Compassion Over Rules: Embracing Love in Faith

When what's best for people is no longer what's most important to you, you are at odds with God. When what's best for people is no longer what's most important to me, I am at odds with God. And the reason I say that, the reason I say that is because John, who brings us this story, is also the person that interrupts an earlier story to say, I don't know if Nicodemus ever got it but let me tell you what Jesus was tryin' to explain to him. [00:19:03]

For God so loved people, for God so loved the world, for God so loved the Jews and the Gentiles, and every race and every gender, for every generation, He loved people so much, He sent His Son, my Rabbi, my Savior, my friend, Jesus into the world, to pay for sins so that everybody could be reconnected with God. God's priority is the race made in His image. And anything I do, anything I do to hurt another person is a sin. [00:19:29]

And any theological thing or even Scriptural application that gets in the way of somebody being treated with dignity, is a sin. And the reason this is so appropriate to me and for people who do what I do is this, I know the Bible, yes I do. I know the Bible, who about you? And I know it all. I mean, you find me something, you want justification for and give me your whole Bible, I'll find you justification, I'll find you at least four verses you can go back to the office and say, says right here, my preacher gave me these verses. [00:20:00]

And Jesus came to close all those loopholes. (whistling) That's convicting, let's get back to the story. So the story continues, they said to this man who'd just been healed, it is the Sabbath! The law forbids you to carry your mat. No, their version of the law, they things they'd added forbid him, kept him from carrying the mat. But he replied, I love this, this is so great. He's go the mat over his shoulder, I mean, he's just kind of gettin' his legs, if you know what I mean. [00:20:45]

But he replied, the man, he didn't even know he who it is, this is what's so beautiful about this, the man who made me well said to me, pick up your mat and walk. The reason I picked up my mat and walked, it wasn't like I was tryin' to violate the Sabbath, do you even know who I am, where I've been? But the reason I picked it up to walk is because a man asked me to pick up my mat and walk. [00:21:07]

And guys, while we're talkin', I just want you to know, I opted for the guy who chose to heal me, not the guys who've been ignoring me my whole life, condemning my whole life, and telling me I deserved to lay there for 38 years because either I sinned, or my parents sinned, so you know what, if you're right and I was getting what I deserved, this guy gave me precisely what I did not deserve so I chose to pick up my mat and walk. [00:21:35]

When you recognize who Jesus is, when you, you just follow Jesus and John through the Gospel of John, when you recognize who Jesus is, when you recognize who John, recognize who Jesus is, you will lose your fear of religion and you will lose your fear of religious people. When you recognize who Jesus is, and for some of you, you need to hear this, you are so bound up by guilt, you never ever ever go to church but you are still living with the guilt of a religious system and you can't get passed it. [00:26:06]

I'm telling you, when you discover who Jesus is, you will lose your fear of religion and religious people. When you choose to follow Jesus, religion will lose its grip on you. Just follow John as he follows Jesus. So, they have this little moment in the temple, you know, and they guy's like, well, you know, the Pharisees and the leaders that teach the law, they want to know who the guy is. So with his mat, I think still over his shoulder, see if you get this? [00:26:32]

He works his way over to them, get it? No, okay, see he's got the mat, he's workin' on the Sabbath, he works his way, okay, you didn't get that. Okay, so here's what happened. The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who made him will, which you know, with his mat draped over his shoulder. So, the text goes on, so because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, he's violated the Sabbath as well now, according to their laws and their oral tradition, and the Tradition of the Elders. [00:26:58]

These things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute Jesus as well. In his defense, Jesus throws it right back at him, this is brilliant, John must have loved telling this story. In his defense (laughing), Jesus said to them, hey, hey, hold on there, you know, my Father, He's always at his work to this very day. In fact, my Father's workin' on this day and I too am working. You know, God doesn't take a day off. I'm just bein' like God. [00:27:25]

Hey you know, God actually violates your version of the Sabbath, doesn't He? In fact, you could say, guys, if you got in trouble, would you ask for help or would you say, it's the Sabbath, I'll have to wait for tomorrow to pray. No, no, no. Isn't God always at work? Yeah, well I'm just bein' like my Father, like Father, like Son. For this reason, this is amazing, for this reason, they tried to kill him. Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, now he's even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. [00:27:52]

Who does he think he is? Exactly, that is the question, who does he think he is? When he cleanses the temple, they don't say, what do you think you're doin? They say, who do you think you are? And John, who gives us this Gospel would say to you, as 21st century seekers and thinkers and comin' back and never believe him, first time you've heard this, he would say, come on, if you're gonna wrestle with anything, don't, just wrestle with this question, who do you think he is? [00:28:20]