The religious hierarchy in Jesus' day was consistently
offended at his speech because He didn't "beat around the bush" but
preached plainly and with authority. He preached against sin and hypocrisy, and
preached the kingdom of God, His mercy toward them who would give up their sin,
take up their cross and follow Him. This message has not changed. Even the
Apostle Paul said of himself that he used "great plainness of speech (2
Cor. 3:12)." The only people who refused to hear the gospel were those
who, 1) loved darkness rather than light, enjoyed their sin and wanted to stay
in it, or 2) loved the praise of men more than the praise of god, or 3) found
it inconvenient at the moment, or 4) were so steeped in their own tradition
that they could not see their way to the truth that He taught.
When Jesus taught about the coming end of days he made an
interesting statement. "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray
one another, and shall hate one another (Matthew 24:10)." Is there
something about the last days that will cause people to be easily offended? I
wonder if it has anything to do with what the apostle Paul said would be
"Perilous times" when "men shall be lovers of their own selves …
boasters, proud … unthankful … false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded … (2 Timothy 3:2-4).” It is
certainly interesting how Jesus chose his words, “and many shall be offended!”
Notice for a moment that it does not say “and many shall offend” which clearly
tells us the problem of which He was speaking was that people would be overly
sensitive. Surely if people will be offended there will by the very nature of
the incident be offenders, however Jesus seemed to be less alarmed by this than
He was the propensity to be easily offended.
So what are we as Christians supposed to take from this
important passage? Surely we should not purposely be offensive, but should we
then sidestep the gospel to assuage the sensitivity of others? Should we hide
the ability of those who are hurting to receive deliverance, restoration salvation
and healing because we may hurt their feelings? How far should we go to be sensitive,
and how much of the truth should we leave out “just in case?” Obviously we are
taught to be wise as serpents and harmless as a dove, but is that passage
telling us to walk on egg shells wherever we go? And if so, how far should we
take this? Should our ministers not preach against sin? Or is it acceptable to
follow the example set by our Lord and by the first Apostle to the gentiles?
The Psalmist tells us “Great peace have they which love thy
law: and nothing shall offend them.” Certainly if we love God and His Word we
will not have to worry about being part of that crowd who is always so easily
offended. If we are easily offended, we know the remedy; fall in love with God
and His word until nothing offends us. This scripture gives us the litmus test,
the measuring stick and the solution all in one. This will save us from
performing the works of those are offended as well; the backbiting, the gossiping,
the anger, the malice, the evil thoughts, etc. Once we are free from this, we
can experience the peace that God intends for us to live in, and truly minister
to others.
