Reading Mark 1 vs 14 - 34

Did Jesus Fail?

Sunday 8th May 2005 was the 60th anniversary of a famous victory. On that Sunday many people thought of the end of WW ll in Europe but there is another, even greater victory to be remembered on that day.

I once read an article that said that The Lord Jesus was defeated and a failure. The writer explained that The Lord Jesus experienced failure in what He tried to do so that He could have an understanding with us in the things in which we fail. It was an article that could not be more completely wrong. The Lord Jesus never failed in anything that He did. In the work that The Lord Jesus came to do he was totally successful in every aspect. He won a great victory.

You might argue that His ministry got off to a promising start but He made too many powerful enemies and He was silenced after only three years. His followers all ran away and His arrest, false trial and execution on the cross brought an end to what He had set out to achieve before He had been able to do very much at all. Just as corrupt and evil officials have dealt with many other men down through the centuries it might be argued that The Lord Jesus suffered the same injustice and defeat as many before him and many since. Many of the Old Testament Prophets and New Testament teachers suffered a similar end to their life. Many missionaries, even in recent years, have endured great suffering and hardship only to be murdered by those they set out to help. This, it was explained in the article I read was what happened to The Lord Jesus - He failed in His purpose, defeated by evil men.

If we read not only the Gospel accounts but also all of scripture we find a different story, we find the true reality of what The Lord Jesus did.

It struck me the other day reading in Marks gospel how powerful The Lord Jesus was in His work on earth.

He was born in obscurity in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth - a despised place. We read how at 12 years old He astonished the great teachers of His day in the temple,Luke 2:47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. When He returned to Nazareth we read in Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. At thirty, after being baptized by John The Baptist in Jordan and after receiving The Holy Spirit from God, and hearing the voice of God from heaven that He was The Beloved Son of God and that men were to hear what He said, The Lord Jesus began His open conflict with satan, sin, suffering and death.

As we read through the gospel records of what The Lord Jesus did we find an account of success after success.

After His baptism God led him into the wilderness. Satan concentrated all his attention on trying to get The Lord Jesus to do something wrong. He came to The Lord Jesus and tried to lead Him astray just as He'd tried with Eve and Adam in the garden of Eden. How many times did satan tempt Adam and Eve? Just once. Satan failed three times with The Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus answered him from Gods Word and successfully resisted not just one but three attempts by satan to cause Him to sin.

After this The Lord Jesus began to teach Gods truth in Galilee as we read in Mark 1: 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. The Lord Jesus set out on a ministry that was perfect in every way. People who heard Him were taken aback. Mark 1: 22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. The scribes were experts in the written law. They copied the scripture by hand and studied it in depth but The Lord Jesus taught in a way they could not and people were shaken by it. Satan tried to disrupt Jesus' teaching. He took control of a man and made him shout out in the service while Jesus was teaching. The Lord Jesus simply ordered the devil out of the man and He was left in peace. The people were impressed by The Lord Jesus' power rather than by satans' attempt to disrupt what He had to say. Satan failed again.

After the service Jesus went to Peter, one of His disciple's house and healed his mother in law of a fever. The Lord Jesus went on to heal crowds of people from all sorts of illnesses and to cast devils out of many poor people. Illness came into the world with sin after satan gained his victory over Adam and Eve. The Lord Jesus was able to overcome the effects of sin in people's health and to rescue people from the power of the devil. Satan failed again.

The Lord Jesus healed a leper, a man plagued with leprosy, a horrible disease that no physician could cure. It was believed that only God could heal leprosy and sufferers were commanded to go to the priests not to doctors. With a word Jesus healed the man - what did that healing say about The Lord Jesus? It tells us that Jesus is God.

He forgave a paralysed man his sin then healed his paralysis. Which was easier to say - you're forgiven or you're healed? He raised dead people to life on several occasions, defeating another effect of satans' victory over mankind. John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. Satan failed again.

Satan stirred up opposition to The Lord Jesus from the religious leaders of the day and even the people from His hometown of Nazareth. The people at Nazareth tried to throw Him off a cliff but He simply walked through the crowd and left. The authorities kept trying to catch Him out so they could accuse Him but He always answered so wisely and carefully that they never had anything against Him that they could accuse Him of.

With all this hate and hostility we might have expected The Lord Jesus to be "on the run", hiding in safe houses and dens, always on the move to keep one step ahead of the people that were out to get Him. Not a bit of it. The Lord Jesus went where He wanted to go, He did what He wanted to do and He said what He wanted to say. He plainly spoke of the evil ways of those who were after Him. He was angry with them for the way they deceived the people with their false teaching. Matthew 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. There were occasions when He took His disciples aside to teach them in peace but He never hid out like we might expect Him to have done. Satan failed again.

The Lord Jesus did, eventually and quite deliberately, go to Jerusalem and there He suffered terrible things that ended with His death on the cross at Calvary. This was part of His plan just as everything else he did was part of His plan.

The very first reference that is made in the Bible to the coming of The Lord Jesus refers to His being wounded. Addressing the serpent after Adam's fall into sin in Eden, God said in Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. A head injury is more of a concern than a bruised heel. This was a prophesy that satan would one day be overcome by someone born of a woman. All through the Old Testament there are prophecies of how the coming Saviour would suffer and die. The sacrifice of lambs at the Passover, other offerings made for sin and many very clear teachings about how the Lord Jesus would save His people are to be found in Gods Word written hundreds of years before He was born at Bethlehem.

The things that The Lord Jesus endured were all part of His plan. They were all decided in advance and agreed between The Lord Jesus and His Heavenly Father. Step-by-step, day-by-day, hour-by-hour and in exact detail The Lord Jesus carried out everything that was planned. Whilst He planned to continue His ministry His enemies could not lay a finger on Him. When He set his face to go to Jerusalem that last time He went to lay down His life as a further step in Gods' plan of salvation for sinners. Referring to his life He told His disciples in John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. The Lord Jesus did not fail - He was completely victorious in absolutely everything that He set out to do. Satan did not understand Jesus' plan of salvation - otherwise he'd have done all he could to stop Him going to Calvary - not that he'd ever stand a chance of success.

Millions of people suffered many things in order to win the victory of 8th May 1945: things that we, God willing, will never have to face. The suffering and casualties in that conflict are beyond comprehension.

The Lord Jesus suffered terrible things in order to win His victory next to which the sufferings of all mankind in all history are but a drop in the ocean. He suffered the physical pain of the shameful death of a criminal on the cross when He had lived an entirely perfect life. More than this He also endured the greater agony of being forsaken by His Heavenly Father as He hung there in the place of those He came to save from their sin because, as he hung there He bore all the sin of all His people and God cannot look upon sin. Yet all He suffered was part of His plan which He successfully completed.

We remembered the victory in Europe 60 years ago on 8th May 2005 but EVERY Sunday we have a reminder that The Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week - on a Sunday morning. He rose victorious over all His enemies having successfully completed all that He came into the world to do. The Bible is completely clear on this. How can what The Lord Jesus did possibly be considered as failure? We read in Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. The Lord Jesus has defeated satan. Satan has failed in his quest to drag all mankind into hell because The Lord Jesus has chosen a multitude of people which no man can number. He has chosen them, he has suffered and died in their place and has gained the victory over sin, satan and hell for them.

Such as trust in This Victorious Lord Jesus alone for the forgiveness of their sin and for peace with God are eternally safe and have nothing to fear from their enemies, their sin, Satan, or Gods law, for sin is pardoned, the law is abolished, and satan is conquered.

Do you trust The Lord Jesus alone for the safety of your soul?

If your trust is anywhere but in Him then you are in grave danger. Unless you have a part in the victory over sin that The Lord Jesus has won you have nothing but a part in satans' failure and you are facing a lost eternity in hell with him and his entire evil host.

Do not delay. Ask The Lord Jesus to deliver you from your sin and to give you a part in His victory. He has promised that all who seek Him will find Him as their Saviour. All who ask Him for forgiveness will receive it.