Patrick Morley wrote, “The turning point in our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is.” (quote from SermonCentral.com) In the person of Jesus Christ, God came to earth to live among us in the person of His only begotten Son. Yet, even to this day people still have difficulty defining who God is, and if Jesus was God incarnate, then who is Jesus?
In 1992, the USA Weekend magazine did a story about the faces of Jesus and how people imagined him through the ages. Each generation had a slightly – and sometimes radically – different perception of who Jesus is.
In the Middle Ages, Jesus was portrayed as a heavenly king who ruled with authority, but they also added compassion to his attributes. It was a marked contrast to the earthly tyrants of the time.
In the 18 and early 1900’s, we were given the popular vision of Christ as the Good Shepherd welcoming the children. Then came the 60’s vision of a long-haired drop-out who challenged the establishment.
The 1990’s gave Christ a more complex image revealed by five different faces. There was the moralist, the social reformer, the New Age guru, and the black Jesus. Even the Catholic Church joined in with a portrait of an Armenian looking man with dread-locks. NBC chose to use that picture in a series called, “God, the Devil and Bob.” Fortunately, it didn’t last very long . . . probably because the face of God looked too much like a rock star.
As with all things touching on Christ, there are no accidents. It was no accident that no contemporary portrait or likeness of Jesus exists. What an impossible challenge it would’ve been to try capturing the essence of God’s only begotten Son on canvass. Yet, without such a picture to capture our imaginations, we’re free to rely almost solely on the Apostles’ accounts to help us define how we each see Him for ourselves.
As we consider the disciples’ accounts, we see what is unique about Jesus.
• Each one who met him experienced a profound mystery.
An “unknown” in math is “a variable to be solved,” and I think that’s a good place to start. Jesus was, without a doubt, an unknown variable. In all of history, there never was – and never will be – anyone like him. Even those who receive Christ today are totally convinced that he’s completely unique. Of his own experience, one person wrote:
“Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and his will confounds me. Between him (and whoever else in the world) there’s no possible comparison. He is truly a being by himself.”
There’s something inexplicable about Jesus which can only be attributed to his divine, spiritual connection with his Father. In Scripture, there’s one place in particular that we begin seeing this, and we heard it this morning. In Mark’s account, we see evidence of the unique relationship Jesus had with God.
• The first public evidence of Jesus’ connection with God is found in his spoken word.
In Mark 1:14, Jesus set the stage, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the good news.” In verse 21, we’re told how Jesus, “. . . entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” When Jesus spoke, His every word seemed directed at the heart of each listener.
On occasion, some of you have come to me after a service and said, “It was like your sermon was meant just for me. It really spoke to my heart.” While I’ve appreciated those confessions, I’ve also been aware that it was the Holy Spirit that did the speaking. Every time the Word of God is spoken, it always goes where God intends, and it never comes back empty.
In Mark 8, we read about four thousand people who went to hear Jesus speak. They were so enamored of his words that they chose not to eat for three days. Now I ask you, “What would keep an average Presbyterian from a lunch break for three whole days?” I’m sure, “It ain’t MY preaching!!”
But the words of Jesus were so powerful that people couldn’t drag themselves away. He spoke with more power and authority than anyone before or since . . . and rightly so; because he alone HAD the power and authority of God.
In one instance, the priests sent soldiers to arrest Jesus, but when he spoke, they were so captivated that they didn’t have the heart to arrest him. When they returned, the priests asked where Jesus was, and the guards answered, “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”
On the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and another man met Jesus, and as they walked together, Jesus “. . . expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” After Jesus departed, they said to one another, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?”
There’s power in the words of Jesus. In him, “. . . there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” (Matt. 10:26-32)
In Mark 1:25, we’re told of Jesus’ encounter with a demon in Capernaum in which, “Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’” In Luke 4, we’re told how Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. It’s written that Jesus, “rebuked the fever, and it left her.” (4:38-39) In each case, both Mark and Luke used the same Greek word, “epitimao” --- “rebuked” --- to describe Jesus’ actions. It’s an action that a master would take toward a subject. Both demons and illness are subject to the authority of God.
What’s remarkable to many is the frequency with which Jesus exercised that authority. It’s so profound, in fact, that when the Disciples considered the effectiveness of their own prayers, they decided they didn’t know how to pray. Thus, they went to Jesus and asked him, “Lord, teach us how to pray.”
When I consider this, I’m painfully aware of how ineffective my own prayers seem to be. Obviously, I’m aware that he is the Son of God, and I’m not. But sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with me or with us who pray together for healings. But I suspect there’s a reason, apart from us, that God doesn’t often perform such miracles.
• I suspect He wants us to know –without a shadow of a doubt – who He is. He provided abundant historical witness so that when we’re wondering who God is, it’ll be crystal clear what His Son did and can do to transform our lives. Jesus said, “He who has seen me, has seen the Father.”(Jn. 14:9) No other prophet or spiritual leader could make such a claim or do what he did.
There’s a story of two men shipwrecked on an island. The minute they got to the island, one of them started screaming and yelling, “We’re going to die! We’re going to die! There’s no food! No water! We’re going to die!”
The second man, a corporate executive, was propped up against a palm tree and acting so calm that it drove the first man crazy. “Don’t you understand? We’re going to die!”
The executive replied, “You don’t understand. I make $100,000 a week.” The first man looked dumbfounded and asked, “What difference does that make? We’re on an island with no food and no water! We’re going to DIE!”
The executive shrugged, “You just don’t get it. I make $100,000 a week, and I tithe 10 percent of that to my church. Don’t worry. My pastor will find me!”
Jesus was also confident – but for reasons quite different from the executive.
• The confidence of Jesus lay in being one with God. He had a profound sense of purpose.
Jesus knew his purpose in life from a very early age. When Jesus had his bar mitzvah, what was his grand desire? It was to be about his Father’s business, and they found him in a synagogue. As a teenager, did you know what God planned for your life? Do you even know it now?
• There’s a last point of evidence – which I hesitate to bring up because I know it makes some people skeptical. This is Jesus’ authority over the demonic. People are leery of this subject, and it’s not something Presbyterians like to talk about. However, in a Seminary class I took under Dr. Colin Brown, I read about a detective in the Memphis police department who told an interesting story. He never believed in the demonic or dark-spirit world until one day a prisoner was brought into the station. When the person arrived, a cold chill went through the room. People said they felt a dark presence, and everyone felt as if they’d encountered evil itself.
The people who received help from Jesus were mainly “normal,” respectable, religious people. Yet, a demon had gained access to some area of their personalities, and as a result they themselves were not in full control. It’s worth noting that the moral and ethical code of the Jewish people in Jesus’ time was based on the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses. This meant that most of them were probably living better lives than the majority of people in our own society. (Derek Prince, They Shall Expel Demons - Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1998), 21.
If we don’t recognize demons today, it’s only because they don’t want to be recognized. By the name and authority of Jesus such darkness can be overcome, but if we don’t use that name and power, if we insist on treating the same symptoms without God’s authority, then the real demons are safe.
The remarkable thing is not that Jesus had this power. Rather, it was his remarkable composure in the face of evil. When we talk about these things, we become skeptical or fearful. When Jesus encountered evil, he was composed. In Mark’s account, Jesus spoke calmly to the demon: “Be quiet. Get out.” In Matthew 4, Jesus encountered Satan in the desert, but he wasn’t intimidated.
• When the demons speak about Jesus, they call him the Holy One of God.
We see this not only in Jesus life but in the lives of his followers. In Acts 2, Peter preached about Jesus, and it was said that people were cut to the heart. In Acts 3:6, Peter and John encountered a lame man on their way to the temple. They said, “Silver and gold have I none. In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk.” They didn’t ask permission. They simply spoke with authority – the authority God had given them.
In Acts 19:13, the sons of Siva attempted to mimic the disciples and cast out the demons. The demon said this, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know. But who are you?” These young men did not possess the authority of God.
To this day, Jewish scholars at the Hebrew Institute of Religion say this, “Jesus is the greatest of all Jewish rabbis.” They may not believe in his divinity, but they are clear about his character.
Jesus’ Great Commission has guided the church for the last 2,000 years. Taking the words of Jesus collectively, his works, his character, his vision, and his authority over the spiritual world, this tells us that there’s a spiritual quality completely unique to Jesus. Billions of followers have discovered throughout time that, if they put their faith in Jesus, they too will discover this wonderful, spiritual connection with God.
Karl Bart, often called the greatest theologian of the 20th century said, “At first, I was a very liberal pastor. I read the Bible as a book of morals and political philosophy. Then I began to really read it and deal with it. I discovered the voice of God speaking through the pages of the Bible, a god who encountered me through Jesus Christ. Like God encountered Moses and Saul, his words transformed me.”
If you don’t know this Jesus, if you haven’t put your faith in Him, I invite you to consider him and to ask Him into your life – not as a wise man – but as Lord. If you’re skeptical, I challenge you with this: Simply do as Karl Bart did and for the next 40 days read the Bible, pray, open your heart and let God convince you for Himself.
Please join with me in prayer: Heavenly Father, we seek to know You and to follow You in obedience to Your Son Jesus who is the Christ. Reveal Yourself to our hearts that we may be transformed, remade into the image of Jesus. This we ask in his name. Amen.
