“Amazed!”
Mark 6:1-6
St. John’s – East Moline 07/23/06
Intro.: A
couple of weeks ago Judi invited me to go with her to the Moline Target store,
which has been undergoing a major renovation.
As we were driving into the parking lot she turned to me and asked, “Are
you prepared to be amazed!” When I went
in I didn’t recognize anything; it did not even look like the same store.
There are so many things in life that can amaze
us - from the stunning special effects of a fast paced movie on the big screen to
the glorious beauty of a peaceful sunset; from a courageous act of heroism to a
cold-blooded act of horror; and from the enthusiastic activity of a new
believer in Christ to the apathetic lifestyle of one who have grown weary and
rejected His place in their lives.
The Gospel which we just heard is filled
with amazing things for us to ponder, today; things both good and bad. So prepare to be amazed! As our Gospel begins…
I.
The People Were Amazed. (vv. 1-3a)
A. Jesus’ hometown folk were amazed at what He
had been doing. They heard the reports
about him, and how a woman had been healed of a disease that had afflicted her
for over twelve years by simply touching the hem of his cloak in faith. They heard how he had comforted with a
promise the synagogue ruler when he was informed that his daughter had died,
and how He then demonstrating his power as the very Son of God by raising that
child from the dead. They were amazed
that the one they had known from childhood, the little boy of Mary and Joseph,
and the one who they saw working as a simple carpenter in their town could do such
things.
They were also amazed by the things he
taught in the synagogue, about a God who despises self-righteousness and loves
to show mercy. They were amazed when He
told them that He was the promised one who would fulfill the messianic hopes of
all people, and the one who would give sight to the blind, make the lame walk,
and set free those who were held in bondage.
They asked each other, “Where did this guy come by these
things? Where did He get this
wisdom, and the power to do such things?
Isn’t this man the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of
James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? And
aren’t his sisters here with us?” They
were amazed that Jesus could and would do and say the things He did.
B. Aren’t we still amazed at the things Christ
does and teaches? Aren’t we amazed at
what He has done? As God He chose to
become man, to be born of the virgin Mary, and to live
and die for us. He showed us His great
love for us when he called us His friends, and laid down his life for us upon
the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. True to His promise He then rose from the dead
on the third day to give us the victory over death and the devil. Aren’t we amazed at what He still does for us
by providing for all our daily needs, saying “ask whatever (we) need in (his)
name and it will be given unto (us)”, and comforting us with His presence,
saying, “I will not abandon you, Lo I will be with you always to the very end
of the age”.
Aren’t we amazed at His teaching which
comes to us through the Holy Spirit speaking to us through the Word? He teaches us that none of us are righteous
and acceptable to God on the basis of our own goodness, but that He has offers
us salvation as a free gift. He teaches
us that we are forgiven and reconciled to God through faith in His holy life
and sacrificial death, so that we may be coheirs with Him of heaven. He teaches us that because He has risen and
lives we are also given new spiritual lives now, and that our bodies will rise
to live with Him for eternity. He
teaches us about a new birth into His family in baptism, and of a life-giving
eating and drinking of His blood in the sacrament of the Altar. He teaches us about the
II. Christ Was Amazed At How The People
Reacted. (vv. 3b-6)
A. In our lesson the people were truly amazed at
what Jesus did and taught, but rather than the amazement of faith it was
actually the astonishment of unbelief.
Our lesson says that they were offended, or from the Greek scandalized,
at Him. Jesus said to them, “Only in his
hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor,”
and he was amazed at their lack of faith.
B. What about us? Might Christ be amazed at what we do with Him
in our lives; amazed with the way we treat all He has done for us, and the way
we respond to all He has taught us?
Perhaps like the people of Jesus hometown
we have lost sight of who Jesus truly is and what that
means for us. We have grown so
comfortable with ourselves and our daily lives in the world, that Christ is no
longer honored among us.
At our district convention a couple of
weeks ago, we heard from the bishop of the Lutheran Church in Latvia about the lives
of our brothers and sisters who lived under oppression; how they would risk
losing everything, and subject themselves to torture, imprisonment, and even
death just for the opportunity of worshipping God in Christ, and sharing their
faith with others. In hearing this I
found a story of one such man who after being taught about the love of His
Savior, Jesus Christ, spend every moment of every day telling everyone he knew
about his Lord and friend. The result
was that the authorities cut off his lips, his tongue and his chin. They did not want him to speak of Jesus
anymore, but now his disfigured face was a constant witness of God’s love in
Christ, and His love for His Savior.
Everyone who saw him was amazed!
This man’s torture prevented Him from telling the good news about Jesus
the way He once had, but what about us?
What is our excuse? It’s not a
lack of lip, or tongue, or chin? It’s
that too often, like the people of Jesus hometown, we are a rebellious, obstinate
and stubborn people, “the chief prophet, Jesus Christ, has been among us,” and
He has been amazed at our response.
C. Too often, like the people of our Gospel,
some of us view Jesus more as a stumbling block, than the rock of our
salvation. Like the people in our Gospel
we can’t get past our earthbound thinking to be amazed at God’s grace. We see Jesus more as a scandalon,
someone who gets in the way of what we want, than as the one who frees and
empowers us to be the children of God.
Within Christendom the cross is an offense to many, and they are ashamed
of the Gospel. Isn’t it amazing that a
people so blessed and so loved by God, can think so little of the one who has
redeemed their lives, who has given himself as a ransom to purchase them from
death for eternal life, who daily through His Word and
Sacraments showers His love and mercy upon them? No doubt, Christ is amazed with such people
and their lack of faith. The worst part
of it all is that such unbelief and rejection can deprive us of His
blessings.
In our Gospel Jesus had come to the people
with an open hand to distribute His goodness to them. But the reception He received shut off the
people from His gifts. As our lesson
says, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick
people and heal them.” Unbelief, slaps
away the hand of God when it reaches out to bless us. Unbelief, and rejecting Christ in our lives,
is the sin of sins, because it rejects what God so willingly offers us in
Jesus. More amazing than our lack of
faith and commitment to Christ though is that He continues to deal with us
according to His amazing grace.
III. Amazed At God’s Grace.
A. My dear friends, prepare to
be amazed, as the Lord comes to you today with the Good News of His ongoing
love and commitment toward you. No
matter what you have done or how far you have wandered away from Him, He comes
for you. No matter how you have
responded to Him in the past or how you have treated Him, He still reaches out
His hand filled with both temporal and eternal blessings.
Praise God, that
in the midst of our weaknesses Jesus gives us strength, and continues to work
his goodness in our lives. He knows our
rebellious hearts and yet He continues to send his message of love and
forgiveness. He reaches out those nail
scarred hands and blesses us with life and salvation. When we are weak He is strong!
B. I assure you that as long as you have breath
in you, He will not give up on you. Today, tomorrow and as long as it takes He
will keep on pleading with you: “Be
turned my dear one. Receive the gifts I
offer you and be mine forever. Come and follow me!
In
His mercy He calls out to you: ”Don’t be offended by the simple
water, the plain bread and wine, or the common word. These are my amazing gifts to wash away your
sins, to feed you my body and blood of forgiveness, and to bring you faith and
salvation.”
The good news is that even when we are
faithless, He will remain faithful.
Concl.: Isn’t the
love of God in Christ an amazing thing! Amen.