- A dilemma is a problem offering two solutions or possibilities, of which neither is comfortable
- Like choosing between cake and salad
- Exercise & Sleep
- Work & Play
❶ What Will I Do With Jesus?
- It All has To Do With Where I Am Looking
The spider monkey lives in the trees of the tropical jungles of South America. In order to catch spider monkeys, hunters in South America simply walk through the jungle and drop heavy containers on the ground. These containers have very a narrow top and a wider bottom. Inside the containers the hunters drop sweet nut which is particularly attractive to the monkeys. Sometime later, the spider monkeys come down from the tops of the trees, smell the nut, but the tops of the containers are so narrow they have a tight squeeze to get their hands inside. Once they grab the nut at the bottom, their fist is too large to remove if through the opening. And the container is too heavy for them to carry.
So instead of letting go of the nut, the monkeys just sit there until the hunters come back, pick them up, and throw them in a bag.
The spider monkeys are not prepared to let go of a small nut in order to gain their freedom.
- This is played out in Indian Jones and the Last Crusade - 1989
True grail will give you life the false one will take it from you
Elsa takes a beautiful one Walter takes it from her and drinks and promptly turns to dust
Jones makes his choice of a plain wooden one Dips drinks and pours the water on his wounded father restoring him
Elsa does it her way by disobedience an earthquake and falls to her death.
Now Indiana Jones has to make a choice
Indiana Jones is grasping for the Holy Grail even as he is about to plunge to his death. His father implores him, “Indiana, let it go.”
- All too often it is not what we lack that inhibits us from experiencing abundant life: what keeps us from experiencing life abundant is the stuff of earth that we do not want to let go of or to lose.
- Jesus said that he came to give life, and give it abundantly.
- If that is the case, then we have to seriously talk about what keeps us from experiencing the life abundant that Jesus came to give us.
- Here’s a clue: The things that inhibit us from experiencing life abundant on earth today and in heaven to come are the things we refuse to let go of.
As In Indiana Jones
- Life Needs To Be:
- Let It Go
- Refocused
- Stretched
- Attained
Matthew 16:25KJV
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Jesus Example
Mark 10:21-23KJV
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Pilate
- Time after time he went out to the crowd
- Then came in to question Jesus,
- All the while seeking some way to avoid making a decision
- Pilate’s avoidance 8 x - v. 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24
- No man can avoid making a decision about Christ
V, 22 – What Will I Do With Jesus?
- It is far more awful for us than it was for Pilate.
- We have to answer it with a full knowledge of what Jesus was and is.
❷ What Can I Do With Jesus?
➥I can Ignore Him
- Pretend I don’t recognize Him
- But that won’t work — We are here listening & reading
➥I can Reject Him
- Thrust Him back from my heart, and tell Him to stand aside.
That is only for today Tomorrow I have to give an account
➥I Can Replace Him
- The crowd made this choice
- Barabbas ( Son of Abba) or (Son of the father)
Matthew 27:17NRSV
17 So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
Adam our first father - Adam’s son standing next to Jesus —
Notable
Matthew 27:16KJV
16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
A Robber
John 18:40KJV
40 Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
A Murderer/Rebel
Mark 15:7KJV
7 And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
Insurrection “rebellion” = Rebel
Barabbas was a Robber, Murderer, & Rebel
Barabbas believed in self-redemption, not in redemption through a messiah A Rebel
- People ask for a sinner not a Savior
Mt 27:11 - Jesus stood before the governor as a prisoner stands before a judge
- We cannot stand before God unless Jesus is made sin for us
- He stood in this judgment so that we might stand in God’s judgment
- Pilate did not want a rival King to rule
- Crucify the threat of another King
We need to change the question
What will Jesus do with me?
❸ What Must I Do With Jesus?
Matthew 27:36-37KJV
36 And sitting down they watched him there; 37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- First “Gospel Tract” ever written
1. Recognize Him
- Time to choose
2. Bow to Him
- Move from sitting to Worship
3 Love Him
- Standing in my place as savior
4. Serve Him
- He is KING & LORD
