Three ways Jesus related to people in the Bible and can relate to us – by invitation, by bringing our needs to Jesus and by engaging with Jesus.
Sermon Transcript
Good morning everyone, it is good to be here with you this morning. And a big welcome to those who are watching online.
One of the core aspects of the Christian faith is to have a relationship with God and to live in, and from that relationship each day.
In my life, relationship with God started quite early. I grew up in the Perth foothills, which at that time was the outer suburbs where my parents could afford to build a house. My parents sent us three children to Sunday School at the only Church in the area which was a Baptist Church. They were Presbyterians themselves and the local Baptist Church was where they were happy to send us.
I went to Sunday School before I started school and I grew up through the activities of the Church and I loved it. Sunday School was on Sunday morning at 9.30am followed by Church at 11am, and another service was held at 7pm, usually geared more to young people.
On Friday nights was Christian Endeavour, which was a youth group that taught us various skills for participating in Church life – we learnt how to lead a meeting, reading the Bible aloud, praying aloud and understanding the work of missionaries supported by the Church.
At other times there were social activities, meals and other smaller group meetings to gather together to encourage each other and continue to learn and grow in our faith.
I always seemed to have a sense of the presence of God in my life and making a public commitment to God when I was about 12 years old seemed like a natural progression. I was baptised in that Church when I was 16 years old.
So how do we have relationship with God and continue to develop this relationship through our lives?
We learn a lot about how to have a relationship with God from the Bible – reading and reflecting on how God related to many people over several centuries.
That God wants to have relationships with us is remarkable, though I believe he has created us to be in relationship with him. Why would a holy God want to relate with fickle, fragile and flawed human beings?
The only answer I know to that question is that he loves us – loves us in a way that we can hardly comprehend or understand. And yet, here we are, gathered together this morning as God’s people in this place, and God is wanting to reach out to us.
And not just us, there are Christians gathered together today across Perth, across Western Australia, across the whole of our nation, and across the world.
And God is also reaching out to people who are not currently part of any kind of gathering or Christian group or Church, because God longs to have us as his friends, because he loves us so much.
I would like to reflect with you about three ways in which Jesus entered into relationships with the people around him when he was on earth. There were many ways in which Jesus connected with people, and I want to focus on three of these in this time we have this morning. And to invite you to reflect on how Jesus is relating to you today.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus,
We thank you for your life on earth and what it means to us that you became human and dwelt among us. You came because you loved us and wanted something better for us all.
Guide us today as we consider how you connected with others and how you are wanting to connect with us.
In Jesus name I pray
AMEN
First of all, we are going to have a look at the story of Jesus and Zaccheus. I am sure many of you have heard this story before, and the first reading about this comes from Luke 19 v 1-10. All the readings today are from The Message:
Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn’t see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.
When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.”
Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, “What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?”
Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.”
Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.”
Here we have Zaccheus, a chief tax collector and he was a short in stature. He wanted to see Jesus. Tax collectors were not liked by most of the population – they collected taxes for the Romans and it seems that added on a bit extra for themselves. Whilst another short person might have been able to get through the crowd to the front to see Jesus, he really didn’t have a chance because I suspect that very few people would have been gracious towards him so that he could do that.
What was Zaccheus expecting?
He was curious – perhaps he had heard about Jesus and wanted to see first hand what Jesus was doing and hear what he was saying. I wonder if he was expecting an encounter with Jesus?
He wanted to see Jesus, was he anticipating that Jesus would see him?
To have a better view, he runs ahead and climbs a sycamore tree. The tree gave him a better perspective, and perhaps he could also hide in the tree. He was a man of social standing in the community, for the Romans anyway, so climbing a tree might not have been the most dignified thing he could have done. But something drove him to do it.
Then Jesus comes along and looks up and invites himself to Zaccheus’s house. Well, he wasn’t so concealed after all – certainly he was obvious to Jesus, not only physically, but perhaps spiritually as well. Jesus invites him and the encounter with Jesus changes Zaccheus. He immediately is aware of his wealth starts to give it away to those to need it more than he does. Zaccheus responds positively to Jesus’ invitation to be with him.
Jesus invited others to be with him, and in the second reading from Mark 1, we read about Jesus calling some of the disciples.
Mark 1 v 16 to 20
Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed.
A dozen yards or so down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee’s sons. They were in the boat, mending their fishnets. Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed.
Jesus invites Simon, Andrew, James and John to come with him for a new life. And they respond positively and immediately to his invitation. They leave their nets and follow him.
So the first way in which Jesus relates to people is that he invites them to come and be with him. Did they know what they were being invited too? Probably not. But they responded to Jesus. What they did seem to know was that being with Jesus was better than what they were currently doing. And what they discovered was that an encounter with Jesus would change them in ways they couldn’t imagine.
Jesus hasn’t stopped inviting people – perhaps he is inviting you this morning to come and be with him.
A second way in which Jesus had encounters with people was that they came to him in need. People who were desperate came to Jesus to be healed and often what he gave them was more than what they asked for.
The third reading is from Matthew 8 v 1-4 about a leper who came to Jesus:
Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Then a leper appeared and dropped to his knees before Jesus, praying, “Master, if you want to, you can heal my body.”
Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there, all signs of the leprosy were gone. Jesus said, “Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed body to the priest, along with the appropriate expressions of thanks to God. Your cleansed and grateful life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.”
In these times, people understood that leprosy was a contagious disease and if you had leprosy you had to separate yourself from your family and community, and call out when you came along to let people know that you were there.
So when this leper simply appears, it is likely that he had called out that he was coming, and the people around would have scattered. But Jesus is there and the leper is on his knees and says, “Master, if you want to, you can heal my body.”
Did you notice how he addresses Jesus?
He calls him ‘Master’ which indicates that he is a believer, or wants to be. Then he is very aware of what Jesus can do,
“if you want to, you can heal my body.”
Perhaps this man has heard stories about other lepers who have been healed, or maybe he has witnessed it. And the way Jesus responds to him suggests that he is genuinely asking for healing, not putting Jesus to the test, you know, come on, if you want to you can heal me.
This leper also expresses faith in what Jesus can do for him, if Jesus chooses to do so. I think Jesus responds to his faith and heals him. Then gives him instructions about how to live his life from this moment on because not only has the man been healed of his leprosy, he is now also restored back to his family and his community. Jesus tells him that his healing and his gratefulness for his healing will bear witness to what Jesus has done for him.
The leper came to Jesus and brought his need, he was specific about what he wanted. He acknowledged who Jesus was and he exercised faith that Jesus could heal him.
There are numerous stories about others who came to Jesus with their needs, asking for his healing and his touch in their lives.
The fourth reading from Mark 10 v 46-52 is another example:
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Bartimaeus was blind and begging was how he made a living. When he heard it was Jesus coming along he calls out for help. Like the leper, it seems that he knew a bit about Jesus and who he was and this is evident by the ways in which he addresses Jesus.
First he calls him, Son of David.
How did he know Jesus was of the line of David?
Maybe this blind man could see more that those around him and knew that Jesus was the Saviour, the promised one, the Messiah. That those around told him to be quiet suggests that they hadn’t seen it at all, but the blind man had insight that the others didn’t have. What he had heard over time, without education, without being able to read, he knew who Jesus was.
There was a large crowd but in that noise, Jesus hears him – how many other people have called him Son of David? We don’t really know but I think very few.
It is a remarkable thing that in a crowd, if someone calls out your name, you will often hear it. Jesus heard his name and asks for Bartimaeus to come to him. Then he asks him, “what do you want me to do for you?”
That seems like an odd question really. It would apparent that Bartimaeus is blind – how does he find his way to Jesus? The people in the crowd must have helped him. But Jesus does not make any assumptions about what Bartimaeus wants, he asks him.
Bartimaeus is quite clear about what he wants, and again he addresses Jesus as someone with authority and status when he calls him, “Rabbi,” and he says, “I want to see.”
It seems to me that Bartimaeus already sees much more that the people around him, he has spiritual insight about who Jesus is and what he can do. I think that is what Jesus is responding to when he tells him that his faith has healed him. Bartimaeus receives his sight and follows Jesus along the road, he no longer needs to sit and beg at the side of the road.
Both the leper and the blind man knew whom they were addressing when they came to Jesus. They believed in who Jesus was and had faith that he could help them. They brought their needs were prepared to say what they wanted from Jesus.
This is the second way in which Jesus related to others, he responded to their expressions of faith and their needs.
What about us, are we willing to bring our greatest needs to Jesus?
To be vulnerable to ourselves, and to Jesus.
To acknowledge who he is and lay ourselves open, to be seen by God?
The third way in which Jesus relates to people is found in the story from Luke 7 v 36-39, 40.
One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.”
Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
We’ll move to the end of the story in these next verses from
Luke 7 v 44-47:
Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair.
You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume.
Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”
Jesus is invited by Simon, a Pharisee, to have a meal at his house with a group of other people – we find this out at the end of the story. Why? Well, maybe Simon wanted to find out more about Jesus.
Jesus has exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees – those who say one thing and do something different. He has called out their arrogance, showing off their wealth, knowledge and religious practices. In response, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus into saying something against the law by asking him tricky questions. Jesus isn’t fooled by this and answers their questions in ways they don’t expect.
Jesus has accepted this invitation for a meal and maybe is expecting further questions. But then this woman arrives and treats Jesus with love and gratitude for changing her life. And it is at the end of the story that we find out that Simon hasn’t treated Jesus well.
Although Jesus is an invited guest, it appears that Simon has not extended basic hospitality to Jesus, and this is in stark contrast to the woman who anoints Jesus’ feet with oil, cries, and dries his feet with her hair.
Jesus then points out to Simon that he hasn’t offered him a greeting, no water to wash his feet and nothing to freshen up. These things would be expected of a host who invites a guest to dinner.
Why hasn’t Simon done these things?
It is not clear exactly but I think that although Simon had invited Jesus, he hadn’t engaged with him with basic hospitality or perhaps in any way at all. Jesus is there, but Simon has not acknowledged him. Maybe Simon is avoiding Jesus and doesn’t want to be the next one singled out by Jesus and perhaps exposed for the way he goes about his life and religious practices.
However, by his lack of engagement, he is singled out and his shortcomings contrasted with the generosity and loving engagement of the woman.
Simon invites Jesus, Jesus comes, but Simon then largely ignores him.
I wonder if you have ever done this?
I think I am guilty of it. I want Jesus to come, to be with me, but then I don’t actually engage with him, I don’t talk with him, I don’t treat him well for who he is. Maybe I just want a security blanket or a safety net, knowing Jesus is not far away if I really need him, but at the same time not actually relating to him. Or maybe we don’t know what to do when Jesus is here with us.
This is the third way that Jesus relates to us. He comes when invited and waits patiently for us to connect with him, even in the most simplest ways. Perhaps we have been a Christian for a long time and Jesus is close to us, but we have lost the desire or the commitment to relate to him and continue to develop our relationship with him.
Where are you with Jesus this morning?
Is he inviting you to come to him?
Are you ready to acknowledge who he is and bring your needs to him?
Are you aware that Jesus is close but you haven’t continued to connect meaningfully with him?
We are going to move into Communion now and I encourage you to consider where you are in your relationship with Jesus as we do that.
In the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 11 where we often read the words around Communion, we are also encouraged to examine ourselves as we come to share the elements together.
Can the ushers please come forward and distribute the emblems.
This bit of wafer and a few drops of grape juice aren’t much really, but they have profound meaning for us. They symbolise the most important act of love in human history – Jesus, having lived a human life on earth dies a terrible death so that we can have life. He rises from the dead to confirm that he has power over death and evil and wants us to live with him forever.
About two thousand years ago, on the eve of Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion, he instituted this simple thing that we share together as God’s people.
Let us now prepare ourselves to enter into this important sharing together.
Where are you in your relationship with Jesus?
If he is inviting you to come to be with him, how are you answering his invitation? Can you commit to a life with Jesus?
Perhaps you can bring your greatest needs to Jesus – address who he is and name what it is that you want.
Or maybe you need to relate to Jesus and connect with him – he is not far away and is ready to relate to you.
Let us pray
Lord Jesus, we hold these simple and significant emblems in our hands that represent your body and blood given for us.
Help us now to examine ourselves before we take them.
We love you and want you to be the centre of our lives, help us now to
• Hear your invitation and respond positively to your love.
• Bring your greatest needs to you, name who you are to us and name this need that you bring and what you want Jesus to do for you.
• Engage with you, relate and connect with you, continue our journey of life with you.
Help us to respond to your invitations of love to us and to commit ourselves to living our lives with you.
As we share these emblems together, we give you thanks for your love that gives us life.
In Jesus’ name we pray
AMEN
From 1 Corinthians chapter 11 we read that Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Let us take the bread and eat it together to remember, and to receive the love that God is longing for us to receive.
In the same way Jesus took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Let us drink together, remember and respond to God’s love.
For as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Let us pray
Lord Jesus
We come with humble hearts to remember you and your great and loving sacrifice for us.
As we fellowship together and go from this place, let our lives be living examples of the love you have for us and for all people.
Bless our coming and going and bless all those whom we love and care for.
In Jesus’ name we pray
AMEN
If God has spoken to you today and you would like prayer, please come forward during the last hymn and I and Pastor Pamela and other elders and leaders in the Church can also come forward to pray for you.