How Jesus Is Mocked

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word, be ready in season, and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV)

Throughout the Gospels, the call of Jesus Christ is, “Follow me.” It is not, “Get saved and I’ll see you in Heaven.” Often we live that way. It’s as if Heaven will be about Jesus and this life is about us. That is not the way God calls us to live. He calls us to live our lives with Christ in full view every day. Jesus died on the cross so that we might live this way. He came and gave His life so that we might be filled with the Holy Spirit and include Him in every thought, decision and activity in life. When we exclude Him, we mock Him. When we replace Him, we mock Him. When we don’t hold Him as our supreme treasure, we mock Him.

Paul tells Timothy, that by the power of Christ:
-- Because He is the judge
-- Because He has come
-- Because He has established a kingdom
that we should constantly be proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. We should have a constant knowledge of what is true and what is consistent when it comes to the Christian faith. We should find our joy in turning to the real, authentic Jesus Christ, Savior of the World.

How then will we know Christ? Through teaching. Whether that comes in the form of hearing God’s Word preached in a local church through a teacher, studying the Bible with a small group, studying God’s Word with your family, or simply studying God’s Word on your own – we have been called to value Christ by learning. When we do not value Jesus enough to learn about Him and His ways – we mock Him.

Paul says a day is coming when man will turn to whatever they want to hear – that is, their itching ears will exchange the real truth for one that is comfortable for them. We live in a day like that. From:
-- The DaVinci Code
-- The Gospel of Judas
-- The Story of Jesus walking on ice
-- Churches that would close on Christmas Day
-- Preachers teaching from a man-centered view of the life instead of a God-centered view of life.
We live in a day when there are ample supplies of teachers that will give you what you WANT to hear instead of what you NEED to hear. Jesus Christ came with hard sayings:
If anyone would come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24
No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back if fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62

There is a quote in the Chronicles of Narnia that refers to Christ...one of the characters asks, “Is he safe?” and another character responds, “No, but he is good.”

When we try to take the edge off of Christ, we do mock Christ.

When we try to sanitize Him, we mock Him.

When we try make Him comfortably fit in the box of our life, we mock Him.

When we try to shape Him into the image we desire, instead of asking Him to shape our lives, we mock Him.

Are you mocking Christ today? Just as the soldiers tried to command Him, “Prophecy and tell us who hit you!”, are you mocking Christ by trying to make Him conform to your will instead of submitting your life to Him and His kingdom?