Post by Murph on Aug 7, 2023 7:21:23 GMT -6
Has Jesus Offended You?
I will never forget the old Jewish woman. I met her at a nursing home in Hendersonville, NC. A group of us Christian college guys would go and hold Sunday meetings at several nursing homes on Sundays.
It was my turn to preach, and I chose to preach the Gospel, which emphasized who Jesus is. Most services were well-received by kindly elderly folks appreciating the attention and program. In the middle of my message that day, however, this woman starts yelling out from her wheelchair as loud as she can, “That’s not true! Jesus cannot be the Messiah! Jesus is not God!” She went on for a few minutes like this, really worked up. One of my co-workers gently led her back to her room.
After the unusual service, I went to visit the woman at her room. I asked her why she so violently reacted to my message. She was honest in her frail state of mind, unguarded. She said something like, “Jesus cannot be God. If He was God, then it would mean that all my mother’s good works for the synagogue were in vain. Jesus cannot be God.” What she was communicating to me was this: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ is too offensive. I’m afraid of the painful realities I would have to face. I refuse to believe.” In my inexperience, I was shocked to hear such a clear declaration of unwillingness to believe, regardless of whether the Gospel was true or not.
rootedthinking.com/2023/08/01/has-jesus-offended-you/