The Work of Jesus

Home projects are inevitable in this world. The places we live are not designed to last forever and in some cases the changing treads cause us to update and repurpose space in our homes. When it comes to a home project, the key to a successful renovation of a room is proper planning. I am finishing the 3rd floor/attic of our home currently. The first step I took was to spend a day measuring, calculating, and planning what the space would need to be used as a play room/guest room. After spending much time and thought on it, and being a smart husband the Holy Spirit, my wife, guided me in the process. Then I made a list of what would be needed to cut down on seventy trips to Home Depot. Finally I recruited help and got started with the insulation, drywall, and electrical work. What is interesting is my time alone was driven by a mission to have a useable space. My time alone also drove me to mission, working on the attic. And in working on completing my mission I recruited help. Some of the help is great but some of the help questions what I have planned all along the way. My mission is misunderstood, and often times I spend more time overseeing and correcting my friends help than do getting the work done. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this.

It’s simple, a mission leads to planning, which leads to executing with help. The mission is often misinterpreted by others and so course correction is needed. And from this simple home improvement story we can reach a connection with the mission of Jesus, the executing of the mission, and the misunderstandings that Jesus experiences.

This morning God has revealed to us 3 important keys to Jesus ministry, which makes them 3 important keys for us in our ministry. First, Jesus cannot extend himself outward in mission without first spending time with the one who is the source of his mission, namely, the Father. Second, Time with the Father compels Jesus outward in mission. Finally, there is great misunderstanding concerning the work of Jesus.

Mark 1:35–39 ESV

35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

The Work of Jesus is Internal

Jesus rose while it was still dark out to go and pray in a desolate place. Jesus knew that time with the Father was primary. It makes sense, from the first command of having no other god’s before our heavenly Father, to the great command Jesus speaks of loving the lord our God with all our heart soul mind and strength. The greatest joy and duty Jesus is given is being with the Father.

Because you and I read scripture from our cultural perspective we can sometimes miss nuanced details in the bible. For instance, the desolate place that Jesus went to. It is the same word for wilderness that describes the place where Jesus was tempted by Satan in verse 12 of this chapter in Mark. John also appeared baptizing from the wilderness. And his baptism was one of repentance.

The wilderness in Mark is already represented as a place of communion with God, restoration with God and standing tall for the mission of God. Jesus went to this same place to pray.

What is prayer? What is the prayers Jesus prayed?

The most infamous prayer of Jesus, which is a teaching time for the disciples, is the Lord’s Prayer...

Matthew 6:9–13 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Matthew 6:9-

Prayer is in its simplest form communication with God. A time to talk to and listen to God. And Jesus’ prayers, the few we have record of are amazing to read and process. For a small moment we get a glimpse of what the relationship was like for Jesus and his father.

1. Jesus prayers were the first to call God Father.

2. Jesus prayers were centered on the will of God being accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.

3. Jesus prayers always saw God as the one who provided everything.

How can we be like Jesus in prayer?

Martin Luther is known for saying, “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”

The best gauge for how we are doing at following Jesus is the consistency and dependency we display through prayer.

Our internal work is the evidence of how dependent on Christ we are verses how dependent upon ourselves we are.

I think of my kids when I get home from the office. When dad walks in the door, I get a laundry list of what has happened what they hope to do and that they are glad to see me. Perhaps an even better example is the text messages and phone calls and small communications throughout the day that my wife and I have. There is a dependency upon one another and a genuine care to ensure that each of us is on the same page as we move forward with following Jesus, leading a family, and balancing all the responsibilities our family has.

But those times of communicating lead to more than just talk. Times of communication with God and with my family always lead to action. Just like Jesus times of prayer always lead to accomplishing the mission for which God sent His Son to this earth.

The Work of Jesus is External

Jesus knew that time alone with God lead to the fulfillment of something more. He was not sent to spend all his time in the wilderness communing with God. If the goal for Christ was to be one with the Father, then the son should have never humbled himself taking the form of a servant, becoming obedient to the point of death. His humiliation means that he left the fullness of what he was, which included oneness with the father uninterrupted by anything. But as we know from the bible, Jesus was sent not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

In the words of the book of

Mark 1:14 ESV

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,

Mark 1:14–15 ESV

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus came to preach, to declare the gospel.

Mark 1:38 ESV

38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

Mark

What did

This verse is just a little ways removed from the opening of the book yet the context of the first chapter is highly important.

For us, we need to recognize that the goal for Jesus was declaring the good news, he did not come to work miracles for miracles sake. They are a testimony to who Jesus is and what He is declaring. Jesus didn’t come to heal the sick, but rather heals the sick to declare what the gospel does. The gospel undoes all the wrongs and pains sin causes, whither it happens in this life or the life to come.

The Gospel is:

The Gospel is the good news of the Kingdom of God that has come through Jesus.  Jesus is the Christ, the one and only Son of God. Jesus lived in perfect obedience, dying on the cross taking the punishment we deserve for sin, satisfying God’s anger, and adopting us into his family.  Jesus was resurrected, conquering sin, death, and the grave.  If we would repent of sin and believe the gospel, we will follow Jesus by the power of Holy Spirit all the days of our earthly lives, or until He returns to set all things right, and restore His creation.

The work that flowed from prayer was the declaring of the gospel verbally followed by signs and wonders to display the power of the gospel and the reality of the kingdom of God.

the gospel undoes all the wrongs and sins that we caused in our sin. The gospel was proclaimed by Jesus and in verse 39 we it was accompanied by the casting out of demons particularly, we also know healings happened, and other miracles.

The gospel is first the restoration of us to God. The effects of the gospel however are infinite. The outworking of the gospel undoes the effects of sin. In the book of Mark it is displayed by miraculous signs.

In our day it is relationships restored, streets being cleaned, people being ministered to and in some cases miracles happening

The Work of Jesus is Misunderstood

Peter and the boys searched for Jesus which seems to be a pretty normal thing. Jesus is no where to be found lets find our Teacher.

“Seeking” connotes an attempt to determine and control rather than to submit and follow. In this respect, seeking for Jesus is not a virtue in the Gospel of Mark.

The notoriety of Jesus was growing. He was gaining the reputation of someone who could do miracles, teach with authority, and the crowds were already infatuated with what Jesus could do, not with who Jesus was.

The disciples made it clear, everyone is looking for you. They were on the cusp of something big.

The disciples saw a huge potential to gain authority and control and be apart of the popularity that was already rising.

I wonder if the disciples saw this as a chance to rise out of their common mundane life? After all they were normal guys with normal jobs, never expected to do much more than survive.

Which leads me to wonder what do you expect out of Jesus this morning?

Do we come to Jesus for who he is or for what he can do for us? Do we come seeking a savior or seeking the healing, the casting out of demons, and the miracles.

Are you following Jesus because he is your savior or are you following Jesus because you are hoping to have a problem solved?

The work of Jesus through us...

This gospel is all about discipleship. Jesus is doing and showing His disciples and us what we should be focused on. It centers on two simple works.

And internal work and an external work.

The internal Work

The external work.