When Opposites Attract .1

Mark 15:33- 41. 33.Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”35.Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” 36Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”37And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.38Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that [g]He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”40There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, 41who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

The phrase “when opposite attract” is oh too familiar to us. When you see two people in a relationship that are, seeming, two polar opposites, yet, they’re in love- Instinctively, we credit this to the idea that “opposites can attract”.. One psychologist puts it like this, “There’s no denying the idea that there’s something in us drawn to people who counter our dominant’s inclination with complimentary tendencies. While these differences can create challenges in a friendship and partner relationship, these differences are the source to building “chemistry”.. It is because of this inclination to be attracted/ drawn to, or desire to understand those who are different than us that we sometimes find ourselves asking questions like, “how did they get together?” “How did they become friends?”… see, we ask these questions because, even though we can be drawn to people different than us, we are more prone to flock to others that we think are most like us. This is true, no matter where you go.. this is because in our fallen human state, we are prone to pre-judge people based on certain external realities, We also see this prejudice at play when reading the bible.. There are 4 gospels depicting the life of Christ.. Each written with their own purpose, intention.

*Matthew- Jesus is Messiah, of the lineage of David. The reason for the long geneology

*Mark- Jesus is the suffering Servant. He is the one Isaiah said in 52 & 53 that will suffer/cross

*Luke- Salvation is in Jesus.. women.. “the gospel of womanhood”

*John- Jesus is God in flesh.. 90% different than the other 3 gospels. Synoptic “able to see together” (john 10:30

What is shocking to me is, while every gospel writer had their own intention when writing, they all were trying to answer this one question, “who is this Jesus”?.. And all attempted to write against the prejudice of their day. Because The people who you think would get the answer, didn’t.. & those who man thought wouldn’t get the answer, got the answer.. Let me say it again, another way, those that grew up in church, the religious leaders, the 2nd & 3rd generation apostolic, those who had the law down to a T, they missed the answer.. they didn’t get it.. the blind man got the revelation, a fisher man, A woman with an issue of blood, a crippled.. the humble servants, those people that were overlooked, outcasted, talked about, deemed unworthy, those are the people whom Jesus revealed himself to.

The life of Christ shows us that, while in 2022, were still so easily drawn to those we think fit the part of what is a good Christian, what is a good person, who is more like me, Jesus.. get this.. Jesus, was drawn to those whom the religious community of his day, cast out & looked over..

The greater Irony of this is.. the religious leaders are trying to figure out who Jesus is, even though God had already confirmed who he is. Whatchu talking about preacher?.. Yall remember Jesus’ baptism? In Matt 3:13-17, it said when John baptized Jesus, the heavens opened up, the spirit descendant like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my son, whom I love & am well pleased”.. while I don’t have time nor the assignment today to break this scripture down, as some wrongfully think this is an example of the trinity, in short, what it is is God himself confirming the incarnation & the human ministry of Jesus. Yet, many didn’t listen.. Be careful looking for answers that God already gave..be careful when you hear the preach word & you know in your spirit that it’s for you but you ignore it. If you truly have the holy spirit in you, since one of the ministry’s of the Holy Spirit is to convict..be careful when God’s spirit is convicting you and telling you what you’re doing is wrong but you ignore it… Jesus only goes to the cross because the religious leaders failed to listen & take heed to what God said. GET THIS- THIS IS IMPORTANT…The easiest way to crucify christ in your life is for you to ignore what he has already said & did. The bible tells us to pick up our cross & follow Christ because we are to die to self.. but when the reverse happens, not only are you declaring christ to follow you but you’re declaring that God is not alive in your life.

So, when you get to a place where you say, “Im doing everything I know to do, but im still not happy, im still not where I want to be.. my heart is still heavy, my mind is all over the place, I take one step forward & get knocked back two.. when you find yourself in this place, ask yourself, “am I crucifying God in any area of my life”?.. you cannot prosper in your life, while God suffers in your life. The bible tells us that were joint heirs with God. Think of it like, you’re joined at the hip with God. Not just with God but with his mission. In fact, the picture that comes to my mind is that of “Siamese twins”.. twins that are born, physically join together. When you say you’re going to follow Christ, you agree to a co-joined relationship with him. Meaning where you go, he go, & where his will goes, you go.

In our text, Jesus has entered the final portion of his ministry. We have the privilege of looking back some 2 thousand+ years later & we can say he had a successful 3 year run in ministry. Or, even, a successful life, after all, he was God in flesh. But would people of his time would have thought? Maybe, some thought he was someone who could’ve been a great man, had he not got caught up with the wrong crowd.. Maybe people were thinking, he could have had a bright future, had he just listened to authority… Jesus is on a cross, in Agony, unspeakable pain.. & someone gave him, a sponge with wine to quinch his thirst.. Let me say it again, in a different way, Jesus is struggling, and someone gave him something to comfort him as he struggle. Some people still didn’t get it, It’s easier to comfort someone in their struggle than it is to help lessen their struggle. The person who would’ve given him the drink would’ve been a centurion who had the means to help more but, he knew if he did more, it would’ve gotten him in trouble. Were only willing to help someone to the extent it hurts us. If were being honest, there are people in all our lives, whom, we will send up a prayer for, but we wont meet their financial need. There are people struggling in our lives, we’ll pray for them, but for some, praying is a lot easier than a phone call. Checking up on them.. We’ve been told that, to help someone until it hurts is unhealthy. But, if were going to follow the model of Jesus, he helped us until it literally killed him.

But the text says that, after Jesus was given the wine, they said “leave him alone, lets see if Elijah will come help”.. in others words, lets see if he can get out this situation without our help. In a lot, or most situations, you have the person who needs help, then you have the onlookers who can provide some level of help. In both cases, both parties are often confused about their role in that situation. In the one scenario, you have the person whom, life itself has nailed you the cross. You’re not at the cross willingly. If you could be anywhere else, you would gladly be there. From your kids getting on your nerves, job worries, health, relationship issues, you are at the point of saying what Jacob said, “all these things are against me”.. YET, you are allergic to help. Just the thought of thinking you cant handle something by yourself sends you into a depression. Whoever you are, I am about to free you right now…There’s only one person who has ever walked this earth that needed no help… his name is, Jesus. The bible teaches he was God in flesh & God needs no help.. Tell your neighbor. God needs no help.. . In the other scenario mentioned, regarding the onlookers who can help. Sometimes we don’t help because we’ve been conditioned in our society that people should learn to pull their own self up by their boot straps & that God help those who help themselves.. So, instead of helping someone, we’d let them suffer. This is a very popular thinking in today’s church world. It’s also, I think, one of the most unbiblical views held today. Not only does the bible not teach this, rather, The bible teaches the exact opposite that God helps the helpless.

It's clear that the individual who helped Jesus, was not aware of Jesus’ teachings. But, that’s not all we get from the text. Normally, when reading this portion of text, we mention how the veil was torn then read right over one of the most important text in this part of scripture. V39, it says, when the centurion, who stood opposite him, saw the way Jesus cried, he said Truly this man was the Son of God”.. To really appreciate what is going on here, I have to give you some context. Let me teach just a little..During the time of the Great Roman Empire, which the apostles lived, there was a man that had titles such as “Son of God” “God incarnate” “Savior of the world”. These titles existed prior to Jesus. Rather, they were given to the Emperor Ceasar Agustus. Not because he rose from the dead, not because he healed the blind, but because, he ended the 20 year civil war in Rome. When he won the war, he took on the title as savior of the world because he saved Rome. He was called the God of peace because he brought peace to the Rome. Part of Roman religion was to worshipp him. All Romans recognized him at the son of God. It was written on their silver coins… Why is all this relevant? Some time later, another person comes on the scene and says he is the son of God. He is God incarnate. Jesus is not just saying he’s the jewish Messiah, rather, he is the one true God, over all humans. As a Roman, this is disrespectful. To them Ceasar restored Rome, Ceasar brought peace, yet, Jesus did none of that yet he is stealing these divine title from our Emperor. So, for a Roman, in fact a Roman centurion. To be a centurion, that is a military title and you’re in charge of a unit of 80 men. You’re even more patriotic & dedicated to Rome than a lot others. A jew to Rome was like a second class citizen. On top of that, a crazy man he thinks he is God. Everything about this general’s life & upbringing has told him to despise the Jew. To look down on the jew. To see them as unworthy. But, something happened to this military general.. as he see Jesus on the cross, sees his endurance, see his pain, the bible said he stood “opposite him”.. Other translations say he stood “near” “close to” or something, this is because, to stand opposite of someone, is to stand next to them. Furthermore, in context, opposite has a two-fold meaning. For the centurion to stand opposite of Jesus, yes it’s referring to his physical position next to Jesus but it also refers to his perception of Jesus. The closer he got to the cross of Jesus, the closer he got to the Agony of Jesus, the closer he got to the man, his perception changed. He challenged years & years of stereotypes because of one encounter with the person he was actually stereotyping.

Famous Psychotherapist Steve De Shazor said this, “Where you stand determines what you see and what you do not see; it determines also the angle you see it from; a change in where you stand changes everything.”..

Who are you standing opposite to that you fail to see them?

*When you’re at a basketball game, even with the monitor, its hard to see that foul when you’re in the nose bleed section, but if you got floor seats, you can see if that foul was legitimate. A lot of our issues is, we wont take a floor seat to someone we judged.

We wont allow our perspective change… It is all too easy to judge someone when you’re standing far from them.. It’s easy to talk about & judge someone who missed a few church services if you don’t stand opposite of them.

to stand opposite, it is more than just empathy. It is sharing space with someone you don’t understand, someone who don’t understand you & even someone you hate. To stand opposite is to allow your perspective to change..

if you look at the data, you’ll see that church attendance is down all over, before covid. I am convinced that it is because as Christians, we are trying to evangelize a world we don’t speak to or interact with.. Everyone knows what we’re against, but very few know what were for.

The most commonly used word in scripture that details jesus’ mood is compassion & its not simply just an emotional state where you pray & cry, though that can be included, but to be moved with compassion, is to take steps to reduce someone else’ pain… It is to see someone hurting, someone suffering, someone whose life is completely upside down & say, how can I bring stability to them? How can I help them? How can I reduce their suffering!

John said, if you have (this world’s goods) resources, & see you brother in need, but shut your heart from him, how can the love of God dwell in you? For some of us, God hasn’t enlarged our territory because we have no compassion. We have no testimony of being there for someone when they needed it the most!

(mrk 2:13-17) The bible tells us how Jesus saw Levi/known as Matthew, then told him to follow him.. next we read that Jesus is in Mark’s house where they had a dinner & sinners & tax collectors were there. The religious folk started to pop off & say, why are you sitting with tax collectors & sinners. Isnt it interesting that tax collectors & sinners are in two different categories? Yet, both are in opposition to the pharisees? By sinners, they are outside of God’s law but what of tax collectors? Back then, tax collectors could be a jew & even though they’re part of God’s people, they would be descrimiated against because they were viewed as saleouts..

See today, the tax collectors are the people that, yes they may be saved, but you put up with them. You don’t necessarily like them. They don’t collect taxes from you, but maybe they collect energy from you. Maybe they collect frustration from you! They’re not sinners but to you, their behavior get you so bothered that they’re right next to sinners!

Opposites, people you can stand because they always want something..Opposites..

Here’s what’s more interesting in this story, Jesus calls Matthew, tells him to follow him, then they go to Matthew’s house.. Let me say it again in a different way, Jesus told Matthew (new convert or arguably, not fully converted) to follow him, only, to follow Matthew to a dinner party.. get this… with SINNERS….see, today, because were so religious, we have said that Jesus went there to be evangelistic.. but Jesus does not tell a parable, no wise words, no sermon, no miracle, no mentioned of the Kingdom at all.. The destination is not the highlight of that story..the highlight of the story is, The creator is following behind someone!..Jesus is there because he’s setting the example that, to follow him is to chase after the opposites..

Opposite, who are you standing opposite to, what opposite are you attracting? How close are to someone that’s different than you?

The centurion man, who hated Jesus. Worshiped the roman son of God, stood opposite of Jesus, saw his pain and said, “surely! he was The son of God”.. The centurion came to the revelation of the son of God because.. what is true then, & still true now.. regardless of race, class, & age, one thing we all have in common. One thing that connects all of us, is PAIN! This can be seen throughout all human history.

Up until 1941,before the Holocaust, the official German policy was to encourage the jew to leave by making life for them hard. They couldn’t work in certain professions, couldn’t rent or own homes in most towns, nor keep money in the bank. This created a worldwide immigration & refugee problem. Millions of Jews were welcomed nowhere & could not be assimilated anywhere. Even the United Stated denied refugees entrance citing economic concerns of the great depression & immigration quotas. No country, besides Dominican republican would welcome the jew. However, in time, as the inhumane treatment against the jew increase, democratic countries started to forego their quotas to allow the refugees to enter.. as “it became too inhumane to ignore” says a historian.

Let me bring it home, On may 2, 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama over 1,000 black students skipped school to formulate what became known as the “Children’s march”.. They marched for desegregation. And, on this day, the local police unleashed dogs on them. Beat them with club and sprayed them down with water hose. Fortunately, all of this was caught on tape by the media. And, for the first time ever, many non-black homes were able to see, on t.v the vile mistreatment of African Americans. It is after this event that many historians agree is what moved the then President John F. Kennedy, to support civil rights law.. in other words, he stood opposite of those he thought less than..

Opposite.. when you dare to get close to those who are different.

[please stand, bow your heads]

in our text, there were women (followers of Jesus) looking afar, while they stood afar, the centurion, had to get close.. sometimes, you just have to see it for yourself.. Hagar in the bible, was a runaway slave. She had an encounter with God in the dessert. This encounter caused her to be the first person to ever dare to give God a name. That’s right, an Egyptian slave girl. She was of no stature. She was a nobody. She called Him, in Hebrew, “EL ROI”… “The God who Sees ME” Can I tell you something today.. God sees you.. you may be insignificant to someone else.. To your friends, family, but God sees you..

right now, every head bowed, eyes closed, I want you to open your hand.. Imagine you’re holding the hand of someone you wish you knew how the help.. Imagine you’re holding the hands of someone you wished helped you. Someone, who you never got the chance to stand opposite to, to understand them.. maybe they died, maybe they walked out.. now squeeze that hand..squeeze it like you mean it.. and for a few minutes, begin to pray for that hand.. Maybe this isn’t about who you treated like an outcaste but who treated you like one.. if so, pray for yourself