Mark 7:24-8:21 The disciples come up to Jesus privately and say, “Do you realize that you offended the Pharisees?” They we’re offended! The disciples could tell, in fact they probably wanted everyone to know they were ruffled, they were wearing their offense on their sleeves for all to see! Probably huffing and exhaling loudly, and murmuring, making a real scene about their displeasure, so everyone would know that they disapprove. They took offense.
And as childish as we might think they were being, I think it is interesting how often we do exactly the same thing as these Pharisees. Something rubs us the wrong way, we find fault with something or someone – and for whatever reason it is not corrected to our satisfaction – and what happens? We get offended. We huff and we puff and we think condescending, holier-than-thou thoughts, and we begin to harbor ill thoughts as we think, of course, that we are in the right, and we take offense - we get offended at the silliest things! And when we do, we bring judgment on ourselves, because the finger always points back at our own hearts. Jesus basically points back to the Pharisees, and to all of us, and essentially says, “It doesn’t matter how you wash your hands, or how you pass the communion tray, or the style of your music, what matters is your heart.” Your heart. A heart that is hungry for God will be a lot less likely to be offended. A heart that is surrendered to the Lordship of Christ will be a lot harder to offend, because that is a person that understands that it’s not all about him. Newsflash: Life is not all about you.
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