Frankie Mazzapica - If Jesus was Born in the 21st Century
The title of today’s message is «If Jesus Were Born in the 21st Century.» Doesn’t that sound good? Imagine Jesus walking around in a pair of jeans. If He lived in Texas, He would have a pair of boots on, driving a truck around. Think about that. What if Jesus were born in the 21st century? You see, when He was born, thousands of generations of people had been born prior to Him. So why didn’t He wait even longer to be born with us? I’m going to tell you there are three reasons we will cover today. The first one has to do with technology. The second one has to do with advancements in the medical and scientific world. The third one has everything to do with mass communication.
Before we dive into these points, let me lay the scriptural foundation. The first couple of words of the verse I’m going to share with you is the foundation, but I will give you the full verse, along with the verse after that. It’s in Galatians 4:4-5, where it says, «But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.» It is the law of the land; it was the law of the Old Testament during Moses’s time with the Ten Commandments and the other laws established then. He was born under the law to redeem you and me. To redeem means to buy back.
You see, when He made man and woman in the Garden of Eden, human beings were His children, but because Adam and Eve turned their faces from the Lord, there was sin in the world from that moment forward. The Lord looks back and says, «No, no, no, these are My children. I’m going to come to the Earth and redeem them. I’m going to take them back. I’m going to be born, I’m going to put on skin.» This must have been terrible for Him to think; if anyone you love has ever died and is in heaven, if they could come back for just a few minutes, they would say two things: first, «I do not want to come back; our physical bodies stink.» Some of you literally, but they stink. Secondly, they would say, «Heaven is real; hell is real; help us get people to heaven.» That’s what they would say.
Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, in John 10:30, it says that God and the Father are one. Jesus put on skin; He came down to Earth, He was born, and then He died to redeem us. He could have done that in the 21st century, but He chose not to. Why? The first point is technology. Every single one of you has a cell phone, and most of us, if we leave the house without our cell phone, we turn around to get it. In fact, some of us, if you’re sitting on the couch and don’t have your cell phone, which is in the kitchen, get up from the couch to retrieve it, right? Thank you. You come back to watch social media on your cell phone; you sit there and scroll; you will never get to the end of the internet. You can watch people endlessly. But the Lord says this: «I don’t want to come when people are watching on a screen; I want to come during a time when I can establish relationships face-to-face.» He wanted to show you and me, «This is the kind of relationship I want with you. I want a personal relationship.»
I imagine, well, we don’t have to imagine; most of us know someone who met someone on the internet and they’re dating. I have a friend who’s been married for quite some time; they have a phenomenal marriage and met online. But imagine, just for a minute, that they meet online, and one person says, «I’m ready to meet,» and the other goes, «Nah, this is good.» No, this is not good. The whole relationship cannot be established on a screen; it just can’t happen. Jesus thinks, «That is not the relationship I want with you.» Him being broadcast on television? You don’t want a relationship like that. He doesn’t want a relationship like that.
There was a guy who played for the Los Angeles Lakers, a center in the '90s, and I had determined that the guy was a complete jerk and I couldn’t stand him. I would tell people he was a jerk—now, being a Celtics fan, you’re supposed to say that about the Lakers anyway—but I really did not like him. Then I went to a Rockets game, and a friend of mine gave me great tickets. While the players were warming up before the game, I saw all the players, and wouldn’t you know the guy I had been calling a jerk for ten years was clearly laughing, giving people high-fives, and joking. He seemed to have more personality than everyone on the team. I sat there and thought if I could be friends with anyone, I’d want to be friends with him. But looking at someone on a screen, you can’t have a relationship with them.
If the Lord had come in the 21st century, there are 7 billion people on Earth, and they would likely relate to Him on a screen. Now, why wasn’t He born earlier than that? Well, Moses was the only one during a particular time period who had a face-to-face relationship with God, and everyone else was like, «We don’t want that kind of relationship; we’re scared of it. You go have a face-to-face relationship with Him, come back and tell us what it’s like.» Sometimes the Lord will hold you in a season, not because you’re not ready, but because the people He’s sending you to are not ready. There are times when you say, «God, I’m ready to move,» and He says, «You and I are going to spend some more personal time together.»
That’s number one, but number two is that He’s got to prepare some people ahead of you. I was not okay about a year and a half before I met my wife. I was living for the Lord; I was not okay—you could look into my eyes and see this guy’s not okay; he’s in a dark place. Let me show you a picture of me from those days. Look at this. If you’re a parent of a daughter, you don’t want your daughter talking to that guy. Now, I didn’t say this in the first service, but it just crossed my mind right now. I had to get that particular picture taken because in those days, you could take a razor blade, cut open a driver’s license, take the picture out, and put a new one in. That was me back then. I was not in a good place. I was about a year, year and a half, two years away from meeting my wife, Ally. I wasn’t ready.
Now, let’s look at Ally during the same time period. Look at this: she is just soft, nice, sweet. You can clearly see that I belonged in jail, and she belonged in a sweet place, ready to meet a guy. But I wasn’t ready yet. God had to prepare me for her. She was developing a really awesome relationship with God because waiting seasons are not wasteful seasons; those seasons are for a purpose. Fast forward two years, and look at this. God had to prepare me, and you can see for those of us who grew up in the '90s, I had my «90210» sideburns. For those who grew up with «90210,» you know what I’m talking about. See, I had hair back then, and look at Ally—she has been perfect since she was born.
Here’s the point: I wasn’t ready, and the people before Jesus was born weren’t ready. But they were ready then. He doesn’t want technology; He wants a face-to-face relationship. Here’s the thing about the Lord, if you’re taking notes: He is beyond the furthest star, but He’s as close as your next breath. That’s the kind of relationship He wanted to model and say, «This is the kind of relationship I want.» But the number two reason is scientific advancements in the medical field. If we had heard about the miracles He did then, if He were walking around in today’s world, we would explain them away. We would say they were healed of cancer. «Did they ever have radiation? Did they see a doctor? Was this guy blind and now can see? Did he ever have cataract surgery? Did he go get LASIK? How long was he blind?» We would explain it away. But the Lord wanted to show up in a time when those scientific advancements did not exist because He wanted us to know, «I do miracles that are unexplainable.»
Why did He want us to know that? Because you and I will go through seasons where nothing else will work except for a miracle, and the Lord said, «I’m going to come during a time you can’t explain away these miracles.» He wanted us to know that sometimes our miracles are external. We need a financial breakthrough, we need a job, or sometimes it’s internal, in our minds, in our hearts. People don’t even know. Watch this: you can be in a room full of people and feel completely alone. These are the times we’re saying, «I need a miracle,» and the Lord says, «I do miracles.» Look back at what I’ve done. You see, people who believe in the Lord see God everywhere, but people who do not see Him nowhere. Mothers and fathers, if you’ve had a baby, you see God in that.
I remember my oldest daughter was going to be born just a few hours from when my wife said, «We have to go.» It was the middle of the night, and I was really enjoying my sleep. It was around 3 A.M., so I said, «Are you sure?» She said, «I am sure!» I said, «Are you 100 percent sure?» because I didn’t want her walking around the hospital trying to get this done. So I said, «Okay, okay, I’m ready.» We get there, and she ends up having the baby. I’m looking at the baby, saying, «Oh my God, this is incredible! How did this come out of her belly?» A Christian sees God everywhere; a non-Christian goes, «Well, that’s cool.» When someone cuts you off while driving, what do you say? «Jesus!» Then you go and tell people, «Oh my gosh, I almost died!» while someone else says, «Oh my goodness, I was so lucky.» This is how the different perspectives work. Scientific advancements can come against a person to explain away miracles. It’s like, «No, no, no, I’m going to come during a time when you can’t explain it.»
Number three is mass communication. In today’s world, you can email people; you can communicate with everyone. But the Lord shows up and says, «Give me 12.» Then a little bit later, He says, «Give me 70.» You see, He had 5,000 people or more following Him all the time. In Mark 3:20, it says they followed Him so much that He didn’t even have time to eat. He had critics following Him—people who just wanted to sleep through everything He was talking about. There were people interested, who weren’t Christians per se, but there were also true followers. He says to those of you who are followers and those who are interested, «You will become a part of the family. You’re the ones I’m going to send out.» In today’s world, the people that would be sent out would try to do it on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. He’s like, «No, no, no, no, no! You’re going to go, as in Luke 9:1, where he sends out the 70 and says, 'Go tell that the kingdom of God is near and heal the sick.'»
They came back, rejoicing, saying, «Even demons respond to us when we talk.» He’s saying, «I don’t want mass communication in the 21st century! I don’t want Facebook. I want you to be a person who shows up, and when you do, there’s something different about you!»
You know what’s fascinating about talking to someone face-to-face? It’s been 2,000 years of one person telling another person, who told another person, and so on. For 2,000 years, the baton has been passed to you. We pass it on to the next generation. It’s our passion that keeps passing it along. If you’re not passionate, your kids won’t be passionate. If they’re not passionate, guess what? The story ends with you.
For 2,000 years, one person talked to another person, and the process continues. Our generation comes along, and the Lord says, «This is what I need.» When I say this, we all feel a responsibility of, «Wow, God’s called me to share this.» But it’s not like John the Baptist, where you memorize scriptures and walk up to people to preach. You know when the most people come to me in the lobby or send an email saying, «What you said today really blessed me»? It’s when I stand up here and talk about things I’m struggling with, and if you come to this church often, you hear me talk about how I wrestle with depression—that’s my Achilles heel; that’s my fight.
I’m anointed to preach this, but I have to live it just like everybody else. When I say that, someone comes up to me and says, «Thank you.» They forget the rest of the message, but they don’t forget that. What’s happening is that you’re looking at me thinking, «Hey, you fight things just like I do, but you’re passionate about God.» I’m going to tell you the most effective thing when God sends you out and says you’re going to communicate for Me: I don’t want mass communication; I want personal communication. When you go out and share what you’re fighting, and they see you worshiping through it, that’s when the Lord backs up and says, «That is why I came over 2,000 years ago.» Now this whole message is personal.
I have a friend of mine I talk to all the time. He’s a pastor, and I tell him, «Jeff, you are the least transparent friend I have.» He’s always doing awesome. But here’s the thing: I know he’s not always doing awesome. He asks, «Why do you say that?» I say, «Because you have five kids! There’s no way you’re doing awesome all the time!» He starts laughing. I’m trying to do some reverse psychology manipulation here. When I’m blessed the most is when someone says, «I’m not doing good, but I see them still fighting.»
People will be attracted to you because of your strength, but they will connect with you because of your weakness. Your weakness is something the devil wants you to hide, but the Holy Spirit comes along and says, «No, no, no, that is your best tool.» You can say, «Look, I’m human too; I’m hurting too.» Sometimes they’ll see you worship Him, longing for Him; you don’t even have to say that part. Your actions will preach for you. This is why He came over 2,000 years ago. He’s saying, «This message will not be shared on social media; this message will be tucked into the hearts of men and women, and you are going to partner with Me.»
In 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, He says this: «He will keep you strong until the end.» Those of you who think, «I don’t think I can. God, if You don’t come now, I’m going to burn in hell, I just know it.» God says, «No, no, no, I’m going to keep you strong until the end.» Then He says, «God will do this because He always does what He promises to do.» This is the best part: «because He has called you to be in partnership with Him.»
See, mass communication would be the worst thing for Him because He’s saying, «I’m going to send you out; I want you to tell your story.» In summary, He did not come in the 21st century because He didn’t want technology; He didn’t want a relationship through technology; He wanted it face-to-face. Number two is to convince us that He does miracles; there’s no debate. Number three is to send you and me on assignment.
Did you know there were about 200,000 to 300,000 people on Earth when Jesus was there? But today, there are 7 billion. Now God can reach 200,000 to 300,000 people because He lived in the Roman Empire, and 20 percent of the Earth’s population was in the Roman Empire. He could affect 20 percent of the Earth. Malcolm Gladwell says in his book «The Tipping Point» that a small group of people can change the whole world; 10 to 20 percent of the people can change the 80 percent.
So God says, «Give Me 20 percent of the people, and we can change everything.» How did they do that? There was something called the Silk Road. The Silk Road connected Asia and the Middle East; it connected all the major urban areas where people walked or took wagons to exchange silks and goods and services. Who would be standing on the sides of the road? God’s children, who were dispersed from the Roman Empire, who saw it and said, «This is where God saved me.»
See, here’s the thing: when you leave today, what will you probably remember? You’ll likely remember me saying I fight depression and probably the picture of me looking completely lost. You won’t remember anything else. The Holy Spirit will cause the scriptures to come alive in your heart at the right time. But what are you finding out? You’ve heard my story, and this mass communication is the same: if you know anything, you know your story, and I’m going to partner with you. That’s why He wasn’t born in the 21st century. Would you stand to your feet and give God a standing ovation? Come on, let’s give Him our best. We love You, Jesus!
At this part of the service, I never really know how we’re going to end. We do our best to think through every part of the service, but at this part, we never know what we’re going to do. We’re going to end just a little differently. Usually, we bring prayer partners down so you have someone to pray with, but this time, we’re going to bring the worship team on stage, and we’re just going to sing a couple more worship songs. My challenge to you is this: there’s open dismissal; you can leave whenever you’re ready. But let’s sing this song at least a couple of times through before anyone goes. Some of you may leave in three minutes, some in ten; you can leave whenever you’re ready. But let’s just worship Him a little bit more.
If you’re in this room and it’s been very awkward for you for the last 25 minutes of my message, maybe even the entire sermon, because you know that if your heart were to stop beating in the next five minutes, you’re not ready to see the Lord. You’re not ready because you know you don’t have a relationship with Him. As you’re worshiping, if that’s you, I want you to whisper to the Lord. Open your mouth and confess: just say, «Lord Jesus, I’m sorry for my sins, and from this moment forward, You’re my Lord and Savior.»
Let me pray a blessing into your life. Go ahead and put your hands up. May the Lord bless you, may He keep you, may His face shine down upon you and be gracious to you. May His countenance be lifted up on you and bring you peace. In Jesus' name, amen.