Yesterday Levi decided to follow Jesus, invited his colleagues for supper with Jesus.  We saw all that meant for Levi, and today we see what it meant for his culture.

And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 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.” – Luke 5:30-32 ESV

What Jesus says makes so much sense in theory. Of course Jesus came to heal broken people, including these kinds of extortioners who’ve sold out their nation.

But it’s so easy to forget that in practice.

The Pharisees don’t seem to think Jesus should be friends with those he intends to heal.  They act like he should keep a safe distance, perhaps as an aloof example of how good he is and how bad they are.   Perhaps if they change their ways, then they can be seen with him.

Christians can do the same.  Sometimes we’d rather give to a distant charity than help a neighbour.  We’d rather keep a safe distance from people’s issues, perhaps we worry about what people will think if they see us with certain kind person.

This is a problem since we see Jesus doing the opposite.  He goes right to people who don’t know him, and don’t act like him.  He goes right to the sick, and heals them.  The problem is Pharisees don’t see themselves as sick.

This is part of why we don’t advertise this as a Christian resource.  We’re not looking to be a resource just for those who already go to church, know Jesus, and like that kind of thing.

If that’s you, it’s okay, you can support and join our team in this work – get in touch with me.  What we’ll work on together is building a community of people that includes those who’d never show up at church to learn about Jesus.

It’s such people as that we exist for.  Now that’s a pretty familiar group.  It gets much more interesting when you consider what it’s like to serve prostitutes, drug addicts, and so on.  What does it look like for Jesus’ followers to sit down and have supper with them in a way that introduces them to Jesus?  We’ve included one fascinating example for you to watch here. 

Question: Why do you think the religious authorities, the Pharisees and scribes, react the way they do?  Have you ever reacted similarly?

Ryan Sim - April 2, 2014

Wednesday - Change It - Reset Death

Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I'm Ryan your host of the Daily Challenges. Here we are in a cemetery because this week we're studying how following Jesus resets our views of death, and in fact, Jesus resets death itself. In yesterday’s passage, a Christian leader named Paul calls dead Christians “those who are asleep”. The suggestion is that they will wake up in the kingdom of heaven, and be no different from those who might be alive when the kingdom of heaven arrives fully. How does Paul figure? They will wake up because Jesus woke up. There is a direct connection. Jesus Died – definitely. We have lots of great textual evidence that matches science to say that Jesus definitely died, it was no mistake. See Christianity 101 for more! He spent Saturday in the tomb, and rose on Sunday. In that time in the tomb, he destroyed death’s power. Usually death is final, but Jesus treated it like a 3 day nap. Death is nothing to fear for one of Jesus’ followers. Paul asked elsewhere: death, where is your sting? He taunts it, knowing it has no power. Jesus’ victory is not just someone else’s victory to celebrate. He was the first, not the last, so we can follow him not just in life, but through death to new life. He doesn’t promise that we’ll never die a physical death, like the Thessalonian Christians apprently thought. But if we do, he will raise us. One pastor asked a child whose mother died: would you rather be run over by a truck, or its shadow. It’s shadow, because it wouldn’t hurt. Well, your mother has not been run over by death, but by the shadow of death. Regardless of whether we are alive or dead when the kingdom comes, it comes. We arrive there not by our own power, religiosity, etc. but by Jesus’ pioneering work on the cross. He went through death, conquering it first, and invites you to follow. But that’s just death, how does this impact life? You may know the song, “Live like you were dying”. The idea in that song, and else where, is that if you’re dying you waste everything you have, party it up, before it’s all gone and you’re over. But if death is destroyed by Jesus, death is now a state we pass through, so living like you were dying means living like every day brings you closer to God’s kingdom. That means using our resources wisely, no wasting them. It means preparing for the kingdom of heaven, so often described as a party, not just partying it up for a moment. For a Christian, living like you were dying means not taking the short view, but the long view of eternity. Question: How does Jesus’ death impact your own view of life, and death?

Related Topics: Death, Reset, Resurrection | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "Reset"

When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again? The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate. What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives: Reset: Goals Reset: Time Reset: Money Reset: Work Reset: Body & Food Reset: Sex & Marriage Reset: Family Reset: Compassion Reset: Nature Reset: Society Reset: Death Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.

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