Matt 11:1-6
Don’t Walk Away

Luke 7:21 And in that same hour he cured many
of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil
spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave
sight.

Would you note the word in verse 6 "offended." The word means
tripped, caused to stumble, by extension enticed to sin, to apostasy,
or to God’s displeasure.  The very word insinuates that the person was
near God at one time, but something happened that caused them to
walk away, to trip, to stumble.

Consider that Jesus was not addressing this statement to a lost
person here. The conversation centered around John the Baptist. John
was not an unbeliever. John was not a God-doubter. John was not a
spiritual by-stander. In fact, Jesus made it clear that John was the
exact opposite.
    1. \\#9\\ John was a prophet of God—and more.
    2. \\#10\\ John was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
    3. \\#11\\ John was among the greatest men ever born of women—
        and that was because of his faith and service to God.

Yet, being in prison for so long and waiting for Jesus to do
something to manifest Himself as God and King had caused some doubt
on John’s part. Jesus warned John not to become offended. So when
Jesus spoke about being offended, the remark was not directed to the
non-believer but the believer. However, and this statement may shock
some of you, not every believer is a Christian.  I do not mean to
say this was so of John, but it is true of some.

I spoke to a man this week—a good man by most people’s
standards—about salvation and in doing so, I was attempting to help
him see where he stood before the Lord. This man attended a "church"
growing up; he was raised around prayer, around Bible reading, with
Bible teaching. When I asked him of his relationship to Jesus, his
answer was, "I believe in God. I believe in Jesus." I responded, that
is good, but salvation is not just about believing. It is also about
surrendering to Jesus. Before I could get anything else out of my
mouth, he jumped in. "Now, I am not surrendered to Jesus. No. I am
not surrendered to Him." And to prove it, he gave me an example of
some of the things he was doing. Then he said, "But I’m not going to
lie to you, I am not going to surrender to Him. I’m…" doing this…
"and I’m not going to stop."

That response told me what I needed to know. He is a believer, but he
is not a Christian and at this point, he is not interested in
becoming a Christian. Why? Because he wants to sin. He would rather
have sin than Jesus.

Many people are like this man.  They stand in the Valley of Decision,
or maybe it’s the Valley of Indecision.  Although they believe in
Jesus, something has offended them and they have walked away from
Jesus—maybe forever.

Let’s consider Jesus’ statement this morning.

I. How can one be "offended" at Jesus?
    A. Those of us who know Jesus wonder at that thought. Jesus is
        all that is Good, Holy, Right, and Just. How could anyone be
        offended at that?
    B. Let’s consider some possibilities and let’s start at John the
        Baptist’s prospective.
        1. Jesus’ delay has offended some.
            a. I can see how Jesus’ delaying might offend John.
                (1) John was stuck in jail waiting on Jesus to
                     assume the throne.
                (2) In fact, he died in jail, being beheaded for
                     his preaching.
                (3) That could have easily been remedied  by Jesus
                     demonstrating who the true King of Israel and
                     the whole planet was!
            b. In fact, Jesus’ delaying could and did offended
                many who knew about Jesus.
                (1) The nation of Israel had been promised a King
                     since at least the days of Isaiah and one could
                     argue that they had looked for one since the
                     days of Numbers and Deuteronomy.
                     (a) In fact, Jesus’ refusal to step forward and
                          prove Himself to be their Messiah was one
                          of the things that frustrated them the
                          most.
                     (b) Jesus’ delaying had a part in frustrating
                          the Jewish leaders.

John 10:24  Then came the Jews round about him,
and said unto him, How long dost thou make us
to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

                (2) Then again, Israel had waited for a long time to
                     be the blessing that God had promised them to
                     one day be.

Ge 12:3 …and in thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed.

                     (a) That promise was made to Abraham and it had
                          yet to be fulfilled, around 2,000 years!
                     (b) Now Jesus was here, but He was delaying,
                          not assuming the throne, not establishing
                          His kingdom, not setting Israel free.
                (3) I am not so sure that Judas was not offended by
                     Jesus’ delay.
                     (a) For 3 to 3 1/2 years, Judas followed Jesus,
                          expecting that at some point, He would
                          manifest Himself.
                     (b) Then, it appeared to happen.  Jesus made His
                          entry into Jerusalem all of the city came
                          out, throwing their coats and palm branches
                          on the ground for Him to walk upon and
                          shouting, "God save us!"
                     (c) And what did Jesus do?  He walked into the
                          temple and left, going back to Bethany.
                     (d) Judas might have figured that if Jesus was
                          not going to take the throne on that day,
                          He never would.
                     (e) Judas tripped, stumbled, on that day.  He
                          was offended.
            c. Some today have been offended at Jesus’ delaying.
                (1) They went to church and expected God to manifest
                     Himself to them in some way or another.
                     (a) Most wanted Him to give them something.
                     (b) Maybe some wanted a healing or a help of
                          some kind.
                     (c) Some might have wanted their estimate of
                          justice.
                (2) They thought they were being patient when they
                     gave God a time limit to prove Himself and He
                     did not.
                (3) So they were offended and went away.
            d. In one way or another, we are all waiting on Jesus.
                (1) We all have prayers we are waiting on Jesus to
                     answer.
                (2) We all have people we want to see saved.
                (3) We are all waiting on Jesus to return.
            e. Some have indeed been offended by Jesus’ delay.
        2. Jesus’ meekness offended some.

Matt 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of
me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls.

            a. Again, I see how John the Baptist might have stumbled
                at this.
                (1) After all, One who could heal so many, surely He
                     could put a few curses on people.
                (2) A little curse on King Herod, the man who had
                     John in shackled, would certainly go a long way
                     in showing him who the real Boss was.
                (3) But Jesus did nothing like that.  Jesus came
                     more as a Servant than a Savior, Soldier, or
                     Sovereign.
            b. Other of the disciples were, at the least, put off by
                Jesus’ meekness.
                (1) \\#Luke 9:54\\ James and John, nicknamed the Sons
                     of Thunder, thought Jesus should call fire down
                     from heaven to destroy the Samaritans for the
                     way they had treated them, but Jesus rebuked
                     them.
                (2) When in \\#Luke 22:36\\, Peter heard Jesus say
                     something about getting a sword, he must have
                     thought Jesus was going to go militant.
                     (a) By \\#Luke 22:38\\, he had found two.
                     (b) And I don’t think anyone more surprised than
                          Peter when he pulled one of those swords to
                          stop Jesus’ arrest and Jesus Himself
                          stopped him, healed the man whom Peter had
                          cut, and told him to put his sword away.
                          \\#Luke 22:50-51, Matt 26:52\\.
                (3) It appears that even Jesus’ critics thought He
                     was too passive.  Hanging on the cross, they
                     daunted Him, "If thou be the Son of God, come
                     down off that cross!"
            c. And to this day, Jesus still walks in meekness.
                (1) How many of His children have been persecuted—
                     beaten, bullied, robbed, raped?  How many have
                     been martyred?
                (2) No doubt some thought, hoped, prayed, that Jesus
                     would rise up on their behalf.
                (3) I am certain that Jesus’ meekness has offended
                     many who for a time followed Him.
            d. And while I know many do not want to hear it, as
                persecutions arise in this line, some are going to
                want to literally fight for the cause of Jesus, and
                alas, the meekness of Jesus will offend them.
        3. The sacrifices required has offended some.

Mt 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me.

            a. Again, I can see where John might have been offended
                by this.
            b. John had sacrificed a lot.
                (1) John had separated himself from the world in ways
                     most of us would never think of doing.
                     (a) Living in the wilderness
                     (b) Wearing camel hair instead of cloth
                     (c) Eating locust and honey
                (2) Then he had given himself to preaching.
                     (a) There is a cost to be a preacher of the
                          truth.
                     (b) To tell people the truth about their sin?
                          Not easy.
                           i. That is why John was in jail.
                          ii. He told the king that he was committing
                               adultery.
                         iii. And like it usually goes, as mad as it
                               made the king, it made his woman even
                               madder!  She will ultimately demand
                               that the king behead John the Baptist
                               and he will.
                     (c) And so there he sits in prison.  Why?  For
                          preaching the truth.
            c. So God had asked a lot of John and John had given it;
                but not all do.
            d. Side note: Some think it is just easier for some
                to sacrifice for Jesus than it is for others.
                (1) The ones who think that are the ones who will not
                     sacrifice.  That’s how they justify it.  "It’s
                     just easier for them."
                (2) If you think I am one and that it was just easy
                     for me, you are wrong.
                     (a) I had plans for my life just like you do.
                     (b) I wanted to be an electrician, to one day
                          have my own business, to have money, to have
                          some things.
                     (c) Kathy and I designed our own house before we
                          even married.  All she ever asked was that
                          we have a nice yard and white picked fence.
                          She has never had either.
                     (d) I am not saying that to ask for pity.
                     (e) Compared to what we have seen others
                          sacrifice for Jesus, our sacrifice has been
                          small.
                     (f) I am saying it to help you understand.  It
                          is called "sacrifice" for a reason.
                    (g) It’s not the person that makes the
                         sacrificing easy.  It is the sacrificing
                         that makes the person.
            d. And many are they who have walked away from Jesus
                because they were offended at what they would have to
                give up to follow Him.
            e. Let me tell you one thing that might make it easier
                for you to not be offended.  Give it all up to Jesus
                to start with.  Too many wrestle about giving up one
                thing—and it is heart wrenching.  Then, when they
                have given up that one thing, they find God dealing
                with them about giving up something else.  Just give
                it all up for Jesus to start with and you won’t have
                to deal be dealing with this offense every day.
        4. Confusion has offended some.

John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples
went back, and walked no more with him.

            a. This isn’t a near-the-cross Bible verse.  We are only
                at John 6.
            b. Why are they going back?  They have been offended at
                Jesus’ teaching.  They did not understand it so they
                "walked no more with him."  They walked away.
            c. This has been common in all generations.
                (1) What is really strange is that most people who
                     walk away from Christ do not even take the time
                     to read the Bible to see what it is about and
                     what it really says.
                (2) I am amazed at how many people are offended at a
                     Book they never read.
        5. Shame has offended some.
            a. I am definitely NOT talking about John the Baptist
                now.
            b. But Jesus knew some would be shamed of Him.

Mr 8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of
me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful
generation; of him also shall the Son of man be
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels.

            c. A lot of people are walking away from Jesus—even as I
                speak—because if they stand with Jesus, they will be
                thought of as religious or worse, a religious
                fanatic.
            d. How many lines have been drawn on Bible teachings?
                abortion, adultery, sex identification, creation—
                just to name a few.

II. What happens if one is offended by Jesus?
    A. There are many possible responses.
        1. John the Baptist began to doubt if Jesus were really the
            Messiah!

Matt 11:3  And said unto him, Art thou he that
should come, or do we look for another?

            a. Jesus did not rebuke John.  He encouraged him.
            b. \\#Matt 11:4-5\\ He performed miracles and sent the
                messengers back to tell John what they had seen.
            c. Still, doubt arose in this great servant of God.
        2. Peter ran and later denied Jesus.
        3. Judas betrayed Jesus, selling Him for 30 pieces of silver.
        4. In \\#John 6:66\\, the people just walked away from Jesus.
        5. Some have become agnostics, atheists, worshipers of false
            gods, persecutors of the saved, and many others.
    B. One thing is for certain.  Those who are offended stumble,
        trip, turn away from Jesus.
        1. That is what the word "offended" means.
        2. They walk away LOST.  Not because they had salvation and
            lost it but because they were believers who never
            surrendered.
        3. The day is here when every believer must decide whether
            they will surrender to Jesus or not.
        4. Being offended and walking away, that is the wrong road.

III. What happens to the one who is not offended?
    A. Jesus told us that in the verse.

Matt 11:6  And blessed is he, whosoever shall not
be offended in me.

    B. They are blessed.
        1. Blessed means "Approved and rewarded by God."
        2. John the Baptist was not offended so God approved him,
            then rewarded him for all eternity.

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