John 16:1

John 16:1 says, These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not offended.  When the world ridiculed and persecuted the disciples, Jesus had warned them in advance that this would happen so they could be prepared.  Since what the disciples expected of Jesus and what was about to occur were so different, there was a possibility they would be offended about having followed Him.  The same is true today.  When God doesn't do what people expect, they become offended by Him.  One reason people of the world reject salvation is because they have to admit their own unworthiness to accept it.  Again, we must admit our need for forgiveness and realize that this is only possible through the sacrifice of Christ.  Jesus was speaking to His disciples, and sometimes they were offended at His death, prior to His resurrection. We as His followers today have to be careful that we are not offended by the Gospel.  When we see sinful, unrepentant people prosper, are we secretly filled with envy of them or resentment toward God?  Jesus told His disciple, and that applies to us today, what to expect and not to be offended when it did.  Verse two adds, They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think he doeth God service.  We know many early Christians were put to death for their faith in Jesus.  We may not see much of that where we live, but Christians are still being put to death today in the name of a god, which the people doing it see as the God of the Old Testament.  We need to be prepared to be faithful until death.  Verse three continues, And these things they will do unto you, because they have not known the Father or Me.  There may be those who claim to be killing Christians because they are serving God, but Jesus said they didn't know Him or the Father.  We cannot come to the Father except through the blood of the Son.  There certainly are many people in the world today who are killing Christians in the name of a god, but it is not the true God.  We simply must be prepared to stand firm in our convictions in the love of God.  He will be with us in this world, and more importantly, if we are taken from this world, for the everlasting life to come.