Offended (Matthew 13:53-58)

September 13, 2020

Have you ever been offended? What offended you? Maybe someone did something that you think is an overstep. They told you how to live your life, raise your children, or pointed out a mistake you made. Have you ever stopped to evaluate what is actually happening at that exact moment or do you do like I do and just spout off something offensive in return? Of course we do that! After all, if someone offends us, there is no way they could be right! We wouldn’t have made a mistake if they didn’t make a mistake first. At least, that’s what we tell ourselves. We are going to study a story in the gospel of Matthew about people being offended and learn about why this is such a detrimental way to respond to criticism.

Jesus Returns (Matthew 13:53-58)

Matthew 13:53--58 (ESV) --- 53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

In this text, we see that Jesus made it back to his hometown. There is something about hometowns that makes them great. I grew up on a dirt road in a little bitty town called Union Hill, Alabama. If you spent your first eighteen years of your life in one place, I bet you remember how everything looked when you left. I have so many memories of growing up there. I remember so much about walking the halls of the elementary through junior high school. I remember the teachers and all of my classmates. There something about a hometown that never leaves you. Many of my school friends are now teachers and active members of the community where I grew up. I get to see that on Facebook, which is kind of neat.

In the gospel of Matthew, we started looking at the life of Jesus from his beginning. He spent a few years of his life traveling around but eventually moved to a little town called Nazareth. This is a town with a population of about five hundred people. It is what we like to call a podunk town. In John 1:46, Nathaniel said, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" We noticed in Chapters 3 and 4 that Jesus lived in this town with his family for most of his life. After being baptized on the Jordan River by John the Baptist, he moved to Capernaum. Imagine all of the people he knew in Nazareth during those years of life. They lived around him and learned a lot about him, but they did not know he was the Messiah.

Why would he go back? In Chapter 12, his family comes to check on him. We read in verse 46 that his family was seeking to speak to him, but he did not go out to them. Was it because he didn't care? No, now we see that he returns home to see his family and those in his hometown. Don't you imagine that he wanted to go to his hometown anyways to tell them the good news?

When he shows up, he was given a chance to teach in their synagogue. I imagine it was the same synagogue he had attended all his life with all the same people doing the same things they had always done. They have probably known him since he was little and heard all about his fame from the surrounding cities. Jesus shows up and reveals the truths of the kingdom of heaven and explains how heaven's kingdom has come. This is good news, and we would think this would be the easiest place to spread this message. When we are kids trying to sell fundraiser stuff, people we know always buy what we are selling. But how did they respond? Did they accept Jesus' Message? No!

Where Did This Man Get This? (54-56)

Notice that they ask the same question twice, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?" They recognize that he has great wisdom and great power, but they want to know where it came from. He didn't have these abilities when he left. I could picture them gossiping and saying, "Jesus? No way, he never attended seminary school or trained under Rabbi So and So. How could any ordinary person leave their hometown and become something extraordinary like that? This all sounds like some kind of deceptive sorcery. I heard that the Pharisees believe he is doing all these things by Beelzebul (12:24)." These words show the possible influence of their religious leaders on his family and his hometown. They don't believe that this came from God.

In the middle of all of this, they point out that Jesus' family is ordinary. They point out the obscurity of his family. "He is the carpenter's son." This is the only indication we get that Joseph was still alive. None of his family is like this. What makes him so special? They want to belittle where he came from instead of seeing who he is and believing his message.

Offended (57)

Verse 57 says, they took offense at him. This goes back to what Jesus said in 11:6. John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he is really the Messiah, and Jesus told them, "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me." What is so offensive about Jesus? In Chapter 11, when John doubts Jesus, we see that Jesus was not what John expected to see in a Messiah. Instead of destroying his enemies, Jesus healed and helped people. The same thing is going on here. Jesus is not what they expect to see. He is not the Messiah they would choose for themselves. They want someone who will exalt their lifestyle, call them righteous, make them rich, and defeat their enemies. They wanted someone like king Saul.

Have you ever known anyone in high school who surprised you by becoming extremely successful? You thought you were better than them. You were more popular and did all of the fun things, but they didn’t do anything fun. Most of the people I went to high school with did not change very much, but a few went farther than I ever imagined over ten plus years. Can you imagine learning that the next candidate for President of the United States of America grew up here in Saraland? What if he lived next door until two years ago? Now we have plenty of great people in Saraland, but I imagine that neighbor is not top on your list. Maybe I think that I could do a better job at being President than him.

Should we be offended by such things? People are often offended when the truth doesn’t line up with “their truth.” The truth in this case was that Jesus pleased God by being perfect and humble in every way. The town of Nazareth was focused on other qualities, but God cares about holiness, justice, and humility. Contrary to popular belief, God’s choice in the Messiah is not a matter up for debate. This is not a subjective truth. In other words, it is not subject to my opinion in the matter. Jesus, a carpenter’s son from Nazareth is the spotless lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We need to honestly consider the next time we are offended whether their words line up with the truth.

A few weeks ago, I was scolding one of my children for doing something wrong. I believe they were disrespectful in some way. In response to the scolding, my child started crying. My other child came up and said, “Daddy, you hurt their feelings.” To which I kindly responded, “It’s daddy’s job to hurt your feelings when you do something selfish and defiant. If I don’t hurt your feelings in this case, I’m disobeying God and you won’t learn how to be respectful.” I don’t offend my children for sport. I’m not looking for opportunities to scorn, and I try hard to follow up with encouragement. But if I don’t tell them the truth, no one will. Then they will disrespect everyone.

No Miracles (58)

In response to their offense, Jesus points out that this always happens to the prophets. Looking throughout the prophets, we see that they were often mistreated as they told their people their sin. In Jeremiah's case, people from his hometown sought to kill him (Jer 11:21). Israel never wanted to hear that their religion wasn't good enough. They wanted their prophets to tell them that God loves them and that he was pleased with their worship. But God's prophets come in declaring that God is not delighted with them, and if they don't repent, he will destroy them. If this is Jesus' message to his hometown, I imagine they would be very offended.

What Do We Learn?

What does this event tell us about Jesus and ourselves?

Jesus Amazingly Fulfills Isaiah's Prophesy

This event fills the gap in Jesus' life. What was Jesus doing from age twelve to around age thirty? He was living a mostly normal life. This illustrates the truth that was foretold by the prophet Isaiah in one of the most well known and detailed prophesies in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 53:1--3 (ESV) --- 1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Jesus grew up among them without form, majesty, or beauty. He wasn't the first one picked for games on the playground. He wasn't the most popular. Here we see that people rejected him instead of accepting him. No one esteemed him as the most important human to ever be born on the earth. Isn't that amazing? Why would God let his son come down from heaven and live like that?

Philippians 2:4--8 (ESV) --- 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus did not come out of the ivory palaces in heaven to live in ivory palaces in Rome or train in Jerusalem schools. He grew up in Nazareth. Jesus knows what small-town life is like. He experienced what the majority of humans experience. He probably went through more suffering and oppression before the cross than the poorest in our country. Though he was God, he chose to live an ordinary life.

Offense Is Often Hidden

Don't we like the idea that he is like us? That sounds good but think about this for a minute from their perspective. Why were they offended? We already noted that he was not what they expected. But let's dig a little deeper. They did not want to follow someone who looks normal, nor would they believe that someone so ordinary could be Israel's Messiah! Wouldn't it be better if he was tall and handsome looking? Wouldn't it have been better if he had gone to school and come from a wealthy family? Then he would be more popular, and more people would like him. At the very least, we would expect a booming personality and sense of humor. How often do we elect an ordinary person to lead us? We want a millionaire or someone who has worked their way up the political ladder with a pedigree. If some random person nominated himself, we might be skeptical at the thought. As God pointed out to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16, we look at the outer man, but God looks at the heart. I doubt we would be too offended by his appearance, but it would set off alarms in our head. This guy does not look like the typical leader.

Why were they so offended by an insignificant truth? Notice that the text does not say that they did not believe. It says, "They took offense at him." This is really just an excuse for rejecting Jesus. His looks and his pedigree are just the tip of the iceberg. They used these things as reasons for rejecting him, but there is a hidden reason underneath it all. They, like the Pharisees, did not want to submit to him as their king. Being the Messiah means he is the king. His depiction of the kingdom is totally different from what has been taught in that synagogue for decades. Their pride would not let them believe that he was better than them, so they were offended.

How Do We Respond?

Are We Offended By Jesus?

How does all of this relate to us? A show called "The Bible" pictures Jesus as tall, beautiful, and desirable. Why? Do you know what they have done? They have created a palatable version of Jesus that doesn't exist. They made Jesus out to be something different from what he is to line up with our culture. They did not stop with the looks of Jesus. They also cut out any words from Jesus that condemn people who rebel against his message. Why? It’s too offensive. They aren’t creating that show to help people understand the truth. They created it to make money. Our society is offended, just like theirs was. We grow up hearing the name of Jesus and he is described as a really nice guy. But we don’t know the real Jesus. Then, when we hear the truth, we are shocked!

The Sermon on the Mount is so judgmental! We don’t like to hear about how anger, lying, lusting, or loving this world is wrong. When he shows up in his hometown, they expected him to accept them just the way they are, but his message was the same as before. Repent and submit to me, or you will not be saved. They would have to give up their old way of life. He did not tell people that they could keep living selfishly, loving idols, and rebelling against God. He told them to repent. He tells us the same thing.

If our picture of Jesus is like that TV show, thinking that he will let us stubbornly rebel against him, we don’t understand his words in this chapter.

Matthew 13:41--42 (ESV) --- 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:49--50 (ESV) --- 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

They offend us for our good. They tell us how destructive and bad sin is. We need to hear them as we struggle with our desires to sin. Jesus wants to see a maturing in our spiritual lives so that we produce fruit for God’s glory. As we desire to do God’s will, we should be growing more righteous.

Will We Make Excuses?

Don’t let offense produce excuses. He understands what our life is like. He has lived like us for nearly thirty years. Jesus is not beyond us. He was willing to teach the truth in his hometown, and when they rejected it, he left them and moved on. I find it odd that Jesus didn't do any mighty works to convince them to submit. Their excuses were about how Jesus was an ordinary man. What excuses do we make? Do we see underneath the excuse?

We can reject Jesus for ridiculous reasons. We can hold back our hearts and make excuses that keep us from being submissive to God's will. As humans, we typically say, “Jesus can't be true. Look at the people who claim to be Christians.” Or we say, “Are you saying everyone else in the world is wrong? I don't see anything wrong with the way I'm living my life.” These excuses are just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath, we want to be the king of our own lives. We are comfortable with our lifestyle, enjoy our sins too much to let them go, and we are afraid that believing Jesus will ruin our relationship with the world.

Everyone who believes in him will receive the blessings God has always promised. Jesus is offering the greatest treasure man has ever been offered, but he asks us to pay a price for it. We have to sell everything to buy the field. We have to emotionally disconnect from the things of this world. We need to learn from the Nazarenes' failure.

Will We Speak Truth?

Many believe that truly following Jesus in Christianity is foolish. We are putting all our eggs in one basket and losing the bird in our hand to go after two in the bush.

1 Corinthians 1:26--31 (ESV) --- 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Maybe someone here thinks that this notion of making Jesus my king is foolish. I'm too wise for that. I'm too woke for that. I am the only one who will rule my life. Friend, you don't realize how right you are. Jesus didn’t come to save the proud. He came to save the humble and lowly. In his own hometown of 500 people, we would think that he could find humble, lowly people. But they were just as proud as anywhere. Notice that Jesus moved on. He did not do mighty works for them.

As we teach people, we have to understand that the same thing will happen to us. Even though we might speak the truth in love, people will be too proud to listen. Paul commands us to let our speech be seasoned with salt, but it will still sound foolish to many people. We will offend them and they won’t like us anymore. I imagine that Jesus lost a lot of friends on that day, but not because he was harsh or judgmental. He lost them because they refused to believe. All those who do the will of God are his family.

Conclusion

Jesus was like us, and he chooses people like us. He left his throne in heaven to come down and live an ordinary life. This ordinary man claimed to be the Son of God. He performed miracles and taught the word of God in a way that revealed the kingdom's secrets. But he also condemned mankind for their continual disobedience to God's word. He calls for repentance and submission with faith, and he offers us the greatest treasure we could ever imagine, the forgiveness of sins.