Matthew 24:10 (NKJ)
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Many things have been written about bitterness and unforgiveness which are good and true. But this writing focuses on the times we live in and the need for complete humility of heart, unconditional surrender to the purifying fires of God, and uncompromised obedience to the Lord who taught forgiveness in the most profound way possible – as he was dying upon the Cross.
In Matthew 24: 3-13, Jesus is speaking of the signs to look for just before his return. Right in among the warnings of wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes, we have this picture in verse 10 (above) of how people will conduct themselves who are not surrendered in obedience to the leading and an example of our Lord.
People who were very close to Jesus betrayed, abandoned, denied and cursed Him; and those were his friends and disciples. Others accused, slandered, vilified and finally killed Him. Yet, his prayer was “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” God desires that we should follow his Son’s example.
Though we cannot compare ourselves to our Lord in what he suffered and sacrificed, He is our exemplar model of how we are to live and die.
“Yet he opened not his mouth” to defend himself…. (Isaiah 53:7)
We must die to our need for earthly justification in the eyes of men. When we wait for our Defender to vindicate us, we will see His justice in due time. Persecution will come, we are assured of it and it is for our perfection. We may be slandered, betrayed and abandoned by those whom we love and who profess love for us, but deny it with their words and actions. They do not have God’s heart for us, and their actions and words often challenge our very identity in him. Don’t let your offenses cause you to enter into the same camp as your offenders. If we surrender to the fiery processes of God which are clearly outlined in his Word, we will be resurrected in due time and we will live with him forever and ever in the beauty of his holiness.
In our own humanity, we struggle when we are hurt (offended). Our first reaction is to defend ourselves. Many times the path we take because of the offense is one of ultimate destruction and condemnation for us. It is said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die. If we are honest about it, when we defend ourselves against false accusation, we often turn that accusation against the offender and develop a hatred that wants to murder the other person with our tongues (words).
The very nature of a defense coming from an offended heart is injurious to ourselves and others. If we do not cleanse ourselves of this poison, we will ultimately destroy our own spiritual connectedness with our Lord and hinder our ability to commune with him. He taught us by supreme example, and He will recognize us by our likeness to Him.
We wonder if those who accuse us are of God….
Judge not for with whatsoever measure you use, so will it be meted unto you. We should treat those who have slandered, accused and betrayed us with all the grace that we ourselves desire when we meet our Lord at the judgment seat of Christ. For we will all be judged according to His Righteous Judgment – not our own sense of justice that is tainted by our offenses while we lived in this world.
When King Saul attacked David unjustly, David would not sin but instead cried out to the Lord:
1 Samuel 24:12
Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.
In my own personal life, some offenses were too heavy for me to bear in my own strength. I failed miserably to deal with that offense in the way that God would lead. My failures led to my estrangement from Him in a way that brought leanness to my soul and I ultimately fell on my face in repentance and cried out to him for mercy – and here is a key – I cried out for mercy for the offender as well. There is no offense that is worth even a cursory estrangement from our Lord.
Even when your offender is dead wrong, never allow your own sense of entitlement to justice to cause you to sin against God by retaliating.
The Ultimate Test
The ultimate test is one of pride and humility. Pride led to satan being cast out of heaven. Pride leads to unforgiveness and ultimately, alienation from Him. And pride always leads to a fall and destruction (Proverbs 16:18). We are more than conquerors because He, in His grace will enable us. While our offenses may be great and indeed sometimes horrific, and while those who have caused them are worthy of judgment, we are not charged with administering that judgment. We are charged with obedience to the teachings of Christ Who taught us to forgive, leave the judgment to Him, and walk in humility and submission.
The Lord said in that day (of judgment), many will say unto Him:
Matthew 7:21-25 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.”
Knew in the scripture above means to have an intimate relationship with.
That’s why we are warned by the Lord himself that wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through that gate. But small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Enduring until the end….
In the same passage in Matthew 24 which warns us of offense and the other things which will occur right before his coming, we also see a verse that describes the overcomer:
Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Endure is defined in the Greek below:
G5278 hoop-om-en’-o – To stay under (behind), that is, remain; figuratively to undergo, that is, bear (trials), have fortitude, persevere: – abide, endure, (take) patient (-ly), suffer, tarry behind.
Jesus humbled himself even unto death on the Cross. He endured the ultimate humiliation and injustice of man. He is our supreme example and our light by which we are able to find our way.
In the days we live in which are the last of the last, we must understand that He is coming for a bride without spot or wrinkle whose lamps are full of oil (Matthew 25); one who has prepared herself for His return. His bride will shine brightly and the oil in her lamps will illuminate the way to Him. He will know (have an intimate relationship with) her, and she will know Him. Just as oil is extracted from the olive by crushing, I believe that precious oil which lights our lamps and lead us to Him comes from the crushing processes of life which, when we submit to them in obedience to God, show us the way to life everlasting.
Those things which He taught us by His supreme example are the things He will recognize within us at His coming. He will know us (have an intimate relationship with us) and we will know Him.
God loves you, He really does!
