That Ye Should Not Be Offended, d1

"Offended" in John 16:1 comes from the Greek skandalos, meaning to trip, stumble, fall. Same cognate from which we get "scandal."

John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

We have to keep in mind that on the eve of Jesus' death, the apostles were scared, immature little children.  They were arguing amongst themselves as to who would get to lead the parades when Jesus led the physical armies against Rome.  They didn't love each other and they didn't even understand the idea of a "church kingdom," much less feel ready to die for it.

Somehow, Jesus turned this ragtag band into the greatest revolutionary force in the history of spirituality.  That's not a matter of faith; it's a matter of historical record.  A tiny Jewish sect did take over the world.  The interesting question, for the unbiased and intrigued unbeliever, is what happened to that original band of believers that turned them into lions -- going one after another to their executions with smiles on their faces, so to speak.

Jesus' first generation of trainees did launch an impossible religious movement.  Buddhism didn't have the opposition of the Jews and Rome in its infancy.  Christianity was so overmatched, in 35-313 AD, that the situation was preposterous.  Yet here it is.  What has been Christianity's influence?  Try imagining the United States of America if there had never been any Christianity.  Imagine it as Islamic, or Keltic, or Taoist, or Buddhist.

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These things have I spoken unto you, that ye not be offended.  In one night, Jesus gave them the state-of-mind they would need to fight the entire world, for the rest of their lives.  One thing He did, was to simply reconcile them to the fact that they would be hated.  For the rest of their lives.

I have a friend who has a 50% chance of being downsized at Boeing.  But if he does get powerflushed, he will get 8 weeks' severance pay on the day he leaves.  That's a good-sized check.  He will also get very significant benefits for 6 months after he leaves.  And they didn't surprise him with it; he has had almost as much notice as his superiors has had.

Under those circumstances, do you think you could arrange to survive the problems?

This same friend, about six months before that, had to fire a man who grabbed a woman at an offsite office party.  The man had zero notice:  he walked in the next day, and was asked to meet with the boss in a conference room.  Two security guards were there, along with a Human Resources rep.  So imagine yourself munching a danish, walking in, and immediately being sat down with your boss in a room with those three other people.  A bit nerve-wracking .... he had 15 minutes to clean out his desk, leave the premises, and physically hand his badge to the security guards so that he couldn't gain entry again.

Which way would you prefer to lose your job?  :- )

With a little advance notice, we can usually handle difficulty.  We're big boys and girls.

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Jesus told us that there will be times when people hate us -- not for our manner, but because of what we believe.  (If you don't wholeheartedly endorse the teaching of homosexuality to your 2nd-grader, try politely stating your opinion in public, and see how much tolerance you receive.  The anger flows both ways.  It isn't called a "culture war" for nothing:  it is a war, a war of ideas.)

Also within any community of spiritual people, you can and will run into hostility.  Paul did.  Jesus did.  If Jesus couldn't find a way to state His beliefs, sweetly enough to avoid having people hate Him, you won't either.   It isn't the way you say things.  It's what you say that is the problem.

16:2 Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Zealots won't pull their punches, because You Deserve It.  This is true of the TV evangelist and it is true of the editor of The Advocate.  There is nobody more discompassionate than the man who is sure he is right.

Or, there is the man like Gamaliel.  In Acts 5:34, the Jewish leaders were getting ready to beat or even kill the apostles, when Gamaliel said something incredible:  "Hey, guys, we're probably right here.  But let's just say that we're not?  Let's say that maybe we're wrong -- and these Galileans are indeed God's ambassadors?  Shouldn't we pull our punches on this beating, just a little bit?"

Neither the TV evangelist, nor the editor of the Advocate, ever seems to stop and consider, "What if I'm wrong here?  Maybe I should moderate my attacks a bit, just in case it does turn out that I'm wrong?"

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A mature spiritual person -- Gandhi, Paul, Mother Teresa -- accepts pain.

What if you were truly braced for difficulty?  If the Creator told you, okay, during your life you will have three random years that will be absolutely miserable -- but those three years will be a huge part of you making the world a better place.  And the other years, you'll have a good time.

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Spiritually speaking, all of the world's major religious Founders taught that the world is essentially a poisoned place.  They also taught that some clear streams do run through it.  Those who wish to carry buckets of water around, had better realize that it won't always be a thanked task.

Kind regards,

Jeff

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