The Oxymoron of All Oxymoron's...

In the recent Sunday’s we have seen five acts of Jesus that caused Him to be at odds and in conflict with the Jewish Religious Leaders of His day.

 

First, Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins, and the scribes and Pharisees accused him of blasphemy, which was punishable by death.

 

Second, Jesus called Matthew to be one of his disciples and then joined the party in his home with the scum of Capernaum.

 

Third, Jesus and His disciples didn’t fast when the Pharisees and their disciples fasted.

 

Fourth, Jesus and His disciples picked grain on the Sabbath to eat because they were hungry and were accused of breaking the laws of the Sabbath.

 

Fifth, Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath restoring his withered hand.

 

I start with these acts to set the stage for this text’s oxymoron of all oxymoron’s.  What is an oxymoron?  It is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms are used together.  Here are some examples: jumbo shrimp, civil war, and only choice. 

 

Believe it or not, the Bible contains oxymoronic ideas or thinking.  For example, does salvation include grace or works?  Yes.  Are you saved by predestination or man’s choice?  Yes. 

 

However, the oxymoron of all oxymoron’s is this.  Was Jesus a man or God?  Yes.  He was fully man and fully God.  He was the God-man.  God and man are contradictory and mutually exclusive terms that come together in Jesus.

 

The main purpose of today’s text is to summarize Jesus earthly ministry up until now in Mark’s gospel.  However, the truth of Him being fully God and fully man also has great application for us this morning.

 

 

1. The Charisma of Jesus, Mark 3:7-8

7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.

 

Remember that we ended last week in Mark 3:6 with the Pharisees, the Jewish Religious Leaders of the day, plotting to end Jesus’ life.  Consequently, He withdrew with His disciples from Capernaum and to the Sea of Galilee.

 

However, they were not alone.  On two occasions in these two verses, you will see the phrase “great multitude.”  This could have been thousands of people that were informally drawn to people because of Jesus charisma.  In many respects, Jesus had a very winsome personality, and people were drawn to Him. 

 

Notice also the vast regions of people that followed Jesus.  They were from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan.  They were also from Tyre and Sidon. 

 

In other words, people from south of Galilee and from north of Galilee followed Jesus. Again, this is informally.  They weren’t following Jesus because they had surrendered their lives to Him.  They were following Him because of His Charisma, but also because of His curing.

 

 

2. The Curing of Jesus, Mark 3:9-10

9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.

 

When I say the curing of Jesus, do I mean that Jesus sick and was cured?  No, Jesus was the one who did the curing or healing.

 

However, notice this unique fact that only Mark includes and not Matthew or Jesus.  The multitudes were so big and so volatile that Jesus lined up a “get a away car” for lack of a better term. 

 

This people didn’t just want to hear Jesus, they wanted to touch Jesus, and there was the possibility of crushing Him.  That is what verse nine says.  Therefore, Jesus told His disciples to keep a boat ready so that He could get away if the situation got out of control, and it would have been really easy for Peter or Andrew or James or John to do just that. 

 

Verse ten says that He healed many.  Again, the great multitude of people weren’t just wanting to hear from Jesus, they wanted to touch Him, and Matthew 12:15 tells us that Jesus healed them all.

 

Matthew 12:15, 15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.

 

 

3. The Concern of Jesus, Mark 3:11-12

11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

 

Not only included in the multitudes were sick individuals, but there was also satanic individuals or the demon possessed.  Verse eleven says the unclean spirits fell down at Jesus’ feet and cried out who Jesus was, and they were right.

 

However, notice Jesus’ response in verse 12.  He warned them that they should not make Him known.  Why not?

 

There are several possibilities.   First, He didn’t want to invite more opposition.  People were already out to murder Him.  Second, He never had a desire to be a rock star or a three-ring circus.  He wanted to save lives.  He wanted to heal hurts. He wasn’t looking for fame.

 

However, the most likely reason for Jesus’ actions is that the timing wasn’t right.  Jesus lived His life on His Father’s time table, and He was always aware of it.   See John 7:6.

 

John 7:6, 6 Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come.”

 

 

Conclusion and Applications

As we started this morning, you need to know without a shadow of doubt regardless of what you mind may tell, Jesus is both God and man.

 

He is fully man.  We know that from this text because He felt the pressures of people, a lot of people.  He also felt the pressure to perform. 

 

And so do we.  We go and go and go and go.  We feel the pressures of family and work and friends and school and teams.  We feel the pressure to perform.  We live in this glass bowl world of social media, and we feel the pressure to be the next internet sensation whatever that may mean. 

 

But what did Jesus do?  He had a plan to get away, and Luke 6:12 is very revealing. 

 

Luke 6:12, 12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

 

This text is Luke’s version of what Jesus did after feeling the pressure of the Pharisees. 

 

Brother and Sisters, when the going gets tough, take time to step away and commune with God.  Jesus knows your pressures and has felt similar pressures and offers for us a great picture.  Be willing to step away and rest and commune with God.

 

Not only was Jesus fully man, but He was fully God.  The demons knew that.  Their statement was right, and it is only through Jesus that you can be at peace this morning with God.  See Romans 5:1.

 

Romans 5:1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.