JESUS IS AMAZING

Dr. Richard J. Henderson February 1, 2009

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Psalm 111 (Responsive reading)
Mark 1:21-28

Introduction

A lot is going on in this brief passage we just read. It seems like it is just a recounting of Jesus' first teaching in the synagogue and a strange reaction to what he said, but this brief experience tells us a great deal.

First of all, it tells us that Jesus taught in the synagogue. If we look at the gospels carefully, we see that Jesus is often found in worship and that worship is important to him. Remember, toward the end of his life when he violently turned over the tables of the money changers outside the temple, he angrily shouted, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of robbers." Obviously these are the words of someone who cares deeply about the place of worship and the ministry it performs.

Some try to say that we don't need to worry about going to church because, after all, Jesus taught out on the hillsides and in the busy streets of town. It's true that Jesus taught there, but it is also true that he attended worship, and worship was extremely important to him.

In this passage we see that Jesus is not only worshipping, but he is helping to lead worship. What Jesus did and said in worship often upset people, especially the religious leaders, but even so, he regularly worshipped God. We can't use Jesus as an excuse for not attending church. Worship was very important to him.

I

We also see in this passage that Jesus "taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Jesus wasn't an ordained rabbi, but here he is preaching in the synagogue. In Jesus' time laypeople could get up in church and make their own comments on the Old Testament scriptures (as the Quakers do today). Often, the scribes would get up and quote from the writings of rabbis, both present and past. So they might get up and read a passage and then say something like, "We understand that this passage means such and such because rabbi so and so in the third century wrote this." They would spend a lot of time quoting the authority of rabbis to explain the reading.

But this passage says Jesus taught as one with authority and not like the scribes, which means he said what it meant without quoting anyone else. He didn't quote rabbis because he didn't need to. He could explain its meaning on his own authority.

The people were amazed. He didn't need to quote somebody else; the explanation he gave made perfect sense. "Of course that's what it means. Why didn't we see that before?" Jesus gave the word directly, his message was powerful, and his teaching rang true. The people were amazed at how he taught.

II

It was also amazing that what Jesus taught and what he did matched so perfectly. When Jesus taught, it was not just creative thinking or brilliant rhetoric, and it wasn't orthodox dogma. But it was amazing new insights into the will of God. It was the scriptures coming alive for ordinary people.

As Jesus' teaching was powerful, so were his actions. Just as Jesus finishes his teaching and people are sitting amazed at what he has said, a man with an unclean spirit jumps to his feet and shouts, "What do you have to do with us? Did you come to destroy us, you the Holy One of God?" It's interesting that the evil spirit in the man is absolutely right about Jesus. He is the Holy One of God.

Jesus separates the man from the evil within him. He loves the man and deals with the evil. Jesus doesn't ignore the man or avoid him; he confronts the situation head on. Jesus goes to the man and draws the evil out of him. Even though it involves convulsing and screaming out loud, the man is healed. Once again, Mark tells us, the people were amazed at Jesus. He can heal the evil that takes over a person; he teaches us with more than just wisdom. What he says and what he does fit together perfectly.

III

Jesus is amazing. But then, you already knew that. I'm guessing that part of the reason you show up for church on Sunday mornings is to be reminded once again that the God we believe in, and the Son he sent into our world, are amazing. Part of our time together is a celebration of the mystery of life - remembering that beyond our routine, if overly busy lives, there is an amazing force of love; that while our lives are sometimes humdrum and repetitious, we are connected to the most powerful mystery in the world.

Sometimes I think we roll our world flat. We try to explain everything, rationalize incredible events, and force out the last breath of mystery, so that we can pretend we understand the world and are in control of it.

Much of the time we can live that way. And then, BLAM! Something amazing happens to us, and we're reminded that our God is mysterious, awesome, and incredible. We see that there's no way to bring this God under our control. Jesus reveals to us the world of God breaking into our world, and it is literally awesome.

Conclusion

We think we know what the world is like and what to expect from God. But then, God shakes us up and amazes us once again. A pastor recounted one of the lowest points in his ministry. He was serving a church in the South, and on this Sunday morning he had prepared his sermon on the Good Samaritan.

As he was reviewing the bulletin and making sure everything was prepared, he overheard a group of the men talking outside his office. "I'll tell you how I feel about these poor people," one of them said, "give them a job digging ditches or something like that and, if they don't like it, let 'em starve." The other men seemed to agree.

The pastor thought to himself, here I am prepared to talk about the parable of the Good Samaritan and these men are bashing the poor. He said at that moment he decided he would contact his bishop on Monday morning and request a transfer to another church. He'd just had enough.

Within a matter of minutes, a man named Harry, one of the more contentious members of his church, walked into his office. "Still working on your sermon?" Harry said. The pastor was just about to respond in rage when Harry cut him short. He said, "Here's a check for $5,000. I want the church to use it to buy breeder pigs for the people of Haiti, and I want to see if the congregation can raise $5,000 more by Easter. Do you know what the swine flu has done to the poor people of Haiti?"

The pastor was stunned. "How do you know so much about Haiti?" the pastor asked.

"Me and Edna have gone down to Haiti most years when I get my two weeks vacation from the plant," Harry said. "We've helped with a variety of projects. I love those people. I just wish I could do more."

The pastor was stupefied. He looked at the check. "This is absolutely amazing", he thought.

He never called his bishop about moving, and he stayed in that church for three more years.(1)

Amen

(1) William Willimon, Pulpit Resource 2009, vol 37 No. 1, pg 23-24

© Richard J. Henderson 2009