The Means or the End?

The Gift or the Giver

All cards on the table. Sometimes I just want Jesus for what He can do for me. Can you blame me? He can do a LOT!

I admit it. Too often I want the healing more than the Healer. I want the teaching more than the Teacher. I want the saving more than the Savior. I want the gift more than the Giver.

The Hero of the Story

Here’s the deal. Jesus doesn’t just provide the means to the end. He is THE End! Hmm, maybe that’s why He tells John, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev 22:13).

In other words, Jesus is THE POINT! He’s the Reason. He’s the Hero of THE entire story.

A Near Riot Near the Lake

That sure seems to be one of the big ideas behind Mark’s report of Christ’s crazy day at the lake (Mk 3:7-12). A desperate mob hunts Him down when they get wind of His many miracles.

There’s a near riot of people suffering with all sorts of longterm health issues. If that’s not wild enough, several different demons try to blow His cover before it was time.

These folks don’t appear to have any desire for what we like to call a “personal relationship with Jesus.” They just want what He can do for them. Nothing more. Nothing less. They want the means without the end.

Wanna Get Away?

Mark picks up the story along the shores of the large freshwater lake known as the Sea of Galilee. “Jesus went out to the lake with His disciples, a large crowd followed Him” (v7).

If you’ve been following along in John Mark’s bio of Jesus, you may remember what just went down. After being showed up by Jesus for the fifth straight time, local religious leaders got together to plot His murder (Mk 3:6).

It’s kinda like one of those Southwest Airlines commercials. “Wanna get away?” That’s exactly what the Son of God and His guys did. Just like so many of us like to do, they went to the lake to get out of the spotlight and get some rest.

A Healthy Gathering

But as you’ve already noticed, that didn’t last long. A big crowd is just over their shoulder. So much for a quiet day at the lake.

Just how big is this crowd and who’s in it? The original language gives us a few hints. First of all, we see that it’s “large” (πολυς/polus). This word describes a relatively large quantity or measure of something.

It can mean much, many, numerous, great, plentiful, loud, deep, or even long. “Large” points to the upper range of anything, big but not the biggest. Let’s just say this is a healthy gathering chasing Jesus down the beach.

Local Celebrity No Longer

And where are they from? “They came from all over, Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon” (v8). Well that escalated quickly. No longer is the Rabbi/Carpenter a local celebrity. His appeal has spread throughout the entire region.

Christ is clearly a hot ticket among the Hebrews. You see that by all the folks from various regions of Israel, such as Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.

He’s also getting traction among people living in lands of both Jews and Gentiles, like Idumea and the eastern side of the Jordan River.

The Twin Cities

For the first time we see a boatload of non-Jews coming to Jesus. Tyre and Sidon are the Minneapolis and St. Paul of Phoenicia. These Twin Cities are in what we know today as Lebanon.

They’re appearance in Galilee is a shocker since First Century Phoenicians aren’t worshipers of Yahweh.

It’s Jesusmania!

As if we didn’t already know, Mark gives us the reason for big crowd along the lake. “The news about His miracles spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see Him” (v8). The amazing stories of Jesus’ healings and exorcisms are in all the papers. He’s trending on Twitter.

This thing is getting big and it’s getting big FAST! He’s no longer just a local sensation in Capernaum. Forget Beatlemania. It’s got nothing on the craze over the Christ. Yup, you got it. This is Jesusmania!

Taking No Chances

Our Savior won’t get caught by surprise. He preps with His posse in case things get out of control. “Jesus instructed His disciples to have a boat ready so that the crowd would not crush Him” (v9).

He instructs His boys to have a boat nearby. You never know when an excited audience might take the ugly turn into deadly riot. Jesus may be God but, remember, He’s in human form. No reason to take unnecessary chances.

Miracle Medicine

It’s obvious from the get-go that this was not just a good idea but a lifesaver. “He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch Him” (v10). Word of Jesus’ ability to provide miraculous medical treatment is spreading like wildfire.

Think of how people go to Mexico or Europe when they read on the internet that some doctor has a unlocked the cure for cancer. They don’t care about the physician’s credentials. They simply want to get well and will do anything or go anywhere for healing. In 30 AD, that just happens to be Galilee.

An Act of Desperation

The excitement level of the big crowd explodes. Suddenly the sick “eagerly pushed forward” toward the Great Physician. Mark uses a Greek word here that describes their desperation. Επιπιπτω/epipipto describes falling or descending upon someone.

This is a compound word that means “land (Gr. -πιπτω/-pipto) on (Gr. επι-/epi-).” Picture somebody throwing themselves on another suddenly. It’s when you shift your weight so that somebody else is supporting you completely. It’s an act not just of excitement but desperation.

In a good way, this is an embrace. Like when John leans his head against Jesus at dinner (Jn 13:25). Or how about the time a dad is so excited to see his runaway son return from the pig sty (Lk 15:20).

By Any Means Necessary

In negative sense, it’s an attack. Like today at the lake. Suddenly there’s lots of pushing and shoving. This is about getting near the front by any means necessary. The irony is they came for healing and now are in danger of getting hurt.

They don’t want Jesus. They don’t want to talk to Him. They just want to get their hands on Him. They don’t care about who He is. They only want what He can do for them.

Got the T-Shirt

The words are hard to type because it’s so personal. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. Given the t-shirt to Goodwill. I’ve done over and over and over. Sad to say, you can pretty much bet the ranch that I’ll do it again.

It usually happens when life goes off the rails somehow. Big trouble at work. A “heated discussion” at home. A breakdown on the interstate. A dicy diagnosis from my doctor. Jesus is near the top of my 9-1-1 calls. My divine phone-a-friend anytime I’m in a pickle.

It goes a little something like this. Money problems. Run to Jesus. Marriage problems. Run to Jesus. Job problems. Run to Jesus. Health problems. Run to Jesus. I think you get the idea.

His Greatest Gift is Himself

Dr. Luke paints the picture of two sisters who have different views of Jesus. Martha sees the Lord as the One to give her what she wants. In this case, it’s help from her sister. Meanwhile Mary simply wants her Savior.

Christ personally corrects Martha by saying her sister has figured it out. “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her” (Lk 10:42).

Mary realizes He’s not just the means to the end, He is THE END! He’s the Point. He’s the Reason. As Max Lucado likes to say, “God’s present is His presence. His greatest gift is Himself.”

Top of the To-Do List

God says so all throughout His Word to us. Check out these lyrics from the Psalms. “Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever” (Ps 73:25-26).

In His most famous sermon, Jesus told us to put one thing and one thing only at the top of our to-do list each day. “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything that you need” (Mt 6:33).

God Loved, God Gave

I need to make it my mission to seek Him, look for Him, pursue Him. Jesus compares our search for the goodness of God to the ultimate treasure hunt. He tells the story of one guy who cashed in all his chips in order to his hands on nothing but God (Mt 13:44-46).

Specifically, that Gift is none other than the Son of God Himself. Jesus tells a dude named Nick one night that He’s THE Gift. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).

If you’ve grown up in or around church, you’ve heard that verse so many times that it loses its power. Pump your brakes and look at this amazing truth one more time. God loved. God gave. Jesus is the Gift.

More of Himself

God Himself gives Himself as the greatest blessing. Even the guy who wrote most of the New Testament is lost for words when it comes to the idea. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable Gift!” (2Cor 9:15).

So just like those desperate folks in Galilee, I need to remember that Jesus isn’t the means to the end. He is THE End. As Vaneetha Rendall Risner puts it, “The best gift God can give you is not health or prosperity or happiness in this world, but more of Himself.”

Coming out of the Woodwork

But there are more than just people with serious health problems there along the lake with the Lord. Mark tells us there’s a significant number of folks under demonic control there too. All through the Gospels, demons come out of the woodwork whenever Jesus is around.

“And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of Him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of Him shrieking, ‘You are the Son of God!’” (v11).

It’s a Throwdown Showdown

What a wild scene! The crowd crushes closer to get the hands on the Christ. Now demonically possessed people are raising a ruckus by flinging their victims at the feet of Jesus.

In John Mark’s play-by-play, he writes that these evils spirits “throw” (Gr. προσπιπτω/prospipto)” their hosts down. He uses a verb with same root word (Gr. προσπιπτω/prospipto) as when the sick people “eagerly pushed forward” to get to Jesus.

In this form, it means to fall forward in front of or even prostrate oneself in submission before another. These agents of Satan totally freak out when God is in town. Call it a throwdown showdown.

Unholy Screams

I’ll bet their unholy screams would send shivers down your spine. I love how the NLT translates the original language here as “shrieking” (Gr. κραζω/krazo). It not only means to cry out or shout with great intensity and volume but implies an unpleasant nature of the sound. Think fingernails on a chalkboard turned up to eleven.

Shrieking demons have a bad habit of revealing His supernatural identity (Mk 1:23, 26; Mk 5:7). Interestingly, the Lord tells them to stuff a sock in it. “But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who He was” (v12).

Seeing Him for Who He Is

Unlike the many people who saw Him as the means to the end, the evil spirits see Jesus for who He really is. The Son of God. Since they’re spirits, they see the spiritual world. They know full well He’s the means to their end!

So why did Jesus want them to shut up? Wasn’t He trying to get the word out? Theologians and Bible scholars have cussed and discussed this question for the past 2,000 years.

Staying on Schedule

I’m certainly not smart enough to figure it out but I think my old prof Doug Bookman is on to something. He says Christ only had three-and-a-half years to accomplish His mission before His crucifixion. In order to stay on schedule, He had to manipulate the political and religious powers.

In other words, Jesus is doing just what He tells the Twelve to do before sending them on assignment. “Be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves” (Mt 10:16). Don’t be naive. Know there are enemies. Understand the big picture.

A Grip on the News Cycle

In this case, it’s keeping viselike grip on the news cycle and release of information regarding His mission. Christ couldn’t let the power brokers know His true identity too soon or it would be all over.

The word would get out fast enough when the time is right. In the meantime, who He is and what He’s doing is under a news embargo. Jesus certainly is not going to let the Prince of Lies put his evil spin on the Good News.

You may wonder if the Lord still has His embargo in place. Absolutely not! He makes it clear that we’re to tell everybody we meet about Him (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:47-48; Acts 1:8)! Make Jesus famous everywhere you go! There are no restrictions on that!!

His Eternal Benefits Package

The best way to give Him glory is by finding our ultimate pleasure in Him. There’s not doubt our Savior does amazing and miraculous things. But that’s just part of His amazing eternal benefits package.

In Him alone, there’s contentment. In Him alone, there’s fulfillment. John Piper famously says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” In other words, Jesus isn’t the means. He’s THE End.

©2017

Jay Jennings