Jesus’ Ministry Begins
March 27, 2010
The Story - 23
Well we’re deep into March Madness. For all of you basketball fans, this is a great time of year as we watch game after game, see some young upstart kids make a name for themselves and watch a few upsets along the way. As I was watching last weekend, I heard an announcer describe one of the players out there with an expression I’ve heard before, but it’s been a long time since I heard it.
This guy had amazing leaping ability, as he took the ball in both hands high above his head, seemed to hang in the air for a minute or two, then landed after a vicious slam dunk. It seemed that nobody on the other team wanted to get in his way. To the announcer the verdict was in, “this guy was scary good.”
This guy was scary good. It’s probably true in every profession, that there are some who are just so good, so smart, so good at what they do, that it may look so natural, like they don’t have to work at it. Others look with amazement, thinking this person is too good to be true. Comments like —
Who can this be
Where did He get this wisdom?
They were amazed at His understanding.
They were astounded that the wind stopped.
They marveled when they heard Him speak.
People were astonished at His teaching.
Where did He get these mighty words.
They were surprised at His answers.
They were shocked at His ability to bring healing.
Contemporaries of Jesus Christ understood the phrase scary good. In fact 1st century writers coined a Greek phrase to describe Jesus Christ. . . Scariest Goodiest.
They had never seen anyone do what Jesus did. They never heard anyone teach with the authority with which Jesus taught. They never saw anyone saw kind, yet so bold. Jesus was scary good. He was unlike any person they had ever seen.
You can open your copies of the Story to Chapter 23, or if you have a Bible, turn to Matthew 3:16-17. Look no further than His own baptism. We read, 16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Most baptisms don’t stir that type of response, do they? They sky separates like a curtain, a voice bellows from the heavens, this is my Son, whom I love. If this really is God’s Son, then why baptism?
After all, baptism is an act for sinners. Baptism is an act for those of us who desire to be cleansed. And yet, here comes Jesus and He walks into the water, among us, with us, He wades into the waters of baptism. He was born in a common womb, and raised in a common village, in a common profession, and now He steps into a common river. He steps into the waters of the Jordan River. And He tells John the Baptist, it is right for us to do this.
He became one of us. He identifies with us. And just as someday He’ll be lowered from a cross into a physical grave, on this day He’s lowered into the waters of the Jordan River to be baptized, kind of like being lowered into a watery grave.
God sent Jesus into the world and He came to show us how to live our lives. On that day in the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus was good.
But then came the wilderness. And Jesus was scary. He went from baptism to the desert sun, and stayed there for 40 days, and in essence reenacted the temptation from the Garden of Eden. Look with me in gospel of Matthew 4:1-11 ~
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Every person on the face of the earth has wondered about the origin of evil. How do we explain evil. Why do people do the things they do? Where do our angry words come from? Our hurting hands? Our hateful hearts? How do we explain the human atrocities? Human trafficking and abuse? If we trace evil to its source, what will see?
The Bible says, we can trace evil to its source and we will meet the devil. You will see the very anti-God force in the world. According to scripture, satan is not a myth, or an idea or philosophy. But he is a real being who roams the earth looking to separate people from God. The name devil in Greek comes from the word diabolos. It comes from the Greek word diabellien, which means to divide.
The devil comes to divide. He’s a divider, a separator, that’s his mission, divide us from God. Whenever you see communities divided, or families divided, or hearts divided, you see the work of satan. When you see people divided or separated from God, you see the work of satan. That was the intent of the snake in the Garden of Eden. He succeeded in separating Adam and Eve from God. And now Jesus comes, and in a sense, Jesus is demanding a rematch. Now, it’s a rematch with the perfect Adam, the second Adam. Jesus, comes and says, ‘I know what you did in the Garden. Come on, give me your best punch.’ And satan comes and the response of Jesus is down right scary.
Jesus doesn’t budge an inch. Satan makes no progress. Every time Jesus speaks, He speaks about God. Satan can’t create a wedge between Jesus and God. Every time Jesus gives an answer, He speaks about God. He speaks about living on the word of God, He talks about the Lord your God. Jesus has God so much on His heart and mind that satan can’t make any headway. Jesus is strong in His relationship with God. He’s strong vertically, so that He doesn’t fall horizontally.
satan comes to sow seeds of death, trying to create doubt. If you were really God, let’s see some razzle-dazzle. But Jesus doesn’t take the bait. And in this classic showdown between good and evil; heaven and hell; right and wrong; Jesus and satan, there is one clear victor, and that’s not the devil. He turns and runs away like a scared dog. And we’re left standing in amazement at how strong Christ is. satan gave Jesus his best punch and Jesus didn’t even blink.
And the demons who were watching were saying, “whoa . . . that’s scary.” When He dealt with the devil, Jesus was scary. And when Jesus dealt with the devil’s followers, He was just as scary. Let me show you an example. Look at Luke 6:6-11. As you turn there, let me give you a little bit of background.
You might be surprised that some of satan’s best followers on earth took the form of religious leaders. One of the great ironies and tragedies is that when satan wanted to recruit a great army, he found his most willing volunteers in the clergy. Yup, the pastors or rabbis, and religious leaders of the day. I guess we shouldn’t be so surprised when we hear stories about pastors struggling, because they’ve, myself included, have always been in the cross hairs of satan’s attack.
They were in the day of Jesus, as well. 6,000 religious leaders either called themselves, Sadducees or Pharisees. And these religious leaders weren’t complimentary of Christ, they were jealous of Him. Jesus said they cared more about the praise of men, than they cared about the praise of God. And when Jesus came, He took the spotlight off of them, and they grew greedy, angry and jealous.
So, they decided to get even with Him. One example of this occurs when Jesus encountered a man with a withered or shriveled hand. His hand was useless. On the day Jesus came to the temple, you would think these religious leaders would see this as an opportunity for this man to be healed. But they didn’t.
Here’s what happened . . .
6 On another Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.
7 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.
8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.
9 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” But they remained silent.
10 He looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts. Can we stop there for a moment? I would not have wanted to be one of those men. I’ve been on the receiving end of an angry glare, haven’t you? Can you imagine what it would feel like to feel the angry look of God? That would be scary. Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
11 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
Kill Jesus!? Why not thank Jesus or worship Jesus. Why not applaud Jesus? Why not find every withered hand in the county and bring them to Jesus? But the devil had separated them from Christ and they missed His coming. But there was one great exception.
We’ll close with this last story. He too was among the clergy, but unlike the others, he was intrigued by Jesus. His name was Nicodemus; and satan couldn’t separate him from God. Yes, he was a religious leader. He was part of the upper echelon of religious leaders, on their supreme court. But he saw Jesus differently than others.
The story occurs in John 3, and you’ll notice that Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night, so for all you fans, he’s the original, yup, you’ve got it, he’s the original Nick at Nite. And Nicodemus said these words to Jesus . . . We know you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Nicodemus came to Jesus with a deep longing and vulnerability. Nicodemus sensed there was something different about Jesus. And Jesus sensed the longing from Nicodemus as well. So, Jesus said these words, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.
The words of Jesus slam into Nicodemus. He’s never heard anything like this before. He’s part of a religious tradition that says, ‘try again, attempt again, work again.’ But certainly not born again. And he speaks for many when he says back to Jesus, How could this be?
How could this be? How does anyone get a fresh start? Do we really get a new beginning? Who wouldn’t want to be born again? But how can we? Raise your hand if you had anything to do with your first birth? Anyone? Did you schedule it? Did you call the doctor? Did you time the contractions? Did you call your relatives letting them know you were on your way? Did you have anything to do with it? Of course not! You had nothing to do with your first birth. You were totally dependent upon your mother and father, and especially your mother.
Maybe that’s when it hit Nicodemus. Jesus isn’t just promising a 2nd chance, but a new birth. That He would do for me spiritually what my parents did for me physically. He would allow me to be delivered to the world born again, through His seed. I would carry the very DNA of God, and I would be born of God. And I would be born not of my own strength, but from a work of grace.
And God doesn’t just give mulligans, He gives miracles. It’s not just a second chance, it’s a brand new birth. Is that what could happen to me? And Jesus says the truth is, humans can only produce human life, but the Holy Spirit gives us new life from heaven.
Do you see this? Do you see that every other attempt at reaching God is a human effort. But what separates the story of Jesus from any other teaching that has ever come across our world, is the story of a new birth. A miracle that when a person accepts Christ, Christ comes within us and a miracle occurs. It may be hard to believe but we stand on the word of God. We believe at that moment, the old person was removed and a new person begins. The person of God Himself, He moves in to us. Paul said it so wonderfully in 2 Corinthians 5:17 – if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
We have a hard time believing that God would be so gracious. That God would come inside of us and lift out that old person and He would replace it with a being who would last for eternity. And for the remainder of our life on earth, that being is equipped for some eternal assignment that is part of the kingdom of God.
And some day from heaven we will look back from these days, and we will understand the miracle that occurred on that day. The apostle Paul put it this way — When you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own, by giving you the Holy Spirit. He places His Spirit within us. We’re no longer looked upon as old and no good. God looks at us like we are a slick racing machine. The old person is gone, and the new life comes.
Now why would God do something like this? Nicodemus wondered. And in this conversation, we read the most famous explanation, the most famous of scriptures from John 3:16 —
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Now, that’s scary good. In C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Mr. And Mrs. Beaver tell the children about Aslan, the lion, the Christ like figure. Feeling leery of the lion, the children ask, “then he isn’t safe?” Mr. Beaver gives this great response, “Safe, don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he is good. Scary good.”
