Impossible

I'm guessing that most of you have heard the saying, ‘He can’t see the forest for all the trees.’ The point of that proverb is that someone is so fixed on all of the details that he misses the big picture. We can sometimes do that when it comes to the Bible. The details become so important the big picture is missed. So, today, my goal is to take our text and just look at the big picture. What’s one large point that the text is making? With that in mind listen as I read this morning’s text, John 6.1-14.

You’ve heard before about what happened here. You know about the details: Five thousand hungry people, the five loaves and two fish, doubting disciples, twelve baskets of leftovers. So much for the trees. What’s the big picture? What’s the point, or at least one of the big points? Well, how does this sound? Jesus did something that is impossible. He created food, bread and fish, real food that the people tasted. You can’t do that. It’s not possible. There’s even a law of physics about that. You can’t do that.  I can’t do that. Jesus could not do that. But he did it. On that day, Jesus did what, frankly, is impossible. So, here’s the point, the big picture: Jesus does the impossible.

So, now that we’ve established that point, what do we do with it? Well, I suppose that someone could say, ‘Well, that’s interesting’, and then go on to the next thing on his to-do list. A person can do that if he has a category labeled something like ‘Spiritual Truths’. This is a collection of interesting facts about religion that are true over there, away from real life. These ‘spiritual truths’ might come out during a religious discussion on a Sunday morning, but they really don’t have anything to do with life on Thursday afternoons. And sad to say, there are lots of folks that do that sort of thing these days. Now, I’m pretty sure that you don’t want to do that. You know that this is not some ‘religious truth’. It’s plain old regular truth, like 2+2 = 4. It is a truth that speaks to our day by day reality. So, again, let me ask that question. We’ve established the point that Jesus does the impossible. What do we do with that?

Consider the conversation that Jesus had with the father of the demon-possessed boy.

And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’? All things are possible for one who believes.”

So, what do you think? Is it true that all things are possible - that Jesus will do the impossible - for one who believes?

We have been taught to draw this thick black line through the middle of life. This side of the line is labeled ‘Reasonable’. The other side is labeled ‘Get Real!’ - or ‘Impossible’. We see the line and accept what we’ve been told. There are certain things that are just impossible, so we shouldn’t waste any time even considering them. We need to be reasonable about our expectations of life. But, as we’ve seen, Jesus does the impossible. So, how do we put that truth together with this way of thinking that has the thick black line? Well, they don’t go together. That thick black line needs to be reconsidered. Should it be there? ‘All things are possible for one who believes’ - even impossible things.

Let’s add another question. What’s included here? When we say that Jesus does impossible things are we limited to things like feeding a lot of people with almost nothing? Are there other impossible things that he can do? Oh, yes. There are all sorts of impossible things that he can do. Here’s one: He can change you. I read this week about a middle-aged woman who committed suicide. It was very sad. I don’t know the details of what led up to that. But this much I know. When a person does that it’s because he has come to the conclusion that there is no hope for change. ‘Life hurts too much, and it’s never going to be different. This is just the way it is, and I can’t deal with it anymore. Death will be a relief.’ It isn’t, of course, but that is the lie that is believed. I certainly hope that none of you will ever get anywhere near that level of despair. There is always hope. I can say that because Jesus has come. But I’m going to guess that while you may not have considered suicide, some of you have looked at some aspect of your life - something about yourself or your relationships, something - and you have told yourself, ‘Well, that will never change. Turning that around is … impossible.’ Is it?

Consider one of the things about your life that gets you down. It might be anything: a desire denied, a relationship that isn’t working very well, some physical problem, something else. What do you tell yourself when you consider it? There certainly is the temptation to simply resign yourself to your fate. ‘That will never change.’ But you realize what the assumption behind that attitude is. ‘Significantly altering that situation is impossible.’ Is that true? Or have you bought the lie about that thick black line?

Consider that sinful habit of yours that has been such a problem for such a long time. You know that giving in to that temptation is just plain wrong. You would be shamed if people knew. But time and again, that’s exactly what you do. You’ve tried to get rid of it, but though there have been little victories here and there, it’s two steps forward and three back. You are convinced: changing that habit, that sin, is impossible. Is it?

Jesus has come to change your life. Isn’t that what the Gospel is all about – dealing with the gap between who you are now and who you were actually meant to be? The Gospel is about making that gap disappear so that you can become the beautiful person God intended. Jesus has come to change you. He has already started to do that. And as impossible as it may seem, he will not stop until he finishes what he started. That’s the Gospel, and it is the reason why we always have hope. One day your life will be completely beautiful.

That’s one kind of impossible that Jesus has set out to do. Here’s another. Jesus intends to change the world. And what he has in mind is not just some little alterations around the edges. He intends a massive overhaul. He is going to establish the Kingdom of God over everything here in this world. Now, try to picture what that means. I think that it’s obvious that our culture is falling apart. There are all sorts of social, political and economic evidence for that. But don’t be distracted by those things. They are just the symptoms. The real issue behind and underneath those symptoms is this. Everyone is focused on building his own little kingdom. This kingdom of theirs is going to be their place of safety and comfort, a place that they control. And that’s the goal of their lives. The details might look different from one subculture to another, but it’s still about creating their own realm of safety and comfort and control. But these people don’t understand what’s really going on. They haven’t taken a look behind the obvious and visible. What they are really doing in building their own little kingdoms is helping Satan build his kingdom, a kingdom of rebels who oppose the true King. But Jesus has seen all of that, and he has come to undo it all. He has come to destroy what Satan has built over the millennia. Jesus has come to destroy it and replace it. He has come to establish a kingdom that his Father runs, a kingdom where all the subjects willingly submit to the true King. And he was quite up front about this.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

This kingdom started small, as small as, say, a mustard seed. But it will end up as something huge. It started out as that little bit of yeast in the dough but it will spread throughout until it changes it all. Jesus has come to change the world, to establish the Kingdom of God. Impossible? Jesus does the impossible. Or are you still drawing that thick black line through the middle of life? The Gospel is about the Son of God who has come to change everything - everything. And the word ‘impossible’ has no meaning for him as he pursues his mission.

So, if this is all true - and it is - what are you to do? Well, that depends. I’m guessing that some of you need to repent. You’ve bought the lie about that thick black line. Being fooled by a lie isn’t a sin. But the resultant unbelief is. Jesus said, ‘All things are possible for one who believes’, and some of you have responded with a, ‘No they’re not! Get real!’ Now, you may not have used those words, but there have been situations where that is exactly what you believed. ‘Even Jesus couldn’t change this!’ Really? That’s the sin of unbelief. Fortunately, there is forgiveness for sin when there is repentance.

Now, whether you need to repent of the sin of unbelief or not, you do need to pray. But you need to pray in faith. Remember, ‘All things are possible for one who believes’. Now, be careful. That doesn’t mean that you write up your wish list, work up this feeling of conviction that you label ‘believing’ and then send all of that on to the Father. Believing prayer isn’t a matter of presenting your list of demands. Believing prayer starts by believing. It starts by hearing what Jesus has said and accepting that as of first importance. He has the wish list of things that he wants to do and will do. Believing prayer is just the faithful response of a disciple who says, ‘I see what you want, Lord, and I want that too.’

So, when Jesus says he intends to change the world, to replace all these little rebellious fiefdoms with God’s Kingdom, your response is, ‘I want that too, Lord. “Thy Kingdom come.” So, what do you think about changing this part over here.’ Or take a look at your life and the nasty sin that remains. ‘Lord, how about changing me here? How about making me just like you when it comes to these kinds of situations where I always blow it?’ That’s believing prayer.

It may well be that a place for some of you to begin to pray is something that has to come before all of that. Maybe you need to pray that you would believe that Jesus has come to do the impossible. Maybe you need to pray that that thick black line gets erased, that you would be able to see that, for Jesus, there is no such category as ‘Impossible'.

Now, how do you know if you’re getting it? Well, the answer to that is fairly obvious, no? You begin to pray for impossible things that you know Jesus wants to happen, or at least you think he wants to happen. When you do that you begin to see that he has heard you. Jesus responds to your faith in him and does what you had thought was impossible. And out of that comes praise.

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

The key here is the word ‘wonderful’. It’s a word that has, sadly, lost its punch. Do you know what a wonderful deed is? It is something that Jesus does that we all just knew was impossible. And seeing what he has done, this impossible deed, fills us with wonder, with awe. And that sense of wonder at our Savior shows. ‘I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.’ When that becomes the theme of your life, then you know that you’re getting it.

Now, we are a Reformed and Presbyterian church. And if any kind of church has a reputation for not expecting awe and wonder these days, not expecting the impossible, it’s our kind of church. But it is clear to me that Jesus has come to change all sorts of things, even stoic Reformed and Presbyterian churches (along with their pastors!). Jesus has come to do impossible things, and that is exactly what I expect him to do.