Jesus asks us, “Why Are You Here?” Do we drift along thinking we’re doing the right thing, that we’re on the right path? But Jesus comes along and confronts our complacency. “Why are we here?” “Why do we go to church?” “What do we want in our relationship with God?”
To find out more, click the following “Play” button to start the sermon and then scroll down to follow along….
The text was from Matthew 26:47-50. Open the drop down box below to read it…
Matthew 26
48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.”
49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.
Have you ever taken the April Fools quiz? In 5 easy questions, you can see how well you can listen and understand questions…
Questions. Do we really listen or do we formulate our answer in our minds before the question is even asked. Do we really consider the questions, or do we just give a knee jerk reaction?
Jesus knew everything, but He still went around asking people questions. The questions weren’t meant for the information in the answers, but they were a way that Jesus used to force people to confront themselves. If you really considered the question, they would drive you out of your comfort zone and force you to ask yourself, “is that really what I believe?” “Is that really what I do?” “What does that really mean?”
Jesus asked questions…
To Judas: Why are you here?
A pre-crucifixion account really matches up with a post- resurrection account….
It was Holy Thursday (Matthew 26:36-43). Jesus met with His disciples in the Upper Room for the passover meal. According to John’s Gospel, Jesus finished dinner and washed the feet of His disciples (John 13:1-13). Following the foot washing, Jesus instituted Holy Communion. During this holy time, Judas left the Upper Room to join with the religious leaders and to put the plan of betrayal into action.
After the meal, Jesus an His disciples left the city of Jerusalem and went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Judas then arrives leading a mob of Temple guards, Pharisees, other religious leaders, and Roman soldiers. Judas came with his own agenda and purpose. Surprisingly, Judas walks over to Jesus and kisses Him on the cheek to identify Jesus to anyone in the mob who didn’t already know who He was.
Jesus then asks a question as old as the world itself,
“Friend why are you here?”
Certainly Jesus knew why Judas and the band of thugs were there. Is there really any time that Jesus asked a question without knowing the answer? Could it be that:
- Jesus is offering Judas a chance to think through his actions.
… The question forces Judas to come to face to face with the reality of what he’s doing. - Jesus is offering him one last chance to recant.
… One last chance to see that he is doing what he wants and not what Jesus wants.
What questions does Jesus ask us?
To Peter: Do you love Me?
John 21:15-17 tells the account of a post-resurrection experience at the Sea of Galilee where the disciples were in a fishing boat when they catch sight of the resurrected Jesus on the beach. They quickly row the boat ashore (Peter can’t wait and instead jumps in the water and swims to the beach). Miraculously, fish are already on the grill when they gather on the beach. Jesus cooks breakfast for them. After the meal, Jesus takes Peter aside and asks him this question:
Do you love Me?
Peter answers probably much like any of us would: “Yeah. Sure Jesus. You know that I love you. Why do you ask?”
But Jesus isn’t satisfied with that flimsy answer, so He asks. “Peter, do you love Me more than anything else?” Peter starts to wonder a bit now… has Jesus suddenly become hard of hearing? Didn’t He believe that I love Him. So Peter repeats His answer. But Jesus asks a third time, and that gets Peter’s head really spinning. It gets Peter angry! The question cuts to the core. Do I really love Jesus? Will I really put Him above all other things?
Faith in Jesus requires a commitment. Jesus keeps pushing.
What questions does Jesus ask us?
To Bartimaius: What do you want Me to Do?
Mark 10:46-52 tells us the story of a blind beggar. We don’t even know this person’s real name; we just know him as Bartimaeus. That’s not his real name; he’s simply known as the son of Timaeus. He’s on the trash heap of society, forced to sit along the Jericho roadside and beg for coins.
But when he hears that Jesus is about to pass by, he cries out, “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me.” The crowd tries to shut him up but he yells out even louder. Jesus, the Son of God, hears this beggar and stops in His busy tracks. He goes to Bartimaeus and asks this blind man a question that we would think is so obvious:
“What do you want Me to do for you?”
Of course, he wants to see again! He wants to throw away that putrid mat he’s been living on, pick himself up, and get out of the street. He wants to live and form relationships with other people. He wants friends; he wants to be loved like a real human being. He’s tired of living on the trash heap.
Or is he? Did he come to his usual spot that morning expecting that this particular day would change his whole world? Was he in his comfort zone living the life he had always known? Did he really want Jesus to change the entire life by giving him sight?
What questions does Jesus ask us?
To Us:
…Why are WE Here?… What do WE want of Jesus?
… Do WE love Him?
Jesus’ questions are personal. What is life? Do YOU want a relationship with Jesus? Do YOU love Jesus above anything else? Salvation is personal; you can’t get to heaven on somebody else’s coat tails. In the Gospel accounts, Jesus wanted to know these people personally; just like He wants to know you and me. He wants to know us personally, not casually. He doesn’t throw a big blanket over all of us and group us together. He comes to each of us.
Could it be that many of us know ABOUT Jesus, but do we really know HIM? Today, as Jesus asked Peter, we must face the question: “Do I love Jesus?” We may have family members who love Jesus, we may have friends who love Jesus, we may attend a church where everyone loves Jesus… But that means nothing for any of us as individuals if we don not love Him personally.
Jesus’ call is personal…
Jesus didn’t make small talk. He didn’t ask, do you love the Pope? Do you love your doctrine? Do you love your church? Do you love your parents? Do you love your wife, your husband, your children? No- it was and is, “Do you love ME?”
Jesus isn’t concerned about what we wear to church; He’s concerned about our heart. Jesus said I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Do you believe that? Do You Love Me???
Love for Jesus is central to the Christian life; without it, nothing else matters. Jesus presses us for a commitment; He’s not content with “vain repetitions” or lip service. 1 John 4:7-11 tells us,
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. NIV
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus constantly asks people questions. Questions that aren’t meant to be taken as small talk, but questions that are probing and cut to the heart of our relationship with God. Jesus asked these questions on-on-one to individuals, and He asks them of us today. Here are a few examples, all from the Gospel according to Luke…
Some years ago, there was an account of some answers children provided to a question asked by their Sunday school teacher. The question was: Why do you love your Mom and why do you love your Dad?
Their answers were beautiful, poignant, and at times, funny. Here are a few of them…
The children understood the question and answered honestly. They didn’t allow themselves to be influenced from any outside force.
The common thread through all of these stories is the fact that those children are learning at home and a church the greatest lesson in life: How to love God and how to love people. That, my friends, is what your life and my life is all about.
Why are you here? What do you want? Do you love Jesus? Here’s how St. Francis of Assisi expressed his answers:
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
Why are you here? What do you want? Do you love Me?
Have you reflected on these questions that Jesus asks us? What are your answers?
Quiz Time!
As you reflect on what you’ve just heard/read, give this quiz a try. If you don’t understand an answer (or if you disagree with the “correct” answer, post a comment)…
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