WHEN JESUS SITS
As a father, I have had moments in the lives of my
children that I was so overwhelmingly proud of them I did not know what to do or how to act. As I think back on these special memories, I recall doing something that almost seemed inappropriate for the moment.
What I was beholding called for standing to my feet while applauding with cheers. However, I was so overwhelmed at their success and filled with such powerful emotions of pride, I simply sat and took in all of the moment I could. Perhaps to onlookers, it may have been perceived that I was not supportive. Perhaps to my children, it may have been thought that I was disinterested. But, nothing could be further from the truth! I remained seated because my heart was so full of joy its weight would not allow me to stand!
When you think of the life and ministry of Jesus, you find a life that was busy from sunrise to sunset. For three and a half years, He made the most of time and life. Yet, amidst the hustle and bustle of life, I find it interesting that his observers often noted that Jesus sat down.
It’s interesting to notice how this posture plays out in Jesus’ earthly ministry. I was interested to see just how often in the gospels Jesus is sitting down on the job.
His sitting were more than moments to gather His breath and rest. When you take a closer look at those special times, in His sitting some very special messages were being conveyed.
There are moments in life where it appears the Lord is responding to us out of character. In times when we expect, if not almost demand, that He stand, He chooses to remain seated.
On a stormy sea, the disciples accused Him of not caring because He had not arose. Often in our journey with the Lord, His support does not come through the means of applause, but rather through His seated glances. When Jesus chooses to remain seated, He may be motionless, but He is not without message! What does it mean when Jesus sits down?
I. When Jesus sits, it is an action of tender compassion.
In John 4, Jesus is walking at the hottest part of the day when the majority of people were seeking shelter from the heat. Verse 6 then sets the stage, "Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well..." He knew a woman with a failed past would be coming back to this old well. However, what she drew that day was fresh waters of love and forgiveness.
At midday, six hours after sunrise, and with very little if any shade, the heat of the sun would have been intense. It was customary for travelers to rest during this period, but a compelling urgency had driven Christ toward His destination. Without food and water, dusty, perspiring, tired, the Lord arrived at the well where He sat to wait the coming of a woman.
A. Necessary way (4)
The Jews avoided whenever possible, contact with the despised Samaritans and preferred to take the longer route than to journey among people they dest4ed. However, Christ must go through Samaria to meet this woman at the well.
The MUST was begotten by the knowledge that at the well a sinful woman needed salvation.
B. Needy woman
It is difficult to draw out bitter waters from the old wells of past experience when your bucket has to pass through the hands of a sitting Jesus!
In Matthew 9:10, "..as Jesus sat at meat in the house...many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him..."
He sat down out of tender compassion for them. People don’t care to know what you know till they know you care. To show pople you care it will take some of your TIME. If we are to reach the lost and unchurched, we must develop and build relationships with them. We must have contact with them. We must learn their names, their faces, their families, and their needs! We must learn what we can do to help them! We must show them that we are real.......genuine..... and that we can be trusted.
Notice what Christ did in His ministry (Matthew 9:10,11). He spent time with them. He was spending time getting to know them. He was having compassion on them.
In Matthew’s house the Savior “sat at meat.”
By the way, we should use all lawful means to bring others under the sound of the Word.
II. When Jesus sits, it is an attitude of trusted confidence.
In Luke 2:46, we find young Jesus "...sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." Being God in the flesh, there are two things Jesus has never known: intimidation or panic. He was confident in His ability.
No circumstance of life has ever taken Him by surprise, and certainly has never gotten the better of Him. In Matthew 15:29, Jesus went up to "..a mountain, and sat down there." While seated motionless, multitudes of differently afflicted people were brought to Him "...and He healed them." He demonstrated that even from a seated position no task was too difficult for Him to handle.
Whether it be the pause in rushing to the aid of Jairus’ daughter or the delay in coming to an ailing Lazarus, Jesus remains seated in our distress for one reason alone: to display the glory and greatness of His power! The Lord is able to maintain a seated composure amidst all our distress because His power is not limited by His posture.
He is just as capable sitting as He is standing!
III. When Jesus sits, it is an announcement of total control.
In Mark 11:7, an unbroken colt was brought to Jesus, "...and He sat upon him." Never once did the colt try to throw Him, but rather the colt humbly submitted to His control. If only we had the discernment of this young colt. No matter how untamed life can seem, the Lord still sits as conqueror over it all.
This was an unbroken animal upon which Jesus sat. An unbroken colt can become a nightmare to any rider. Its arching back, twisting rebellious body, and kicking feet can present problems hard to solve. An experienced rider is likely to find himself in the dust. It is not easy to break the resistance of a young colt. Until man has mastered the animal, its resentment can be volcanic.
Here was an unbroken colt, full of pride and going his own way. But the Lord had need of him. Bring the unbroken colt to me. Jesus sat on him. All rebellion vanished. All fear fled away. Jesus instantly subdued the natural rebellion of the colt.
Once He victoriously conquered , once again notice His position. Mark 16:19 acknowledges, "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." Life may cause us to fret and fume, but the Lord sits controlling it all from beginning to end.
We stand because there’s more to do. For us standing means readiness for action, we talk about lazy people or unprepared people as "sitting down on the job." But Jesus "sat down."
Conclusion:
Don’t perceive Jesus sitting as His disinterest. When Jesus sits, it is an action of tender compassion, an attitude of trusted confidence, and an announcement of of total control.
All three of these truths are manifested in the raising of Lazarus from the . Jesus was in no hurry to come for he “abode two days still in the same place where he was.” He had time to sit. It was not wasted time for Him.
