| Taking No Offense at God |
| Matthew 11:6 |
| by David A. DePra |
| "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." |
| John the Baptist was in prison. From his cell, he had heard |
| that the One for whom he had waited so long had come. His |
| cousin, Jesus, was the Messiah, the Son of God. John had |
| prepared the way for Him. Now He was here. |
| Imagine John's thoughts. He had done what God required |
| of Him. But it had resulted in his going to prison. Worse, |
| he would not get to hear Jesus preach, nor see any of the |
| miracles. Most of all, he would not have the priviledge |
| of seeing God in flesh firsthand. He'd have to settle for |
| hearing about Him. |
| John had to be sure. He sent messengers to Jesus asking, |
| "Are you he that should come, or do we look for another." |
| Jesus told them to tell John about all the miracles and wonders |
| which were taking place. Then He added, "Blessed is he |
| who shall not be offended in Me." |
| Jesus knew John. He discerned his heart. He knew that |
| there was potential for John losing heart; giving away his |
| faith. Afterall, what was happening to him wasn't fair. And |
| when John heard what Jesus' answer was, it must have |
| carried a sense of finality. Jesus promised no deliverance. That |
| meant death for John. But it did leave John with the knowledge |
| that despite his fate, he was in God's will. |
| Jesus would later say of John, "Among them that are born |
| of women, there has not risen a greater than John the |
| Baptist. Notrwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of |
| heaven is greater than he." (Matt. 11:11) John symbolized |
| the best which the Old Covenant could produce. He was |
| perfect in that regard. But now that the Redeemer had come |
| to usher in the New Covenant, the Old had to pass away. It |
| had to have it's head cut off, if you will. This was the fate which |
| God allowed to come upon John. |
| This situation with John is proof beyond doubt that God |
| is in control of all circumstances, no matter how unfair, unjust, |
| or tragic they may seem. John was the greatest born of a |
| natural birth. Yet he was to live only 34 years. God would |
| allow him to be murdered. And the fact is, God was in such |
| control of the situation, that Jesus was able to pronounce |
| ahead of time to John that he was to accept, without offense, |
| God's will. |
| This was the same Jesus, remember, who would some |
| years later cause the chains to supernaturally fall off of |
| Peter's hands, and who would open the iron gate of the city |
| so that he could escape. It was the same Jesus who would |
| shake the prison where Paul and Silas were being held. But |
| no miracles for John the Baptist. For him, Jesus had only the |
| words, "Blessed is he who is not offended in Me." |
| When tragedy strikes the Christian it is never easy to |
| accept. But some day in eternity, we will see the Truth: God |
| was right in allowing it. He was right in allowing evil to |
| happen to us. Somehow, even then, He'll have a way of using |
| it in a redemptive way -- an eternally redemptive way. We can |
| now only trust Him by faith. But then, as will John the Baptist, |
| we will see the Truth face to face. |