Up Close and Personal
- Date: Sunday, July 11, 2010
- Speaker: Jason Smith
- Series: Jesus in 3D: Seeing Jesus through the Gospel of Mark
- Scripture: Mark 1:35–2:17
If you haven’t been living under a rock over the past week, you have surely in some way heard about Lebron James. For many a basketball fan, he is known to you simply as King James. The hype that preceded him as a high school senior seven years ago as he declared himself eligible for the NBA draft was unprecedented. For many it was like the coming of basketball’s version of the Messiah. His abilities and skills were lauded among the scouts and media. For most people their public introduction to him was at the high school all-star game, where he put in a dominating performance and was the game MVP. He was drafted #1 by the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on to show that the buzz was worthy, by dominating on offense and seemingly being an unstoppable force. The only thing that has eluded him during his career at the ripe old age of 25 is an NBA championship. Enter the 2010 free agent class. No sooner than he took off his jersey at the end of a shorter than expected playoff run, the talk was all about where would Lebron play the next season. The story dominated the sports news, overshadowing the NBA playoffs and even the World Cup. As free agency officially began on July 1, it was announced that Lebron would make his decision known to a national audience during an ESPN one hour special on July 8. For many, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The question began to be asked, WHO DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS? Sure he has amazing abilities as a player and has brought in a load of revenue to the city of Cleveland, but who does this guy think he is? No player in history has made such a show of himself. It is just a game that these grown men are playing for millions of dollars. Time will tell whether his choice was the right one, whether he will be able to lead his new team to a championship, whether he can quiet the critics in the days, week, and months to come.
Over the last several weeks we have been exploring the gospel of Mark seeking to see Jesus in 3D. We want to see Him for who he is and to discover what He came to do through the supernatural revelation that God has given us through the gospel of Mark and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is only as we see Him in this way will we be able to be transformed by Him and live a life that glorifies Him. So far in chapter 1, we have seen Jesus proclaimed as the all-powerful Son of God and then He went on to display His authority & power in His interactions with people. This week, it is like the lens of the camera keeps zooming closer and closer to give us an even better look at Jesus. What we will see is Jesus saying and doing such audacious things that those around Him are going to ask, “Who does this guy think He is?” Open your eyes and be prepared to acknowledge who Jesus really is and that He has the right to say and do such things.
We began where we left off last week in Mark 1:35-39. Remember the crowds have been swarming Jesus as He preformed miracle after miracle among the people testifying to His authority and power. That authority and power of Jesus calls us to respond in obedience and action. Now Jesus reveals to us that He is the Lord of Dependence: And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you." And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
In all His authority and power, Jesus shows us in Mark 1:40-45 that He is the Lord of Compassion: And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them." But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.
Jesus’ identity as been increasingly been made public at this point and after His attempts to allude the crowds, He finds himself once again surrounded by people seeking after him. It is in the midst of this crowd in Mark 2:1-12 that Jesus shows that He is the Lord of Forgiveness: And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic-- "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home." And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
The crowds were in such amazement and the word was spreading so rapidly about Jesus that He had to move to a larger location to teach. In Mark 2:13-17, we see through His interactions and His words that He is the Lord of Redemption: He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
Tim Keller explains to us the need not just to be fascinated by Jesus, but to come to Him broken in need of healing: “It is possible to get excited about Jesus and yet miss the reality of who he is…to be fascinated with Jesus and to seek material and emotional and external things from him, but not really get converted or enter his kingdom. Before we are sufferers needing help, we are sinners needing pardon. If you don’t think you are a moral failure, you are not a Christian. Christianity is for those who know they are moral failures.”
In light of who Jesus presented himself to be, the question for each of us today is WHO DO YOU THINK JESUS IS? Maybe, secondary to that is who do you think you are? Do you see Jesus as the one and only King deserving of our love and obedience? Do you see Him as the one who not only speaks and acts with authority and power, but truly is the all-powerful creator of the universe? Do you see Him as the Savior of all those who would come to Him in repentance and faith? The answer to all those questions probably depends greatly on who you think you are. Do you see yourself as self-sufficient? Do you see yourself as clean? Do you see yourself as righteous? If so, then you will never see Jesus for who He is. He is your only hope. He is the Son of God. He is the suffering servant. He is the forgiver and redeemer. The reality is that BIG IDEA: Seeing Jesus Up Close and Personal Moves Us from Self-Sufficiency to Humility. If you want to see Jesus in 3D, you must allow the Holy Spirit to make you more and more aware of your sinfulness. Then and only then can you see the holiness of Jesus Christ and embrace the cross as the most valuable thing in your life. Let us be a people who humble ourselves before our Lord and Savior, our King of Kings, our Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. Let the world around us know that He is the only one worthy of our devotion, of our praise, of our obedience, and of our affection. Then, they might begin to see Jesus in 3D for themselves.
