“Quedgeley Baptist Church – www.quedgeleybaptist.org

 

‘Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”

Then the wind died down and it was completely calm…

 

…The disciples were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4: 39 & 41

 

The story goes that King Canute (King of England from 1014AD) got fed up with being flattered by his Court. So one day he decided to prove the limit of his Kingly powers by having his throne carried to a beach. As the tide came in King Canute commanded the waves to stop coming in. The sea did not obey him and King Canute had made his point – leaving his Court in no doubt that their King was only human after all!

 

Jesus has unique power and authority over nature

In, Mark chapter 4, Jesus and his disciples are sailing on a lake when they are caught up in a furious storm. The disciples – many of whom were experienced fishermen - are afraid the boat is going to sink. Jesus, however, is asleep.  In desperation they wake up Jesus, who stood up and told the wind and waves to be still.  The disciples were not prepared for such a display of power and authority. They had been afraid in the storm. But now they were terrified – for they knew that the only person who the wind and waves obey is God. It is one thing to know, theoretically, that God can command obedience from the wind and waves – it is quite another to find yourself in the same boat as him!

 

Mark is building his case as he shows us the evidence. Jesus really is God’s only chosen King. The one sent by God to save us. No-one else – before or after – has ever taught the way he taught; and no one else has ever healed people in the way that Jesus did; and no one – has ever commanded nature’s obedience as Jesus did.

 

If you would like your own copy of Mark’s Gospel we will provide you with one free of charge. Alternatively you may like to join one of our small groups attending the Christianity Explored course.

 

Pastor Phil Grubb – 01452 725614 (m) 07825 886 886 or e-mail: pastorphilgrubb@gmail.com


January 2012

 

QUEDGELEY BAPTIST CHURCH

 

“Quedgeley Baptist Church – www.quedgeleybaptist.org

 

‘The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.’ 
Mark 1:1

 

Last month, as we began to look at Mark’s gospel, I wrote that Christianity is ‘good news’; and that it is good news concerning the person ‘Jesus Christ’.

 

Today, the name ‘Jesus Christ’ is no longer, ordinarily, associated with ‘good news’. In fact, more commonly, quite the opposite is the case. One is much more likely to hear ‘Jesus Christ’ being used as a swear word in response to bad news!

 

Using the name of Jesus Christ as a swear word demonstrates that many people have little or no idea who Jesus Christ really was! And if we misunderstand who Jesus Christ really was – we are almost certainly going to relate to Jesus Christ in the wrong way! So who is Mark introducing us to in the first line of his gospel?

 

The name ‘Jesus’, in Hebrew, means ‘God saves’ – which points us to the great mission that Jesus was to accomplish (and that we were all reminded of over Christmas) – he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The name ‘Christ’ is not Jesus’s second name! It is more of a title than a name. ‘The Christ’ is the title God has given to the one who will ‘save’ and it means God’s only chosen King: So the names ‘Jesus Christ’ tell us a great deal about the mission (what he has been sent to do) and the identity (who he is) of the person Mark is going to tell us about. This basic understanding of the meaning behind the name ‘Jesus Christ’ should begin to help see that this person is going to be ‘good news’!

 

Next time we shall look further at what Mark tells us about Jesus’s identity. I hope, that from the little we have discovered so far, you will become more aware of the way the name ‘Jesus Christ’  – God’s Saviour – God’s only chosen king – is being abused when it is used as swear word.

 

If you would like your own copy of Mark’s Gospel to read through the course of this year we will provide you with one free of charge. Alternatively you may like to join one of our small groups attending the Christianity Explored course.

 

 

Pastor Phil Grubb – 01452 725614 (m) 07825 886 886 or 
                                     e-mail: pastorphilgrubb@gmail.com
 
 
  Site Map