Good morning everyone, great to see you this morning and let me just say thank you for
those who are currently in the process of doing translation work for me and throughout
this service but also the enormous amount of work that happens in the background for
translation work so that we are prepared Sunday by Sunday.
I'm reticent to say it but it was astounding to sing that Mandarin song.
It in fact brought tears to my eyes for something that was a great song, theologically really
strong and expressing a real heart worship of God and yet it didn't originate from an
Anglo person.
I think that is fantastic for us as a church, for those of us who are kind of used to dominating
from the Anglo culture side of things to hear from brothers and sisters from other parts
of the world who are different from us.
It was referred to as a day that changed the world forever.
Tuesday 11th September 2001, there was a series of four coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda
upon the United States.
We know the outcome of it, 3,000 victims, 19 hijackers died on the attacks and it is infamously
remembered today as the worst terrorist atrocity in human history.
The overwhelming majority of the casualties were civilians including nationals from 70 different
countries.
And most of us can remember where we were in that moment when we heard that awful news
when it reached us for the first time.
I remember the moment vividly.
I was rousing from sleep and my alarm clock had gone off and it was the news and all I caught
in my half awake was the Twin Towers have collapsed.
And I remember thinking, that's not right.
I must have misheard that.
That's not possible.
And it was.
Many things changed in the world on that day.
One thing that particularly changed was it saw the rise in the West of the new atheism movement.
A rejection of God.
And many things changed on the day that Jesus arrived over 2,000 years ago.
It's the very first sentence of Mark as we looked at last week.
That the God who started history broke into history and everything changed.
Mark begins with the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
His style communicates, as I said last week, a sense of crisis.
The status quo has now been ruptured.
Mark wants us to see that this Jesus, as he did then, does now still calls for decisive action in our lives.
And that decisive action is in the very first words that he speaks.
Jesus speaks in Mark's gospel.
Repent and believe the good news.
That's what he calls from us.
And the good news is another way of saying gospel, which literally means news that brings joy.
And at the time of Mark, that word was used.
It meant history-making, life-altering, shaping news.
And that's what Christianity is.
It's life-altering news.
History-altering news.
And the history-altering news of Christianity is that Jesus has come to bring us back to our maker, our creator, our God.
He calls us to stop living lives as if we are the king of our lives.
And to come to him and to have our lives orbit around him.
Now, what we notice in the text today is that as soon as Jesus speaks about the kingdom of God,
he calls and he calls people to repent and believe.
He immediately starts choosing people to follow him.
Initially, there's this core group of 12 and a bunch of other followers.
And Mark records the first of these encounters from verse 16.
So come with me in the text.
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake.
For they were fishermen.
Come, follow me, Jesus said.
And I will send you out to fish for people.
Now, what Jesus is doing here is somewhat unique in Jewish tradition.
In Jewish tradition, pupils used to choose their rabbis, not rabbis, their pupils.
And Mark is showing us that Jesus has a very different type of authority than your regular rabbi.
You can't have a relationship with Jesus unless he calls you to himself.
And there are two encounters here that are slightly different encounters.
When he calls Simon and Andrew to follow him in verse 17,
they leave their fishing nets and they follow him.
That is, they leave their vocation and they follow him.
Their livelihood and they follow him.
When he calls James and John, they leave their father behind in the boat.
That's the emphasis in that verse.
They leave their father behind in the boat.
These men, all of them who were called by Jesus in this moment,
they did fish again and they did relate to their parents again.
You can see that in the rest of Mark.
But what Jesus is saying here in this first calling of these disciples is drastic.
People with a heritage in traditional culture,
like generally from Eastern societies,
they get their identity from their family.
And so when Jesus says,
I want priority over your family,
leave your father behind,
he's saying something pretty drastic in that moment
for those in those traditions.
On the other hand,
in an individualistic culture like the West,
saying goodbye to your parents is not as big a deal.
But for Jesus to say,
I want priority over your career,
your vocation,
that's drastic.
And Jesus is saying here that knowing him,
loving him,
resembling him,
serving him,
must become the supreme passion of your life.
Everything else comes second.
Now one of the things that changed in the Western world
as a result of September 11,
and apart from the rise of new atheism,
was the fear of fanaticism,
especially any kind of religious fanaticism.
There was a fear of Islamic fanaticism
prior to September 11,
but it expanded to even Christian fanaticism
in a growing secular culture.
And there's good reason for that fear.
Considerable violence is being carried out in this world
by highly religious people.
And even when you set aside that kind of religious fanaticism,
we aren't short of examples
of people who are very religious,
and yet at the same time,
they are condemning,
they are self-righteous,
and they are abusive.
All the sort of things that we seek to work hard against
here at St. Paul's.
And so most people,
particularly in the Western world,
would see religion as a spectrum of belief.
On one end,
are people who say they are religious,
but they don't really believe
or live out the fundamentals
of whatever it is,
the religion that they say they believe.
On the other end of the spectrum,
are the fanatics.
These are the people who are
too religious.
The people who kind of over-believe everything
and over-live their faith.
So you've got hypocrites at one end,
and you've got fanatics at the other end.
And many people think that the solution
to the hypocrites and the fanatics
is to meet in the middle.
Moderation in all things.
Moderation in everything.
We can sit comfortably with moderation.
Sort of.
And clearly,
Jesus hasn't heard about that option.
In Luke 14,
he says to a large crowd gathered,
in verses 26 and 27, Luke 14,
if anyone comes to me
and does not hate his father and mother,
wife and children,
brothers and sisters,
yes, even his own life,
such a person cannot be my disciple.
And whoever does not carry their cross
and follow me
cannot be my disciple.
Now that
doesn't sound moderate
at all.
Jesus says,
if anyone
comes to me,
he doesn't say,
all right,
look,
consensus here,
some of you can be moderate.
Some of you can be moderate
as my disciples,
but I really do need
a few good men
and a few good women
who are prepared to go all the way
with this discipleship thing.
I need the
rah-rah of the Marines
or so.
I need a few of those.
The rest of you can be moderate.
He says,
anyone,
no double standards here,
no double standards at all.
If anyone wants to have anything
to do with Jesus,
you have to hate your father
and your mother,
your wife and your child,
your brother and sister,
even your own life.
He says,
otherwise you cannot be my disciple.
That's what it means
to follow Jesus.
Now,
that does seem a little bit
contradictory to Jesus
because
a little bit later on,
he says,
you can't even hate your enemy.
So what's he doing here?
Telling you you hate your family,
but don't hate your enemy.
What's his problem with family?
Until you realize that Jesus
isn't actually calling us
to hate actively,
but he's actually calling us
to hate comparatively.
He's calling his disciples
to follow him so fully,
so intensely,
so comprehensively,
so enduringly,
that every other
entachment in life
looks like hate
in comparison.
You see,
when we say to Jesus,
I'll obey you, Jesus,
if and when my career thrives,
or I'll obey you, Jesus,
if and when my health
is sorted out,
or if and when,
you know,
I raise the kids,
or I've paid off the house,
then the thing
that's on the other side
of that if and when,
that's your real master.
That's your real God.
That's your real Lord.
It is your functional king.
It is the goal of your life.
Anything that puts Jesus
to one side,
and when I achieve this,
Jesus,
then I'll do that,
then I'll follow you.
That is your real master.
That is your real Lord.
And Jesus says,
I will not be a means
to an end.
I will not be used.
When he calls us to follow him,
he alone must be the goal.
Now that sounds like fanaticism.
And it is,
if you don't understand
the difference between religion
and the Christian gospel.
Religion,
as I said last week,
is advice
on how you must live life
to earn your way to God.
And the job
of the adherent
to religion
is to follow the advice
to the best
of their ability.
And if you do,
you do follow it
faithfully
and completely,
you'll believe
that you will have
a connection
with that God.
You'll feel a connection
with that God
because of how you lived
and how you believed.
And this inevitably
leads to a feeling
of superiority
over
other people
who have
different living standards
and different belief.
And once you have
that position of pride,
it is a slippery slope.
When we feel
superior to people,
we tend to
distance ourselves
from people
and when we distance
ourselves from people,
we start to exclude them,
we start to hate them
and we start to
ultimately oppress them.
And there are
some Christians
and there are
some Christian groups
who are just like that.
But it's not
because they've
gone too far
with Jesus.
It's not because
they're too committed
to Jesus.
It's because they haven't
gone far enough
with Jesus.
It's because they haven't
gone all the way
with Jesus.
They aren't
as fanatically
humble
and sensitive
or as fanatically
understanding
and generous
as Jesus is.
They are treating
Christianity
as if it was
advice
instead of news.
You see,
the good news,
the Christian gospel
is not advice.
It is good news
that you don't
need to earn
your way to God
because Jesus
has done it
for you.
It's a gift
that we receive
because of the sheer,
may I say,
astounding grace
of God.
That's what it is.
It's the astounding
grace of God
as we just sang.
And when we grab
hold of that gift
and continue
to do so,
then the call
of Jesus
in our lives,
it won't lead
to fanaticism,
it won't lead
to moderation
and it won't lead
to hypocrisy.
The gospel
leads us
to passionately
make Jesus
our goal
and our priority.
It leads us
to the point
of humility
and service
of him
and humility
and service
towards every other person.
Our lives
revolve around Jesus.
Jesus doesn't
revolve around
our life.
The gospel
impact
on our lives
means that
when we meet
somebody
with a different
set of priorities,
a different faith,
we won't assume
that they are
inferior
and deserving
of our
persecution,
oppression
and condemnation.
Instead of
oppressing them,
we serve them.
That's the difference
the good news
makes.
Christianity
is about being
called to follow
the king.
It's not about
choosing to follow
advice.
It's not about
someone with
the power
and authority
to tell you
what needs
to be done.
It's about
someone with
the power
and authority
doing what
needs to be done
and then
offering it
to us
as good
news.
And Jesus
has that
authority.
As we saw
last week
at Jesus'
baptism,
there was a
display of
supernatural signs
which announced
his divine
authority.
And Jesus
calls on the
lives of
Simon,
Andrew,
James and
John.
When he calls
their life,
he has authority
to call
them.
They
followed him
without delay.
We see
that Jesus
has authority
over all
of life.
Mark uses
the word
authority
for the first
time in
verses 22
to 23.
They went
to Capernaum
and when
the Sabbath
came,
Jesus went
into the
synagogue
and began
to teach.
The people
were amazed
at his
teaching
because he
taught them
as one
who had
authority,
not as
the teachers
of the law.
Now the
word authority
means out
of the
original
stuff.
The word
stuff is
my, you
know,
version in
there.
Out of the
original
stuff.
It has
the same
origin as
the word
author,
the author
of life,
the maker
of life,
the one
who made
all stuff.
And Mark
means that
Jesus taught
about life
with original
authority.
Jesus didn't
simply clarify
something that
someone else
had already
said or
knew about.
He didn't
simply interpret
the Bible
in a way
that the
Jewish
authorities
hadn't
interpreted
the Bible.
It's like
he was the
original
source.
It's like
they sensed
with Jesus
that he
was explaining
the story
of their
lives as
if he
was the
one who
wrote the
story.
And
they
were
amazed
by it.
Because he
is the
author of
life.
He's the
king of
life.
You read
on and we
see that
Jesus'
authority
extends
even further.
Verse 23
to 27.
It just
takes his
authority to
the next
level.
We have
the voice
of the
Father
confirming the
identity of
Jesus at
his
baptism.
He is
his much
loved
son.
And now
we have a
different
voice.
And
anybody who
hates Jesus
in verse
26
likewise
confirms the
identity of
Jesus.
What do you
want with us
Jesus of
Nazareth?
Have you
come to
destroy us?
I know who
you are,
the Holy
One of
God.
evil
spirits who
love
darkness
recoil from
light.
And it's
very possible
to recognize
Jesus for
who he is
and yet
hate him
even the
more,
which is
what we
see here.
This man
wanted nothing
to do with
Jesus.
The demon
shriek was
full of
malevolent
aggression.
His opening
burst,
what do you
want with us
Jesus of
Nazareth?
was a
common Old
Testament
formula which
is roughly
equivalent to
you have no
business with
us yet.
Evil spirits
wanted to
say to
Jesus,
go away,
the time
has not
yet come,
go away.
And the
next phrase
which is
stated as a
question,
have you
come to
destroy us,
is actually,
in actual
fact,
a defiant
assertion.
You have
come to
destroy us.
You see,
this demon
realized the
menace of
Christ and
cried out
with an
instinctive
expression of
dread.
He wanted
Jesus to
disappear for
he knew that
Jesus would
in fact
destroy him.
But note
what he does
in verse 24,
it's his final
cry out.
This is
dramatic.
I know
who you
are,
the Holy
One of
God.
Now on
one level,
that appears
to be a
submissive
acknowledgement
of who
Jesus is,
but it's
in fact
a frantic
attempt to
bring the
Lord Jesus
under his
power.
We know
that because
the idea
was widespread
at the
time that
the exact
knowledge of
the other's
name brought
mastery and
control over
them.
And that is
what this evil
spirit is
attempting to
do.
It's an
ill-informed
attempt to
control Jesus
just as
Satan had
attempted to
do in the
wilderness just
before this.
And Jesus,
rather than
submits to
the evil
spirit,
demands that
the man be
quiet,
literally be
muzzled,
and the
unclean
spirit come
out of
him.
The evil
spirit was
powerful enough
to control
this man,
but not
Jesus.
And he
did just
what Jesus
told him to
do in
that instant.
Jesus spoke
and this
evil spirit
obeyed.
See,
Jesus is
king over
the spiritual
realm.
He has an
unmatched
authority.
People were
starting to
notice it.
Wherever Jesus
went,
people were
amazed at
his teaching
and his
actions.
Even the
evil spirits
obey him.
Wherever he
went,
crowds were
forming.
Fuss was
being made
about Jesus.
And so
why did
Jesus tell
this evil
spirit,
be quiet?
And down
in verse
34,
it says,
he also
drove out
many demons,
but he
would not
let the
demons
speak because
they knew
who he
was.
Why do
that?
Why tell
them to be
quiet?
Is it just
an effort
to,
you know,
divine
crowd control?
Why doesn't
he take
advantage of
his incredible
popularity?
Why not
generate more
appeal to
who he is
and his
message?
That's what
I would
have done.
You know,
challenge me
evil spirit,
get out,
evil spirit
goes,
you know,
who's your
daddy?
I'd be
high-fiving and
chest-pumping
with the
disciples.
Till
everyone
thieves in
town.
That's what
I'd do.
Not
Jesus.
And the
key is
in verse
26.
The
impure
spirit
shook the
man
violently
and came
out of
him with
a shriek.
There's
one other
place in
Mark's
gospel
where that
sentence is
almost exactly
reproduced.
it's in
Mark 15
verse 37
and it
describes the
death of
Jesus
with a
loud cry.
Jesus
breathed
his last.
Literally,
his spirit
was
expelled.
What
Jesus knew
was that
the only
way that
he would
ever silence
the demons
was to
allow himself
to be
silenced.
The way
to
wield
his
true
authority
was not
to parade
it around
and brandish
it
but simply
to give
it up.
To give
it up.
No
convulsing,
no
struggling,
no
thrashing
but simply
to give
it up.
To steal
the spirits
he would
have to
give up
his
own.
His
wasn't
involuntarily
driven out,
it was
voluntarily
given up
and everything
in this
passage that
we see
is but
a skirmish
to prepare
for the
last and
great battle
that Jesus
was to win,
to utterly
destroy the
power of
sin and
death by
taking the
death and
the sin
that is
ours and
upon
himself.
Jesus
himself does
everything that
he calls
us to do
and so
when he
calls
James and
John to
leave their
father in
the boat,
he's already
left his
father's side
and his
father will
turn his
back on
him later.
Charles
Wesley captured
that thought
well in
the him
and can
it be,
he left
his father's
throne above
so free,
so infinite
his grace.
Later in
this gospel
he's going
to be ripped
from his
father's
presence on
the cross.
You see,
his kingship
is a
kingship over
sickness,
sin,
death,
oppression.
His
kingship is
not a
fanatic.
He doesn't
wield his
authority as
a fanatic
who seeks
to condemn
and oppress.
He doesn't
wield his
authority in
a totalitarian
way.
Jesus Christ's
kingship is
not designed
to crush.
It is the
ultimate
authority and
it's not
designed to
crush or
oppress.
His
authority is
wielded to
serve and
to restore.
take a
look at
verses 30
and 31
with me.
Simon's
mother-in-law
was in
bed with a
fever and
they immediately
told Jesus
about her.
And so he
went to her,
took her
hand,
he helped
her up and
the fever
left her and
she began to
wait on them.
She was sick
with a fever
and Jesus
came to her
still and
touched her
still and
then it
says he
helped her
up.
He
literally
raised her
and
everywhere in
Mark's
gospel when
someone is
healed,
the exact
same word
is used
everywhere,
right through
it,
every
encounter,
raised.
And it's
the exact
same word
which is
used to
describe the
resurrection
of Jesus.
In other
words,
when Jesus
demonstrates his
authority,
healing the
sick,
freeing the
captives,
casting out
demons,
it
resurrects,
it restores,
it brings
to life.
His
authority
isn't
oppressive,
it doesn't
subjugate,
it doesn't
crush,
it literally
breathes
new life,
a new
spirit
into.
His is
expelled and
he breathes
new life
into,
to heal,
to restore,
to set
free.
And when
we understand
the good
news and
submit to
the authority,
that's what
it does.
His authority
sets you
free.
It raises
you.
sets you
free to
serve as
we have
been served
by God.
Fanatical
serving of
God and
of others.
Notice
what Simon's
mother-in-law
does.
The fever
left her
and she
began to
wait on
them.
Now,
the skeptical
amongst us
might say,
well,
Jesus did
that because
he was
hungry and
he needed
someone to
cook the
meal.
Okay.
She began
to serve
them.
She wasn't
healed.
Notice what
doesn't say
that.
She wasn't
healed,
she wasn't
raised and
then went
about her
own business.
She got
up and
she served.
She gave
herself to
others.
She didn't
get raised
and then
go,
ah,
all those
things that
I wanted
to do
while I
was sick
and potentially
dying.
I didn't
my bucket
list,
I better
get on
and do
it.
She gave
herself to
others.
See,
when we
grasp the
good news
and we
submit to
the authority
of Jesus
and have
our lives
orbit around
Jesus,
it sets
us free
from all
other selfish
authorities that
crush us
and enslave
us.
you see,
Jesus'
authority
gives us
a new
set of
priorities,
a new
life of
service,
a life of
hospitality,
a life of
generosity,
a life of
community
building,
a life of
meeting the
needs of
others,
a life of
fanatical
humility and
grace.
That's what
it does.
and every
act of
uttered,
done in
the name
of
Christianity
that is
opposite to
that
is not
Christianity,
has nothing
to do with
Jesus and
it's not
done in
the name
of Jesus
at all.
A life of
fanatical
humility and
grace,
everything that
God created
and intended
for us to
be and do,
not because
we've got
something to
pay back or
because the
authority is
enslaving,
we do it
simply because
like Simon's
mother-in-law,
we have been
raised and
we now
can.
We now
can.