Sunday
Morning Bible Study
March
23, 2008
Introduction
What is “amazing”?
I am a language nut. I like to think about words and what they mean. The
New Testament was written in Greek, and in the original language there are
several words that can be translated “amazing”.
marveled
(2296) – thaumazo – eyes open in wonder; to
wonder, marvel; to be had in admiration; I think of a person whose eyes get
wide open and their mouth drops open in awe and wonder…
This is a word that was often used to describe Jesus or the things He did.
One day Jesus and the disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when a
sudden storm came up. Jesus simply rebuked the wind and the waves and suddenly
the storm stopped.
Mt 8:27
So the men marveled, saying,
"Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"
Mt 9:33 And when the demon was cast
out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled <2296>,
saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"
Mt 22:22 When they had heard these
words, they marveled <2296>, and left Him and went their way.
Lu 4:22 So all bore witness to Him, and
marveled <2296> at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.
Lu 9:43 And they were all amazed at the
majesty of God. But while everyone marveled <2296> at all the
things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples,
Lu 24:12 But Peter arose and ran to the
tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he
departed, marveling <2296> to himself at what had happened.
amazed
(1839) – existemi – knocked off your feet; to
throw out of position; to astonish, throw into wonderment. It’s the idea of
being so amazed that you are knocked off your feet.
While staying at Peter’s house, a group of buddies brought their paralyzed
friend, dug a hole in Peter’s roof and let their friend down by a rope to
Jesus. Jesus was touched by their faith. He healed the man.
Mr 2:12
Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them
all, so that all were amazed and
glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
amazed
(2285) – thambos – frozen in your tracks; to
render immovable; amazement, a hint of terror; it’s the idea of being frozen in
your tracks at what you’ve seen.
One day Jesus went into the synagogue at Capernaum and there was a man
there who was demon-possessed. Jesus rebuked the demon and told it to shut up
and come out of the man. It did.
Lu 4:36
Then they were all amazed and spoke
among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority
and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."
The people were frozen in their tracks, a bit trembling, at the awesome
display of His power.
Kind of reminds me of “Buckwheat” when something scary happens… here’s a
clip from Spanky and Our Gang where Buckwheat is told to stand watch on a dark
and stormy night while the other boys break into school, and he sits down on a
toy … (Buckwheat video)
astonished
(1605) – ekplesso – wind knocked out; to
strike out, expel by a blow, astonished, amazed; it’s like being punched in the
gut and you can’t catch your breath.
The word is often used to describe Jesus’ teaching.
After the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus taught things like:
(Mat 5:44
NKJV) "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse
you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you
and persecute you,
Look at how the people responded to Jesus’ teaching:
Mt 7:28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these
sayings, that the people were astonished
at His teaching,
I want to share a video that has little clips from the life of Jesus. The
video is going to talk about these words we’ve looked at. The challenge of the
video is this, are YOU amazed at Jesus?
Are You Amazed Video
One of the most amazing things about Jesus is His grace.
What is “grace”?
grace – charis – a good gift; that which
affords joy, pleasure, delight. The root idea of “grace” is that of a gift. It
is something that is undeserved, unmerited. It’s doing something that gives joy
to another person even when they don’t deserve it.
A test: I think one test of whether or not you are
gracious is your attitude when you do something good for another person. Do you resent it when other people aren’t
being as nice as you? Do you get mad at
others for not sacrificing as much as you?
Jesus is what grace is all about.
(John 1:14 NKJV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of
grace and truth.
(John 1:17 NKJV) For the law was given through Moses, but grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ.
One of the things I find most amazing about Jesus was this accusation He
constantly faced by the religious people of the day. They constantly accused Him
of being a “friend of sinners”.
He had a reputation of hanging out with the worst kind of people and
treating them with dignity and respect.
The woman that was caught in adultery (John 8) was thrown down before Jesus
and they asked Him if she should be stoned. Jesus responded, “He who is without
sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” When her accusers all left
Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
That’s grace that’s amazing.
One time Jesus invited Himself over to the house of a man named Zacchaeus,
a tax collector with a reputation of stealing money and cheating people. Some
of the people watching Jesus complained that He was going to be eating with a
horrible sinner. But Jesus knew what He was doing. He cared for Zacchaeus and
Zacchaeus responded to Jesus’ kindness and changed. Jesus said,
(Luke 19:9-10 NKJV) And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation
has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; {10} "for the
Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
John Newton
John Newton was born in London
in 1725. He was raised by his Christian mother until the age of seven, when his
mother died. At that point his life went downhill. His father was a sea
captain. He grew up at sea knowing a life of abuse and humiliation. He would go
on to make a living through slavery.
While on a slave ship during a storm on March 21, 1748 (260 years ago), he
cried out to God to save him. It was his first taste of grace.
He eventually went on to become a pastor.
He wrote the words to his famous hymn somewhere around late 1772 (24 years
later) for a sermon he preached on New Year’s Day, 1773. He based his sermon on
the text:
(1 Chr 17:16) Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and
he said: "Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have
brought me this far?
John Newton wrote these
words in his journal on 21 March 1796 (another 24 years later), at the age of
70.
“Oh it was mercy indeed to save a wretch like me”
He never forgot that
“great turning day” in 1748 when he turned to Christ, when he discovered, “How
precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.”
He wrote in his last will and testament (died at age 82, 1807):
I commit my soul to my gracious God and Savior, who mercifully spared and
preserved me, when I was an apostate, a blasphemer, and an infidel, and
delivered me from the state of misery on the coast of Africa into which my obstinate
wickedness had plunged me; and who has been pleased to admit me (though most
unworthy) to preach his glorious gospel.
All through his life, John Newton never lost the sense of how amazing God’s
grace was.
Jesus’ ultimate demonstration of grace came when He willingly gave up His
life for us, dying on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
He Himself was sinless. He didn’t have to die for anyone’s sins. Yet this
is what He did.
(Rom 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
What do you do with amazing grace?
You say “yes”.
Jesus invites you to know His grace. He offers you a gift, the gift of
forgiveness, the gift of eternal life. This is the greatest gift that’s ever
been offered.
Say “yes” to His gift. Receive His gift.
You’ll never be the same.