Surprise || Shock Value || Week 2 (FINALE)

How many of you believe in ghosts? (Pause) The disciples thought they did as well in today’s sermon text. When they saw Jesus, they thought they saw a ghost. Can you imagine the shock and surprise they had when seeing Jesus again? We’re focusing on today in Week 2 of my mini-message series called: Shock Value. Remember, we had to change the definition of shock value a little bit to make it work for us. As we defined it, shock value is the surprising reaction from people that see what seems unexpected.

As I read that line about ghosts, it made me think of when Jesus walked on water. Jesus sent his followers to the other side of the lake and sent the people home after the feeding of the 5,000 so that he could find rest and peace. As a storm kicked up, Jesus came to meet them. They again thought they saw a ghost. Matthew 14:26 says: “When they saw him walking on the water, it scared them. ‘It’s a ghost!’ they said, screaming in fear. So being the Bible nerd I tend to me, I wanted to look up in a concordance to if the same usage of the word “ghost.” Much to my surprise, they are two different words in Greek. The same Jesus they saw both times, they called each time differently.

In Matthew 14, the word “ghost” comes from the Greek phantasma, which means an appearance or apparition. In Luke 26, “ghost” is translated from the Greek pneuma, which means wind, breath, or spirit. The appearance of Jesus they had in Matthew 14 was in fear. The spirit of Jesus they had in Luke 26 was in shock. Please think of the shock value of these two cases using the definition we had.

When they were scared on the boat, thinking they would die in the storm, they saw Jesus. Instead of rejoicing in seeing him, they were terrified of seeing what seemed unexpected. When they were scared in the Upper Room, thinking about what was coming next, they saw Jesus. Instead of feeling fear like before, they were surprised and rejoiced. Shock tends to do that to us. Jesus tends to do that to us.

Most Greek words for shock usages refer to “amazed” and “astonished.” We see the shock in the disciples’ eyes when they see Jesus walking on water and when they see him appear in the Upper Room, but how the shock affected them comes through amazement and astonishment. We witness the shock in what Jesus in our lives every day, at least I do. I’m amazed that I get to wake up each morning, take that first breath, look out at the sunrise, and thank God for the coffee in my Keurig. I’m astonished by God’s blessings, including my friends, family, church family, youth and children’s group, and more. The shock value is something that I think we need to embrace because Jesus works in it. Jesus does what seems impossible for us, and we witnessed that two weeks ago on Easter morning. May you live in that shock value and embrace Jesus for the impossible things in your life.

I’ll see you next week.