Are you easily offended? Think back to the last time someone cut you off in traffic. Was your first response, “He probably didn’t see me.” “She’s in a big hurry, I wonder what’s going on in her life?” or “Wow! That was scary! I’m glad I was paying attention and not looking at my phone at that moment!” If any of those thoughts were first to cross your mind, then you should be nominated for a selfless award, if there is such a thing.
More likely, your reaction was primarily fear, then frustration and anger, “Stop looking at your phone and pay attention!” “Are you trying to kill me?” “It must be nice to be the center of the universe and require that everyone else just defer to you!” Once you’ve calmed down a bit, you might speed up alongside the offending driver to get a look at this selfish, inept person who should have his license revoked!
All of us encounter feelings of anger and resentment in life and often rationalize these emotions as justified reactions. However, in his book, Unoffendable, radio personality and author Brant Hansen challenges this mindset by delving into the biblical perspective on anger, forgiveness, and humility, exploring how embodying God's grace can profoundly transform our interactions with others, replacing bitterness with a willingness to forgive and cultivating an attitude of gratefulness. Hansen outlines practical steps to live an "unoffendable" life, prioritizing the service of others and relying on divine wisdom to overcome feelings of offense and resentment.
As we have been reading Luke’s account of Jesus’ time on earth, we’ve seen the religious leaders repeatedly offended by just about everything Jesus does and says. Today we read of someone dear to Jesus, his cousin John, who is struggling to not take offense.
Read Luke 7:18-35
John the Baptizer is in Herod’s prison, for speaking truth to power. Herod, king of Judea, had a consensual affair with his brother’s wife, Herodias, who I imagine was power hungry, using both brothers to advance her own agenda. John confronted the couple, or at least Herod, multiple times concerning their sin of adultery when Herod finally had enough and threw John in prison. Prison is never a pleasant place to be, but those days it was absolutely awful. Prisoners had no rights or access to food, laundry, or exercise. Unless a prisoner had family or friends who brought supplies and news from the outside world, they were stuck, all alone, without hope, completely at the mercy of the king.
Even worse, John the Baptizer was wrongly imprisoned for speaking truth and found himself lonely, disappointed and frustrated at this outcome. John wasn’t afraid of saying hard things - in fact, it was part of his persona, like when he called the Pharisee spies sent out to check on what he was doing at the Jordan River, “You brood of vipers!” John also knew that he had to become less as Jesus became more, yet from the news he received from his disciples when they brought him food and fresh clothes, it made him question, “Is that all there is to God’s grand plan of rescue? A healer and teacher? Is that the mission I find myself in prison for?” But the biggest question that plagued him night and day shook him to his core, “Am I the only one asked to sacrifice everything for God’s plan of redemption?” Suffering and isolation can eventually lead us to doubt just as John - did we hear correctly? Maybe we were wrong all along? How could prison be part of God’s good plan?
Offended
John had never been popular and he was okay with that. But he assumed that the One for Whom he was preparing the way would not be popular either. Yet Jesus’ fame was vast and growing by the minute, while John was stuck in a cold, dank cell. He sent word to Jesus asking, “Are you the one to come, or should we expect someone else?” (v 19) Jesus responds to John’s doubts with observable facts:
“Go and report to John what you have seen and heard
The blind see
The lame walk
The diseased are clean
The deaf hear
The dead are raised
The poor are told the good news
And blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.” (vv 22-23)
In other words, “John, our callings are different. I’m sorry that you are suffering, but please don’t allow your suffering to question your calling, or mine. Don’t take the bait of the enemy. He loves nothing more than to take advantage of our weakness and isolation and tempt us to doubt God’s goodness and plan.”
After John’s disciples left with Jesus’ message, He warned the crowd not to jump to conclusions about John based on the exhortation Jesus sent back to him via his disciples. John is a prophet, yes, but a very specific prophet - the messenger Malachi foresaw, who would be sent ahead of the Messiah, preparing the way. While John was struggling with his faith currently, Jesus was quick to remind everyone listening that John had done his job well. Those he had prepared through baptism (even tax collectors) and were truly repentant and ready to receive Jesus’ presence and purpose, were able to acknowledge God’s way of righteousness. The Pharisees and experts of the laws rejected God’s plan standing right in front of them; they were educated and arrogant, dismissive of what the readied masses accepted as truth. Jesus looks them right in the eye and says, “The conclusions you are drawing - about John, about Me, and about God - are all wrong. You are not the judges, nor are you God’s peer or on His board of directors.”
Would the religious leaders continue to be offended by everything Jesus did and said? Unfortunately, most would, and this would lead them to justify doing despicable things to the Son of God.
“Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another,
just as God also forgave you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:31-32
Big Picture Questions for Today:
Are you easily offended? Whether you can admit you are or not, pay attention this week to your body and how you react when someone isn’t treating you fairly.
Are you guilty of harboring bitterness, anger and malice towards another person? If so, pray and perhaps consult a godly friend or mentor who can help you process why you are angry and how you might consider moving towards forgiveness.
Pray that you would be unoffendable as you move through this day, and trust that your God will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory. (from Philippians 4:19)
