Jesus and the World
Introduction
Looking at one verse – Luke 9:41
Context:
The Lord Jesus had come down from the mountain
Peter suggested they make three tabernacles
God that Father tells the disciples to listen to Jesus
Moses and Elijah were both prophets but Jesus is the Son of God
He is to be worshipped and adored
They probably wanted to stay on the mountain
They go back down the mountain to continue the work
The disciples could not cast out the evil spirit
The father is distraught and desperate for help
Jesus will heal him
The Lord speaks a word: "Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.""
The gospel is in this verse
Example of Tilly Smith
If we paid attention to what Jesus said, act upon it and believe it – we will save our lives
Jesus describes the world
"O faithless and perverse generation"
Is Jesus referring to:
The disciples
The father
The religious leaders
The crowds?
Faithless
An unbelieving world / an age of unbelief
Religious leaders are not as they should be
Crowds often want something
You can almost hear the disappointment in Jesus’ voice
We know this disappointment
Consider how much Jesus would be disappointed
The world did not believe in its Creator
The disciples did not believe in Jesus as they should have done
Do we trust in the Lord as we should do?
Do we feel the Lord does not care about us?
Perverse
The world is perverse because it is unbelieving
Romans 1 – ungodliness leading to unrighteousness
An immoral world and society
If all the world believed in Jesus Christ it would be a better place
The Bible tells us this is the problem of the world
Genesis 3
Twisted, distorted
Judges 21:25 – "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
Our society is heading this way / if not already there
Jonah 4:11 – "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?"
They do not have a clue about life
Some are starting to ask why is our society like it is?
One follows the others
The only way back is to see people saved
Examples
This twistedness is in us all – Matt 15:19-20
"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."
Example
Do we recognise the sin in us?
Do we recognise the bias in us?
Jesus suffers in the world
What is Jesus diagnosed the problem but did nothing about it?
Example
"How long shall I be with you"
Jesus came into this world to be *with *us
Emmanuel
God manifest in the flesh – meekness and majesty, manhood and diety
Example of Chronicles of Narnia
The King Jesus born in Bethlehem
What has God done for us – He has come into the world
Hebrews – Jesus sympathises with us and our struggles
"How long shall I bear with you"
He bears with us
He puts up with so much
He puts up with our unbelief
He determines to / sets His face to the cross
He will bear the weight of sin upon Himself
God is not there to sort out our problems – our greatest need is to be reconciled to God
We deserve judgment but Christ bore the wrath of God for us
If we are in Christ:
We will never be forsaken
We will never go to hell
We are safe
Jesus invites the world
"Bring your son here"
Another gospel tells us he believes
Jesus heals the boy
Who can deal with the twistedness of our society?
Jesus
Example of Pentecost
Jesus is saving people today
The invitation to each of us – ‘come to me’
We are to bring our unconverted family and friends to Jesus in prayer
Example of the artist and street sweeper
Quote from Charles Spurgeon
Come to Jesus