JESUS IS MISSING!
INTRODUCTION: The Empty Manger. "A number of years ago, the church I attend set up a very nice nativity set in the front of our sanctuary during the four weeks leading up to Christmas, when we observe Advent. The wise men, shepherds, livestock, angels, Joseph, and Mary had all taken their places for the festivities, but we were missing one notable character: there was no baby Jesus.
The hay-laden manger had an indentation where the infant figurine was supposed to be, but his absence was glaring."
There's more to this story but it will have to wait until the end. It is strange to think of the manger scene without Jesus. Everything else could be there and in its proper place but if Jesus is missing its insignificant. Well, that's true in life as well. We could have everything in place and it can look good but there's something missing. We know and feel it but we're just not sure what it is. I know what's missing-it's Jesus. And without Jesus in your life it is grossly incomplete.
1) Looking for Jesus.
• Looking for a miracle.
Mark 1:27-28, 32-37, "The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
Why were the people looking for him? Jesus had been teaching and driving out evil spirits and the people were amazed. The people saw Jesus as the great miracle worker and wanted him to heal their afflictions. That was okay to a point but when it came to the gospel they were unreceptive. We learn from vs. 21 that Jesus was in Capernaum.
Matt. 11:20-24, "Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
So we see that the people were looking to Jesus for physical healing but when it came to spiritual healing they weren't interested. They found Jesus as a miracle worker but were missing him as a savior. There are people who are looking for Jesus but only for him to work a miracle or two. "Oh, God, if you do this for me I promise I'll..." And there are times when God has mercy or provides the miracle and then what? I don't fulfill my end of the bargain. Jesus performed these miracles probably knowing full well that the people weren't going to be receptive to the gospel.
Jesus' ultimate purpose in performing miracles was to convince people to put their faith in him and repent. When Jesus shows us mercy or does something extraordinary in our lives the main purpose is to get us to believe in him and turn to him for salvation. If you're looking for Jesus the question is, "why?" Is it merely to get something from him or are you looking to Jesus because you know you need his grace and mercy and forgiveness?
• Looking to stop him.
Mark 3:31-32, "Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
Why were his mother and brothers looking for him? We get our answer from Vs. 20-21, "Then Jesus entered a house and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, 'he is out of his mind'."
His family were greatly concerned with how he was conducting himself; traveling all around with a frenzied pace, saying a lot of radical things that were drawing a lot of attention; some of it negative (vs. 22-30). So, in wanting to take charge of him what they were going to try to do was bring him home and stop him from putting himself in harm's way. They thought the way he was carrying on he was going to get himself killed. Ultimately, they were right but although their heart may have been in the right place, getting him to stop was not the answer. That's why Jesus didn't honor their request but instead turned it into a teachable moment.
Mark 3:33-35, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus wasn't disrespecting his mother. He was showing that the Father's holy will superseded the earthly will of even his own mother.
God's will needs to win out over anyone else's-no matter how risky it is to carry out. Jesus' mother and brothers didn't understand at the time why Jesus was acting the way he was. Later they understood but at the time they thought it to be crazy. When we are doing the will of God there are people who are going to try to stop us. People want to silence Jesus.
There will be those who, like the religious leaders in Jesus' day, will want to silence us out of anger and hatred because they're not interested in hearing the truth. Some, perhaps members of our own family, will try to silence us because they think we are making a huge mistake; they will mistake our passion for insanity. It's not easy for some people to adjust to the radical changes one makes when turning their lives over to Christ.
Some people think we're crazy for investing so much time and money into serving God. Some will think Jesus' teachings are preposterous. But regardless of what people think, we choose to carry on doing God's will like Jesus did. And we realize that all the opposition just shows how much Jesus is missing from these people's hearts and minds.
• Some people are looking for Jesus for the wrong reasons.
The people had seen the miracle of Jesus multiplying five loaves and two fish into enough food to feed over 5,000 people. They wanted to make him their king by force but Jesus withdrew from them. So, when they didn't see Jesus again they went to go find him. But Jesus had an issue as to why they were so earnestly looking for him.
John 6:24-35, "Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus." When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat. ’” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
For some people, Jesus might be a means to an end. I just want all the blessings. In one sense it's good to see Jesus as the source of them but to look for Jesus solely for material blessings is to completely miss the mark-as Jesus highlighted. He wants us to look to him for the spiritual blessings first; he wants us to recognize our spiritual need first and foremost. Yes, we have material needs but our spiritual needs are greater and more important. We can have all the material blessings in the world but it doesn't mean much of anything if we don't have spiritual blessings.
Like the people who were looking for Jesus to heal their physical afflictions. Although it's good to look to Jesus to heal me physically, it's much more important to look to Jesus to heal me spiritually. Jesus wants us to realize our greatest need is to be saved.
"If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior."
We needed a savior. Our greatest reason to look for Jesus should be because we've recognized that we are a sinner and we need to be saved and only Jesus can do that for us.
2) Don't procrastinate.
Do you know any procrastinators? I'm someone who's guilty of that. Waiting until the last minute. I convince myself that there's plenty of time and then I find myself under the gun and rushing around trying to get something done or get somewhere on time. And I usually end-up being late. I get embarrassed and I apologize. I get frustrated with myself and then at the next opportunity I do the same thing all over again; foolishly convincing myself that I have plenty of time. Insanity, right? But unfortunately, that's the delusion that many fall under when it comes to salvation-they think they have plenty of time and can therefore put it off. Not a good idea.
Isa. 55:6-7, "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
This seems to imply there would come a time when he wouldn't be found and he wouldn't be near. How? The longer I put off coming to Jesus when he calls to me the harder my heart can become and therefore, the more faint his voice becomes. He becomes distant not because he moves away from me; I move away from him. And in that I run the risk of closing myself completely off to his voice calling me to repentance.
And since none of us knows when our last day will be, if we put it off until it's too late we will have to live with that regret because there are no second chances once we die; as much as the proponents of purgatory and limbo would have you believe. Heb. 9:27 says that once we die the next thing we face is God's judgment. So, when we realize Jesus is missing in our lives we need to turn to him, and humbly and sincerely run to him. That's God's purpose for us all.
Acts 17:24-27, "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us."
God's purpose in creating mankind is that everyone would come to God for salvation and have a relationship with him. God is close at hand if we will only turn toward him. We spend our lives running away from God; searching for what's missing in our lives while all along what's missing has been right there all along; it's Jesus! When we realize that and turn to the Lord he's right there to meet us. But, as Isaiah 55 said, we need to seek him while he may be found. We can arrive at the point where we have "found" Jesus but yet still be reluctant to reach for him and trust in him.
We shouldn't put it off because we don't know when our chance to do so will be lost. It won't be because God will reach a point where he will say, "well, you've blown all your chances, now I'm leaving." He will always be there waiting for us to turn to him but that doesn't mean we will always be there to turn to him. We could drift away and lose sight of him and lose interest in finding him again. We could lose our life and therefore lose the opportunity to find him.
It's not something to take lightly. That's why Paul said in 2nd Cor. 5:20-6:2, "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation."
Paul said, 'we implore you'; which means, 'we beg you'. Paul was begging people to turn to Jesus because he knew what would happen if they didn't. Is Jesus missing in your heart? Have you recognized that but are still reluctant to turn to him? Why? Why are you holding him at arm's length? Why do you think you've got plenty of time? Today is the day to deal with the reasons why you're resistant; today is the day to begin living-today is the day to find what's truly missing in your life.
CONCLUSION: Here is the rest of the story I shared in the beginning. "For four consecutive Sundays I walked past that nativity set and looked at the empty feeding trough where I expected to find the Christ-figurine. Then finally late on Christmas Eve our family went with so many others to celebrate his birth, and there he was—right in the miniature manger where I had looked for him during the previous month. Christmas had come. An unexpected result of the Jesus-figurine's four-week absence from his place in the nativity was that I paid a significantly higher amount of attention to him and his place in that scene than I would have if he'd been there all along."
That's something to think about for those of us who do have Jesus 'in his rightful place'. Jesus might not be missing now, we may have had the 'Jesus-sized' hole in our heart filled but we need to think back to what it was like when Jesus was missing. Sometimes we lose sight of that when Jesus is always there. Do you remember how life was when Jesus was missing? Then let that motivate you to be more thankful and to share him with those who still have the indentation where Jesus is supposed to be.
