Jesus?

Good Morning Church!

Bibles out Mark 6…

Everyone in America knows the name “Jesus Christ”

Common knowledge…”Jesus is the guy from the bible”

United States has…

More churches than any other nation (over 400,000)

More christians than any other nation (67% claims to be Christians)

We possess the most copies of the bible

QUESTION? … WHY DON’T WE SEE THE AFFECTS OF THAT? (look around you…we as a nation certainly don’t look like we know Jesus)

How is the Lord so well know…BUT YET…unseen in the lives of those that know Him?

So that begs the question…Do we as a nation…really know Jesus?

-Its clear that we know His name…

-Its clear we know there is a book written about Him…

BUT DO WE REALLY KNOW HIM (and not just America…the world)

We are going to hopefully answer that question today…

In fact the text this morning is going to actually produce 3 questions…

3 central questions that come out of this text:

-HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT JESUS?

-DO YOU KNOW WHO HE IS (HIS IDENTITY)

-DO YOU BELIEVE IN HIM?

Yall ready???

READ V1-13

SOMETHING IMPORTANT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND BEFORE WE BREAKDOWN THIS TEXT….

The Ministry of Christ…that we are studying here in Mark…and also in Matthew and Luke and John…

This ministry has a purpose…Its a ministry directed to the Jews…TO REVEAL TO THEM THE MESSIAH THEY HAVE BEEN WAITING ON… (this is the BIG PICTURE)

This is the ministry that John the Baptist paved the way for…”BEHOLD the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” (the ultimate sacrifice by the Law of Moses, a prophecy fulfilled)

EVERYTHING JESUS IS DOING IN THE 4 GOSPELS IS TO REVEAL WHO HE IS TO THE JEWS…THE PROMISED MESSIAH

HEAR ME—-Christ died for all (comes to take away the sins of the world)…but this ministry that we are seeing (signs, miracles, apostolic workings and power) has a sole purpose to let the Jews know their Messiah is here

There is a ministry coming to the rest of the world (gentiles) through a guy named Paul…(Paul says that salvation came to the Jews first then to the gentiles…Romans 1:16)

BUT what we are reading here is not that ministry…the ministry we are seeing here is a fulfillment of OT prophecy…

SO we are going to break this text down into 2 sections…

-How these 3 questions impacted the Jews here in Mark (and the other gospels)

-How these 3 questions impact us as the Church today…

SO lets look at our first question…

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT HIM? (V1-2)

Verses 1-2 -they have heard about what Jesus has been doing…miracles….they are now hearing His teaching with authority

THIS HAS BEEN THE MISSION OF CHRIST’S MINISTRY…

NOTICE! IN verse 7—The sending of the 12 apostles…

The Mission is the same:

-He gives them the ability to do signs and miracles…To continue to reach the Jews with these signs and miracles on behalf of Christ…to show the Jews that Christ is MESSIAH!!

They are running around telling people…We were given the power to do this work by Jesus who is the Messiah

They are sharing the testimony they have witness (we have to as we have read in Mark)

NOTICE Sends them 2 by 2…why?

John 8:17 “It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.” (Deut. 19:15)

Its the same for us today…

We as Christ followers are to GO and proclaim Christ…

To preach (herald) the gospel…SO THAT PEOPLE WILL HEAR

Romans 10:14-18 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

Nothing is supposed to prohibit us as proclaimers from proclaiming…right?!?!

Look at what He tells the apostles…”don’t take provisions, food, money…not even an extra coat…throw them sandals on and GO”

Don’t worry about survival…I am with you…I am supporting you…I will hold you up…GO

ALL IN THE WORLD MUST HEAR ABOUT JESUS…

We are to share the Gospel…

Share the testimony of how Jesus radically altered our lives…made us brand new…

Just like the apostles are doing here…telling the Jews…OUR MESSIAH HAS COME!!!

So they (these people in Nazareth) have heard of Jesus…heard of His works…BUT do they know Him?

DO YOU KNOW HIM? (V3-4)

Our second question…

V 3-4 READ

This is Jesus’s hometown…He grew up here

These people of Nazareth know Jesus after the flesh…

The carpenter….

Son of Mary…Brother of James, Joses, Juda, and Simon…

They know His name…who His “relatives” are…BUT DO THEY KNOW HIS TRUE IDENTITY…

AND WHEN HE REVEALS IT TO THEM…THEY ARE OFFENDED BY IT!!!!

Lets look at the parallel verse to this in…

John 6:42 “The Jews then murmured at Him, because He said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that He says, I came down from heaven?”

They don’t know His true identity…

They know Him as the boy from Nazareth…

BUT DO THEY KNOW THAT…

-He was prophesied about in the scriptures (OT) (in every single book)

-That He was virgin born…

-That He is the Son of God…”This is MY SON”

-That He is the Lamb of God…come to remove the sins of the world

-Do they know that HE IS GOD…THE LORD ALMIGHTY IN THE FLESH

-The promised King of Kings….the Lord of all!!!

That He will sit at the right hand of the throne…and His enemies will be made His footstool

YOU SEE THE PEOPLE OF NAZARETH THINK THEY KNOW JESUS…BUT THEY DON’T…

They don’t know His true identity…EVEN WHEN THEY HEARD OF HIS WORKS…THEY ARE HEARING HIM TEACH WITH AUTHORITY…

THEY STILL DON’T KNOW HIM…

Church…

Its no different today…

Millions of people in this country…they know of Jesus…BUT they don’t KNOW JESUS!!!

(and I am focused on the USA because this is where we live…this is our mission field)…

There are millions who don’t know Him…and i know your mind automatically goes to the lost…(the atheists)

BUT Hear this…there are “church buildings” full of people all over this country…

That don’t truly know that Jesus is God in flesh…the Lamb come to take on your sin…

Jesus is speaking here in Mark 6…to RELIGIOUS PEOPLE!! (Who go to synagog every week, who tithe, who sacrifice, who follow the Law of God)

Illustration: (youtube video…NYC…”who is Jesus”…shocking responses…obviously by unsaved…MORE shocking was by people who claimed to know Him)

(they would say…He is Gods Son…thats it???…A prophet…a holy man…an angel sent by God…)

I heard another story from a brother here in Indiana…who is filling the pulpit at a church thats been around for over 60 years…

He preached a few weeks ago that “Jesus is Lord and the only way to eternal life is through Him”…someone who has been at the church for 50 years asked him “you don’t really believe that do you?? Thats hard to hear!”

They certainly know His name…They know He is a character in the bible…some even believe He came from heaven…

Most of these people go to church…some every Sunday…they lead good lives…they donate…they probably even own a few bibles…

BUT THEY DON’T KNOW HIM…

AND LOOK WHAT JESUS says about people who know His name…know His origins…but don’t truly KNOW HIM…

Matthew 7:22-23“Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? and in Your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity.”

You never knew me…and because of that… I never knew you…

HOW TO KNOW HIM?

He comes to Nazareth…and gives His word…

We as Christian’s followers…we know Him through His word…

The Word of God is everything…

It’s Living and breathing…its perfect…

And shows us the true identity and character and grace and mercy of a holy and righteous God

It gives us truth…it is truth…

And when we read it…it shows us freedom from sin and death in Jesus…

It is the Lord communicating with His children…

We know Him through His word…

After you KNOW HIM…and I mean truly KNOW HIM…KNOW HIS IDENTITY…

Not just as a historical man…

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5- “though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now hereafter know we Him no more.”

But who He truly is…

AS LORD ALMIGHTY…AS SAVIOR…AS THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS…

The final question is…

DO YOU BELIEVE IN HIM? (V5-6)

READ V5-6

Jesus marveled at their unbelief

marveled at their rejection of Him…

They have heard about Him…

He has revealed His true identity to them…

But they don’t understand…they don’t believe…

AND LISTEN THATS ON THEM…

They have been presented with truth… they heard…and they rejected…

And there is judgment coming for those who reject… (verse 11-13)

As the church today…

Our job is not to male them believe…

Our role is to ask people we come in to contact with…

Whether they attend a “church” or not…

These 3 questions…

-Have you heard the gospel? (heard about what Jesus did?) (1 Cor 15:1-4)

-Do you know Him? (do you understand the gospel?)

-Do you believe in Him? (do you believe in the gospel?)

You might not need to go past the first question…they may answer questions 2 and 3 while answering question 1…

(if this happens…GREAT!…then you can rejoice together as brothers and or sisters in Christ!)

But Paul says in 1 Corinthians that he sowed the seed of the gospel…and Apollos (another gospel worker there…watered that seed)

We don’t know who has had the gospel seed sowed in their ears and if that seed has been watered…

So we inquire…(when you do it might shock you…who doesn’t truly know Jesus)

And if we need to sow a new seed we sow…if we need to water…we water….

And if rejection comes we move on to the next field…

LETS PRAY!