Don’t Be Offended

Well, good morning, church. Will you please turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 7, this morning, be examining verses 18 -35.

Luke chapter 7, starting verse 18, when you have that, please do stand for the reading of God's Word.

Again, Luke chapter 7, starting verse 18, says this, the disciples of John reported to all these things to him, and John, calling to his disciples, to him, sent them to the

Lord, saying, Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? When the men had come to him, they said,

John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?

In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.

He answered them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them, and blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John.

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in king's courts.

What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messengers. Messengers before your face who will prepare your way before you.

I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John, yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

When all the people heard this, the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with baptism of John, but the

Pharisees and lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

To what then shall I compare the people of this generation and what are they like? They're like children sitting in the marketplace and then calling to one another.

We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang dirge and you did not weep. For John the

Baptist has come eating no bread, drinking no wine, and you say he has a demon. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, look at him, a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

Yet, wisdom is justified by all her children. This is the word of the

Lord. You may be seated. Let us pray.

Bountiful Lord Jesus, we do come before you thankful for the word that you've bestowed and put before us.

We pray, God, that you, by means of the eternal Spirit, lead us now into all truth, to edify us, to build us up in our most holy and precious faith, that we would all come together in the unity of the faith in Jesus Christ, to whom be glory both now and forevermore.

And we receive this word of thanksgiving and also to take heed of the warning, lest we become offended and fall into Satan's trap.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Every week as we examine

Luke's gospel, we learn more and more about the narrative, the circumstances surrounding Christ's life and ministry.

Here in this junction of Luke's gospel, we see that he's preached this great sermon of the mount, he's now began the acts and works of deliverance, of healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, raising the dead even.

And with all these reports surrounding Jesus, people are becoming anxious and they're asking, who really is this man?

Just like in today's world, Jesus is no stranger to the people of this nation.

He's no stranger to the people of this world. In fact, all great religions and faiths say something of Christ, whether you speak to those who are

Muslims, who we will soon in this place of worship maybe even have some Muslims here during one of the

Areopagus forums, who believe and esteem Jesus to be a great teacher, to be even the

Messiah according to their own theology. You have also the Jews who may some even accept that He was a teacher of the law, a rabbi of sorts.

You have those in the Hindu religion who may even say, yes, Jesus was indeed one who was sent from God, maybe indeed

He was even a God, one of many. You have in all great religions of the world some who have ideas, notions of Christ, but when it comes down to it, who really is this

Jesus who does the miraculous, who touches the dead and they rise, who touches the eyes of the blind and they see?

Who is this Christ? Well, this is the same question that even those of great report had in relation to Jesus.

In verse 18, it again says, the disciples of John, this is John the Baptist, reported all these things to him and John calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the

Lord saying, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?

This is a fascinating set of circumstances here. John the Baptist, the man who's related to Christ, the man who baptized

Christ, asking the question, are you the guy? Are you the one that we're looking for?

Are you the one that we're waiting for? Is it you or shall we look, anticipate another?

Jesus indeed then goes on to demonstrate that He is the one that was promised, but what comes as a great question for myself is this, what was lacking in John's understanding?

Did he not know that he was the one who baptized them? I mean, when he saw

Jesus in the wilderness coming to him, approaching him to be baptized, he confessed these great words, behold the

Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. How then can he go then and ask the question, is it really you?

Are you the guy? I don't think I have a clear answer to that, but what it makes me think is that even men of great rapport, such as John the

Baptist, may at times because of the circumstances of life begin to doubt, begin to question, understand that John was under immense pressure, under immense political pressure by his opponents.

He will later go on, as we will soon read, to be murdered by his political opponent, by Herod.

And even under such great stress, though he saw the Lamb of God, though he baptized the man of righteousness, yet he asked the question, is it you?

Are we sure we've got the guy? And Jesus answers in verse 20, and what it says in verse 20,

John the Baptist has sent us to you saying, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? In verse 21, in that hour he, that is

Christ, healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.

What evidence did Jesus give that he was the promised one?

I want you to write this in your notes if you're following along. He healed and cast out demons.

Even more impressively, as we will later go on to read in verse 22, which says this, he answered them and said to them, go and tell

John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, 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.

Not only does Jesus heal the sick, not only does he open the eyes of the blind, not only does he raise the dead, showing that he has authority, mastery over the elements of this world.

He also cast out demons, demonstrating that he has authority even over the spiritual realm, and he preached the good news of salvation.

He is fulfilling every metric necessary to demonstrate that he is truly the

Messiah. As we learned last week, one of the great things that we learned in the earthly life and ministry of Jesus is that all that he is doing in relation to his healing efforts, raising the dead, opening the eyes of the blind, casting out demons, is a microcosm of what he will eventually do on a grand scale.

Yes, these are all things that he actually did in space and time, in history, but he will eventually do it all to the ends of the earth, brothers and sisters.

We have an eschatological expectation in our Christ that he shall return, he shall come again in glory, and in his coming again, he shall put an end to all sickness, as it is prophesied in Isaiah 34, that no resident will say,

I am sick. There'll be no more sickness in this new world, there'll be no more diseases, blindness, lameness, skin conditions, conditions of all sorts, of all kinds, all things marked and mired by the fall shall be done away with through Christ at his glorious coming.

He will then completely demolish all of his opponents, the spiritual opponents, the demons that contrive against God's people and the kingdom of God.

He shall put an end to Satan and his dominion. He shall put an end to the wickedness of man. He'll usher in a new heavens and a new earth.

These are all things that Christ will do, but he's accomplishing it through the preaching of the good news.

You see, the good news is the architect, it's the high chief of all things concerning the earthly ministry of Jesus.

Jesus is preaching this good news, it's holding all these things together. So if he just healed the sick, that wouldn't be sufficient, because what must he do to fulfill all righteousness according to Isaiah 40?

He'll preach good news to the poor, he'll declare glad tithings to the people of God.

So not only must he heal the sick, he must also cast out demons, he must also raise the dead, but even more gloriously, he must preach the good news of the kingdom of God.

This gospel, this good news that Jesus preached is the same good news that we preach unto you today, and it is because of this that Jesus can say that he is indeed the promised one.

You see, again, John the Baptist expresses doubt as to whether Jesus was this promised one to come. As godly and as spiritual as John was, even he had wrong expectations about what the

Messiah would accomplish in his first advent. Our expectations, beloved, must be biblical.

Let us beware not to put expectations upon Christ that are foreign to Scripture, as even in the times of Jesus, many had expectations that went unrealized.

For instance, later on, even after the glorious resurrection of Christ, they ask him in Acts 1, the resurrected

Christ, will you now restore the kingdom to Israel? That was their expectation. Their expectation is, okay,

Christ is risen from the dead, now we take over the world. And Jesus says, yes, that's what we're going to do, but not the way you think.

We're going to take over the world, not by military might, not by power, nor by strength of man, but by his

Spirit. And then comes the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon the people of God in Pentecost.

And that's how the Christians end up turning the world upside down, is through the ministry of the

Spirit. You see, they had wrong expectations, similarly as John may have had wrong expectations in regard to the

Messiah, because he saw the Messiah, he baptized the Messiah, he heard of the Messiah, and yet he asked the question, are you the guy?

Indeed, Jesus was the guy. He was the man to whom we were to look forward to. And he demonstrates it by his miraculous works, but he does so also by the preaching of the good news.

Again, our expectations must be biblical. You see, Jesus doesn't give a straight yes or no answer to John's question.

Rather, he demonstrates by his actions that he was operating in the Spirit of God and performing the kingdom blessings foretold in the

Old Testament. Again, all the things that Jesus was accomplishing was a microcosm of the world to come.

But even in this saying, Jesus closes his thought by, in verse 23, by saying these words, and blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

What an interesting statement. Why is it so interesting? Well, beloved, do we not believe and confess that Jesus was the most perfect person to ever live?

Without sin, without blemish, in every way perfect, and as a result of his perfected person and work, he has the moral authority to call sinners to repentance.

And the Bible says and teaches this about Christ, that he shall stand on that last day as the judge of all the earth, and that is precisely why he is so offensive, is because he's perfect and we're not, is because he is truly

God and we're not. Jesus said, blessed is the one who is not offended.

I want you to write this in your notes, please. Jesus said, blessed is the one who is not offended by him.

Today's message is, don't be offended. Now, in today's culture, in today's modern world, being offended is like an

Olympic sport. Everybody wants to get in on it. Everybody wants to be offended by something because offense stirs up in the heart a sense of indignation and righteousness.

How dare you not do X, Y, Z? How dare you not call me by my personal pronouns?

How dare you not do this for me? Because we feel this right, this indignation to call other people out even though we're not perfect.

You see, Jesus, unlike us, unlike anyone who's ever lived, is truly perfect, amen?

He's perfect in every way, without sin, without blemish, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

And yet, He warns John's disciples by saying, blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

Jesus recognizes by what He is accomplishing, by raising the dead, healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, and even attacking the powers and principalities of this wicked age, that people will be offended.

It's just a natural outcome. Sinners are often offended by holiness.

Sinners are often offended by a call to righteousness.

It is man's natural state and inclination, which is again why precisely

Jesus is so offensive. Of this Jesus, the

Apostle Peter in 1 Peter, if you want to turn there for a moment, writes something astonishing of great value concerning this

Christ in 1 Peter chapter 2, quoting from the

Old Testament, in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 6, Peter writes this, for it stands in Scripture, behold,

I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

So this stone, this precious stone from Zion, this cornerstone is a person, and whoever believes in him shall not be put to shame.

So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, notice what it says, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

They stumble, Peter says, because they disobeyed the Word as they were destined to do.

This marvelous cornerstone, this rock of offense, is none other than the

Lord Jesus Christ. He is indeed a rock, which he writes this in the notes, he is the rock of offense and a stumbling block.

Satan will use this rock of offense to bait you to resent

Jesus and the things of God. Satan will often expose your wrong expectations that you have in order to make you feel that God either doesn't love you or he doesn't care for you.

Jesus is indeed that rock of offense, and what is so interesting about this rock of offense is that there's a blessing for those who believe.

Jesus says, blessed is the one who is not offended. Why? Because to those who are not offended, it says, they who believe in him will not be put to shame.

Shame is a powerful human emotion. Shame is a powerful emotion that exists.

We often feel shamed when we do wrong. We often feel shame when we do not meet an expectation.

We often feel shame when we don't measure up, and yet the word from our

Savior is that should we believe upon this precious stone from Zion, we who believe in him will not be put to shame, and this is referring to the ultimate shame because there is a shame that is eternal.

There is an eternal contempt that the Scriptures speak of, which is hell. This is a place of eternal contempt, of eternal shame, where that fire, that shame is never quenched.

It continues on and on, but those who believe in Christ will not be put to that eternal shame.

Rather, they shall be fulfilled and be given a life of purpose, of meaning, even on to eternal life.

But there's also, it says, so the honor is for you who believe instead of shame. The opposite of shame is honor, and there's an honor for the people of God.

There's an honor for those who put their faith in Jesus and do not fall upon him as the rock of offense and the stumbling block.

Because Jesus is indeed offensive. He's offensive.

Now how do I know that as a preacher? I've preached in pretty hostile territories.

I've preached before college students. I've preached before drunkards. I've preached before many different people in many various times, and every single time

Jesus is preached, there's always people who will find a reason to be offended.

And you know what's most offensive about the message of Jesus? It's this, that a holy, perfect, righteous, set -apart

God calls you a sinner to repentance. And why is that so offensive?

It's because sinners love their sin. They love it.

We love our sin. If we did not, it would be so easy then, wouldn't it?

Just to repent, to turn from it. But no, men love wickedness. And we desire it.

We look for it. And that's why this call to repentance is so offensive.

How dare God tell me what to do? How dare he tell me to change from my wicked ways when

I love my wicked ways? They bring me life and joy, and they bring me great pleasure.

And what Christ is calling all people to is to turn from evil, turn from sin, trust in him, and forsake all other things.

It is the vow of vows. It's a covenant of covenants. Christ is beckoning all people to repent, turn away from their former course, and devote themselves entirely to him.

It is the ultimate wedding vow. And there is an offense, isn't it, where someone desires marriage and another person doesn't?

The person who desires marriage says, I want to be in covenant. I want one person for all of life. And that's where I want to come into that relationship, that status.

And those who don't look for that, especially in today's world, they are offended at the thought that just one person for all of life?

Really? Where's the fun in that? Where's the joy in that? They do not see things as God sees them.

God calls us to a life of dedication to him. Therefore, why it is so offensive, why

Jesus, why the gospel, why this good news can indeed be offensive, because God demands exclusive devotion.

He is a jealous God who does not share his glory with another, nor shall he share his glory with even graven images, as the

Scripture says in Isaiah 42 .8. This God calls us to perfect devotion.

Therefore, beloved, blessed is the one indeed who is not offended by this

Jesus. Don't fall into the trap of offense. There's a great book called

The Bait of Satan by John Bavaria. I don't endorse everything he says or teaches, but this particular subject,

I really enjoy his work on this. He talks about the bait of Satan being the bait of offense.

Some people in this world live life just waiting to be offended. Have you ever met people like that?

Oh, I bet you have in this area, in this country. We've met a lot of folks like that. People are just waiting for you to mess up, waiting for you to say the one wrong thing so they can say, well, actually, you know, and they want to interject their point of view, their worldview, whatever it is that they're trying to get at.

And people are just waiting and viewing, especially if you've ever been on social media, you see people are ready on pins and needles to be offended.

And that's such a bait. And the reason why that's such a bait is because it baits us, one, to be in conflict with one another, it baits us into talking and arguing over things that sometimes substantially doesn't even matter, and it baits us into always being able to have something against another person who's made in God's image.

And where this is worse amplified is in the church of Jesus Christ.

When we as fellow image bearers, we as fellow heirs of God's kingdom, when we find reasons to be perpetually offended at one another, we bring into the church a wrong spirit, a wrong expectation, a wrong attitude, and it's harmful to the people of God, and it destroys the people of God, and the perfect fellowship that Christ has called us into through His beloved grace.

And so, beloved, do not fall into the trap of being perpetually offended. If a brother offends you, the

Scripture gives us the antidote to do it, which is to go lovingly to your brother. Not so that you can win an argument, but that you can win your brother.

Some of us are too focused in winning arguments that we forget that we're talking to a human being. We forget that we're to win the person, not always just the argument.

And sometimes, it costs losing the argument to win the person. Brothers and sisters, do not fall into this trap.

As a pastor, I can tell you in various different ministry capacities, I've had people just waiting and ready to point out the preacher's flaws, and of which there are many.

There's many flaws from this preacher and from the other preachers here. We're not perfect. We don't always say everything exactly the way they need to be said.

In the spirit that needs to be said, we're broken, we're fallen too. But what I would expect and what

I call you to, as I would call you to do with any other person here, is to approach one another with grace, with love, with humility.

Therefore, exemplifying the great honor that it is to know Jesus, the great honor that it is to be in Christ today, the great honor it is to be able to be among those people of whom

Christ says, they shall never be put to shame. What a joy that is.

It should be a joy for us to be amongst the people of God, not walking on pins and needles waiting to be offended, but rather that we would consider it a great joy inciting one another to love and good works as the

Scripture says. Therefore, truly having a brotherhood of peace within the

Christian church. Of these things, Satan will constantly, perpetually try to expose our vulnerabilities or weaknesses so that we find reason to be offended.

Sometimes we may not trust the motivations of our pastors or our people, and we have to realize that we often are the ones who are at fault, and we're the ones who need to be examined.

Before we point out the flaw in someone else, which has been kind of the main teaching of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we often have to look inward before we look outward.

And so, friends, continue to examine your own heart, your own walk, so that we can be blameless in the way that we approach our brothers and sisters.

Because God truly does love and care for us. He cares for you.

He loves you. He knows of your plight. He knows of your struggles. Therefore, may we be among those blessed because we're not offended by Jesus or the ministry and the work that He's doing amongst

His people's hearts. In Luke chapter 7 and verse 24, it says this,

When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowd concerning John.

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see?

A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in king's courts.

What did you go out to see? I love how Jesus is bringing out the intention of His heart here in relation to John.

He says, What did you go out to see? You heard of this madman out there in the wilderness preaching and talking about repentance and about the kingdom of God.

What did you go out to see? What were you expecting to see? What were your expectations? He says,

A prophet? Jesus says, Yes, and I tell you, more than a prophet.

Jesus is telling us that this John is indeed a prophet. He is someone of substance.

He is someone of great importance. In fact, He goes on to say in verse 27, This is He of whom it is written, quoting the

Old Testament now, Behold, I send my messengers before your face who have prepared your way before you.

Jesus said that John the Baptist was more than just a prophet.

Why don't you write this in a note? Jesus said that John the Baptist was more than just a prophet.

He identifies him as the very forerunner of Yahweh. You see,

John the Baptist plays an essential function as the announcer, the forerunner of God himself, stepping into human history, to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

It says this in Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, chapter 3, concerning this promised one, concerning the one who would come.

It says in Malachi, chapter 3, verse 1, Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.

And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come into his temple. And the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the

Lord of hosts. This is what is being referenced here by the Lord Jesus Christ, that God would send a messenger to prepare the way before Him.

Yahweh was coming into the world. Jehovah God, the God of Israel, the

God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He was coming into the world, and his forerunner was

John the Baptist. As we've learned in other times before, John the Baptist was indeed the

Elijah that was to come. He was the one who was the one preparing the way for the

Lord, making straight his path. John is also the last prophet of the old covenant system, ushering in the kingdom of God in the new covenant that Jesus establishes.

Jesus is offensive, brothers and sisters, not just because of what he preached, not just because of what he has called us to do with faith and repentance, but he's also offensive because he's

God. The Jews took such offense to this claim of divinity that it is the very reason they later crucify him for blasphemy because he, being a mere man, claimed to be

God. Jesus is offensive, brothers and sisters.

He is indeed a stone of stumbling for those who reject his true life, work, and divinity.

For this very reason, the Jews crucified him for this great blasphemy, which is how they saw it.

Yet concerning this John the Baptist, Jesus says in verse 28, I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John.

Did you catch that, what he just said? Jesus is making an astonishing statement concerning John the

Baptist. He says, among those born of women, none is greater than John. Think of all those who came before him.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel.

John is greater than them all? Than Elijah? This is what

Jesus is saying. John is the forerunner to God coming into the world.

And among those born of women, none is greater than John. Pretty big statement, pretty astonishing statement.

And then he goes on to make another astonishing statement in the same breath. He says, yet the one who is the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Wait a second, wait a second. Okay, John is the greatest person to ever live apart from Christ, and yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God, you and I, is greater than him.

How does that work? In what economy does that make sense? And it only makes sense in the economy of God, where the least, where the most lowliest of sinners in the new covenant arranged by the blood of Jesus Christ can be greater than the greatest prophet who ever lived,

John the Baptist. You see, again, John the Baptist was the final prophet of the

Old Testament. We don't really think of it in those terms because we're reading John in the

New Testament. But the reason we're reading John in the New Testament is because, again, the New Testament had not yet been written.

The New Testament or the new covenant is established by Christ's blood through His perfect sacrifice on the cross, through His resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God the

Father establishes this new covenant according to Hebrews chapter 7, 8, and 9.

And therefore, in the new covenant arrangement, even those who are the least amongst the brothers, a least amongst the people of God, are in the respect higher and more exalted than even

John who represented the old covenant, who represented the

Old Testament. What a privilege then it is, brothers and sisters, to be in the new covenant family of God.

Amen. I want you to write this in the notes. John the

Baptist is the greatest among men, yet he is the least in the kingdom because he is the last of the old covenant system.

Again, we tend to read the Bible from a new covenant stance because we are recipients of this new covenant, but notice the gravity of the change that you see from the

New Testament authors. Take Paul, for instance, when he says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

We read that verse, we like that verse, but I don't think you understand the gravity of that as a people transitioning from the old covenant to the new covenant, and that we are not just merely sprinkled with newness, we're not just made newish, but we are made new creatures completely through regeneration.

Through the new birth, by being born again, Christ gives you a new life, a new start, not simply in the outside, in the flesh, but in the inside, the interior of man, there is something that is fundamentally changed and different through regeneration.

You are a new creation in Christ. And notice what Paul says in that same verse, in verse 17 of 2

Corinthians 5, he says, he's a new creation in Christ. The old is gone, behold, the new has come.

You've heard it said in the old covenant, in the Old Testament, that there is a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness will dwell.

I say to you through Scripture that the new heavens and new earth is beginning now and is inaugurated in the new birth of the

Christian church. The Christian church is the seed of the new world.

The Christian church, through faith in Jesus Christ and regeneration by the Holy Ghost, is indeed the beginning, the firstfruits of the new creation, which is exactly what

Paul refers to Christians as in 1 Corinthians 15, as the firstfruits of the resurrection.

Christ being the firstfruit and we to follow Him. Christians indeed under the new covenant are the beginning of this new world in which righteousness will truly dwell, which is again an offensive message.

You know why the Christian message is also offensive to the world today? Because we as Christians tell the world that death is dead.

You know what we're actually doing when we declare the gospel is we're telling them that death is a lie.

We're telling them that the person who is preaching this good news unto them, that you as a preacher, you will actually die.

You say, wait a second, Pastor, what do you mean? We all die. We're all marked and mired by the fall. We're all going to taste death.

Beloved, have you not heard the Lord Jesus Christ in John 11, He says, though you die, yet shall you what?

Live. Though you die, yet shall you live. Death is not truly death in Christ.

It's only a temporary separation. The Bible teaches us that those who die in Christ go directly, immediately in the presence of the

Lord where we await the eventual resurrection, the reuniting of body, soul, and spirit.

At the last day. But death truly ends in Jesus, which is why, again, when

He returns, it will not be in relation to sin and death, but rather to conquer, rather to make all things new again as He began that work in His first advent through the ministry of regeneration and reconciliation.

Beloved, the new world has started, and it's you and I. It's the church.

So that is why even John the Baptist, the greatest among men, is called the least in the kingdom of God because the new has truly come, and He's making all things new again.

And we are messengers, ambassadors of this new covenant. Now, what did the

Pharisees do with this message that Jesus was proclaiming? Did they accept it, or were they offended by it?

Well, let's read what it says. In verse 29 of Luke 7, when all the people heard this, the tax collectors too, they declared

God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the

Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by Him.

So you have the two classes of people to whom Jesus is speaking and ministering to, those who were sinners who heard the message of repentance through John and were baptized in John's baptism.

Then you had the high class. You had the Pharisees and the lawyers and the Sadducees who heard the message of John yet rejected it, having therefore rejected the purpose of God for themselves by not having been baptized by John the

Baptist. I want you to write this,

Pharisees rejected God's purpose by rejecting God's baptism of repentance.

What did John baptize as a symbol of? Of repentance. And the

Bible says that pride is before a fall. And it's usually pride, not even usually, it is pride that keeps us from repentance.

It's always pride. It is pride which keeps us in a vicious cycle of offense.

Think about it today's culture and world. Why are people so easily offended? It's because they have a higher esteem and view of themselves than they ought to.

That's the truth. What I just said may be offensive, may be offensive, but it's the truth.

It's the truth. We live in a world that celebrates ignorance and despises truth.

Even if you say something that people intrinsically know is true, they'll still hate you for it.

Even though they intrinsically know that it's true. And what they'll usually say is something to disagree.

Well, you just didn't say it right. You just didn't say it nice enough. And granted, maybe we didn't or maybe we did.

All about the intention of the heart. But I would propose, again, sinners love wickedness and hate righteousness.

Men have a high view of themselves, therefore they find a reason in everything to be offended because they love the sin of pride.

And it's pride, again, that keeps us from accepting God's purpose of faith and repentance.

It's pride that keeps us from true life and repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And it's pride that keeps us in this vicious cycle of constantly being offended.

Now, I like to say this, and I genuinely believe that this is true of myself. I'm typically pretty hard to offend.

Unless you hit one of the weak spots of my heart, right? If you hit a weakness of my heart, then wrath and anger usually tend to arise in me.

But I'm typically pretty difficult to offend. And what I've learned and what I've done in order to build that up is

I've learned to kind of let go and let God. I've allowed myself to come to this realization that God is bigger than my ego.

Amen? Some of you need to hear that this morning. God's bigger than your egos. The Scripture puts it this way,

God is bigger than your heart. That's the way 1 John puts it. He's bigger than your heart.

He's bigger than your ego. He's bigger than your sense of self. Therefore, let go. Let go of these things that may be even trivial and trust in Christ.

If someone offends you, truly offends you, do what the Bible says to do. Do not harbor hatred and animosity in your heart towards another human being made in God's image, especially amongst the people of God.

But rather do as what Scripture tells us to do and go to that brother to try to win them so that there may be peace and unity in the body of Christ.

Again, pride is such an evil sin. The Pharisees rejected the purpose of God for themselves because of their wicked pride.

Jesus goes on to say in verse 31, To what then shall I compare the people of this generation and what are they like?

They're like children, he says, sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another. We played the flute for you and you did not dance.

We sang a dirge and you did not weep. What an interesting statement there. Jesus likens the

Pharisees, likens the generation of leaders in his day as difficult children, write this in your notes, for their resistance to the good news of John and Jesus.

You see, like stubborn children, the Pharisees in Jesus' day could not see past their pride and embrace the truth with childlike faith.

Because in one instance, Jesus says, you must embrace the truth with this childlike innocence.

Yet in this instance, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for acting like children.

Which one is it? In which way is it? Sometimes we as church folk, we get this wrong too. We say, well,

Jesus is looking for childlike faith and we oftentimes maybe think that that means we have to be childish.

No, God's not calling us to be childish. He's calling us to be childlike. In that, we readily accept what is given to us by our

Father. We readily accept it. In the same manner, we're to readily accept

God's purpose for our lives, not being like the Pharisees who rejected, who rejected repentance, who rejected faith.

Not having been baptized by John the Baptist, not having been baptized in the ministry of Christ. But rather, we want to be like those whom

Jesus says, come to me and I'll give you rest. We want to be children that listen.

We want to be children that are obedient. We want to be children that do not become offended when Christ calls.

Verse 33, Jesus says, for John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine.

And you say, he has a demon. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking and you say, look at him, a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

Yet wisdom is justified by all her children. The Pharisees accused

John of having a demon. I want you to read this in the notes. Though he lived above reproach.

Again, Jesus says of John, there was no one born of woman greater than John. There's no one who can even lace his boot.

Yet the Pharisees, though seeing that John the Baptist was a man who was devoted, who was committed, he drank no bread, drank no wine.

And they said about him, he has a demon. So John lived an exemplary life and yet they found a reason to find offense even in John.

When they looked at Jesus and they saw that Jesus came and he was eating and drinking.

And saying, look at him. He's a glutton. He's a drunkard.

He's a friend of tax collectors and sinners. You see, the

Pharisees took the bait of Satan and fell into a cycle of offense at the ministries of John and Jesus.

You know what the Pharisees had? The Pharisees had a critical eye and a critical heart toward the works of the new kingdom that John heralded and that Jesus revealed and manifested.

This is something that we have to be on the guard against. It's not having an eye that is constantly critical.

And it's not, there's a difference, beloved, between being discerning and critical.

Some of us haven't quite found that line yet, but it's there. We are called to be a discerning people, not an overly critical people.

There are those who maybe you even know. Maybe you've rubbed shoulders with Christians who are overly critical thinking that they're actually being discerning.

And it's typically folks who are not committed to the local church.

You ever met those folks? Someone says, well, I just haven't found a church yet. And they point every reason under the sun why they haven't committed to a church.

Oh, it's because this church does this. Oh, this pastor once said that. Oh, this and that. And they find every reason under the sun not to commit to God's people.

That is an overly critical eye and a presumptuous spirit. And yes, there are good reasons not to be part of certain churches, for sure.

But it's usually individuals who are so overly critical of the local church that they become like the

Pharisees, taking the bait of sin and constantly falling into the cycle of offense.

When Jesus is called a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners because He often ate, mingled, and drank with those who were different than Him, who were indeed tax collectors.

He called tax collectors and sinners to repentance. Jesus was not practicing some woke activism by hanging out with sinners for the sake of virtue signaling.

That's not what Jesus was doing here, as some today may interpret that to be because many in the world want to feel comforted by their sins, not confronted in their sin.

And because of that, they think that Jesus, hey, He's okay with all types of people. He's kind of this idea of this hippie

Jesus, just accepting and loving everyone. And while our Jesus is very accepting, and while, yes,

He is very loving, He does so in the context of calling sinners to repentance.

You see, instead of virtue signaling our Lord, Jesus entered into the company of sinners in order to call them to faith and into repentance in the good news which

He preached. And those who were not offended by Him found the

Scripture to be true, that all those who put their faith in Him would not be put to shame. And the same calls for you today, beloved.

The same Jesus beckons us. Yes, the one who ate, the one who drank, the one who walked and talked with tax collectors and sinners is calling even you today to faith and repentance in Him.

And what faith and repentance in Him will do for you, it'll give you a new life, a new start in life.

He'll change that old heart of yours from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. A heart that did not know or desire

God to one that now desires to know Him and to be found in Him. A heart that is able now to be malleable for kingdom work and for kingdom mission.

Christ calls you into a life of good news.

So don't fall into Satan's trap of being offended today, beloved. But rather move onward knowing that God is at work and He who began the work in us shall bring it to completion.

He'll finish it. Do you believe that today? If God has begun that work and you know that He'll bring it to completion.

If you do not know whether this work has begun in you, the Bible says this. All those who believe in their heart that God raised this

Jesus from the dead and confessed through their mouth that He is Lord shall be saved.

Turn to Christ today. Don't wait another day. Don't wait even another moment.

Turn to Christ even now. He shall save you even to the uttermost. For in His life and His blood and His perfect obedience and work to the

Father He purchased for us an eternal redemption that can neither be destroyed nor taken away. To Him belongs the glory both now and forevermore.

Turn to Him. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you for this beckoning call in which you call tax collectors and sinners to repentance.

Lord help us not to fall into the trap of the Pharisees who found and took offense in the great life and ministry of Jesus but instead

Lord help us to embrace the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ which is our only hope and stay.

It is our only means by which we can be saved. The perfect and completed work of Christ.

May we hold on to this perfect work and may we trust in you daily Lord Even those of us who have put our faith in you long ago may we continually learn to lean upon you not that which is our rock of offense but rather that which is our rock of ages.

Help us Lord continually to have our hearts turn towards you. And may those of you in this room who do not know

Christ today may you turn to Him without haste. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory both now and to the day of eternity.