Day 185: Are you convinced? - Luke 7 vs 11 – 23

11-12 Soon afterwards Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.  As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13-15 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16-17 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

18-19 The disciples of John 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?” 20-22 And 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.  And he answered 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, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Luke 7:11-25 English Standard Version

Have you ever been offended by someone? Sometimes people may say or do something that really upsets us, even makes us angry. Strange as it may seem, some people are offended by Jesus Christ, or feel offended with us if we talk about Jesus. That's amazing when we read what the Bible actually says Jesus was like and what he did. For example, what do vs 13-15 tell us about Jesus?

He was obviously a man of deep compassion who mingled freely with ordinary people. He was also extremely humble. What were the crowds saying about him? (vs 16-17)

He was becoming very popular – yet he didn't exploit that. He didn't use his growing reputation to look for favour with the celebrities of the day. And that's what began to puzzle people. While some were calling him a great prophet of God, others were struggling because he did not fit the picture of what they thought such a prophet should be like. In fact, it seems that even the man who had baptized Jesus was having second thoughts. (vs 18-19). That was understandable seeing that this man, John, was in prison because he had offended the King for criticizing the King's adultery. But how did Jesus answer the messengers John had sent to ask if he was really the long awaited Messiah? (vs20-22)

In one sense, he answered with actions rather than words. He healed many people of diseases, plagues and evil spirits, and opened the eyes and ears of the blind and deaf. He says to the messengers, “Tell John what you have seen.” In other words, the things Jesus did showed what he is really like and who he really is. But then he adds those unexpected words : “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

The word translated as 'offended' can also mean 'to be tripped' or 'made to stumble'. Jesus implies that, despite the words he spoke and kind and miraculous deeds he did, there will be people who will be offended by him. It was true of many Pharisees in his generation, and experience shows that it's still true today. Many people fail to be convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, the great Saviour that God promised to send. But if you are one of those who is convinced that Jesus is such, and you've embraced him as Lord and saviour, don't be surprised if some people are offended by you. And if, like John, you are in a gloomy situation, don't let that cause you to doubt his compassion - or his ability to help you in your time of need.