For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. Ps 27:5
I want you to read and re-read the following until the truth of it sinks. In this short article we hope to touch some things that usually remain unsaid when covering the subject matter.
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. Mk 6:3
The above describes the response that the Lord Jesus got when he took his crusade team to his home town. I want you to take note of that fact – they were offended at Jesus. The issue of offense is of prime importance to you and to the Lord Jesus. As a result of their offense, the Lord was greatly hindered in blessing that crowd even though he had the anointing upon him there.
And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. Mk 3:5
I want you to watch that closely. We are told that Jesus looked at the Pharisees with anger. When it says that he looked at them with anger, it means that you could feel the anger in his stare. He did not stop there though he was also grieved because they were hard hearted. Grief by itself is a strong emotion, but when coupled with anger we are dealing with highly volatile emotions. In this passage the Lord combined anger with grief towards the Pharisees.
Jesus, in that same situation, turned to the man in need of a divine touch and gives a word of command that released the man's hand from whatever had held it bound up until that time. This was actually a creative miracle. The degree of healing power available was tremendous. Jesus was grieved and angry at the Pharisees but released compassion towards the oppressed man the anger did not diminish the flow of power. Listen closely.
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Mt 16:23
The rebuke recorded above was spoken to Peter, and just like with the Pharisees, Peter was an offense unto Jesus. Peter was an occasional offense unto Jesus, while the Pharisees were perennial offenses unto Jesus.
I want you to notice that Jesus did say that people were an offense unto him, under certain circumstances, and he responded sometimes with grief and anger.
In Peter's case, it was because Peter wasn't sensitive to spiritual things. He could not savour the things of God, he was flesh ruled and this opened the door for him to be a good instrument that Satan could use to try upset Jesus. In the case of the Pharisees Jesus was grieved and angry because of their hard hearts. They were preventing the sick and oppressed from receiving the mercy of God. In either case Jesus was not neutral, he responded and took a stand. He took a stern stance at the Pharisees.
One of the signs of a healthy emotion is that it is expressed in a controlled and measured manner. Jesus was capable of getting angry and grieving as the cases above proved. We are even told that when he went to the temple and drove out the money changers the money changers deserted their tables and fled. That means that they left their money. Do you know what money means to a money-changer? Clearly there was something about Jesus that convinced the guys he wasn't to be messed with that day.
According to many people though, Jesus was wrong to have become angry, grieved or offended at Peter, the money changers or the Pharisees. It is widely accepted that if you have any of grief, offense or anger in your life God will turn his face away from you and block or suspend every answer to prayer.
If this were true, God should not have allowed Jesus perform a miracle while he was angry at the Pharisees and grieved at their hardness of heart. According to God's word Jesus went right ahead in that same atmosphere and worked a miracle.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Mt 18:6,7
The warning above is not spoken to the little ones, but to those that cause them to get offended.
Now, I don't know if you have noticed it, it seems that the Lord Jesus takes it for granted that the little ones would get offended. He admits the fact that the children are offended and then goes ahead to give an unpopular verdict when he decides to give his judgement. He is silent on the offended children, but supremely clear on the responsibility of the one who caused the offense. In our day, we would come down heavy upon the one who is offended and say "You shouldn't be offended"– not so?
Usually the offended party would be told that he has put himself in a place where he cannot receive help from God until he clears away the offense that he feels. In other words we take the stand that the offended one, rather than the one that caused the offense, has hanged a millstone about his own neck and has effectively drowned himself!
Jesus takes a different stand. He comes down hard on the one causing offense. It is amazing how we concentrate all our judgement and “correction” on the one who is offended and then leave the initiator of the offense to stroll around calmly! Jesus says “woe unto the man by whom the offence cometh”, we say “woe unto him that is offended” - do you catch that?
The strange thing is that in our day many will assure Jesus that his approach with the money-changers was faulty, and that since he is angry and grieved he should calm down as the establishment was there before him and will be there long after he has gone. They will sort out his “anger” issues and leave the money-changers in tact.
The fact is that offences will come. People are bound to cause us to get offended and you have to realise that humans have a capacity to respond in such circumstances. There are situations in this messed up world that cause people much grief. We have multiplied instances of hearts that feel betrayed, hurt and violated. It does take time for the human soul to climb out of these dark holes.
In the spirit realm things happen instantaneously, but not so in the soul realm or in the physical. Climbing out from the hold of grief and offenses will take time.
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me Mt 11:6
There is a blessedness that flows from not being offended at Jesus. You have to realise that there is a difference between being offended at others and being offended at Jesus. You do understand that I am neither an advocate nor a sponsor of getting offended at others, but the truth is that when the bible speaks about not getting offended it is in the majority of the cases talking about not getting offended at the Lord.
Satan's ultimate strategy is to get you offended at the Lord.
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. Mk 4:17
When you take a word-stand it seems that all hell breaks loose around you. Satan tries to whip up affliction or persecution against you. His real aim is to get you to abandon your word-stand. When this happens Satan aims to steal away the revelation of the word. He uses two tools : afflictions and persecutions.
It is strange that when a Christian is going through emotionally draining relationships, that take them to the gates of hell so to speak, that fellow Christians say that if the troubled Christian has any offense God will not respond to him at all. There is an offense that a Christian must avoid at all cost and by all means, it is offense at Christ. This is the offense that the New Testament majors on.
As we increase our interactions with others we will face multiplied opportunities to get offended or angry at one another. There are situations in which the Lord Jesus got angry at people and even looked at them with anger. He was not violating the word when he did that!
If you find yourself getting angry over the same type of things that the Lord Jesus got angry and grieved over, you are in good company so I encourage you not to accept any condemnation. God did not forsake Jesus under those circumstances, neither will he forsake you. There is an image that man carries within his being that grieves and gets angry at the hardness of the religious hearts of the Pharisees of this world. God designed man that way.
Some people will tell you that if you get angry and grieved under any circumstance you are in offense and this blocks the flow of faith as a result of which they affirm that God will not hear you. That is tradition and not the word. In reality I would suppose that when you cannot respond in agreement with the emotions of Jesus in certain issues you are in need of help, very fast.
There are many people though, Christians, tongue talking and bible quoting folks who pass through emotional dark holes in life. These expose them to opportunities to get angry, grieving and a whole lot of other emotions. Often they will respond to these opportunities as they are already deflated, disappointed and consumed with a sense of loss. God does not forsake them.
If you have been friends with someone for 40 years and he betrays you, you will feel it hard. You might grieve a little or a lot, you might get offended but it is not the end of the world. God restores your soul as you submit it to him. It will take time, but you can rest in the fact that asides bearing our sin and sicknesses he bore the betrayals too.
The way we come down heavy on the one who is offended reminds of what the psalmist said - Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God.[Ps 3:2]
It wasn't a few people that said the above to David, there were many. Just imagine what they said to his soul. Now, our theology might cause us to forsake certain people when they need us the most, and it might even allow us tell them that there is no help in God. In truth there is always help in God.
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. Mk 6:3
The above describes the response that the Lord Jesus got when he took his crusade team to his home town. I want you to take note of that fact – they were offended at Jesus. The issue of offense is of prime importance to you and to the Lord Jesus. As a result of their offense, the Lord was greatly hindered in blessing that crowd even though he had the anointing upon him there.
And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. Mk 3:5
I want you to watch that closely. We are told that Jesus looked at the Pharisees with anger. When it says that he looked at them with anger, it means that you could feel the anger in his stare. He did not stop there though he was also grieved because they were hard hearted. Grief by itself is a strong emotion, but when coupled with anger we are dealing with highly volatile emotions. In this passage the Lord combined anger with grief towards the Pharisees.
Jesus, in that same situation, turned to the man in need of a divine touch and gives a word of command that released the man's hand from whatever had held it bound up until that time. This was actually a creative miracle. The degree of healing power available was tremendous. Jesus was grieved and angry at the Pharisees but released compassion towards the oppressed man the anger did not diminish the flow of power. Listen closely.
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Mt 16:23
The rebuke recorded above was spoken to Peter, and just like with the Pharisees, Peter was an offense unto Jesus. Peter was an occasional offense unto Jesus, while the Pharisees were perennial offenses unto Jesus.
I want you to notice that Jesus did say that people were an offense unto him, under certain circumstances, and he responded sometimes with grief and anger.
In Peter's case, it was because Peter wasn't sensitive to spiritual things. He could not savour the things of God, he was flesh ruled and this opened the door for him to be a good instrument that Satan could use to try upset Jesus. In the case of the Pharisees Jesus was grieved and angry because of their hard hearts. They were preventing the sick and oppressed from receiving the mercy of God. In either case Jesus was not neutral, he responded and took a stand. He took a stern stance at the Pharisees.
One of the signs of a healthy emotion is that it is expressed in a controlled and measured manner. Jesus was capable of getting angry and grieving as the cases above proved. We are even told that when he went to the temple and drove out the money changers the money changers deserted their tables and fled. That means that they left their money. Do you know what money means to a money-changer? Clearly there was something about Jesus that convinced the guys he wasn't to be messed with that day.
According to many people though, Jesus was wrong to have become angry, grieved or offended at Peter, the money changers or the Pharisees. It is widely accepted that if you have any of grief, offense or anger in your life God will turn his face away from you and block or suspend every answer to prayer.
If this were true, God should not have allowed Jesus perform a miracle while he was angry at the Pharisees and grieved at their hardness of heart. According to God's word Jesus went right ahead in that same atmosphere and worked a miracle.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Mt 18:6,7
The warning above is not spoken to the little ones, but to those that cause them to get offended.
Now, I don't know if you have noticed it, it seems that the Lord Jesus takes it for granted that the little ones would get offended. He admits the fact that the children are offended and then goes ahead to give an unpopular verdict when he decides to give his judgement. He is silent on the offended children, but supremely clear on the responsibility of the one who caused the offense. In our day, we would come down heavy upon the one who is offended and say "You shouldn't be offended"– not so?
Usually the offended party would be told that he has put himself in a place where he cannot receive help from God until he clears away the offense that he feels. In other words we take the stand that the offended one, rather than the one that caused the offense, has hanged a millstone about his own neck and has effectively drowned himself!
Jesus takes a different stand. He comes down hard on the one causing offense. It is amazing how we concentrate all our judgement and “correction” on the one who is offended and then leave the initiator of the offense to stroll around calmly! Jesus says “woe unto the man by whom the offence cometh”, we say “woe unto him that is offended” - do you catch that?
The strange thing is that in our day many will assure Jesus that his approach with the money-changers was faulty, and that since he is angry and grieved he should calm down as the establishment was there before him and will be there long after he has gone. They will sort out his “anger” issues and leave the money-changers in tact.
The fact is that offences will come. People are bound to cause us to get offended and you have to realise that humans have a capacity to respond in such circumstances. There are situations in this messed up world that cause people much grief. We have multiplied instances of hearts that feel betrayed, hurt and violated. It does take time for the human soul to climb out of these dark holes.
In the spirit realm things happen instantaneously, but not so in the soul realm or in the physical. Climbing out from the hold of grief and offenses will take time.
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me Mt 11:6
There is a blessedness that flows from not being offended at Jesus. You have to realise that there is a difference between being offended at others and being offended at Jesus. You do understand that I am neither an advocate nor a sponsor of getting offended at others, but the truth is that when the bible speaks about not getting offended it is in the majority of the cases talking about not getting offended at the Lord.
Satan's ultimate strategy is to get you offended at the Lord.
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. Mk 4:17
When you take a word-stand it seems that all hell breaks loose around you. Satan tries to whip up affliction or persecution against you. His real aim is to get you to abandon your word-stand. When this happens Satan aims to steal away the revelation of the word. He uses two tools : afflictions and persecutions.
It is strange that when a Christian is going through emotionally draining relationships, that take them to the gates of hell so to speak, that fellow Christians say that if the troubled Christian has any offense God will not respond to him at all. There is an offense that a Christian must avoid at all cost and by all means, it is offense at Christ. This is the offense that the New Testament majors on.
As we increase our interactions with others we will face multiplied opportunities to get offended or angry at one another. There are situations in which the Lord Jesus got angry at people and even looked at them with anger. He was not violating the word when he did that!
If you find yourself getting angry over the same type of things that the Lord Jesus got angry and grieved over, you are in good company so I encourage you not to accept any condemnation. God did not forsake Jesus under those circumstances, neither will he forsake you. There is an image that man carries within his being that grieves and gets angry at the hardness of the religious hearts of the Pharisees of this world. God designed man that way.
Some people will tell you that if you get angry and grieved under any circumstance you are in offense and this blocks the flow of faith as a result of which they affirm that God will not hear you. That is tradition and not the word. In reality I would suppose that when you cannot respond in agreement with the emotions of Jesus in certain issues you are in need of help, very fast.
There are many people though, Christians, tongue talking and bible quoting folks who pass through emotional dark holes in life. These expose them to opportunities to get angry, grieving and a whole lot of other emotions. Often they will respond to these opportunities as they are already deflated, disappointed and consumed with a sense of loss. God does not forsake them.
If you have been friends with someone for 40 years and he betrays you, you will feel it hard. You might grieve a little or a lot, you might get offended but it is not the end of the world. God restores your soul as you submit it to him. It will take time, but you can rest in the fact that asides bearing our sin and sicknesses he bore the betrayals too.
The way we come down heavy on the one who is offended reminds of what the psalmist said - Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God.[Ps 3:2]
It wasn't a few people that said the above to David, there were many. Just imagine what they said to his soul. Now, our theology might cause us to forsake certain people when they need us the most, and it might even allow us tell them that there is no help in God. In truth there is always help in God.
... to be continued
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