The 5 biggest

 f ailures of Jesus…  
and how He turned them around.

1.  The  partial  healing  of  the  blind  man   (Mark  8.22-­‐26)  

Problem:  
Jesus  prayed  for  this  man  and  His  prayer  was  only  partially  successful.  He  was  not  accustomed  
to  His  prayers  not  working.  Usually  people  were  healed  right  away,  and  yet,  this  man  was  not  
completely  healed  by  the  first  prayer.  

Jesus’  response:  
From  the  beginning  it  seems  like  Jesus  knew  that  this  man  would  be  a  hard  case  because  he  did  
things  He  normally  never  did.    
a)  He  took  the  man  by  the  hand  and  led  him  outside  the  village;    
b)  He  spat  on  the  man’s  eyes;    
c)  He  laid  His  hands  on  him:    
d)  He  asked  him,  “Do  you  see  anything?”;  and    
e)  After  the  man’s  healing  He  told  him  to  go  straight  home  and  not  to  go  back  into  the  village.  
After  doing  all  of  this  the  man  was  still  not  healed.  
Jesus  did  not  back  away  from  this  hard  case  but  rather  invested  more  in  it.  
What  did  Jesus  do  wrong  the  first  time?  The  answer,  of  course,  is  nothing.  Then  why  did  it  not  
work?  We  may  never  know,  but  Jesus  tried  again  and  succeeded  that  time.  
For  Jesus  there  were  no  half-­‐measures,  no  partial  healing.  Either  the  man  was  healed  or  he  was  
not.  

General  application:    
When  something  works  only  partially  we  have  three  choices:    
a)  Be  satisfied  with  the  partial  blessing,  figuring  that  it’s  better  than  nothing;    
b)  Reason  that  that’s  as  far  as  anyone  can  get  and  give  up  believing  in  more;  and    
c)  Try  again  in  the  determination  that  you  will  not  accept  half-­‐measures.    
Half  measures  and  partial  miracles  are  from  the  devil,  not  God.  The  devil  loves  for  you  to  stop  
short  of  the  miracle  you  want,  and  downsize.  
Many  times  we  get  discouraged  when  we  do  our  very  best,  go  the  extra  mile,  take  special  care  
to  do  things  right,  and  things  don’t  work  out.  The  thought  comes,  “Well…  if  you  did  all  that  and  
it  didn’t  work,  it  will  probably  never  work.”  The  temptation  is  to  give  up  –  to  label  it  as  
impossible.  
In  many  instances  the  difference  between  the  man  who  succeeds  and  the  man  who  fails  is  
that  the  successful  man  tries  one  more  time.  There  are  times  in  life  that  we  do  everything  right  
and  what  we  are  expecting  doesn’t  happen.  Our  response  should  be  to  try  again  until  it  does  
work.  
When  people  lack  a  persistent  spirit,  many  times  it’s  because  they  doubt  themselves,  or  their  
abilities  and  talents.  
 The 5 biggest  f ailures of Jesus…  
and how He turned them around.

2.  Jesus  had  no  money  to  pay  His  taxes   (Matthew  17.24-­‐27)  

Problem:  
The  failure  was  that  Jesus  found  Himself  in  a  situation  where  He  owed  taxes  and  had  no  money  
to  pay  them.    
It  was  embarrassing  –  a  shame,  potentially  an  image-­‐damaging  situation.  
Where  would  He  find  this  money?  Would  He  ask  for  a  loan?  

Jesus’  response:    
He  was  put  on  the  spot,  was  under  pressure,  but  did  not  despair.    
The  Lord  Jesus  did  not  stand  still;  He  did  something.  He  didn’t  run  away  from  the  problem  or  
ignore  it.  Instead  He  came  up  with  an  unusual  solution  and  was  determined  that  it  would  work.  
He  told  Peter  to  do  what  he  knew  how  to  do,  what  he  could  do  best.    
Jesus  was  worried  about  having  good  credit,  a  good  name.  He  took  care  of  his  bills  quickly.  Jesus  
was  concerned  about  His  reputation.  

General  application:  
In  difficult  times  you  need  to  be  prepared  to  use  your  faith.  Peter  had  to  ignore  his  experience,  
his  common  knowledge  as  a  fisherman,  and  believe  that  he  would  see  what  he  had  never  seen  
before—money  in  the  mouth  of  a  fish.  
Like  Jesus,  we  have  to  combine  skill  and  faith:  do  what  you  know  how  to  do  (Peter  and  fishing)  
and  have  the  faith  that  God  will  do  what  you  cannot.  
There  are  people  who  make  a  bad  name  for  themselves  by  having  bad  credit,  and  are  not  even  
worried  about  it.    And  yet,  no  area  of  our  lives  is  more  visible  than  our  finances.  We  can’t  fake  
prosperity—either  we  have  money  or  we  don’t.    
One  of  the  best  ways  to  be  a  testimony  for  God  is  in  our  finances  because  we  live  in  a  world  
than  revolves  around  money.  

   
 The 5 biggest  f ailures of Jesus…  
and how He turned them around.

3.  Jesus’  crucifixion  and  death  

Problem:  
He  failed  to  get  an  acquittal.  
He  died  and  His  enemies  basked  in  His  crucifixion.  
His  disciples  deserted  Him  at  His  arrest  and  trial,  did  not  understand  or  remember  the  warnings  
about  His  impending  death,  and  considered  going  back  to  their  old  jobs  

Jesus’  response:  
Though  his  condemnation  was  hailed  as  a  victory  for  His  enemies  and  seemed  to  be  a  sign  of  His  
weakness,  it  was  all  a  part  of  an  intricate  long-­‐range  plan  (Genesis  3.15).  When  you  have  long-­‐
range  plans,  temporary  defeats  are  sometimes  necessary  and  do  not  affect  the  outcome  in  a  
negative  way.  
God’s  plan  was  big  and  required  a  big  risk…  going  into  the  unknown.  God  had  not  become  a  man  
and  died  before.  Big  ideas  require  big  risks.  No  one  ever  succeeded  in  a  big  way  without  taking  
calculated  risks.  
Jesus’  character  saved  Him.  Because  He  had  no  sin,  death  could  not  sting  Him  (1  Corinthians  
15.55).    

General  application:  
Good  or  bad,  your  reputation  precedes  you.  Most  people  in  business  lie,  cheat  and  deceive  
because  they’re  convinced  that  in  so  doing  they’re  going  to  get  ahead.  There  are  businesses  that  
actually  teach  their  employees  to  cheat.  But  in  truth,  people  are  looking  for  honesty.  They’re  
tired  of  being  ripped-­‐off.  
Malcolm  Forbes,  “Contrary  to  the  cliché,  genuinely  good  nice  guys  often  finish  first  or  very  near  
it.”  
Many  times  a  person  gains  more  when  he  treats  a  person  extremely  well,  and  even  loses  
money,  because  he  will  potentially  gain  a  customer  for  life.  
Have  long-­‐range  plans  for  your  finances—where  you  want  to  be  in  one,  two,  five  years—  and  
make  sure  your  dream  is  big.  Why  would  God  want  to  be  a  part  of  something  small  and  
insignificant?  
Be  prepared  to  take  risks  and  even  fail  in  the  process  of  making  your  big  dream  a  reality.  Our  
greatest  lessons  come  from  painful  failures  that  are  used  to  turn  the  tables  on  our  situation.  
(Steve  Jobs:  “Being  fired  from  my  own  company  was  the  best  thing  that  ever  happened  to  me.”)  

   
 The 5 biggest  f ailures of Jesus…  
and how He turned them around.

4.  People  of  the  Gadarenes  reject  Him   (Mark  5.1-­‐20)  

Problem:    
An  entire  city  asked  Jesus  to  leave  because  they  did  not  want  what  He  was  offering.    
After  crossing  the  sea  and  enduring  a  violent  storm,  Jesus  received  no  thanks  for  setting  that  
man  free,  and  was  asked  to  leave.  What  a  waste!  
The  city  was  still  not  convinced  after  Jesus  cast  out  the  most  violent  demon  recorded  in  
scripture.    
Jesus  did  not  save  the  large  herd  of  pigs.  

Jesus’  response:    
He  had  good  reasons  for  allowing  the  demons  to  kill  the  pigs,  and  felt  it  was  worth  the  trouble  
of  going  through  the  storm  in  order  to  save  that  one  terribly  possessed  man.  
He  sent  the  freed  man  back  home  to  tell  people  about  what  God  had  done  for  him.  

General  application:    
You  can  never  please  everyone,  so  don’t  get  upset  or  depressed  over  it.  If  you  don’t  have  the  
strength  to  stay  on  course  when  people  dislike  you,  you  don’t  have  what  it  takes  to  be  
prosperous.  
It’s  important  to  see  the  potential  of  special  people.  At  times,  one  person  that  you  invest  in  will  
more  than  make  up  for  major  disappointments.  One  person  can  be  more  valuable  than  an  entire  
city.  
 

   
 The 5 biggest  f ailures of Jesus…  
and how He turned them around.

5.  Many  Disciples  desert  Him   (Jn.  6.66,67)  

Problem:  
Jesus’  goal  was  to  make  as  many  disciples  as  possible  and  for  many  to  give  up  on  Him  was  a  
setback.  
The  fact  that  His  disciples  could  not  accept  the  strong  word  He  gave  them  was  a  
disappointment.  He  must  have  hoped  that  they  would  be  stronger.  

Jesus’  response:  
Jesus  preferred  for  those  who  could  not  accept  His  strong  words  to  leave  because  they  would  
sooner  or  later  create  serious  problems.  
Jesus  challenged  the  12  by  asking  if  they  were  going  to  leave  too.  He  used  this  opportunity  to  
challenge  them  to  define  who  He  was  in  their  minds.  

General  principles:  
It’s  better  to  have  a  small  group  of  dependable,  dedicated  employees  than  a  large  group  of  
employees  that  are  neither.  
You  have  to  be  prepared  for  rejection.  You  can’t  please  everyone  without  being  reduced  to  “a  
politically  correct  fly  on  the  wall”.  You’re  bound  to  step  on  a  few  toes,  to  displease  a  few  
people  when  you  go  for  success,  but  you  can’t  dilute  your  goals  simply  to  please  people.  
Keeping  your  vision  true  is  vital.  At  times  it  must  be  maintained  at  the  expense  of  growth.  But  
as  long  as  it  is  maintained,  growth  will  come.