Powerful Effects
- Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010
- Speaker: Jason Smith
- Series: Jesus in 3D: Seeing Jesus through the Gospel of Mark
- Scripture: Mark 5:21–5:21
In his book Please Don't Squeeze the Christian, Scott Sernau reflects on the danger of cynicism—especially in the life of believers who claim a "living hope." He writes: Cynicism kills in the manner of frostbite: the only symptom is a deadening numbness. And even Christians are often tinged with this frostbite. Callousness and doubt numb us to life and joy. We find ourselves leaving the triumphant lyrics of the old hymns on the church doorstep, because they appear hopelessly out of step with the world waiting outside. Our problem is not that we've been taught to question our faith, but rather that we've been taught to reject any answers. Doubt can be a state of mind—or it can be a way of life.
Throughout our study of the gospel of Mark so far, we have been seen over and over people who were cynical about Jesus: the Pharisees, the Herodians, the crowds, His own mother and brothers, the disciples, and the townspeople. They couldn’t see Jesus in 3D because they lacked the faith to see Him for who He really is and for what He came to do. As we have made our way through the first four plus chapters, we have been introduced to many who have had their vision corrected by God, so that they could now see with the eyes of faith. Today, we are continuing our look at a series of miracles where Jesus shows His power to overcome humanly impossible circumstances as we look at Mark 5:21-43. Just like we saw last week in the calming of the storm and the casting out the Legion of demons, Jesus is the omnipotent God who is all-powerful over not only the natural and supernatural world, but over our lives as well. In the healing of the woman and the raising of Jarius’ daughter, we will come to realize that BIG IDEA: Jesus Makes all Things Well! My hope is that we will move past cynicism and move toward uncompromising faith in Jesus Christ, who shows that all other resources are useless and inadequate to solve our deepest problems. Throughout these verses we will get a clearer picture of who Jesus’ power works to make all things well.
