We come to the New Testament. We also see that Jesus tells us that the offenses which we perpetrate bring God’s judgment on those are responsible. That’s why it’s a very serious business.
It’s not something you can take lightly. In Matthew chapter 18 Jesus said
4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! Matthew 18.4-7
So God’s saying that, if you are in a state of offending God – and the offenses which we see all around us in our society are testimony to the fact that human beings are at war with God and are guilty of offending God – if we’re part of that case, Jesus says: it’s better for you that you had a millstone put around your neck and you were drowned in the sea.
If you don’t believe the Gospel and if you cause other people to stumble, especially little children, then that’s really offensive to God.
Someone said, ‘if that was actually put in practice, there’d be a severe shortage of millstones around the place!’ Because people have done so much to offend God in this way.
So, we have this very clear statement by Jesus here that your offenses are an offense to God, and they bring you under the Judgment of God.
Now, again people don’t want to hear this. They don’t want to be told this, it’s offensive to them. But the fact is that Romans tells us that each one of us shall give account to God.
So, after we die, we’re going to stand before God and give account to God – which is a very solemn thought to get hold of – and the only way you can be justified before God is through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Again, that’s offensive to many people because people say, ‘Well I’m a good person. I live according to my religion. I do what my rabbi, my imam, my priest tells me to do‘.
But Jesus says that unless you repent and believe, unless you are born again, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
So, we need to take that step of faith and anything which diverts from the Cross of Jesus Christ is an offense to God.
We have an amazing situation in Matthew chapter 16 when Peter has just confessed before the LA that he believes that he is the Messiah the Son of God and Jesus commends him for this and says to him,
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:17-19
‘This has been revealed to you from heaven’ and Jesus commends him for this and he says that ‘you’re Peter and on this Rock I’m going to build my church’. That doesn’t mean that the church is built on Peter, it means it’s built upon the confession of faith of Peter that Jesus is the Messiah.
So, Peter must have been feeling pretty good at this time. And the next thing which happens is that, in verse 21 of Matthew 16,
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16:21-23
You see that Peter then turns and Jesus says, ‘I’m going to go up to Jerusalem, I’m going to be crucified, I’m going to rise from the dead on the third day’. That was the purpose of which he came into the world. Peter says, ‘That shouldn’t happen to you Lord! That’s not supposed to happen to the Messiah. You’re supposed to then go and rule and reign over the earth, and bring peace and justice to the world‘.
And Jesus then turns to Peter and says, “Get behind Me, Satan!” Probably, the most undiplomatic thing he could say to anybody. Jesus calls Peter “Satan” and says to his beloved disciple, “You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
So, why was Peter an offense? Because he was diverting, trying to divert Jesus from going to the Cross. And Jesus knew that the only way in which He could pay the price for the sin of the world was to go to the Cross, to die on the Cross for you and for me.
