Jesus Frees Us from Legalism and Religious Burdens

Sep 20, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Carrying Your Mat on the Sabbath

When Jesus healed a paralyzed man, He commanded him to pick up his mat and walk—a simple act that violated religious traditions. The religious leaders fixated on the mat, not the miracle, revealing how legalism distracts from God’s power. True obedience flows from trust in Christ’s authority, not human rules. Freedom comes when we prioritize relationship over ritual. Let Jesus’ words, not man’s expectations, define your steps. [36:16]

“Immediately, the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.”
(John 5:9, NASB)

Reflection: Where have you allowed human traditions to overshadow God’s clear voice in your life? How might Jesus be inviting you to walk in freedom today?

Day 2: Adding Fences to God’s Commands

The Pharisees turned Sabbath rest into a burden by adding 1,500 rules to God’s simple command. Religion often builds walls where God intends open fields. Jesus exposed how extra-biblical rules create hypocrisy, not holiness. God’s Word is complete—adding to it distorts grace, subtracting from it cheapens truth. Trust the sufficiency of Scripture. [44:17]

“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you.”
(Deuteronomy 4:2, NASB)

Reflection: What “fences” have you or others built around biblical truth? How can you recenter on God’s actual commands this week?

Day 3: Sniffing Out Sins in Others

The healed man faced immediate criticism for carrying his mat, exposing how legalism breeds fault-finding. Religious pride often notices others’ “violations” while ignoring God’s mercy. Jesus calls us to examine our own hearts first. A grace-filled life reflects God’s patience, not a Pharisee’s checklist. [53:02]

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
(Matthew 7:3, NASB)

Reflection: When have you judged someone for breaking unspoken “rules” instead of God’s Word? How can you extend Christ’s compassion instead?

Day 4: Healing Before Holiness

Jesus healed the man physically before addressing his spiritual need. God often meets us in our pain to reveal His heart. The greater miracle isn’t a restored body but a redeemed soul. Eternal healing trumps temporary relief. Let Christ’s kindness lead you to repentance, not guilt. [01:15:33]

“Do not go on sinning so that nothing worse happens to you.”
(John 5:14, NASB)

Reflection: How has God’s kindness in your life revealed areas needing spiritual renewal? What step will you take toward deeper surrender today?

Day 5: The Father Never Clocks Out

Jesus declared, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” God’s compassion never takes a Sabbath break. His authority sustains galaxies and mends broken hearts. Religion demands rest from a God who never sleeps. Trust the One who heals, saves, and guides without ceasing. [01:30:05]

“But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.’”
(John 5:17, NASB)

Reflection: What worry keeps you from resting in God’s active care? How does His unending workmanship in your life change your perspective today?

Sermon Summary

John 5 begins with a man who has been paralyzed for thirty eight years suddenly standing, carrying his mat, and walking. The religious leaders do not rejoice over a life made whole. The Sabbath rule becomes bigger to them than the miracle right in front of them. Religion turns God’s principles into prisons when people add to what God has said and then judge everybody by those added rules.

God gave Israel a simple command to rest, trust Him, and remember that He provides. The Pharisees turned that gift into thousands of regulations, fences around the Law that became heavier than the Law itself. The contrast is plain: diminishing God’s Word causes people to condone what God prohibits, while adding to God’s Word causes people to condemn what God permits. Legalism leaves people in critical condition because it sees a man carrying a mat but cannot see a man healed by mercy.

Legalism also turns saints into sin sniffers. God’s Word is a mirror, revealing God’s character and exposing the individual heart, but legalism treats it like a periscope for finding faults in somebody else. Personal convictions can be good. A believer may give something up out of love for the Lord, just as a Nazarite freely took a vow. Pride begins when a personal conviction becomes a measuring stick for everybody else.

Jesus finds the healed man in the temple and warns him, “Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” Jesus does not load false guilt onto him for carrying a mat. Jesus deals honestly with the sin that can destroy a soul for eternity. Physical healing is wonderful, but a healed body will still die. Eternal healing is the greater gift, because knowing Jesus is salvation.

Jesus then answers the Sabbath accusation by saying, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” God rested from creation, but God never stopped sustaining, healing, providing, answering prayer, saving souls, and showing mercy. The Father and the Son are still working. Worry forgets that reality, but faith rests in the God who neither sleeps nor slumbers.

Jesus’ words also force the biggest question: Who is Jesus? The leaders understand that Jesus calls God His own Father and makes Himself equal with God. Their charge is accurate, though their conclusion is not. Jesus Christ is fully God, the Son who works with the Father, frees people from religious bondage, and brings them into the intimacy of crying, “Abba, Father.”

Key Takeaways

1. Religion turns principles into prisons. God’s Sabbath command was meant to give rest, trust, and blessing. Human additions turned that gift into a burden people could hardly carry. Religious rules become dangerous when they claim the authority of Scripture without coming from Scripture. [42:54]
2. God’s Word is a mirror. Scripture reveals the Lord and exposes the heart standing before Him. Legalism misuses that mirror by aiming it at everyone else’s failures. Humility begins when conviction produces repentance rather than comparison. [62:54]
3. Physical healing is not the greatest healing. Jesus heals the man’s body, then warns him about the condition of his soul. A person can receive a miracle and still remain far from God. Eternal healing comes through knowing Christ, whose grace deals with sin, death, and hell. [74:31]
4. The Father and Son still work. God rested from creation, but His compassion never takes a Sabbath day off. The Father remains at work in providence, mercy, healing, salvation, and every detail of life. Fear loses its grip when the heart remembers that God is still on the job. [89:51]
5. Jesus gives freedom, not slavery. Christ does not free people from sin so they can return to performance and guilt. His yoke is real, but it is light because He Himself guides and carries His people. Freedom means letting the Chief do the driving instead of trying to control every turn.

## [87:24]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:55] - The Healed Man Carries His Mat
[40:16] - Jesus’ Authority and Intimacy With the Father
[42:54] - When Religion Turns Principles Into Prisons
[44:17] - Adding to and Taking From God’s Word
[49:18] - The Sabbath Was Given as a Blessing
[53:02] - Personal Convictions and Judgmental Religion
[60:50] - Legalism Turns Saints Into Sin Sniffers
[66:50] - Jesus Heals Bodies and Warns Souls
[74:31] - Eternal Healing Is the Greater Gift
[84:02] - Religion Binds but Jesus Frees
[89:51] - The Father and the Son Are Still Working
[95:15] - The Most Important Question: Who Is Jesus?
[98:37] - Abba Father and the Work of God

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 5:1-18

“After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.”
“A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, ‘Do you wish to get well?’ The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.’” [36:12]
“Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.” [36:16]
“So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, ‘It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.’” [36:27]
“But he answered them, ‘He who made me well was the one who said to me, “Pick up your pallet and walk.”’” [36:39]
“They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your pallet and walk”?’ But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.” [36:45]
“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.’” [36:55]
“The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.” [37:10]
“But He answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.’” [37:20]
“For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” [37:27]

Deuteronomy 4:2

“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” [44:00]

Colossians 2:20-23

“If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’” [01:07:44]
“(which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?” [01:07:58]
“These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” [01:08:06]

Galatians 5:1

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” [01:27:09]

Observation questions

In John 5:9-16, what do the religious leaders notice first about the healed man, and what do they fail to celebrate?
What contrast does Deuteronomy 4:2 make between adding to God’s Word and taking away from it? [46:53]
In John 5:14, what does Jesus say to the man after finding him in the temple, and how is Jesus’ concern different from the leaders’ concern about the mat? [01:14:22]
According to John 5:17-18, what two claims of Jesus especially stirred up opposition from the leaders? [01:35:15]

Interpretation questions

Why does carrying a mat become such a serious issue for the leaders when a man who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years is now healed? What does this reveal about the effect of man-made rules on mercy and joy? [51:02]
How can personal convictions be a sincere expression of love for God, yet become legalism when they are imposed on other believers as God’s commands? [56:20]
Jesus tells the healed man, “Do not sin anymore,” but does not treat his physical condition as automatic proof of personal sin. How should this shape the way believers respond to sickness, suffering, and the real consequences of sin? [01:17:08]
What does Jesus mean when He says, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working”? How does this statement support the truth that Jesus is equal with God? [01:29:51]

Application questions

Is there an area where a personal preference, family practice, or church custom has started to feel like a command from God? How can Scripture help distinguish a wise conviction from a burden placed on others? [55:10]
God’s Word is a mirror that reveals the Lord and exposes the individual heart; it is not a periscope for searching out other people’s failures. When is it easiest to compare yourself with others instead of letting Scripture confront and change you? [01:02:54]
Have you ever received criticism from another Christian over something Scripture does not clearly forbid? How did that affect your walk with the Lord, and how can you avoid placing the same kind of guilt on someone else? [01:06:40]
Jesus cares about both the body and the soul, but eternal healing is the greater gift. Is there a physical need, disappointment, or unanswered prayer that has become more central in your heart than knowing and trusting Christ? [01:15:16]
Christ set His people free, not so that they would return to performance, fear, and a yoke of slavery. Where do you most often feel tempted to measure God’s love for you by how well you have performed spiritually? [01:25:56]
The Father and the Son are still working in providence, mercy, healing, salvation, and every detail of life. What present worry would be changed if you remembered that God is still at work even when you cannot yet see the outcome? [01:30:52]
Jesus calls God “My Father,” and through Christ believers are welcomed to cry, “Abba, Father.” What would it look like this week to bring a specific fear or need to God with the trust of a child speaking to a loving Father? [01:38:49]

Sermon Clips

36s

#FreedomFromLegalism

“Jesus sets people free from the burden of sin, but also from the burden of man made religion. This guy has been ill for thirty eight years. He's been paralyzed, hoping to get healed. He suddenly gets healed, and the moment he gets healed, the Jews around him are ready to dump guilt on him. The second he was free from his illness, they're gonna dump guilt on him. Put this down. Legalism turns saints into sin sniffers.”

36s

#JesusBringsFreedom

“I I was thinking of this. You know? Jesus came to call us to take up our mat. That's true. He he wants to deal with it. What's sin or disabilities we have spiritually in our life. But he died and rose to take sin, death, and hell to the mat. That's why he came. We can rise now according to the bible. This is Romans six to walk a newness of life, and we will rise then because the grave is empty. Both are true. Put this down. Religion binds and blinds us, but Jesus frees us.”

41s

#GraceOverPerformance

“Like a one a day vitamin. There's a one a day command, thou shalt not do that. Thou shalt not do that. And just kinda like that's, like, somehow to please God, that's what he wants you to live under is this constant sense of you can't do that. You shouldn't be doing that. And there is this attitude in religion many times that it's all about achievement and performance. Religion says, attain. The gospel says, obtain. Religion says, attempt. The gospel says, accept. Religion says try. The gospel says trust.”

31s

#HealingBodyAndSoul

“But Jesus healed this man before he ever revealed who he was. But then when he meets him, he now wants him to know you need to deal with the sin issue in your life. You've been given a healed body, but you need a healed soul. That's the greater work. Because even a healed body is going to die. It's going to get sick again. But I have something greater for you.”

46s

#JesusIsGod

“They were right. He was claiming to be God. All these Christian groups is like, Jesus never claimed to be God. Jehovah's witnesses, the Mormons, and a variety of other Christian science, which is neither, by the way. Yeah. He never claimed to be God. Well, that seems to me that the Jews seem to think he did. Can he go, oh, no. You guys made a mistake. I don't no. He never corrected them. They were absolutely right about the charge. They're absolutely wrong that it was blasphemy because Jesus Christ is fully god, full stop. That's who he is. That's why John wrote the book. Read these signs that I've written. There's a bunch more, but I've written these so you might come to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of god, and you might have eternal life in his life. If he's anything else, he can't save you.”

35s

#ReadyForHeaven

“And if you continue in sin, you're in danger of that. What is that? Let me just tell you what it is. It's called hell. That's what it is. Fear not him who can kill the body but can't touch the soul. He was warning him what he warned everybody about. Repent the kingdom of heaven is coming soon. Judgment is coming. You're not ready for that. If you don't deal with the sin issue, you can have your legs work the rest of your life, but that doesn't make you ready for heaven.”

43s

#GodTheHealer

“listen. It's not at a non Christian's house, the sun makes the grass to grow. And in my house, because I'm a Christian, god makes the grass to grow. All the grass is growing because god makes it grow. He happens to use photosynthesis. Do you get my point? God is working even in the natural. There is no other healer that exists but the lord our god. Amen. Give him the credit. Even before you're saved, every time childhood disease, born with something, it was the lord that healed you before you knew him. He doesn't just heal you because you know him. He loves you before you ever loved him.”

29s

#GrowingLikeJesus

“And the fact is it's it's in the word of God that we start growing in our faith to become more like Jesus. And I I think it's it's just important for us as Christians to realize, Lord, the very thing that you are gonna help me to become more like you about is also potentially something Satan wants to use in my life to cause me to become prideful and judgmental of other people about, and I don't wanna fall into that.”

35s

#JesusFindsYou

“Maybe you're not here even looking for the lord. I got good news for you. It's okay. He can find you even when you're not looking for him. Isn't it interesting? Jesus healed a man that did not ask him to heal him. There's plenty of people that ask Jesus for healing, and he does. This guy's different. Jesus took the initiative. You think it's possible Jesus could heal you before you know Jesus? Absolutely. In fact, I'll go farther. Every time you've ever been healed, it was the Lord.”

37s

#FreedomFromSin

“the fact was even though he got saved and he was a sinner before, it didn't immediately completely set him free from all sin, but it started a work. Jesus, when he saves a person, wants to rescue them from the sin that can destroy the rest of their eternity. And so he's always saying that to every one of us. I want you to stop the sin because I want you to be right with me for heaven, and I want you to reflect me on this earth as a Christian.”

51s

#GraceNotWorks

“We know that god forgave us for our sins in the past by grace when we got saved. But then we start to think that somehow my the way I act and the way I obey, how often I go to church, how often I pray is gonna determine god's blessings on me. Now make no mistake. When you walk obediently to the lord, there are blessings that come our way. I mean, when we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way. That's true. When you honor God, you reap what you sow. That's true. But when you start to think you're earning them, you're earning God's pleasure or displeasure, oh, no. You've gone back to a works mentality, and it's very easy to do that to yourself. You start giving yourself bonus points for things you do. You know?”

36s

#ObedienceFromLove

“And here's what I want you to know that on the one hand, when you say, I wanna obey the Lord. I wanna honor God. That's a good thing. It's okay to say, I wanna do something that God hasn't even commanded me to do. Do you know the Nazarite vow to be set apart isn't required of anybody? It's voluntary. When David's mighty men said, let's go get him the water from Bethlehem. They weren't commanded to go. They just loved him, and so they did something they weren't commanded to do. It's okay for you to give up something for the lord out of love.”

38s

#FinishedWorkOfChrist

“some people think that the whole gospel is focusing on people's sin. Now if somebody doesn't see that they have any sin, that's not a bad place to start. The law is a tutor to lead us to Christ. I fully agree with that. But you won't find that Jesus always focuses on or starts with the law. He doesn't, nor does Paul, nor does Peter. The gospel is about the finished work of Christ dying for our sins and rising from the dead. No question about it. A person has to see they're a sinner to know that they need a savior.”

44s

#SicknessAndSin

“So that's one mistake is thinking sickness is always because of someone's sin. The bible says that's not true. But to say it's never sickness is never tied to sin, that's a mistake too. Read first Corinthians. The way they were treating the lord's supper, some of you are sick and some have fallen asleep. God's disciplining you. You see? So either one of those are wrong miss those are errors to say it always is or it never is. Don't make that mistake. So whether this guy had his condition because he sinned, the bible doesn't say it. He simply says there is something worse than thirty eight years being lame.”

36s

#SanctificationJourney

“even the moment you get saved doesn't make you instantly walk away from your sin. As I said, I prayed the prayer and was happy about the stuff I had stolen. I wish I could tell you that those candy bars were the last time I ever stole anything in my life or lied, but it would be another lie. Yes. I started to change, but it took time. It's still taking time. God's saying, I'm still looking for some more change.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Calvary Chapel East Anaheim This sermon · AI assistant

How does religion turn God’s principles into prisons?

Why did Jesus heal on the Sabbath deliberately?

What is worse than lifelong physical paralysis?