It was the miracle that catapulted Christ into fame, having filled its observers with holy fear and a sense that God had indeed come. On an otherwise ordinary day, Jesus and a large crowd of followers encountered a massive funeral procession outside a small town called Nain. Gazing at the widow who'd lost her only son, Jesus tenderly uttered, Stop weeping. Then, touching the coffin's side, He called out, Young man, I say to you, arise! To the astonishment of all, the dead man sat up and began talking, even as Jesus handed him over to his stunned mother. Scripture says the report of this resurrection went out all over Judea and the surrounding district.

When John the Baptist, languishing in a dark prison cell, heard the news, he appealed to two of his followers to go investigate. Soon they caught up with Jesus, asking as John had instructed them, Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?

In response, Jesus performed a host of miracles before their very eyes, and then exhorted them: Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Then, in what almost seemed an afterthought, Jesus added, And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me (Luke 7:21-23, Matthew 11:2-6).

Why John sent these men at this time is a mystery. Maybe he simply wanted Jesus to know his fate. Perhaps he needed some words of encouragement, or the reassurance that Jesus was indeed the One worth dying for. Whatever the reasons, Jesus's unusual answer established something with which every serious seeker must come to terms -- that to follow Him means to grapple with the offensive, illogical ways of a God who won't be constricted by human reasoning, no matter how religious its overtones.

The Greek word for offense is skandalizo from which we derive our word scandalous. Jesus often says and does scandalous things that upend our arrogant assessments of how a good God should behave. He shuns the religious elite to dine with prostitutes and drunkards and thieves. He offers the faithful servant who has spent a lifetime in ministry the same wage as a murderer who makes a death bed profession of faith. He balks at pompous piety and pours out grace on the needy. He turns sons against mothers and allows His most faithful followers to be martyred, ever demolishing the sanctuary of our 'God-boxes'.

There will be times for each of us when to follow this Jesus will mean having our safety nets pulled out from under us. Our creeds may no longer comfort and questions may come from the very dogma we once defended, as we learn first-hand that like Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, though Jesus is good, He is certainly not safe. For John this meant being shut up in prison, his life about to end in a gruesome way, even though he'd spent it faithfully heralding the coming of Christ. We can almost imagine Jesus's tender admonition to the cousin He so loved, Don't be offended at this John -- your very happiness rests in not stumbling over that which you cannot understand.

In the end, to follow this Jesus is to come to the place where we cease to stumble over Him, though there may be moments of conflict and seasons of darkness. Once He has secured our devotion with His everlasting love, we must continually choose to give up our rights, our wisdom, and our control, indeed our very lives, for in the end we know that He is worthy. In those times of despair, in those still and quiet moments when we cannot see His face, we may hear Him gently whisper, You do not want to go away also, do you? But like Peter, we have no other answer than, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life (John 6:68).

In this, we affirm forever that nothing is lovelier than our Lord, that He is joy, even as we partake in the fellowship of His suffering. Truly, when we know this Jesus, we delight to humbly bow and put our trust in Him, for our happiness depends on it.

To follow Jesus is to walk a path that will often not make sense to the natural mind. As a stumbling block, He will call us to works or decisions that fly in the face of this world's values. Are there any areas of your life currently that demonstrate this reality?

To walk with Jesus is to wrestle at times with His words, His plans, and His ways, and yet to find the joy in not being offended at what He is doing or has done. Have you discovered this happiness that Jesus speaks of, that comes from not stumbling over His ways? How might the way you handle difficulty demonstrate the worth of your Lord?

The joy of faith comes in knowing Him as He is – the One who has eternal life in His hands, and Who alone is holy – perfect in all His ways – in justice, righteousness, goodness, mercy, peace. Ponder this and write a prayer of response.

A Prayer

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