Mark 3:7-12; Matthew 12:15-21
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.7a
And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 7b-10
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. 11-12
"Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust." Matthew 12:17-21
Mark 3:7-12
The Demands of a Personal Ministry
Introduction – The Unbreakable Comb
The salesman was demonstrating unbreakable combs in the department store. He impressed the people who stopped by to look by putting the comb through all sorts of torture and stress.
Finally to impress even the skeptics in the crowd, he bent the comb completely in half, and it snapped with a loud crack. Without missing a beat, he bravely held up both halves of the 'unbreakable' comb for everyone to see and said,
"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what an unbreakable comb looks like on the inside..."
The Retreat from the Pharisees 7a
Jesus retreated from the Pharisees, not in defeat, but to continue teaching His disciples and to prepare for His exodus.
Accusations from the leaders
The spiritual leaders (Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians and Sanhedrin) were conspiring to have Jesus dealt with. Their primary reason was that He was proclaiming to be the Messiah. They did not like His “breaking” of the Sabbath and their 613 laws. He was creating tension among them.
Anticipation of His arrest
Jesus knew His death was rapidly approaching. He consistently warned His disciples that His death was imminent. Jesus was dictating the time and place of His arrest and crucifixion.
Alienation among the people
He was not what the people thought He would be as far as a Messiah. They expected a warrior Messiah who would destroy the Romans and other enemies. They were alienated because He did not fit their “image” of a conquering Messiah.
All of these things brought great stress upon Jesus and the disciples. Jesus had a sense of calmness because He was there to accomplish the Father’s will. He protected the disciples by separating them from those who wished to destroy them.
The Stress Diet
BREAKFAST: 1/2 grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast
8oz skim milk
LUNCH: 4oz broiled chicken
1 cup steamed zucchini
1 Oreo cookie
1 cup herb tea
AFTERNOON
SNACK: Rest of the package of Oreo cookies
1qt Rocky Road ice cream
1 jar hot fudge
DINNER: 2 loaves garlic bread
1 large pepperoni & mushroom pizza
1 liter soda pop
3 candy bars
1 entire cheesecake eaten directly from the freezer
DIET TIPS:
1. If no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.
2. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, they will cancel each other out.
3. Food taken for medicinal purposes does not count. This includes chocolate, egg nog, toast, and Sara Lee chocolate cake.
4. If you fatten up everyone around you, you'll look thinner.
5. Pieces of cookies contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage.
6. Late-night snacks have no calories. The refrigerator light is not strong enough for the calories to see their way into the calorie counter.
7. You should all remember science class from school. A "calorie" is a unit of heat, therefore cold foods have no calories. Ice cream is frozen and is an excellent diet food. It results in "negative" calories.
Stress is something we face on a daily basis. Perhaps not the kind of stress Jesus faced but stress nonetheless. Our focus should be one day at a time with a look toward the eternal knowing God is in control.
Second, look at…
The Response of the People 7b-10
The people were following Jesus for two primary reasons. First was the miraculous healing He was able to do. No one had ever done the depths of healing that He had. The other was the words which were spoken. He spoke as one who had authority. His words were life giving!
Notice four things the people responded to.
First, His Touch was powerful! He healed the crippled, deaf and blind. Why he was even able to raise the dead!
We find that His Teaching was radical! He was different than the teachers of the Law. They quoted those before them but He spoke words as if they were from God Himself! And they were!
Third, we find His Timing was impeccable. Everything was according to the Father’s timetable. His hour had not yet come but it was rapidly approaching.
Finally, we see that His Testimony was reliable. He spoke what the Father wanted. He was Immanuel, God with us. He gave insights that no one else could see.
We respond to difficulties in different ways. Jesus knew His purpose. He knew His ministry. But sometimes, life’s circumstances are not what they seem to be.
Life’s Circumstances
When it comes to life’s circumstances and what goes on each day, how do you respond with gratitude, grit, or grouch? And is your response determined by your circumstance or by your character?
I have come up with a quiz to assess your response. Let’s start with question 1: You are in the 10 item, cash only line at Vons with your 2 cans of green beans and 1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup with a fresh $20 bill from your ATM machine in your hand. The person in front of you has 15 items and a checkbook in their back pocket. How do you respond?
A. Gratitude for the Green Bean Bake your family will enjoy.
B. Grit your teeth and wonder if the guy ahead of you failed math or reading.
C. Yell at the cashier, “Checkout Line Violation -- 15 items! 15 items!”
Question 2: You receive a letter from the IRS, stating you will soon be receiving a $1,000 refund on your tax return, how do you respond?
A. Gratitude to live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
B. Grit your teeth about the other $10,000 you paid in taxes last year.
C. Rip the letter to shreds while demanding more.
Question 3: You receive a letter from the IRS, stating you will be audited. How do you respond?
A. Gratitude to live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
B. Clench the phone and call your accountant.
C. Write the Union Tribune an angry letter about tax oppression in the USA.
Question 4: You are driving your daughter to school, and as you drop her off, the car in front of you decides to just park there, trapping you in the school parking lot. How do you respond?
A. You look out the window and give thanks for this time to stop and smell the roses and car fumes.
B. Grab the steering wheel tighter as steam comes out of your ears.
C. Honk your horn continuously until you sound out “move your car” in Morse code.
Question 5: You are watching your football team play on Sunday, and they win by a touchdown in a close game. How do you respond?
A. Stand up and start singing “San Diego Super Chargers”!
B. Wring your hands over the game next week.
C. Call a sports radio station and complain how we should have won by 3 touchdowns.
If you had all B’s for your answers, you need to take a breath, chill out and relax. If you had all C’s for your answers, you may need therapy. If you had all A’s, you need to teach this message. If you had a mixture of A’s, B’s, and C’s, welcome to the club. I am not surprised when people are grateful when life goes right. I am surprised and a bit envious when life goes wrong, and people respond with a grateful heart. I want to be able to respond to all of life with gratitude, not grit, and not grouch, but a grateful heart to God. What I have observed in such people and in rare moments for myself is that the gratitude God gives changes my perspective about life.
Finally, let’s examine…
The Recognition of the Messiah 11-12
I find it interesting that the demons recognized Jesus while the religious leaders didn’t. Of course, they had been in the very presence of God the Father and Son and knew He was there to defeat Satan and give life to us.
Note three things about the recognition of Jesus.
First, we find that the Diseased were healed. People brought their friends, neighbors and relatives to be physically healed. Interesting isn’t it? We would bring our loved ones to Jesus to be healed physically but we are afraid to bring them to Him to be healed spiritually!
Second, the Demons were silenced. They recognized Jesus. They knew who He was. But He did not want their proclamation of Him to the people. I think Jesus wanted people to come to the Father through His words and work on the cross.
Third, Their Disclosures were gagged. Jesus forbid them to make Him known. The words of life should come from the lips of God’s people. So, how well are we doing?
Unsung Heroines
In Tom Brokaw’s book "The Greatest Generation Speaks," Veronica Mackey Hulick tells of her service during World War II.
Veronica was 20 when she joined the Navy WAVES [Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service]. She and about 1500 other bright young women worked for hours at the monotonous job of wiring red, yellow, green, and blue wire to small wheels. Later, they discovered they had helped build a set of Navy computers referred to as "the Bombe," even though the word "computer" had not been introduced into the American vocabulary.
Later the group was transferred to Washington D.C. They were all sworn to secrecy with the consequence of being shot if they leaked any information about their project.
It took about 500 women each shift to run the 120 computers that they had helped to build. When they got a printout from a computer, they couldn’t read it. But rather, they ripped off the printout, knocked on a door at the end of the room, and gave it to a hand that came out only long enough to grab the paper.
When the war was over, each young lady was taken into an office and had to swear on the Bible that they would never talk about their work. They were each given a letter instructing future employers not to ask about their activities during the war.
It took 50 years for these women to learn of their noble efforts to end the war.
In 1994, 80 of these women gathered in Dayton, Ohio for a reunion. It was then that a Navy historian told them about the fruits of their labor. They had been responsible for sinking between 750 and 800 German U-boats. They had helped to shorten the war by one, or maybe even two years and had saved countless lives. Veronica was thrilled to at last be able to tell of her work during the war, but grieved for those ladies who died never knowing the huge role they had played in the war effort.
Veronica writes: "...It was a different time in our history. We were patriotic, disciplined, caring, and just so thrilled to know we were doing something special to help end the war. We never sought recognition. I always thought of us as the unsung heroines of WWII."
SOURCE: Tom Brokaw, "The Greatest Generation Speaks." pp. 39-41. New York: Random House, 1999.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are one of the unsung heroes of our day. He has called you to proclaim His name. Rest in His grace and sing the praises of Jesus to a lost and dying world.
