“Jesus in Fifteen Minutes”
February 8, 2026
Matthew 16:13-20
Woodland Christian Church (DoC)
David A. Shirey
Thank you for the invitation extended through your board and Pastor Christy Jo to come alongside you, Woodland Christian Church, during this season of your storied life as a congregation, preparing to return to your beloved building and sanctuary and commence the ministry you sense God has invited you to do, embracing your new neighbors at the Oaks, neighbors in this community who will be blessed by whatever performing arts ministry germinates and blossoms at High St. and Kentucky, and whatever else proceeds from your prayerful imagination. Count me and my wife Jennie grateful to be invited alongside for the ride.
As I pondered what to preach on, I thought to myself, Well, this is Woodland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Disciples = followers of, students of. Christ = Jesus. If followers/students of Jesus are abounding, then preach about Jesus for about fifteen minutes and sit down. So, I sent Christy Jo a sermon title, “Jesus in Fifteen Minutes,” and a scripture, The Good Confession (You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God), and it suddenly dawned on me – Jesus in fifteen minutes – really?
I'm mindful of the story about the eccentric man who invited some friends over for a pool party. Once everyone arrived, he got their attention and made an announcement:
"Anyone who can jump in my pool and swim one full length will be the recipient of one million dollars cash."
Whereupon everyone dashed to the pool only to suddenly draw up short: it was teeming with alligators. Suddenly, though, there was a splash at one end of the pool, followed by all kinds of frantic splashing, alligator tails everywhere, alligator jaws snapping, all kinds of commotion, until a guy suddenly emerged from the other end of the pool.
"Congratulations," said the host, "I know you can't wait to get your hands on the million dollars."
"Million dollars!" said the man, "I can't wait to get my hands on the guy that pushed me in your pool!"
This morning, I feel like the guy who got shoved into the pool. But I have no one to blame but myself. I shoved myself in. Jesus in fifteen minutes. I don’t think so!
So, I’ll tell you what I did. I called for help. I have a few friends older and wiser than I who have done this kind of thing already. Each of them has tried (and succeeded!) in depicting the significance of Jesus in an economy of words. So, I called each of them, told them my dilemma (Something about Jesus in fifteen minutes, please), and asked them for their advice.
The Heaven-Sent Son of God. Majesty and Splendor.
My first friend said, “Well, if you've got such a short amount of time, what I'd do would be to highlight that Jesus was the heaven-sent Son of God. I'd want to make sure people walked away having heard the remarkable claim made by Jesus himself that “Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Go straight to the heart of the matter and tell them that Jesus was God come down to earth, fully human, yes, but fully divine – God incarnate. In the flesh.
I asked, “Have you got any ideas how to do that? How might I go about presenting Jesus as the heaven-sent Son of God, Divinity in humanity?”
And my buddy said, “Well, for starters, I’d paint Jesus in wide swaths of splendor.”
“Wide swaths of splendor, huh?”
“You know what I mean,” he said. “Use words that sparkle. Draw on the vocabulary of glory. Wax poetic. Prose will only get you so far. For instance, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only Son of the Father’”(John 1:14).
"But” he added, “words will only get you so far when you’re dealing with such splendor. Add sound and sight.”
I said, “Sound? How so?”
He said, “Sing! Music takes us into the sphere of the transcendent. David, you preachers need to realize that saying only goes so far when comes to exploring the mystery and majesty of God. Don’t just say. Sing!”
I asked him, “Any suggestions?”
He said, “Have you got a choir?”
I said, “Absolutely. And they’re singing Holy is the Lord. Schubert. A capella!”
“Perfect!”
He asked, “Do they have the Chalice Hymnal?
I said, “They do.”
He said, There’s a section of hymns titled PRAISE TO CHRIST. Sing one of those.
I said, “How about:
“All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown him Lord of all!
My friend said, “That’ll do. And make sure you add some sight to that sound. Add color. You can’t do heaven-sent splendor in black and white! Add something radiant to reflect Christ's radiance.”
I said, “How about banners – green, gold, and white – behind the communion table and a green with gold embroidered pulpit parament? And how about if Christy Jo and I wear some colorful stoles? She has one that says Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly. And Jennie made me one that has all kinds of colors on it.”
He said, “Well good thing Jennie made it because you have no fashion sense whatsoever. But now you’re talkin’. Worship with wide swatches of splendor. Poetic language. Glorious singing. Radiant colors. That's what I'd do to bring out that Jesus is the heaven-sent revealer of God's glory. To see him is to see God. How's that sound?"
I said, “I can do that. Thank you, John.”
Savior with the Sleeves Rolled Up. Man of Action.
The next friend I called suggested a little different approach. He said, "Well, if it's a matter of time – Jesus in fifteen minutes – what I'd point out was the way Jesus spent his life in combat. That's not too strong a word, David. He fought against every form of evil – whatever hurts, divides, discourages, or destroys human life.
Remind them Jesus was an earthy, hands-on Messiah. A man of action. There are Christians, you know, who are too heavenly minded for any earthly good! He took the synagogue to the streets – took what was taught on the Sabbath to what needed to be done the rest of the week. Remind them how he was a Savior with his sleeves rolled up. Tell them how he cast out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead, stilled the storm, shook up the apathetic, put down the proud, lifted the humble, calmed the anxious. Whatever troubled body, mind, spirit, society, or nature, he spent his life doing battle with – down to his last breath on the cross.
I asked, "Any ideas as to how to bring that out?”
He said, “Sing a verse of We Shall Overcome and believe that in Christ we can and will.
Also, give yourself to a worthy cause in the name of Christ. A wrong to be righted. An injustice to rectify. Identify people whose lives are in the balance – their dignity, their future, their lives – and cast your lot with them.”
And pray. Passionately. Intercede daily. Jesus was equal parts inspiration and perspiration, David, and his followers ought to be also. Fred Craddock used to talk about praying through clenched teeth. Pray as if your life and our world depends on it. Pray like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Pray fervently!
My friend said, “Martin Luther understood full well Jesus’ entering the fray with sleeves rolled up when he wrote:
"A Mighty Fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing,
Our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
Though this world with devils filled
should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God has willed
the truth to triumph through us.
My friend was really getting animated at this point. I was sorry I had to interrupt him. I said, “I’ve gotta go, Mark, I’ve got another call coming in, but whenever you tell me about Jesus it leaves me breathless – steels me for the battle. Thank you.”
The Compassionate, Suffering Servant.
All are Welcome and Forgiven.
The call coming in was from a friend who’s never home. He’s always out doing something for someone else. I had left a message for him earlier and he was calling me back. When I told him what I was doing – something about Jesus in fifteen minutes – he said without hesitation: “You don’t need fifteen minutes. You just need one word.”
“And what word is that?” I asked.
"Compassion,” he said. “Lift up the heart of Jesus. Wherever there was human need, there he was. Who was Jesus? He was God’s suffering servant. When he saw people in need, “he compassion on them” (Luke 7:13).
He reached out to welcome all and included one and all. What part of all don’t you understand? Everybody – the poor, the neglected, the outcast, the disenfranchised, the have-nots, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger.”
I said, “Woodland’s got that wide-armed welcome down pat,” I said. “They begin each worship service welcoming everyone, always closing with the words Welcome Home.”
My friend said, “Extend that welcome on Sunday and live it out during the week.”
He continued, “Out of his boundless compassion, he welcomed all and forgave all. Are you having communion?”
“Every Sunday.”
“Then you’ll be reminded of Jesus’ wide-armed welcome of all to his table and his open-hearted forgiveness of all to his guests. At the Last Supper: “Poured out for the forgiveness of sins.” At his last breath: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Are you saying the Lord’s Prayer?”
“Every Sunday: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
He asked me, “Do you know the classic hymn Love Divine, All Loves Excelling?”
I said, “Yes”
He said, “Then you’re familiar with the verse that goes, ‘Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art.’ David, that phrase of that song says more about Jesus than all the books you have in your personal library combined! Why don't you just point that out and then take up an offering – use it to help, soothe, feed, or house others. Sing “I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me” then get out of there and be of use to God – find some way to be of compassionate service to another human being.”
And before I could say a word he said, "Gotta go. I'm volunteering at the shelter this afternoon. See ya."
I didn't even get to thank my friend Luke for his advice.
The Teacher and Fulfillment of God’s Purposes.
The New Moses.
When I reached my friend Matthew, he said, "Just remind them that Jesus was called Rabbi. He was a teacher. No, make that the Teacher. He taught God’s will and God’s way like none other.”
“So, remind the people of some of his parables and teachings. Why not just read as much of the Sermon on the Mount as you can for fifteen minutes and then sit down? Tell them those who build their lives on his teachings are like those who've built their houses on a rock and those who don't are like those who built their houses on sand.”
Remind them the renewal of churches and of individual Christians has always been the result of encountering God anew in the pages of Scripture. Don’t just snack on Scripture. Chew on it. Savor it. Ingest it. Make it the main course. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8).
“Add in that Jesus was the new Moses, David’s royal son, a son of Abraham and Sarah. Tell them he was the fulfillment of all God’s promises and purposes. If God’s promises and purposes for all time were the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, they would fit together into the likeness of Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Do you need an outline?"
I said, “No, Matthew. I took notes as you talked. But if you've got a second, let me run by you everything I've heard from you and my other friends about Jesus.”
“John wants me to tell them Jesus is the Heaven-sent Son of God who reveals God's glory. To see him is to see God. Paint him in wide swaths of splendor.
Mark wants it stressed that Jesus was a man of action. Savior with his sleeves rolled up. Engaged in battle with every form of evil that hurts, divides or destroys life on this earth, even to the point of death on a cross. Equal parts inspiration and perspiration.
Luke wants me to present Jesus as the welcoming, forgiving, compassionate suffering servant of all humankind.
And you, Matthew, want me to make it clear that Jesus was a teacher of God's truth greater even than Moses, the one whose words taught God's will and way like none other. They called him ‘Rabbi’ (which means, Teacher). He taught and fulfilled all God’s purposes.
I said, “Does that cover who Jesus is?”
He said, "Does that cover who Jesus is? You're just scratching the surface! In a whole lifetime you won’t come close to plumbing the depths of who Jesus is!”
I said, “Well then tell me more.”
He said, "Later.”
I said, “Later?”
He said, “Your fifteen minutes are up."
