This morning’s passage is found in Mark 4 beginning at verse 35. I will read from the NIV.
The focus verse for me in this passage beginning with 4:35 and going through to the end of chapter 5 is in verse 41. The Disciples asked each other, “Who is this?” It is a question and a quest that has been asked for 2000 years. The answers we seek to this question are found in the scriptures. We need go no further than the inspired word of God to discover all we need to know about Jesus. The problem is that often we do not want to accept the answer.
We see this earlier in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man (2:10). That he and he alone has authority to forgive sins. The teachers of the law sought to find fault, to make Jesus into someone else –a liar, a demon possessed person. His family did not accept at first and saw him as delusional or crazy. Many sought to see Jesus just as a miracle worker or a good teacher. The question, Who is this? Is answered quickly and clearly in all of the gospels.
Matthew 1 –the messiah, Immanuel, Jesus, savior.
Luke 1 –the son of the most high God who will reign forever
John 1 –the word was god and became flesh
Here in Mark 1 –You are my son, whom I love, the bringer of Good News –THE good news!
And here in this passage today 4:35-5:43, we have the clear picture of Jesus Christ being Lord of all, that he is the Son of Man spoken of in the prophesy of Daniel 7. Let me read it for you beginning with verse 13.
Who is this? He is Jesus Christ, Lord. Although it does not say the word Lord in this passage he earlier declares that he is Lord of the Sabbath (2:28), the actions of Jesus certainly show his lordship and authority over all aspects of creation.
Here in the passage we read, we can see that Jesus is Lord of creation. The Sea of Galilee is actually quite a small lake. It measures only about 7 miles at its widest and 13 miles at its longest. If you stand on a hillside just above the water you can see the entire lake on a clear day. It is situated in a valley and the winds can come up quite quickly and cause the water to get quite rough. How could experienced fishermen who knew this lake so well get caught in the open?
On our first trip to Israel, Jodi and I stayed in a place right on the shore. Within an hour the water went from calm and quiet to whitecaps and rough as the wind picked up and wept into the valley of the lake.
Jesus is asleep in the stern when the storm comes up. It was terrifying, even for these seasoned, experienced men. Jesus stands and rebukes the wind (the cause of the storm and waves). The word rebuke is used when one has authority to command.
The calming of the storm is a great picture not just of the power of Jesus but the authority of Jesus. He is Lord of the natural elements. We read in Colossians 1:15-19…
The second part of the narrative has Jesus and the disciples landing on the east side of the lake. There they encounter a man, likely well known in the area, who is possessed and comes running down the hill yelling, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the most high God. Swear you won’t torture me.” The words of the man communicate to us several things –the recognition of who Jesus is, the power Jesus has, and the fear Jesus brings to the demons.
I can imagine the scene as the disciples had just come out of the fearful experience of the storm and now this wild man, whom we read, was so strong he broke chains and no one could subdue him. Imagine seeing this man running don the hill towards you as you are just getting off the boat, still shaking from the storm! And Jesus, as calmly as he speaks to the wind and the waves, speaks to this man.
We read that Jesus said to the demons get out, and then they asked, they ASKED, to be sent into the herd of pigs and Jesus gave permission! Again, the authority of Jesus is brought to light.
Earlier Jesus had been accused by those who opposed him of being possessed by Beelzabub (Mark 3:20-30). The power of Jesus in casting out the demons cannot be lost on the disciples as they hear the echoes of Jesus own words, “Satan cannot drive out Satan.”
Although this is not the first time Jesus has cast out demons, it is by far the most potent. He has the authority to command not one or two, but a legion! In this case at least 2000 demons!
In I John 3:8 we read that Jesus came to destroy the Devil’s works. John, who wrote these words, stood on that shore and watched Jesus free a man from the oppressive, seeming mighty power of Satan with a word –come out. And then he gave permission, permission! The word in greek is always used of one who has authority to do so, to grant. Even the spiritual world must obey, for Jesus Christ is Lord of heaven and of earth!
The third scene is two stories wrapped in one. Jesus returns to the western shore near Capernaum. There he is met by a crowd, one of whom is a ruler of the synagogue. Remember, the religious leaders were largely against Jesus, but we see this man coming to Jesus falling at his feet and pleading for Jesus to come and heal his daughter. As they make their way into the village, the crowd presses in and a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years reaches out and touches the cloak of Jesus. She is immediately healed.
Felling the power leave him, Jesus wants to know who touched him. Not just any touch because many were touching him (v 31). The woman then falls at Jesus feet knowing she could be punished for what she had done. You see, she was bleeding as a part of her menstrual cycle and was considered unclean. She had just made Jesus unclean and he would not be able to proceed and he would be unclean until evening. Since time was of the essence, this could mean the death of the little girl. And we see that indeed the girl had died.
But for the moment, Jesus deals with the woman. His response to here and her actions is, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” I want to come back to this later, but for now begin to see that Jesus has authority over the physical realm of our lives. Again this is nothing new. Jesus has been healing people for maybe a year or more from al kinds of things –lameness, blindness, all kinds of diseases. What makes this more impacting is the declaration that it is her faith that has healed her. Faith in what? Rather faith in who? In Jesus Christ.
Faith plays a huge part in the follower of Jesus. It is faith that makes one be good soil. Paul says it is by grace we are saved through faith. In Galatians we read that we are justified by faith and are to live by faith in the Son of God. Faith is being sure of what we hope for! And never has this been more clearly shown than in the act of the woman here. She desperately hoped in the simple touch of Jesus that she would be healed.
You can imagine the great hope, the great resolve this woman had, just to touch his garment! And her faith healed her. Her faith in Christ, the one who has authority over the wind, the waves the demon possessed. Jesus is Lord of our physical world.
I must note, but cannot explain, that there were many who touched Jesus at that time but did not get healed. Why? I do not know. But this I know, this woman was. And by faith she received not only healing but the blessing of peace. Go in peace!
It I perhaps this peace that is more important than the healing. This troubled woman, this fear fraught woman, this desperate woman received something we all need –the peace of Christ. The prince of peace, who is peace and brings peace between God and man, gives peace even in our struggles.
Jesus would later bless his followers with his peace, not as the world gives, but as he gives. (John 14:27) A peace that guards our hearts and minds in Christ. (Philippians 4:7)
And in the middle of this blessing, the news comes. The girl is dead. There is no peace no in the life of this man. But Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, just believe.”
Faith in the midst of tragedy can be really hard. I can imagine the father, giving in to the temptation to blame God/Jesus. If only you had not delayed, if only you had not stopped to deal with this unclean woman! He could have blamed and lashed out at the woman who delayed Jesus, or the crowds who slowed him down.
He could have given in to the crowds who had already given up –don’t bother the teacher, she is already gone. He could have given in to the crying of the mourners. They were already crying over the death. And then when Jesus said she was only sleeping he could have joined them in their disbelief.
But this man came to Jesus in faith at the start. And I think that, in part, the incident of the woman being healed was meant to bolster the faith of the man. We read nothing of his faith, nothing of his belief, only words of Jesus, “do not be afraid, just believe.” Perhaps seeing the woman healed, knowing her and knowing she was perpetually unclean, not only being unclean for 12 years, but unable to even go to the synagogue to pray.
We read simply that he went with Jesus, past the mourners turned scoffers, and with his wife went up to the room and witnessed the extraordinary event of the return of life to his daughter.
Who is this? This is Jesus. The son of man who has been given authority over all things. He is Lord of the Sabbath. He has authority to forgive sins. He commands the wind and the waves. He gives permission to demons. He heals and brings peace. He raises the dead. He is lord of heaven and earth.
Do you want to know Jesus? You do not need go any further than the gospel accounts. They proclaim and Jesus jumps out at us as Lord of all –he has the authority to do what he says, to be who he is and to offer us what we need –good news!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Jesus Christ -Lord of All (rejection by his own) JUly 15, 2012
Our passage this morning is found in Mark 6:1-6. I will be reading from the NIV.
Last week we looked at the question, “Who is this?” from Mark 4:41. A question that still we seek an answer to today. Who is this person, Jesus? We see, in reading the accounts of the 4 miracles found in chapters 4-5 that he is Lord over creation –even the wind and the waves obey him. He is the Lord over the spiritual realm, that the demons recognize who he is and even ask his permission for things. In the healing of the woman who had a bleeding problem for 12 years we see he is Lord over our physical world and in the raising of the little girl from the dead that Jesus is Lord over life and death. He is Lord!
And now in contrast to that power and authority and demonstration of who he is, that by his miracles and actions that he fulfills the prophecy of Daniel that he is the Son of Man who has authority and glory and sovereign power, stop at this word for a moment, sovereign.
This word means that he has absolute and final authority over all. Stop and think about this because it is a key part of understanding some of the tension we see in Mark 6. I’ll come back to this in a moment. Jesus is Lord, He has absolute authority over all peoples. He has dominion that is everlasting and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. He is sovereign. Listen to the words and the language used here –authority, glory, sovereign power, and he will be worshipped, dominion and kingdom. When Jesus declares he is the son of man he is declaring himself to be the Son of God, God come in flesh. Listen to the words of Paul later in Philippians 2:9-11. And then John, in Revelation 19:11-16. He is sovereign. He is the Son of Man and is Lord of all.
Jesus has healed the sick, calmed the storm, set the captive free, raised the dead, to show that he is the son of man and has the authority to forgive sin (2:10). And then Jesus goes home, to Nazareth and brings the same message –the good news, brings the same power in healing the sick. And as he speaks in the synagogue we read the people we amazed. Nothing new there. We see earlier when Jesus spoke and healed that people were amazed. But here the amazement is different. It is not one of Wow, look at that! Isn’t that incredible, are not the things he says and does wonderful and amazing! But it is one of almost incredulity. Really? Jesus? I know his parents, how could he do this? I went to school with him, really? I bought a chair from him, he did work for my father. Look, there is his family! And we read in verse 3, they took offense at him. Why? Well, Jesus answers the question in verse 4. (READ)
Many people who grow up in the church or in a Christian environment face a similar mindset –familiarity can breed contempt, as the saying goes. Like me, you grow up in a family that has been going to church forever. Sunday School, VBS, church 1-3 times a week. Familiarity with Jesus can, at times make the stories of Jesus humdrum. We lose our sense of awe.
Another aspect of this is that we often try to bring Jesus down to our level. What if God was one of us? We humanize Jesus to the point where we lose the godhood, the power and majesty and glory and yes, sovereignty. He went fishing with my boys, he sat in class with me, he is just one of us.
The third is, well, pride. The class system of the day was very set. Carpenters were carpenters. Potters were potters. Teachers were teachers. Upper class was upper class. You did not cross the line. Even into our own recent history and culture we see this in such movies as the Titanic where one did not go above ones station. In many cultures we still see this as in India with the caste system.
Here was Jesus, a carpenter, son of a carpenter, brother to carpenters. And now he comes in with these teachings and claims which set him above us? How dare he come and lecture us! They were offended!
And this pride lead into an area that I mentioned earlier about the tension that comes with Jesus as being sovereign, having authority, being the son of man. Because, if Jesus is who he said he is, Lord –if Jesus is indeed Lord of creation, Lord of the spiritual realm, lord of life and lord over death –if Jesus is who he claims and who he has demonstrated himself to be, then they faced a really tough choice –accept him or reject him –bow down or put down.
Because if he is who he claims to be, if he is who he demonstrates himself to be then they would have to bow down to him –He is Lord! But no! He is a carpenter, one of us, the son of Mary. I am not going to trust in this –this snot nosed kid who used to run around the village with my kids! I will not bow to this person who is no better than me!
If He is who he claims and shows himself to be then I must submit to him. Or I reject him. He is a liar, possessed by Beelzebub. He is crazy, delusional and we need to control him. Remember, the family that is mentioned here –Mary, James, Joseph, Simon, Judas, the sisters all not too long ago sought to take charge of him because they thought he was out of his mind. Do you think this was not known amoung the people of Nazareth, that even his own family did not believe?
The people of Nazareth were very much like so many people today –they thought they knew Jesus, but really did not. And would not, because if Jesus is who he said he was then we are held to a position of accountability.
Oh, we like a manageable god, we like a god who is our magic Jeanie who gives us what we want, and helps us when we need, but a sovereign God? A lord who is LORD, who has authority, glory, sovereign power, an everlasting dominion, a kingdom that will never be destroyed? We want the friend Jesus –and he is our friend. We want the provider Jesus and he is our provider, the account that followers soon after this is the one of the feeding of the 5000. We want the helper Jesus, the giving Jesus, the saving, healing and teaching Jesus. And he is all of those. But he is more, so much more. He is Lord! He is sovereign and has absolute and final authority over all. And to this Jesus, every knee will bow!
But this Jesus, we struggle with. This Jesus we have trouble accepting. Oh, people today will believe in Jesus –the healer, the teacher, the provider. But Lord? Because if he is Lord, then we are in a position of submission, surrender, trust, faith and obedience.
And I wonder if the words of Jesus and the comment of Mark in 6:4-6 are not very applicable to the church today. As I mentioned, many of us here today, and in many churches in our nation, are familiar with Jesus. We know about Jesus, are even familiar with Jesus, but do we lack the trust in Jesus –do we see him as he truly is –Lord of all. Oh, we sing about it and we even may pray with that in mind, but really do we take our familiarity with Jesus for granted? Is he, in a real sense, a prophet without honor?
And I look at several things that parallel the people of Nazareth in regards to Jesus with the church today. A prophet is someone who comes and brings the message of God. Do we listen to and follow the words he brings? What about obeying the directives he gives? Love, serve, repent, use your talents, care for the poor, love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength?
Do we recognize that He is Lord –and live according to His law, his teaching? Does his lordship penetrate every area and every aspect of our lives? Does he have lordship over our relationships, our sexual activities, our business, our tongue? Does he have lordship over our money, our time, our worship? Or are we so familiar with Jesus, the gentle Jesus, the kind Jesus, that when we hear the commands of Jesus that we say, “That is not the Jesus I know!” and fail to recognize that he has the right, he has the authority, he has the lordship over all.
Several years ago I gave a study on the passage I read earlier from Revelation 19. One man became very indignant with the statement “out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike done the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” That is not the Jesus I know, he said. I cannot accept that the Jesus who said, “Let the little children come to me” the Jesus who had compassion is the Jesus of wrath!”
And yet, what does this passage say? What does scripture say? He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is sovereign, he is judge. He has the authority.
If the church, if the church, were to recognize and live out 24/7 the Lordship of Jesus, the sovereignty of Jesus, the authority of Jesus, what a difference it would make. But sadly, so sadly, we live not much different from the world around us.
And this failure to recognize and live in true faith (I’ll come back to that in a moment), in Jesus results in the lack of evidence of His working in and through His church. Look at verse 5. Why was Jesus not able to do any miracles in his home town? Why do we see so few miracles in our churches today? Oh, there are some and we praise God for them. Perhaps, perhaps, it is because, like the hometown of Jesus, Jesus looks and sees our lack of faith.
This faith is the confidence, trust and surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord. He is the one, the only one who can save us, he is the one, the only one who can forgive sins, he is the one, the only one who is the perfect lamb of God and takes away our sins. He is the one, the only one who redeems us, saves us, is sacrificed for us, it is by His blood that we are saved.
Faith puts us in the position of submission –it is a trust in someone bigger than us, over us, superior to us. We trust in Him for our salvation, he is our hope! He and he alone is given authority to forgive sins, and he and he alone has died in our place to offer this forgiveness, to cleans us from our iniquity, it is by his wounds we are healed. He is Lord.
I wonder, I fear, that we who know Jesus so well, that we who sing of him, read of him, hear of him, have grown up with him, I wonder and I fear if Jesus is amazed at our lack of faith?
Who is this that the wind and the waves obey? Who is this that demons obey? Who is this that sickness is cast out and death conquered? Who is this that speaks with authority and acts in power? Who is this? He is Jesus, Lord of all, worthy of our praise and worship. He is Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth. He is Jesus, sovereign and his dominion is an everlasting dominion.
Friends I encourage, I seriously challenge you to look at this question for yourself, “who is this?” He is Lord. Knowing all you know about Him, would he be amazed at your lack of faith?
I encourage, you too seriously look at Jesus again. Rediscover Him as He is, Lord! And as you discover or rediscover who he really is, not the Sunday School Jesus, not the familiar Jesus, not the comfortable Jesus but the sovereign Jesus, then bring yourself under his leadership, his Lordship.
It was James, the very half brother of Jesus mentioned here, James who knew Jesus better than almost anyone in having grown up with him, it was James who later did come to faith in Jesus who challenged u, Faith without works is dead! That is to say, if you are not backing up your faith with your life, your deeds, you submission and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus, then your faith is dead, but if you have faith and live it, then your faith is complete.
Last week we looked at the question, “Who is this?” from Mark 4:41. A question that still we seek an answer to today. Who is this person, Jesus? We see, in reading the accounts of the 4 miracles found in chapters 4-5 that he is Lord over creation –even the wind and the waves obey him. He is the Lord over the spiritual realm, that the demons recognize who he is and even ask his permission for things. In the healing of the woman who had a bleeding problem for 12 years we see he is Lord over our physical world and in the raising of the little girl from the dead that Jesus is Lord over life and death. He is Lord!
And now in contrast to that power and authority and demonstration of who he is, that by his miracles and actions that he fulfills the prophecy of Daniel that he is the Son of Man who has authority and glory and sovereign power, stop at this word for a moment, sovereign.
This word means that he has absolute and final authority over all. Stop and think about this because it is a key part of understanding some of the tension we see in Mark 6. I’ll come back to this in a moment. Jesus is Lord, He has absolute authority over all peoples. He has dominion that is everlasting and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. He is sovereign. Listen to the words and the language used here –authority, glory, sovereign power, and he will be worshipped, dominion and kingdom. When Jesus declares he is the son of man he is declaring himself to be the Son of God, God come in flesh. Listen to the words of Paul later in Philippians 2:9-11. And then John, in Revelation 19:11-16. He is sovereign. He is the Son of Man and is Lord of all.
Jesus has healed the sick, calmed the storm, set the captive free, raised the dead, to show that he is the son of man and has the authority to forgive sin (2:10). And then Jesus goes home, to Nazareth and brings the same message –the good news, brings the same power in healing the sick. And as he speaks in the synagogue we read the people we amazed. Nothing new there. We see earlier when Jesus spoke and healed that people were amazed. But here the amazement is different. It is not one of Wow, look at that! Isn’t that incredible, are not the things he says and does wonderful and amazing! But it is one of almost incredulity. Really? Jesus? I know his parents, how could he do this? I went to school with him, really? I bought a chair from him, he did work for my father. Look, there is his family! And we read in verse 3, they took offense at him. Why? Well, Jesus answers the question in verse 4. (READ)
Many people who grow up in the church or in a Christian environment face a similar mindset –familiarity can breed contempt, as the saying goes. Like me, you grow up in a family that has been going to church forever. Sunday School, VBS, church 1-3 times a week. Familiarity with Jesus can, at times make the stories of Jesus humdrum. We lose our sense of awe.
Another aspect of this is that we often try to bring Jesus down to our level. What if God was one of us? We humanize Jesus to the point where we lose the godhood, the power and majesty and glory and yes, sovereignty. He went fishing with my boys, he sat in class with me, he is just one of us.
The third is, well, pride. The class system of the day was very set. Carpenters were carpenters. Potters were potters. Teachers were teachers. Upper class was upper class. You did not cross the line. Even into our own recent history and culture we see this in such movies as the Titanic where one did not go above ones station. In many cultures we still see this as in India with the caste system.
Here was Jesus, a carpenter, son of a carpenter, brother to carpenters. And now he comes in with these teachings and claims which set him above us? How dare he come and lecture us! They were offended!
And this pride lead into an area that I mentioned earlier about the tension that comes with Jesus as being sovereign, having authority, being the son of man. Because, if Jesus is who he said he is, Lord –if Jesus is indeed Lord of creation, Lord of the spiritual realm, lord of life and lord over death –if Jesus is who he claims and who he has demonstrated himself to be, then they faced a really tough choice –accept him or reject him –bow down or put down.
Because if he is who he claims to be, if he is who he demonstrates himself to be then they would have to bow down to him –He is Lord! But no! He is a carpenter, one of us, the son of Mary. I am not going to trust in this –this snot nosed kid who used to run around the village with my kids! I will not bow to this person who is no better than me!
If He is who he claims and shows himself to be then I must submit to him. Or I reject him. He is a liar, possessed by Beelzebub. He is crazy, delusional and we need to control him. Remember, the family that is mentioned here –Mary, James, Joseph, Simon, Judas, the sisters all not too long ago sought to take charge of him because they thought he was out of his mind. Do you think this was not known amoung the people of Nazareth, that even his own family did not believe?
The people of Nazareth were very much like so many people today –they thought they knew Jesus, but really did not. And would not, because if Jesus is who he said he was then we are held to a position of accountability.
Oh, we like a manageable god, we like a god who is our magic Jeanie who gives us what we want, and helps us when we need, but a sovereign God? A lord who is LORD, who has authority, glory, sovereign power, an everlasting dominion, a kingdom that will never be destroyed? We want the friend Jesus –and he is our friend. We want the provider Jesus and he is our provider, the account that followers soon after this is the one of the feeding of the 5000. We want the helper Jesus, the giving Jesus, the saving, healing and teaching Jesus. And he is all of those. But he is more, so much more. He is Lord! He is sovereign and has absolute and final authority over all. And to this Jesus, every knee will bow!
But this Jesus, we struggle with. This Jesus we have trouble accepting. Oh, people today will believe in Jesus –the healer, the teacher, the provider. But Lord? Because if he is Lord, then we are in a position of submission, surrender, trust, faith and obedience.
And I wonder if the words of Jesus and the comment of Mark in 6:4-6 are not very applicable to the church today. As I mentioned, many of us here today, and in many churches in our nation, are familiar with Jesus. We know about Jesus, are even familiar with Jesus, but do we lack the trust in Jesus –do we see him as he truly is –Lord of all. Oh, we sing about it and we even may pray with that in mind, but really do we take our familiarity with Jesus for granted? Is he, in a real sense, a prophet without honor?
And I look at several things that parallel the people of Nazareth in regards to Jesus with the church today. A prophet is someone who comes and brings the message of God. Do we listen to and follow the words he brings? What about obeying the directives he gives? Love, serve, repent, use your talents, care for the poor, love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength?
Do we recognize that He is Lord –and live according to His law, his teaching? Does his lordship penetrate every area and every aspect of our lives? Does he have lordship over our relationships, our sexual activities, our business, our tongue? Does he have lordship over our money, our time, our worship? Or are we so familiar with Jesus, the gentle Jesus, the kind Jesus, that when we hear the commands of Jesus that we say, “That is not the Jesus I know!” and fail to recognize that he has the right, he has the authority, he has the lordship over all.
Several years ago I gave a study on the passage I read earlier from Revelation 19. One man became very indignant with the statement “out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike done the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” That is not the Jesus I know, he said. I cannot accept that the Jesus who said, “Let the little children come to me” the Jesus who had compassion is the Jesus of wrath!”
And yet, what does this passage say? What does scripture say? He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is sovereign, he is judge. He has the authority.
If the church, if the church, were to recognize and live out 24/7 the Lordship of Jesus, the sovereignty of Jesus, the authority of Jesus, what a difference it would make. But sadly, so sadly, we live not much different from the world around us.
And this failure to recognize and live in true faith (I’ll come back to that in a moment), in Jesus results in the lack of evidence of His working in and through His church. Look at verse 5. Why was Jesus not able to do any miracles in his home town? Why do we see so few miracles in our churches today? Oh, there are some and we praise God for them. Perhaps, perhaps, it is because, like the hometown of Jesus, Jesus looks and sees our lack of faith.
This faith is the confidence, trust and surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord. He is the one, the only one who can save us, he is the one, the only one who can forgive sins, he is the one, the only one who is the perfect lamb of God and takes away our sins. He is the one, the only one who redeems us, saves us, is sacrificed for us, it is by His blood that we are saved.
Faith puts us in the position of submission –it is a trust in someone bigger than us, over us, superior to us. We trust in Him for our salvation, he is our hope! He and he alone is given authority to forgive sins, and he and he alone has died in our place to offer this forgiveness, to cleans us from our iniquity, it is by his wounds we are healed. He is Lord.
I wonder, I fear, that we who know Jesus so well, that we who sing of him, read of him, hear of him, have grown up with him, I wonder and I fear if Jesus is amazed at our lack of faith?
Who is this that the wind and the waves obey? Who is this that demons obey? Who is this that sickness is cast out and death conquered? Who is this that speaks with authority and acts in power? Who is this? He is Jesus, Lord of all, worthy of our praise and worship. He is Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth. He is Jesus, sovereign and his dominion is an everlasting dominion.
Friends I encourage, I seriously challenge you to look at this question for yourself, “who is this?” He is Lord. Knowing all you know about Him, would he be amazed at your lack of faith?
I encourage, you too seriously look at Jesus again. Rediscover Him as He is, Lord! And as you discover or rediscover who he really is, not the Sunday School Jesus, not the familiar Jesus, not the comfortable Jesus but the sovereign Jesus, then bring yourself under his leadership, his Lordship.
It was James, the very half brother of Jesus mentioned here, James who knew Jesus better than almost anyone in having grown up with him, it was James who later did come to faith in Jesus who challenged u, Faith without works is dead! That is to say, if you are not backing up your faith with your life, your deeds, you submission and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus, then your faith is dead, but if you have faith and live it, then your faith is complete.
Palm Sunday, April 1, 2012 Jesus the bread of Life
There is an event in the life of Jesus that I want to touch on this morning that I wasn’t going to speak on, but as I reflected on it through the week it impacted me more and more. Turn with me in your Bible first to Matthew 14:13-21.
This event happened maybe two years before the event of Palm Sunday. And it wasn’t until I read the parallel passage about the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6 that something clicked in my head. This is the wonder and majesty of God’ word coming to life, why he gave us 4 accounts of Jesus life and ministry and in particular 4 accounts of this miracle (only miracle recorded in all 4 gospels besides the resurrection) –each adding to the majestic picture of Jesus’ life. I read from Mathew because it is a shorter account of the event. But it is in the gospel of John, we read a much more detailed account of the event and teaching surrounding the feeding of the 5,000. What struck me was verse 4 –“The Jewish Passover was near.” I believe this event happened within a week of Passover. Jesus, probably was preparing to head to Jerusalem, as any good Jewish man would, to celebrate the Passover. We do not read that he went, in this account, but it is highly probable. In any event, the proximately to Passover must be noted –as John does here.
And there are several aspects of this miracle that may pass us by if we do not take note of the time in which it happens.
This miracle of the bread would bring so much to mind in the lives of the Jewish people that reflect back upon the Passover account in the OT. We know that Passover is a foretelling of Christ and the perfect sacrifice He would make. But for them it was yet to come.
The importance of bread in the Passover must not be short changed. Bread was and is considered the most basic and important form of food and often in literature, including the NT, is simply translated as “food.” It was simply made of flour and water, then baked. It was, usually what we would consider unleavened, and was a quick, easy subsistence food. The proximity of this miracle to the time of Passover should not be lost to us. The connection with what Jesus did and with the account of Moses, the exodus and the giving of bread was not lost on the people. In fact, in verses 30-31 they even refer to it.
Let us look back for a moment to Exodus 12, where Moses is given the instructions regarding the bread for Passover.
Highlight some verses here (I know there is much to read and teach and understand about Passover itself, but this morning just looking at the aspect of bread): verse 8, verse 11, verses 14-20.
Getting back now to the event in the NT. As Jesus is preparing and enacting this event there would be bells ringing in the minds of the people. They were deeply aware of the account of Passover through years of celebration and reading (This passage in Exodus would be read each year). As you can see, bread played a significant role in the celebration of Passover, the Feast of unleavened bread which happens the 7 days following Passover, and later the giving of Manna during the time of the Exodus.
Even in the modern observance of Passover, one of the questions asked is “Why on this night do we eat only unleavened bread?” Later the bread is taken and broken and passed out with the blessing “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who satisfies us with His commands and commanded us concerning the eating of unleavened bread.”
So we see the importance of bread for the Jewish people, particularly around this time of Passover. Another note about Passover is that as Passover approached, the Jewish people would slowly be getting rid of any bread and leavening so there would be little or no bread available. This adds to the drama and power of the miracle.
We see that the area is remote. Matthew records tat they were in a remote area. The villages within walking distance could not have supplied enough for that many people. Most villages around there would have from 50 -200 people. It would remind the people of their history and being in the desert and in need of food.
Another aspect of the Passover and the Exodus would be the provision of bread from heaven. This is brought up later in the chapter of John. This continued provision of what the people needed is a something that they called for as Jesus responded to in verses 26 and on.
Jesus, in the account of the feeding of the 5000, is acutely aware of the needs of the people. Their immediate need is bread. And Jesus meets that need –he takes 5 loaves and 2 fish and prays thanks to the Father and then distributes the bread and fish. Verse 12, “they all had enough.” And there was more than enough, because we read that there were still 12 full baskets left!
God provides for our needs –more than enough. He knows what we need for today –the strength, the provision, the care, the healing, the forgiveness, the love. As the prayer of the Passover Haggadah says, He satisfies us.
As the miracle occurs and everyone is satisfied, we should also note the disciples are commanded to gather up what is left. There was just enough for each of the disciples. Again, this would bring out the remembrance of Passover where they were commanded to not leave any of the meal till morning.
All of these and more, are woven into the drama of the account of the miracle, and it makes it so much more of a powerful event. Aware of these things, the people, we read in verse14, began to say he was “the” prophet. Not a prophet, but the prophet. Who is this prophet? Again we go back to the account of the Exodus and Moses saying, “The Lord, your God, will raise up a prophet like me from among your own brothers.” (Deut 18:15) The people equated this prophet as a leader or king who would come and free them from their bondage, just as Moses freed them from Egypt. Knowing this, that they intended to make him king, Jesus withdrew.
The people then went searching for Jesus and found him, probably in the town of Capernaum. There he gives some deeper teaching on the significance of the bread. Let me read some of the verses from later in John 10. 32-33, 35-40, skip down to 48, 51, then 53-55.
On the surface this may appear (and it has been accused of Christians in the early church) to be rather gruesome, even cannibalistic. But we need to step into the people and the culture of the time. This idea of eating and drinking as a metaphor is not new –it was used by the rabbi’s of that time and later as a symbolic description of following the Law, the Torah, and doing good works.
What Jesus is calling them to is and intimate and dynamic relationship with God through Himself, as God come in flesh. David Stern in the Jewish NT Commentary writes,
By referring to his flesh, Yeshua wants us to live feel, think and act like Him and the power of the [spirit of God] allows us to do so. Likewise, to drink his blood is to absorb his self-sacrificing, life-motivation and indeed his very life since “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Lev. 17:11)
Again, Jesus us calling us not to follow the law but to follow him. Not to eat and drink the law but to eat and drink himself, so that we can have an intimate and dynamic relationship with God, not based on works but grace through faith.
This last Friday I was at a conference in which the speaker challenged us with the statement, “Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?” How do you know if you are a fan or a follower? Well, it is the difference between admiration and devotion, convenience or commitment, holding back or giving all. Wanting bread or wanting Jesus.
What he is establishing is a new covenant, a new relationship between God and man, a relationship based not on the law but on himself. And that was tough for many to handle and we read in verse 66 many turned away from Him. Jesus calls us not to be casual or convenient Christians, not cultural or Sunday only Christians, but 24/7 commitment to Him. Eat and drink “ME” He says –I am the living bread, and if anyone eats this bread, he has eternal life! (51) The fans left –the followers remained!
And then we move ahead to a time, in just a year or two, when Jesus sits with his followers, his disciples and clearly invites them into this dynamic relationship, this new covenant –this is my body, broken for you, this is my blood, a new covenant, given for you –take and eat it all!
At the feeding of the 5000, Jesus sets the stage for the coming Passover when he would offer himself as the perfect, sinless, sacrifice given for us. When he would offer his body to be broken, when he would shed his blood for us. His blood which would cover the sins of all as a lasting sacrifice and payment. And the words he offers to the crowds then are the same words he offers today:
I tell you the truth, he who believes in me will have everlasting life. I am the bread of life! (6:47-48)
And Jesus invites us to have an intimate and dynamic relationship with the eternal God by believing in him, the bread of life.
This event happened maybe two years before the event of Palm Sunday. And it wasn’t until I read the parallel passage about the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6 that something clicked in my head. This is the wonder and majesty of God’ word coming to life, why he gave us 4 accounts of Jesus life and ministry and in particular 4 accounts of this miracle (only miracle recorded in all 4 gospels besides the resurrection) –each adding to the majestic picture of Jesus’ life. I read from Mathew because it is a shorter account of the event. But it is in the gospel of John, we read a much more detailed account of the event and teaching surrounding the feeding of the 5,000. What struck me was verse 4 –“The Jewish Passover was near.” I believe this event happened within a week of Passover. Jesus, probably was preparing to head to Jerusalem, as any good Jewish man would, to celebrate the Passover. We do not read that he went, in this account, but it is highly probable. In any event, the proximately to Passover must be noted –as John does here.
And there are several aspects of this miracle that may pass us by if we do not take note of the time in which it happens.
This miracle of the bread would bring so much to mind in the lives of the Jewish people that reflect back upon the Passover account in the OT. We know that Passover is a foretelling of Christ and the perfect sacrifice He would make. But for them it was yet to come.
The importance of bread in the Passover must not be short changed. Bread was and is considered the most basic and important form of food and often in literature, including the NT, is simply translated as “food.” It was simply made of flour and water, then baked. It was, usually what we would consider unleavened, and was a quick, easy subsistence food. The proximity of this miracle to the time of Passover should not be lost to us. The connection with what Jesus did and with the account of Moses, the exodus and the giving of bread was not lost on the people. In fact, in verses 30-31 they even refer to it.
Let us look back for a moment to Exodus 12, where Moses is given the instructions regarding the bread for Passover.
Highlight some verses here (I know there is much to read and teach and understand about Passover itself, but this morning just looking at the aspect of bread): verse 8, verse 11, verses 14-20.
Getting back now to the event in the NT. As Jesus is preparing and enacting this event there would be bells ringing in the minds of the people. They were deeply aware of the account of Passover through years of celebration and reading (This passage in Exodus would be read each year). As you can see, bread played a significant role in the celebration of Passover, the Feast of unleavened bread which happens the 7 days following Passover, and later the giving of Manna during the time of the Exodus.
Even in the modern observance of Passover, one of the questions asked is “Why on this night do we eat only unleavened bread?” Later the bread is taken and broken and passed out with the blessing “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who satisfies us with His commands and commanded us concerning the eating of unleavened bread.”
So we see the importance of bread for the Jewish people, particularly around this time of Passover. Another note about Passover is that as Passover approached, the Jewish people would slowly be getting rid of any bread and leavening so there would be little or no bread available. This adds to the drama and power of the miracle.
We see that the area is remote. Matthew records tat they were in a remote area. The villages within walking distance could not have supplied enough for that many people. Most villages around there would have from 50 -200 people. It would remind the people of their history and being in the desert and in need of food.
Another aspect of the Passover and the Exodus would be the provision of bread from heaven. This is brought up later in the chapter of John. This continued provision of what the people needed is a something that they called for as Jesus responded to in verses 26 and on.
Jesus, in the account of the feeding of the 5000, is acutely aware of the needs of the people. Their immediate need is bread. And Jesus meets that need –he takes 5 loaves and 2 fish and prays thanks to the Father and then distributes the bread and fish. Verse 12, “they all had enough.” And there was more than enough, because we read that there were still 12 full baskets left!
God provides for our needs –more than enough. He knows what we need for today –the strength, the provision, the care, the healing, the forgiveness, the love. As the prayer of the Passover Haggadah says, He satisfies us.
As the miracle occurs and everyone is satisfied, we should also note the disciples are commanded to gather up what is left. There was just enough for each of the disciples. Again, this would bring out the remembrance of Passover where they were commanded to not leave any of the meal till morning.
All of these and more, are woven into the drama of the account of the miracle, and it makes it so much more of a powerful event. Aware of these things, the people, we read in verse14, began to say he was “the” prophet. Not a prophet, but the prophet. Who is this prophet? Again we go back to the account of the Exodus and Moses saying, “The Lord, your God, will raise up a prophet like me from among your own brothers.” (Deut 18:15) The people equated this prophet as a leader or king who would come and free them from their bondage, just as Moses freed them from Egypt. Knowing this, that they intended to make him king, Jesus withdrew.
The people then went searching for Jesus and found him, probably in the town of Capernaum. There he gives some deeper teaching on the significance of the bread. Let me read some of the verses from later in John 10. 32-33, 35-40, skip down to 48, 51, then 53-55.
On the surface this may appear (and it has been accused of Christians in the early church) to be rather gruesome, even cannibalistic. But we need to step into the people and the culture of the time. This idea of eating and drinking as a metaphor is not new –it was used by the rabbi’s of that time and later as a symbolic description of following the Law, the Torah, and doing good works.
What Jesus is calling them to is and intimate and dynamic relationship with God through Himself, as God come in flesh. David Stern in the Jewish NT Commentary writes,
By referring to his flesh, Yeshua wants us to live feel, think and act like Him and the power of the [spirit of God] allows us to do so. Likewise, to drink his blood is to absorb his self-sacrificing, life-motivation and indeed his very life since “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Lev. 17:11)
Again, Jesus us calling us not to follow the law but to follow him. Not to eat and drink the law but to eat and drink himself, so that we can have an intimate and dynamic relationship with God, not based on works but grace through faith.
This last Friday I was at a conference in which the speaker challenged us with the statement, “Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?” How do you know if you are a fan or a follower? Well, it is the difference between admiration and devotion, convenience or commitment, holding back or giving all. Wanting bread or wanting Jesus.
What he is establishing is a new covenant, a new relationship between God and man, a relationship based not on the law but on himself. And that was tough for many to handle and we read in verse 66 many turned away from Him. Jesus calls us not to be casual or convenient Christians, not cultural or Sunday only Christians, but 24/7 commitment to Him. Eat and drink “ME” He says –I am the living bread, and if anyone eats this bread, he has eternal life! (51) The fans left –the followers remained!
And then we move ahead to a time, in just a year or two, when Jesus sits with his followers, his disciples and clearly invites them into this dynamic relationship, this new covenant –this is my body, broken for you, this is my blood, a new covenant, given for you –take and eat it all!
At the feeding of the 5000, Jesus sets the stage for the coming Passover when he would offer himself as the perfect, sinless, sacrifice given for us. When he would offer his body to be broken, when he would shed his blood for us. His blood which would cover the sins of all as a lasting sacrifice and payment. And the words he offers to the crowds then are the same words he offers today:
I tell you the truth, he who believes in me will have everlasting life. I am the bread of life! (6:47-48)
And Jesus invites us to have an intimate and dynamic relationship with the eternal God by believing in him, the bread of life.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Jesus, His authority proclaimed
From the sermon given June 3, 2012 on Mark 1:21-2:12
Our passage this morning is a lengthy and extensive one focusing on the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus. Let’s catch a glimpse of this important area of Jesus’ ministry in Mark 1:27-34.
As Jesus begins his ministry he teaches and proclaims that “the time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” He then begins to gather followers, some he calls directly to follow him. This we looked at last week. Just to note, all sermons on this series will be posted through the church website so you can go and catch up on them if you want.
We read in verse 21-22 of Mark 1 that Jesus goes to Capernaum and taught in the Synagogue. Here he encounters a demon possessed man and Jesus commands the demon to leave the man and in verse 26 we read the demon, evil spirit, shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. It was with this backdrop that the authority of Jesus is questioned (the passage read at the beginning of the message).
An important thing for us to note here is this aspect of authority. You see, the teachers of the time, the scribes and the Pharisees and the rabbi’s all taught and acted on the authority of other rabbi’s -their teachers. No rabbi, or teacher, would teach against the halakhah or oral tradition passed down from his own teachers. They taught under the authority of the one who taught them.
If you have ever seen the movie, "Yentle," you get an idea of this when the young scholars would argue over the meaning of a law and would quote rabbi so-and-so, or rabbi such-and-such. They relied on the authority of those who taught them.
And that is why the teaching and actions of Jesus were so amazing to the people and caused a stir among the scribes, Pharisees and religious leaders.
Later in Mark (chapter 11) the religious leaders would demand, “By who’s authority do you do this?” They were asking, Who is your teacher that said you could do this?
Jesus, we read between the lines, was known. And it was known that he did not go to any of the rabbinic schools, he and not sat under any rabbinic teacher and to them he had no authority passed on to him to teach or even command demons. To them, he had no authority –no teacher or school to say “I have the authority of rabbi so and so.
And yet, to all it could be seen that he taught as one who had authority. He was bringing a new teaching, a fresh teaching about God, His word and His kingdom –a teaching that he was not quoting from some past teacher or a rabbi he studied under –Jesus was bringing a teaching from himself not based on someone else. This was radical, this was new –at least new to those who were so used to hearing about Rabbi this or Rabbi that.
But we must also see that Jesus was not teaching a whole new law or tradition –he based his teaching, his message on something that had come before the halakhah. It was the Law and prophets –the OT. Right at the beginning of this gospel, we see the coming of John the Baptizer and of Jesus deeply embedded in the OT and prophetically fulfilled. While not here in the gospel of Mark, when Jesus was tempted in the desert he dealt with Satan with Scripture –Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus and His new teaching brought them back to the scripture –not the thoughts and traditions of men. This was new, this was amazing!
And where did this authority of Jesus come from? We are given a clue –a big bright clue in 10-12. Luke further adds in hi gospel, Jesus, being full of the Spirit was led by the Spirit into the desert (1) and then in verse 14, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit…”
In the gospel of John, as Jesus is praying for the church, he says, “For you [father] granted him [Jesus] authority over all people…” (17:2). The authority of Jesus comes not through man but through the Father, not by the power of tradition but the power of the Spirit. His “new teaching” is not a new teaching because the content is new or even the ideas are new but because Jesus did not teach the teachings of others, the authority of others or the traditions of the past. He comes to speak not what others have spoken but what the Father tells him to speak.
John the beloved writes in his gospel that Jesus said, “For I did not come to speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” (12:49-50)
And the authority of Jesus is then demonstrated in his healing and in his casting out of demons. In these early chapters we see Jesus casting out the demon from the man in the synagogue (it is interesting that this man seems to have been coming there for a while and the leaders could not or did not do anything about it). Jesus comes and deals with the authority given to Him by the Father. Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and many other sick and demon possessed. He heals a man with leprosy and then a paralytic. And it is here, in this event, that Jesus proclaims and demonstrates where his power comes from, his authority.
Jesus is again in Capernaum and this paralytic is brought to him. Well, let me read the account (2:1-5). Jesus does not heal the man physically, but on a much deeper level –the good news level, the seek and save the lost level. Jesus says, “your sins are forgiven.”
In this statement, “Your sins are forgiven,” Jesus sets up an unexpected and dynamic exchange between himself and the authorities. In it he announces his purpose, his identity and his authority.
Your sins are forgiven. They know and we know through scripture that forgiveness only comes through the shedding of blood (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). And in this only God can forgive sins by announcing or accepting the sacrifice as sufficient. John the Baptizer announced just months, if not weeks earlier, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) And now Jesus intimates that he is the perfect sacrifice, the one who will shed his blood once and for all –that through His blood there is forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), that believing in him there is forgiveness of sin (Acts 10:43) that indeed he has come to offer forgiveness.
Jesus is not only announcing that sin is forgiven but claiming the divine right to forgive sin. And that is why the teachers of the law reacted the way they did. His purpose was to come and be the perfect lamb, the perfect sacrifice, the only acceptable offering for the forgiveness of sins and that he had the right to forgive –now and forever!
And then he goes on to say, “Which is easier to say, to the paralytic, ‘your sins are forgiven’ or ‘get up, take you mat and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority…”
Up to this point Jesus has been ordering people to keep quiet about him. He orders demons to keep silent when they announce who he is. (1:25, 34) He tells those he heals to not tell anyone. (1:44) He retreats to quiet places and the lonely places. But now he makes it clear who he is by identifying himself as the Son of Man.
We look back to Daniel 7:13-14 to realize the impact of this name, this title, Son of Man. Jesus is now further identifying himself as the prophesied messiah. He is no longer keeping his identity a secret but is now himself declaring, I am the messiah, the Son of Man.
But even more, listen again to Daniel 7:14. When Jesus made this pronouncement, the son of man, each teacher, each scribe, even those who had been paying attention in Sunday School (well the equivalent back then) would have drawn a breath because here was Jesus saying, I indeed am the one who has approached the ancient of days (God the father, the creator, the holy great One) and am given, -what? Authority, glory, and sovereign power! Jesus is clearly identifying who he is and his purpose in coming.
And then to show his authority, authority derived not from the teachings of past scholars, not from traditions, not from some rabbinic school, but from himself as the lamb of God, as the Son of Man, as one who, as the scriptures say, has authority, Jesus announces –“that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” [PAUSE, TURN] -he looks at the paralytic and says “I tell you, “I” tell you, get up take your mat and go home!”
And what was the reaction of the people? Verse 12. The purpose and identity and authority of Jesus is now boldly declared. And they were amazed! Not that the man was healed, although that is an amazing thing, but they had seen this already. Jesus, remember had healed many, including Simon's mother in law, he had driven out demons, already in Capernaum.
The truly amazing thing, I believe was the authority he showed which was his own, his identity as the son of man and the great news of the gospel –believe, repent and you will be forgiven! I CAN FORGIVE!
Jesus stands on the authority given to Him by the father and He has authority to bring the good news, to call for belief in himself and repentance, to heal and to forgive. Jesus is the Son of Man who has all authority given to him in heaven and in earth. Let there be no doubt that he is the Christ, the son of the living God, the Lamb who will take away the sins of those who believe and repent. Praise God for His extraordinary grace. Let me read Ephesians 1:3-10.
Introduction to Communion
What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! The blood of Jesus as the lamb of God come to take away the sins of the world. By whose authority? That given by the Father to Christ. He alone is worthy. Colossians 1:13-20.
As we come to communion, let us keep this full in our minds –when Jesus says this is my body broken, this is my blood shed, he speaks with the power authority and purpose of God the Father to declare indeed “Your sins are forgiven!”
Our passage this morning is a lengthy and extensive one focusing on the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus. Let’s catch a glimpse of this important area of Jesus’ ministry in Mark 1:27-34.
As Jesus begins his ministry he teaches and proclaims that “the time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” He then begins to gather followers, some he calls directly to follow him. This we looked at last week. Just to note, all sermons on this series will be posted through the church website so you can go and catch up on them if you want.
We read in verse 21-22 of Mark 1 that Jesus goes to Capernaum and taught in the Synagogue. Here he encounters a demon possessed man and Jesus commands the demon to leave the man and in verse 26 we read the demon, evil spirit, shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. It was with this backdrop that the authority of Jesus is questioned (the passage read at the beginning of the message).
An important thing for us to note here is this aspect of authority. You see, the teachers of the time, the scribes and the Pharisees and the rabbi’s all taught and acted on the authority of other rabbi’s -their teachers. No rabbi, or teacher, would teach against the halakhah or oral tradition passed down from his own teachers. They taught under the authority of the one who taught them.
If you have ever seen the movie, "Yentle," you get an idea of this when the young scholars would argue over the meaning of a law and would quote rabbi so-and-so, or rabbi such-and-such. They relied on the authority of those who taught them.
And that is why the teaching and actions of Jesus were so amazing to the people and caused a stir among the scribes, Pharisees and religious leaders.
Later in Mark (chapter 11) the religious leaders would demand, “By who’s authority do you do this?” They were asking, Who is your teacher that said you could do this?
Jesus, we read between the lines, was known. And it was known that he did not go to any of the rabbinic schools, he and not sat under any rabbinic teacher and to them he had no authority passed on to him to teach or even command demons. To them, he had no authority –no teacher or school to say “I have the authority of rabbi so and so.
And yet, to all it could be seen that he taught as one who had authority. He was bringing a new teaching, a fresh teaching about God, His word and His kingdom –a teaching that he was not quoting from some past teacher or a rabbi he studied under –Jesus was bringing a teaching from himself not based on someone else. This was radical, this was new –at least new to those who were so used to hearing about Rabbi this or Rabbi that.
But we must also see that Jesus was not teaching a whole new law or tradition –he based his teaching, his message on something that had come before the halakhah. It was the Law and prophets –the OT. Right at the beginning of this gospel, we see the coming of John the Baptizer and of Jesus deeply embedded in the OT and prophetically fulfilled. While not here in the gospel of Mark, when Jesus was tempted in the desert he dealt with Satan with Scripture –Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus and His new teaching brought them back to the scripture –not the thoughts and traditions of men. This was new, this was amazing!
And where did this authority of Jesus come from? We are given a clue –a big bright clue in 10-12. Luke further adds in hi gospel, Jesus, being full of the Spirit was led by the Spirit into the desert (1) and then in verse 14, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit…”
In the gospel of John, as Jesus is praying for the church, he says, “For you [father] granted him [Jesus] authority over all people…” (17:2). The authority of Jesus comes not through man but through the Father, not by the power of tradition but the power of the Spirit. His “new teaching” is not a new teaching because the content is new or even the ideas are new but because Jesus did not teach the teachings of others, the authority of others or the traditions of the past. He comes to speak not what others have spoken but what the Father tells him to speak.
John the beloved writes in his gospel that Jesus said, “For I did not come to speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” (12:49-50)
And the authority of Jesus is then demonstrated in his healing and in his casting out of demons. In these early chapters we see Jesus casting out the demon from the man in the synagogue (it is interesting that this man seems to have been coming there for a while and the leaders could not or did not do anything about it). Jesus comes and deals with the authority given to Him by the Father. Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and many other sick and demon possessed. He heals a man with leprosy and then a paralytic. And it is here, in this event, that Jesus proclaims and demonstrates where his power comes from, his authority.
Jesus is again in Capernaum and this paralytic is brought to him. Well, let me read the account (2:1-5). Jesus does not heal the man physically, but on a much deeper level –the good news level, the seek and save the lost level. Jesus says, “your sins are forgiven.”
In this statement, “Your sins are forgiven,” Jesus sets up an unexpected and dynamic exchange between himself and the authorities. In it he announces his purpose, his identity and his authority.
Your sins are forgiven. They know and we know through scripture that forgiveness only comes through the shedding of blood (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). And in this only God can forgive sins by announcing or accepting the sacrifice as sufficient. John the Baptizer announced just months, if not weeks earlier, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) And now Jesus intimates that he is the perfect sacrifice, the one who will shed his blood once and for all –that through His blood there is forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), that believing in him there is forgiveness of sin (Acts 10:43) that indeed he has come to offer forgiveness.
Jesus is not only announcing that sin is forgiven but claiming the divine right to forgive sin. And that is why the teachers of the law reacted the way they did. His purpose was to come and be the perfect lamb, the perfect sacrifice, the only acceptable offering for the forgiveness of sins and that he had the right to forgive –now and forever!
And then he goes on to say, “Which is easier to say, to the paralytic, ‘your sins are forgiven’ or ‘get up, take you mat and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority…”
Up to this point Jesus has been ordering people to keep quiet about him. He orders demons to keep silent when they announce who he is. (1:25, 34) He tells those he heals to not tell anyone. (1:44) He retreats to quiet places and the lonely places. But now he makes it clear who he is by identifying himself as the Son of Man.
We look back to Daniel 7:13-14 to realize the impact of this name, this title, Son of Man. Jesus is now further identifying himself as the prophesied messiah. He is no longer keeping his identity a secret but is now himself declaring, I am the messiah, the Son of Man.
But even more, listen again to Daniel 7:14. When Jesus made this pronouncement, the son of man, each teacher, each scribe, even those who had been paying attention in Sunday School (well the equivalent back then) would have drawn a breath because here was Jesus saying, I indeed am the one who has approached the ancient of days (God the father, the creator, the holy great One) and am given, -what? Authority, glory, and sovereign power! Jesus is clearly identifying who he is and his purpose in coming.
And then to show his authority, authority derived not from the teachings of past scholars, not from traditions, not from some rabbinic school, but from himself as the lamb of God, as the Son of Man, as one who, as the scriptures say, has authority, Jesus announces –“that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” [PAUSE, TURN] -he looks at the paralytic and says “I tell you, “I” tell you, get up take your mat and go home!”
And what was the reaction of the people? Verse 12. The purpose and identity and authority of Jesus is now boldly declared. And they were amazed! Not that the man was healed, although that is an amazing thing, but they had seen this already. Jesus, remember had healed many, including Simon's mother in law, he had driven out demons, already in Capernaum.
The truly amazing thing, I believe was the authority he showed which was his own, his identity as the son of man and the great news of the gospel –believe, repent and you will be forgiven! I CAN FORGIVE!
Jesus stands on the authority given to Him by the father and He has authority to bring the good news, to call for belief in himself and repentance, to heal and to forgive. Jesus is the Son of Man who has all authority given to him in heaven and in earth. Let there be no doubt that he is the Christ, the son of the living God, the Lamb who will take away the sins of those who believe and repent. Praise God for His extraordinary grace. Let me read Ephesians 1:3-10.
Introduction to Communion
What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! The blood of Jesus as the lamb of God come to take away the sins of the world. By whose authority? That given by the Father to Christ. He alone is worthy. Colossians 1:13-20.
As we come to communion, let us keep this full in our minds –when Jesus says this is my body broken, this is my blood shed, he speaks with the power authority and purpose of God the Father to declare indeed “Your sins are forgiven!”
Monday, May 28, 2012
Jesus, the call to follow Mark 1:14-20, 2:13-17
The invitation to follow Jesus may not seem like much of a big deal for us who have been in church for a while. We hear about the calling of the disciples to follow Jesus, the invitation of each of us to become followers of Jesus and we accept it as part of what we believe. But there is so much more that is involved in this idea of calling. This morning we are going to look at the calling of some of the disciples to follow Jesus. In this I believe we can find great encouragement and challenge in our own lives as we too are called to follow Him. We begin in reading from the gospel of Mark 1:16-20 and 2:13-14. Pray
Let set the context here for a moment so we understand what is happening. Mark gives us in very brief statements, events that actually have a lot more depth to them. Jesus has been baptized by John the Baptizer and then taken into the desert to be tempted. Here Jesus defeats Satan’s attempts to discourage, dissuade, derail or destroy Jesus before he begins the ministry of bringing and being the good news and going to the cross (1:9-13).
This tempting in the desert lasted 40 days. And then we read rather an abrupt statement in verse 14 that John was put in prison. Mark later explains in a little more detail about this in chapter 6. But somewhere soon after the desert experience, John the Baptizer is arrested and kept in prison for several months, maybe a year. In a very real sense, John the Baptizer is moved out of the picture so that the one he came to announce would indeed shine. John the Baptizer was to announce the coming and he did –Jesus Came. John the Baptizer even encouraged his followers, one we know by name –Andrew, to follow Jesus rather than himself. (John 1:29-42) I point this out because there seems to be an awareness of who Jesus is before these people are called to follow.
And this brings up a couple of things that are a challenge to us today –do we know enough about Jesus to talk about him to others –do we know this one whom is the good news, the son of God? And second are we talking about him –presenting the truth of Jesus, giving people an understanding of Jesus, an awareness of him so that they can indeed also come to be a follower when asked? When I was in high school our youth group went to these rallies in different cities. One year we were in Portland Oregon and one of the challenges of the rally was evangelism. We were to go out an invite people to follow Jesus. So, heart beating nerves working overtime, I went out and asked one guy at random on the street if he would like to become a Christian. Sure, he said and I thought, wow this is easy. So we went and sat over on the side of the street and the first thing he asked me was, So, what is a Christian? Someone who believes in Jesus!
“Who’s that? Some new guru dude from India?” This guy had no clue, there was no groundwork done. Today, in a culture that is less and less knowledgeable about Jesus, we need to be more and more aware of Him ourselves and showing him more so that people can indeed respond when the Spirit says, Come. John the Beloved in his gospel says Andrew and one other disciple (whom I think was John the beloved) at least began to listen and become aware of Jesus. And through Andrew, Peter became aware. And so when we come to Mark 1 we read Jesus is walking on the shore and he sees some men who he knows and would know him.
Jesus begins his ministry in the area of Galilee, or northern Israel. And it is here that he begins of gather around him a group of men and women whom He will teach, train, even send out, with the message of Good News –the gospel that a holy righteous Creator God has given a way for a rebellious and sinful people to come into a restored and reconciled relationship by faith and repentance in Christ Jesus.
Jesus has already begun to preach in the area. I think that some of these men –especially the 5 we will look at today, had listened to some of his teaching. And, I think they may have already come to that point of repenting and believing because of John the Baptizer’s message and possibly because of Jesus message of Good News. And so one day Jesus walks up to Peter and Andrew as they are fishing, “Come, follow me.”
At once they left their nets and followed him. They have heard, they have seen and now they respond. And their action is decisive and complete. They are called and they are called to a purpose –to be fishers of men. They are to learn and to take up the task of continuing to bring the message of the gospel to the world. Jesus begins and ends his ministry on earth with this challenge, with this command, with this expectation of his followers –to bring preach the good news to all creation (Mark 16:5).
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to know him and to grow in him but there is a purpose too, to show him. Followers of Jesus are called to a purpose –to be fishers of men, to show the world the light of Christ in us, to proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes, to make disciples, to be ambassadors, to be ministers of reconciliation, to glorify God in all we say and do so that others will glorify God on the day he returns, be witnesses and salt, to bring this message of good news. Over and over again the scriptures tell us –Jesus tells us that we are to believe (know) to repent (grow) and to tell (show).
So often, we as a Christian church, as a people, are content to come to know about Jesus and even to grow in him but we stay on the beach or in the boat.
Jesus walks up beside us and says, come, follow me. To follow Him is to become like Him. (Romans 8:28-29) This word, follow, is a powerful word. It means to get up and leave everything, no looking back. So when the two heard what Jesus was asking they knew exactly what it entailed. Follow means living, learning and doing as Jesus did.
And then, a little farther down the beach, Jesus sees two others, James and John the sons of Zebedee. Without delay Jesus called to them. We don’t know if he used the same words, but we can assume so because their reaction is just as immediate. These four men were the first and became the core group of Jesus’ followers –especially Peter, James and John.
We skip ahead into chapter two of Mark to see the fifth member of the team who is called by Jesus. This man is very different from the fishermen. He does live in the same area but he is not well liked or respected. He sits, likely at the roadside bear Capernaum where a lot of traffic and merchandise coming from the north and east into and through Israel would be. He was a tax collector. Hated, seen as a cheat a traitor, this man would be an unlikely candidate for a follower –a disciple.
Like the fishermen, Levi would have know about Jesus, probably even seen or heard him as Jesus began to teach the message of good news. It may have stirred something in this man’s heart to hear that there was hope –hope for someone like him, to be able to be a part of God’s kingdom. Jesus gives the same almost command he gives Peter and Andrew, “follow me.”
And we need to note something here about Levi. The other four men, as fishermen did have something to go back too. We read that James and John left the family business. All four would later return to do some fishing later after Jesus was raised from the dead. But Levi he gave up everything. Literally when he got up and walked away he could not go back.
Levi is someone we know very little about. He was a tax collector, he lived in or near Galillee, he became a follower of Jesus and that’s about it. Other than these few verses and the parallel in Luke, there is no more mention of this man in the Bible. Many think he might also be known as Matthew, but even there, there is nothing more in Scripture except he was present after the resurrection and in the upper room in Acts 1 and also wrote the first gospel we have in the NT.
Yet, this man who we just catch a glimpse of has much to show us. Not only did he respond immediately to Jesus’ call, but he gave up everything –there was no turning back for him. And then we read he became the focal point for one of the key purposes of Jesus verse 17. And here we see a powerful example of someone taking Jesus and showing Him to others. Levi not only became a follower of Jesus, but took Jesus into his world. Levi shows that indeed we are to be ambassadors, ministers of reconciliation, bringers of Good news to those who, like himself, need to hear and meet Jesus. He brought awareness (or more awareness) of Who Jesus was to those who did not yet know Him.
It is here with Levi, Jesus and his disciples, meets with sinners and other tax collectors. I want to look at this word sinners for a moment. The word is in quotation marks in the NIV for a reason. It is not a word which is used not just for people who are immoral or irreligious, but also used to refer to those unable to keep the law, especially the oral law, as the scribes and Pharisees thought they should. Because of their job or having to scrape by on a subsistence level, there were many who were not able to keep the whole of the. For example, it may be used of a shepherd who had to care for his sheep on the Sabbath.
It was often used of those who were seen as the undesirable, those of ill repute, the tax collectors, prostitutes and thieves. A better word for us today might be outcasts. Society looked on them as sinners and they knew they were sinners in societies eyes, especially in the eyes of the scribes and Pharisees –the religious leaders.
And here we see Jesus not only calling one of them to follow him, but then he associates with them, eats with them. Eating and fellowship in that culture and time were intimate expressions of friendship. If not in words, then powerfully in deeds, Jesus said, I am their friend! And, he announces, it is people like this, who know they need help, who know they need good news, that I have come to bring the good news too.
And there are a few things that we can find applicable for us today. First; we do not have to do something or be something first before we can become worthy recipients of God’s love. Often we think we need to clean up our act before we can follow Jesus. And sometimes that is the fault of the church. We give the impression that you need to look or talk or act a certain way, that you have to have everything together before you can be a part of the church. Jesus here shows us in a very powerful and graceful way that none of us need to strive to be something or someone else and then apply to be a follower. Jesus calls us –were we are and who we are. He extends his grace and friendship to us where we are.
Second; That although we are called to follow, we are also called to bring –to bring the good news to those who need to hear. To bring awareness of Who Jesus really is according to the scriptures; to tell the wondrous story of Christ who died for us; to be a witness of Who He is and what He has done for us; to know Christ (believe) to grow in Christ (repent) and to show Christ (be his witness) to the world.
Let set the context here for a moment so we understand what is happening. Mark gives us in very brief statements, events that actually have a lot more depth to them. Jesus has been baptized by John the Baptizer and then taken into the desert to be tempted. Here Jesus defeats Satan’s attempts to discourage, dissuade, derail or destroy Jesus before he begins the ministry of bringing and being the good news and going to the cross (1:9-13).
This tempting in the desert lasted 40 days. And then we read rather an abrupt statement in verse 14 that John was put in prison. Mark later explains in a little more detail about this in chapter 6. But somewhere soon after the desert experience, John the Baptizer is arrested and kept in prison for several months, maybe a year. In a very real sense, John the Baptizer is moved out of the picture so that the one he came to announce would indeed shine. John the Baptizer was to announce the coming and he did –Jesus Came. John the Baptizer even encouraged his followers, one we know by name –Andrew, to follow Jesus rather than himself. (John 1:29-42) I point this out because there seems to be an awareness of who Jesus is before these people are called to follow.
And this brings up a couple of things that are a challenge to us today –do we know enough about Jesus to talk about him to others –do we know this one whom is the good news, the son of God? And second are we talking about him –presenting the truth of Jesus, giving people an understanding of Jesus, an awareness of him so that they can indeed also come to be a follower when asked? When I was in high school our youth group went to these rallies in different cities. One year we were in Portland Oregon and one of the challenges of the rally was evangelism. We were to go out an invite people to follow Jesus. So, heart beating nerves working overtime, I went out and asked one guy at random on the street if he would like to become a Christian. Sure, he said and I thought, wow this is easy. So we went and sat over on the side of the street and the first thing he asked me was, So, what is a Christian? Someone who believes in Jesus!
“Who’s that? Some new guru dude from India?” This guy had no clue, there was no groundwork done. Today, in a culture that is less and less knowledgeable about Jesus, we need to be more and more aware of Him ourselves and showing him more so that people can indeed respond when the Spirit says, Come. John the Beloved in his gospel says Andrew and one other disciple (whom I think was John the beloved) at least began to listen and become aware of Jesus. And through Andrew, Peter became aware. And so when we come to Mark 1 we read Jesus is walking on the shore and he sees some men who he knows and would know him.
Jesus begins his ministry in the area of Galilee, or northern Israel. And it is here that he begins of gather around him a group of men and women whom He will teach, train, even send out, with the message of Good News –the gospel that a holy righteous Creator God has given a way for a rebellious and sinful people to come into a restored and reconciled relationship by faith and repentance in Christ Jesus.
Jesus has already begun to preach in the area. I think that some of these men –especially the 5 we will look at today, had listened to some of his teaching. And, I think they may have already come to that point of repenting and believing because of John the Baptizer’s message and possibly because of Jesus message of Good News. And so one day Jesus walks up to Peter and Andrew as they are fishing, “Come, follow me.”
At once they left their nets and followed him. They have heard, they have seen and now they respond. And their action is decisive and complete. They are called and they are called to a purpose –to be fishers of men. They are to learn and to take up the task of continuing to bring the message of the gospel to the world. Jesus begins and ends his ministry on earth with this challenge, with this command, with this expectation of his followers –to bring preach the good news to all creation (Mark 16:5).
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to know him and to grow in him but there is a purpose too, to show him. Followers of Jesus are called to a purpose –to be fishers of men, to show the world the light of Christ in us, to proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes, to make disciples, to be ambassadors, to be ministers of reconciliation, to glorify God in all we say and do so that others will glorify God on the day he returns, be witnesses and salt, to bring this message of good news. Over and over again the scriptures tell us –Jesus tells us that we are to believe (know) to repent (grow) and to tell (show).
So often, we as a Christian church, as a people, are content to come to know about Jesus and even to grow in him but we stay on the beach or in the boat.
Jesus walks up beside us and says, come, follow me. To follow Him is to become like Him. (Romans 8:28-29) This word, follow, is a powerful word. It means to get up and leave everything, no looking back. So when the two heard what Jesus was asking they knew exactly what it entailed. Follow means living, learning and doing as Jesus did.
And then, a little farther down the beach, Jesus sees two others, James and John the sons of Zebedee. Without delay Jesus called to them. We don’t know if he used the same words, but we can assume so because their reaction is just as immediate. These four men were the first and became the core group of Jesus’ followers –especially Peter, James and John.
We skip ahead into chapter two of Mark to see the fifth member of the team who is called by Jesus. This man is very different from the fishermen. He does live in the same area but he is not well liked or respected. He sits, likely at the roadside bear Capernaum where a lot of traffic and merchandise coming from the north and east into and through Israel would be. He was a tax collector. Hated, seen as a cheat a traitor, this man would be an unlikely candidate for a follower –a disciple.
Like the fishermen, Levi would have know about Jesus, probably even seen or heard him as Jesus began to teach the message of good news. It may have stirred something in this man’s heart to hear that there was hope –hope for someone like him, to be able to be a part of God’s kingdom. Jesus gives the same almost command he gives Peter and Andrew, “follow me.”
And we need to note something here about Levi. The other four men, as fishermen did have something to go back too. We read that James and John left the family business. All four would later return to do some fishing later after Jesus was raised from the dead. But Levi he gave up everything. Literally when he got up and walked away he could not go back.
Levi is someone we know very little about. He was a tax collector, he lived in or near Galillee, he became a follower of Jesus and that’s about it. Other than these few verses and the parallel in Luke, there is no more mention of this man in the Bible. Many think he might also be known as Matthew, but even there, there is nothing more in Scripture except he was present after the resurrection and in the upper room in Acts 1 and also wrote the first gospel we have in the NT.
Yet, this man who we just catch a glimpse of has much to show us. Not only did he respond immediately to Jesus’ call, but he gave up everything –there was no turning back for him. And then we read he became the focal point for one of the key purposes of Jesus verse 17. And here we see a powerful example of someone taking Jesus and showing Him to others. Levi not only became a follower of Jesus, but took Jesus into his world. Levi shows that indeed we are to be ambassadors, ministers of reconciliation, bringers of Good news to those who, like himself, need to hear and meet Jesus. He brought awareness (or more awareness) of Who Jesus was to those who did not yet know Him.
It is here with Levi, Jesus and his disciples, meets with sinners and other tax collectors. I want to look at this word sinners for a moment. The word is in quotation marks in the NIV for a reason. It is not a word which is used not just for people who are immoral or irreligious, but also used to refer to those unable to keep the law, especially the oral law, as the scribes and Pharisees thought they should. Because of their job or having to scrape by on a subsistence level, there were many who were not able to keep the whole of the. For example, it may be used of a shepherd who had to care for his sheep on the Sabbath.
It was often used of those who were seen as the undesirable, those of ill repute, the tax collectors, prostitutes and thieves. A better word for us today might be outcasts. Society looked on them as sinners and they knew they were sinners in societies eyes, especially in the eyes of the scribes and Pharisees –the religious leaders.
And here we see Jesus not only calling one of them to follow him, but then he associates with them, eats with them. Eating and fellowship in that culture and time were intimate expressions of friendship. If not in words, then powerfully in deeds, Jesus said, I am their friend! And, he announces, it is people like this, who know they need help, who know they need good news, that I have come to bring the good news too.
And there are a few things that we can find applicable for us today. First; we do not have to do something or be something first before we can become worthy recipients of God’s love. Often we think we need to clean up our act before we can follow Jesus. And sometimes that is the fault of the church. We give the impression that you need to look or talk or act a certain way, that you have to have everything together before you can be a part of the church. Jesus here shows us in a very powerful and graceful way that none of us need to strive to be something or someone else and then apply to be a follower. Jesus calls us –were we are and who we are. He extends his grace and friendship to us where we are.
Second; That although we are called to follow, we are also called to bring –to bring the good news to those who need to hear. To bring awareness of Who Jesus really is according to the scriptures; to tell the wondrous story of Christ who died for us; to be a witness of Who He is and what He has done for us; to know Christ (believe) to grow in Christ (repent) and to show Christ (be his witness) to the world.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
High and lifted up
Fom the sermon preached May 6, 2012
High and lifted up. Jesus is high and lifted up. One of the great themes of the New Testament and the declaration of the church is that Christ is high and lifted up. One of the things that I think the church –and I mean the church in general, has lost or at least set aside, is that Christ I high and lifted up –he is exalted, he is holy, he is the king of kings and lord of lords.
If you are a regular attendee at LBC you may go, huh? We lift Jesus, we exalt him. And you would be right. We do, but as I look at many churches, particularly those that are amoung the post-modern and emergent movement, I see Jesus reduced to a moral, feel good guide to how we are to live. And I do not want to dismiss that Jesus is that –he does teach and guide and help us.
But Jesus was in time past –God. (John 1:1) Jesus was God come in flesh John 1:14. He is high and lifted up and exalted in the heavenly realms today and forever. (Ephesians 1).
When we lose sight of the glory and the splendor and the wonder of His majesty, His exalted place, it affects our worship, our prayers, our mission, our obedience.
And we lose the power and the impact of what he has done for us. The scriptures –both old and new testament, proclaim the deity, the god-ness, of Christ Jesus. This past week I thought and prayed long on what to share this morning. What kept coming to my heart was share about the wonder and majesty of Jesus. In part it came from the message last week and the song we sang –open the eyes of my heart, Lord. One verse says, “to see him high and lifted up, shining in the light of his glory”
The writer of that song took the image right out of Ephesians 1. Let me read from verses 20-23. Peter, who witnessed the glory of Christ revealed on the mount of transfiguration, Peter who fell at the feet of the risen Lord, Peter who saw Jesus lifted up into the heaven with the promise of return, Peter wrote “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” (I Peter 1:20-21)
John, the beloved disciple, who also saw Jesus glorified, raised and lifted writes, of the great vision he had of heaven, Revelation 5:11-14.
He is worthy, he is exalted, he is high and lifted up. He is the lamb that was slain, the righteous one of God. He was the perfect sacrifice, the perfect payment for our sin. He was and is the one who angels sing out to –worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise!”
It is because Jesus is worthy, it is because he is high and exalted, it is because he is the lamb that we sing “To him who sits on the throne, the lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power forever and forever, AMEN!”
This praise come from the lips of men –the ones who are saved. And I notice there is no mention of how it is to be sung, only that it is to be sung! It could be in Gregorian chant or operatic symphony, in 4 part harmony or caribean cadence. Perhaps in one, perhaps in all, no matter the way it is the focus –Jesus, high and lifted up, Jesus exalted and glorified.
Perhaps it will be in one voice –unison, or perhaps a cacophony of sound risen in joy and reverberation from every language known –the focus is Christ.
To see Jesus high and lifted up affects our worship –we come to worship Him, to honor him, to lift him and declare His name. To see him high and lifted up affects how we see communion –not just as a remembrance but as a declaration, as worship. Imagine, this creator of the universe, this god come in flesh, this one to whom the angels sing, this one who has all of creation beneath his feat, this son of God, the most high God, who loves us so much, who cares for us so much, this awesome wonder, who became our friend and went to the cross –took our sin, our separation, our death. This wonder of wonders who said, this is my body –which knew no sin, is broken for you. This wonder of wonders who said, this is my blood –which washes away your sin, if given for you. Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise!
To see him high and lifted up affects not only our worship but our lives. To see Jesus high and lifted up affects our actions –whatever you say or do, do it for His glory! To see Jesus high and lifted up affects our world view because suddenly the things of earth will grow strangely dim –in the light of His glory and grace.
Oh, that the eyes of our heart will be opened to Jesus –high and lifted up. Oh that the eyes of our heart will be opened to the lamb who is on the throne. Oh that the eyes of our heart will be opened.
The writer of Ephesians indicates that worship, the lifting of His name, the honor and glory of Christ is even why we are saved (1:6, 1:13-14, 2:7-10) Our proper response to our salvation is to worship our Lord, to praise his name, to lift him up, to glorify him. We have the benefit of being saved from hell, but we have the purpose of bringing glory to Him! (Eph 3:20-21)
But even more, do we pray for the eyes of the hearts of his church to be opened. That the eyes of the hearts of his people will once again capture the wonder and the majesty and the glory of Christ. That his church will see –will see! And know! And praise! The one in whim we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance to the riches of God’s grace that he lavished (I love that word) on us.
In the past while I have read several books and articles about the decline of worship in the churches of the western world. And one of the primary reason I see stated over and over is because we have a depreciation of God and a sinful apathy towards the glory and majesty of Christ. Worship is honor and adoration directed towards God! When we fail to lift up our Lord, we fail to worship. Open the eyes of our hearts lord –that we may see Christ who has been raised form the dead and is seated at the right hand of the father in the heavenly realms.
Halleluia, what a savior! Halelluia –what a savior.
High and lifted up. Jesus is high and lifted up. One of the great themes of the New Testament and the declaration of the church is that Christ is high and lifted up. One of the things that I think the church –and I mean the church in general, has lost or at least set aside, is that Christ I high and lifted up –he is exalted, he is holy, he is the king of kings and lord of lords.
If you are a regular attendee at LBC you may go, huh? We lift Jesus, we exalt him. And you would be right. We do, but as I look at many churches, particularly those that are amoung the post-modern and emergent movement, I see Jesus reduced to a moral, feel good guide to how we are to live. And I do not want to dismiss that Jesus is that –he does teach and guide and help us.
But Jesus was in time past –God. (John 1:1) Jesus was God come in flesh John 1:14. He is high and lifted up and exalted in the heavenly realms today and forever. (Ephesians 1).
When we lose sight of the glory and the splendor and the wonder of His majesty, His exalted place, it affects our worship, our prayers, our mission, our obedience.
And we lose the power and the impact of what he has done for us. The scriptures –both old and new testament, proclaim the deity, the god-ness, of Christ Jesus. This past week I thought and prayed long on what to share this morning. What kept coming to my heart was share about the wonder and majesty of Jesus. In part it came from the message last week and the song we sang –open the eyes of my heart, Lord. One verse says, “to see him high and lifted up, shining in the light of his glory”
The writer of that song took the image right out of Ephesians 1. Let me read from verses 20-23. Peter, who witnessed the glory of Christ revealed on the mount of transfiguration, Peter who fell at the feet of the risen Lord, Peter who saw Jesus lifted up into the heaven with the promise of return, Peter wrote “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” (I Peter 1:20-21)
John, the beloved disciple, who also saw Jesus glorified, raised and lifted writes, of the great vision he had of heaven, Revelation 5:11-14.
He is worthy, he is exalted, he is high and lifted up. He is the lamb that was slain, the righteous one of God. He was the perfect sacrifice, the perfect payment for our sin. He was and is the one who angels sing out to –worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise!”
It is because Jesus is worthy, it is because he is high and exalted, it is because he is the lamb that we sing “To him who sits on the throne, the lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power forever and forever, AMEN!”
This praise come from the lips of men –the ones who are saved. And I notice there is no mention of how it is to be sung, only that it is to be sung! It could be in Gregorian chant or operatic symphony, in 4 part harmony or caribean cadence. Perhaps in one, perhaps in all, no matter the way it is the focus –Jesus, high and lifted up, Jesus exalted and glorified.
Perhaps it will be in one voice –unison, or perhaps a cacophony of sound risen in joy and reverberation from every language known –the focus is Christ.
To see Jesus high and lifted up affects our worship –we come to worship Him, to honor him, to lift him and declare His name. To see him high and lifted up affects how we see communion –not just as a remembrance but as a declaration, as worship. Imagine, this creator of the universe, this god come in flesh, this one to whom the angels sing, this one who has all of creation beneath his feat, this son of God, the most high God, who loves us so much, who cares for us so much, this awesome wonder, who became our friend and went to the cross –took our sin, our separation, our death. This wonder of wonders who said, this is my body –which knew no sin, is broken for you. This wonder of wonders who said, this is my blood –which washes away your sin, if given for you. Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise!
To see him high and lifted up affects not only our worship but our lives. To see Jesus high and lifted up affects our actions –whatever you say or do, do it for His glory! To see Jesus high and lifted up affects our world view because suddenly the things of earth will grow strangely dim –in the light of His glory and grace.
Oh, that the eyes of our heart will be opened to Jesus –high and lifted up. Oh that the eyes of our heart will be opened to the lamb who is on the throne. Oh that the eyes of our heart will be opened.
The writer of Ephesians indicates that worship, the lifting of His name, the honor and glory of Christ is even why we are saved (1:6, 1:13-14, 2:7-10) Our proper response to our salvation is to worship our Lord, to praise his name, to lift him up, to glorify him. We have the benefit of being saved from hell, but we have the purpose of bringing glory to Him! (Eph 3:20-21)
But even more, do we pray for the eyes of the hearts of his church to be opened. That the eyes of the hearts of his people will once again capture the wonder and the majesty and the glory of Christ. That his church will see –will see! And know! And praise! The one in whim we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance to the riches of God’s grace that he lavished (I love that word) on us.
In the past while I have read several books and articles about the decline of worship in the churches of the western world. And one of the primary reason I see stated over and over is because we have a depreciation of God and a sinful apathy towards the glory and majesty of Christ. Worship is honor and adoration directed towards God! When we fail to lift up our Lord, we fail to worship. Open the eyes of our hearts lord –that we may see Christ who has been raised form the dead and is seated at the right hand of the father in the heavenly realms.
Halleluia, what a savior! Halelluia –what a savior.
Introduction to the Good News of Jesus Christ
From the sermon preached May 13, 2012
Over this past year we have looked at being a church that loves and being a church that is filled and empowered by the Spirit. These are key areas for us to grow as a church and to expand the kingdom of God in our community. But as I have been speaking on these areas it has been a growing conviction in my heart that we need to step back and take a closer look at the one for whom we do so much and owe so much –Jesus Christ.
It is so easy to get caught up in the what and the why and the how that we lose sight of the who. Jesus Christ is central to our faith, our purpose our eternity. And I am finding that more and more we as a church –the church in general, but even LBC, are less familiar with the person and work of Jesus Christ than in years past. We may be familiar with some of the grand things about Jesus –the birth and death and resurrection things, but the miracles, the teachings, the actions of Jesus as he touched lives, as he walked this earth –the accounts of his life are more and more lost.
I was talking with a man a few months ago, a man whom I know has been in church for many years, and I referred to an event about Jesus and he looked at me blankly. I said, you know the time Jesus reached out and took Peter’s hand when Peter began to sink into the sea? Again blank. I then began to watch and subtly check out a growing theory –we do not know Jesus and the thing is that we don’t know that we don’t know.
Several years ago a friend of mine developed a little course called “Who is Jesus.” His premise for starting the series was, “People don’t know what they don’t know.” I have done this a few times at LBC and have seen how people really don’t know what they don’t know. And we –I, take it for granted that people do know.
We are living in a culture that is less and less familiar with the accounts of the Bible, the events of Moses, Joshua, Joseph, David, Samson and so many others. But even more, we are less and less familiar with the accounts of Jesus. Part of this is a growing secularization of our culture, part is that we (as a church in general) have moved to a more how to approach to our faith, and part is due to the decrease of the amount of time we actually spend in teaching, reading and learning about our faith –about Jesus.
And let us admit it, as we get older, we tend to forget. Oh, we may have a nostalgic recollection that Jesus walked on water, or climbed up mount Vesuvius or fed the 5000 (did you catch that?) Jesus never climbed up Vesuvius –he climbed Mt Ararat! NO! We may have a recollection but could we find the account in scripture, could we recall the event to our children our grandchildren? One of the things that I believe we need to have done is to be reminded of the things we know and taught the things we do not know. That is the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) but also of the elders, the teachers and the pastors and parents (II Peter 1:12-15)
This injunction to teach goes back to the ancient text of Deuteronomy. Listen to the familiar words of 6:4-5. But now hear the words of 6-12. “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord!” the continual telling of the story, the account is so important. And note, this is given to the parents!
When my kids were growing up, and even today, they would almost roll their eyes when I would start to tell a story or experience from my past. “You already told us that one dad.” I have heard it before. Chris, our oldest, when we got back from Cameroon, had heard us talk so often about some of the things that he could tell the stories verbatim –even up to today. Telling and telling and retelling, hearing and hearing and re-hearing, reading and reading and re-reading the accounts plants them in our hearts and minds and souls.
Knowing Jesus, knowing Him more and more, affects our theology of Christ, our doctrine of Christ, our apologetic of Christ, our witness for Christ, our growing in Christ our teaching of Christ, our passing on to the next generation and the next generation about Jesus. The telling and retelling of the stories, the accounts, the events and the lives Jesus touched. These build into us a greater and deeper faith from which we can share and impart.
Do we have an eagerness to know Him more, to say –tell me more about Jesus. Tell me again about Jesus. Oh, I love that time when Jesus touched the blind man and gave him sight. Oh remember that time when Jesus knelt and wrote in the dust –I wonder what he wrote (do we know the time that happened?).
Do we long for and pray for the eyes of our heart to be opened that we may see Jesus –more and more. Do we long for and pray for the eyes of our children’s hearts to be opened that they may see Jesus and to know Him more and more? Do we long for and pray for the church of Jesus to know Jesus and love Jesus and hear again and again and again the wonderful words of life in Jesus?
It is easy to get caught up in the “what” and the why and the how but do we, dare we, ground ourselves in the who?
And what better way to discover more about Jesus than to learn from those who knew him –walked and talked and touched him. So over the next while –however long it takes, I am going to be speaking from the gospel of Mark.
Why Mark? It is the first (chronologically) and one of the easiest and quickest (he often says “immediately”) and gives a lot of detail for the non-jewish (us) reader.
He wasn’t one of the disciples. But I believe he was there to see at least some of the events that happened. And it is well understood that this writer wrote under the direction of Peter. As early as 120 AD the early church understood Mark to be the interpreter, or secretary, of Peter. It is also thought that this Mark was the one who in this gospel is written, “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When the seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.” (Mark 14:51-52) We do not know who this young man was, but most church leaders and writers of the first 400 years of the church (and into today) believe it was Mark.
Imagine the fear and the faith of this young man –first seeing the Jesus arrested, then seeing the disciples flee, then he himself –following, and then seized! The on the surface is a little comical –he fled naked, but stop and think for a moment of the deep faith, the commitment, the desire to be close to Jesus –even as he is arrested and all others flee! The question may well be asked, why would Mark be there, that night? From the earliest authors in church history it is believed that it was at his mother’s home where the last supper was held. Imagine the power and impact that this alone would have on this young man’s life! Although not a participant, he may well have helped prepare the food, helped do some of the serving, listened in on some of the teaching of Jesus that night. We do not know the age of Mark at this point, but it is thought he was in his teenage years.
I want to stop here for a moment. This is mother’s day. Note the impact that Mary opening her home to Jesus had on this young man. The impressions we can make are powerful when we are open to be used by God –even in practicing hospitality.
But the account of this young man and his faith do not stop here. We read later in Acts 12:12 that when Peter is miraculously freed from prison. (read Acts 5-7, 12). This was the place where the church regularly met, it was here they prayed, and it was here Peter went. Again note, this home environment in which Mark was exposed to the teachings and ministry of Peter at an early age. We also know that Mark was a cousin to Barnabas who went with Paul on Paul’s first missionary journey and then alter went with Barnabas on other trips. He later was highly regarded and commended by Paul as His companion when Paul was imprisoned in Rome (II Tim. 4:11).
And later he was with Peter, according to church history. And so the richness of experience, the hearing of the stories over and over from Peter himself, the experiences of his encounters with the disciples with Paul, the mission’s trips with Barnabas all add to the texture of this young man’s life. For over 20 years he has been hearing and sharing the account of Jesus. And now, listening to the teachings of Peter about Jesus, he writes down the events so that we can know, so that we can see, so that we can learn about this most incredible person –Jesus Christ, the son of God!
And Mark begins, not with the birth of Jesus, like Matthew and Luke, but with the ministry of Jesus. He starts, “the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ the Son of God.” These opening words are full of power and hope, love and grace.
He simply and powerfully starts, “beginning.” And it reminds us of the opening of Genesis 1:1, “beginning.” Just as God, in the beginning steps into our history and begins to work, so Jesus steps into creation and begins to work. We begin at the beginning with about whom this is about –Jesus. This is not a book about Peter, or Barnabas, or Paul or some other of the well known disciples these influences in Marks’ life –this is about Jesus Himself, coming into his creation. John writes similarly, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God, he was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made.” And Paul expands on this in the letter to the church of Colosse, READ 1:15-17. What a picture, what a depth, just in one word as comes into His creation to continue the redemptive work God planned for in the beginning.
And this beginning is good news! It is the gospel, the “euangelion” about Jesus Christ. This gospel is an important subject for Mark. The word appears seven times (used 4 in Matthew and none in the other two gospels except as a genitive verb). This good news, this gospel, is offered as hope to the neglected and the oppressed, the lost and the weary, the struggling and the expectant. This is good news! Good news about Jesus, by Jesus and in Jesus Christ. This good news is that God has provided salvation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Again, we look to Paul as he continues to write in Colossi ans 1, (verses 19-23).
This is the good news, the beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Oh, there is so much wrapped up in these names –Jesus, Hebrew “Joshua” Yeshua, meaning god is salvation. Matthew picks this up as we saw in the opening call to worship “you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from the sins.” Christ, which means anointed, or in Hebrew, “messiah.” He is uniquely commissioned, solitarily given the task, the one who would restore God’s people.
And he is God’s son. He and he alone has the unique relationship with the Father. Although Mark mentions this title only a few times, it was John who amplified this close connection between Jesus and the Father. John 3:16 is one great example of Jesus talking about his connection to the father and then in his great prayer in John 17 we read, “Father the time has com. Glorify your Son that you son may glorify you.” And even more, this statement, “the Son of God” pronounces the deity of Jesus Christ –He is God.
I know that most of you do not know biblical Greek. But I want to read this opening verse to you in the greek and then transliterate it. “’arxn, tou euangelliou Insou Xristou uiou theou.” It reads, beginning, the gospel Jesus Christ son of God. It punches in bold declaration what this letter is about and who it is about. He is the gospel. It is the good news of Jesus, about Jesus, by Jesus, the son of God.
Come, let us seek to know Him better that we too may proclaim the good news.
Over this past year we have looked at being a church that loves and being a church that is filled and empowered by the Spirit. These are key areas for us to grow as a church and to expand the kingdom of God in our community. But as I have been speaking on these areas it has been a growing conviction in my heart that we need to step back and take a closer look at the one for whom we do so much and owe so much –Jesus Christ.
It is so easy to get caught up in the what and the why and the how that we lose sight of the who. Jesus Christ is central to our faith, our purpose our eternity. And I am finding that more and more we as a church –the church in general, but even LBC, are less familiar with the person and work of Jesus Christ than in years past. We may be familiar with some of the grand things about Jesus –the birth and death and resurrection things, but the miracles, the teachings, the actions of Jesus as he touched lives, as he walked this earth –the accounts of his life are more and more lost.
I was talking with a man a few months ago, a man whom I know has been in church for many years, and I referred to an event about Jesus and he looked at me blankly. I said, you know the time Jesus reached out and took Peter’s hand when Peter began to sink into the sea? Again blank. I then began to watch and subtly check out a growing theory –we do not know Jesus and the thing is that we don’t know that we don’t know.
Several years ago a friend of mine developed a little course called “Who is Jesus.” His premise for starting the series was, “People don’t know what they don’t know.” I have done this a few times at LBC and have seen how people really don’t know what they don’t know. And we –I, take it for granted that people do know.
We are living in a culture that is less and less familiar with the accounts of the Bible, the events of Moses, Joshua, Joseph, David, Samson and so many others. But even more, we are less and less familiar with the accounts of Jesus. Part of this is a growing secularization of our culture, part is that we (as a church in general) have moved to a more how to approach to our faith, and part is due to the decrease of the amount of time we actually spend in teaching, reading and learning about our faith –about Jesus.
And let us admit it, as we get older, we tend to forget. Oh, we may have a nostalgic recollection that Jesus walked on water, or climbed up mount Vesuvius or fed the 5000 (did you catch that?) Jesus never climbed up Vesuvius –he climbed Mt Ararat! NO! We may have a recollection but could we find the account in scripture, could we recall the event to our children our grandchildren? One of the things that I believe we need to have done is to be reminded of the things we know and taught the things we do not know. That is the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) but also of the elders, the teachers and the pastors and parents (II Peter 1:12-15)
This injunction to teach goes back to the ancient text of Deuteronomy. Listen to the familiar words of 6:4-5. But now hear the words of 6-12. “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord!” the continual telling of the story, the account is so important. And note, this is given to the parents!
When my kids were growing up, and even today, they would almost roll their eyes when I would start to tell a story or experience from my past. “You already told us that one dad.” I have heard it before. Chris, our oldest, when we got back from Cameroon, had heard us talk so often about some of the things that he could tell the stories verbatim –even up to today. Telling and telling and retelling, hearing and hearing and re-hearing, reading and reading and re-reading the accounts plants them in our hearts and minds and souls.
Knowing Jesus, knowing Him more and more, affects our theology of Christ, our doctrine of Christ, our apologetic of Christ, our witness for Christ, our growing in Christ our teaching of Christ, our passing on to the next generation and the next generation about Jesus. The telling and retelling of the stories, the accounts, the events and the lives Jesus touched. These build into us a greater and deeper faith from which we can share and impart.
Do we have an eagerness to know Him more, to say –tell me more about Jesus. Tell me again about Jesus. Oh, I love that time when Jesus touched the blind man and gave him sight. Oh remember that time when Jesus knelt and wrote in the dust –I wonder what he wrote (do we know the time that happened?).
Do we long for and pray for the eyes of our heart to be opened that we may see Jesus –more and more. Do we long for and pray for the eyes of our children’s hearts to be opened that they may see Jesus and to know Him more and more? Do we long for and pray for the church of Jesus to know Jesus and love Jesus and hear again and again and again the wonderful words of life in Jesus?
It is easy to get caught up in the “what” and the why and the how but do we, dare we, ground ourselves in the who?
And what better way to discover more about Jesus than to learn from those who knew him –walked and talked and touched him. So over the next while –however long it takes, I am going to be speaking from the gospel of Mark.
Why Mark? It is the first (chronologically) and one of the easiest and quickest (he often says “immediately”) and gives a lot of detail for the non-jewish (us) reader.
He wasn’t one of the disciples. But I believe he was there to see at least some of the events that happened. And it is well understood that this writer wrote under the direction of Peter. As early as 120 AD the early church understood Mark to be the interpreter, or secretary, of Peter. It is also thought that this Mark was the one who in this gospel is written, “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When the seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.” (Mark 14:51-52) We do not know who this young man was, but most church leaders and writers of the first 400 years of the church (and into today) believe it was Mark.
Imagine the fear and the faith of this young man –first seeing the Jesus arrested, then seeing the disciples flee, then he himself –following, and then seized! The on the surface is a little comical –he fled naked, but stop and think for a moment of the deep faith, the commitment, the desire to be close to Jesus –even as he is arrested and all others flee! The question may well be asked, why would Mark be there, that night? From the earliest authors in church history it is believed that it was at his mother’s home where the last supper was held. Imagine the power and impact that this alone would have on this young man’s life! Although not a participant, he may well have helped prepare the food, helped do some of the serving, listened in on some of the teaching of Jesus that night. We do not know the age of Mark at this point, but it is thought he was in his teenage years.
I want to stop here for a moment. This is mother’s day. Note the impact that Mary opening her home to Jesus had on this young man. The impressions we can make are powerful when we are open to be used by God –even in practicing hospitality.
But the account of this young man and his faith do not stop here. We read later in Acts 12:12 that when Peter is miraculously freed from prison. (read Acts 5-7, 12). This was the place where the church regularly met, it was here they prayed, and it was here Peter went. Again note, this home environment in which Mark was exposed to the teachings and ministry of Peter at an early age. We also know that Mark was a cousin to Barnabas who went with Paul on Paul’s first missionary journey and then alter went with Barnabas on other trips. He later was highly regarded and commended by Paul as His companion when Paul was imprisoned in Rome (II Tim. 4:11).
And later he was with Peter, according to church history. And so the richness of experience, the hearing of the stories over and over from Peter himself, the experiences of his encounters with the disciples with Paul, the mission’s trips with Barnabas all add to the texture of this young man’s life. For over 20 years he has been hearing and sharing the account of Jesus. And now, listening to the teachings of Peter about Jesus, he writes down the events so that we can know, so that we can see, so that we can learn about this most incredible person –Jesus Christ, the son of God!
And Mark begins, not with the birth of Jesus, like Matthew and Luke, but with the ministry of Jesus. He starts, “the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ the Son of God.” These opening words are full of power and hope, love and grace.
He simply and powerfully starts, “beginning.” And it reminds us of the opening of Genesis 1:1, “beginning.” Just as God, in the beginning steps into our history and begins to work, so Jesus steps into creation and begins to work. We begin at the beginning with about whom this is about –Jesus. This is not a book about Peter, or Barnabas, or Paul or some other of the well known disciples these influences in Marks’ life –this is about Jesus Himself, coming into his creation. John writes similarly, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God, he was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made.” And Paul expands on this in the letter to the church of Colosse, READ 1:15-17. What a picture, what a depth, just in one word as comes into His creation to continue the redemptive work God planned for in the beginning.
And this beginning is good news! It is the gospel, the “euangelion” about Jesus Christ. This gospel is an important subject for Mark. The word appears seven times (used 4 in Matthew and none in the other two gospels except as a genitive verb). This good news, this gospel, is offered as hope to the neglected and the oppressed, the lost and the weary, the struggling and the expectant. This is good news! Good news about Jesus, by Jesus and in Jesus Christ. This good news is that God has provided salvation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Again, we look to Paul as he continues to write in Colossi ans 1, (verses 19-23).
This is the good news, the beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Oh, there is so much wrapped up in these names –Jesus, Hebrew “Joshua” Yeshua, meaning god is salvation. Matthew picks this up as we saw in the opening call to worship “you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from the sins.” Christ, which means anointed, or in Hebrew, “messiah.” He is uniquely commissioned, solitarily given the task, the one who would restore God’s people.
And he is God’s son. He and he alone has the unique relationship with the Father. Although Mark mentions this title only a few times, it was John who amplified this close connection between Jesus and the Father. John 3:16 is one great example of Jesus talking about his connection to the father and then in his great prayer in John 17 we read, “Father the time has com. Glorify your Son that you son may glorify you.” And even more, this statement, “the Son of God” pronounces the deity of Jesus Christ –He is God.
I know that most of you do not know biblical Greek. But I want to read this opening verse to you in the greek and then transliterate it. “’arxn, tou euangelliou Insou Xristou uiou theou.” It reads, beginning, the gospel Jesus Christ son of God. It punches in bold declaration what this letter is about and who it is about. He is the gospel. It is the good news of Jesus, about Jesus, by Jesus, the son of God.
Come, let us seek to know Him better that we too may proclaim the good news.
Jesus Christ fulfills scripture -Mark 1:2-12
From the sermon preached May 20, 2012
As we look at the life of Jesus Christ, we could literally spend a lifetime exploring all that scripture has to say about him. Charles Spurgeon, called the price of preachers, once wrote, “Nobody ever outgrows scripture. The book widens and deepens with our years.” Not only do we have the 4 gospels, the 4 messages of good news, but also the OT prophecies, the testimonies of other biblical writers such as Paul and John. And it was John the apostle that said, “If we were to have written down everything that Jesus said and did, even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) This incredible tapestry of Jesus life –contained largely within a three year period, has impacted people, governments and societies far beyond what we can imagine.
In the gospel of Mark, we have the shortest, but not the least of the gospels. And in it, the writer, Mark, brings us often just a brief glimpse into some of the events and teaching of Jesus. And yet it is a powerfully woven account of Jesus ministry. 16 short chapters, almost a third of which is given over to just the last week and days of Jesus life.
Mark writes with a sense of excitement and purpose. It is almost as if he cannot wait to tell us of the next event, the next teaching of Jesus. The words seem to pour out in rapid succession, like a young child who is so excited to tell you about the adventure he just had.
And there is no wasted space here in this (or any) gospel. Each thing Mark tells us is important. As he records the passion and messages of Peter, you can almost sense the voice of Peter rising in an excited narrative of the things He experienced with Jesus. Like someone who has just come back from a trip of a lifetime trying to tell you everything they saw and did over a three year period in short hour! That is about how long you could take reading Mark at a steady pace.
And in so many ways it is an honest, raw testimony of one who walked, slept and ate with Jesus. Peter, who literally cried in panic on a stormy sea while Jesus slept on a cushion, who took bread broken from 5 loaves and helped feed thousands, who saw the glorified Son of God talk with Moses and Elijah, who argued about being the greatest of the disciples and was rebuked in front of the others for trying to talk Jesus out of moving towards the cross. And then the great shame of denying Jesus in the dark hours before dawn before Jesus went to the cross. And then the horror of the event of the trial and crucifixion. Until finally, in somewhat brief fashion, the most wonderful and amazing event caps off this quick paced narrative –the resurrection.
Everything Mark records is important. And if we were to take the time to look at each event, each teaching, each healing and miracle –just in this short book, we would barely have time in this life to fully understand or grasp the depth and richness of who Jesus is. So I won’t try to do this in this look at Jesus’ life and ministry. But come, let us catch a glimpse of this amazing life lived, given and open for us –the life and good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
That is how Mark begins his writing -with a short, powerful, pointed and clear statement, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
In a world and time when so much seems chaotic, it is important for us to see that God is in control. The world of the early church and the place of Israel was not a bucolic ideal world of peace and prosperity, but rather a brutal and often tense time of rebellion, protest and political maneuvering. Much like today with the uncertainty of politics, economy and war in our world. Into this chaos, in this world of suppression, oppression and fear, God gives light through prophecy, hope through the words of inspired men from years past. Here, Mark gives us the prophecy of Isaiah from Isaiah 40. (note it says from Isaiah but includes Malachi –often the part of the OT which consists of the prophets was called the prophecies of Isaiah because it is the first and largest of the prophetic books).
Over and over, Mark, as do the other writers, brings to the reader’s attention that the coming of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the hope and good news of Jesus Christ is embedded into the fabric of scripture –the Old Testament, prophesied hundreds of years before. And there are literally hundreds of prophecies throughout the OT which tell not only of the coming of Jesus, but his ministry, purpose and yes, his death and resurrection. This coming of Jesus was and is part of God’s plan, fulfillment of God’s bringing back to him a people who were and are in rebellion to Him.
And this is the good news! That a holy and righteous Creator would and did provide a way for a sinful and rebellious people to come into a relationship with Him. It was in his plan, in his providence for us, to provide a way of salvation, of restoration, of forgiveness and reconciliation with himself. How? Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mankind, in faith and repentance can, through Christ, become God’s people by –as Jesus would proclaim very shortly in Mark 1:15, repenting and believing the good news, the gospel. In fact, that is the gospel –the good news –that God the righteous Creator has provided a way of salvation for a sinful and rebellious man through Jesus Christ, His Son. And by believing in Him and repenting of our sin, we can enter a dynamic loving relationship with the eternal God.
And here in Mark we see God’s plan unfold as the prophecy comes true and a man named John the Baptizer comes preaching, baptizing and preparing the way of the Lord. In a few short sentences Mark gives us the message and ministry of John the Baptizer. Mark would have written maybe 25-30 years after the events so there would have been people still alive who could attest to seeing and hearing John. Peter would write, later, in a short letter about being a witness to these things (II Peter 1:12-21). John the Baptizer’s message was simple, “get ready for One who is greater than me is coming. Confess –agree with God you are not right with him, and receive his forgiveness; repent –turn back to God and draw closer to him; and, be baptized to show your sincerity.”
John the Baptizer came to prepare the way, according to scripture. And then Jesus comes, according to scripture and in rapid succession of just 4 verses, Mark tells us of Jesus’ baptism, the pronouncement of the Father, the ascent of the Spirit, the trial in the desert, the temptation offered by Satan and the triumph of Christ in these things. Luke and Matthew expand on these events which take place over about 6 weeks. It is not that Mark thinks these events are not important –they are super important, and behind them are so much theology and depth that I am sure as people heard the words and read the words, they discussed long about what it meant.
For example, the baptism of Jesus which marks the beginning of His ministry. Why was Jesus baptized? It is not that he had sin to repent or forgiveness to find –he was perfect and without sin. But this baptism identifies him with us as a people and marks the beginning of his ministry that says I am turned fully and completely towards the father –this is my mission, my goal, my purpose. I am completely devoted to do the will of my Father.
The voice of God the Father coming down and pronouncing his pleasure and love for his son. For me it echoes back to Genesis 1 when God created Adam and blessed him and pronounced his creation very good. And then we read of Jesus being taken, literally thrown (ekballei) into the wilderness. And there is almost a reverse image of Adam here.
Adam was in the ideal place –Eden. It was in this garden, this beautiful place we often wish we could be in, it was here He was tempted and rebelled against God. And after the fall, he is cast out into the dust and the thorns and the barrenness of the world. Jesus is cast out into the desert and it is here he is tempted by Satan, not in the comfort and joy of Eden, but in the harsh realities of the fall. And over the next 40 days Jesus is tempted not just once, not twice, or even three times (we are told of three specific temptations) but the wording here indicates it was continual. In Hebrews we read that Jesus was tempted like us in every way yet was without sin (4:15), and that he “had been made like his brothers in every way…because he himself suffered when he was tempted, and he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (2:17-18)
And through his victory against Satan in the desert, the “heal” of Jesus began to crush the head of the serpent as predicted way back in Genesis 3:15. And then the angels attended him and Mark adds this interesting short phrase, he was with the wild animals.
To me it is a picture of creation beginning to be restored to what God intended. Man once again in harmony with creation. It was here, that Jesus in obedience and faithfulness began to restore what had been lost. And it is through Christ Jesus that man can move from the desert back to the garden. Let me share with you a glimpse of what is yet to come for us, what is yet to be for those who believe in Christ, confess and repent –turning toward God through Christ. Revelation 22:1-5. Jesus Christ has come to reverse the fall, to vanquish death, to give life, to find the lost, to restore the rebellious –to lead us from the desert.
Paul talks of this dynamic between Adam and Jesus in Romans 5. Paul writes that sin entered the world through one man –Adam. And how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by grace of the one man Jesus Christ flow out to the many! (*read 5:17) And then in I Corinthians 15:22 Paul writes, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all [who belong to him] will be made alive (add verse 23)”
This is good news! This is great news! In these few short verses in Mark we can see the depth of God’s working, the richness of Christ’s coming, the fulfilling of scripture and the stirring of hope.
And this is not only good news for the people of that time –it is good news for us today. We are just as rebellious and separate from God because of sin as were people 50, 100, 1000, 2000 years ago. Jesus Christ, the Son of God has come and begun the process of restoration and reconciliation for man with God. II Corinthians 5:17-19a.
And for those who have been reconciled, who through faith and repentance have become the children of God, we now have been called and commissioned and empowered to continue this message of reconciliation, this good news (19b—20a).
Mark begins his account of Jesus’ life with a rapid pronouncement –this is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Followed by a brief glimpse of the fulfilling of prophecy and the coming of John the Baptizer, then the powerful image of Christ being baptized and the father’s declaration of his love. And finally the beginning of the restoration of man to God in the fall as Jesus in word and deed
This is the beginning –just the beginning, of the good news about Jesus Christ, the son of God!
Praise be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
As we look at the life of Jesus Christ, we could literally spend a lifetime exploring all that scripture has to say about him. Charles Spurgeon, called the price of preachers, once wrote, “Nobody ever outgrows scripture. The book widens and deepens with our years.” Not only do we have the 4 gospels, the 4 messages of good news, but also the OT prophecies, the testimonies of other biblical writers such as Paul and John. And it was John the apostle that said, “If we were to have written down everything that Jesus said and did, even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) This incredible tapestry of Jesus life –contained largely within a three year period, has impacted people, governments and societies far beyond what we can imagine.
In the gospel of Mark, we have the shortest, but not the least of the gospels. And in it, the writer, Mark, brings us often just a brief glimpse into some of the events and teaching of Jesus. And yet it is a powerfully woven account of Jesus ministry. 16 short chapters, almost a third of which is given over to just the last week and days of Jesus life.
Mark writes with a sense of excitement and purpose. It is almost as if he cannot wait to tell us of the next event, the next teaching of Jesus. The words seem to pour out in rapid succession, like a young child who is so excited to tell you about the adventure he just had.
And there is no wasted space here in this (or any) gospel. Each thing Mark tells us is important. As he records the passion and messages of Peter, you can almost sense the voice of Peter rising in an excited narrative of the things He experienced with Jesus. Like someone who has just come back from a trip of a lifetime trying to tell you everything they saw and did over a three year period in short hour! That is about how long you could take reading Mark at a steady pace.
And in so many ways it is an honest, raw testimony of one who walked, slept and ate with Jesus. Peter, who literally cried in panic on a stormy sea while Jesus slept on a cushion, who took bread broken from 5 loaves and helped feed thousands, who saw the glorified Son of God talk with Moses and Elijah, who argued about being the greatest of the disciples and was rebuked in front of the others for trying to talk Jesus out of moving towards the cross. And then the great shame of denying Jesus in the dark hours before dawn before Jesus went to the cross. And then the horror of the event of the trial and crucifixion. Until finally, in somewhat brief fashion, the most wonderful and amazing event caps off this quick paced narrative –the resurrection.
Everything Mark records is important. And if we were to take the time to look at each event, each teaching, each healing and miracle –just in this short book, we would barely have time in this life to fully understand or grasp the depth and richness of who Jesus is. So I won’t try to do this in this look at Jesus’ life and ministry. But come, let us catch a glimpse of this amazing life lived, given and open for us –the life and good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
That is how Mark begins his writing -with a short, powerful, pointed and clear statement, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
In a world and time when so much seems chaotic, it is important for us to see that God is in control. The world of the early church and the place of Israel was not a bucolic ideal world of peace and prosperity, but rather a brutal and often tense time of rebellion, protest and political maneuvering. Much like today with the uncertainty of politics, economy and war in our world. Into this chaos, in this world of suppression, oppression and fear, God gives light through prophecy, hope through the words of inspired men from years past. Here, Mark gives us the prophecy of Isaiah from Isaiah 40. (note it says from Isaiah but includes Malachi –often the part of the OT which consists of the prophets was called the prophecies of Isaiah because it is the first and largest of the prophetic books).
Over and over, Mark, as do the other writers, brings to the reader’s attention that the coming of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the hope and good news of Jesus Christ is embedded into the fabric of scripture –the Old Testament, prophesied hundreds of years before. And there are literally hundreds of prophecies throughout the OT which tell not only of the coming of Jesus, but his ministry, purpose and yes, his death and resurrection. This coming of Jesus was and is part of God’s plan, fulfillment of God’s bringing back to him a people who were and are in rebellion to Him.
And this is the good news! That a holy and righteous Creator would and did provide a way for a sinful and rebellious people to come into a relationship with Him. It was in his plan, in his providence for us, to provide a way of salvation, of restoration, of forgiveness and reconciliation with himself. How? Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mankind, in faith and repentance can, through Christ, become God’s people by –as Jesus would proclaim very shortly in Mark 1:15, repenting and believing the good news, the gospel. In fact, that is the gospel –the good news –that God the righteous Creator has provided a way of salvation for a sinful and rebellious man through Jesus Christ, His Son. And by believing in Him and repenting of our sin, we can enter a dynamic loving relationship with the eternal God.
And here in Mark we see God’s plan unfold as the prophecy comes true and a man named John the Baptizer comes preaching, baptizing and preparing the way of the Lord. In a few short sentences Mark gives us the message and ministry of John the Baptizer. Mark would have written maybe 25-30 years after the events so there would have been people still alive who could attest to seeing and hearing John. Peter would write, later, in a short letter about being a witness to these things (II Peter 1:12-21). John the Baptizer’s message was simple, “get ready for One who is greater than me is coming. Confess –agree with God you are not right with him, and receive his forgiveness; repent –turn back to God and draw closer to him; and, be baptized to show your sincerity.”
John the Baptizer came to prepare the way, according to scripture. And then Jesus comes, according to scripture and in rapid succession of just 4 verses, Mark tells us of Jesus’ baptism, the pronouncement of the Father, the ascent of the Spirit, the trial in the desert, the temptation offered by Satan and the triumph of Christ in these things. Luke and Matthew expand on these events which take place over about 6 weeks. It is not that Mark thinks these events are not important –they are super important, and behind them are so much theology and depth that I am sure as people heard the words and read the words, they discussed long about what it meant.
For example, the baptism of Jesus which marks the beginning of His ministry. Why was Jesus baptized? It is not that he had sin to repent or forgiveness to find –he was perfect and without sin. But this baptism identifies him with us as a people and marks the beginning of his ministry that says I am turned fully and completely towards the father –this is my mission, my goal, my purpose. I am completely devoted to do the will of my Father.
The voice of God the Father coming down and pronouncing his pleasure and love for his son. For me it echoes back to Genesis 1 when God created Adam and blessed him and pronounced his creation very good. And then we read of Jesus being taken, literally thrown (ekballei) into the wilderness. And there is almost a reverse image of Adam here.
Adam was in the ideal place –Eden. It was in this garden, this beautiful place we often wish we could be in, it was here He was tempted and rebelled against God. And after the fall, he is cast out into the dust and the thorns and the barrenness of the world. Jesus is cast out into the desert and it is here he is tempted by Satan, not in the comfort and joy of Eden, but in the harsh realities of the fall. And over the next 40 days Jesus is tempted not just once, not twice, or even three times (we are told of three specific temptations) but the wording here indicates it was continual. In Hebrews we read that Jesus was tempted like us in every way yet was without sin (4:15), and that he “had been made like his brothers in every way…because he himself suffered when he was tempted, and he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (2:17-18)
And through his victory against Satan in the desert, the “heal” of Jesus began to crush the head of the serpent as predicted way back in Genesis 3:15. And then the angels attended him and Mark adds this interesting short phrase, he was with the wild animals.
To me it is a picture of creation beginning to be restored to what God intended. Man once again in harmony with creation. It was here, that Jesus in obedience and faithfulness began to restore what had been lost. And it is through Christ Jesus that man can move from the desert back to the garden. Let me share with you a glimpse of what is yet to come for us, what is yet to be for those who believe in Christ, confess and repent –turning toward God through Christ. Revelation 22:1-5. Jesus Christ has come to reverse the fall, to vanquish death, to give life, to find the lost, to restore the rebellious –to lead us from the desert.
Paul talks of this dynamic between Adam and Jesus in Romans 5. Paul writes that sin entered the world through one man –Adam. And how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by grace of the one man Jesus Christ flow out to the many! (*read 5:17) And then in I Corinthians 15:22 Paul writes, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all [who belong to him] will be made alive (add verse 23)”
This is good news! This is great news! In these few short verses in Mark we can see the depth of God’s working, the richness of Christ’s coming, the fulfilling of scripture and the stirring of hope.
And this is not only good news for the people of that time –it is good news for us today. We are just as rebellious and separate from God because of sin as were people 50, 100, 1000, 2000 years ago. Jesus Christ, the Son of God has come and begun the process of restoration and reconciliation for man with God. II Corinthians 5:17-19a.
And for those who have been reconciled, who through faith and repentance have become the children of God, we now have been called and commissioned and empowered to continue this message of reconciliation, this good news (19b—20a).
Mark begins his account of Jesus’ life with a rapid pronouncement –this is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Followed by a brief glimpse of the fulfilling of prophecy and the coming of John the Baptizer, then the powerful image of Christ being baptized and the father’s declaration of his love. And finally the beginning of the restoration of man to God in the fall as Jesus in word and deed
This is the beginning –just the beginning, of the good news about Jesus Christ, the son of God!
Praise be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
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