BEHOLDERS OF CHRIST
#093 BEHOLDERS OF CHRIST
Scripture Mark 16:12-13 NIV Orig. 3-29-64
Rewr. 1-78, 10-2-87
Passage: 12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
Purpose: To provide occasion for my people to examine their own lives as beholders of Christ
Keywords: Christ the Lord Hope Renewal Resurrection
Introduction
All that is established by this brief text is that then as now, there are variances in the ways that we respond to Jesus. Then as now, we observe some who were believers, some who weren’t.
Luke gives a larger treatment to this event. In his concluding chapter, he tells the story of the two Emmaus-bound disciples. Recall, please, that the hour was late, they were on their way to their home from Jerusalem. They were joined by a man not known to them. They were so impressed by what he said, when arriving in Emmaus, they invited him to spend the night. He then took bread, blessed and broke it, and in his praying they suddenly realized who it was. Instantly, he was, as it were, spirited away. It was a deeply moving moment for them. They would discuss it together, then immediately return to Jerusalem to tell the disciples what had happened. That’s the way it is in the discovery of Jesus alive.
Perhaps that’s the problem when our spirit sags. We’ve left Jesus on the cross, or in a tomb. And if that’s where we’ve left him, we’re looking in vain for his help. What kind of “beholder” of Christ are you this morning?
My wife and I wished two weeks ago that we had you all sitting around our table. The Mesias had gone to our home after the evening service. She began to tell of her conversion. Her English failed, and her husband began to translate for the two of us. Oh, how we felt the presence of the Lord as she testified of Jesus coming alive in her life. She “beheld” Him, and that made all the difference.
I. There Are Beholders Who Cannot See Past His Humanity. V 12 “He appeared in another form unto two of them.” I’ve never known anyone incapable of recognizing Jesus’ admirable character. The world still finds “no fault” with him. In Luke 23:4 Pilate says “I find no fault.” Most of the fault found early was with those around Jesus. Mark 7:2 “And when they saw . . . disciples eat bread with . . . unwashed hands, they found fault.”
It is still that way. Those who would rebuke Him, are really rebuking us. Gandhi for example—those who knew him said that his appreciation for Jesus was so great, if it only weren’t for His followers.
We note here that some were incapable of grasping this reality of Jesus. Luke 24:16 (disciples) “. . . their eyes were holden that they should not know him.” But wait, it was not some blinding spiritual power keeping them in the dark. The Greek is “khateo”—used by those who were bound by what they learned in error. They had only known the flesh and blood Jesus. They did not recognize Him as He now appeared as crucified, risen Lord. How do WE “behold” Him? Paul plants the seed in I Corinthians 15.
We must also attempt to understand their mental state. They had talked freely of the day’s events, that Jesus was dead, perhaps even because of sin—theirs or others. Maybe they were even asking what it all meant. Luke 24:21 “. . . we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel.” They were writing the New Testament, but they had it not for counsel.
II Corinthians 5:21 “He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” They SAW Him, but they did not “behold” Him.
Don’t let your humanity, or His humanity, limit your vision of Him. If for all His worth, He was defeated by those who killed Him, then why should I try to change them? If Jesus’ life, and death, has no relation to my sin, then I can do as I please, as others are doing. But these two postulates fail miserably before a Jesus “beheld” as Saviour and Lord.
In the “holden” state, remember their hopelessness and remorse. Ephesians 2:12 “At that time you were without Christ, . . . having no hope.” To “behold” Him is to face Him in personal accountability for our sin, but discovering that He died for us. Hebrews 2:3 “. . . How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?”
Now don’t forget that a strong case can be made that these two were, in fact, Jesus’ own aunt and uncle, Mary’s sister and her husband, Cleopas. (See Luke 24:18 and John 19:25.) They did not recognize their own nephew. As long as sin is allowed to restrict our view, we will see only what we want to see. And we want to see ourselves as alright in God’s eyes. He sees us as absolved of sin, only in Jesus.
II. We Must, Then, Become People of Faith, Beholding Jesus as Lord. V12f “. . . He appeared . . . unto them. And they went and told it unto the [others]: neither believed they them.” The two experienced the happy miracle of recognition. Note that it did not happen as they listened to the wise assertions of a stranger. It happened when they in grief and consternation invited the Son of God to share in their meager lives. Perhaps that’s it. We are embarrassed to invite Jesus to share our bounty. Their eyes were opened, while their eyes were closed. They discover Him willing to respond to whatever they offer.
It is important to see what this recognition accomplishes. V13 “. . . they went and told it to the other(s).” It worked a work of transformation for them. Grief, doubt, dread, anguish are quickly vanquished. Sharing what they have experienced becomes the first order of business. It has nothing to do with some kind of super faith. Not even a fulfilled belief. It is a joy that becomes something less, unless shared.
But most of all, obedience is suddenly involved. They had seen a stranger Jesus. As they spoke with this stranger, they spoke of a man Jesus. Returning as they did to the disciples, they spoke of Him as Lord. Luke 24:33f “The same hour they returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven. . . . The Lord is risen indeed . . . . V35 and they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.”
III. We Must Not Be Slow to Behold Him. V12 “. . . He appeared in another form unto . . . them.” He comes in our quiet times, or in the noise of our desperation. He stays, unless we drive Him away by our faithlessness, even then staying within range of our repentance, within reach of our cry of faith. To respond in faith is to discover who He really is. He comes not because of who, or what, we are. He comes, not even because of what we are capable of becoming. He comes, because of what He is, because of His all-sufficiency.
He comes, and we must behold who He is.
Conclusion
The poet, John Masefield, wrote winsomely of matters that should be close to the heart of every believer in Christ, every beholder of Him. In one such poem, he tells of the conversion of a mean and wicked man by the name of Saul Kane. The name itself speak volumes. There was a saintly Miss Bourne, whose goal in life was in helping the families of men like Saul Kane. Saul sees her and drives her away. But she responds as leaving:
“Saul Kane,” she said, “When next you drink,
Do me the gentleness to think
That every drop of drink accurst
Makes Christ within you die of thirst,
That every dirty word you say
Is one more flint upon His way,
Another thorn about His head,
Another mock by where He tread,
Another nail, another cross.
All that you are is that Christ’s loss.”
As she leaves, the words begin to have an effect upon him. Masefield next pictures him standing at the window, looking at the rainstorm he has driven Miss Bourne out into. He speaks:
“The wet was pelting on the pane
And something broke inside my brain.”
He also leaves the warmth of the room and goes into the rain. And he continues to speak:
“I did not think, I did not strive.
The deep peace burned my me alive.
The bolted door had broken in.
I knew that I had done with sin.
I knew that Christ had given me birth
To brother all the souls on earth.
O glory of the lighted mind.
How dead I’d been, how dumb, how blind.
The station brook to my new eyes
Was babbling out of paradise.
The waters rushing from the rain
Were singing, Christ has risen again.”