Message by Chad Kelly
Introduction
C.S. Lewis
Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God; the proud”¦are in that danger.
Now you may quickly respond ”“ “I”™m not a prostitute or anywhere close to such!”
Probably not”¦and we all want to be clear that we”™re not THAT bad, don”™t we?
But such a response reveals pride in our hearts that wants to minimize our own sinfulness.
But before an absolutely holy God, we ALL””whatever the gory details of our own sin might be””need forgiveness for the unforgivable!
We all need a redemption that we can”™t buy!
The Good News is that there IS redemption through Jesus Christ.
As we continue our study of the Gospel of Mark, I want to look at how Jesus related to others”¦and who He chose to relate to the most.
Because, if we would “follow Jesus”, we must likewise live and relate to others in the same way He did.
Redemptive Relationships
Mark 2:13-17
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
One account from Mark”™s Gospel really sums up what Jesus was pursuing in all of His relationships”¦it”™s the calling of Levi (or Matthew).
13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector”™s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.
15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus”™ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don”™t need a doctor””sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
As if we were in a helicopter, let”™s fly over Mark”™s Gospel and notice the folks Jesus Relates to in Mark”™s Gospel. We won”™t really “land” but just hover over a few places and look around.
1:14-20 ”“ Fishermen (Common Folks””Non-Religious)
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
1:21-28 ”“ Demon-Possessed “Church Member” ”“ such DO exist!
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
1:40-45 ”“ Leper ”“ Indescribably UNCLEAN!
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
2:1-12 ”“ Paralytic ”“ perceived to be more sinful and cursed by God, or paralyzed because of his parents”™ sin.
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
2:13-17 ”“ Tax Collector ”“ utter outcast because of their greed and betrayal of friends and family, all for money! Folks like Levi (Matthew) worked for the occupying Roman Empire and used the authority of the local Roman soldiers to enable them to get rich by collecting far too much tax from their fellow Jews! These guys made the IRS look like Boy Scouts!
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
3:1-6 ”“ Man with Shriveled Hand ”“ again, physical ailments were seen as signs of God”™s curse because of someone in the family”™s sin””either the one with the ailment or their parents.
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
5:1-20 ”“ The Demoniac of the Gerasenes ”“ This madman was eat up with demons! There were enough demons in this guy to send 2,000 pigs off a cliff into the lake and drown.
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
5:21-43 ”“ A Dead Girl and A Woman with Hemorrhaging ”“ While on His way to heal a dying girl, Jesus heals a very UNCLEAN woman, who has hemorrhaged regularly for 12 years. Meanwhile the little girl dies and Jesus goes to that UNCLEAN place of death”¦and raises her to life again!
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
7:24-30 ”“ Daughter of a Greek Woman ”“ Jesus gives grace to a Gentile by casting out an evil spirit from a little girl because her mother trusted that He was God”™s Son. And notice”¦He took care of this evil spirit from a distance””Jesus just told the mother the demon was already gone from her daughter.
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
9:14-27 ”“ Boy with an Evil Spirit ”“ This boy”™s father was desperate for help but wasn”™t even fully convinced that Jesus could help him”¦and yet, Jesus heals because this man trusted all he could at the moment and asked Jesus to help his faith too!
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
10:46-52 ”“ Blind Bartimaeus ”“ a blind beggar! From everyone else”™s perspective, just an irritating part of the everyday landscape in that part of town””a constant nagging for money from Blind Bart, bless his heart. But Blind Bart realizes one thing””this guy that”™s walking by today is no ordinary man”¦He is “the Son of David”, the Messiah, Who brings God”™s mercy to those who need it most!
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
As Jesus Himself said in Mark 2:17:
Healthy people don”™t need a doctor””sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.
Now”¦if Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him, should we not also choose to relate to those who are well aware of their need so that, through our love and witness, they might come to know the only One Who can redeem them?
Yes, we”™re called to fill our lives with redemptive relationships, just like Jesus did.
No, we can”™t redeem anyone”¦but we can introduce them to Jesus Who can”¦and WILL!
WE must intentionally relate to those who, just like we do, need Jesus most!
Conclusion
Mark 10:45 (NLT)
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
C.S. Lewis
God washes the feet of men.
And if God, in the person of Jesus Christ, so served others, so must those of us who call ourselves His followers, His worshipers!
Ronnie McBrayer
Here is what the early church father, Clement of Alexandria said: “Real Christians practice being God.” What does that mean? It means our nature reflects who God is. It means the experiences people have with us, should be the experience they have with God himself. It means that God is made visible and tangible, not with our declarations of truth or reciting of the creeds; God is made visible in us, and in our world, when we love others as he loves them. To follow Christ means we enter into his world ”“ his kingdom ”“ his lifestyle of love.
Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!
Therefore”¦
WE must intentionally relate to those who, just like we do, need Jesus most!
HOW are YOU doing this in your own life?
WHO do you have relationships with?
WHO are you thinking of right now that needs grace but you”™ve avoided?
God is calling you to intentionally relate to THAT person today.
Jesus gave His life for me”¦how can I refuse to give my life away to others so that they may know Him?