesus.
Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things.
And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are
You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” When the men had come to Him
they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You,
saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” ~ Luke 7:18-20
Wait a minute. Why does John ask Jesus if He is the coming One, the
Messiah? John was the one who prepared His way and announced His arrival: “Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
(1:29). He was the one who said, “This is He who baptizes with the Holy
Spirit” (1:33). He even said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (3:30).
John was the only person who really knew who Jesus was at that time. (It had
not yet been revealed to Simon Peter.)
Why is he asking, “Is Jesus the Messiah, or do we look for another?”
Put yourself in his place. You have been the man on the cutting edge of
what God is doing. Multitudes upon multitudes of people have received ministry
from you. You have the most talked about outreach ministry in the nation. You
have lived a life of self-denial. You have not even married in order to
maximize the full potential of your call. You have lived in the desert eating
locusts and wild honey and fasted often. You have fought the Pharisees and been
accused of demon possession. Your whole life is spent preparing the way for
this coming Messiah.
Now you’re in prison. You have been locked up for quite some time. Very
few people are coming to visit you because the attention of the people you
prepared is now turned to Jesus of Nazareth. Even your own disciples have
joined this
You say to yourself, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove on Him, but is this the behavior of a Messiah?”
The temptation to become offended grows greater the longer you’re in
prison. “This man for whom I have spent my life preparing the way has not even
come and visited me in jail! How can this be? If He is the Messiah, why doesn’t
He get me out of this prison? I’ve done no wrong.”
So you send two of your faithful disciples to question Jesus. “Are You
the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
Let’s look at Jesus’ response to John:
And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil
spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, “Go
and tell John the things you have seen and heard: That the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is
he who is not offended because of
The response of Jesus is prophetic. He quotes Isaiah, a book very
familiar to John. The passages in Isaiah 29:18, 35:4-6 and 61:1 apply to all
that John’s disciples had observed while they waited to question Jesus. They
bore witness of Him as Messiah. But He does not end it there. He adds, “And
blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
He was saying, “John, I know you don’t understand all that is happening
with you and many of My ways, but do not be offended
with Me because I do not operate as you expected.” He was urging John not to
judge by his own understanding of God’s ways in the past and in his own life
and ministry. John didn’t know the whole picture or plan of God, just as we do
not know the complete picture today. Jesus was encouraging him, saying, “You’ve
done what was commanded of you. Your reward will be great. Just stay free from
offense with Me!”
Offense Without Apology
Even if you are trained in many of God’s ways, as John was, you are
still likely to have an opportunity to be offended with Jesus. If you truly
love and believe on Him, you will fight to stay free from offense, realizing
His ways are always higher than yours.
Also, if you are going to obey the Spirit of God, people will be
offended by you. Jesus said in John 3:8, “The wind blows where it wishes,
and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it
goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Some will not understand you as you move with the Spirit. Don’t allow
their unpleasant response to deter you from what you know in your heart is
true. Don’t abort the flow of the Spirit for the desires of men. Peter sums
this up nicely:
Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves
also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from
sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the
lusts [desires] of men, but for the will of God. ~ 1 Peter 4: 1-2
When you live for the will of God, you will not fulfill the desires of
men. As a result, you will suffer in the flesh. Jesus suffered His greatest
opposition from the religious leaders. Religious people believe God operates
only within the confines of their parameter. They believe they are the only
ones who have an “in” with God. If the Master offended religious people as He
was led by the Spirit two thousand years ago, those who follow Him will surely
offend them.
The apostle
Paul’s persecution is a good example. Some people in
“Look at me,” he said. “I’m being persecuted on every side by religious
leaders. Would they be doing this to me if I preached circumcision? The fact
that the cross is he only way to salvation offends people, but that is the
truth, and there’s no way I’m going to preach anything else!” (see Galatians 5:11).
If anyone challenges the truth of the gospel, it is the time to be
offensive without apology. We must determine in our hearts that we will obey
the Spirit of God no matter what the cost. Then we will not have to make the
choice under pressure because it will have been made.
Next Week: Lesson 10, “Lest We Offend Them.”