“And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” (Mathew 11: 6)

            The works, words and the miracles are the witness of The Coming One for whom the prophets had already foretold. The gospel which Jesus proclaimed for salvation is the evidence of the coming Messiah. John the Baptist was in prison. He had no chance to see the miracles and to hear the gospel of Christ; therefore he wanted to know the fact of, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” And due to his wonderful works, words, miracles and gospel of salvation Jesus asked the disciples to tell John, “Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” Jesus was not a stumbling block for mankind. His works and miracles removed the doubt of John.  

            The rumours of enemies are the causes of offence for others. For John the adversaries said, “He hath a devil”, and for Jesus they said, “A man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.” But Jesus, The wisdom of God, was justified by his words and miracles.   

            Occasionally folks of his own Native Land, not knowing the real mystery of Jesus, got offended by the works of Jesus. They said, “From whence hath this man these things? ---- Such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, The brother of James and Josses, and of Judah, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” (Mark 6:1-6). But the folks of his native land did not know about his miraculous birth by the power of The Holy Ghost. They thought Jesus was just like them. They never thought that such miracles can not be wrought by a human being.

            Addressing a crowd Jesus said, “Labour not the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed--- ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” As Jesus declared himself greater and more significant than ‘Manna’ and said, “I am the bread of Life, which came down from heaven,” the opponents began to remark, “---Is not this Jesus---Whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? When further more Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh.” (John 6:26-70). But the Jews began to strike among themselves and remarked, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? But Jesus said, “----Except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life---- For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” The disciples, hearing the words of Jesus remarked, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it? Jesus said, “Doth this offend you?” Hearing this many of his believers went back and worked no more with him. They could not understand the mystery of eating the flesh as the bread of life and of drinking his blood as ransom for the sins of the believers.

            But Jesus told his disciples, “These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended.” (John 16:1). What were the things spoken by Jesus before his disciples, which would not be the cause of stumbling for them? A few things are: - “Let not your heart be troubled: ye

 Believe in God, believe also in me-----I go to prepare a place for you. ----Believe me that I am in the father, and the father in me. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. (John 14). For without me ye can do nothing----If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love---Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends-----If the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you----If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (John15). These were the things which Jesus spoke and than he said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.”  

            Jesus had told his believers that the adversaries would persecute the followers of Christ because neither they know the father nor Christ. That was why Jesus said, “These things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.” (John 16:4).

Stumbling occurs due to disbelief and by believing a lie and not by not believing the Truth. Jesus said, “Take heed that no men deceive you.” They were deceived because they were offended; “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another.” The offenders and deceivers shall be false prophets, false apostles, false Jesus, false Christs & anti-Christs who shall develop deceptions, iniquity, stumbling blocks, exaggerated falsifications, false stories about the marriage of Jesus and shall deny the Resurrection of Jesus by publishing a false experiment of the D.N.A. of Jesus and claiming for a certain dead body as the dead body of Jesus.

            Stumblings are also caused by crimes and sins &desires and deceptions: - “----If thy hand or thy foot offends thee, cut them off ------ if thine eye offends thee, pluck it out.” There is a great tug of war between the self and the conscience of man because desires interrupt them, but the real action good or bad depends on the winner. A stumbling block is formed in the mind of man. The conscience may win over this block; the self too can follow the counsel of self. The decision is yours, whether to jump over this block or remove the block by the power of the conscience or stumble and fall down by following the voice of self. Paul says, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” (1-Corinth 1:23).Even most of the Jews and Israelites and the Orthodox followers of the law rejected the cross of Jesus, the crucified Christ and his resurrection before the law; and they spread offensive rumours, wrote false scrolls, gospels, documents, drew captivating portrait by their own imagination, wrote fictions and false stories against Christ; all these were proved great stumbling and offences for mankind.

            Jesus says, “It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him through whom they come!” (Luke 17:1, Math. 18:7). But who are the offenders? These are they who prepare stumbling blocks, deceptions by the product of their own mind and get them published in black and white or show them on the screens. To day’s criticasters have already prepared such offences by which they have defamed and defiled the name of Jesus Christ so that people may be offended and stumble down on these blocks of stumbling. That was why Paul warns, “-----Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them,” (Rom. 16:17). Christian denominations are also the cause of offences because there is much differentiation in their doctrines and belief. Have you ever judged the exaggerated and forged lie which the T.V. commentators have forged about the love affair of Jesus and Magdalene and for the coffin and dead body of Jesus and its D.N.A. test? A number of believers get offended by such dark lies. The offenders got stumbled many souls, and they themselves were deceived. (1-Corinth 8:13).

            What shall be the end of these offences and stumbling blocks? “The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them               

Which do iniquity,” (Math. 13:41). Paul has already warned the believers, “Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:11-13). The believers of Christ have weapons of God and they are ready to cope with the sons of the Devil. The arms of the believers of Jesus are: - Truth, Righteousness, The glad Tiding of Peace, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation, The Sword of The Holy Spirit of God, The Word of God, Awakening, The Mystery of The Gospel of Jesus, Patience and Tolerance, Light of God etc.

But the weapons of the sons of Satan are: - Darkness, lie, forged exaggeration, unrighteousness, war, the shield of disbelief, the helmet of evil, sword of the evil spirit, the word of the devils, curse, anger, greed, lust etc.

            And this war stays till Jesus comes again. The sons of God shall never be offended, they stay in faith. And the believers of The Lord Jesus Christ should Know that:-

            “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1- Thessalonians 4: 16-17). Amen.            

Composed By: - Rev. Dr. Jashobeam Singh.                         Administrator Christ Vision Network 

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