And they were offended by [Jesus]. And blessed is the one who isn’t offended by him.

Matthew 13:57, 11:6 CSB

“Sometimes good people don’t like the message of mercy, because they think (wrongly) that people are going to get away with wickedness. But mercy was at the heart of Jesus’ messianic mission. This is where and how God is at work. Those who recognize it, and are not offended because they were expecting something else, will know God‘s blessing.” —N. T. Wright

Are you offended when God does the unexpected? Shows mercy on someone else? Are you offended by what he does and does not do?

Participating in God’s kingdom means we expect him to be unexpected and aren’t offended by him. Instead, we are happy and well off.

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Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone Part One (Louisville, KY: SPCK and Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 127.