CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #19: Jesus was Weary!

Our very first Conversation about Jesus was “Jesus loved naps!” This was a reminder of Jesus’ humanity. But I wanted to go one step further today and examine a few of those times Jesus was weary…because y’all, how many of you are feeling weary? We’re EXHAUSTED! 

But first, questions!  

·       When do you feel your weariest? 

·       Do you gain energy from being alone, or by feeding off a crowd? 

·       Do you find it necessary to restore and refresh your energy when you have endured a period of difficulty? 

·       Does continual stress zap your energy?

·       What happens when you are weary? How do you treat others?

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about Jesus with the woman at the well in John 4:6, “and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.”

·       The Greek word used here is kopiao. This means tiredsome, toil, work with effort (of bodily and mental labor alike), depleted (exhausted). 

#1 - There was a limit to Jesus’ physical endurance, and He honored that limit. 

Mark 1:35, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”  

Luke 6:12, “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.”

Finding moments alone to renew himself must have been hard for Jesus. Demands on His physical strength and the stress He endured frequently had to be beyond measurement. 

#2 - Jesus had no privacy. Someone always needed or wanted something.

Matthew 14:13, 14, “Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there in a boat, to a lonely place by Himself; and when the multitudes heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.”

Daily demands on Jesus were enormous. If you had the power to heal incurable sickness, can you imagine how many requests you would receive? If you could teach in the manner Jesus did, can you imagine how many people would follow? If you said, “no” to someone who was counting on your help, can you imagine how the person would react? There was always just one more paralyzed person, just one more blind person, just one more lame person, etc., who needed help.

#3 - Garden of Gethsemane

Luke 22:39-45, “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.” 

Jesus prayed to the Father - Lord, Your Will. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing Else. Amen.

Here Christ did not ask the Lord to be “magical” and eliminate all the bad that was coming His way nor did He ask the Father to change His mind. He simply said Father let Your will be done…for I know that You love me and that Your love for me is so great that it will lead me only to what is good for me. In the end, the Father did not take away Christ’s Cross but He did answer His prayer bringing about the Resurrection. He answered His prayers in the most ever-lasting way, eternal life.

#4 - How can we be like Christ when we’re weary?

After His baptism, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by Satan. Each time Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus cited scripture. Matthew 4:4 says Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “man does not live by bread alone.” He knew Satan was tempting him to be a materialistic Messiah, and Jesus turned to scripture to resist him.

He fell back on what He knew and what He could trust. When we’re weary, fall back on what we are confident in - scripture. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #18: Jesus Abides.

Jesus Abides!

•            Who is the person you feel the most connected to? 

•            What makes connection strong? 

                   

One of the things I love about Jesus is He wants to be connected to us. My favorite chapter in the whole bible is John 15. Jesus calls Himself the Vine, and He calls us his branches. He uses the word “remain” or “abides”. 

Read John 15.

·      What does abide mean? 

The Greek word for “abide” or “remain” is MENO. Meno translates to an “inward, enduring, personal, communion. 

Abiding in Jesus means to have a life-giving connection to Him.

·      Who did Jesus abide with? 

·      How did Jesus abide with His disciples? His Father?

He calls us to BE with Him, BE with others. We get so caught up in the doing that we forget to simply be with Him and be with others. What does it mean for us? 

To abide is to reside. Where we reside is HOME. So I think of abiding as being at home in Jesus and remaining in Jesus. This simply means that we go on trusting, that we keep on depending, that we never stop believing.

Clearly the situation in the world is dragging us to something. Logic will tell us to be scared or just live our lives with fear waiting on something to happened to us. So the question here will be what are you holding on to? Is it your fears, what the world and news are telling you? Or you are holding on Jesus who is our hope during these times? Are you so closely abiding with Christ that the fears are calmed?

Many people come to church thinking that God is with them just because they sit in the pew. But being in a church doesn't mean the Lord is with you. He doesn't live inside a church; He lives in His disciples. A person who sits among true disciples might be as far from Christ as the native of a tribe that has never heard the gospel if he does not abide in the true Vine.

Let just picture Jesus as piece of art. We all know that art remains forever. It can get dusty and probably a little bit dirty but the meaning of the art stays forever, and that’s how He works in our lives. In the past conversations we’ve spoken about the first encounter you had with Jesus. That encounter remains forever.

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #17: Jesus Loved Women!

Jesus loved women!!

Who is a woman in your life who has greatly impacted you?

The cultural attitudes toward women in Jesus’ day were deplorable. Jewish culture in the first century was decidedly patriarchal. The daily prayers of Jewish men included this prayer of thanksgiving: “Praised be to God that He has not created me a woman.”

A woman’s place was thought to be in the home. Women were responsible for bearing the children, rearing them and maintaining a hospitable home. There was no such thing as equal rights. Women were treated as second class citizens. They had no identity apart from the men in their lives. 

And then JESUS came along!! Jesus refused to treat women as inferior. He restored value to women and treated them with honor, respect, and compassion. 

Let’s talk specifically about three women:

1)      Mary, mother of Jesus

Read Luke 2:51. Jesus always showed respect, love, and kindness to the woman that gave him birth. Jesus was obedient. He respected his mama. 

Read John 2:4. Even when He got annoyed with her, He had a sweet tone. At the wedding in Cana, where He performed His first miracle, He called her “my dear woman.” Behind this miracle we see how Jesus literally obeyed his mother, even though, he probably knew that it wasn’t his time yet. But his love and respect for his mother was that big.

Read John 19:26-27. When Jesus looked down from the cross to Mary, it was clear how much He loved and cared for her. 

2)      Woman at the Well – READ John 4:1-42.

No self-respecting Jewish Rabbi would give a woman, let alone a Samaritan woman with a nasty past like this one, the time of day. But Jesus did. He held out to her hope and help as He gave her the water of life – Himself. He showed to her kindness, even when she saw no value in herself. AND Jesus revealed himself for the first time, as the Son of God, to a woman!!

3)      Mary Magdalene

Read Luke 8:10. Jesus’ dearest friends, other than the 12 and Lazarus, were Lazarus’s sisters Mary & Martha, and Mary Magdalene. He healed her. 

READ John 20:11–18 – Mary, alone in the garden outside the tomb, saw two angels sitting where Jesus's body had been. Then the risen Jesus approached her. The Gospel of John portrays Mary Magdalene as the first apostle, the apostle sent to the apostles.

He appeared first to the women! He chose the women to be the first evangelists to spread the Gospel message!

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #16: Jesus Had Family Problems, Too!

Everyone has that one family member they just can’t deal with… Either their mother-in-law is a witch or their uncle is a bum or they have a father who treats them like they were never born.

·  What’s one word, or maybe a word picture, to describe a relative in your family who really bugs you?

JESUS HAD FAMILY PROBLEMS, TOO!

READ Mark 6:3: [Jesus] is just the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters are here with us.

Jesus’ family was less than perfect. His family didn’t appreciate Him:

READ Mark 6:4: A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and with his own people and in his own home.

I wonder what he meant when he said those last five words. He went to the synagogue where He was asked to speak. Maybe the people were proud that this hometown boy had done well—until they heard what He said. He referred to himself as the Messiah, the one to fulfill prophecy.

Their response? “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Translation? This is no Messiah! He’s just like us! He’s the plumber’s kid from down the street. He’s the accountant on the third floor. He’s the construction worker who used to date my sister. God doesn’t speak through familiar people.

·  If you were to go back to El Salvador, how would you be treated? How would I be treated in NC?

One minute Jesus was a hero, the next a heretic.

READ Luke 4:29–30: They got up, forced Jesus out of town, and took him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the edge, but Jesus walked through the crowd and went on his way.

Jesus’ neighborhood friends tried to kill him. But even uglier than what we see is what we don’t see. Note what words should be there, but aren’t. Where are Jesus’ brothers? Why didn’t they stand up for Him? When Jesus was in trouble, his brothers were invisible.

They weren’t always invisible, however. One time they did speak. There was a time when they were seen with Him in public. Not because they were proud of Him, but because they were ashamed of Him.

READ Mark 3:21: His family…went to get him because they thought he was out of his mind.

READ John 7:3-5: You should leave here and go to Judea so your followers there can see the miracles you do. Anyone who wants to be well known does not hide what he does. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.

Jesus’ siblings thought their brother was a lunatic. They weren’t proud—they were embarrassed!

·  How does Jesus put up with His family?

·  How can you believe in yourself when those who know you best don’t?

·  How can you move forward when your family wants to pull you back?

·  When you and your family have two different agendas, what do you do?

READ Acts 1:12,14: Then [the disciples] went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.… They all continued praying together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers.

What a change! The ones who mocked Him now worship Him. The ones who pitied Him now pray for Him.

·  What if Jesus had disowned them? Or worse still, what if he’d suffocated his family with his demand for change?

He instead gave them space, time, and grace. And because He did, they changed. How much did they change? One brother became a leader of the early church (Galatians 1:19) and others became missionaries (1 Corinthians 9:5).

So don’t lose heart. God still changes families.

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #15: Jesus Calms the Storms of Our Lives

·  What are you afraid of?! When were you most scared in your life?

Two stories come to mind:

· The disciples were on a ship in the Sea of Galilee when a great storm arose. Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat. The apostles fearfully came and awoke the Lord saying, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Christ arose and rebuked the storm saying, “Peace be still.” His reply to the apostles was, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:35-41)

· On another occasion the apostle Peter saw Jesus walking on troubled waters. 

Read Matthew 14:22-33.

·  Have you ever felt beyond Jesus’s reach?·  In the midst of fear, what did your perspective of God look like?

When we take our focus off Jesus, we begin to fear. When I focus too much on the wind and waves of fears and anxiety, I feel more unsteady and begin to feel as if I’m sinking. When I put my focus and center back on Jesus Christ, and trust Him, I don’t need to fear the “storms” because I’ll get through them with His help. He calms my personal inward storms.

Sometimes I feel like Peter. When I keep my focus on Jesus Christ and hope in Him, things are more manageable. When I start paying too much attention to fears in or around me or too much on worries, the future, the past, etc., there is more fear and uneasiness. 

Remembering to keep my focus on the Lord and His power and redeeming grace and is so 

important for internal peace – peace that helps calm the internal storms and uneasiness.

·  The world needs a fearless church filled with fearless disciples. Is your fear holding you back from doing God’s will?

With Jesus, we can face our fears. Jesus is present in every circumstance. No matter where we are, or what we are doing. We are called to face our fears with the faith that God is our refuge.

Prescription for anxiety from Max Lucado & the Apostle Paul, based on Philippians 4:4-9:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

C – Celebrate Christ’s Goodness
A – Ask Christ for help – be specific
L – Leave your concerns with Christ
M – Meditate on good things

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #14: Jesus was Annoyed!

JESUS WAS ANNOYED!

What annoys you? What frustrates you? What angers you?

What annoyed and angered Jesus?

· Pride
· Religion - Laws vs Heart
· Lack of faith (Matthew 16:8-11)
· Lack of obedience
· Hypocrisy (Matthew 23)
· Laziness (disciples falling asleep)
· Hardness of heart (Mark 3:5)
· Satan

Read Matthew 21:12-17.

Jesus didn’t lose His temper; He used His temper to teach a lesson. We see His heart full of desperation that almost begs for understanding from the people around Him. He does not love the people who annoy Him any less. He is righteously annoyed at the people surrounding Him, but in the end, He still holds the same respect for each person.

Is it more convenient to be act like the world tells us to be or to be like Jesus?

Jesus was angry. Jesus was annoyed. But Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus did not sin. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be angry and do not sin.”

Based on Jesus’ example, how can we be angry and not sin?

· Our anger must be properly motivated. Jesus’ anger was normally the result of ungodly attitudes and actions of those around him. Religious hypocrisy, injustices of poverty, oppression are godly reasons to become angry.

· We must act appropriately when we’re angry. We’re called to do good, even when we’re upset. We must not hold a grudge.

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #12: Jesus is Humble.

Jesus is a humble servant.

· Who is your favorite superhero?

· Who used their power for the good? And who used their power for evil?

Power is like a drug—it’s easy to get addicted and hard to give up. But in Jesus we see an example of power that sees the weak and the helpless and wants to lift them up, by serving them.

In what instances is power good? When is it bad? How does Jesus deal with power?

Jesus sought love and grace over power. Jesus was humble in His power.

How does Jesus’s view of power challenge the way the world approaches power?

"So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him.” John 13:3-5,

· Jesus realized that He was the most powerful person in the room and He chose to use His power and authority for the benefit of the disciples and for us.

· Jesus shed his symbol of authority - his robe. Jesus disciples were stunned by his humility. Jesus sheds all his authority (his robe is the symbol) and became a humble servant.

“ I assure you: A slave is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” John 13:12-17

· I am not greater than my Master and Savior. He leveraged His power for the benefit of the others (disciples) in the room.

How can we use that power in a way that reflects Jesus?

BE HUMBLE. BE ENCOURAGING.

1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.”

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS #13: Jesus had real feelings & real friends!

Jesus had real feelings & real friends.

The Gospels revealed Jesus’ teachings & miracles… But one of the things we’ve focused on during our “Conversations about Jesus” is that Jesus was human. He had this intense human side. He had human relationships, deep relationships with the people around Him, and He had real feelings.

Who’s your best friend?! You’ve shared countless inside jokes, similar interests, hobbies — you’ve shared secrets, vulnerabilities, heartbreaks, joys, etc. Jesus experienced that, too, as both man and God.

So let’s talk about one of Jesus’ best friends – Lazarus – from John 11.

This is a full-blown picture of Jesus’ human emotions that are combined with His divine knowledge and power. We are able to see His personal relationships on full display with the death of his friend, Lazarus, and what this means for us, as friends of Jesus, who also experience the reality of death.

Jesus wept.

•            Are you a crier?
•           Some think crying is a sign of weakness… Do you?
•          Some think weeping is a denial of faith… Do you?

Jesus models for us that sorrow is something that needs to be felt. Grief is a part of life. Even though He knew that, in mere moments, Lazarus would be raised to life by Him, Jesus still cried over the loss of His friend.

READ John 11:32-36.

The Greek word underlying “deeply moved” or “greatly troubled” is embrimaomai. It is used elsewhere in the New Testament, in John 11:38, Matthew 9:30 (“sternly warned”), Mark 2:43 (“sternly charged”), and Mark 14:5 (“scolded”). In all instances, it means to feel something deeply and strongly:

Jesus was moved with profound sorrow at the death of his friend and at the grief that his other friends had suffered. In addition, this sorrow was intermixed with anger at the evil of death.

Not only was Jesus deeply moved, but John says that He was deeply moved in His spirit when He witnessed the palpable grief around Him. The phrase, “In his spirit” here is not referring to the Holy Spirit but to Jesus’ own human spirit (ESV). This grief is a human reality (felt by His Human spirit), but life and resurrection are divine realities (the Holy Spirit).

Jesus’ human spirit reveals that heartfelt mourning in the face of death is not an indication of a lack of faith — of doubt — but it is honest grief at the reality of death and suffering.