The Specifics of Following - Part 2
Mark 2:13-3:6; Matthew 7:21-23
Pharisees say following is about following the rules
Following the rules leads to pride
Following the rules leads to death
Jesus says following is about following in Relationship
Following in Relationship leads to Humility
Following in Relationship leads to Life
Intro
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Good morning.
We are in the midst of a series we have been calling not a fan.
We have been talking about the difference between being a fan or being a follower of Jesus.
Every one of us will have areas that the Lord is still growing us in, but we have been going over some specifics of who can be a follower and what it looks like to be a follower of Christ.
We saw last week that, unlike most rabbis and teachers of Jesus’ day, Jesus invitation to follow Him was open and available to anyone and everyone and it is still is.
No matter how you have lived in the past, you are invited to follow Christ.
And we saw that it costs nothing in terms of payment for the privilege to follow Christ, but it will cost everything in terms of our life to actually follow.
So there is definitely cost and we have to count that cost.
Transition
This week, we want to ask, What does following look like?
Are their rules? Is that what we follow? How does it look like to actually follow?
To begin to answer that, we are going to turn to
Mark 2:13-3:6.
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We are going to read this section of Scripture and look at how the Pharisees thought following should look like and we will then talk about what Jesus tells us following will look like.
So let’s read begin in Mark 2:13.
Mark 2:13-3:6
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?"
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"
19 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
25 He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."
27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
3 Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."
4 Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
Pray
Ok, we are going to look at this from an overall view of what is happening here.
When Jesus came, there were those that had in their minds, what true believers would look like and do. They had in their minds certain rules that all God fearing people would do.
You see
The Pharisees say following is about following the Rules
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When we look back at this section of Scripture, we would see that
the Pharisees would say to follow, you can’t eat with “sinners”
the Pharisees would say you have to fast at certain times
the Pharisees would say you can’t pick grain on the Sabbath
the Pharisees would say you can’t heal or do good on the Sabbath.
We have rules and you have to follow the rules if you want to be a follower of God
Application
Do we face this type of situation today?
Yes.
Not only from individual churches, but from individuals as well.
Now obviously there are things that people should not do and things that people should do and there are areas of essential belief and non essential belief.
If someone came to me and said, I am a Christian, but did not believe in the deity of Christ or in the Resurrection, there would be a major problem in this person’s understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Being a Christian, being a follower of Christ, requires, by definition, certain beliefs on who Jesus is and what He did.
Similarly, if someone continued to be a bank robber or continued murdering people, and yet claimed Christianity, there would be a problem. Christ doesn’t save people and not change them.
However, there are some individuals who would take this beyond what it written in Scripture, and add in many “rules” that are required to be a follower of Christ.
True followers won’t dance or drink alcohol, they won’t smoke, or go to movies (or at least R-rated movies). Followers won’t hang around people who aren’t Christians.
There are even churches that, to be a member, you cannot do things like that.
Now, I am not saying that doing all of these things are good.
What I am saying is that being a Christian is not about following rules that we set up.
When we think that following is all about following the rules, and that is all we seek to do is follow the rules, we find that it leads to some problems.
First, we find that
Following the Rules leads to Pride
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When we establish a rule and then begin to follow it, we start to think we are pretty good, that we have got this thing down.
Look at me Lord.
I don’t drink or smoke, or dance. You must be pretty lucky to have me as one of your followers, setting such a good example.
Listen to a parable Jesus told of some who seemed to have the rules down.
Luke 18:9-12
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9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ (NIV)
He was filled with pride at all these external rules he kept and followed.
Listen to what Jesus says about people who follow rules, but really don’t care about others.
Matthew 15:7-9
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7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 "’These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’" (Matthew 15:7-9)
The Pharisees followed the rules, but they only looked good on the outside. They were full of pride and hypocrisy. They didn’t care about others. They cared about what others thought of them and that is why they sought to establish and follow rules. But when we do that, we are not only hypocrites, but Jesus says about people like that, that they are
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“whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean…. 28 on the outside [they] appear[ed] to people as righteous but on the inside [they were] full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matt 23:27-28)
If what we follow is the rules, it will lead to pride and sin in our life.
Not only does just following the rules lead to pride, but just
Following the rules leads to death
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Paul tells us in Romans that “no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law” (Romans 3:20)
It is only those declared righteous that will inherit eternal life. Those who do not have the righteousness of Christ, will die in their sins.
Righteousness does not come by keeping the rules or following the law. Paul tells us that “if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. (Galatians 3:21).
If by following, we strive to just follow the rules, we are going to die in our sins and we will be eternally separated from the Lord.
There are many people who claim Jesus as their Savior, but are trying to earn their way into heaven through their keeping of the law or abiding by the rules..
This was the case with the Pharisees.
This is the case with those who seek to apply rules to everyone’s life.
This is the case with those Jesus was talking to in Matthew 7:21-23.
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He said, “21Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
They were trying to do good without being in relationship with the Lord.
That is impossible.
Jesus is saying that Following is not about following the rules.
No
Jesus says Following is about following in Relationship
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Notice what Jesus said to those who called him Lord, but were striving to do good for their salvation. He says, “I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23)
These people were not in relationship with Jesus.
When Jesus called people to follow, he did not call them to follow rules, but follow Him.
“Come, Follow me.”
Come be in relationship with me. It is about knowing, not knowing about, but knowing and following Jesus.
In John 10, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and uses the analogy of a Shepherd to the sheep.
John 10:2-4, 14
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2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name …4 his sheep follow him because they know his voice….14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
Those who follow are those who are in a relationship with Him.
Now just like following rules has effect upon us and leads us to places (bad effects and bad places, pride & death), following Jesus in relationship with him also has effects and leads us to places.
One thing that we see is that
Following in Relationship leads to Humility
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When we follow the Lord and enter into that relationship with him, it leads to us humbly recognizing who we are and our great need for him.
Earlier, we looked at the parable Jesus was telling about 2 men who entered the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee tried following rules and it led him to be prideful and look down on “sinners.”
The tax collector, was not a rule follower, but entered into following Christ and he was humbled and recognized his great need.
Luke 18:13
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"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”
Listen to what Jesus says to the disciples and those listening about this man.
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14)
He turned to the Lord, and recognized God and His holiness and being in that relationship brings out the stark contrast between who we are and who God is and it works in us to recognize our great need for God’s mercy and grace.
It leads to humility in that we recognize that we are unable to be good enough and are in great need of only what the Lord can offer.
So, following in Relationship leads to Humility versus following the rules which leads to pride.
We also see that
Following in Relationship leads to Life
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Mathew 16:24-25
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (NIV)
What Jesus is saying, like we spoke about last week, is that, while it is free to follow and everyone is welcome to follow, the act of following is costly. In fact it will cost you everything. But as you follow in relationship with Him, you find real life and eternal life.
Jesus is leading to where real life and real living is found, a life that is full and eternal. If we follow Him, that is what we will find.
We read earlier in In John 10, about the good shepherd and the sheep knowing him and He knowing the sheep. In that section of Scripture, Jesus says
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John 10:10 - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV)
Being a follower is all about following Jesus where he leads.
It is not about following rules.
It is all about a relationship.
Now this doesn’t mean that I can just say I believe in and follow Jesus, so I can do whatever I want.
No, when we enter a relationship with Jesus, we are changed.
Just like when we enter into a covenant relationship of marriage with our spouse, it is not that I tell myself everyday that now that I am married, I can’t be with another woman. No, it is because I love my wife that I don’t want to be with anyone else. I don’t desire to hurt her in any way.
Now there will be times that I have done things that have hurt my wife, but it is because of my relationship with her that I seek her forgiveness.
It is the same with being in relationship and a follower of Jesus. I don’t want to do anything that will dishonor the Lord who saved me, who laid his own life down for mine, who has given me life beyond anything that I could have imagined, not in terms of wealth or earthly riches, but in terms of peace and joy and heavenly riches.
Conclusion
I want you to ask yourself this morning, “Am I in a relationship with Jesus?” If Jesus came back today, would He know me or would he say, I never knew you?
Would I be relying on the things I have done?
I went to church every week… I tithed my money…I taught Sunday School?
Or would I be relying on my relationship with Christ and His blood and what He did for my salvation?
Are the things I do for my salvation or because of my salvation?
Maybe this morning, as we have been talking about the specifics of being a follower of Christ, you see that you haven’t been following Christ, but seeking to follow the rules.
It is only through entering into a relationship with Jesus that you will ever be saved.
How do you enter into that relationship?
Receive Him as your Savior by believing in Him, who He is, God in the flesh, and what He has done, dying for your sins and rising from the dead to give you eternal life.
John 1:12 says that “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” We become His child, we enter into that relationship with Him that gives life.
Won’t you enter into that relationship by confessing your belief in Him as Lord and your belief in what He did for you?
You will never enter heaven based on what you have done, only on what He has done and your relationship with Him.
If you are not in relationship with Him, then enter into that now by confessing your belief to Him.
Let’s pray.
