Revival?

Have you ever imagined what a true revival might look like? Like in Nineveh, when the whole city repented at Jonah’s preaching? Or in New England during the Great Awakening?

Large crowds. Everyone excited. The focus is on Jesus. Strong belief in his power, and they’re drawing near to experience it. Certainly, those would be marks of a true revival. Right?

It’s been noted that genuine revivals are nearly always followed by counterfeits. J.I. Packer studied revival and observed 10 features of a genuine revival:

1)God comes down 2) God’s Word pierces 3) Man’s sin is seen 4) Christ’s cross is valued 5) Change goes deep 6) Love breaks out 7)Joy fills hearts 8) The church becomes itself 9) The lost are found, 10) Satan keeps pace.

Doesn’t that 10th one intrigue you? “Satan keeps pace.” He’s onto something: what slams the breaks on any true work of God is rarely external opposition, but usually counterfeit religion.

You see, these things I mentioned large crowds, excitement, a focus on Jesus and a belief in his power - are all here in the scene we’re about to read. But what we’re going to see is that amidst all the hype, the excitement, even the Jesus-centered enthusiasm - it rings hollow. We’re going to see that while this might look like a revival at first glance; it’s actually a counterfeit revival.

That’s the scene we encounter in our next section of Mark. At first glance, it looks great, exciting, and positive. And then, when you get close up, it’s not all you thought it was.

First, let’s take a look at the crowd. Jesus had just left the synagogue, where the Pharisees were teaming up with the Herodians to destroy Jesus. He withdraws to the sea - that is, the Sea of Galilee. And as he goes, a crowd follows him. Take a look at the crowd.

He called it a “great crowd” not once but twice. This crowd is in the thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands. 1:33 says “the whole city” came to him, but this text says his popularity is beyond just one city - he names entire regions as well. The crowd is massive.

Another detail: the crowd is coming from all over: Galilee - that’s a region in the north. Judea, that’s in the south. Jerusalem, capital city, Idumea, the region south - in the OT it’s called Edom, a place that historically was antagonistic to Israel. Beyond the Jordan - that’s east; Tyre & Sidon, these are northern cities on the coast of the Mediterranean. In other words, north, south, east, west, Jew and Gentle. Jesus is immensely popular.

But also notice the nature of the crowd. Hearing of the things he had done, in verse 7 they “follow” him, verse 8, “they came to him,” vs 10 they “press around him to touch him.” There’s some aggression to the crowd. I envision birds swarming around someone with bread. There’s no personal space. Some of you get claustrophobic just thinking about it.

To make matters worse, many of these are sick people. In fact, the most aggressive ones are ones with disease. Verse 10: “all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.” How would you like that? Large crowds of sick people, no masks, no social distancing.

In fact, the crowd is so large, unruly, and aggressive that Jesus actually has to tell his disciples “Hey, get a boat ready, they might crush me.” This startling statement reminds us of the humanity of Christ - he is crushable. He’s not superman. If feet trample over him, he will be crushed; if nails pierce him, he will bleed.

There’s nothing in the text that indicates these people care to know Jesus, they simply want to be healed. In fact, we know what’s motivating them. A couple phrases are really important here: end of verse 8: “When the great crowd heard what he was doing, they came to him.”

Notice that he didn’t say: “When the great crowd listened to what he was preaching, they came to him.” Nope, they heard what he did. They heard about amazing healings, incredible confrontations with demons, mesmerizing show-downs with Pharisees. Frankly, they didn’t care what his message was. To them, Jesus was a sponge to squeeze and extract healing. These people followed him for his miracles, not his teaching.

The second phrase is verse 10, he fears being crushed because the sick “pressed around him to touch him,” “for he had healed many.” They came to him because they had heard he can heal. It’s not wrong for them to want healing. But can you see what’s happening?

These people want healing more than they want Jesus. There's a kind of attraction that looks like love but is actually lust. If you say you love the mountains, but tear them down to drill for oil, I’m not sure you love the mountains. If you say you love the forest, and then chop down trees to build your houses, I’m not sure you love the forest. These crowds said they loved Jesus, and nearly crushed him to be healed by him.

Jesus knew he might be crushed by this crowd. What’s amazing to me is that in Matthew 12:15, which is Matthew’s account of this same event, Matthew includes an amazing detail: He writes, “Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all.”

You might say, “Well Jesus, if you don’t want the crowd to crush you, stop healing them!” He kept healing them! If we were in this situation, we’d treat the crowds like we treat seagulls at the beach - “Don’t feed them or more will come.” But Jesus’ heart of compassion was such that he would willingly risk being crushed in order to bring healing to crowds. Crowds, mind you, that didn’t know him, didn’t love him, hadn’t listened to him, and merely wanted to be healed.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? He faces the possibility of being crushed that he might heal? HE faces the possibility of suffering that he might save? Of dying that others might live? Friends, this is how Jesus lived, and this is why Jesus went to the cross. At the cross, we didn’t face the possibility of being crushed, he was crushed. Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.” God the Father crushed the Son; the Son was willingly crushed by him - why? So that the penalty for our sins could be paid.

It wasn’t only the cross where such undeserved love was displayed. Here, this gnat-like crowd of diseased people were given help, even though they did not know or love him in return. You do not need to earn the love of God, it is free, and it rests on all who receive Jesus by faith.

Now, a subset of this crowd have unclean spirits. Verse 11 speaks of unclean spirits crying out “You are the Son of God.” The demons know the identity of Jesus more than the crowds do. And I think they’re saying this for two reasons. One, it was a common understanding in those days that if you could properly identify someone by their name, you demonstrated authority over them. Second, they knew who he was and they were desperately afraid of him.

So they knew who he was, and as a way of trying to control Jesus and avoid judgment, they proclaimed his true identity. People inhabited by unclean spirits: “You are the Son of God!”

Now what might you think Jesus’ response is? “Why yes I am.” “Yes that’s right, everybody listen to him.” No. Verse 12: “He strictly ordered them not to make him known.” These people who are declaring Jesus’ true identity are silenced. You may be thinking, “Well, these are demons, so it makes sense. Jesus doesn’t want demon-missionaries.”

But he doesn’t only silence the unclean spirits. Look at when Jesus healed the leper. 1:41 “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone…”

He silences a healed leper! Now watch this: 5:43 raises a dead girl “And he strictly charged them that no one should know this” 7:35 makes a deaf-mute hear and speak, and he “charged them to tell no one.” 8:29-30 “And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.”

What’s going on here? Once it’s explained, you’ll see it. Here’s what’s happening: Jesus wants to be known, not gawked at. Jesus doesn’t want people to follow him for the hype. Jesus wants people to actually hear his message, get to know who he is, and follow him from the heart.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the celebrity who says “Everybody knows me, and nobody knows me.” That’s what comes with fame and popularity. You are known, but actually unknown. Jesus was surrounded by hype, and the hype got in the way of people actually hearing his message and getting to know him. Jesus didn’t care about the hype, his own popularity. The gospel doesn’t advance that way. It advances when it’s not so bustling and loud, and when people can actually hear and respond to his message.

So what’s happening in this little section? A bustling crowd, pressing in on Jesus for healing, while Jesus works against the hype, silencing those who reveal his true identity, so that people can actually hear his message and come to know him for who he is.

I want to ask 3 questions that will help us apply this text to our lives:

First, Do I know about Jesus, or do I know Jesus? Here we see counterfeit revival - and I wonder if you have anything in common with the crowd.

They know his name. They know he’s powerful and can heal. They even want to be near him. But they actually don’t know him. These kinds of people are in churches across our nation - they like Jesus, they’re pro-Jesus, but at the end of the day, they don't know him. Their relationship with Jesus is all based in experience, emotionalism, hype - but they don’t know him.

Are you like them? Do you have a real, living, relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you know him?

There are many who know about Jesus, few who actually know him. There are many who have been attracted to him - their family was Christian, they attended church, they went to a Christian school - but they personally have never come to know him. Do you, personally, know him?

Second, Do you want Jesus, or just his gifts? A poacher is drawn to an elephant, not because he loves it, because he can get the precious ivory he desires. And many people are drawn to Jesus, not because they want him, but because they want gifts from him.

To say “I trust Jesus” does not mean one is converted. These crowds trusted Jesus, but weren’t converted. The question is this: what are you trusting in Jesus for?

If you trust Jesus to make life easier, health more stable, finances more secure - you’re trusting him for the wrong stuff. There’s nothing God-honoring about wanting Jesus to give to health, wealth, and prosperity. Coming to Jesus to get stuff from him is not proof that you love him, it’s proof that you love yourself and want him to scratch your back.

A mark of true salvation is to be drawn to Jesus for who he is. The object of your life, what you’ve been called to, is to love, treasure, admire, cherish, delight, and trust, in Jesus Christ himself for mercy, pardon, forgiveness, and grace. Jesus is not a means to get the things you want. If he is to you, you don’t know him yet.

John Piper: “If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”

Here’s how you know if you love Jesus, or just his gifts: How do you do when you don’t get healed, when you don’t get the promotion, when the disease gets works, when the hour looks grim: can you still say, “Jesus, you’re what I want! Jesus, you’re what I need!”

The song: “Give me Jesus, give me Jesus, you can have all this world, but give me Jesus.”

Third, Is your commitment to Christ rooted in genuine faith in God’s Word? John 6: Jesus is teaching the crowds, and 60: “When many of the disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’” Vs 66: “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the 12, ‘Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Here, the hype is gone. The crowds have left disappointed. There’s no social upside for associating with Jesus. And Peter says, “We have come to believe that you speak God’s Words of eternal life. We believe them.” His walk with Christ isn’t about the hype. It’s not about the frenzy. It’s not about what’s in or what’s cool or what’s popular.

Here’s the mark of true faith. When the party’s over, and life’s hard, and everyone’s left, do you cling to what God has said in his Word. Do you by faith, say, “This is it. I believe it. I believe all of it. And I’m not walking away.”