On Monday night we continued our study in what Jesus reveals to us about God, humanity, and life. Here are the notes:

Last week we looked at the fact that the number on concern of Jesus was to deal with people’s biggest problem—sin and its eternal consequences. Tonight we’ll look at some of the most famous things Jesus did while he was here–specifically, his miracles of healing and restoration in people’s lives. Let’s see what they show us about how God feels about human suffering.

Things Jesus did:

Matthew 4:23-25      Healing
Matthew 9:18-26      No more death
Matthew 15:32-38    Everyone fed
Matthew 17:14-20    Freedom from Spiritual Oppression

And we might read the gospels and come up with a whole list of other things: Jesus shows us that God wants world where no one rips anyone else off ,the poor and the outcast are included, religious hypocrisy is done away with, and the entire world is filled with real humanity, family, clarity, and truth.

Point 1: If Jesus is the clearest revelation of God, and if we want to see what God wants to do in the world, and what he is doing, then, we only need to look at the things Jesus did when he was here. And when we do, see that Jesus spent a lot of time miraculously taking care of people’s needs. This shows us that God has it in his heart to battle sickness and suffering, and to get rid of them. He is against them.

And…look at Matthew 8:14-17 – one point of all this healing work Jesus did was to show that he was the kind of Lord, and God was the kind of God, who gets close to our sickness and weakness, close enough to carry them himself. Therefore we say that God wants a world where everyone is healthy and whole. You can’t judge God by the circumstances of your life. You have to understand him by the circumstances of Jesus’ life. Then, once you have known him as Jesus shows him to truly be, you will be able to rightly interpret the circumstances you are in. (ex. John 3:16)

Point 2: Question: If that’s the case, why doesn’t God just get rid of sickness now? And why didn’t Jesus heal everyone then?

Matthew 9:1-8   The other point of the healings was as a sign, a billboard: the message? “I am the one who can forgive sins.” Jesus healed so that everyone would know that he was the one who deals with the root cause of all sin and suffering. His main goal was not to heal the symptoms, but to destroy the seed and the root, so that he could get rid of sickness and suffering forever.

So the healing Jesus did shows to things:

1. God’s feelings about sickness and suffering
2. God’s method for dealing with the sickness of the world.

His way of curing the world’s sickness and suffering was not (and is not) by healing sickness and stopping suffering whenever and wherever it pops up. Instead, he dealt with sickness and suffering (and still does today) by undoing sin and inviting people to find forgiveness in Christ…and then entrance into the kingdom of God, where they will be free of suffering forever.

A challenge to believers: We must allow the life and teaching of Christ to shape our view of God, and not our own lives.

A challenge to non-believers: Are you willing to allow Jesus the authority in your life to put your sin to death?

Last night we continued our study of what Jesus shows us about God, humanity and life. (You know, the series now affectionately known as “Why Jesus Matters.”) Here are the notes:

Most people will tell you that there is something wrong with the world. They may not agree with others about what that thing is, but they’ll have their own idea that makes sense to them. And if they believe in God, they’ll assume that he agrees with their assessment. And if they think Jesus represents God at all, they’ll assume that Jesus too agrees with them–and opposes what they oppose in the world. But how could we actually come to know what Jesus thought the problem with humanity really was (and is)?

Looking at the actual writings which record the life and teachings of Jesus is the way to get to know and understand the real Jesus.

How does Jesus diagnose the problem with the human race? Let’s look at a few representative scriptures:

Matthew 4:17
The real problem with humanity is that we are totally oriented against everything God is doing in the world—because of its sin.

This is the beginning and summary of his message: “The kingdom is at hand!” so “Repent!”

In other words: “The unstoppable, decisive turning point in history is happening—and you must decisively reorient yourself based on the fact that Jesus is announcing this. This reorientation is a total turn from all sin and old thinking which involves a change which runs all the way to the core of your being—a total heart change.” (If you want a detailed, practical description of what Jesus means by “repent,” he explains it to us in Matthew chapters 5 through 7.)

Mark 7:1-22
The real problem with humanity is that we are defiled—by an inner sin which comes out through our bodies in words and actions. This inner sin affects everyone. It defiles (which means it renders us unclean and separates us from God). It is a heart problem. It can’t be touched by any outward act or cleansing.

John 8:31-36
The real problem with humanity is that everyone is a slave of sin—and until Jesus don’t even know it. We’re also sick (Mk 2:17), lost (Luke 19:11), and…

John 3:6
The real problem with humanity is that they need a new life. (We’re dead (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1) See also. Luke 13:1-5

Luke 24:44-49
Jesus explains that the whole point of his life, death and resurrection was so that forgiveness of sins could be offered in his name to any who would believe. (The first Christians picked up this emphasis and continued preaching it as Jesus had. See the way Peter ends his message in Acts 2, or what he says in Acts 10:43 – “All the prophets testify that whoever believes in him will receive forgiveness of their sins.” See also Acts 13:38-39, where Paul says, “Through this man is preached to you forgiveness of sins, and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”)

Jesus reveals God to us. Jesus shows us God’s estimation of the human race. The main problem with humanity is our sin—which is enslaving, and which defiles us in our guilt and exposes our evil hearts.

“The four gospels describe the pains God has taken to defeat sin and its wages. The very shape of those four documents tells us how much the pains matter. The gospels — as everybody has noticed — the gospels are shaped as passion narratives with long introductions. Accordingly, Christians have often measured sin, in part, by the passion needed to atone for it. The ripping and writhing of death on a cross, the bizarre metaphysical maneuver of addressing the malady death by another death, the extraordinary centering of the Christian religion on the degradation and death of its God, these things tell us that human brokenness is desperately difficult to fix, even for God; that it is the longest running of all human emergencies; and that while annoyances, regrets, and miseries trouble us in all the old, familiar ways, none of them matters as much as sin.” (Cornelius Plantinga)

To pick up on the previous blog post, which applies to this study: When God’s kingdom–this huge, worldwide feast attended forever by perfected, reborn men and women who will never die, this kingdom of people who love God with all their hearts, this kingdom which is right now inviting anyone and everyone (regardless of who they are or what they’ve done) to repent and enter by faith in Christ (freely! by grace!)–when this kingdom finally, fully comes, what will it do to those who oppose it?

The real Jesus calls us to repent and turn to him or we will be swept away by the oncoming kingdom of God which is inhabited by clean, free, alive people—and only people like that.

If you love God, and love people, and hate what dishonors God and degrades people, you hear this as good news. The world will very soon be totally free of everything that ruins everything.

Anyone, anywhere, from any kind of lifestyle, with any kind of history, can hear this message, turn from their old life to Christ, and be saved. Only refusal to hear, believe, and turn will cause someone to miss out. Believe this good news, and enter the kingdom.

Last night we continued our study of what Jesus shows us about God, humanity and life. (You know, the series now affectionately known as “Why Jesus Matters.”) Here are the notes:

Most people will tell you that there is something wrong with the world. They may not agree with others about what that thing is, but they’ll have their own idea that makes sense to them. And if they believe in God, they’ll assume that he agrees with their assessment. And if they think Jesus represents God at all, they’ll assume that Jesus too agrees with them–and opposes what they oppose in the world. But how could we actually come to know what Jesus thought the problem with humanity really was (and is)?

Looking at the actual writings which record the life and teachings of Jesus is the way to get to know and understand the real Jesus.

How does Jesus diagnose the problem with the human race? Let’s look at a few representative scriptures:

Matthew 4:17
The real problem with humanity is that we are totally oriented against everything God is doing in the world—because of its sin.

This is the beginning and summary of his message: “The kingdom is at hand!” so “Repent!”

In other words: “The unstoppable, decisive turning point in history is happening—and you must decisively reorient yourself based on the fact that Jesus is announcing this. This reorientation is a total turn from all sin and old thinking which involves a change which runs all the way to the core of your being—a total heart change.” (If you want a detailed, practical description of what Jesus means by “repent,” he explains it to us in Matthew chapters 5 through 7.)

Mark 7:1-22
The real problem with humanity is that we are defiled—by an inner sin which comes out through our bodies in words and actions. This inner sin affects everyone. It defiles (which means it renders us unclean and separates us from God). It is a heart problem. It can’t be touched by any outward act or cleansing.

John 8:31-36
The real problem with humanity is that everyone is a slave of sin—and until Jesus don’t even know it. We’re also sick (Mk 2:17), lost (Luke 19:11), and…

John 3:6
The real problem with humanity is that they need a new life. (We’re dead (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1) See also. Luke 13:1-5

Luke 24:44-49
Jesus explains that the whole point of his life, death and resurrection was so that forgiveness of sins could be offered in his name to any who would believe.  (The first Christians picked up this emphasis and continued preaching it as Jesus had. See the way Peter ends his message in Acts 2, or what he says in Acts 10:43 – “All the prophets testify that whoever believes in him will receive forgiveness of their sins.” See also Acts 13:38-39, where Paul says, “Through this man is preached to you forgiveness of sins, and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”)

Jesus reveals God to us. Jesus shows us God’s estimation of the human race. The main problem with humanity is our sin—which is enslaving, and which defiles us in our guilt and exposes our evil hearts.

“The four gospels describe the pains God has taken to defeat sin and its wages. The very shape of those four documents tells us how much the pains matter. The gospels — as everybody has noticed — the gospels are shaped as passion narratives with long introductions. Accordingly, Christians have often measured sin, in part, by the passion needed to atone for it. The ripping and writhing of death on a cross, the bizarre metaphysical maneuver of addressing the malady death by another death, the extraordinary centering of the Christian religion on the degradation and death of its God, these things tell us that human brokenness is desperately difficult to fix, even for God; that it is the longest running of all human emergencies; and that while annoyances, regrets, and miseries trouble us in all the old, familiar ways, none of them matters as much as sin.” (Cornelius Plantinga)

To pick up on the previous blog post, which applies to this study: When God’s kingdom–this huge, worldwide feast attended forever by perfected, reborn men and women who will never die, this kingdom of people who love God with all their hearts, this kingdom which is right now inviting anyone and everyone (regardless of who they are or what they’ve done) to repent and enter by faith in Christ (freely! by grace!)–when this kingdom finally, fully comes, what will it do to those who oppose it?

The real Jesus calls us to repent and turn to him or we will be swept away by the oncoming kingdom of God which is inhabited by clean, free, alive people—and only people like that.

If you love God, and love people, and hate what dishonors God and degrades people, you hear this as good news. The world will very soon be totally free of everything that ruins everything.

Anyone, anywhere, from any kind of lifestyle, with any kind of history, can hear this message, turn from their old life to Christ, and be saved. Only refusal to hear, believe, and turn will cause someone to miss out. Believe this good news, and enter the kingdom.