Sermon Central
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Seeing People Through Jesus' Eyes
Contributed by Darrell Stetler Ii on Aug 11, 2016 (message contributor)
Summary: How does Jesus see me? How do I show that love to others?
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An anecdote from Jesus’ life:
John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
Do you notice the difference between Jesus and his disciples here? The disciples saw this guy as a potential for a theological argument….
Jesus saw a chance to glorify God.
This kind of thing happens over and over again in the life of Jesus… after a while, the disciples start getting the hang of it. We jump into the story in Acts 3 after the Resurrection of Jesus:
Acts 3:1 ¶ Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
2 And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!"
This is not the regular word for “look” or “see.” This is a heightened, rare word that only occurs a few times in the NT. It’s like “rivet your eyes on” “look intensely” or “do a double take.”
This is interesting, because Peter and John were devout men. They had been to the temple to pray many times. This man had been sitting here for YEARS… notice it says they set him down “every day” at the gate of the temple. This wasn’t the first time they saw him. But it was the first time Peter did a Holy Spirit inspired “Double-take”…
I think God wants us to do lots of these in our lives… what do you see when you look closer. The problem is, we can walk right past people for a long time, and never notice them.
I’m terrible about not seeing things.
1. See people for their needs, not your inconvenience.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!"
Oh, brother… another panhandler. “Get a job, buddy! I’m in a hurry… look the other way… lock the doors… we’re on the way to church.”
But that’s not the attitude they took.
Do you see broken people as an ______annoyance_________ or an _____opportunity______?
2. See people for their potential, not their problems.
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!"
Defining people by their past – defining them by their sin! It’s an attitude thing.
The Pharisees did it:
This man receives SINNERS and eats with them…
If he was a prophet, he would know what sort of woman this was…
Don’t define people by their ____past_____, define them by their _____Savior_________.
Every saint has a ____past___, every sinner has a _____future_____.
The potential for healing.
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
The potential for influence.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall” – you heard that phrase?
I’d like to propose a different version “The worse they are, the more glory God receives when they are saved.”
The potential for impact.
12 ¶ But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, "Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
