Mercy Over Legalism: Jesus Calls and Restores

And then he said to him, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. See, God instituted the Sabbath for our benefit. God didn't create men or men and women so that he would have people to worship him or to honor the Sabbath. He didn't create people. So, okay, now I made these people so that they can honor the Sabbath and worship me. No. God instituted the Sabbath for our benefit, and God showed us the example by himself resting on the seventh day after creation. God wasn't tired on the seventh day. He set the example of setting aside that seventh day to rest. [00:44:00] (41 seconds)  #SabbathForUs

Because he even says in this case here, he came to call the not the righteous, but he called sinners to repent. One of the reasons, he says, I did not come for except for this reason. Why did Jesus come to Earth? Why did Jesus be born of a virgin, live a life, and preach the gospel, the good news? Because he came to call sinners to repent. Let them know about the good news. Turn from where you're messed up and turn to Jesus. That's why he came. [00:25:50] (31 seconds)  #CalledToRepent

But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. So what happened? Jesus ascended into heaven, and he went to prepare a place for us. And he's gonna come again that where he is, you will be also. But while he's gone, now part of the Christian experience is to fast. When he comes back, then there's gonna be this big wedding feast, but right now, it's certainly okay to fast. So that's what Jesus says. The day is gonna come when the bridegroom, Jesus is the bridegroom, he would get arrested, he would get crucified, he'd rise from the dead, he'd go to heaven, he'd be gone. He left the planet. [00:31:04] (46 seconds)  #WaitingForTheBridegroom

And so there would be certain Jews who would collect taxes on behalf of the Herodians, on behalf of the he was an Edomite, so he's extracting money from the Jewish people to give it to the an Edomite governmental ruler. And so if a person was a tax collector, he was as far as the Jews are concerned, he was an outcast from society. He was disqualified to be a judge or a witness in their legal system. He was excommunicated from the synagogue, and his family members were disgraced. It was an extended disgrace against his family members. So this is a totally despised person by the Jews. And Jesus says, follow me. [00:19:38] (46 seconds)  #JesusCallsOutcasts

Now why does that apply? Because the Old Testament is that old garment, and the New Testament can't be a patch that goes on the Old Testament. It's a completely new piece of items. Jesus is not a patch on the Old Testament because it'll just tear it apart. See, the New Testament is newness of life. It's not the old garment. The Old Testament is the old garment. The New Testament is the new garment. You can't put the new, can't patch the Old Testament with a New Testament patch. It won't work. [00:32:56] (44 seconds)  #NewGarmentNewLife

The pharisees are still following Jesus around. There are this group that just I wanna hear what he has to say so I can criticize it and find fault with what he's saying. I know people that have watched TV or go to church, these different things. They'll go to the big revival conferences, and they're just reasoning in their mind. They're trying to find something that's right. But here's a man that has a withered hand. He's got a problem. If he's in construction, he can't, you know, hold the hammer, these type of things. But the pharisees this is Jesus' point where he's trying to say. The pharisees are more important with the legalism of the law than this fact that this man has a withered hand. [00:47:52] (41 seconds)  #CompassionOverLegalism

And when he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he realized their hearts were hard. No compassion for this man. Jesus said to the man, stretch out your hand, and he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole of the as the other. He said to the man, stretch out your hand. The man stretched out his hand, and his hand was restored. Restoration as much as the other. See, God is a God of restoration. This is important. God's a God of restoration. [00:49:47] (33 seconds)  #GodIsRestorer

In other words, for example, if your ox falls in a ditch on the Sabbath, if you pull the ox this is Old Testament. If you pull the ox out of the ditch, is that labor? Or should you just say, oh, no. I can't work on the Sabbath and let the ox die in the ditch? No. There was a provision in the law that if a ox falls in the ditch on the Sabbath, you don't let it die. You do the manual labor and pull it out and rescue it because that made more sense. You can't be legalistic and go, oh, you know, can't work on the Sabbath. Sorry, ox. You're just gonna have to die there. No. [00:43:10] (39 seconds)  #RescueOverRule