Who Is This Then?, by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Mark 4:35-41

4:35  On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."
4:36  And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.
4:37  A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.
4:38  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
4:39  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.
4:40  He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"
4:41  And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

          At that moment, and down through the ages, men and women have asked, "Who is this?  Who is this Jesus?"

          He is called in the Hebrew Yeshua.  He is called in the English text Jesus Christ.  Even though Christ is not His last name, Christ is who He is, the promised Messiah (Hebrew name), the Son of the Living God.  He is the Living God come to us in flesh and blood.  He is God with us, or Immanuel in the Hebrew.

          Those are only a few of His titles.  But who is he, really?  Who is Jesus?

          If there's a chance Jesus is really not some lunatic but actually the Lord of Universe, if He really is who is says He is in John 10:10 -- " I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" -- don't we want to get to know Him better?

          After all, Jesus didn't just mouth those words, offering us life more abundantly, and then disappear into history.  He allowed Himself to be sentenced to die on the cross, and then, as the Lord of Glory who could have commanded thousands of angels to protect Him, He died a painful death on that cross.  And why did He do that?  To pay a price you and I could not pay.  To reunite us with the Creator of all things, with the God of the universe, whom by our heritage through sin we had turned our backs upon.  Are we still turning our backs on Him?  Or are we looking to learn more about Jesus, the bridge to everlasting life?  All the other bridges are out.  They don't reach to the Living God.

          Do you know Him?  I know Him, but I have known about Him for much longer.  Many people know about Him, but never follow Him.  If they had really known Him, instead of just knowing about Him, there would be a substantial change in their life.  We are told in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."  Trying to change our behavior by our self, trying to make ourselves acceptable to God, trying to change who we are on our own are all dead-ends.  In Christ, we become new creations.

          Most of what we hear in church about Jesus has to do with love, with gentleness, with innocence, with servant humility.  But Jesus was also a leader, a team builder, a teacher, healer and, when the situation called for it, a cleanser of temples with a whip of knotted cords.

          What are we called to be in Christ?  Well, disciples, first of all.  The Sermon on the Mount, as Jesus spoke to His disciples, is possibly the best summary of what Jesus wants for us and from us, instructing us how to live a life pleasing to God, free from hypocrisy, full of love and grace, and filled with wisdom and discernment.  These are underscored by Jesus' words in John 14:15, "If you love Me you will do the things I say."

          Given that those are Jesus' own words, it becomes even more important then not only to know what Jesus wants from us, but what He says to us.  "If you love Me you will do the things I say."

          When should we seek those answers, regarding what Jesus wants?  When is the best time to know Him better?  If we were to look on the face of a clock to see that "right time," we would see the words "Now" in place of the hours and minutes.  Now always is the right time.  Romans 13:11 tells us, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."  Note that last phrase, "now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."  Time is passing.  

          From the very beginning, in the first part of Genesis 6:3, we read, "And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh..."  Unlike the Living God, who is forever, our days are numbered.  Our time in the flesh is running out.

          Now is the time, to believe, to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, to turn our life over to Him, to know Him better.  For once we belong to Him, time may as well stand still, for Jesus tells us in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us nor forsake us.  We are His and He is ours forever, across all the events of our lives and into the ages of eternity.  For even as Jesus is in the Father, and the Father is in Him, in John 17:21, Jesus prayed, "that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me."

          Jesus is the answer and now is the time.  He made clear for us His purpose in coming to us in the flesh when in John 14:6 He said, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."

          There are 200 Biblical names for Jesus.  Everything from Alpha and Omega to Bright and Morning Star, and Carpenter's Son.  Who was He?  The Author and Finisher of our faith, the Chief Cornerstone, the Lamb of God.  But most important to you and I, and to the entire human race, Jesus was the propitiation for our sins.  He is the bridge to God the Father, the Son of the Most High God, and our salvation.  I urge you to know Him better.  Amen.

Week of Worship

June 24, 2012

Invocation:  O God, who calls those who will follow along with You, show us our duty today, and give us bread for our journey.  Through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Read: Psalm 88 

Daily Scripture Readings

Monday                1st Corinthians 2:1-13

Tuesday               Matthew 9:35-10:15

Wednesday          Matthew 10:16-23
Thursday              Matthew 10:24-33

Friday                   Matthew 10:34-42

Saturday               John 21:15-23

Sunday                 2nd Samuel 5:1-12; 2nd Corinthians 5:18-6:2; Psalm 48;

                             Mark 4:35-41 

Reflection: (silent and written)

Prayers for the church, for others, for yourself.

Hymn: "O God Who Shaped Creation"

Benediction:  I am thine, O Lord.  I have heard Thy voice!  And having heard, I will go wherever You send me and to whatever task.  Only go with me, my Lord; I cannot make the journey alone.  Amen.