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While John the Baptist was in prison, he heard about the many miracles Jesus had performed and sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah to come. Jesus said to them,“Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Luke 7:22-23 NKJV).
From outward appearances, it sounds like Jesus changed the subject, doesn’t it? He started out talking about miracles and ended up warning them about offense. Actually, Jesus didn’t change the subject at all. He was purposefully warning John - and us - to avoid the pitfalls of offense. Jesus knew that offense would hinder our access to the blessing of God. He didn’t want one of us to miss out on all God has planned — a life that lacks nothing. We find a perfect example of offense hindering divine blessing when Jesus visited His hometown of Nazareth: He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was astonished and said, “Where does he get his wisdom and his miracles? He’s just a carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers - James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. What makes him so great?” And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:54-58). Isn’t it amazing that these people recognized and acknowledged both Jesus’ |