Have you ever thought of a great thought but had no time to really spend time thinking about it?
That happened to me Sunday. I was preaching an introductory sermon about ‘The Gospel According to Mark.’ I was describing that Mark, as an assistant to Simon Peter, wrote down the remembrances of Peter. Peter was simply sharing his experience with Jesus. My personal application was that we should have personal experiences with Jesus like Peter. Jesus should be working in our life every day.
Then I said something that I hadn’t intended to say. It went something like this:
“Have you ever been a little jealous of the early disciples and followers of Jesus? I mean, they got to spend one-on-one time with Jesus. They helped Him deliver the bread and fishes to the 5,000 men. They watched Him raise the dead. They heard the Sermon on the Mount first-hand. They saw Him smile, heard Him laugh, watched Him cry. But we can have our own personal experiences with Jesus. Maybe even better than the disciples did.”
Well, this morning as I was shoveling snow, I had a chance to think about it further. Then a thought hit me…
Maybe the disciples are a little jealous of me and my opportunity to have a personal relationship with Jesus that they never had.
So I want to share with you a few of the reasons I might have a better relationship with Jesus than Peter did when He walked with Jesus…
I can talk to Jesus anytime.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus limited Himself to His physical body. He could only be one place at a time. He had to sleep. Even though the disciples could talk to Jesus face-to-face, they couldn’t talk anytime. Sometimes Jesus might be asleep or at another location. If Jesus was in Capernaum, a disciple in Nazareth couldn’t talk with Him. But I can talk to Jesus anytime – in the middle of the night, on a long trip in the car, or when I’m all alone. My relationship with Jesus is only limited to my own desire to spend time with Him.
I can see Jesus work miracles throughout my life.
I’ve never seen some of the type of miracles the disciples saw. I’ve never seen someone being raised from the dead. I never saw someone multiply food. I would love to see some of the BIG ones But I have seen some miracles throughout my life.
I remember as a teenager in our small church in Ohio praying for Tad Cope to be saved. He was a rough guy. And we prayed for him for years. One Sunday, he came to church for a special occasion. Everyone, I mean everyone, was silently praying for him through the whole service. At the close of the service, I was in a back room helping someone get ready for baptism. I can still remember the yells and screams coming from the auditorium. Without looking through the door, I turned to the guy with me and said, ‘Tad just got saved.’ He had come forward during the invitation to be saved. It was the loudest I have ever heard a Baptist church get. God worked a miracle! And He is still working miracles.
Back in 2006, my son, Josh, was only 30 seconds from death, when the medic arrived to save his life in Iraq from a sniper shot. Miracle! Just a few months ago Maree Lane went back to Australia to visit her sister dying of cancer. But a few weeks ago we heard the cancer was gone. Miracle!
The disciples only had Jesus for 3-4 years. I have Jesus working miracles all my life. Can’t wait for the next one.
I have the Holy Spirit to help me understand all of God’s Word.
The disciples didn’t have the New Testament. I do! The disciples didn’t have the indwelling Holy Spirit to give insight into Scripture. I do!
The disciples misunderstood much of what Jesus said. They didn’t understand the parables so Jesus had to explain it to them. They didn’t understand His crucifixion and resurrection until after He was raised from the dead. But it’s different now.
Every Christian with an open Bible and the indwelling Holy Spirit can have a better understanding of God’s Word than even the disciples listening to the Sermon on the Mount.
I know fully how much Jesus loves me.
I’m sure the disciples knew that Jesus loved them. He told them. But it wasn’t until He died for them that it was fully revealed the extent He would love them. Even when He tried to explain His crucifixion to them, they tried to talk Him out of it. They just didn’t understand. I guess I wouldn’t either.
But now I know. One of my favorite Bible verse is: “But God commends His love toward us, in that while we yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). As the disciples watched Jesus on the cross, I’m guessing they thought He had lost the fight. How could He love them when He was dead? But when I think of the cross, I can’t help but think about how much He loves me.
I hope you will take full advantage of your relationship with Jesus. Multitudes of followers of God would like to have the journey of life with Him that you have.
Tell me another advantage of your present relationship with Jesus (as opposed to the 12 apostles)?