Amazing Jesus (1)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 1/5/2014
• VIDEO: Are You Amazed?
He really is amazing, isn’t he? Whether you’ve been a part of the Blooming Grove family for years or you’re still just testing the waters, my prayer is that you would be amazed by Jesus every time you worship here.
The scribes and the skeptics were amazed at his teaching. The hungry and hurting were amazed by his miracles. An adulterer and her accusers were amazed by his love. The Bible assures us that when Christ comes again all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus.
But have you ever wondered what amazes Jesus? What might astonish the most astonishing person who ever lived? What could boggle the infinite mind of the God-Man? What could leave the Living Word speechless?
The Gospels record two moments when Jesus was amazed.
The first of them is found in Mark 6. Jesus had just completed a whirlwind tour across much of northern Israel. He amazed his disciples by calming the wind and waves on Lake Galilee. He amazed the Ten Towns of the Gersenes by casting a legion of demons into a herd of swine. He amazed a disease ridden woman who was healed the instant she touched his cloak. His last stop was the home of Jarius, whose daughter had died earlier that day. But death wouldn’t stop Jesus. He took the little girl’s hand and whispered in her ear, “Little girl, get up.” Immediately the girl rose and walked and the Bible says, “They were overwhelmed and totally amazed” (Mark 5:42 NLT).
Jesus was amazing everyone he encountered. But then the Bible says, “Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown” (Mark 6:1 NLT). Perhaps he was tired from all his travels and just wanted to sit in that comfortable rocking chair his father carved. Maybe his mom had been nagging him to come home and visit for a while. Or maybe he returned home for one of the many Hebrew holidays or family festivals. Whatever his reasons were, there’s always something special about going home—the comfort, the familiarity of it all.
But much had changed since Jesus left Nazareth. He left alone and a carpenter. He returned a famous rabbi with a whole entourage of disciples. His reputation preceded him because, that Saturday, the local rabbi abdicates his pulpit and invites Jesus to speak. So Jesus now has the opportunity to preach in the church he grew up in. The Bible says, “The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’” (Mark 6:2 NLT).
Here Jesus was, back in his hometown, preaching to the same people who watched him play in the dirt as a child, who saw him struggle through puberty, who witnessed the grief in his eyes when his earthly father died, and they were amazed. They were amazed at his words, his wisdom and the wonders he could perform. It was obvious that there was something special about this home-town hero.
Two millennia later, Jesus is no less amazing. The most amazing event in human history was the coming of Jesus into this world. The most amazing words ever spoken were his words. The most amazing deeds ever done were accomplished by his hands. The most amazing gift ever offered was his blood on the cross.
More songs have been sung of him, artwork created of him, and books written about him than anyone who has ever lived. Jesus looms so large over human history that we actually measure time by him; we date our letters, our birth certificates, our checks, and everything else from the year of his birth. Jesus stands alone in all of history—the single most amazing person who ever lived. I’ve always loved what the would-be world conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte, once wrote about Jesus:
Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit awes me and his will confounds me. Between him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible comparison. He is truly a being by himself. One can absolutely find nowhere but in him alone the imitation or example of his life. I search in vain in history to find anyone similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach his gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the ages, nor nature offer me anything which I am able to compare him or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.
Extraordinary. Astonishing. Amazing. Jesus is all that and more. But no matter how amazing something or someone is, there will always be critics and complainers. It’s like the story Charles Swindoll tells in his book “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back.” A farmer wanted to impress his hunting buddies, so he bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find. He trained this dog to do things no other dog on earth could do—impossible feats that would surely amaze anyone. Then he invited his buddies to go duck hunting with him. After a long patient wait in the boat a group of ducks flew over and the hunters were able to make a few hits. Several ducks fell in the water. “Go get 'em!” shouted the proud owner. The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, picked up a bird and returned to the boat. Beaming with pride, the man turned to his fellow hunters and said, “So what don’t you think?” One of them looked at him cross-eyed and spouted, “Boy you sure got ripped off. You spent all that money on a dog that doesn’t even know how to swim!”
Some of the Jesus neighbors were just as unimpressed him. The Bible says, “Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family’” (Mark 6:3-4).
Nazareth wasn’t known for much. It was a small, insignificant town on the outskirts of a Roman garrison. It boasted a few bars and a red light district that offered a little weekend entertainment to imperial soldiers. Estimates put the population during Jesus’ day at around 80. Needless to say, Nazareth wasn’t the brightest star in the ancient Near East. There was even a saying once repeated by Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46 NLT). It seems like this little derision was repeated often enough that the people of Nazareth became convinced the answer was no. Jesus can’t be anything special, they though, he’s one of us. He grew up right here. He’s no messiah. He’s just a carpenter.
Leonard Bernstein had a similar experience. Leonard Bernstein was a brilliant composer, conductor, author, and pianist. He was among the first American conductors to receive worldwide acclaim. Growing up, however, Leonard’s father had not given his son very much encouragement in his musical career. Later in life, a reporter asked his father why he had been so unwilling to encourage his son's musical talents. The father replied, “How was I to know he would grow up to become Leonard Bernstein?”
Likewise, how could the natives of Nazareth have known that this son of a carpenter would grow up to become Jesus of Nazareth? They thought they knew everything there was to know about this kid and their familiarity bred contempt.
I wonder sometimes if we aren’t a little too familiar with Jesus ourselves.
I know we didn’t grow up on the same street. We’ve never shared a meal with Mary and Joseph. You and I never hired Jesus to build a fence or repair our stable. But we’ve grown up with Jesus all the same. We live in the most Christianized nation in the world. There are a dozen churches in every town. There’s a Bible in every hotel room. There are Christian bookstores overflowing with tomes about Jesus—both fiction and non-fiction. There are movies and music and more all about Jesus. And these are good things, wonderful things. But I wonder if our culture hasn’t become so saturated with Jesus that we’ve grown desensitized to him. We’ve all heard the story of Jesus. We’ve heard it in Sunday School, in sermons, in songs. We think we know everything there is to know about Jesus. And none of it amazes us anymore.
Have you ever heard of The Jesus Film Project? It’s a movie produced by Campus Crusade for Christ based on the Gospel Luke. It’s simply tells the story of Jesus. If it were shown in theatres in America it would probably be a flop. Critics would complain about the slow pace, the bland cinematography and the lack of originality. We’ve seen this story before. Yet, this film has been translated into 1160 languages and is used by missionaries all over the world in remote villages and in hostile nations. Since 1979, 200 million men, women and children worldwide have made decisions to follow Jesus after viewing the film. That’s one person every eight second; 10,800 new believers per day.
So why is it that millions of people from the jungles of Africa and the streets of Papa New Guinea and the port of Athens are giving their heart and live to Jesus, while evangelistic efforts seem so futile and fruitless here at home? Like Jesus said, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown.” We are the hometown.
What’s really sad is—as long as we fail to be amazed by Jesus, Jesus is amazed by us. The next couple of verses in Mark tell us the rest of the story: “And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief” (Mark 6:5-6 NLT).
What amazes the most amazing person to walk the earth?
I do. You do. We all do when we don’t believe.
Jesus was amazed at their unbelief. He still is, I think.
We are living in an age of unbelief. According to a new worldwide poll, called “The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism,” the number of Americans who say they are atheists rose from 1% in 2005 (the last time the poll was conducted) to 5% in 2013. I’m amazed at how quickly unbelief has taken root in so many hearts. And if I’m amazed, imagine how amazed Jesus must be. But forget about the atheists and agnostics for a minute. What about you and me?
Have you ever wondered why you don’t see more miracles in your life? Read that verse again: “because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” Because of their unbelief, Jesus held back. Do you think he holds back miracles in my life because of my unbelief? Do you think he holds back miracles in your life because of your unbelief?
That’s not to say that Jesus didn’t have the power to do miracles while he was in Nazareth. He did heal a few sick people, but only a few. Why? I think it’s because only a few believed that he would. When you fall on your knees and plead with Jesus to perform a miracle in your life, do you believe that he’ll do it? Do you even bother to ask?
I think that I am a lot like the father who meets Jesus in Mark 9.
Jesus had been on the mountain with Peter, James, and John where they witness his radiant glory. But when Jesus reaches the bottom of the hills, he hears arguing. A father came to his disciples asking them to heal his son, but they couldn’t do it. After explaining the situation to Jesus, he pleads:
“Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22-24 NLT).
I can’t tell you often I’ve made that my prayer. I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief. If unbelief is what amazes Jesus, then I want to invite you to make this prayer your own: Lord Jesus, I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.
Conclusion
I think that’s the kind of prayer Jesus responds to. I think that’s the kind of prayer that brings about a miracle. It did for this father. The Bible says Jesus restored his son’s hearing and speech, and then Jesus took the boy by the hand and helped him to his feet. He can do the same for each one of us, if we believe.
You’ll remember, however, I said at the beginning that there were two moments in his life when the Bible says Jesus was amazed. The first time, here in Mark 6, Jesus was amazed by a lack of faith. I want to invite you be here next week and we’ll discover what else amazes Jesus.
Invitation
In the meantime, maybe you’ve been struggling with unbelief. Maybe you’ve grown up with Jesus and heard the stories about him so often that you stopped being amazed. I want to invite you to come forward and pray this prayer with me—Jesus, I do believe, help my unbelief. I think you’ll be amazed how Jesus responds.
