Jesus Probably Would Not Get Invited to Preach at Your Church

DELIBERATE - INTENTIONAL - AGGRESSIVE . . .Jesus

I do not know what your picture of Jesus is like, but mine is something quiet different than a pale, frail, mild, and meek mannered Savior.

In Mark 2 there are several instances where Jesus DELIBERATELY, INTENTIONALLY, & AGGRESSIVELY calls out the religious crowd and fronts them with their own foolish thinking. I  mean it was like He was driving down their street, pulled up in their driveway, got out and shined His flash light in their kitchen and got all up in their grill. Of course Jesus did not have a car nor a flash light but He did decide to make their narrow minded thinking His business and He tried to convince them to change the way they saw things.

Mark 2:1-11 He forgave sins then He healed the guy.

Mark 2:13-17 He was hanging out with scum according to the religious crowd.

Mark 2:16

16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, "Why does he eat with such scum?" NLT

Mark 2:18-22 He and His disciples were not fasting like the religious people.

Mark 2:23-3:6 This was a an instruction on what the Sabbath was really about, which totally offended the religious crowd because this really was a “SACRED COW.”

Mark 3:5-6

 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.NLT

Hard hearts keep us from being DELIBERATE – INTENTIONAL – AGGRESSIVE.

I am of the opinion that we (most Christians) are way to comfortable in our way of life to go about DELIBERATELY, INTENTIONALLY, AGGRESSIVELY rocking the world of the religious crowd. Have you noticed that Jesus' ratings on the OBNOXIOUS / ANTAGONISTIC / SARCASTIC  meter were so off the charts when He was dealing with Pharisee, Sadiucess, & Priests? He was totally offensive!

Yet when it comes to the rank heathen of the culture he was kind, gentle, and wanted to hang out (Zaccheus in Luke 19). This is so RADICAL but I somehow think that Jesus was more comfortable in a bar with heathens than He was in a church; which is why I have gone to Mardi Gra, Hollywood, and the streets of my own city to do street ministry on many occasions over my 35 years of being a Christian. It keeps me in touch with God's plan for the world. He wants us to be His hands, feet, and mouth piece to hurt and lost world.

Which is why if JESUS WAS ALIVE TODAY IN THE PHYSICAL SENSE HE PROBABLY WOULD NOT BE INVITED TO SPEAK AT VERY MANY OF OUR CHURCHES.

Give a listen to the message by the above title at www.generationslubbock.com

I AM CHALLENGED,

Ed