Reverend Raymond Osborne, Pastor

Please Note That Most Messages Follow
The Revised Common Lectionary

A gentleman who obviously had a trite too much to drink stumbles along a baptismal service on Sunday afternoon down by the river. He proceeds to walk down into the water and stand next to the Preacher. The minister turns and notices the ma and says, "Mister, Are you ready to find Jesus?"

The man looks back and says, "Yes, reacher..I sure am."

The minister then dunks the fellow under the water and pulls him right back up. "Have you found Jesus?" the preacher asks.

"Nooo, I didn't!" said the man.

The preacher then dunks him under for quite a bit longer, brings him up and says, "Now, brother, have you found Jesus?"

"Noooo, I did not, Reverend."

The preacher in disgust holds the man under for at least 30 seconds this time, brings him out of the water and says in a harsh tone, "My God, man, have you found Jesus yet?"

The man wipes his eyes and says to the preacher..."Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

Somehow I have an idea that the preacher that day was getting a bit impatient with the poor fellow who happened to stumble into the water that day.

Often when I read the Gospel accounts of the interaction of Jesus with His Disciples I get the feeling that our Lord gets a bit impatient with their lack of insight in regards to His identity.

You would think that those who walked with Jesus, lived with Jesus, and saw Jesus perform the miracles might have a better grip on His identity than you and I as we live in the new millennium.

He had just finished feeding 4,000 people with seven loves of bread. Just like the time when He fed the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves – they had to go around and pick up the extras. Beloved let me share with you one of the facts of faith that we need to remember; Jesus will always provide all that we need to live our lives and then some. He doesn’t do things halfway – He does all that is required and then some.

Even after witnessing the feedings of the five thousand and then the four thousand notice the main concern of the Disciples in the verses 14-16,

“Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he (Jesus) cautioned them, saying, "Watch out--beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."

They said to one another, "It is because we have no bread."

Can you picture it? He fed five thousand with two fish and five loaves of bread and had plenty left over. He had just fed four thousand with seven loaves of bread and had plenty left over. The Disciples are now worried that they aren’t going to have enough to eat with only one loaf of bread between thirteen people counting Jesus – the man who feeds thousands with not much more than what they had with them in the boat!

Yes I imagine Jesus is a bit frustrated with these slow-learning Disciples of His as we hear Him say,

“"Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?" They said to him, "Twelve." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?" And they said to him, "Seven."

Then he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"

I can almost hear Him saying as the preacher earlier, “My God men have you not figured it out yet????”

Jesus and His Disciples journey on to Bethsaida and some people bring him a blind man begging Him to touch the man and heal his blindness. Jesus spit on His own hands and touched the blind man’s eyes. The blind man’s sight began to slowly come back and then Jesus touched the man’s eyes again. The man was healed. This too was done in the presence of the slow-learning Disciples.

As they walked a bit further Jesus asked them,

"Who do people say that I am?"

And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."

Aren’t these people thick-headed?

Would you not agree with the statement I made earlier that logistically it should have been easier for those people who walked with Jesus, lived with Jesus, and witnessed the miracles to have understood His identity than for those of us living in the New Millennium?

I love what happened next. Jesus put the pressure on. I picture Him making eye contact with each one of His Disciples and then He asks the most important question of Life:

“But who do YOU say that I am?”

I’ve seen the ratings and I know that every person in this place has seen “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” I admit I love watching that show! I almost always get the first question right! Leonard Sweet says that question is usually a question like “What color is blue?”

I can prove to you that you’ve seen the show. The show has made a question famous and that question is, “Is that your” what? Final answer.

Beloved do you understand that everyone of us here this morning, at some time in our lives is going to have to answer the question? “Who do YOU say Jesus is?”

The way you answer that question has an eternal impact on your life. I hear so many people say to me “I hope I’m going to Heaven.” “I hope I have everlasting life.” Well listen to me as I read to you 1 John 5:13:

Again, listen to 1 John 3:18-21,

Finally Romans 10:8-11:

One day we all will have to give our final answer concerning the identity of Jesus. Who is Jesus to me? He is my Savior. He is my Lord. He is my Almighty Friend.

Who do YOU say He is?

Amen.

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