How we see Jesus matters

Believers, Luke's account of the gospel (in chapters 14 and 15) shows us how three groups of people - the "Pharisees," the "Multitude" and the "Tax Collectors and Sinners" - saw our Lord Jesus Christ. These three groups can be compared to different kinds of Christians today! Jesus loves and came to save all!

GROUP 1 - The Pharisees, who saw Jesus as competition for their high positions.

In Chapter 14, the Pharisees invited Jesus to dine with them on the Sabbath day. They watched Him closely as He went in, trying to find fault with Him (Grace-personified) as usual. As Jesus went in, He saw a man afflicted with dropsy. Jesus knew that the Pharisees were going to accuse Him of healing on a Sabbath day when working is prohibited. So He asked them: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" But they kept silent. Jesus healed the man (freely, didn't ask him to go and keep the Law, fast or sow seed first!) and He let him go. The Pharisees' thoughts were that He had broken the law by healing on the Sabbath. Jesus answered them saying:

“Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”

And they could not answer Him regarding these things. Why? They realised that the reason why they were not committing particular sins is because God did not allow them to be tempted beyond what they could bear! They would break the Law of the Sabbath in a heartbeat if they were the ones sick with dropsy - the same way that those who tout themselves as "good" because they do not steal/fornicate/lie will sin copiously if a big enough temptation came their way, just like Peter who boasted that he would never deny Christ.

Believers, the Pharisees represent Christians (mostly leaders) that tell you, like their counterparts of old, that there are terms and conditions that need to be met by you before you can receive from our Lord God - Preachers of this thing that Paul called "doctrines of demons" say that you have to keep the Law or fulfill certain terms and conditions before Jesus can save/heal/deliver/provide for you are doing today: they try to drive the wedge of your ability to keep the Law between you and Christ's salvation. If you lose your job, they tell you that you have to 'sow a seed' before our heavenly Father blesses you with another. When you are sick, they tell you that unless you confess some sin that you or your ancestors committed, God will not heal you, or worse, that God is punishing you for your sins or those of your fore-fathers.

How can a righteous God punish you for sins that have already been punished in the body of His Son ? As the righteousness of God in Christ, God doesn't remember our sins anymore (Heb 8:7-12)! Hebrews 10:12 says Christ "offered for all time one sacrifice for sins." But members of Group 1 put up barriers to receiving from God when our Heavenly Father gives us all things FREELY with Christ. Romans 8:32 - 

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Most times, this group of "Christians," like the priests of the Old Testament, are the ones dispensing the actions that you must take in order to "overcome" but you never fully overcome; you keep going back in fear, because their to-do list is for you never ends. They never point you to our Saviour Jesus Christ. They point you to what YOU have to do when our Saviour said we can do nothing without Him. Of course you have to come back next week because only two out of the twenty-five padlocks of bondage were broken in this curse deliverance session! Such reject Galatians 3:13 - "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law..." and insist that believers are still under the same generational and other curses from which Christ hung on the cross to redeem us. They always point you to things to do to "maintain your salvation" when all you need to do is believe. Christ does it all. Believers, man is not your high priest. Jesus Christ is our High Priest!

But we see our Saviour's heart towards us in His healing of the sick man. He can't stand to see us sick or in pain. He loves us more than we could ever love our kids - just think what you would do if your beloved but nasty child was sick or had a bad habit that was destroying him! The man with dropsy got a "no questions asked" healing, free of terms and conditions; no questions about what he did or didn't do, as will you in Christ! Believe Right and you will Live Right.

GROUP 2 - The Multitude who saw Jesus only as an example to follow.

The multitude that Jesus addressed in verse 25 - 33 represent the second group of Christians that see Jesus as a Teacher that only tells them what to do or as an example to follow (by their own strength), and not as a Saviour.

What Jesus told this multitude in v28-30 shows us that they thought they could begin and finish the good work on their own. v28-30:

"And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’"

The multitude thought they could begin and finish the good work on their own so Jesus told them they should be prepared to carry their own cross! Their foundation is not Christ. It is their human effort. The arm of flesh will fail. Like the multitude, this second group of Christians are many today. They do not see Jesus as the author and finisher of faith even though they profess to follow Him. They think their salvation or receiving from God rests on their ability to keep the Ten Commandments and do things in order to be godly, which no man can do. They do not believe that it is God who begins and finishes the good work as Paul says in Philippians 1:6 -

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." 

They believe that they can live the life of Christ by their own effort. Because of the Pharisees doctrine that they receive from Group 1 above, they labour under the burden of their own cross! Jesus said of these false teachers that lead many astray in Luke 11:46 -

"And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."

Many of these teachers tell you to do things like sow your whole salary as a seed and such in order to get from God and you feel guilty when you can't, but they cannot do what they tell you to do! Believers, its not by our power. Only by His grace can we overcome and do God's will! With Christ, we don't GIVE TO GET, we GET TO GIVE. Abide in Him and you will bear "much fruit." John 15:5.

GROUP 3 - The Tax Collectors and Sinners who saw Jesus as their Saviour

The Pharisees show us what people thought of this group in Luke 15:1-2 -

"Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that He was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!"

They were aghast that Jesus was eating with the scum of the earth tax collectors and sinners! The same yesterday, today and forever - our Lord Jesus Christ - is still eating with sinners today. He is the  righteousness of all who believe in Him. We have none of ours and in Him, we never remain in sin - He saves from sins. 

The tax collectors and sinners typify believers who see no good in themselves of themselves. They saw Jesus not as competition or as an example to follow (by their own strength) but as Saviour! They see (by God's grace alone) that their good works are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) in the eyes of our Lord God. God in His wisdom has opened their eyes to see that their good works or lack of it is not what puts them in right standing with Him but the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, as it is written in Romans 5:19-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Jesus is still associating with this group today, changing us from inside out; transforming us to the image of His glory from glory to glory by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18) and causing us to bear "much fruit" (John 15:5)

Believers, if our good works (law-keeping) could save us, Jesus would not have needed to come and save us. Why would you need someone to get you out of prison if you could do it yourself? Matthew 1:21 says of Christ-

"And she will have a Son and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Also Titus 2:14 - "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Why would a Saviour who came to save you from your sins use the same sins He came to deliver you from as an excuse for not saving, delivering or blessing you? This is akin to an oncologist dad refusing to treat his own beloved child who has cancer and even punishing his child for exhibiting symptoms of the disease.

This is the Good News: Whatever category you find yourself in, God loves you so, so much! Jesus died for us all. He wants you to enjoy His benefits in Christ, FREELY! Even those saying that we must obey rules and regulations cannot keep them all. Plus the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:12-13.) The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how, like Peter who denied Christ profusely, favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them and that they can obey the law in order to be godly. We can't say "I'll do my best, Jesus will understand and do the rest." This horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace is the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ spoke of in Revelation 3. With Jesus, it's all of you or nothing.

According to Galatians 5:4, if you are trying to get right with God by keeping just one law, you have been cut off from Christ-

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."

If you believe that your law-keeping and fasting is what gives you right standing with God; if you believe that you deserve heaven because of your hard work, then Christ is become of no effect unto you! As a new creation in Christ, we don't do good things to get saved or maintain our salvation, we do God's will BECAUSE He saved us! We GET TO bear "much fruit." It's so automatic that we don't even realise that we do His will!

Thank God for He is merciful and His desire is for none to perish but that we all have everlasting life and reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ!

Believer, only when we receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to live in triumph over sin and death:

"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

Right believing always produces right living.