Why is Jesus so Offensive?
Jesus said, Matthew 11:6, “blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”
From prison John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was “the One who is to come”. In other words, “are you the Christ?”
Instead of simply saying, “tell John that I am”; Jesus said:
“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. (Matthew 11:4-5)
Based on this list, why are people offended by Jesus?
After all, in addition to this, He fed the hungry, He set the demon processed, and demon-oppressed free; so, what is so offensive?
Jesus gave a very short and concise message back to John, but the reality is, look at what the Apostle John wrote of all that Jesus did:
John 21:25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
The fact is, all that Jesus did was done to show His authority. His authority over disease, afflictions, the wind, the sea, the demonic, and even death.
The hungry weren’t offended by being fed, the blind weren’t offended by being given sight, the deaf by hearing, the lame to be able to walk, and certainly not the dead from being given back life. So, why did Jesus have to point out, “blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”
The offense is in what He said, not what He did.
Consider this: If a mad man ran around shouting “believe in me or you are going to hell!’; people would wag their head and say, “what a nut.” A seemingly sensible man could make the same claim and we would logically ask, “by what authority can you say this?”
In Jesus case, He showed His authority over all things. He “built” a track record of authority with the people before He spoke Truth. That is why He did all that He did, so when He spoke Truth, they would know of His authority.
In addition, when He did speak, He spoke in such a way that the people recognized that He was different:
Matthew 7:29 for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
If the offense is not in what He did, but instead, in what He said, what did He say that was so offensive?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus is not “a way”, as in one of many. He is not “a truth”, as in one of many. He is the ONLY WAY, His Word is the ONLY TRUTH. Therein lies the offense! He didn’t say this as a mad man, He didn’t say this as one without a track record of authority, He said this as One who has authority and a track record to prove it.
The question isn’t, “did Jesus really say this?” – He did. The question isn’t, “does Jesus have the authority to say this?” – He does. The question is, do you believe it, or are you offended by it?
The reality is, it is one or the other. It is not logical for anyone to conclude, “I am not offended by it, I just don’t believe it.” After all, you can ignore a mad man, you can discredit one that hasn’t shown authority, but the One with authority over all has told you, “You cannot get to Heaven in any way, but through Me. In fact, apart from Me, you will spend an eternity in hell because you will die without having had your sin debt paid.”
Scripture to Support This Post
Matthew 8:2-3 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:8-10 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.
Matthew 9:28-29 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
Matthew 8:27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Matthew 9:5-6 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—”Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 8:21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
Matthew 11:2-6 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Spot on bro- nice work!
Great commentary Cullman!
Thank you for the time & mental labor you spend writing these meditations! Powerful!!! Love JimBo
Amen! HALLELUJAH!!!! Love JimBo