I was not raised in a Christian home.* I first heard about Christ when God planted in my seventh-grade classroom a fanatical twelve-year-old Pentecostal preacher who made it his goal to win me to the Lord that year. His approach was simple: he met me at the classroom door each morning and told me, “Chuck, it’s a good thing you lived through the night.” He would then continue, “if you hadn’t, you’d be in hell right now. But . . . you can receive Jesus into your heart right now.”
His technique was not the best, but somewhere in the midst of that message God drove truth into my heart—and my life has never been the same. I remember being so overwhelmed that I loudly emphasized all the words in “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound” the first time I sang this great hymn.
The songs were amazing. The believers were amazing. The preaching was amazing. My Sunday school class was amazing. The fellowship meals were amazing. Even the church bus that picked me up on Sunday morning seemed amazing.
Do you remember those days?
As much as anything, I remember the Bible’s being amazing. I had never heard of Adam and Eve before my conversion, and the story of creation was fascinating. The first time I saw a rainbow after reading Genesis 9, I stared in wonder at the multi-colored reminder of God’s promises. The stories of David and Saul so grabbed me that I found it difficult to do anything but read the Bible.
The Old Testament was captivating (well, at least most of it . . .), but nothing caught my attention like the stories of Jesus. Listen to how the people responded to Jesus in the first chapters of the Gospel of Mark:
“They were astonished at his teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority.” (1:22)
“They were all amazed, so they began to argue with one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.’” (1:27)
“When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. The whole town was assembled at the door.” (1:32-34)
“When He entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that He was at home. So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and He was speaking the message to them.” (2:1-2)
“As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory (to God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" (2:12b)
“Jesus departed with His disciples to the sea, and a great multitude followed from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon. The great multitude came to Him because they heard about everything He was doing.” (3:7-8)
“Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (4:41)
“So he [the demon-possessed man now changed] went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.” (5:20)
It’s hard to read these texts and not hear common themes. Great multitudes. The whole town. No more room. People everywhere.
They were astonished. Amazed. Astounded. They had never seen anything like this.
Hear it again: they had never seen anything like this.
Are you still amazed by Jesus?
*This post is an excerpt from Dr. Lawless’ book, Nobodies for Jesus.