Sunday, July 22, 2012

Jesus Lord of All -his incredible acts July 8, 2012

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!

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.

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.