09-12-2025 PART 3: Blessed Are the Unoffended

Section 1 The teaching begins with Matthew 11:2–6, where John the Baptist, imprisoned and facing death, sends messengers to Jesus asking if He is truly the One. This is not doubt from a weak believer, but a deep, honest inquiry from a faithful prophet who had already declared Jesus as the Lamb of God. John expected Messiah to confront earthly powers, yet what he saw unfolding did not match his assumptions. Jesus’ response was not a direct “yes” but a revelation of kingdom fruit: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive the gospel. These signs confirmed the reality of the kingdom, not in political conquest but in divine transformation. And He added the key line: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Section 2 The message confronts false expectations of Jesus. He was not a pacifist nor a people-pleaser; He overturned tables, rebuked hypocrisy, and fulfilled the Father’s mission without compromise. Many expected Him to deliver Israel from Rome, but His mission was far greater—eternal salvation, not temporary politics. The warning is clear: don’t stumble when God’s plan doesn’t match your preferences. Trials, persecution, and suffering are part of discipleship, just as Jesus Himself endured. Endurance and surrender mark the true believer’s path: beginning each day with, “Your will, not mine, be done.” To refuse offense at His methods is to remain blessed, even when His ways seem puzzling.

Section 3 The teaching turns deeply personal, connecting the scripture to the speaker’s grief at his brother Billy’s passing. He recalls the Lord’s whispered word—“the bird is now silent”—as confirmation of Billy’s homegoing, and affirms that while Billy is doing well in glory, the sorrow belongs to those left behind. From Isaiah 63:9, he draws comfort: “In all their suffering, He suffered.” God is not detached but feels the pain of His children. Jesus wept with Mary and Martha in John 11, and He still weeps with His people today. He identifies with our persecution, as seen in Acts 9, and responds with compassion and even righteous anger, as Psalm 18 describes. The conclusion is simple yet profound: in every trial and in every hurt, the presence of God is the answer to everything.