Experiencing the Peace of Jesus - Jesus Under Pressure
It’s Sunday. Sundays are always busy days for me. Sundays are always early days for me. Today promised to be no exception.
With a full slate of activities planned, I got up early and drove to church. There was not much traffic at 6:00 A.M. I had the roads to myself. The orange of dawn had yet to break the nighttime spell on the summer’s black sky. The twilight sparkled. Cool air wafted.
I parked outside my church office and took a minute to enjoy the quietude. I set down my books, picked up my coffee, and leaned against the car.
It was calm. But calm has a way of becoming chaos.
With a briefcase in one hand and a coffee cup in the other, I walked and whistled across the parking lot to the office door. To enter my office, I had to get past the sleeping dog of the twentieth century: the alarm system. I set down my briefcase and unlocked the door. I picked up my briefcase and walked in.
The code box on the wail was flashing a red light.
The siren pounced on me like a mountain lion. I thought we were under nuclear attack. Floodlights flash flooded the hallway, and red strobes turned. I kept pushing buttons, and the alarm kept blaring. You’d have thought it was a breakout at Alcatraz.
My pulse raced, my forehead moistened, and my situation was desperate. I raced down the hall to my office, pulled open the lap drawer of my desk, and found the phone number of the alarm company.
The next twenty minutes were loud, demanding, confusing, and aggravating. I was speaking to technicians I couldn’t see about equipment I didn’t understand trying to understand words I couldn’t hear.
Ever happened to you? When was the last time your life went from calm to chaos in half a minute? ("How many examples would you like?" you ask.) When was the last time you found yourself pushing buttons that didn’t respond, struggling with instructions you couldn’t hear, or operating a system you didn’t understand?
Ever had that kind of an experience? When was the last time your life went from calm to chaos in a few minutes? When was the last time you wish things will just calm down when you push some simple buttons, and that peace can just simply fills your heart.
Life can go from calm to chaos in matters of moments. No warnings. No announcements. No preparation. Sept 11 is one such day. Where can you find real peace?
It all depends on one factor – do you know the code? If I know the code, there peace would have triumphed. This month, we’re going to look into Jesus’ life and experience the peace that He has.
We’re going to look at one of the most pressure-packed 24-hour day in the life of Jesus. Matt 14:12-14 >> Feeding of 5000 >> 14:22-27
1. UNEXPECTED NEWS - death of someone close, religious rulers threatening
Jesus begins the morning by hearing about the death of John the Baptist – his cousin, his forerunner, co-worker and friend. This man is close to Jesus’ heart, because at the launch of His ministry, he is probably the man who came closer to understanding Jesus than any other. He is now beheaded, and the authorities were not happy with those who preached about the Kingdom.
Matt 11:7-12
7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written:
’Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’
11 "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. NKJV
You want to know how Jesus feels - imagine losing someone who knows you better than anyone else. And that closest friend did not just die, he was murdered. Imagine the sorrow of having a best friend died in the hands of someone evil. That’s how the day began for Jesus. It wasn’t a good start.
Moreover, Luke 9:9 tells us: 9But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.
Jesus was next in line… Why does Herod want to see him? We really do not know. But it does look like a threat than a social visit. So with John’s life taken and his own life threatened, Jesus wants to get away for a while.
Have you ever had UNEXPECTED NEWS – news that robs you of joy, of peace; news that would weigh you down?
Matt 14:13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.
2. UNEXPECTED DEMANDS (14:15ff.) - crowd was pressing on Him
That did not happen. The crowd was there, about 5000 men, plus women and children (14:21). John MacArthur even estimated the number to be 25,000. Jesus wasn’t expecting them. It was UNEXPECTED DEMAND upon him. Mark 6:31 “So many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat.”
Yet they were people with needs. Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without shepherd. Many of the sick were there. It’s like a tug of war and you’re the rope – so many demands pulling you in different directions.
Have you had that experience? You’re busy preparing a project; your kids are crying for attention; your parents ask you to fetch them; a friend on the line telling you her problems…
3. UNEXPECTED STORMS (14:24)- your own still do not understand you
He came to the rescue of His disciples. In the middle of the night - 4th watch (3-6am) he saw his disciples in the midst of a storm. In fact, the boat was about 6km away from shore (John 6:19), so Jesus walked towards them.
His disciples cried out in fear. They have yet to fully know and trust Jesus. To Peter, Jesus says, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (14:31). The disciples finally said, "Truly you are the Son of God." (14:33)
14:34 WHEN THEY LANDED IN GENNESARET, word spread and people brought all their sick to Him... and His work continues... Chapter 15 - Pharisees and teachers of the law came to challenge Him.
All these events happened within one 24-hour day in His life.
Fact #1 - JESUS KNOWS HOW YOU FEEL
Heb 4:15-16 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.
1 - He personally experiences the stresses and storms of life... not an angel, not someone else
2 - in every way - not partially, not nearly, not to a large degree. IN EVERY WAY
3 - just as we are - every hurt, pain, stress and sorrow. No exceptions.
16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Fact #2 - GOD IS THE SOURCE OF HIS PEACE
And we see JESUS in control of the situation, showing us a sense of confidence and calm. Jesus experiences PEACE from somewhere else.
CLUES - 14:13 He wanted to withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place...
14:23 He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray...
It was in the last of these watches that Jesus appeared to the disciples, so that he had spent most of the night alone on the mountain in prayer.
Though he had so much work to do with others, yet he chose sometimes to be alone, to set us an example.
€ At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus went to the wilderness for an extended period of fasting and prayer:
Matt 4:1-2 1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights… NKJV
€ In Capernaum, after healing Simon’s mom-in-law and long night of work:
Mark 1:35 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.
€ After he healed a leper:
Luke 5:15-16 15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
€ When He was going to choose His disciples:
Luke 6:12-14 12One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.
€ After He heard of the death of John the Baptist:
Matt 14:13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.
€ He led the 3 disciples - Peter, James, John up the mountain (Transfiguration)
Matt 17:1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
This pattern continued into the final days of his life, when again he withdrew into the garden of Gethsemane to pray.
Isa 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
"whose mind is stayed on you..."
Phil 4:6-7 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In quietness and prayer, we’ll again HEAR the voice of God. We’ll again be ASSURED of His care and control of our lives. We’ll again experience His PRESENCE.
WE’LL EXPERIENCE PEACE WITHIN, NOT FROM WITHOUT.
Matthew Henry: "Those are not Christ’s followers that do not care for being alone; that cannot enjoy themselves in solitude, when they have none else to converse with, none else to enjoy, but God and their own hearts."
When was the last time you let God have you? When you give Him a portion of undivided, uninterrupted, undiluted time, listening for His voice? JESUS DID. Let me then ask the obvious: IF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, THROUGH IT WORTHWHILE TO CLEAR HIS SCHEDULE TO MAKE TIME FOR GOD AND PRAY, WOULDN’T WE BE WISE TO DO THE SAME?
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF TRUE PEACE
Paul introduces God as the God of peace. 2 Thess 3:16 "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way."
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
SPEND TIME IN SOLITUDE WITH HIM (1) acknowledge that you’re not in control
(2) know that everything is in control, (3) God is not in a hurry.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
1. Take advantage of the "little quietness" that fills our day. Early morning in bed, late at night, lunch time in office... Take a walk in the garden and converse with God.
2. Take a longer time off in a week, maybe half a day. Spend it without words and without anybody.
