Many who Heard Jesus were Puzzled

The topic of this chapter is from the opposite side of Jesus, the confusion was generated when people faced the coming of Jesus, the son of God.

When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. (Mark 06:2-3)

Can you understand what these people were thinking in their minds? They had witnessed what Jesus had done. If you ever see a man speaking wise words and having authority from God, everyone He touched and those who touched him were healed. When you meet such a person, do you have the same confusion as the people in Jesus' hometown?

Many of us have experienced miracles from God, but some people got confused afterwards. The reason for generating confusion is the way how people see things. One type of people sees things from a spiritual perspective and another type of people is worldly and living in the flesh. When you start looking at things from a spiritual perspective, you will understand that Jesus taught as one who had authority, performed miracles and possessed the power of healing. The Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us, nothing is too hard for God.

For those people in Jesus' hometown, we can forgive them because they did not see the miracles. But many who heard Jesus were amazed: "Where did this man get these things?" For those who are in the realm of the flesh and the spirit at the same time, will fall into perplexity. Do you often see things from a different point of view? If so, you will surely get confused. If we keep looking at things from a spiritual perspective, there will be no confusion at all.

Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah and the answer to all our problems in life. But those people who lived in Jesus' hometown did not see it that way, they were thinking Jesus was Mary's son and the carpenter. Today, do you see things from a spiritual perspective? If not, you can always find faults with everything all the time.

There was a lot of confusion among us. For example, taking medicine has puzzled a lot of people for a long time. If you saw the news recently, the biopharmaceutical industry is becoming more monopolistic, many doctors will consider the side effects of the medicines before actually taking them. We have a brother in our church who has a medical background, he often prays instead of taking medicines.

In my opinion, Jesus Christ came into the world as the Son of God, He is the greatest doctor. I encourage you to start seeing things from a spiritual perspective. If you ever want to be a spiritual person, then just be a spiritual person. If you want to be a man of the world, then just be a worldly person. Just don't become a spiritual and worldly person at the same time, because you will surely get confused.

Every logic system is rigorous , you can't go from one system to thw another. In mathematics, there is one kind of trigonometry called plane trigonometry and another called spherical trigonometry. The difference between the two trigonometries is the axioms and theorems. If you use plane trigonometry to make a sphere and use spherical trigonometry to make a plane, you will end up getting a zero score. Today, I encourage you to keep pursuing Jesus Christ.

This morning, I prayed for a sister's mother-in-law who was sweating, trembling and aching in her chest. She sat down in front of the camera, I prayed for her and she got better within minutes. She got healed because we have faith in God. Jesus died on the cross for us, He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds, we are healed. If we acknowledge this, our prayers will bring healing power from God. Is there anyone who prayed and did not get healed? Yes, only God and the person know the reason why there was no healing.

Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

In the age of Jesus Christ, you will find that you can receive the grace of God by faith. The grace has been granted by God, it is your choice whether to accept it or not.

Many who Heard the Gospel were Puzzled

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. (Mark 6:7)

For someone to get healed is a great blessing from God. No one can assure they will not get sick throughout their lives. What we fear the most today is illness or sickness. By knowing God, we can solve these problems.

The disciples of Jesus were all fishermen or citizens, they were humble and not capable. But when they went out to pray and cast out demons, people got healed. Strangely, some people do not want to accept the gospel. Why? Because they are thinking: "I am fine today and I will never encounter any sickness or demons in my life." When somethings happens, what should you do?

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'"

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." (Mark 5:25-34)

Today, let us not wait until the last minute before touching Jesus' garment. We have to know that Jesus Christ is a precious treasure and we need to keep pursuing Him. Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him. The seventy-two were the ones who had seen the miracles done by Jesus.

How did people get confused? These people always assume things won't happen to them and they never thought about it. How do we know it won't happen to us? What can you do when it comes to you? Jesus said: "Why some people don't come to God?" Because they are busy with the nitty-gritty of daily life.

We have a sister in our church, her friend has raised a lot of cows on the farm. When the cows got sick, her friend asked her to pray. The next day, the cows were healed. This is something amazing! God even healed the cows. We need to change our minds today. When you see this, do not think this is something impossible.

When we preach the gospel to others, we are telling people to repent, driving out demons and healing the sick.

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. foot (Matthew 10:14)

God is looking for people who have faith in Him. For those who are still in the blindfold, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with them. We have to know that everything that Jesus does concerns us.

Herod Lost in Confusion

We thought Herod killed John the Baptist. However, according to the Bible, Herod was trying to protect John. Herod was a king who feared John the Baptist and did everything he said. The question is why Hero still killed John? Because Herod lost his words and promised the daughter of Herodias with an oath: whatever she wants will be given.

When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you."

And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?"

"The head of John the Baptist," she answered.

At once the girl hurried into the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter. "

The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So, he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:22-29)

After killing John the Baptist, Herod was confused as he heard that Jesus had performed many miracles and spoke in the synagogues. Herod also heard that the disciples were sent out by Jesus to heal the sick and cast out demons. Herod was wondering who was this man and he thought it might be John the Baptist was raised from the dead.

That is to say, Herod had some spiritual concepts in his mind. In this world, there are a lot of people who have spiritual concepts in their minds. For example, one of our brothers said: "We are living in a rural area, everyone knows the reality of the spiritual world". For example, my father was a fortune-teller. Whenever he tried to cast my fortune, things just happened to me. This is the reality of the spiritual world.

Herod was confused because his brother's wife was so beautiful. Both of them fell in love because they had physical and spiritual needs. What kind of people can easily get confused? Those who have experienced the miracles and the reality of the spiritual world, but still love the world.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. (1 John 2:15)

Many brothers and sisters among us, their minds and hearts have been renewed by God. It was because they are persistent in being a spiritual person. Herod was greatly puzzled. Can you believe what he was saying? He believed John has been raised from the dead.

But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!" (Mark 6:16)

In the Old Testament, Abraham was the only one who believed in the resurrection from the dead. We have to know that those who died in Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead. If we are in the generation for the second coming of Christ, all the dead people will be resurrected and each person will be judged according to what they had done.

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. (1 Corinthians 15:13-14)

If we die in Jesus Christ, we will be resurrected one day. If we do not believe the resurrection of the dead, then we would not know that Christ was raised from the dead and our faith is in vain. Herod believed the resurrection, but the question is: what should we do after resurrection? Herod what wondering how he would stand before God because he was in both the world and eternal life, Herod was heading to destruction by making his decision. In the faith of Christ, there is no two-way choice.

For me to continue to live on the earth, it is because I only live for Jesus and that is my choice. As of now, it doesn't matter if you can't follow my thoughts, but you have to start thinking about what if people were raised from the dead? What would you do? You have to renew the logic system in your mind and never be someone who is half demon and half Jesus.

People are Puzzled

The First Confusion: Eating and Drinking

If you were Herod, you are entitled not to seek God because you have all the good food and refreshments. But for those worldly people, all their days their work is grief and pain. Two thousand years ago, many people never had enough to eat. When I was a kid, it was a puzzle about whether I could get enough to eat. My mother always said: "Five more years and we will be out of debt." What kind of life is this? The only hope was to pay off the debts. When celebrating the New Year, we were so happy because the meat was available.

What else are people confused about? What is it means to be alive? Have you tried to seek for glory and honour, and immorality, eternal life? It is easy for people to get lost. Day after day, year after year and all die in the end, this is the biggest sorrow in a person's life! People are greatly puzzled because they are thinking: "If I don't work, how can I continue to live in this world?" Jesus performed a miracle. He fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. Our God is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Today, we need to put our faith in Christ, and all these confusions will be gone.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25)

Can you believe the miracle performed by Jesus by taking the five loaves and the two fish to feed five thousand people? If you are a devout Christian and believe what Jesus had done, would you be short of anything? No! In the Old Testament, it was truly a miracle that the Israelites came out of Egypt and walked through the desert for forty years without wearing out their clothes or shoes. Today, if you are still worried about what to eat and drink, you need to lay down and be nothing solicitous.

Yet the Lord says, "During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. (Deuteronomy 29:5)

Jesus said: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." After people ate the food, they just walked away. Why? They were confused because they could not understand. What they were looking for was food to fill their empty stomachs. If these people were looking for eternal life, they would not have left Jesus. Today, if you have one foot in the world and one foot in Christ, you will surely lose the grace of God. We have to know that Jesus Christ is our provider.

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrews 12:15)

The Second Confusion: Man Can Conquer Nature

There are a lot of people who tried to fight against natural disasters. The tsunami happened in Japan and Southeast Asia, many people lost their lives. So, don't ever think that man can conquer nature.

All our daily needs can be satisfied in Jesus Christ. Jesus rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. Jesus also walked on the water. All these things demonstrated that the Word became flesh, and God who made the world, and everything whatsoever is in it, and is the Lord of the Heavens and of The Earth. Today, those who come to Jesus Christ will be blessed because Jesus can solve all the problems in our life.

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. (Mark 6:53-56)

The verses mentioned, "All who touched it were healed". Not just some, nor were not healed. God has been faithful with abundant grace, we will be satisfied and healed by the grace of God. If you're busy at work and cannot manage your time. I have good news for you: God created the time, and He can set you free if you have faith.

Herod and those who came to Jesus Christ, and even the disciples were greatly puzzled. Let us not be confused today, but seek for the grace of God by faith!