THE THREE RESPONSES TOWARDS CHRIST
MARK
3:7-12
Text:
Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from
Galilee followed; and also from
Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the
Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of
all that He was doing and came to Him. 9 And He told His
disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that
they would not crowd Him; 10 for He had healed many, with the
result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch
Him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall
down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” 12 And He
earnestly warned them not to tell who He was.
INTRODUCTION
When Jesus began His ministry, He faced many pressures of life.
A) The Religious Leaders who sought to find fault in Him and later to
kill Him.
B) The Crowds who were constantly
coming to Him to be healed, day and night.
C) His Disciples who needed to be
mentored and trained properyly.
D) His Family, including His
mother and earthly brothers and sisters who wanted to visit with Him.
E) The Devil who opposed and
hindered His work.
So here Jesus retreats to be alone with His disciples, for R&R, rest
and recreation, to feed his soul, focus on His Father, and regain a prespective
of what things are important and what things are not important.
Every believer needs to find time alone with God to find nourishment for
his soul and to discover power from above.
Every believer needs a Quiet Time (QT) wih God.
Elijah by the Brook Cherish for quiet meditation.
TITLE OF MESSAGE
THE THREE RESPONSES TTOWARDS
JESUS
In our passage we see three kinds of people: the Committed, the Curious,
and the Condemned - the 3 C's.
v. 7, "Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples."
Exccpt fo Judas Iscariot, the disciples were committed to the cause of
Christ. They followed Christ for three
years and were by His side the whole time.
They were not just believers, they were followers.
The need today is for Christians not only to believe in Him, which is a
good start, but to commit to Him.
God is Lord and Master. He has
the right to demand your commitment to Him.
Nothing less will please Him.
The Lord demands commitment to personal holiness.
Be holy as God is holy.
Be holy as Christ is pure.
Be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Commitment to holiness without which no man will see the Lord.
In the days of Cavalry soldiers had to have clean swords. Remove every blemish, spot, dirt, grim,
filth.
We are a sword, and a clean sword is mighty before God.
2. The Curious
v. 7, "and a great multitude from Galilee followed."
They came from all over:
v. 8, "from Jerusalem, and
from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon,"
They did not come to follow Christ.
They came either to be healed.
v. 10, "for He had healed
many." They came far and wide just
to be healed; not to know the truth, to be saved, or to follow the Master. They came for healing.
I like what B.B. Warfield, Professor of Princeton Seminary
commented: Jesus made His home at
Capernaum, so many healed in His hometown.
Word spread, so people from all over, travelling hundreds of miles would
come to be healed, as He was known as a Healer.
That is why people came from Idumea, Tyre and Sidon.
I remember a time there was a famous and colorful faith-healer in Baguio
City, Philippines, named Jun Labo. Many
foreigners came to see him in Baugio to be healed. In our account, many came as well from far
lands to be healed in Capernaum.
Jesus healed all kinds of sicknesses to show His power over
sicknesses.
Here we see Christ's power over the natural world; in the next section
we will see His power over the supernatural world.
v. 7, "and a great multitude followed." Crowds do not prove an effective
ministry. Many cults and false religions
can draw crowds, but their ministry before God is not effective.
Jesus healed them to show He is God.
Man could not heal in those days with primitive medicine, primitive
instruments, and primitive knowledge. So
if a man healed had to be God.
Today, many say, "In the name of the Lord I heal you." Jesus never had to say this becaue He is
Lord. .
v. 11, "Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down
before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!”
In the audience were unclean spirits.
Jesus cast them out to show His power over demons and the power of
darkness.
Jesus has power over the physical and spiritual world, the natural and
the supernatural world.
Notice tha the demons declared to Jesus, "You are the Son of
God!” The demons knew who Jesus is.
John MacArthur makes a comment that in his study of the book of Mark, no
Jew ever called Jesus "Son of God."
John MacArthur observed that in three occasions Jesus is called the
"Son of God."
A). Mark 1:11. At Jesus' baptism God the Father says,
"You are my Beloved Son, in You I am well ;pleased."
B) Mark 3:11 (our text). The demons cry out to Jesus, "You are the Son of God."
C) Mark 15:39, "When the
centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His
last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God!'”
No Jew confessed Jesus was the Son of God in the book of Mark. This is paramount to saying that in general,
the Jewish nation rejected Jesus as God, Messiah, and Savior. There were few exceptions, but in general, a
great majority rejected Jesus Messiahship and Lordship.
Why? What I believe. Jews try to obtain righteousness by adherence
to the Law. Jesus said righteousness is
by faith in Him.
Jews sought human righteousness; God demands Christ's righteousness.
The same is true today. Few Jews
saved because they seek salvation by human righteousness.
Future of Satan?
Rev. 20:10, "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and
they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
v. 10, "for He had healed many, with the result that all those who
had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him."
Many healed. Many touched Him and
were healed.
As a pastor, many come to me to ask for prayer for healing.
There are two kinds of healing prayer: selfish, man-focused prayer; and
Kingdom-focused, God-centered prayer.
What is the difference?
If you are sick and simply want to be healed, that is selfish,
man-focused prayer. I refuse to pray
that prayer. All they want is to be
healed; nothing more. I will nolt pray
healing for them.
The prayer I pray for the sick is Kingdom prayer. In this prayer there are three requirements:
A) The sick person (or his/her
family) must admit they want healing.
Some do not want healing. No need
to pray for healing if they do not desire it.
B) The sick perosn (or his/her
family) must have "faith in God" (Mark 11:22), and continue to have
faith in God for healing.
C) After the healing the sick
person with his or her family must: a) thank God for healing; b) tell others
how that sick person was healed (testifying); and c) follow Christ. If the sick person and his/her family is not
willing to thank God for healing, testify to others of God's healing power; and
follow the Lord, then the healing prayer is selfish and man-centered.
Last invitation in Bible found in last chapter.
Rev. 22:17b (KJV), "And whosoever will, let him take the water of
life freely."
Come to Him, drink of Him.
He alone can quench your thirst.
He
alone is the anchor for your perishing soul.
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