Jesus Seeking and Saving the Lost • 03.22.26
Jesus Seeking and Saving the Lost
Jesus shows the personal character of his mission as he engages the culture
Luke 5:27 – 6:11
- God does not require you to get cleaned up before coming to him
- Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
- Honoring the Lord on the Sabbath
Manuscript:
Good morning, Harvest! It is a blessing to worship with all of you this morning. Before we move any further, I would like to release the 4th and 5th graders to their class, please make your way to the back – your teacher is waiting to greet you. I will also ask the ushers to come forward with bibles for those of you that need one, just put your hand up and they will get you a copy.
My name is Mark Davis; I serve as one of the members of the pastor team and I have the privilege of sharing God’s word with you this morning as we continue in our series in the Gospel of Luke. If you are visiting with us today – welcome, I am thankful that you have joined us.
The last time I preached we had just received a blanket of snow there in late November, this morning I am rejoicing with you in what looks like a promising turn back to spring weather – Amen? Amen!
Also when I last preached I was still dealing with some speech and other issues related to the Bells Palsy I was struck with last September, I give God praise for the significant healing I have experienced since January, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you – our Harvest family – for the prayers and encouragement that you have graciously offered as my wife Angel and I have walked through this character building experience. I am about 95% recovered – so still coveting those prayers!
Before we begin let us open in a word of prayer. (Prayer)
The title of the sermon today is Jesus Seeking and Saving the Lost. Last week Pastor Nick showed us Jesus Authority on Display as he led us through Luke chapter 5 verses 1 through 26. Today in the remaining portion of chapter 5 and the first eleven verses of chapter 6 we will see more examples of this authority as Jesus presses into His Father’s work. In studying commentaries in preparation for this message, I found two separate statements that remarkably described what we see the Lord doing during his earthly ministry, I blended them together for our subtitle today: Jesus shows the personal character of his mission as he engages the culture.
We will deal with the balance of Luke chapter 5 first, then move to chapter 6, so if you would please turn in your copy of God’s word to the New Testament book of Luke, chapter 5, beginning at verse 27. In the bibles the ushers handed out you will find that on page 1023.
Please follow along with me as we now read Luke 5:27 through 39:
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
As we read last week in the preceding verses Jesus had just healed a paralytic whose friends lowered him through the roof to get him in front of Jesus. Jesus displayed his power by forgiving the man’s sins first, then showed he had that authority by also healing him. Now the paralytic would have had atrophy in his legs from lack of use, as well as in related muscles, and his brain would also have lost the ability to control his legs and all related functions – yet he stood up, picked up his bed and walked. Sins forgiven, his body restored – amazing.
Luke 27 picks up immediately after this healing as it says, “after this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth.” Jesus leaves the place where he healed the paralytic and goes outside, and walking along a road through town or along the coast of the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum he sees and then calls the tax collector at the tax booth to follow him.
We now know this tax collector as Matthew, one of the apostles, and the writer of the first book of the New Testament. But what was he known as in the culture of his day? Let us take a quick look at being a tax collector in those days, also known as publicans.
In nations that were conquered and or ruled over by the Roman Empire Roman businessmen would form a type of company that would in turn buy the revenue collection authority for certain provinces in each nation, these contracts would be for five-year periods. They would put this revenue collection authority out to bid to local people; in the case of Israel it would be Jews. The highest bidder would get the rights to collect revenue in their area. Zacchaeus, who we will see in Luke 19, was one of these – a “chief” tax collector. They would pay the Romans the amount they bid and then keep any excess for themselves. The taxes collected were not used for roads, bridges, or public improvements – the revenue eventually made its way back to Rome itself after all the middlemen had collected their cut. Foreign lands like Israel that were under Roman rule were basically paying money for the Romans to continue oppressing them. There is a big picture view of a tax collector.
Drilling down a little more we find that the successful bidders for the tax collection areas would then hire others to do the actual collections, or the dirty work of making and enforcing the collections. These people would be at the bottom of the ladder in the organization, and in society. These were the people that were confronting others in person to collect taxes in a variety of ways and had enforcers in their employ who would threaten or do physical harm to those that owed taxes and would not or could not pay them. Some of these tax collectors were stationed in tax booths at key places where a lot of people would pass by, like where Jesus found Levi, or Matthew.
These low-level tax collectors were known to harass people wherever they could and tax them on the spot. Even if you ran across one tax collector in the morning and had to pay – you might encounter another in the afternoon and have to pay again. The tax collectors would place inflated and fictitious values on property or income to get a higher percentage of revenue, and they would also give loans to people who could not pay their tax and charge high interest on the tax debt. If you wanted to protest these practices and take them to a judge it was of little help – as the judges were often bribed by the tax collectors! This makes the IRS not look so bad by comparison, doesn’t it?
To make it worse the revenue collected was being paid to gentiles, as a result the Jewish people exercised their only way to fight back on these practices by ostracizing them, the tax collectors, in several different ways:
- In the Talmud (which is their compiling of Jewish law, ethics, and customs), they placed tax collectors alongside murderers and robbers
- The rabbis taught that tax collectors were disqualified witnesses in court, societal outcasts, and an utter disgrace to their own family.
- Rabbis would excommunicate tax collectors from the synagogue
- Tax collectors were not allowed to exchange their money at the Temple treasury
- Rabbis even considered it lawful to lie to avoid paying tax collectors
With this view of the position by your culture, what type of person would want to take this job? Most often it was those that were already considered a low life, a criminal, or a loser. Now we do not know that Levi, or Matthew – was as bad as he could be, but we do know that lying, extortion, cruelty and deceit were normal behavior for tax collectors.
This makes Jesus choosing Levi an incredibly outrageous act in the eyes of the Pharisees and religious elite, almost on par with saying he could forgive sins! That brings us point number one on your bulletin today:
1) God does not require you to get cleaned up before coming to him
Jesus seeks and saves the lost! Levi was sitting at the tax booth engaged in one of the most hated and scorned occupations in Israel – and Jesus said to him “Follow Me”.
How does Levi, or Matthew, respond? Does he hesitate? Does he take a minute or two to consider what he might be giving up financially? Does he ask if he could have some time to consider? Not at all – Luke records that Levi leaves everything, he gets up and follows Jesus with no hesitation. God had brought him to repentance; he did not have to do anything to prepare himself for this moment – it is entirely an act of God’s grace and mercy! Jesus saved this sinner!
In verse 29 we see that Levi, or Matthew, is so full of joy at his salvation that he puts on a great feast at his home, and the text tells us “there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.” These were the people he knew. He is sharing the good news of the gospel already and wants all these outcast and despised companions to meet Jesus and find salvation as well. He has had the great weight of sin and separation from God for eternity lifted from him, his heart has been made new and in Christ he is now in a restored relationship with God. What an amazing site, a group of the lowest and potentially worst moral group celebrating the conversion of one of their own at a banquet given in Jesus’ honor. They were sitting with the Son of God, the Savior of the World!
Paul talks about this joy in his letter to the Philippians, where he writes in chapter 3, verses 7 through 9.
Philippians 3:7-9:
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
Jesus has moved here in Luke 5 from forgiving sinners to now openly associating with them – engaging the people in the culture where they are. This is an intentional action – demonstrating the personal character of his mission that I mentioned at the start of the message. People that were typically treated as outcasts, shunned by the religious elite, see that Jesus personally engages them and cares for them, he seeks them out and does not put conditions on being near or with him.
Jesus also uses the hated and despised tax collector in a parable in Luke 18, comparing the tax collector’s prayer of humility and acknowledgement that he was a sinner to the self-righteous prayer of a Pharisee – concluding that the tax collector went home justified, rather than the Pharisee. A hard teaching for those looking for salvation by the law to hear.
Now the Scribes and Pharisees were watching all this, and in verse 30 they grumble at the disciples, asking “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” They assumed there was no sin in themselves, that anyone that would be at such a gathering would in no way be honoring God, but quite the opposite.
Christ himself responds to them, but before we look at that we should put some context in place to better understand why the Scribes and Pharisees were so incredulous at Jesus and his disciple’s conduct.
The Scribes and Pharisees had as part of their life mission what they viewed as protecting their religion from contamination, and in their minds also protecting the Jewish people and culture from the dangers of being “unholy”, as many of their ancestors had been, rejecting God, and bringing judgement and disaster on themselves. They felt it was their God-given duty to make sure all the laws were followed, to teach these laws to the people, and enforce compliance as best they could – even if that sometimes meant the death of those they viewed as a profound threat. This was as serious as you could get – they were not arguing and complaining just to be contentious – this was the life and death of God’s chosen people to them, and their own way of life. Mixed with that motive was the self-righteousness they had carefully cultivated in their rigid adherence to their laws, along with a good dose of pride in the power and prestige that they held in the eyes of the people.
They held deep convictions and spent their lives working to live righteously. Most of them would be considered highly moral, however, they were not “made holy” by all their religious works as they had assumed – and their hearts were hard toward anything that did not match their laws and expectations to the letter.
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Salvation Cartoon
The cartoon on the screen puts a slightly humorous but pointed light on what we are talking about here. There are forms of pharisees alive today – even in the church, more focused on works and appearances – in getting “right” themselves to be able to show others, or God, what holiness or worthiness looks like. This is a dangerous place to be, it will bring you into direct opposition with Christ and the gospel just as we see detailed here in Luke – and many other places in scripture. We cannot do enough “work”, or cleanup of our own lives, to be worthy of, earn, or maintain salvation. It is by Grace alone, in Faith alone, by Christ Alone.
The apostle Paul makes this clear as well in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 – 8:
Ephesians 2:4-8:
4 But[a] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
The Pharisees had 613 commandments, or laws, based on the Torah or Mosaic Law. There were 365 negative restrictions and 248 positive commands, along with thousands of oral traditions they interpreted as “fences” to protect the Law, and these were considered as binding – creating a very complex and detailed system of how you would live your daily life. This became a system of works necessary to stay in right relationship with God, and it contributed to blinding them to the truth.
Jesus speaks to them often about this trap they have made for themselves, one exchange is recorded in Luke 20, Mark chapter 12, and in Matthew 23 where Jesus declares “woes” on them. Matthew 23 verses 1-4 states:
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others.”
And He follows this up in verses 13 – 15 with:
“13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”
Then in verses 27 – 28
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Luke Slide
In their laws the Scribes and Pharisees were not permitted to be with these “tax collectors and sinners” Jesus and his disciples were together with, let alone be sharing a meal with them and celebrating with them. This was considered outrageous behavior! For them to do so would make them in old-testament language “un-clean”. They believed contact and interactions with sinners would tarnish them, make them unable to go to the Temple or approach God until they went through some process of purification.
Jesus crashes through all of that with his response in Luke 5 verse 31 when he tells them:
Luke 5:31
And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
A brilliant statement, hammering right at the heart. In other words, he is telling them that if physicians, or doctors, only hang out with other doctors because they do not want to be exposed to being sick – who is going to help those that are ill?? He is trying to get them to see that God wants to reach the sinner to minister to them, not leave them in their ailing state. There is no way you can do that if you go to great lengths to avoid contact with them.
Jesus went to those that knew they were sick, not just physically but also spiritually. Their hearts were in distress, they knew they were lost and in need of saving. That was the state of Levi the tax collector, and when offered a cure for his sickness he immediately accepted – because he knew he desperately needed it.
This is a great reminder for the body of Christ today as well – we cannot shine the light of the gospel to others if we only hang out with those like us, we are called to “Go and make disciples”, to engage the culture personally as Jesus does! God is always working on hearts; you never know who he may be calling so as a believer in Christ you are to always be ready to give an answer for that hope that lies within you. Now the longer you are a believer the more challenging this can be, for you naturally accumulate relationships with those that are like-minded. You need to be intentional, as Jesus is in our text today, and get out in the world to proclaim the gospel.
A religion based on works never works. In our human imperfection, or sinfulness, it is not possible for us to obtain a works-based perfection – we need a perfect savior to do that for us! There is only one of those, the Lord Jesus Christ. He himself said that no one can come to the Father except through him.
Now back to our Luke 5 passage we find that the Pharisees are undeterred with Jesus reply and they are party to another question about proper conduct given in verse 33. It is asked why Jesus disciples eat and drink – yet the disciples of the Pharisees and John the Baptist fast? While exactly who asks the question varies in the gospel accounts, we know the Pharisees are also present and watching all that Jesus and his disciples are doing.
Jesus responds with an example of a wedding, stating the obvious that you do not fast at a wedding while the bridegroom is there – it is a cause for celebration! As he says this, he is also declaring that He is the bridegroom, another affirming statement of his divinity. He tells them there will be a time for fasting when he is not here with them, but right now it is time to rejoice and celebrate.
Jesus then adds two parables to his response in verses 36 through 39:
Luke 5:36-39:
36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.””
Here Jesus gives two practical examples of things everyone would know and understand in that day, yet this is in answer to a spiritual question. At first glance you could draw the conclusion easily that Jesus is comparing the old ways of Judaism that the Pharisees and Scribes are clinging too against the new ways that Jesus is talking about and demonstrating. But we know from other scripture that Jesus came to fulfill, not to replace, what had come before.
In my own study of the passage and in reading multiple commentaries on these parables it makes more sense to me that Jesus is describing being stuck in old ways because they are what is known and comfortable, or good, and not being open to new ways that compliment or fulfill the old.
Commentator D. E. Garland in the ZECNT commentary on the Gospel of Luke has the best explanation of this that I found, he has the following comments on the parable of the new and old garments in this passage:
What is “new” needs to be carefully defined. Since Luke grounds Christianity in the antiquity of Judaism, he is not presenting the Christian way as the new. In the ancient world, unlike our contemporary culture, what is good is old! Our culture leads us too readily to assume that “new” implies “improved” and “better.” Luke does not present Christianity as the latest thing but as the fulfillment of the ancient promises to Israel. In the context, however, the issue is about repentance and the traditional signs of repentance, not the relative age of the Christian movement. The parable makes the case “that it is impossible and destructive to mix new ways of thinking and living with old ways of thinking and living.” The “new” is the renewal of the old, in which God fulfills what he has promised. Old ways of thinking that cannot accommodate Jesus’ offer of forgiveness to sinners and the reinstatement of the outcasts in God’s covenant people needs to be replaced. The new ways of thinking are created by the “new covenant” that was announced by Jeremiah to be written on the heart, and it entails the forgiveness of sins (Jer 31:31–34; see 2 Cor 3:1–18). Garland, D. E. (2012).
And in his comments regarding the new and old wineskins he has a similar statement:
This proverb about preferring the aged wine seems to contradict the argument about the superiority of the new vintage that Jesus brings. The image, however, does not endorse the old over the new but alludes to “the difficulties those who cling to old ways of thinking and living have with accepting new ways of thinking and living.” Such preferences hamper acceptance of the new. This saying explains why the Pharisees criticize Jesus. They are mired in a mind-set that clings to the old and rejects the unexpected, new things that God is working through Jesus “today”. Garland, D. E. (2012)
In his personal and direct engagement with the lost, with sinners, Jesus is showing the heart of God toward his people as is stated in Jeremiah 31, verses 31-34:
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Jesus exercised this with the paralytic we read about last week, with Levi in our passage today and continues throughout the New Testament – and is still doing so today.
Luke Slide
I know there are three points on your bulletins for the sermon today, and yes, I assure you we will get to them – sometime this afternoon. 😊
Wrapping up chapter 5 we will now look at Luke 6, verses 1 – 4. Please turn to those passages and follow along with me as we read these four verses together:
1 On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus declaration at the end of verse four is point number two on your bulletin:
2) Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
In these first eleven verses in chapter six we go through two accounts of what occurred on a Sabbath. The exact geographic locations are not detailed for us, nor if they were consecutive Sabbaths. We do know however that Jesus and the disciples remain under the watchful eyes of the Pharisees.
This first event we just read has caught the careful scrutiny of the Pharisees, the disciples picking grain to eat was viewed as doing work, actually breaking several of their laws including harvesting/reaping (plucking the grain), threshing (rubbing the grain between their hands to separate the grains from the chaff), and perhaps even grinding. Now the issue of course is not what they are doing but when they are doing it.
Now the Sabbath observance by the Jewish people had increased in importance in what is known as the second temple period, along with other uniquely Jewish cultural traditions that helped maintain and preserve Jewish identity – such as circumcision and dietary restrictions. However, the Sabbath laws had progressively grown more restrictive over time, and in this instance and the one to follow the Pharisees are running into someone who has a different interpretation of the application of the law – and that someone is Jesus himself, the ultimate authority.
In his reply to the Pharisees complaint that the disciples were breaking the law here Jesus cites the Old Testament story in 1st Samuel 21 of David, who was on the run from King Saul and found himself in need of some food after not eating for several days. David took what was available from the priest Ahimelech at that time – the Bread of the Presence which was considered holy. Jesus points out that this bread was only lawful for the priests to eat, yet in the story the priest in charge at that time gives David the bread. While the letter of the law may have been broken in this act – a precedent for a less rigid interpretation of the law on this subject was made as there was reluctance but no objection from the priest.
Jesus is telling them that exercising mercy and sustaining life would take precedence over strict ceremonial law. Now the Pharisees could have asked by what authority he could make such an interpretation or compare himself with David – but he heads them off at the end of verse five with his declaration that “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” With Jesus being the Son of Man and therefore the lord of Sabbath, he would be the true authority in interpretation and application of the Sabbath laws.
Now the Pharisees of course did not accept this, and the tension between them and Jesus begins to ratchet up even more.
Luke Slide
Let us now move to the last section of our passage today, please follow along with me as we read Luke 6, verses 6 through eleven:
6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Here we have another Sabbath event under the ever-present watch of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus is there teaching and the passage tells us he knew their thoughts, that they were looking for a reason to accuse him. Challenge accepted – Jesus calls the man with the withered hand to come stand in a specific place – we can assume at the front or up close to Jesus where all could see him.
Jesus then challenges them sternly, asking if it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or harm, to save life or destroy it. They must have remained silent as no response is recorded. He then tells the man to extend his hand and it is restored, and the religious elites are filled with fury and discuss what they might do to Jesus.
This is an extremely sad and incredible response by them. In their own Sabbath laws there was an allowance to do work that needed to be done when it was a life saving circumstance. Jesus even reminds them of this in Matthew 12 when he says “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?” I would say this man’s healing was of greater value than a sheep. In this instance it is a partially crippled man, whose hand has most likely been withered for all of his life – and rather than rejoice with him in his healing they resent that it was done, clinging to their laws and now plotting harm to the Lord of the Sabbath – the one who brings the healing.
We will follow this up with our final point, also regarding the Sabbath. Point number three is:
3) Honoring the Lord on the Sabbath
In the first Sabbath confrontation we looked at this morning Jesus had declared himself the Lord of the Sabbath. In the first part of Luke 5 he had forgiven the paralytic of his sins, then healed him to display that he had the power and authority to do both – forgive the sins of men and heal their afflictions. He follows this up with calling Levi, or Matthew, also granting him forgiveness of his sins and extending salvation to one of the lowest and most despised classes of people in society.
All of these displays of his power and authority were done in full view of the people, including of course the scribes and Pharisees.
Jesus has proven in these confrontations with the scribes and Pharisees that he is in fact Lord of the Sabbath, and that he is the one who has the correct interpretations and applications of the laws given in the scriptures – including the Sabbath laws.
Therefore, Jesus Christ is to be honored on the Sabbath. Jesus is teaching a proper approach to the law of the Sabbath, one that puts doing good in context against strict application of the laws and rules. He is teaching that people are to always be ready to serve others as the need arises, even on the day of Sabbath rest. And while this is a new perspective that challenges the status quo Jesus proves it is the right way by the good he continues to do in the face of opposition.
I would ask you to consider where you stand in regard to the Sabbath. Do you think it is still something to observe, or not? If you do look at Sunday, or the Lords day as the Sabbath – do you honor the Lord in it? Do you make time for resting in Him, for worship, for doing things with family or friends that build your faith? Or is it another day of checking the boxes and getting things done, with little time or energy focusing on the things of God?
Wherever you stand on this question Jesus is still the Lord of the Sabbath, and is due honor as such.
If you have not studied the scriptures for yourself in regards to the Sabbath as it applies to today, I would encourage you to do so, you may find it helps build your faith and your appreciation for what the Lord has done for you.
Luke Slide
In conclusion today I would like to circle back to some of the things we covered regarding having a relationship with Jesus Christ and pose some questions for you to consider:
How are you doing in your relationship with Jesus Christ today? Can you say you have one? Do you think you need to change some things in your life to be able to embrace what Jesus Christ has done for you? If you cannot claim a saving relationship with Jesus Christ are there possibly “bad” habits, even sinful behaviors you struggle with that make you feel like you are not in any condition to come to Christ right now, that you are not worthy?
You know what – you would be right! None of us are ever in the “right” place to come to Christ, the scriptures tell us plainly that all of us fall short of the Glory of God, all of our hearts are desperately wicked, that none of us seeks God in our sinful condition. Just like he did with Levi – Jesus has that same invitation extended, with open arms, to all whom he calls proclaiming the same two words – “Follow Me”.
If you have not come to that place where you would call Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, and hearing this message today brings a sense that God is calling on you – I urge you to respond like Levi – turn from where you are and follow him! He will meet you where you are and then lead you to the place he has prepared for you, a place that was prepared before the foundation of the world, as the apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 – 10:
Ephesians 1:3-10
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us[b] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known[c] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ[d] 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.
Luke Slide
Let us close in prayer. (Prayer)