Sermon Audio: Making the Last Words of Christ Our First Priority (by David Wheaton)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 36:43 — 6.3MB)

In the midst of troubling times in the world, our country, the church, and our own personal lives, how should we THINK and what should we DO? Some of the last words of Jesus Christ before His crucifixion and His ascension give us answers to these questions.

David delivered a sermon at an old-time summer church service on the shores of Lake Minnetonka near Wayzata, Minnesota on Sunday, August 1st.  The sermon is entitled, “Making the Last Words of Christ Our First Priority” based on John 16 and Matthew 28.  Be sure to hear this 35 minute message.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

How To Be Right With God

We consider this page to be the most important page on our site, for there is nothing, absolutely nothing, more important than being right with God.  That is what the first section of this page details.

Further down in the second section, you can read the short story of how David Wheaton (the host and editor of The Christian Worldview) became right with God.

“What must I do to be saved?” This question was asked to one of the followers of Jesus Christ nearly 2000 years ago and is still just as important and relevant of a question for you today.  Have you ever thought about this question?  Do you know the answer to the question?

I would like you to seriously consider this question today because your response will determine how you will live your life and where you will spend eternity after you die.  So please, read this column carefully in its entirety.

“What must I do to be saved?”  Here is how the follower of Jesus answered the question:  “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

It is a simple response, but what exactly does it mean to “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ”?  And from what do you need to be “saved”?  Let’s answer the latter question first.

SAVED FROM WHAT?

The Bible, which claims to be the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) and entirely truthful (John 17:17; Psalm 119:160), gives a straightforward answer to what you need to be saved from:  you need to saved from God Himself.

The Bible says that God created and sustains everything in the universe (Genesis 1:1; Job 38:1-41) … including you (Psalm 139:13-16).  It is He who established the unchanging laws of nature and morality.  It is He who has ultimate authority over His creation.  It is He who desires for you to be in a right relationship with Him (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

In addition to being the Creator, God has another title — Judge.  He has established good and righteous laws for our benefit, but sadly you (and I and everyone else) have disobeyed His laws in one way or another: by lying, lusting, gossiping, slandering, envying, coveting, stealing, cheating, using God’s or Jesus’ name as a curse word, or loving someone or something more than God.  Some of God’s laws that we’ve broken are listed in Exodus 20:1-17 (The 10 Commandments) or in Matthew 5 (Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount).  If your violations of God’s laws aren’t resolved on His terms, you will stand before Him as Judge someday.

There will be no injustice in God’s court; no one will get away with any crime against Him; God has seen and recorded in His “books” every single sin ever committed and He will be completely just in pronouncing His sentence.

That is what you need to be saved from: God’s judgment and wrath.  Or to put it the terrifying way one of the final chapters of the Bible does, you need to be saved from God “throwing” you into the “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

While it is certainly true that God is loving, forgiving, merciful, and gracious — as will be shown in the following sections — the Bible also presents God as being full of wrath against those who break His laws and reject His offer of reconciliation.

While many people wrongly conclude that hell isn’t an actual place, “and if it is, a loving God certainly wouldn’t send anyone there,” the Bible states clearly that God, the just Judge of the universe, has the authority, the power, and the intention of sending all those who reject His Son Jesus Christ there.  Consider the following passages from the Bible:

“He who believes in the Son [Jesus Christ] has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him [God] who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).

“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man [Jesus Christ] whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

The concept of God sending those who reject His Son to a literal hell may seem unlikely, unfair, or even crazy to you.  Yet the Bible plainly and consistently speaks of its reality (Luke 16:19-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10) which leaves two options: either hell is real or hell is not real.  Since nothing else in the Bible has ever been proven false — historical events, places, people, prophecies — it would be wise to take the Bible at its word — hell is real.

Being separated from God and punished in hell for eternity should cause everyone to ask, “What can I do to be saved from God sending me there?  The answer is clear: “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

What does that mean though?  Does that simply mean that you believe Jesus existed like some other historical figure, like Plato, Napolean, George Washington, or Alexander the Great, or is there something more to belief than that?

To “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ” is much more than intellectual assent to the fact that He existed; it means that you place your trust, your faith, your expectant hope for being saved in who Jesus is and what He did for you.

WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

Jesus Christ is without question the most significant person in the history of the world.  The Bible says much about Jesus — that He was born of a virgin woman, that He performed supernatural acts like healing people of diseases and turning water into wine, that He was crucified on a cross and rose from the dead.  Here are a few more things the Bible says about Jesus:

Jesus is the Son of God:

“And the Word [Jesus] became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Jesus is equal with God:

“In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2).  “I and the Father are one” – Jesus (John 10:30).

Jesus is the only way to God:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” – Jesus (John 14:6).

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

WHAT DID JESUS DO FOR YOU?

Jesus is all of the above and much more.  So what did He do for you that He is calling you to believe in?

Jesus lived a perfect life so that He could offer Himself on the cross in your place as the only sacrifice that would satisfy God’s justice for your sin:

“He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Jesus died so that God could demonstrate His love for sinners and so that God’s just punishment for sin could be placed on Jesus and not on you:

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.  (Romans 5:8-9).

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [i.e. satisfying God's justice] for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).

Jesus rose from the grave and appeared to hundreds of people so that you would have a living Savior and Lord:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve.  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Therefore, to “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ” means to place your trust, your faith, your hope in the person and work of Jesus Christ, whose sinless life and sacrificial death are alone able to reconcile the broken relationship you have created with God as a result of your sins against Him.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

So let’s go back to the very first question and put it all together: What must you do to be saved?

1. You must agree with God that you have sinned against Him and that you deserve judgment for it.  If your crimes against God aren’t settled on His terms, you will have to pay the awful penalty yourself — eternal separation from God in hell.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10).

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

2. You must repent of your sin, which means that you turn in a new direction away from your sin and commit to following God, relying on Him for the strength to do so.

“Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’ [literally, the good news about Jesus Christ] (Mark 1:14-15).

“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man [Jesus Christ] whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

3. You must respond to and receive God’s merciful and gracious offer to save you and place your faith, hope, trust, belief in Jesus Christ’s righteousness and His perfect sacrifice of Himself on the cross as the only payment God will accept for the sin debt you have accrued against Him and the only means of your being reconciled to Him.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God” (John 3:16-21).

“The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, “whoever believes on Him will not be disappointed.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek [Gentile]; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:8-13).

4. You must reject any and all of your own supposed good works as completely ineffective to save yourself and mend your separation from God — church attendance, religious activities like communion, baptism, or prayer, charitable giving, personal goodness and kindness, helping the poor and disadvantaged, good intentions, etc.

“Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.  But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5).

5. You must follow Jesus Christ as your Lord (master) by obeying Him and His Words — this is the evidence of one who is saved.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation [one who satisfies God’s justice] for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.  By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.  The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:1-6).

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

CONCLUSION

Every human being has sinned and thus created a conflict with God — you, me, Mother Theresa, the Pope, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, the apostle Paul, everyone.  You have only two choices in dealing with your sin:

1.) You can choose to accept God’s gracious offer of reconciliation by repenting of your sin and placing your faith in Jesus Christ’s sinless life and atoning death on your behalf as the only way that God’s justice can be satisfied for your sin.

Or…

2.)  You can choose to pay the penalty for your sin yourself by ignoring or rejecting or altering God’s offer of reconciliation through Jesus Christ which will result in someday your being judged guilty by God and sentenced to hell for eternity.

AND FORGET BEING GOOD, YOU MUST BE PERFECT … OR MORE PRECISELY, DECLARED SO BY GOD

No matter how good of a person you think you are right now or how good of a person you plan to be in the future, you can never be good enough to go to heaven because God’s standard is perfect righteousness and you have already failed that standard (and will again).

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10).

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” – Jesus (Matthew 5:48).

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees [those who were thought to be righteous], you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” – Jesus (Matthew 5:20).

How can anyone ever be perfectly righteous?  No one can … except if God declares you so.

To be forgiven and spend eternity with a sinless God in a sinless place (heaven), you will need to be declared righteous (justified) by God, even though you haven’t been righteous and never will be.  That can only occur when God declares that your past, present, and future sin be credited to Jesus’ account and Jesus’ perfect righteousness be credited to your account.  This “swap” (your sin paid for by Christ and His righteousness credited to you) is how God can judicially declare you righteous and allow you into heaven.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

“For if by the transgression of the one [Adam, the first sinner], death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.  So then as through one transgression [Adam’s] there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness [Christ’s] there resulted justification of life to all men.  For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:17-19).

A BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURE

The following passage from the New Testament letter to the Ephesians gives a before and after picture of one who believes in Jesus Christ and is saved.

Before picture: dead in sin

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

God changes the picture…

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

After picture: saved through faith for good works

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10).

This passage gives the complete picture: you are dead in sin, God intervenes to save you because of His love and mercy (not giving you what you do deserve – judgment), He brings your salvation to pass by His grace (giving you what you don’t deserve – Christ’s righteousness), and you are called to receive this offer of reconciliation with God by faith alone, not trusting in any righteousness of your own.  Good works will be the evidence — not the means — of your salvation (James 2:26)

Being “saved” or “born again” (John 3:1-8) doesn’t mean your life will become easier.  In fact, you can count on being misunderstood, ostracized, persecuted, and maybe even killed for your faith in Christ.  If the unbelieving world hated Christ, it follows that they will hate His followers (John 15:18-25).  You need to count the cost of being a follower of Jesus.

But having your sins forgiven, being declared righteous, fulfilling the purpose for which you were created (to serve and glorify God), experiencing joy in the midst of turmoil, and inheriting eternal life in heaven far outweigh any temporal trouble.

Now you know the answer to the question: “What must I do to be saved?”  The final question for you is: Will you respond to God’s call in your heart today and receive his loving, merciful, and gracious offer to save you?

Remember, you are sinful and stand condemned before God, the just Judge.  Yet God loves you and desires to save you through His Son Jesus Christ, who is the only One who can mediate the dispute you have created with God.  I’m pleading with you: be reconciled to God today through repenting of your sin and placing your faith for salvation in Jesus Christ.  When you do, God will forgive your sin, He will credit you with Christ’s righteousness, He will indwell you with His Holy Spirit, and He will give you eternal life in heaven.  What could be better and more important than that?!

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Genuine saving faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be right with God.  If by God’s grace you have received this gift of faith, you must now spend the rest of your life striving to become more like your Savior and Lord Jesus Christ in thought, word, and deed (Romans 8:28-30).  That may sound like a daunting task — and it is — but God promises to give you the power and desire to do so (Philippians 2:12-13) as you draw near to God in prayer and studying His Word.  It will also be important that you become a part of a fellowship of other believers (a church) where God is reverently worshiped and His Word faithfully taught.

Please call or email us with any questions or comments you might have or to share with us your new faith in Jesus Christ.  We would look forward to talking with you more about such things as believer’s baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and a plan to help you grow in your new life following Christ.

All for God’s glory,

David Wheaton
The Christian Worldview

Phone:  1-888-646-2233 toll-free
Email:  feedback@TheChristianWorldview.org

————– David Wheaton’s Faith Story ————

A passage in the Bible perfectly describes the before and after picture of my life:

Before: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

After: But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:1-9).

Speaking of before and after pictures, this picture of me before I became a follower of Jesus Christ is worth a thousand words.
There I am on the cover of Minnesota Monthly. “David Wheaton: A Smashing Success.

What more could a 22 year-old ask for? There they are: fame, fortune, success.

But what makes this magazine cover really interesting is the actual photograph. It can be viewed a number of ways, all perfectly representative of my life at that time:

I appear to be a prisoner behind my racquet. I’m holding a mask in front of my face. The broken strings represent my relationships with God and others. There is no joy in my countenance.

That was me before I came to know Jesus Christ: outward success, but inward conflict.

But why? How could a young man be so internally conflicted and empty when he had already attained what most people in this world seek after?

At the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Germany in 1991, I experienced an overdose of fame, fortune, and success. I had just won the largest prize money check in tennis history in one of the biggest tournaments of the year and my success was being broadcast all over the world.

But within 15 minutes after one of the biggest moments of my life, all 12,000 fans filed right out of the stadium. I vividly remember experiencing an incredible letdown and thinking how quickly it all came to an end.

I had spent my whole childhood and teenage years practicing tennis, I had played hundreds of matches in junior, collegiate and professional tournaments, I had worked so hard just to qualify for and win this tournament, and now everyone just gets up and leaves. For the first time in my life, the brevity of earthly success hit me hard.

Yes, that week in ‘91 changed my life, but one thing is for certain: I didn’t become a happier person as a result of my big win. As a matter of fact, my life continued to become more filled with internal strife, relationship conflicts with my parents and others, and an emptiness caused by a misguided life purpose. Instead of contentment brought by fame, fortune, and success, deep down I was unhappy and unsettled.

Growing up as the youngest of four children in a close, church-going Christian family, I was clearly taught the Bible and Christian values by my parents. I knew the right way to live, but I felt like I was somehow missing out on what the world had to offer: pursuits that I later learned resulted in a guilty conscience, regret, and spiritually unhealthy relationships.

I may have thought I had a faith of my own, but my life bore very little resemblance to one who knows Jesus Christ. Cultivating a relationship with God through reading the Bible and praying, honoring my parents, and living a holy life were not characteristics of my life. My inner conflict stemmed from knowing God’s way, but living another way according to my own desires.

In the midst of my outward success and inner conflict, God allowed two things to occur in my life:

1. He let me experience the emptiness and vanity of what the world seeks.
2. He brought me to the low point of understanding my own sinfulness and need for a Savior.

A couple years after my big win, I began to earnestly read the Bible and study some of the biblical principles presented in a Christian seminar I had attended that year. Finally, the rose-colored glasses came off my eyes and I saw my own sinfulness.

During this time of intense study and soul searching, I confessed and repented of my sin to God and trusted in His Son, Jesus Christ as both the Savior and Lord of my life.

My life began to change immediately, though not easily. Difficult choices needed to be made between my old way of living versus God’s way. Previously, I could not reform myself from my sinful thoughts, actions, and relationships. Now, these sinful habits were being overcome through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit reminding me to obey God’s Word.

God was changing me from the inside out. These positive changes in my life gave me great motivation to continue following Jesus Christ.

During the last twelve years, a few practical things have helped nurture and deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ:

1. A daily time with God reading the Bible and praying.
2. Honoring the God-given authorities in my life.
3. Spending time with like-minded Christian friends.
4. Avoiding anything that would offend my Savior.

Please don’t get the idea that I’m perfect or sinless. But God’s goal for every Christian is that they become more like His Son, Jesus Christ. I try to keep this as my calling.

These last ten years of being a committed believer in Jesus Christ have given me the most important thing in life—something fame, fortune, success and the “passing pleasures of sin” could never offer: a sense of joy and contentment to be in a right relationship with the God of the universe when I put my head on the pillow each night. That is truly priceless.

As someone once said: “Life without Christ is a hopeless end; life with Christ is an endless hope.”

Friday Evening Notes from the 2010 Shepherds’ Conference

John MacArthur closed out the 2010 Shepherds’ Conference on Friday night with a sermon from Mark 5:21.  If you would like to download the audio or video from the conference, go here.

The greatest demonstration of the compassion by God was the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  He chose to heal sick people, release demon possessed people, raise dead people…along with God’s power came compassion.  This is the heart of God manifest in Christ.  The theological reason for suffering always go back to divine sovereignty, that God has a purpose in it.  But even God’s response to suffering is compassion, mercy and even grief.

There are three things that make a lasting ministry.

• Separation
• Sincerity
• Sympathy

Your people need to know you care!  God only came into the world one time and it was one massive display of compassion.  Even when you can explain that God has a purpose, be there to show sympathy!

Mark has one purpose; to make it obvious that Jesus is God incarnate.  No person makes this confession until the 15th chapter and 39th verse, no one, except demons.  “We know who you are, the holy one of God”, they couldn’t help saying it because they were terrified.  A Gentile Roman solder outside the nation of Israel was the first to say it.  after Christ died.

What strikes me about him is this compassion that is demonstrated.  He knew the sovereign purpose of God. He, the God who inflicts the pain, is there to catch the sufferer.  He didn’t seclude himself, his entire ministry was in public.  His entire ministry was in the street, field, other’s homes, on the sea with only occasional rest and time with His disciples.

He is Accessible
The number of followers were so relentless that it was even difficult for him to eat.  He never left the crowds.  There was always a large crowd waiting for him, bringing all the people that needed to be healed.  He is like a hero, celebrity and in all history there has never been anything like this.  Out of all the fickle mob numbering in the thousands, there are two whose faith is real; a man and a woman.  One was rich the other poor, one respected one rejected, one with a 12-year-old dying, one with a 12-year disease.

Jarius, he was a lay leader, revered, religious and a man the people would follow.  He fell at Jesus feet – this is politically incorrect.  For a synagogue ruler to do this is putting himself in a difficult position with the “establishment”.  He worshipped!  You only bow down to a superior.  “Please come see my daughter.” he pleaded.  There is no doubt in this request.  Later we’ll see that she isn’t just at the point of death, but already dead.  The father does not budge in his faith.  He is a rare man; few believed savingly in Jesus.  Jesus went off with him.

Note that these people could get to Jesus. Sometimes we think we are more important than we are.

He is Available
As He goes a large crowd presses in on him.  He pitched his tent with people, no hierarchy, no ivory towers.  Jarius’ only hope was for Jesus to heal his daughter.  What drives Jesus’ availability – the compassion of our Lord.  He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities.  Mt 12:20  “A bruised reed He will not break…”  He doesn’t throw people away.  Mt 14:14; Mark 8:2, Mt 9:36  His compassion was indiscriminate.

He is Interruptible
Verse 25 presents a woman with a hemorrhage for 12 years.  This is so personal, a woman with a female bleeding problem.  She is not just a face in the crowd.  Mark describes her with participle phrases; physiological problem and without strength; it was dangerous, she could bleed to death, severe social effects (uncleanness & everyone you touch is unclean); just imagine the courage and desperation.  She could not be cured.  Then in verse 27 she does something unthinkable, she touches Jesus.

Remember Luke 7 when the prostitute came in and kissed the feet of Jesus.  The Pharisees went ballistic and asked if they knew who she was…but nothing stopped Jesus.  He was not defiled.

This woman from Mark 5 went to multiple doctors, but every day nothing changed.  So you wanted to touch his garments.  She touched the fringe; the tassels on their robes (which the Pharisees enlarged to look more holy).  If I just touch His garments I’ll get well. This is not pagan superstition about a robe on her part, its  about the man who had demonstrated such power.

Verse 29 says immediately she was healed.  Being interruptible is a good thing to learn.

He is Intentional
This is not just a woman in the crowd.  Verse 30 Jesus perceived that His power had gone out.  His power is personal!  He experiences every expulsion of power.  He is involved.  Our God is not detached and unfeeling.  He is unaltered by what men do, but He feels everything.  No one receives His power without His involvement.

Such a personal God, such a personal work.  He is very intentional.  He knows where and to whom His power goes.  He knows the plan for this woman and that her name is in the lamb’s book of life.  This is one of His sheep.  He will act in grace and in power…to restore her to her husband, family, town, synagogue and to reconcile her with God.  He is about to save this woman.

“Who touched this garment”? You don’t have to be afraid even though you are an outcast.  This is a demonstration of the effectual call.  This is one who He is seeking and saving.  This is irresistible grace; reaching out to one who belongs to Him.  He looked around for her because He wasn’t finished with her.

Verse 33 – the woman came in fear and trembling.  She wasn’t afraid of the circumstances, she had already overcome that before she touched Him.  She was fearful and trembling because she knew she was in the presence of God.  She was aware of what happened to her…she came and fell down before him in worship.  This was the posture of the undeserved begging for mercy.  This is penitence and worship.

Her problem may have been a result of sin (maybe even sexual sin).  She collapses and tells Him the whole truth about her.  This is a confession of her sin (repentance), a confession of her faith.

He said to her “Daughter”.  That word, coming from Christ, is a word to dispel fear.  This is the only time it is used in the New Testament.  This means, you are in my family.  These are words of grace and words of welcome.  He addresses her as a child of God.

“Your faith has saved you” – “Go in peace”  You can’t have peace without being saved.  Some of the most wonderful things happen when you get interrupted.  If someone is so concerned with deep pain in their life, take that opportunity to penetrate to the real issues.

Verse 35 Meanwhile…Jarius’ daughter had died.

He is Imperturbable
Calm, tranquil, unflappable.  Verse 36  Jesus is unflappable and says “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe (keep on believing)”…”and she will be made well”.  There is a wonderful reality in operating unhurried because then you are acting in the sovereign purpose of God.

Peter, James, and John were with him.  Verse 38 “a commotion” – very different from a Western world funeral.  In Israel the idea was to make a racket, tearing clothes (they had 39 rules for tearing; ie, the tear was to be over the heart if the mourner was the  father or mother of the deceased); hired professional screamers; add flute players with loud dissonant music.

“Why make commotion and weep…the child hasn’t died”  Jesus uses the word “asleep” – temporary sleep is Jesus description of death here…just as it is temporary for us.  He put out all the mourners and then took along the child’s father and mother as well as Peter James and John (to report on it).

He is Charitable
There is a tenderness here.  “He takes the child by the hand”.  This is tenderness and compassion.  “Talitha kum!” = a sweet nickname for a little girl, “little lamb”.  This is the God of the universe with great tenderness.

“Immediately the girl got up and began to walk”.  There was no need for therapy.  John MacArthur has been in therapy for 4 months for knee and back surgery.  When Jesus healed someone there was no recovery period.

They were all stunned.  Verse 43 – He said, give her something to eat.  First he showed  tenderness to the father, then the mother and now the girl.  So intimate, so tender.

Then we have theological issue: Jesus gave them strict orders that no one should know about this.  What?  Jesus said this again and again and again.  “Don’t tell anyone”.  He gave them strict orders (a prohibition).

There are some possible reasons why He gave this instruction:  1) The house might be overrun by people.  2)The crowd, with Messianic expectations, would make the crowd aggressive and would try to force Him to be king (this view is not likely because he often gave this instruction) 3) He didn’t want to escalate the fear and intentions of his enemies.

John MacArthur doesn’t think any of these are the reason – he think the issue was this wasn’t the time to go, to spread the message, and it wouldn’t be the time until the cross and the resurrection.  Only then would He send them with the full message.  Until the cross the full understanding was not available.  After that, go tell everybody!

How Much of the Gospel Must One Understand to Be Saved?

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TRANSCRIPT

The jailer in Phillipi asked one of his inmates, the Apostle Paul: “What must I do to be saved.”  Paul’s answer was simple, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

But what does it mean to “believe in Jesus”?  Here’s how some would answer: “You just have to accept Jesus into your heart.” Read more

Why the Secular World Hates Jesus Christ

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When FOX News Channel contributor Brit Hume expresses his opinion that Tiger Woods should seek Christianity rather than Buddhism to find redemption and forgiveness from his marital infidelities, the secular world goes apoplectic with scorn.  Why is that?

When Focus on the Family creates a Super Bowl commercial that features Pam Tebow, Read more