Christian Propriety

 

http://vimeo.com/3942204

 

When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. (St. John 6:24-27)

 

 

Do you remember being taught manners as a child? I can’t forget it – the drudgery of learning which fork to use when, how to sit properly, how to behave in any given situation. Oh, I’m grateful now for the lessons I gleaned then – but it certainly wasn’t a young boy’s idea of fun!

Propriety still matters, at least in some circles. And you and I definitely have our own “proper” rules for doing this and that. For instance, while I don’t really care if I drink water out of a water glass or from a coffee cup, I must drink coffee out of a coffee cup. My friend Tim is the same way: he just moved here from Pennsylvania with only his truck and his clothes. (His wife will follow soon). Tim finally broke down and purchased some coffee mugs for his apartment because “it’s just not right” to drink coffee out of a water glass!

 

            Our text this morning, St. Mark 3:7-12, is something of a “transitional passage” between the Pharisees’ opposition to Jesus and his selection of the 12 apostles. Yet this passage, because it is the very Word of God, is worthy of careful consideration – for it shows you and me what is proper when it comes to Christ’s work and our response to him. We first see that Jesus understood the proper mission, and manner of death, to which his Father had appointed him. We note secondly the proper response that you and I are to have to Jesus. Third, you and I learn who are the proper vessels to carry and to convey the truth about Jesus.

          Jesus understood his proper role and mission as Savior. Have you responded properly to him?

 

          Today’s text first teaches us that Jesus understood his proper mission – including the proper manner in which he had to die as our Savior. This point is vital, for Jesus’ commitment to His Father’s will secures your salvation.

          Last week, as we examined verse 6, you and I observed that the Herodians and Pharisees began to plot to execute Jesus. The real impetus behind this evil scheme lay in the Pharisees’ minds, who opposed the Lord because he had destroyed their mode for self-righteousness. St. Matthew informs us that Jesus knew of this plot and therefore retired to the coast with his disciples; in 3:9, St. Mark writes that Jesus had a small boat set aside for his use should the crowds mob him.

          These details might seem more subtle than others we tend to highlight in the Gospels, but they actually underline a central facet of Christ’s ministry: he understood the divine plan of salvation, which had existed from all eternity, and he obeyed that plan. Jesus had teaching still to accomplish. He still had healings and miracles to perform, which would further attest to his divine glory. He still had a course of holy living to undergo so that he might fulfill the law of God actively for you and me who believe on him as Savior. And he still had his atoning work left to accomplish – work that could be done only on a cursed cross.

          The cross was the proper place for the Lord Jesus Christ to suffer the wrath of God and the pains of Hell for you and me. Consider the Old Testament witness: one who hung on a tree was considered accursed of God (undergoing His wrath), as both Moses in Deuteronomy and Paul in Galatians wrote. They crucified Jesus outside the city of Jerusalem on a hill named Golgotha, which again fit with the Old Covenant penalty for one who was cut off from God (as Jesus was for your sake). And Jesus’ crucifixion came at the hands of wicked men – even you and me – as he was executed on false charges.

          Jesus avoided the Pharisees’ snare and the crowd’s press not that he ultimately might avoid death, because he surely did not. He moved to the sea so that he might be preserved for an infinitely more excruciating death. Jesus’ understanding of and submission to his proper mission from his Father, then, was all for your benefit. His actions here bring his earthly obedience and passion into sharp focus: he survived so that he might die a much worse death.

          Do you appreciate Jesus’ obedience to what was proper?

 

          We learn secondly of the proper response to Jesus, who obeyed his Father’s mission for him: you and I must hunger to know him as our Redeemer.

          Four times Mark references the size of the crowds following Jesus to the seashore. (Of course, as we noted a moment ago, Jesus had to have a small ship on hand by which he could avoid the crowd’s press). The people seeking Jesus – the text says they literally were “falling into him” – came from the various regions surrounding Galilee. This not only prefigures Jesus’ “Great Commission” to his followers to make disciples of all nations; it also reminds us of the Lord’s ancient covenantal promise to believing Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and that all the families of the earth would be blessed through his Seed.

          The throngs piled on one another to see Jesus. All many of them wanted, evidently, was just to touch him. They were sure that would be all they needed to be healed from their diseases.

          But there it is: their motive for seeking Jesus, as Mark recounts it, was to find physical healing.

          You, though, must desire more.

          It surely is biblical and pleasing to our Father in Heaven when you and I ask Him to provide our daily bread. As we learned last week, part of the lesson God teaches you in the observance of the Sabbath Day is that you depend on Him, and not on your 24/7 labors, for life and sustenance. This is why you and I should seek the Lord’s mercy for physical provision and healing, and we should exalt Him in all circumstances.

          Yet these crowds appear to us like the ones who sought Jesus after he multiplied the loaves and the fishes. All they really longed for was earthly bread, not Heavenly Food. They wanted their diseases to vanish – not a divine cure for their true sickness, sin. True, Jesus by virtue of his atoning work at Calvary will usher in a New Heavens and New Earth, free of the Curse and of all disease and sin; but the heart of the Christian’s hope lies in the forgiveness that our Savior has procured for you and me who trust in him.

          Both the psalmist in Psalm 14 and St. Paul in Romans 3 describe the wicked, self-centered inclinations of the natural human heart: not one of us seeks after God. You might be “religiously curious,” certainly. You might call on an idol in times of duress, but that idol is nothing like the God who has revealed Himself in Scripture. And while you name the Name of the triune God, if He does not answer your petition in the way you had desired, you naturally will grow hardened in your opposition to Him. Only the regenerate human heart, made alive by the sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit, seeks Jesus for his saving mercy, regardless of whether or not he grants physical restoration.

          If you’re like me, when the alarm clock goes off and you finally roll out of bed, you seek the coffee pot. (There’s something comforting about that red light!) When it’s March, I seek the Tar Heels on TV; you might seek your favorite show on a given weeknight. The point is, there are things you pursue with a strong will.

          Do you seek Christ? If so, why?

 

          Third, we see the proper vessels to bear Christ’s saving Truth: you and I, who know his saving grace.

          We learn this lesson by reading of those whom Jesus did not select to bear his saving message: the evil spirits. As we already have read in Mark’s Gospel, the evil spirits possessing humans caused those humans to confess rightly who Jesus was: the Son of God. Here, we’re told, they even fell down before him: truly an acknowledgement of who he was (and is). As we confess that he has ascended to the right hand of the Father – the place of cosmic authority – you and I acknowledge that Jesus has all power, even over wicked spirits.

          Jesus is the Son of God. This means that as very God and very man, he alone was qualified to intercede for you before the Father. His blood alone could be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat once and for all for your complete forgiveness. In him, you and I are assured of our adoption into God’s family and of the unfathomable love of the Maker of all things for us as His own children.

          But it is only His children whom He calls to spread that message of salvation.

          To be sure, the timing in Jesus’ earthly ministry was not right for such proclamations to be going forth. Nonetheless, the real issue here is that devils are not Jesus’ true witness-bearers. They mean no good in stating that he is the Son of God. It is we who know the goodness of the Lord who have the high privilege of speaking and living His Truth in daily life.

          St. James writes, convictingly, that even the devils “believe” in Jesus – and shudder. When you speak true words about Jesus, which is our common liturgy here in the South, do you mean it? Can you say “Amen” from your heart when you say Jesus is your Savior? Or do you resemble Ananias and Sapphira in your hypocrisy?

          If you do know Jesus as Savior, do you tell others about him? Each of you has plenteous suitable opportunities during the week to speak of the goodness or authority or wonder of our Redeemer and Lord. Do you see it as your highest privilege to tell others of ultimate Truth?

 

          I’m reminded of a movie I saw several years ago in which a father lamented the fact that his children only came to him for handouts. When he denied them, they effectively denied him. Sadly, this storyline is played out in homes near you. (Perhaps even in yours).

          There is an outward form of Godliness here in Leakesville, but it totally denies the power thereof. You might claim Jesus helped you through a physical straight; but what if the Lord had willed differently for you? And does His goodness elevate your expectations for Him to meet your genuine need – forgiveness?

          The proper response to Jesus’ proper obedience for you is to seek him while he may be found, and to spread his fame from shore to shore. Such is “Christian propriety.”

Is it proper to speak of you in this way?