Offended

February 25, 2021

Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew 15:12-14).

The parallel passage to this text is found in Mark 7:17. After confronting the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus and the disciples went into a house in Capernaum to get away from the crowds and the elders. The text doesn’t say, but the house most likely belonged to Peter. It was there the disciples voiced their concern over Jesus’ response to the elders.

The word ‘offend’ means ‘to stumble’. To offend someone is to cause them to ‘stumble’, to ‘turn against you’, to be ‘shocked’ and angered. Not only did Jesus disagree with the Scribes and Pharisees, He publicly rebuked and humiliated them. The disciples believed Jesus was a bit out of line with them, but Jesus simply exposed their religious hypocrisy with spiritual truth. They were in the wrong, He was in the right.

Should we be so bold today to expose Satan’s lies and the religious hypocrisy of others with the truth of God’s Word? Our culture says NO! Live and let live, be tolerant of others and their belief system, let a person determine his own truth. Well, if we are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, if the goal of God’s will is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, “How Should We Then Live?” (to quote Francis Schaeffer). Is it better to offend those who are spiritually blind by exposing them to God’s truth so that they may be saved, or is it better to leave them in their spiritual blindness so they will be condemned forever in hell? Jesus is clear on the matter.

People who live in spiritual and moral blindness do not want to be exposed to the truth of God’s Word. Jesus said (John 3:19-21) And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. Knowing this, it should be our desire and practice to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone, giving them an opportunity to come to the light of Christ and be saved. The alternative will result in a horror beyond imagination for that soul.

“Lord Jesus, keep me faithful in telling others about You and the eternal life You offer to all who will repent of sin and believe, trusting in You for salvation. May we not be afraid to speak to others of their soul’s salvation. Remind us that to be lost in sin is to be damned forever in hell, and that is no place we would want anyone to experience. To Your honor and glory I ask, Amen.”

Pastor

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