The key word is “offended.” Contextually, it is clear to me that Jesus is speaking of John, here. But why would John be offended by Jesus? The to this question is elsewhere.

John had some sharp opinions about Jesus that were expressed through his preaching ministry. In the following passage, I’ve emboldened some words and phrases that give indication to John’s perceptions about the ministry of Jesus.

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

(Matthew 3:10-12).

John was speaking to Pharisees and Sadducees who’d come to him. “Even now” seems to suggest that the judgment of which he speaks, he believes to be imminen, and that the Pharisees would not escape it. His conception of Jesus’ ministry is that he would be carrying his “winnowing fork,” chucking people into everlasting and unquenchable fire. But was this so?

The story of Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3) casts Jesus in a much different light than  what John the Baptist preached. Jesus is conversing with a Pharisee- not just a Pharisee, but a ruler of the Pharisees- yet Jesus says nothing about judgment, being cut down or unquenchable fire. He simply says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (v. 3). I don’t sense, at all, that Jesus is trying to scare him. In fact, he goes out of his way to not scare him.

It is easy to forget that the words of John 3:16 were offered, still, in the context of Jesus and Nicodemus. But they were. I’m inclined, though, to think that verse 17 is more profound than verse 16, especially, given expectations about Jesus during his earthly ministry. Brace yourself here…“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

John believed Jesus was coming to the world to condemn it, but Jesus, essentially, said: “No, that is not why the Father sent me.” In fact, he stated in no uncertain terms that he didn’t come to condemn the world! The conclusion: John had expectations of Jesus that Jesus didn’t live up to! That is why, I believe, John has reservations about Jesus.

Did Jesus recognize this? I think so. I’m convinced that this is why Jesus said to John’s messengers, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” John was offended that Jesus didn’t live up to his expectations. So he question him.

John fell into the trap of doing what so many of us do…casting Jesus in our own light instead of seeing him for who he really is. If you see Jesus as American, Republican, and/or White, you are guilty of making Jesus into who you want him to be. The inevitable conclusion will be that you will formulate expectations of him that he’ll never live up to. In the end, you’ll be let down.

John’s doubts weren’t the end of him. He died a martyr’s death as a kingdom servant. Our questions aren’t the end of us, either. They are crucial to our development. Jesus could handle John’s question and he can handle ours, as well. He didn’t get mad at John for asking, nor will he be upset with us. Our questions are opportunities to grow and he will show us what we need to see and give us what we need.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).

We’ve been told this is true but many of us are not compelled to believe it. And it’s not that we don’t believe the statement, in principle, to be true. We just don’t believe that those who often utter these words always mean it. I’m not convinced we should, either.

Ask a few questions and you’ll get vilified. Put some things to the test (1 Thess. 5:21) and you’ll quickly assume a label you didn’t ask for. Why? Because you asked a few questions?

For those of you who’ve got some questions but haven’t asked them because you’ve come to believe that asking them comes with a price, I want to remind you of John the Baptist. On one occasion, he asked a question of utmost importance. To be honest, I can’t believe he asked it at all. But he did, and my consideration of the question he asked has helped me over the years. I hope it helps you, too.

John is in prison. He’s literally going to lose his head. So he sends messengers to Jesus to ask… “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3). This wasn’t a harmless question. It was a question upon which everything that would come would hinge. We might ask it like this…”Are you really the Christ?”

Now remember, John is blood kin to Jesus. They are cousins. John’s time in his mother’s womb bore supernatural distinction. John is foreshadowed in the Old Testament scriptures (Isaiah 40; Malachi 3 & 4). He even baptized Jesus (Matthew 3). John the Baptist is no small player in the scheme of things. But in prison, amid the doom and gloom of what was before him, he doubts.

And it was John who was doubting, not his messengers. I’ve found some who’ve given treatment to this story who found it inconceivable that John would possess such doubts, so they surmised that John is not one with the questions, but rather the messengers are the uncertain ones. Jesus eliminates this possibility when he sends them back, encouraging them to “Go and tell John what you hear and see” (Matthew 11:4).

Given his role, and who he is, how could he ask such a question?

It must have infuriated Jesus, right? Nope. Not one bit. And that is what makes me marvel.

I know some people who if they were in Jesus’ shoes would have responded….

Who’ve you been listening to?

Who’ve you been reading?

John has fallen off the deep end. Mark him and stay with us.

But Jesus says none of that! He says, “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” This is an effort to affirm and shore him up, not write him off. And that is the difference between Jesus and a lot of people today!

In fact, Jesus actually does the unthinkable when the messengers leave. In verses 8ff, Jesus actually commends John for who he is and what he has done. Wow.

You may have some questions for which you are searching for an answer. It’s OK. Before God, you’ll not get crucified for asking them. But before you ask them, think about who you are asking. Find someone you trust. Find someone with the heart of love. Find someone who deals with the things that matter most. But ask the questions. You are doing yourself any good by not asking them. God can take them. He’s been doing it for a long time.

Later this week, I am going to posit some thoughts about why John the Baptist was in doubt. I’ll focus on Matthew 11:6. John does something that a lot of us have done.

Thanks for reading!

It got me to thinking, though, about the inherent dangers involved in mission work. Missionaries know that there is serious danger in that kind of work. To a large extent, that is exactly why I appreciate them. But the know the dangers are more than hypothetical, they are real, and yet still they go. But what should happen when the unthinkable actually happens?

If we will think about it, danger lurks around every corner, hides in virtually every crevass, and can happen anywhere. Danger can found on the Mexico border, in the African village, as well as on the suburban street corner. There is no escaping it. You can try, but it will be to no avail!

I don’t believe Jesus launched his mission into world so that we might play it safe. What we refer to as The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) wasn’t a proposition to simply take the gospel to places where we’d be sheltered from harm. There was no caveat which stated: “Go into all the world..except for the high risk places.” After all, there really is no 100% safe place. Evil is everywhere and harm is indiscriminate about where it will emerge. If we only played it safe, we’d go nowhere. But for some reason, I don’t think, in our heart of hearts, we believe that’s the right thing to do.

Think about it…Daniel lived for God in the middle of a Babylonian firestorm of danger. He was in a foreign land, and yet he was open about his faith and devotion to God, even if it meant a front row seat a lion’s den or a fiery furnace. I know he was taken into captivity by force, but that didn’t change how he acted while there. It was in those situations that Daniel’s faith was exhibited, regardless of what would befall him. How comfortable would we feel telling Daniel our stories about how we didn’t go to the risky places because it was dangerous? Not me.

And then there’s Stephen in Acts 7. That guy was nuts to preach that kind of message, to that group of people, in that kind of place. Didn’t he know it might get him killed? Didn’t he know that he might better serve the cause of Christ by going on his way and finding a people to preach to who wouldn’t start chucking rocks at him? After all, he might die of such treatment. Err…he did die. But Stephen was outright foolish to do what he did, wasn’t he? But again, doesn’t it sound odd to suggest such? It does to me. After all, we extol martyrs. He loved the Lord and was willing to die for him.  We are supposed to be “faithful” even if it might cost us our lives (Rev. 2:10). But what does it say about us if we only go where it is advantageous to us?

It’s time I get lost; I need to get lost in him. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God” (Colossians 3:3, HCSB).

This blog really hasn’t been about a guy “converging with Christ…” I’d like to think that it was, but it’s just not so. But all of that is about to change.

For a number of reasons, some of which are deeply personal, I’ve decided to journal on a daily basis. I want to chronicle my own conscientious effort to take my faith in Jesus seriously and get lost in him. I believe it will happen, and I plan to journal about it.

I’d love for you to join me. Let’s get lost together!

I’m standing in front of four doors. Only one is the correct door that will lead me to the place I need to go. The other three open into a deep, dark chasm, a lot like Tolkien’s Khazad-dum. I’ve only got one opportunity, and there’s a 75% chance of picking the wrong door. There’s no peeking either. Once I open it, I’m thrust through the doorway, either plunging headlong into darkness or into whatever place or situation is right.

This is a dream I tend to have when I find myself in my own “valley of decision”  (Joel 3:14). It’s terribly frustrating, because in the end I’m often left with more questions about what’s before me. Invariably, I cannot escape the desire to constantly doubt. What if I make the wrong decision?

Last week, having lunch with friend, I was reminded that regardless of our choices, God is behind every door. It’s true. God can make good of whatever decision I make. The list of biblical figures who prove this is too great!

Before us all are a myriad of choices. Some impact us less than others. But everyday we make them nonetheless. Some days we’ve got big choices to make. Do you leave a job for another? Do you move your family across the globe to become a missionary? Big and small, the choices are always before us. We pray asking for guidance so that we don’t make the wrong decision. Is there really a wrong decision to me made?

Naturally, and it pains me to have to qualify this but I know how some think, I’m not talking about decisions that involve sin. We shouldn’t choose that door anyhow. Even if we do, though, God can rescue us.

So my point is…God isn’t just behind one door, hoping we make the right decision. He’s behind every door, waiting, regardless of the choice, to turn into something whereby he is glorified. “And we know that for whose who love God, all things work together for the good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

God finds ways to work things out for us! For those of you who are confronted with doors to open, but you are uncertain as to which one is the right one…trust in the One who redeemed you and He’ll be behind whichever door you choose.

But I’ve noticed the tendency to be very selective with where we tread in The Sermon, as well as with how hard we push its precepts. In our world especially, it’s hard to push too hard and remain consistent. Take for instance, Matthew 6:19-34.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon the earth…” Here we have verb action that is Greek present tense and in the imperative mood. Jesus is being very specific here. Essentially, he is saying, “You must not lay up stores of treasures here on the earth.” But we do. All of us. And we will go to great lengths to justify it. But is he serious?

Later he says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (vv. 25-26). The key word throughout the remainder of the section is anxious. He reiterates and reinforces his point. But when are we not thinking about these kinds of things? People experience tons of anxiety over these matters. But is he serious?

Are we really supposed to “not worry” about our lives (v. 25, NKJV)? Is he serious? Have we sinned if we do? Before responding, remember that he offers no caveats whatsoever. If he didn’t want them to get the wrong impression, I think he would have issued a caveat.

Those for whom Scripture is important have their favorite passages, and our fidelity to the text is important to us. And it should be. But before we emphasize this over that, we need to be certain that there is a certain level of consistency to our treatment of God’s Holy Word.

An honest consideration of the sayings of Jesus should leave us frequently asking, “Is he serious?”  His message was that hard-hitting. It was radical in so many ways. But before we label some of his statements as hyperbolic, let’s think about them.

So I’d like to look at a few and discuss them. I hope you’ll join me.

This morning I was reading through Acts 6 and I was struck by the life of Stephen. He was one of the “seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom” selected to tend to the Grecian widows who’d been neglected in the daily distribution. He was also described as “full of faith” (v. 5). Still later, we read of Stephen as “full of grace and power…performing great wonders and signs among the people” (v. 8). He met formidable opposition from those of the Freedman’s Synagogue, but “they were not able to stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (v. 10). Ultimately, his history lesson of Israel’s rejections of God’s prophets over the years, which culminated in the rejection of the Messiah, got him killed. But what a compelling argument he was for the faith of Christ!

The guy chosen to “wait on tables” (v. 2) apparently had much more to offer. And he did. Inside of him was a heart for souls. His ministry was about meeting the needs of others. If by food distribution, so be it. He offered food that met physical needs, but he was also willing to serve food “that lasts for eternal life” (John 6:27).

Service, in whatever form, is mighty ministry. Jesus boldly proclaimed the “living word” with passion and urgency; yet, washing his disciples’s feet was no less ministry, and no less significant.

Like Jesus, Stephen wasn’t a one talent man. His selection for a specific work didn’t mean he wasn’t fit for anything else. In a sense, I think it helped groom him for more. Unfortunately, it seems to have been a life cut short, but like others who have gone on before, “though he is dead, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).

Outside magazine has a The North Face ad for its CHINSCRAPER shoe and AGILITY shorts, as used by The North Face Endurance Athlete Joe Kulak. The ad reads,

You drink gallons of coffee on Monday because…

? Mondays are Mondays.
? You didn’t get much sleep over the weekend while completing one of your 29 100-mile races, each in under 24 hours, just like Joe Kulak.

There are a lot of things that to us seem absurd, but running for 100 miles seems patently absurd. It’s the equivalent of me running from my home to Atoka, OK. It’s almost inconceivable to me, but people do it more often than you’d think.

For some, the story of Jesus is absurd. For others, the story isn’t beyond belief, but the thought of living for him accord to the Way is. Even his own disciples struggled to grasp they Way Jesus was laying down for them to live, along with the things they would be able to accomplish through faith. Even a “mustard seed” faith could move mountains (Matthew 17:20). But what’s impossible for mortals is possible for God (Matthew 19:26).

Mankind is blessed with immense talent and ability, focus and drive, strength and courage, but think of what can be accomplished spiritually with a power that is of God! “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly hat all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

With God, can we do what to us seems absurd?

In Jesus’ day, if there were a people who should’ve had faith, it was Jesus’ own people, yet they were lost and in need of rescue (Matthew 9:36). Ironically, on one occasion, a Centurion seeks out Jesus that he might heal his servant. On the way to the Centurion’s home, Jesus is told, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof… but only speak the word, and let my servant be healed” (Luke 7:6-7). Even Jesus is surprised by the Centurion’s faith, saying, “not even in Israel have I found such faith” (v. 9).

While many of his own were only trying to put him to a test, others from outside Israel’s fold were putting their utmost faith in him. The barriers that separated Jesus’ heritage from the rest of the known world weren’t insurmountable to Jesus. What he was doing in his earthly ministry, when observed without prejudice, produced genuine faith in him. Faith was fostered by those one might least expect. That’s the amazing power of Jesus!