How do we not cause offence in this day and age when everybody seems to be so sensitive? Today people are sensitive about a great variety of issues. How do we, as God's people, avoid causing offence? We are going to look at that topic today.
We are going to read from God's word in Matthew 17:24-28 and Matthew 18:1-6. Prepare your heart to hear God's word, it says: “After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Here in this passage, we see how Jesus teaches us how not to cause offence. We have been dealing with the series of forgiveness. We have come to the seventh message in the series of forgiveness. We saw last time, how Jesus himself caused offence many times when He was speaking to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes and the leaders of the nation. Often, they took offence at him, as he was obedient to God. He spoke the word of God in truth and love, yet it still offended people. We noticed how many people took offence, even John the Baptist and Jesus' own disciples. Some of them misunderstood what He said and took offence.
Here, we see Jesus teaching us the other side of the picture. How can we avoid causing offence? What can we do on that side of things? Here Jesus is returning to Capernaum. The tax collectors find Peter and they ask him does your teacher pay the temple tax? Peter says “yes” and goes back to Jesus. Before Peter can ask for the temple tax from Jesus, Jesus asks him a counter question. Jesus was anticipating this request. Peter is questioned by Jesus about whether the king of a nation pays taxes, whether the king's children pay taxes, or whether it is the subjects of that kingdom that pay taxes. Peter responds and says that it is of course the subjects. It is not the princes and princesses that pay taxes. They eat free. In fact, the taxes go to cover their food, the cost of the castle and the King's provisions. Peter understands this fact of social order. Then Jesus makes the observation, that the temple tax official was asking to receive the temple tax from Jesus. Remember, Peter had already declared that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter knew that Jesus is the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords. He knew that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, and surely as the Son of God, He should not pay taxes as a Prince, the Prince of peace.
However, notice that Jesus does not say, “I have the right to not pay this temple tax.” Instead, Jesus says there in Matthew 17:27: “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line … .” Remember, Jesus was free. He was God's Son sent into this world to save this world. Jesus speaks now in order not to cause offence. He did not want to offend and he paid the tax. Think about it for a moment. Jesus is the Lord of all creation. He made everything that exists with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God, who created everything. Everything is subject to Jesus, who is Sovereign in His plans and His purposes. So Jesus provided for His own taxes in that miraculous way.
What we learn is that Jesus sought, as far as it is possible, not to cause offence. He who is God over everything, who directed the fish and directed Peter, seeks to not offend. Some say that Jesus already offended so many people, he should have just carried on regardless. But Jesus seeks to win as many as possible to His kingdom and He seeks to glorify the Father in this passage. Notice the context as Jesus went on in Matthew 20:26-28 say when he is speaking about leading and ruling within the kingdom of God. He says,“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus sets for us the example that He wants us to follow in humility and in service for Jesus.
Although, Jesus was God's own Son, though He co-created with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He did not come to rule and to demand His rights. He humbled Himself and became a servant. Even to suffer and die for us on that Roman cross. He came to serve though He owed nobody anything. Yet, He used His freedom to help others. Jesus who was all-powerful, became a servant of all to save all who would turn to Him.
That is why Paul writes in Galatians 5:13 speaking to us He says: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Another word for freedom or for liberty, could be the word ‘privilege.’ We are free and privileged by God. God is saying here that we should not use our freedom to lord it over others. We should not use our privileges as the children of God to boss people around. Rather we should serve others to build up the kingdom, the people of God. That we may even bring some to salvation. Seek the good of many and not our own good, so they may be saved in these days. For there is freedom in serving but there is also bondage in slavery. A slave has to serve but a servant lives to serve and he willingly offers his service to his master.
So firstly, notice that you are free to serve. Think about it for a moment, a slave gives the minimum required, they may even need a whipping at times. A servant gives his best to his master. A slave goes one mile, that is what is required of him but a servant goes the extra mile. A slave feels robbed all the time, but a servant delights to give. A slave is bound but a servant is free. A slave fights for his rights but his servant lays down his rights to benefit those whom he serves. So many Christians, struggle with this.
Many Christians serve with a resentful attitude. They give grudgingly to God, even their tithes and offerings, they give with a bad attitude and not as a joyful giver as God loves. When they are paying their taxes to the government, that God has put into place at this particular time, they give grumbling, with a bad attitude. Bu remember, we are not slaves, we are children of the living God, who willingly serve Jesus. If we are a slaves, we are not free and we are not free to serve Jesus Christ. Some of us, are slaves to sin and we have not yet been set free by Jesus. You need to run to him for mercy and cry out to him for forgiveness and freedom. The question is, are you a slave still in your heart, living by all sorts of rules and regulations? Are you free and forgiven of all your sin, and given eternal life as a gift? Have you grasped who Jesus is and have you grasped his commands to love your neighbour as yourself?
Love is the attitude changer. Love is what enables you to serve and to be free to serve. Do you need to fight for your own benefits or are you benefiting others in any way you can? That is why we read of circumstances in the book of Romans and in the book of 1 Corinthians, where the believers liberty was tested in the area of food. Their particular tastes and preferences became an issue. Jesus tests them and teaches them about the limits to their freedom. The place where their freedom needs to serve, in Romans 14:1, Paul instructs the Roman Christians, “Accept those whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters.” One man's faith allows him to eat everything but another man whose faith is weak eats only vegetables. SomeChristians could not eat food offered to idols, the meat in particular, with a clear conscience. Even though Jesus had spoken about this issue. Jesus had told us that what goes into our mouth does not defile us, that it is what comes out of our heart through our mouth that can defile us. In Mark 7:18, Jesus declared all foods clean. We can eat with thanksgiving.
But there were some people that struggled with this. What was happening? Stronger Christians were eating meat from questionable sources in front of the weaker Christians, who were perhaps even vegetarians or vegans in their day. Although, Jesus had said that all foods are clean and they are good for us as believers, to be eaten with thanksgiving. Yet, the weaker Christians could not get rid of these images of their food laid out on the idol altars. Some mature Christians were saying, “We have the right to eat what we want. We like meat and so we want to hold on to our rights as children of God?” In the process, they were offending the weaker Christian. In Romans 14: 13 God instructs us, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking. It is that of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” We are free to serve. We are to use our liberty to serve and not to grab our rights, or to demand our way in this world. We are free to serve. In serving, we seek to not cause offence. You are free to serve.
Secondly, I want you to see that you need to release your rights. Let go of those things which Jesus has given you as a right. Do not hold on to them but relinquish them for the sake of others. Seek the good of many and not your own good so that they may be saved. Release your rights. We see Jesus modelling this pattern for us in the passage we read in the beginning, we see Jesus not wanting to offend, but paying his temple taxes via Peter.
Jesus modelled service when he washed the disciples’ feet, even though he was the King and their Saviour who was about to die for them. He was having his last supper with them before He went to the cross. Yet, Jesus never used any of these rights that he could have used. Why? That he may not offend others, he did not demand his rights but he freely gave and laid down his rights. Beware of the knowledge of your privileges as a Christian, without a heart to serve. Beware of head knowledge and not hand service, get your hands dirty in serving others. You can use your freedom to sin, to wound the weaker brother with the weaker conscience or you can use your freedom to serve. Instead of causing someone to stumble, lay down your rights release them, let go.
That is why Jesus goes on in Matthew 18:6-11 to say that, “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” God is concerned for the little ones with a weaker conscience. If you want to see how much he is concerned watch a movie called, “The Cokeville Miracle,” a story about a bombing in an American School in the 1980s and how God protected the children.
The question is will you release your rights for the sake of others? Jesus says that we are to get rid of anything that causes sin, even if it is a New Testament privilege that Jesus has given you. Jesus only offended people when he was obeying the clear commands of the father and speaking the truth in love. Remember, Peter did not even want him to wash his feet, and then when he heard Jesus' answer he changed his mind. Jesus was not demanding his own rights. Jesus did not offend people by demanding his rights, the only time he offended people was when he spoke the truth in love, and they did not want to hear the truth. He demonstrated his love practically by serving. Are you causing people to fall by getting your own way? God gives you freedom from sin. God gives you freedom in a new life in Christ, you have been born again to serve others and to lay down your life for them.
I saw this attitude wonderfully illustrated when I went on a mission trip to Mozambique, as the leader of the mission trip. I had instructed our teammates that we were to eat what was put before us with thanksgiving. We were to be grateful and not to be fussy about food. Five of us went all the way to Mozambique. We got there and we got to the church where we had been sent. We discovered that the pastor had passed away, and that his wife was leading the church. The lady was continuing with the work of God there. Her name was Sister Rita. Sister Rita loved Jesus. The first thing she said was that we were to eat because we travelled a long way. She put food before us and it was a dish called matapa - a little bit like our green spinach. We all ate it because I told the team we must eat it. We had brought enough food with us from South Africa for the whole week. We wanted to eat the food we brought. However, she insisted that she would feed us, as she grew the food herself.
There was one team member in particular, who kept telling me about his dietary constraints and his medical conditions. I said that we will trust God we will eat the food that is put before us with thanksgiving. We did just that. I must tell you; the first day's dish was a little bit difficult because it was different to our tastes, it was very plain but we ate it. The second day, the same dish came but this time they added peanuts to the “spinach.” The third day it had something else in it. Each day it got a little bit tastier (or we got a little bit hungrier, I am not too sure,) but we ate gratefully. On the last day, we were surprised by Sister Rita because she took about a 20% of her visible livestock, she slaughtered it that we might enjoy. What she had, was a meal that we would have paid a fortune for in a restaurant in South Africa. She gave the very best that she had. We ate and we were celebrating because in those 11 days we were there, we saw God do miracles.
We saw God save hundreds of people at meetings. We saw miracles happening overnight. We saw instantaneous interventions and healings by God. We saw people saved over in the thousands at the end of the week. God was good to us and Sister Rita was bowled over and she was celebrating. Out of her generosity she shared what she had and she had very little. She stayed in a house with one room and she fed us that whole week, five team members from South Africa. We ate well. When we left, we asked if we might leave her the food that we brought with and she graciously accepted. We left with joyful hearts, having seen God at work.
A year later, we went back to visit Sister Rita and we discovered that she had taken the food, she had helped some of the people in the congregation. She had also sold some of it, and from the sales of that food, she been able to replenish her livestock and double her visible assets. God is nobody’s debtor he fed her and us. He taught me a very valuable lesson, do not offend people, try as far as possible to live at peace with all people. Eat what is before you, eat it with thanksgiving, even if it is maybe spicier or blander than you wish, eat everything with thanksgiving. Seek not to cause offence. That lesson was a very valuable lesson for me.
We need to change our attitudes. We should not hurt the feelings of people around us as far as possible. Especially the weaker Christians and our whole team learned humility through this process. We had the privilege of seeing miracles and God at work. What we learnt from this is something about the heart of God. God desires that everyone be saved and no one be lost. We are to seek the good of many and not our own good, so that they may be saved.
That is why Romans 14:19 says, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.” Make it your aim not to cause another to stumble because of your personal freedoms in Christ. Do not claim your rights, but maybe remember that what is biblically permissible does not always build up other Christians. I want to encourage you to examine your life in the light of what the Holy Spirit convicts. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any hidden motives in your heart, any agendas where you want it your way. What is for your good and not for the good of others. Put that right, ask Jesus to forgive you and then choose to learn and lead as a servant. In order for them to be saved, use your freedom in Christ to set others free, not to assert your own rights.
As 2 Corinthians 6:3 says, “We put no stumbling block in anyone's path so that our ministry will not be discredited.” Seek the good of many, not your own good, so that they may be saved. God will provide for your good. He provided Jesus to die for you on the cross. Jesus rose from the dead to give you eternal life. That you might rise bodily and be resurrected to live in a new heaven and a new earth. All of this Jesus gives you is a gift. Trust him to free you from bondage to sin and be free to serve. In your freedom, release your rights and serve others that they may be saved. Seek the good of many, not your own good so that they may be saved.
In this age, when many are complaining, many are grumbling, and many are critical. You wash the feet of those who need their feet washed. You help where you can, you give a glass of water to the thirsty. You feed the hungry, and you be part of God's purposes and plans, in a world that is quick to point fingers. If you by your good deeds demonstrate what God has done in your heart they will give glory to God, when they realize that your service is genuine and out of a heart of love.
Let us pray together: O Lord Jesus help us now to love as you have loved us. To serve as you have served us and set an example for us. Help us to seek the good of many that they may be saved. Forgive us Lord Jesus, where we have looked out for our own interests. We live in a selfish age where everybody seems to be just looking out for themselves. Lord, help us to look out for the needs of others. To give of ourselves because you gave yourself for us. Help us to serve joyfully and with love and to be your hands in a world that is hurting. To be your feet taking your word to the ends of the Earth. To be your hugs encouraging broken-hearted people. Lord, strengthen us we pray and use us to practically to make a difference in a hurting world. Bless us, Lord, practically and guide us. Some of us we need to say, “Jesus have mercy on me a sinner. Save me and lead me from this day forward to serve you as a free forgiven human being. To your glory I pray amen.”
May God use you as his servant to glorify him and bring great honour to his name, now and forevermore amen.