As good as he was, John was not perfect, and that gives even more evidence that he really was a Baptist. I’m not going to imply that it was necessarily a fault in John, but He doesn’t appear to be as friendly, amicable and politically correct as some think Baptists ought to be. Nor was he given to socializing, partying and celebrating. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that he was as cold, stiff and scratchy as his camel skin clothing. In some ways his personality was as appetizing as the yucky bugs which he ate. No, John wasn’t perfect. If you want to find perfect people you have to look among the Pentecostals and Charismatics. Some of them claim to live in sinless perfection, but no real Baptist would ever say that. Lots ofpeople claim to be good enough to merit heaven without the blood of Christ, but John wasn’t like any of them. – He needed a Saviour. “Perfect” people go to great pains to be perfect, and they often give great pain others in the process. Bachelor’s wives and old-maid’s children are usually perfect, but John was not, and neither am I.
I will not be dogmatic about this, but the unbelief expressed in verse 3 may not be that of John. There are scholars who say that John’s imprisonment made him doubt what he had seen and believed about Christ earlier. While that may be true, it may be that it was these two students of his who were the offended unbelievers. “Now when John had heard in the prison the works (miracles) of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And (they) said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” John, imprisoned as he was, was probably anxious for the Millennium to begin. These disciples of his may have been whittling away at his earlier confidence in Christ. Or he may have been just as strong as he had ever been, and he sent these two spiritual weaklings to find out the truth about Christ for themselves. I know that Jesus said, “Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see,” but that doesn’t answer the question in either way.
Why were these men still disciples of John, when Peter, James, John and others had moved on to become disciples and apostles of Christ? Could these two ambassadors of John, have been offended at Christ’s success and John’s suffering? While virtually everyone was expecting the Messiah of the Millennial kingdom, these men might have been even more and thus they were offended at Jesus’ apparent procrastination. Someone, either John or these two men, were filled with doubts about our Lord Jesus. They were not just confused, as the twelve sometimes were, these two were offended. And by the way, the Greek word translated “offended” in verse 6 is “skandalizo” (skan-dal-id’-zo). These men were scandalized by Jesus’ delay in fulfilling their preconceived notions about the Messiah.
This is what prompts my message this morning. If you insist that John was offended by Christ, or even if it was just these two potential disciples, then that means that practically anyone could be. “Have you ever been, or are you now, offended with the Saviour?” The question isn’t: “Have you been offended by the preacher or some other saint” – that is guaranteed. If you’ve known me for more than a few months, then without a doubt I have disappointed you. And probably so have a lot of other Christians besides me. Our question this morning is: “Are you, like these men, offended by the Lord Jesus Christ?” If so I point you to Jesus’ words in verse 6 – “Blessed is he, whosoever shall NOT be offended in me.” Let’s think about these men – and then look past them – to ourselves and to our neighbors.
WHO are the people which get offended at Christ?
The short is answer is – practically everyone at one time or other gets disappointed with Christ and/or God. Some of God’s greatest servants have been aggravated at Him. Time doesn’t permit us to talk about Moses, Elijah, Abraham or Jonah. But John the Baptist was no spiritual sissy, no milksop or coward. He was a thundering Elijah, preaching Hell-fire and damnation without fear of anyone. He was not afraid to spit in the face of a truly mean, despotic dictator, and he was at that point in time suffering the consequences. John was not afraid to eat cooked crickets and live locusts. Quiche and pate never pass through his lips. Did he stumble at the delay in Christ’s millennial inauguration, or was it just in these two men? As a rule God’s greater servants are those least perturbed by the Lord, because they walk more closely to him than the average man. But even they sometimes stumble.
Then there are the new converts and infant disciples – no matter how old they are in Christ. And perhaps these two disciples of John fall into this category, but of that we can’t be sure. In fact these two men may not yet have been born again. They may be exactly like so many church members, who are enamored by the ministry of some charismatic preacher, but they have yet to look beyond him to the person of the Lord Jesus. Without a doubt these men had their preconceived ideas about the Messiah. They were looking for the Messiah of the Millennium – someone who would drive out the Romans. They were earnestly looking for, and expecting, the miraculous deliverance for their rustic rabbi John. They were awaiting to see the lion and the lamb playing together. They wanted to take up residence under their own fig tree with millennial manna falling on them every morning. “What is taking so long? Why was the Messiah wasting our time? Is Jesus of Nazareth really the Christ or should we look for another?” Was their question really from John or was it out of their own hearts?
And today, what do people expect when they come to a Christian church, beginning to look at Jesus? He should be nice, loving, instructive, helpful, comforting and give me a fresh supply of manna every day. But then when they find that the Saviour is so much more (or less) than they asked or wished, they trip right over themselves running away. Even the original twelve disciples were affronted by the behavior of their divine pastor from time to time. Some men started walking with the Lord, but then quit and never became true disciples. “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?”
Of course an obvious bunch of offendees were Christ’s enemies, and this is still true today. Some of these people are religious, but many are just the opposite. Most of them love their sin and therefore stumble over every aspect of Christ Jesus – at His holy life; at His teachings and certainly at His sacrifice on the cross.
A fourth group who are offended at the Lord are the ambivalent and apathetic multitudes. There were many in Jesus’ day, and there are many more today because of sheer population growth. The world is filled with people who simply live their lives as they choose to live them. They enjoy the status quo; happy in their lives and sins, not concerned about what God might say about them. They don’t think of Jehovah more than once or twice a year, and yet when their loved one is killed by a drunk driver they are offended at the recklessness of the sovereign deity. They defend the rights of the murderer to a long life in prison, while denying the rights of the unborn to life. But then when a Christian stands up and declares in Christ’s name that murderers should be executed they are offended. These people pass through their lives enjoying one sin after another, never even thinking to call it “sin,“ and then when Jesus comes on the scene with his message of repentance and discipleship, O, how those previously inattentive souls stumble and fall.
I think that it might be fair to say that the only Being in the universe never to stumble at the Son, was His Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ, pleased his Father in everything. There was never a word, thought or deed which was contrary to the will of Jehovah or beyond the holy character of God. Even the holy angels were astounded and perhaps offended at their incarnate Master. His humility, and eventually His sacrifice on the cross, took their angelic breath away.
But getting back to those early, earthly offendees, HOW were they offended?
Again, why are we going through all this? What is the point of this message? My point is this: “I want YOU to be among the blessed ones.” There are NO grounds for offense in the Saviour. John could have said with David, “Though he SLAY me, yet will I trust (and not be offended in) Him.”
How was it that Jesus offended people? By exposing the religious deceivers of His day. He pointed at people and described their hearts, ignoring their hats. Hearts are far more important than hats or haircuts or personal habits. I once had a dear Christian lady question me for “CONSTANTLY running people down.” I couldn’t believe my ears. As many you know, I don’t mention people’s names or specific churches from the pulpit very often. But I must have said something about some TV preacher whom she liked, so she exaggerated. She was so offended in me that she was at the point of falling on her nose. So I tried to show her two things: First, I rarely criticize specific people. But if and when I do, it is nothing more than what my Master has already done. If the Lord gives us the time, we will eventually study Matthew 23. In that chapter the Lord rips the hide off the backs of the Pharisees. He doesn’t mention any specific names, but He does flay a whole squadron of people. When I use the word “you” in the statement – “You are a sinner and you need to repent before God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” I am being personal in an impersonal way, exactly as Christ or the Apostles were. If that offends you, I am not sorry, but I do I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry because it proves that, likely, you are among those whom Jesus was rebuking. And secondly, I pity you because you are not among blessed of which our text speaks. This modern policy of syrupy kindness to people who are in the business of damning men’s souls is diabolical. The idea that all churches, despite their extreme differences, are all God’s churches is ludicrous. That we should be quiet about heresy, is exactly what Satan wants us to so. If someone is offended at the telling of the truth, then he will most certainly be offended in Jesus, because He is truth.
Some people were offended in the Lord, when He accused them of being sinners. In many people’s pre-designed image of Christ, He is always kind and loving – never condemning. Because of that I’m sure that John 2:13-16 offends them? “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables.” I believe that if Christ was here today He’d be going from church to church still doing the same thing. The Lord is not pleased with the merchandising of the Word of God – selling the Gospel at a price. He would be furious at the selling of prayer cloths, indulgences, masses and pews. And He’d beat the stuffing out of “Baptists” who criticize the Bible, condoning sin and consort with heretics. I don’t think that the Lord Jesus would be welcome in a lot of Baptist Churches today.
A third offense was Christ’s trampling on tradition. The Jews had traditions about everything, and they loved those traditions more than they did the Lord. Christ Jesus kicked away their customs the way someone might kick mud off His shoe. For example, the Jews had traditions about respecting the Sabbath and Jesus ignored them. They had man-made traditions about washing hands, but Jesus wouldn’t follow their extremes. They had traditions about priestly authority, but Jesus cared nothing for that. And if He was here today, Jesus would still be kicking around the more modern traditions of men. For example, He’d boot baby baptism so hard, some churches would have contracts out His life. There is not a word about infant baptism in the Bible – it is a religious tradition not a Bible doctrine.
Jesus offended people also in His emphasis on the eternal. When He says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,” that makes kings and employers angry. It also upsets the average worldly professor of Christianity. If you are offended when Jesus says “sell all that you have and give it to the poor” you are displaying your true spirit. Perhaps you are not really a child of the King. Mammon is your God.
In His day people were offended even at the Saviour’s saving of sinners. How they disliked him eating and drinking with and then preaching to publicans and sinners. The Pharisees and other hypocrites just couldn’t get over it. I wonder if they’d get over it today? What would you say if we brought in a group of ex-cons and harlots into the house of God? What if a bunch of struggling alcoholics decided that they liked our church? Would you leave if we began seeing of semi-sober Coeur-d’Alene Indians coming to church here? What if some real sinners attended our service today; would they be welcome, or would they freeze? Beloved, sinners are the people Christ came to save, and who we are called to serve. Our ministry is among those who are strangers and aliens from covenants of promise. Jesus came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. And that is our work as well.
Perhaps the highest offense that Jesus made was as He climbed up upon the cross. Not one of Jesus’ “friends” wanted, or expected, that Messianic sacrifice. They wanted a kingdom and the defeat of the Roman invaders. It boiled down to the fact that they wanted a secular peace at the expense of the spiritual and eternal. But when Christ went to the cross, willingly shedding His blood, He became an offense to multitudes. Even the disciples were temporarily abashed and hid in dark corners like mice.
Be not offended in the Lord Jesus, nor in the servant of Christ…
Because we need each and every one of the blessings that I have mentioned this morning. Our eternal souls depend on them. We need someone to show us who are the wolves in sheep’s clothing and what are their lies. Sometimes we need to know their names and see their pictures on the bulletin board. Don’t be offended when the preacher pin-points areas – and people – of heresy. We need desperately to see that tradition is not necessarily of the Lord.
And of course, we need the salvation of our wretched souls through the sacrifice of the Saviour. “For neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” If Christ had not preferred to serve His Father and to suffer on the cross, we’d all have nothing ahead of us but the Lake of Fire. We even need servants today to carry on the ministry of the Lord, declaring the finished work of Jesus. And boldly declaring the whole the counsel of God, despite the cost.
Repent of your sins and put your trust in the Living Saviour. We must not be offended in Jesus. If Christians are offended in Him, it will keep others from a saving understanding and knowledge of the gospel of Christ. And it will keep many from the joy of faith and service.
Jesus said that we are BLESSED if we are not offended in him.
Because, among other things, as it was with Jesus’ visitors that day, offense brings anguish of heart. Believe in the Lord, put your faith and trust in Him. With full confidence in Him, we can pass through all the tests and trials of our lives. John, “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose..”
But even before that, Christ Jesus is God’s only means of salvation, deliverance from our sin. Without Him we are eternally lost – without Him we are without God and without hope. If we are offended in the salvation that Christ accomplished on the cross, we are doomed for eternity. We must repent before God; repent of our sin; repent of being offended. The sinner must repent and then trust in this Saviour – trusting in His shed blood and death on our behalf. Put away your unbelief and your offense – come to Christ for forgiveness and eternal life. Repent before God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.