I'm Offended

If you have a Bible, go ahead and turn with me to Mark 6:1-13. We have a great passage to look at this morning and I am excited to dive into it with you. Over the past few months as the youth and I have gone through the book of Mark, we have made note of the fact that Jesus never leaves the people that He comes into contact with with a feeling of indifference. No one comes into contact with Jesus and just goes, “meh, onto the next.” When you read the Gospels, just think about the different ways that people react to Jesus. How do people react to Jesus and His ministry? Obviously there are some that are overjoyed. There are some that respond to Christ with worship and walking in faith. That is obviously a positive example but what about some negative ways that people respond to Him? Don’t the pharisees get angry? As we read the Gospel accounts, don’t we see a spirit of destruction and hatred towards Jesus? Now, why do you think that they respond in that way? Do you think that they are offended by what Jesus said and was doing? Absolutely they were! Why? Because Jesus is attacking the very things which they hold most dear. Jesus confronts them at their pressure points and if you are the Pharisee, Jesus is really attacking you at your level of self-righteousness. Jesus is saying, “You think that your standing before man and your standing before God is that which will bring you into the Kingdom of God but it is entirely about me.” Now let me ask you this, have you ever been offended before? Chances are you all have. Now, what was it that made you offended? Didn’t the offense likely come when someone directly or indirectly challenged your belief and way of thinking? One last question that I have for you to meditate on before we dive in is this: Does offense feel worse when it is by someone that you know or does it feel worse when it is a total stranger? I think it feels worse when it is someone that you know. What we are going to see tonight is that not only did Jesus offend, His followers if they are to be faithful followers, must offend as well. Let’s pray and then we will read Mark 6:1-13

Mark 6:1–13 NASB95

Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching. And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.” And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. “Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

Jesus at Home

What I want us to do right now is look at just those first 6 verses. Following what Jesus did at Jairus’ house back at the end of chapter 5, we read that Jesus and His disciples leave the town they are in and return to Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. You may remember from the Christmas story and earlier chapters in Mark that Jesus and His family came from the incredibly small town of Nazareth. It has been said that during the time of Christ, Nazareth had anywhere between 400-4,000 people which means that it was by no means the metropolitan center that Jerusalem was. Knowing that Jesus was from this small town, it is easy to see how He was well-known in Nazareth. Jesus was the biggest thing to ever come from Nazareth and from what we see in these verses, people knew Jesus’ entire family. You all likely know from living in this area that gas travels fast in a small town. When something big happens in La Crosse or South Hill Virginia, you don’t need to wait long to find out about it. Surely by this point in Christ’s ministry, word has gotten around all of Nazareth about what the son of Mary and Joseph is up to. Even if someone was living under a rock, word still wiggled its way under it. When Jesus comes to Nazareth, He does what He has done in so many other places: he teaches the people. It is important to remind you guys that Jesus did not come just to be a miracle worker. He came to teach. Specifically, He came to preach and to point those to Himself. Jesus did not come and preach a social gospel. Jesus did not come and have a felt-needs ministry. Jesus didn’t come and call for a group Bible study where everyone gets together and talks about what the passage means to them. No, Jesus came and preached repentance! In fact, the very first words that Mark records of Jesus in Mark 1:15 is, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel!” Jesus did not come preaching, “live your best life now.” He did not come preaching a message of: Give me $100 and with faith you can reap $1,000”. He did not come preaching to bolster up man’s confidence in himself. He called people to repentance. He called people to be aware that the Kingdom of God has come. The very message that you and I need is the very same message that Christ throughout His entire ministry preached. And just like we have seen in so many other places, those that heard Him preach are astonished. They are amazed at what Jesus is teaching. They’ve never heard anything like it! This is exactly what we see in Mark 1:22 where we read of people responding to Christ’s teaching: “They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Back in Mark 6, we read that these men and women listened and could not help but asking, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?” They readily admit that Jesus is doing something that they could not comprehend. They admit that they cannot wrap their heads around who Jesus is. Then in verse 3 we see the questions continue: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” These people know who Jesus is. They know His family. They know His upbringing. They know that prior to this, Jesus was a carpenter and that He worked with His earthly father Joseph. These people are likely the very same people that have watched Jesus grow up. Something that is worth noting is that considering how small this town was, chances are that the question of Jesus parents was a well-known and well talked about topic. Over Jesus’ head there was always a question of legitimacy. In John 8:41 we read, “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Jesus, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”” Here we see a plenty clear accusation that Jesus was born outside of wedlock. There was always the thought that Mary was a young girl that got pregnant before she was married to Joseph. Notice back in Mark 6:3, that the people don’t ask the question, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” What do they say? They ask, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” In a culture where the role of the father was so important, don’t you think that if their was no question over who the father was that they would have said the son of Joseph? It also seems that they don’t even acknowledge that they know Jesus. In verse 2 they just refer to Him as “this man.” In verse 3, He’s just “the carpenter.” With all of this in mind, how do the people respond to Jesus? The end of verse 3: “And they took offense at Him.” Why do you think they were so offended? It is because they could not make sense of Him. They could not justify how this human could do what He was doing. Their sinful minds would not allow Him to be anything more than a man. They were blinded to the divine. Daniel Akin said, “They are ‘scandalized’ by all this talk and hoopla about Jesus. He offends their personal sensibilities. His works they cannot deny, and His words they cannot handle, but they do not care! In spite of overwhelming evidence they will not believe He is the Christ, the Son of God.” Here is what this means: you cannot come into the presence of Jesus as you were and not be offended. I would go as far as saying that if Jesus has never offended you, you don’t really know who Jesus really is. Jesus must offend because everything about Him challenges and offends the way man views things. The question that you must answer for yourself is this: Am I ashamed of Jesus? Am I offended by what He says and does? Am I afraid to let people know who Jesus is to me? The Jesus that you are so offended by is the very same Jesus that you and I so desperately need. We do not want and cannot have a lesser Jesus. R.C. Sproul said, “Jesus was rejected by His own people, by His family, by the townsmen, by the nation of Israel. The One whom God appointed to be the cornerstone of His building was considered flawed and repulsive by His contemporaries.” In verses 4-6, we see Jesus quote an ancient proverb that says a prophet is held in high regard and honor everywhere except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household. This is just a further judgement or indictment on the people that have rejected Him. Their rejection is so great and so heartbreaking that Jesus doesn’t really do any miracles there. He heals a few but verse 6 says a whole lot in just a little. “He wondered at their unbelief.” Everywhere Jesus went He encountered unbelief but there seems to be something significant about the unbelief that He faces in His own hometown. May Jesus not be able to say this of us. Look, if you haven’t seen it by now Jesus is offensive and the message of the Gospel is offensive. If the Gospel does not offend us at our core, then is it really addressing anything of substance? Paul talks about this reality in 1 Corinthians 1:20-24

1 Corinthians 1:20–24 NASB95

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Then later in 1 Corinthians 1:27 we see Paul say: “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,” The cross has always been scandalous. Salvation in God’s way has always been scandalous. The Jews and the Greeks could not wrap their heads around a crucified and dead savior. Yet it is through power made perfect in weakness that Jesus saves. I heard Steven Lawson put it like this: to the world, the cross is a gory story but to us that have been saved, it is a glory story. For the past 2,000 years, Christianity has offended. Everywhere Jesus goes, He offends and everywhere the people of God go, they will offend as well. We see this in Mark 6:7-13 so let’s turn there again.

Mark 6:7–13 NASB95

And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.” And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. “Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

Jesus’ Followers Abroad

What do we see happening in this passage? Jesus gives the twelve an assignment and what are they supposed to do? He gives them authority to cast out demons and he specifically commands them to go out and preach the gospel of repentance. Not only that, He gives them specific commands on what they are to take and how they are to conduct themselves. What may seem strange to you all is that Jesus gives them a packing list but it’s the bare minimum. Maybe even slightly below the bare minimum. They go out with their staff, the clothes on their back, and a pair of sandals. This is so important and I believe that this is a great reminder for every Christian in this room. Do I believe that Jesus is trying to teach his followers a lesson on humility and minimalist living? Is Jesus pointing us to a socialist society? Not at all. I think that what Jesus is teaching them and by extension us is that if we want to follow Jesus, we must trust His willingness to give and ability to provide. Our lives are to be placed in His hands entirely. These men are preaching a message that no one wants to hear, a message of repentance, and they are are trusting their livelihoods to the people that they are going out to reach. I believe that what Jesus is doing is showing these 12 that everything that they truly need to follow Him, He will readily provide for them. What this means for us is this: if Jesus has something for you to do, He will give you the means and the desire to do it regardless of circumstances. If God has a task for you, He will see to it that you have everything you need in order for you to complete the task He has for you. The work of the Christian is God’s work. We don’t pick up a bunch of pieces and try to show God the picture on the box of what we are trying to build. No, the Gospel is entirely God’s work. I just want to strongly encourage you all that if you feel that God is putting something on your heart for you to do, do it! If it is from God, He will see to it that you are provided for. Now you might say, “Brady, what about those missionaries that go into these unreached places and are killed in their work. Did they finish the work that God gave to them? Did God provide for them?” Absolutely He did. The marks of a successful ministry are never seen through the eyes of man but through the eyes of God. I think of someone like Jim Elliot, a 28 year old missionary to Ecuador that was killed only a few months after beginning to minister to the native tribe that was there. In the eyes of man, what could this death accomplish? To man nothing but to God it accomplished everything that God intended. God did more through the martyrdom of Jim Elliot and his companions in reaching the world with the Gospel than if Elliot survived. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people have heard the stories of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCulley, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderain and have answered the call to a life time of Gospel work. I think of one of my personal ministry heroes, David Brainerd. The great missionary to the native Americans during 18th century who died of tuberculosis at just 29 years old. The distance that Brainerd traveled, the work for the Lord that he did, gives me chills. Brainerd did more in the span of about 3 years of ministry than I have done in 10. To this day, people read the Diary of David Brainerd and feel driven by God to missions. Did God provide for these men? Even in death, the greatest provision was already given to them. The moment that their life ended here, a new life before the throne of God began. Everything, absolutely everything, that you truly need to do the work of God, He will give to you and provide you with the fire and the joy to do it. Now as we have seen in this passage, as we have seen in the life and death of Jim Elliot, this work that we do will offend others. This should not surprise us. Jesus tells his followers in John 15:18-19

John 15:18–19 NASB95

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.

Your proximity to Christ will absolutely offend the world. Far too many Christians believe that they will be able to walk side by side with the world but this is not the case. We are to be in the world but not of it. If you are faithful to Christ, you should expect opposition. You should expect to be looked at as weird and as offensive. But keep in mind, you are in good company. As the author of Hebrews says, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. For 2,000 years, the church has offended with the message of the Gospel and it absolutely cannot stop being offensive. I love how John MacArthur says that man has been living in offense to God since the fall, let them be offended for once. What we also need to be mindful of, and Jesus warns His followers of this, we need to embrace the concept of rejection. Not everyone is going to love us and not everyone is going to love our message. Not everyone is going to accept the message and we need to be mindful of the fact that it is not us that are being rejected, it is Christ. Jesus says in Luke 10:16

Luke 10:16 (NASB95)

“The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

It is not your job for those around you to accept Christ and the Gospel. You on your own cannot make someone do that. Only God can bring eternal life change. Your job is to be faithful to the One that has given you the task. You do your work and simply trust God to do His. If God has given you a job, it does not matter if you please the world. We don’t work to hear from the world, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We work to please our commanding officer. So, what are you going to do? No matter how you live your life, you are going to live in offense to someone. Would you rather offend the world or would you rather offend the God of the Universe? Only one has eternal significance. Know that if you have not placed your faith in Christ, you are living in active disobedience to God. You have offended the great Judge of the universe. Just as Jesus came preaching a message of repentance, right now I call on you to repent and turn to Jesus as the savior of your soul. If Jesus has saved you, we know with confidence that God is for you. And if God is for you, it does not matter who is against you. But if God is against you, it does not matter who is for you. Friends, who is it that is against you? Who is it that you offend? Finally, what job do you have to do? If God has given you a task, trust in His provision and trust that He will give you the strength to do it. What do you think God wants you to do right now? What job do you feel God is placing on your heart to do? Because here’s the thing, the job that God has for you is specifically for you. No one else is you. Will you go and do what God has ordained for you regardless of what the world thinks? Think about that as we pray and as we respond in worship.