“Jesus Said”
What Jesus said to His Followers
“About The Death, Burial and Resurrection”
NOTE: This sermon is done in four five minute segments throughout the worship service.
Michael Wiley
April 12, 2009
Introduction:
Are you listening?
Men, how many times has your wife asked you the question, “Are you listening to me?”
Fact is: Most of your activities are focused around listening.
We know that listening is more than hearing. You could say, ‘Listening is hearing with a purpose.’
Good listening is built on three basic skills: attitude, attention, and adjustment.
Listening is the absorption of the meanings of words and sentences by the brain. Listening leads to the understanding of facts and ideas. But listening takes attention, or sticking to the task at hand in spite of distractions. It requires concentration, which is the focusing of your thoughts upon one particular issue.
I bring up listening today, because in spite of its importance, most of us are poor listeners.
Here is a listening quiz for you: about 40 seconds/ four sentences ago, I told you that ‘Good listening’ is built on three basic skills: What are they?
Attitude, attention, and adjustment.
I bring up listening today, because in spite of its importance, we can see as we read the gospels the Disciples were extremely poor listeners. We can see that they didn’t get a lot of things, But the biggest thing they missed was Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. If you peruse the gospels (Mt, Mrk, Lk, and Jn.), You will find Jesus tells His disciples no lest than 15 times, that he would be murdered and walk from his own grave.
Yet, we can see, they didn’t get it. They didn’t get it
BREAK
Transition:
We have a tendency to only really listen to those things that really matter to us!
I’m sure if we looked hard enough we could find that the Disciples had a problem with all three of the listening skills. What are they? Attitude, attention, and adjustment.
Some go so far to say that we only actually ‘hear’ 25% of what someone says. We do this for various reasons. One of them, (I believe) was the Disciple’s key issue, “Adjustment” or what I like to call “Filtered Listening.”
The Filtering of the Gospel
When I am working with a database, I can filter the report results. For instance, I can tell the computer I just want it to give me a list of people in my data base with the last name that begins with B
We filter when we listen, when we only listen for the parts we want to hear, or to the parts that fit our preconceived ideas.
So, if the speaker is saying something that doesn’t fit our filter—he/she is listing names that begin with G instead of B, we filter out the message.
The Disciples had a preconceived idea of what the long awaited Messiah would look like and Do.
They were incorrectly taught by the Rabbis, and the Jewish Midrash confirms this, that Elijah would return to prepare the way for the Messiah, then He would come and remove the Roman government from power in Jerusalem and sit on David’s throne.
At a time when the Disciples really needed to listen and seems were listening in Matthew 17,
10The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"
11Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. (Matthew 17:10-13 NIV)
So, we ask then,
Did they put too much weight on their teachers?
And,
Did they fail to ask, ‘where does it say that?’
Were they really listening? Or just filtering what Jesus said through what they had been taught.
Listen: The true grace of Christ is found in His word. Satan doesn’t want you to know that. He works day and night to keep you from God’s word and the freedom that is found when one opens it, and received from its pages
BREAK
Don’t listen and you could die.
Back in May 2008, A 23-year-old young man was crushed and killed and three others died after a helicopter crashed in Cranbrook, British Columbia. All on board the helicopter, two passengers and the pilot of the helicopter, were also killed.
The Helicopter was flying low over the houses, doing power-line checks
Witnesses say that the pedestrian could have stepped three feet to the left or right and not been hit, but, because he was listening to his iPod he never heard it coming.
Another time the Disciples really needed to listen was when Jesus illustrated His death burial and resurrection at the last supper he had with His Disciples.
One of the ways we experience Christ is in communion. We sit, like his disciples sat, a little awed and in wonder that Jesus Christ would invites us, actually tell us, to join in his experience.
Remember, when Jesus took bread and broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you”, his disciples did not yet understand. Although Jesus had told them he was going away, going to the Father, going so the Spirit would come, going to prepare a place for us—although he had said all these things they didn’t expect him to do it then. As they sat there that night they didn’t expect that he would bleed and die on a cross the next day. So when he took the cup and said, “ This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this... in remembrance of me.” they experienced a closeness to Jesus, but not the overwhelming power that Jesus would give them.
That they experienced on Sunday morning. Their closeness to Jesus was translated into power in their lives at the resurrection.
We eat the bread and drink the cup to experience that closeness to Jesus. We hold on to our Lord as some of his disciples probably did that night, saying, ’don’t go far, stay with me. And then communion is over and the ushers come to take the empty cups. But we have experienced Jesus on the night of the last supper, and also we’ve experienced his resurrection. And it changes us, not for just a moment or just a day. We are changed to be like him, powerful in discovering life, powerful in singing the praise that our God saves.
We’ll pass the bread and the cups now. Eat and drink. Experience the power of our Lord Jesus Christ with all the company of the forgiven children of God.
BREAK
One last time in the life of the Disciples where they really needed to listen in Mark 14:26-36 READ 26-27
They couldn’t believe their ears, and just as we would have a higher thought of our own resiliency and dedication the Disciples refused to believe that they would run.
It was a lesson every Christian needs to learn. It is not difficult to stand firm on doctrine and moral standards here in the fellowship of believers, but out there ------ As the Disciples learned on their last night with Him without his help, faithfulness to Him is impossible.
Verse 27 – in the fourth century Jerome said, “Jesus treaded the winepress of suffering alone.”
Oh, he did have to go it alone, but it seems that if the Disciples really got it, they would have been there—at least been watching in the distance—at least shown some support. NO! Just as Jesus said, they “fell away” they scattered like kids on the playground when the sound of glass rings out. They ran and went into hiding.
If the Disciples really got it, it seems they would have been at the tomb that Sunday morning, with every person they could find along the way.
“Come with me—my savior rises today. Your Savior, will walk from his own grave. Come with me…”
Two lonely women walk to the tomb to treat his body with oils. They expected him to be there.
HE WAS NOT THERE!
They ran to get the Disciples. Peter took off, he got there first. The tomb was empty.
I think you could probably have heard the bells and whistles going off in Peter’s head. He is not here. He is not here. He IS NOT HERE!
Of course by evening’s end, they all had seen and spoke with Jesus.
From the moment of the resurrection we find, THEY GOT IT!
They were listening after all.
Once all the filters were removed. They got it.
How do we know they got it?
For one they told the story.
Two, they went teaching the good-news to all that would listen
They got it.
How do we know they got it?
Because they preached it unto death.
The Apostle John was the only one of the Apostles that died of natural causes. He had been exiled on the Isle of Patmos.
Writings from the third century tell us.
Peter was crucified in Rome, upside down, by Nero
Andrew was crucified in southern Greece.
James was accused of being a Christian. Just prior to his death, his accuser believed and they were beheaded together.
Phillip was crucified, possibly in Turkey.
Bartholomew preached in Iraq and India and was crucified in India.
Thomas preached in Iran and India and was killed in India
Matthew preached in Ethiopia and was killed by the sword.
James had his brains bashed out at age 90
Jude was crucified in Turkey.
Simon was crucified in Briton
They Got it!
Conclusion:
There was a recent study of people who’ve had a near death experience or were actually dead for a few minutes but survived. Almost all these people said that this experience would change their lives; that they would appreciation life more and improve their relationships. The recent study was to see if this changed attitude about life lasted and had they really changed. They found that they had changed and it did last. Many month and years later most were living with an emphasis on appreciating life that they had not had before.
We can see the changed life that an experience brings in the lives of the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection. We never would have expected them to change the world before that. But after, they were dedicated to spreading the good news.
Are you listening? Are you listening?
