The Hero of Our Story: His Revolutionary Life
December 13, 2016
When my daughters were little I began reading them the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. They loved those stories but were sometimes frightened by some of the content. One of my favorite encounters in these stories comes from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where Peter, Susan and Lucy are with the Beavers and Mr. Beaver begins telling them about Aslan. As he is telling them how Aslan was returning to makes things right in the world, Lucy asks a question: “Is – Is he a man?” (read page 64, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”…
… “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” I love this description of Aslan. Because it is C.S. Lewis way of describing what Jesus is like: “Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He is the King, I tell you!”
Sometimes I think we can misrepresent Jesus today. We want people to know about his goodness – how He is full of grace and truth. We want people to know this Jesus who doesn’t judge them, who loves them and proves his love by dying for them. And these things are all true about Jesus. But when it comes to revealing Jesus as the revolutionary Jesus: This Jesus who came to crush the powers of the day; this Jesus who came to overthrow the religious status quo, this Jesus who does not compromise with sin, but calls us to turn away from sin and believe in Him… Well, this Jesus is challenging to us. He can make us feel uncomfortable. This Jesus is anything but safe. And yet it is imperative that we come to know the revolutionary Jesus if we are going to learn to live and love like Him. So, if you brought your Bible with you, let me encourage you to find Mark One. For it is here that Mark records for us three ways Jesus started a revolution that changed our world forever. The first way is found in Mark 1:16-20 with His Revolutionary Calling
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1:16-20
What I love about this calling Is that this is our place in His story. Jesus calls ordinary people to be His followers. He calls people like you and me to be his students. He calls people who have no status, no skills and basically little or no preparation to come learn with him. He calls anyone who would come, to come and learn His way of life: to learn from Jesus how to turn this world on its ear and make things as they should be: How to give mercy like He gives mercy; how to give grace like He gives grace; How love anyone like He does, no matter how far gone or how unlikely they are. Jesus’ plan all along was to chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; to chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. To chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are 1 Corinthians 1:27-28
That’s why Jesus calls us to be with Him. This is His revolutionary call. To be with Him! But don’t miss this: Jesus initiates the call, we don’t. It’s His call. He initiates the relationship. He chooses His disciples. He advances His kingdom. He builds His Church. It’s all His initiative. It’s his revolution. He has come to set things right again. God has come to turn the world on its head, and we are His method! The Almighty God of heaven and earth has come to earth and calls people like you to be with Him so that together we can turn our world upside down.
But here’s the part where things move out of our comfort zone; where some of us hesitate. For to go with Jesus means taking a risk. Look at the risk these men took: Simon and Andrew left their nets. They left their livelihood. It’s how they out food on the table and a roof over their head. James and John left the family business. They left their identity and their livelihood. Think about it, these four left what was comfortable, predictable, and normal to go and be with Jesus.
Why? Why were they willing to risk the unknown with Jesus? What was it about Jesus that was so compelling? Answer: It was His voice. When Jesus commanded them to come, they had ears to hear and were compelled to follow. Jesus says it this way in the Gospel of John: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
There was something in Jesus’ voice that compelled them to follow. There was an authoritative ring to His voice. There was hope in His voice. And there was also something familiar His voice: Jesus knew them. He knew their longings. He knew their hopes. So when He announced that the good news that the Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news” they were ready to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. And more than that, they saw it as a privilege to be with Jesus; they couldn’t wait to be with Jesus.
Isn’t this how it should be with us? Jesus gives us the same call. He calls us to be with Him! This is the heart of God’s revolution: God came to us to be with us! The revolutionary movement of Jesus is first and foremost a relational revolution. The way Jesus turns the world on its head is through people who answer His call. And like those first disciples, they knew Jesus was worth the risk, and left comfort, security and yes, even safety behind to go and be with Jesus. Have you heard the voice of Jesus calling you to follow Him? My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
That’s the first way of Jesus’ revolutionary life, now the second: His Revolutionary Authority He now reveals that to us beginning in verse 21, They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Jesus taught them as one who had authority. This a unique term, “authority.” The word literally means “out of the original stuff.” And it comes from the same root as the word “author.” So when Jesus taught God’s Word, it was as if the author of this truth was teaching. It was his truth. It was clear, it was understandable, it was right and it was true, because it was coming from the author of truth. That’s what gave Jesus his unique authoritative teaching. For those hearing Jesus teach the truth, its as though a light came on and they could see clearly.
Therefore, it was so unlike all other teaching they had heard.
The only thing I can compare this too, is the first time I heard my Pastor preach the Word of God. Now, I don’t remember much about the service, that is, until the Pastor got up to speak. He opened the Bible and began teaching. And it was eye opening. I could immediately tell that he was drawing truth from the text and making it understandable. He wasn’t sharing his opinions or making strange applications, he simply helped make the truth of God’s word understandable. And I thought to myself, “Where has this been all my life?” God’s Word, when its being taught properly brings out the author’s truth. And when you hear it, it not only rings true to us, it speaks to us in the core of our being. That’s how Jesus taught. And when he taught, his words pierced them to the core of their being, and it left them dumbfounded, astonished, in wonder. “No one has ever taught like this!”
Now, not all in attendance that day were dumfounded by Jesus’ teaching. We read Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” An impure spirit – another word for demon – Someone in the synagogue that day was possessed by a demon. And this demon now spoke out. He wasn’t dumfounded by Jesus, he knew exactly who He was. The evil spirit knew two facts: One, that Jesus had indeed come to destroy them and, Two, that Jesus was the Holy One of God. The demon knew Jesus was the Messiah. While the people wondered who this man could be, the demons heard his authority and knew exactly who He was.
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. Mark 1:21-28 Whoa! Talk about authority. Talk about power Jesus simply and sternly commanded him to be silent . A modern alternative would be “Shut up!” Jesus, the Revolutionary – By the authority of His Word silences the demon. And yet silencing it was not enough for Jesus. So Jesus says, “Come out of him!” And it leaves. And so we read, The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching – and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.’ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
The revolution has begun. Light has invaded the darkness. By his own authority, Jesus strikes the first blow of the revolution. Jesus overthrows the powers of evil and he sets the captive free. Is Jesus safe? No! But he’s good. He’s set a man free. Jesus begins His revolution by setting a man free of an impure Spirit. That’s the power and authority of Jesus. Do you know this Jesus? He’s the one whose come to set you free. He’s come to set you free from an empty way of life. He’s come to set you free of your slavery to sin. He’s come to set you free from guilt, from worry, from shame. He’s come to set you free so you can live with joy and peace and life… Do you know this Jesus? Do you know His revolutionary authority?
This is the way Jesus works. He comes not just to shatter the powers of this world. He comes to set us free and restore us to life! This is why He is the Hero of our story. But is He yours?
Well, that’s the second way of Jesus’ revolutionary life, now here’s the third: His Revolutionary Love: To see his love at work, we need to drop down to Mark 1:40 where we read A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
In this final encounter Jesus blows the doors off our greatest need: Everyone needs to be loved and accepted – to belong with others. You see, in Jesus day, a leper was about as far outside of community and belonging and love as you could get. If you contacted leprosy, you were as good as dead to everything important in life; especially in Jewish culture. For In keeping with the law in Leviticus 13 and 14, Jewish leaders declared people with leprosy unclean. And this meant that lepers were unfit to participate in any religious or social activity. Not only that, but because the law said that contact with any unclean person made that person unclean too, some people even threw rocks at lepers to keep them at a safe distance. Even mentioning of the name, “Leprosy,” terrified people because they were afraid of catching it. And so lepers were exiled from their families, and kept in camps outside their community. Most would remain there until they died. A leper was an untouchable, dreaded outcast.
And in this encounter, one such outcast comes to Jesus, begging on his knees, saying, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” This man wanted was to be made clean. This man wanted to become a person again, to be united with his family and community. And He knew Jesus could do it. He believed Jesus had the authority to heal. The only question that remained, was “would he?”
His revolutionary love is perhaps the most risky and dangerous thing about Jesus. In this encounter, one of the most excluded persons in Jesus’ day approaches Jesus and is begging him: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Here was the most tragic figure in Jesus’s day: a leper.
And so Mark tells us: Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. Mark 1:41-42 Now there are two translations to Jesus’ response. This one here says, “Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched the man.” The NIV translates Jesus response like this: “Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man.” I prefer this translation. Why? Because Jesus wasn’t indignant that the man asked Jesus is he was willing, as if he wouldn’t be – No, Jesus was indignant, because at the heart of the law of God is mercy. And rather than giving lepers mercy, the religious leaders shut lepers out of life in every way – they could not be with family, they could not come to the temple, they were treated less than human… and this infuriated Jesus. Jesus was indignant that the very people who should be extending mercy to these people – had condemned them to a living death.
This is what Jesus has come to overthrow! His revolutionary love would overthrow the religious insiders, who by their strict application of law had excluded people from the love of God. So with this one loving act: touching the untouchable, and commanding him clean – Jesus sends tremors through the religious community: The untouchable will be touched, the outcast will be included, the unlovely will be loved. With the revolutionary love of Jesus, mercy will rule the day; and anyone who comes to Jesus will find it in HIM.
This is the scandalous love of Jesus. Is He safe? No. But He is good. HE’s the King, I tell you! For He is willing to cleanse anyone who comes to him in faith!
That’s why He is the Hero of Our Story. Is He Yours?
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