Embracing Freedom: Jesus' Invitation to a New Life

"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." This was a paradigm shift of epic proportion. And the reason it was is because first century Judaism, and modern Judaism in some capacity, the Sabbath is everything. It's one of the hallmarks, it's one of the things that differentiates Jewish people from the rest of culture, how they keep Sabbath, and Sabbath was to be kept in such a way that even if you were a visitor and someone's home, even if you were a foreigner living in ancient Israel, especially you know, pre-First Century, you had to keep Sabbath because that's just what everybody did, it was like one of the top 10, right, and the the bottom line is that people are more important than the Sabbath. [00:02:48]

God did not create us so there would be someone to keep his rules, that his commands are for people, because God is for people, and specifically, God is for you. Now, again, let me put it a different way, that God loves, this is what Jesus is about, the teaches, I'm just kind of giving you a heads up, in case you leave earlier you lose power, God loves you more than God loves his commandments. And when you get this reversed, people get hurt. When you get this reversed, when somehow the be all end all is the rule, not the people, people get hurt and religious leaders have leveraged this backwards for generations. [00:04:56]

Jesus had a very simple message, Peter would say we didn't understand it at the time. In fact, stay with me on this journey so you'll understand it in the end. But Jesus's message was very simple. He would say everywhere he went, every time he preached, every time he taught, "the time has come!" "The kingdom of God has come near," which means you're never far. The time has come. The wait is over, everything was building up to this moment, "The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near," this is what Jesus's preached, and then he would say here's what I want you to do in response. "I want you to repent and believe this good news." [00:08:06]

And Jesus leans in and says the Levi, "Follow me." And Peter, Andrew, James, and John are like, I'm not sure if he follows you if we're going to follow you. Okay, because he's an embarrassment to the family, and everybody knows what he's up to because he's out here doing it in public all the time, so they have a decision to make. And besides, Jesus, do you have no standards? Are there no restrictions as to who you would invite to follow you. And the patriots, the Jewish patriots, and the Jewish religious people are offended by this. [00:10:22]

Think about what hung in the balance of his decision to open up his heart, and his life, and his mind and acknowledge, yeah, there's something wrong with me. I need help. I'm a, to use Jesus's term, not mine, I'm a sinner, who's in need of forgiveness. So let me just ask you, then we're going to continue with the story. Do you know what hangs in the balance of your decision to admit you need help? And the answer is no, you don't. And there's something on the inside of you, your cousin, you know, has emailed you, your husband or your wife, your kids say daddy, you know, mommy and there's just people who love you, and you've kind of shut them all out, and it may be something to do with Christianity, it may be something to do with your drinking, it may be something to do with some other habit, you need help. [00:14:24]

The kingdom of God has come near, which means you are never far. You are one turn away. You are one decision away. You are one shift in mindset away. So repent, that is, face it, and embrace this brand new news, and it was Jesus's pursuit of sinners, and it was Jesus's pursuit of the unrighteous that illustrated the revolutionary nature of the kingdom of God. You didn't have to be born in a certain part of the world. You didn't have to understand certain customs. You didn't have to speak a specific language. You didn't have to have a specific heritage, every one is invited, and he went out of his way to invite people in. [00:18:39]

His point was that this new teaching, this unique teaching, this brand new unique worldview was like the new wine, the message of Jesus was the new cloth and the new wine, and the mental image of torn cloth and burst wine skins punctuated the impossibility, they punctuated the impossibility of trying to blend Jesus's new message with a current cultural system, in their case, First Century Judaism. He said, I have not come to blend anything, you cannot add what I'm teaching on to what you already have, and you cannot pour what I'm teaching into the container you've already developed, it is all new. [00:21:07]

The question is the law of God for the benefit of God, is the law of God for the benefit of God? I don't know how you were raised, and nobody did this on purpose, I don't think, but there were seasons of my life growing up in church, and I loved church, where at times I wondered if maybe, not in these terms because I wasn't, I didn't have these terms, but, I was sort of left with the impression that maybe the laws were for the benefit of God, because some of the laws are so weird, and some of the rules were so strange they certainly weren't for the benefit of me, they just got in the way of me. So this is Jesus's question because this is a huge paradigm shift. Are the laws for the benefit of God or are the laws for the benefit of those that God loves? Because if they are for the benefit of those God loves, then people take precedent over the law. [00:29:06]

How does Jesus respond when religious leaders use the law of God to hurt people made in the image of God? The text says he looked around in anger. The Greek term here in the New Testament is oftentimes translated wrath, the wrath of Jesus. And why is he angry? He's angry because religious leaders used his Father's words and interpreted his Father's words in such a way that the Father's words were elevated over the people his Father loved. He goes on, he says "He looked around at them in anger, "and he was deeply distressed at their stubborn heart," they wouldn't even acknowledge what they knew to be true. [00:31:19]

If you are a sinner, and you are, if you are a sinner, you are invited to follow Jesus beginning today from wherever you start, with whatever you got going on. This is the lesson. If you are a sinner, now if you are somebody who is willing to acknowledge, like Levi, did, something's wrong with me. Something's up with me, something's broken in me. I fall short of my own standard. I can't dig myself out of my own hole. I can't be the husband I swore I would be, I can't be the wife I want to be. I can't be the parent I want to be. I can't show the respect to my parents I know they deserve, but I just can't seem to control my mouth. I need help. The invitation is wide open to you. You are invited to begin today from wherever you start following Jesus. [00:34:03]

He said, "Take my yoke upon you." You have a yoke, you have a way of life, you have a way of doing life, you have a way of approaching the world. He said, I want you to put yours down and take mine on you, it's a better yoke than the one you're currently carrying. "Take my yoke upon you, "learn from me." Just sit at my feet and listen and learn, "for I am gentle, and I am humble in heart," and at the end of the day "you will find rest for your soul," you will find rest on the inside, you will find peace. You can't imagine even exists. [00:36:43]