The Emotions Of Christ
I Want To Know Christ – week 4
TODAY - is week four of our message series, “I Want To Know Christ…” A – 7 week series that is ALL about one thing… A journey to know Christ better. A journey where many of us are embracing Paul’s cry in Philippians 3:10 as our own. “I Want To Know Christ!”
Repeat…
Do you? Do You really want to know Him more?
GOOD – because Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 29:13, that when we seek HIM with all of our heart we will find Him.
NOW UNDERSTAND – this is not a journey to know everything about Him, because there is just so much to our Savior King.
IT’S – simply a journey… TO - know more about Him. TO - know Him better.
IT’S – a journey where we are taking Jesus out of the box and off the flannel board of our current understanding. Where we – are putting away our permanent markers and putting on a new pair of lenses as we take a fresh look at The Lamb of God/The Lion of Judah.
AND – why are we doing this? Why is this journey worth your time, attention, energy and life?
BECAUSE – people who really and fully know Christ…know who they are…. THEY:
• get out of the boat/walk on water
• overcome… fear, doubt, sin and worry
• become a new creation
• live bold lives
• pray bold prayers
• take huge risks
• live the life we were created to live…giving this world a glimpse of the true glory of our Jesus.
NOW – so far in this journey to ‘know better’ The One who:
• put on flesh
• made known the Father
• is the fulfillment of all the law and prophets
• existed in the beginning
• who is and was and is still to come
• and who sits on His throne w/all power and authority
WE – have looked at:
• The person of Christ…
• We have also looked at the passions of Christ…
This morning in our journey to know more fully THE ONE we have chosen to follow we are going to look at the ‘emotions’ of Christ.
AND UNDERSTAND - just like a person’s passions and their person (their names and titles) reveal a lot about them, so do their emotions.
NOW – in order to put this message together… I read through all 4 gospels with a single focus… to see the emotions of Christ.
I MEAN - as I read each page I really tried to feel what Jesus was feeling at that moment.
It was fun.
OKAY – here is what we are going to do this morning…
ANSWER – 2 questions in regards to the Emotions of Christ.
#1 – what were those emotions
#2 – so what… who cares… I Mean, what do or should these emotions mean to us.
Prayer
Question#1
I. What Were The Emotions Of Christ…
OKAY – here is how we are going to this… I’M - going to read a several passages where Jesus displays a particular emotion… AND AFTER – we’ve read them we’ll identify what the emotion is…
AND HEY – let me warn you up front… WE – will be reading a ton of scripture today (yeah, that’s right – a full 2000 pounds of God breathed, shaper than a double edged sword, living and active Word of God)…
REASON – I didn’t want to simply tell you about these emotions, I wanted you: to look for them, to see them, to discover them, to feel them – for yourself…
A) Emotion #1
40A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. – Mark 1:40-42
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." – Matthew 9:35-38
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
34"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35Jesus wept. 36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
- John 11:32-40
Okay let’s identify…
Emotion # 1… Christ’s: Compassion-Caring
B) Emotion # 2
AND – by the way as I read through the 4 Gospels, this second emotion is one that I keep seeing all over the place, 30-40 times, I don’t know, I lost count . IN FACT – it was the emotion that I saw the most… Don’t know if it means anything. But hey it’s free.
23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 26He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" – Matthew 8:23-27
The next passage is from John 3… This is where Nic came to Jesus @ night. AND JESUS tried to teach him about the kingdom and new birth…
10"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? – John 3:10
The last one is from John 14… Jesus has just left the upper room. He has just told them that He is the way the truth and the life..
8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? - John 14:8-10
Emotion # 2… Christ’s Frustration
C) Emotion #3
1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." 4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. 5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. – Mark 3:1-6
The next one is from Mark 8… Peter has just acknowledged who Jesus was… the Christ, the Son of the living God.
31He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." - Mark 8:31-33
13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" 17His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." - John 2:13-17
The last passage for this emotion is from the encounter Jesus had with the religious leaders @ the temple on the Tuesday of that final passion week…
25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. – Matthew 23:25,26
Emotion # 3… Christ’s Anger
D) Emotion #4
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. – Mark 12:41-43
5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." 7Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." 8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. – Matthew 8:5-10
The next passage is from John 4 (Jesus’ encounter with the woman @ the well). A WOMAN – who desperately needed to know that there was a better way to live…
25The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." – John 4:25,26
OKAY – the final passage for this emotion…
37On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." - John 7:37,38
Emotion # 4… Christ’s: Excitement-Joy
E) Emotion # 5
NOW – this one may be a little tough to see…
BUT – it is a really cool emotion.
YEAH - I think you’re really going to like this one.
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me,"
UNDERSTAND – Matthew knew who Jesus was… a great teacher – a great man – a man who was no doubt from God and was doing amazing things everywhere he went.
YES – Matthew knew who Jesus was…
AND HE – also knew who he was… a tax collector – hated – corrupt…
He told him, and Matthew (after he got over the shock of it all) got up and followed him. Matthew 9:9
The next is from John 8… A woman is caught in the act of adultery… They drag her before Jesus. The angry mob wants her stoned. That is until Jesus bends down writes sometime in the sand with his finger and says – ‘let the one who is without sin cast the first stone…” 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." - John 8:10,11
The next one takes place mere moments before Jesus’ arrest.
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." - Luke 22:31
Just one more passage for this emotion…
1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."… Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." - Luke 19:1-5,9,10
Emotion # 5… Christ’s ‘Belief In’
OKAY – 5 emotions of Christ…
• compassion-caring
• frustration
• anger
• excitement-joy
• belief in
NOW UNDERSTAND – there are a ton of other emotions of Christ (yeah that’s right 2000 pounds worth) that we could have looked at this morning, LIKE Christ: sorrow, joy, amazement, love, suffering, confidence, laughter…etc…
UNFORTUNATELY – the ticking clock… will not allow it…
BUT HEY - I suggest that some day (maybe soon) you grab a drink - kick back - open up the Gospels…
AND SEE – ‘for yourself’ what they reveal about the emotions of Christ…
I GUARANTEE - that it will be an awesome ride and worth the trip…You’ll see a ton of cool stuff, probably some stuff that you really need to hear.
OKAY - now for the…
II. So What…
I MEAN - what’s the big deal… who cares about the emotions of Christ… what difference are they going to make to my everyday life.
LISTEN – here’s the big deal… here’s why we should care. Here’s why they can and should make a difference… (are you ready?)
THESE EMOTIONS – help will help us know Christ better. AND – knowing Him is the eternal kind of life. Knowing Him, Knowing who He is will enable you to do the Psalm 910
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. – Psalm 9:10
THOSE – who know His name, know His person – will what? Put their trust in Him…
AND LISTEN – those who trust in the Lord are like Mt Zion – they will NOT be shaken (Ps 125:1)
UNDERSTAND – trust is the major issue in most of our lives… It is the one thing we still lack.
LISTEN – if we fully trust in His; forgiveness/presence/plan for our lives and our future in heaven…
IT would radically change our lives…
AND – the more you know – the more you will trust Him…
OKAY – so what do those 5 emotions that we have just seen with our own (eyes, ears and hearts) reveal to us about Jesus Christ, The King of Glory…
A) – that Christ Cares…
THAT – He is full of compassion…
THAT - He cares about your: hurts, hardships and heartaches. Got any?
THAT – when He sees you (harassed and helpless)… it really bothers Him.
THAT – Christ is deeply moved by our pain (just ask Mary, Martha or the guy with leprosy – OR the countless men, women and children he healed or fed).
YOU KNOW – when I read Matthew 9 this week…
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness…
I really sensed how desperate Jesus was… looking everywhere to find the people He loves, in order to help them.
I MEAN – Jesus didn’t wait for His children to come to Him… no he went looking for them…
LET ME – remind you of some words we read a few weeks back in our devotions…
QUESTION…
How you ever wondered why Jesus was so passionate about hurting people? Why did He care so much? I mean why was reaching out to those in need so natural to Jesus as He walked this earth? Answer – because of who He was. And who was He? The ALMIGHTY - in human flesh. Understand God has always been concerned about the pain, the sorrow and the hurts of His people. Our hurts never slip past his caring and watchful eyes. We see this in a HUGE way in Exodus 3…
The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey… - Exodus 3:7,8
God sees. God hears. God cares. And not only does He (see hear and care) - BUT He can do something about your hurts. He can rescue you. He can bring you up out of your hurt. He can bring you to a new and better place.
Understand when you flip through the pages of Scripture. On nearly every page, in nearly ever chapter and every verse – you see a God who is passionate about the hurting, who is passionate about helping his people, defending those who need Him and rescuing those who are in trouble. That is why over & over again God is called a shelter, a fortress, a rock and a refuge. Why? Because that is exactly who He is and what hurting people need.
What do those 5 emotions tell us about Christ…
#1 – that Christ Cares…
B) – That Christ Gets Frustrated…
AND - Jesus get frustrated when:
• we lack faith in Him (in who He is, what He’s done and who we are in Him)
• we doubt His ability to calm our storms
• we are still afraid even though the King of Gory sleeps in our boat
• we like Phillip (even after we have been with Him so long) still do not see Him for who He really is.
• we like Nicodemus (because of our hard heads and stubborn hearts refuse to understand or surrender to the truths He is teaching us)
C) – That Christ Gets Angry…
AND LISTEN – I think it is a good thing to know what kind of things make the Lion of Judah angry.
Jesus gets angry when:
• we care more about our: rules, opinions, traditions, ways, agendas and comfort – then we do about someone’s life being impacted and healed.
. He knows that we get it… that we understand the truth He is speaking to us (“which is lawful to do on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save life or to kill”)…
BUT – we won’t even answer the question. WE – ignore it. WE – remain silent…
QUESTION – is there something that you know what the right answer is, but you have chosen to: remain silent, ignore the question – so you can keep on doing what you are doing?
Jesus gets angry when:
• we want HIM, but we like Peter, don’t like to talk about His cross or ours for that matter… “Now, Jesus – let’s have no more of that sacrifice and self denial talk.”
• we turn God’s house into something He never intended it to be
• we like the Pharisees, give more energy to – the outside, what people see, what people think about us - than what Jesus sees and knows about us.
D) – That Christ Gets: Excited
HEY – who here would like to be the reason for God the Son, getting all pumped up and excited (high fives and fist bumps in heaven)…
UNDERSTAND – Jesus gets all excited when:
• we like the widow give all we have to Him and for Him
• we like the centurion BELIEVE that He really does have ALL power and authority and can do absolutely anything! I MEAN – Jesus just has to say the word and – storm are calmed, problems conquered, obstacles removed and enemies defeated…
• People find out who He really is… when they find out that He is the one they were looking for… Their Messiah/Savior… The One who knows everything they ever did – but still loves them.
• Thirsty people not only come to Him… BUT – they drink of Him and ARE NEVER thirsty again!
E) – That Christ: ‘Believes In’
LOOK UP… Jesus believes is us (you) even when we have stop believing in ourselves.
YES JESUS – believes in you: HE – believes that you can:
• become something better
• get up from behind your table and really follow Him (no matter who you are – where you’ve been)
• like the woman in John 8… “overcome that issue (whatever it is) and go and sin no more…”
LISTEN – the problem for some of us is, that we believe more in the power of our chains than we do in the power of our Liberator… Jesus believes that you can free yourself from the chains of your past…
UNDERSTAND – their hold on you is not as great as His claim on you.
• like Peter… get up – dust yourself off – turn back – and live a new – a great life – the life you were created to live…
MAN – this is good stuff. LISTEN – our Jesus is not some unemotional, unfeeling, dead, stoic deity… INSTEAD – He is full of life and dripping with emotions…
Compassion, belief in, joy, frustration, anger
1 More emotion for The Road…
OKAY – I know we already did our ‘so what’ but there are just 1 more emotions I really need to hit… before we head out…
IT – is found in Mark chapter 7…
JESUS – is presented with a guy who is deaf and has a speech impediment.
MAYBE – he stuttered.
MAYBE – he had a lisp.
MAYBE – because of his deafness the man never learned to articulate his words properly.
JESUS – takes the guy aside. HE – looks him in the face.
KNOWING – that it would be useless to tell the guy what he was going to do… he makes gestures. HE – puts his fingers in His ears… and he spits and touches the guys tongue…
TELLING HIM – that whatever was restricting his hearing and impeding his speech was about to be removed…
BUT BEFORE – Jesus says a word – he does something unexpected.
NOW - the first time I read this I didn’t see it coming…
I MEAN – I was expecting a loud shout, a hand clap – maybe a prayer BUT JESUS – does none of that… INSTEAD – He pauses, looks up into heaven and He sighs. Emotion # 6 is a sigh.
31Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. 33After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. 34He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!" ). 35At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. – Mark 7:31-35
YOU KNOW – I never thought of God as one who sighs. NO – I picture God as one who commands… creates… calls forth…
BUT – a God who sighs…
NOW – believe me, it’s not because I don’t know what sighing is…
I MEAN - I have done my fair share of sighing over the years…
I’ve sighed when I’ve watched people who should know better walk down a path that they know is going to really mess them up.
I’ve sighed when I’ve sat by a bed side at a hospice or ICU with someone whose body has nearly reached the end of their journey.
I’ve sighed when I felt overwhelmed by the pressures of church, family, finances, life and my rapidly aging body.
AND – do you know what – I am sure that you too have done your fair share of sighing…IF:
• you have children
• you tried to resist temptation
• you’ve have had your motives questioned
• the demands on you keep growing
• your best acts of love have been rejected
YOU HAVE – been forced to take a deep breathe, look up, throw your head back and a let out a painful sigh.
YEAH I KNOW – that there such a thing as a sigh of relief, a sigh of expectancy and even a sigh of joy…
BUT THAT – is not the sigh described in Mark 7.
NO – this sigh is a hybrid of frustration and sadness…
IT LIES – somewhere between a fit of anger and a burst of tears.
THE APOSTLE PAUL – spoke of sighing.
TWICE – he said that Christians sigh as we live on earth and long for heaven. HE – says in Romans 8 that the creation sighs as if she were giving birth and that the Spirit sighs as He interprets our prayers.
AND LISTEN – all these sighs come from the same place… a recognition of a pain that was never intended and of a hope that is still waiting for it’s fulfillment.
MAN – was not created to be separated from his Creator – so he sighs
CREATION – was never meant to be inhabited by evil and decay – so she sighs
CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD – were never intended to depend on a translator – so the Spirit sighs and groans looking to the day when God’s children will see him face to face.
AND WHEN – Jesus looked into the eyes of the guy in Mark 7… ALL – He could do was sigh… “It was never intended to be this way… your ears were not made to be deaf. You’re tongue wasn’t made to stumble. Things are not supposed to be this way.”
BUT UNDERSTAND – it is in the sigh of Christ that we find our hope…
I MEAN…
Had Jesus not sighed,
Had He not be burdened for what was not intended we would be in a pitiful way.
I MEAN – if had simply chalked it all up to the inevitable or washed his hands of the whole mess – what hope would we have… BUT – He didn’t…
YOU SEE – His holy sigh reminds and assures us… THAT GOD - still groans for His people. HE groans because He cares about our hurts…and because he longs for the day…when every sigh will cease and everything will be as he intended in the beginning…
Let's Pray
