November 3, 2025 • 21 mins
A single question flips the room: have you not read. We take that line from Jesus and follow it through a grainfield, a temple, and a minivan full of questions, asking why a law meant for rest became a rule intended to measure, and how compassion rewrites the script without erasing the text. With Mark 2:23–28 as our anchor, we sit with the tension between Sabbath as gift and Sabbath as performance. Jesus reminds the watchers and the weary that the day of rest was made to serve people. When hunger meets holiness, love leads the way.
We also reexamine the Pharisees. Not all were scheming; many were sincere, carried by curiosity, tradition, and the fear of getting God wrong. That makes them feel close to us. Adults have layers of influence that train us to see what fits our story and skip what doesn’t. Kids in the temple simply saw Jesus heal and sang. That contrast exposes our selective reading: we highlight comfort verses and dodge the hard calls to love enemies, forgive persecutors, and lift the overlooked. The invitation isn’t to toss the law but to read it through mercy, purpose, and the heart of God.
A personal story about a beloved children’s book closes the loop: the words do not change, but we do. Seasons of life widen our capacity to hear and obey. Have you not read becomes less of a rebuke and more of an invitation to read again with fresh eyes, to let Scripture frame our worldview instead of letting our worldview frame Scripture. You are loved and forgiven, and you are also invited to grow—into a Sabbath that restores, a faith that serves, and a life that looks like Jesus. If this speaks to you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review telling us what you’re re-reading with fresh eyes.
Join us! Facebook | Instagram | www.clcelkriver.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Well, good morning.
My name is Ben Caruthers.
I'm an associate pastor here atCentral.
And we're in the middle of oursermon series, This Is Not
Rhetorical, which the ironicpart is, is these questions from
Jesus are pretty much oftenrhetorical.
And so this morning, before weget into it, Karen mentioned I
think there is something that wereally need to address, it's
pretty important, that Christmasis right around the corner.
(00:21):
And so the sermon's gonna benice and short because we're
putting up the treaty rightafter church today, because this
is where I am at.
If you want to go to the nextone for me, buddy, right there.
November 1st, man.
It was Christmas.
Here we go.
So this question, have you notread?
Now Jesus asked, but there's 300questions over that in scripture
that Jesus asked.
(00:42):
This question, have you notread, is asked about seven
times, five in the book ofMatthew alone, and then it's
repeated through some of theother gospels.
So here's a question here thathe brings up a lot.
And another ironic point aboutthis is that when he says, have
you not read, he's asking it topeople who've done all the
reading.
(01:02):
He's asking it to people whoknow the law, who've read the
scriptures.
And so what does that mean forus?
We're familiar with questions,right?
When we get asked questions orwhen we ask questions, humans is
a little different than whenJesus does.
When we ask questions, it's togain knowledge, maybe to clear
something up or solve a problem,be creative or innovative.
When Jesus asks questions, it'sto teach, it's to provoke deeper
(01:28):
thought.
Engage us in our own faithjourney.
So if you're like me and you'vebeen coming to this series week
after week and been diving intothese questions that Jesus asks,
you should leave this placefeeling a little stretched.
You should leave this faith orthis place feeling a little bit
(01:49):
of what's happening right now inyour faith journey.
Because these questions aredesigned to stretch us, to pull
us, to grow our faith deeper inGod.
And that's our goal thismorning.
So the question is how are yougoing to respond to this
question?
Have you not read?
Sometimes we get bombarded withquestions and just talk.
(02:11):
There's so much talk going on inthe world.
And this happens a lot for me inparticular with my youngest boy,
Ezra.
Ezra is a talker.
Especially when it's just me andhim in the car.
There was a week, a day thisweek where I drove Ezie just
himself to school.
It's about a 15, 20 minutedrive.
And the moment the door shut,the mouth stays open.
(02:32):
I mean, it doesn't stop.
And it's just questions andquestions.
And at first I'm engaged, I'mlistening, but after five
minutes, my mind kind ofwanders.
And then I go to dad mode whereit's just like, uh-huh.
Yeah.
I don't even know what I'msaying a haunt to.
I don't know what he's asking,but I'm like, huh?
Yeah, good, buddy, good.
And we get all the way down toschool, the guy's still going.
And but there's a little bit ofa pause, and then he asks a
(02:55):
question.
He asks a question that really Ihad to pay attention to.
And if I would have missed it, Iwould have missed out an
opportunity with me and him.
After 15 minutes of nonstoptalking and questioning, asking,
he he he he stops for a second,and then he asks, Dad, do I talk
too much?
(03:15):
Like, no, man.
But I stopped for a second.
Because somehow, perhaps in myresponse to him, over those past
15 minutes, that's the answerthat he was getting.
Was maybe I do talk too much.
Maybe my dad's not payingattention to me.
(03:37):
And so let me tell you now, whenwe're in the car together, and
he's talking a lot, I'mlistening.
Because he's waiting for me torespond.
This morning, we have anopportunity to respond to this
question, have you not read?
So before we dive into it, willyou pray with me?
(03:58):
God, we give you thanks andpraise for this morning, a time
to gather, a time to worship.
We thank you so much for thekids and the youth that fill
this place with your energy,just like the pastors this
morning said, man, kids praisingand singing and throwing money
at the pastor and all thisstuff.
Man, we give you thanks andpraise for the energy in this
place.
We pray that energy continues aswe dive into your word and we
(04:18):
struggle with these questionsthat you ask us today.
What do you mean when you askus, have we not read?
What does that mean?
Does it mean that we have thescriptures memorized, or does it
mean something else?
So, Lord, be in this place.
Open up our hearts and our mindsreceive your word, and let us be
open to the stretch.
It's in your name we pray.
Amen.
Alright, so we're gonna startwith that Mark chapter.
(04:40):
We're gonna start with that Markverse, and we'll talk about the
Matthew in a little bit.
So recap what she read.
Mark chapter 2, 23 through 28.
Now we read it from the NRSVthis morning.
This translation is from themessage, which I enjoy a little
bit, and I think you'll see why.
It says this on the Sabbath dayhe was walking through a field
(05:01):
of ripe grain.
As his disciples made a path,they pulled off the heads of
grain.
The Pharisees told on them toJesus.
They were like, hey, they wentand did the, you know, hey, look
what they're doing.
They went and told on Jesus,look, your disciples are
breaking Sabbath rules.
Next one.
Jesus said, Really?
Haven't you ever read what Daviddid when he was hungry along
(05:23):
with those who were with him?
How he entered the sanctuary andate fresh bread off the altar,
with the chief priest Abatharright there watching, holy bread
that no one but priests wereallowed to eat, and handed it
out to his companions.
Then Jesus said, The Sabbath wasmade to serve us.
We weren't made to serve theSabbath.
(05:44):
The Son of Man is no yes man tothe Sabbath, he's in charge.
So we have this incredible scenewhere Jesus and his disciples
are walking perhaps probablyfrom town to town.
They're walking through thisgrain field.
And the interesting part aboutthis is they're they're walking,
they're moving to place toplace, and there's Pharisees
with them.
(06:04):
And they're whether they'rehungry and they need a little
something to eat, and you know,when you're hungry on a road
trip, what doesn't scream betterthan some grain?
So they just pick some grain,and whether it's the fact that
they ate the grain or thepicking of the grain, it
happened on the Sabbath.
And here are the Phariseeswatching them, and they're
shocked it's what's happening.
Because this is Jesus.
(06:26):
This is supposed to be a rabbi,a teacher, and what his friends,
what the disciples are doing, isobviously wrong.
Right?
They know the law, they knowwhat it says in Exodus, they
know the law of the Sabbath.
Remember the Sabbath day andkeep it holy.
Six days you are shall labor anddo no work.
But the seventh day is a Sabbathto the Lord your God.
(06:46):
You shall not do any work.
You, your son or your daughter,your male or female slave, your
livestock, or the alien residentin your town.
They know this law, and whatthey're seeing is someone who
also knows the law, a teacher ofthis law, and his buddies
breaking it.
And so they say, Whoa, wait asecond, Jesus, do you not see
what they're doing?
They're breaking the law thatyou teach.
(07:09):
And Jesus does a couple thingshere.
One, he brings them back to thestory that they also know from 1
Samuel.
A story when David is on the runfor his life from Saul, him and
his buddies.
Saul wants him dead.
He sent all these people to killDavid, and he's hungry, and he
has no food, and so he goes intothe temple, and there's only the
bread that no one is allowed tohave, touch, eat except the
(07:32):
chief priests.
This is against the law.
And David goes up and they havea conversation, and the chief
priests see that David's inneed, and he gives them the
bread.
He tells them this story ofsomeone in need and he gives
them the bread.
But then Jesus does somethingelse.
He reminds the Pharisees whatthe Sabbath was all about.
(07:56):
What this Sabbath was all about.
Because, see, somehow, when itoriginated, this idea of the
Sabbath, this was a beautifulpeace and rest moment.
An opportunity to be closer toGod, to rest physically,
spiritually, emotionally, torest and have a Sabbath.
That's what it was created for.
Over time, as humans, as we liketo do, we have taken something
(08:19):
beautiful, created for us tobring us life, and all of a
sudden taken it and created tobe something that takes away
life.
And that's what they've done.
Something that was meant to giveus life, find rest and peace, is
now something where people haveto worry that eyes are watching
everything they're doing on thissupposed day of rest.
(08:44):
Jesus brings them back to whatthe Sabbath is all about.
It's about this opportunity tobe with God, to be at peace, to
relax.
Now, here's the thing about thePharisees: they get a bad rap.
And likely so, right?
We read stories in scriptureswhere there are Pharisees who
are, they're looking for anymoment to see if they can trap
(09:06):
Jesus, to say that he's doingsomething wrong, that he's
breaking the law.
There are stories about that,sure.
But in this story, we don't seethat.
I find it really interestingthat these Pharisees are walking
with Jesus and his disciples.
Why?
You see, we have this idea thatthey're always trying to get
them.
They're always trying, they'rethe villain, right?
(09:27):
There's something like this.
They're the villain of thestory, right?
It's low-hanging fruit.
I had to do it, right?
They're the villains and the badguys, maybe more so like this,
right?
They're the bad guys.
They're always out to get Jesus.
Now let's pause for just amoment.
Maybe that's true for some.
(09:47):
But remember, these are peoplewho love God, who were trained
in the scriptures, who know thelaw, who are trying their best
to honor God with their actions.
And here comes someone whoclaims to be a teacher, a rabbi,
it's not lining up with whatthey know.
(10:11):
Maybe it's not malicious.
Maybe they're following Jesusout of curiosity.
Maybe they're following Jesus tosee what he's going to do next.
Maybe they're following Jesusjust to be with him and
experience him.
Maybe they're not the bad guyshere.
Maybe they're just walking withJesus and his disciples to be in
(10:35):
his presence.
Because these Pharisees havebuilt up a worldview.
They have built up a way thatthey think the world should
work.
And Jesus, what he is speakingand how he is living, is tearing
that down piece by piece.
And as the adults in this roomknow, change is hard.
(11:00):
Change is difficult.
And the older we get and themore we build into our worldview
of what we think is right andwhat we think is wrong and how
we should live, it gets harderand harder to change that
narrative, to change our story.
With kids, not so much.
Ryan talked about this last weeka little bit in that second
passage today from Matthew 21.
We see the willingness of kidsto just see Jesus.
(11:24):
In that passage, man, it's rightbefore Jesus kind of turns the
table, right after.
Jesus turns the table in thetemple.
And so the chief priests are inthere, and Jesus is healing
people in the temple.
And the chief priests arelooking at him, wondering what
is going on, and but the kidssee Jesus and they sing.
The kids simply see Jesus andwhat he's doing and how he's
(11:46):
treating these people andhealing people.
They start to sing praises.
Because the child's worldviewhasn't had years and years and
years of influence.
A child's worldview, theyhaven't got on social media yet
and scrolled to see what theythink they should believe.
(12:06):
They just see Jesus and theysing.
But us adults, it's a littledifferent.
We suffer from maybe somethingcalled selective hearing,
selective seeing, selectivereading.
Last week, we were sitting, mywife and I were sitting down in
our comfy chairs in our livingroom, and I turned to her and I
said, I'm taking all four of ourkids to the eye doctor.
(12:29):
All four of them.
And she's like, why?
And she's like, and I'm like,I'm just gonna do it.
I'm like, and this is what'sgonna happen.
We're gonna go there, they'reall gonna sit in the chair,
they're gonna do whatever theydo.
I have no idea, but one or two,one or two.
I don't know.
They don't work.
So just give me something.
They're all gonna sit in thechair, they're all gonna pass
with flying colors, they'regonna have 2020 vision.
(12:50):
And then I'm gonna go in theoffice store.
I'll be saying, I see theproblem here.
You're letting them look atletters.
Please replace the letters withdirty clothes, uh, socks on the
floor, garbages that areoverflowing, a dog that needs to
be let out, and they will goblind, I promise you.
(13:11):
They won't see a thing.
We had a granola bar wrapper atthe base of our steps for a
week.
I saw my kids do this.
I saw my kids make a game out ofit.
They didn't see it.
After a week, I'm like, pick upthe wrapper.
And they're like, Oh, I neversaw it there.
(13:33):
Selective seeing.
See, as adults, we have it.
Because we've had all of theseyears to build up what we
believe, and it's really hardwhen change comes around.
It's really hard when the lifeof Jesus and his teachings of
(13:56):
Jesus might go against what wehave come to know as true.
Because we have built our ideaof what life is.
We've built this idea of whatfaith should look like.
We've built this idea of what alife should look like.
(14:19):
We've built an idea of what wethink a marriage should look
like.
Friendships should look like.
What does it look like to be abrother, a sister?
We've built this idea of what itlooks like to be an employer.
We've built this idea of whatside of the political aisle we
should be on.
(14:39):
We've built this idea of who weshould allow to have influence
over our life.
And here we are, 30, 40, 50years old, and you're at church
one day, and you hear Jesusasking these questions, have you
not read?
(14:59):
And then you dive into thescriptures, and you hear how
Jesus loved his enemies, and youhear how Jesus loved the
unlovable.
You hear how Jesus forgave thosewho persecuted him, and you look
at your vision of what truth is,what life is, and that doesn't
(15:22):
fit.
The whole life and teachings ofJesus don't fit, but parts of
them do.
John 3.16, I love that.
For God so loved the world thathe gave his only son, I like
that.
I can make that fit.
I can go right there.
How about Jeremiah 29, 11?
(15:44):
For I know the plans I have hedeclares.
Good plans, really good plans,not to harm.
I like that.
I can find space for that.
Philippians 4 13.
I can do all things through him.
I love that.
Parents out there, how aboutEphesians 6.1?
Children, obey your parents.
(16:04):
We got room for that.
Pastors and preachers out there,Acts 20, verse 9.
A young man named Eutychus, whowas sitting in the window, began
to sink off into a deep sleepwhile Paul was preaching.
Overcome by sleep, he fell tothe ground three floors and
died.
(16:24):
Keep it short, pastors.
Keep it short.
We got room for that.
We got room for that.
See, and this is what ourworldview kind of looks like.
It's a lot of us.
It's a lot of our thoughts.
A little bit of Jesus in there.
(16:46):
And then he asks, have you notread?
And we start to look and wethink, we think we have.
But maybe we got some stuffwrong.
Maybe after all of these years,Jesus is asking us, maybe just
(17:08):
today, and give it a shot, toput that aside and let this be
it.
Let that be it.
Because have you not read meanslooking at Jesus.
And the way that he lovedothers.
(17:29):
The things that he taught.
Because he didn't go against thelaw.
Jesus was the word made flesh.
And that involves stretching.
That involves change.
And that's why he asked thequestion seven times.
(17:51):
To those who knew the law, whoknew the scriptures, have you
not read?
And here's the beautiful thingabout this is that this model
over here changes all the time.
It changes with a flick onsocial media, it changes with a
news story, it changes bysomething that happens in your
life.
(18:11):
This never changes.
This never changes.
But we do.
We do.
And I want to leave you withthis thought.
Years ago, a matter of fact,January of 2002, I received this
book from my mom.
(18:33):
And I remember it exactlyJanuary, January 12th, 2002,
because it's that day where Ileft to go for a year-long
mission trip to Australia.
And I was a big mama's boy.
Still am.
Hi, mom, she's watching.
And uh this was a big thing forher to let her boy go for a
whole year.
And she gave me this book, LoveYou Forever.
(18:53):
Has anyone ever read this book?
All right, there you go.
Someone like, of course we'veall read it.
Just it's okay.
I'm not gonna read it all fortwo reasons.
One, it's kind of long, and two,we've done enough crying up here
for the past month that we'recovered.
But it's a sweet book about thismother who loves her son, and
every night she says words tohim, I'll love you forever, my
(19:14):
your my mommy you'll be.
Or yeah, my mommy, I'll be yourmommy, I'll be.
Maybe I should read it.
And the kid continues to grow upand grow up, and he's a
teenager, and she still saysthis to him as he rocks him to
sleep.
I read it on the plane, and Ithought, that's a cute book.
But I was going to Australia fora year.
(19:35):
I was pretty excited.
I picked this book up in themiddle of the month of January,
just a couple weeks after beingthere, when I was feeling really
homesick.
When I had missed my family,where I had missed my mom.
The words in this book did notchange.
The pictures in this book didnot change, but where I was in
(19:58):
my life did, and it meantsomething different.
I picked this book up now with adad of four kids, and at the end
of this book, it's the son thatgoes over to his mother's house
and rocks her to sleep sayingthe same words.
And I read that book now, and itmeans something different to me.
(20:21):
The pictures haven't changed,the words haven't changed, but I
have.
(21:05):
And Jesus turns to you and says,Have you not read?
You're forgiven.
That reads a little different.
Because this doesn't change.
We do.
And so have you not read,Central Lutheran Church, that
you are beloved children of God,forgiven and loved, just as who
(21:27):
you are, but in this moment,this stretching moment, maybe
God won't let you stay that way.
Maybe he wants you to experiencehim in a new way today and know
him more.
Amen.
Well, good morning.
My name is Ben Caruthers.
I'm an associate pastor here atCentral.
And we're in the middle of oursermon series, This Is Not
Rhetorical, which the ironicpart is, is these questions from
Jesus are pretty much oftenrhetorical.
And so this morning, before weget into it, Karen mentioned I
think there is something that wereally need to address, it's
pretty important, that Christmasis right around the corner.
(00:21):
And so the sermon's gonna benice and short because we're
putting up the treaty rightafter church today, because this
is where I am at.
If you want to go to the nextone for me, buddy, right there.
November 1st, man.
It was Christmas.
Here we go.
So this question, have you notread?
Now Jesus asked, but there's 300questions over that in scripture
that Jesus asked.
(00:42):
This question, have you notread, is asked about seven
times, five in the book ofMatthew alone, and then it's
repeated through some of theother gospels.
So here's a question here thathe brings up a lot.
And another ironic point aboutthis is that when he says, have
you not read, he's asking it topeople who've done all the
reading.
(01:02):
He's asking it to people whoknow the law, who've read the
scriptures.
And so what does that mean forus?
We're familiar with questions,right?
When we get asked questions orwhen we ask questions, humans is
a little different than whenJesus does.
When we ask questions, it's togain knowledge, maybe to clear
something up or solve a problem,be creative or innovative.
When Jesus asks questions, it'sto teach, it's to provoke deeper
(01:28):
thought.
Engage us in our own faithjourney.
So if you're like me and you'vebeen coming to this series week
after week and been diving intothese questions that Jesus asks,
you should leave this placefeeling a little stretched.
You should leave this faith orthis place feeling a little bit
(01:49):
of what's happening right now inyour faith journey.
Because these questions aredesigned to stretch us, to pull
us, to grow our faith deeper inGod.
And that's our goal thismorning.
So the question is how are yougoing to respond to this
question?
Have you not read?
Sometimes we get bombarded withquestions and just talk.
(02:11):
There's so much talk going on inthe world.
And this happens a lot for me inparticular with my youngest boy,
Ezra.
Ezra is a talker.
Especially when it's just me andhim in the car.
There was a week, a day thisweek where I drove Ezie just
himself to school.
It's about a 15, 20 minutedrive.
And the moment the door shut,the mouth stays open.
(02:32):
I mean, it doesn't stop.
And it's just questions andquestions.
And at first I'm engaged, I'mlistening, but after five
minutes, my mind kind ofwanders.
And then I go to dad mode whereit's just like, uh-huh.
Yeah.
I don't even know what I'msaying a haunt to.
I don't know what he's asking,but I'm like, huh?
Yeah, good, buddy, good.
And we get all the way down toschool, the guy's still going.
And but there's a little bit ofa pause, and then he asks a
(02:55):
question.
He asks a question that really Ihad to pay attention to.
And if I would have missed it, Iwould have missed out an
opportunity with me and him.
After 15 minutes of nonstoptalking and questioning, asking,
he he he he stops for a second,and then he asks, Dad, do I talk
too much?
(03:15):
Like, no, man.
But I stopped for a second.
Because somehow, perhaps in myresponse to him, over those past
15 minutes, that's the answerthat he was getting.
Was maybe I do talk too much.
Maybe my dad's not payingattention to me.
(03:37):
And so let me tell you now, whenwe're in the car together, and
he's talking a lot, I'mlistening.
Because he's waiting for me torespond.
This morning, we have anopportunity to respond to this
question, have you not read?
So before we dive into it, willyou pray with me?
(03:58):
God, we give you thanks andpraise for this morning, a time
to gather, a time to worship.
We thank you so much for thekids and the youth that fill
this place with your energy,just like the pastors this
morning said, man, kids praisingand singing and throwing money
at the pastor and all thisstuff.
Man, we give you thanks andpraise for the energy in this
place.
We pray that energy continues aswe dive into your word and we
(04:18):
struggle with these questionsthat you ask us today.
What do you mean when you askus, have we not read?
What does that mean?
Does it mean that we have thescriptures memorized, or does it
mean something else?
So, Lord, be in this place.
Open up our hearts and our mindsreceive your word, and let us be
open to the stretch.
It's in your name we pray.
Amen.
Alright, so we're gonna startwith that Mark chapter.
(04:40):
We're gonna start with that Markverse, and we'll talk about the
Matthew in a little bit.
So recap what she read.
Mark chapter 2, 23 through 28.
Now we read it from the NRSVthis morning.
This translation is from themessage, which I enjoy a little
bit, and I think you'll see why.
It says this on the Sabbath dayhe was walking through a field
(05:01):
of ripe grain.
As his disciples made a path,they pulled off the heads of
grain.
The Pharisees told on them toJesus.
They were like, hey, they wentand did the, you know, hey, look
what they're doing.
They went and told on Jesus,look, your disciples are
breaking Sabbath rules.
Next one.
Jesus said, Really?
Haven't you ever read what Daviddid when he was hungry along
(05:23):
with those who were with him?
How he entered the sanctuary andate fresh bread off the altar,
with the chief priest Abatharright there watching, holy bread
that no one but priests wereallowed to eat, and handed it
out to his companions.
Then Jesus said, The Sabbath wasmade to serve us.
We weren't made to serve theSabbath.
(05:44):
The Son of Man is no yes man tothe Sabbath, he's in charge.
So we have this incredible scenewhere Jesus and his disciples
are walking perhaps probablyfrom town to town.
They're walking through thisgrain field.
And the interesting part aboutthis is they're they're walking,
they're moving to place toplace, and there's Pharisees
with them.
(06:04):
And they're whether they'rehungry and they need a little
something to eat, and you know,when you're hungry on a road
trip, what doesn't scream betterthan some grain?
So they just pick some grain,and whether it's the fact that
they ate the grain or thepicking of the grain, it
happened on the Sabbath.
And here are the Phariseeswatching them, and they're
shocked it's what's happening.
Because this is Jesus.
(06:26):
This is supposed to be a rabbi,a teacher, and what his friends,
what the disciples are doing, isobviously wrong.
Right?
They know the law, they knowwhat it says in Exodus, they
know the law of the Sabbath.
Remember the Sabbath day andkeep it holy.
Six days you are shall labor anddo no work.
But the seventh day is a Sabbathto the Lord your God.
(06:46):
You shall not do any work.
You, your son or your daughter,your male or female slave, your
livestock, or the alien residentin your town.
They know this law, and whatthey're seeing is someone who
also knows the law, a teacher ofthis law, and his buddies
breaking it.
And so they say, Whoa, wait asecond, Jesus, do you not see
what they're doing?
They're breaking the law thatyou teach.
(07:09):
And Jesus does a couple thingshere.
One, he brings them back to thestory that they also know from 1
Samuel.
A story when David is on the runfor his life from Saul, him and
his buddies.
Saul wants him dead.
He sent all these people to killDavid, and he's hungry, and he
has no food, and so he goes intothe temple, and there's only the
bread that no one is allowed tohave, touch, eat except the
(07:32):
chief priests.
This is against the law.
And David goes up and they havea conversation, and the chief
priests see that David's inneed, and he gives them the
bread.
He tells them this story ofsomeone in need and he gives
them the bread.
But then Jesus does somethingelse.
He reminds the Pharisees whatthe Sabbath was all about.
(07:56):
What this Sabbath was all about.
Because, see, somehow, when itoriginated, this idea of the
Sabbath, this was a beautifulpeace and rest moment.
An opportunity to be closer toGod, to rest physically,
spiritually, emotionally, torest and have a Sabbath.
That's what it was created for.
Over time, as humans, as we liketo do, we have taken something
(08:19):
beautiful, created for us tobring us life, and all of a
sudden taken it and created tobe something that takes away
life.
And that's what they've done.
Something that was meant to giveus life, find rest and peace, is
now something where people haveto worry that eyes are watching
everything they're doing on thissupposed day of rest.
(08:44):
Jesus brings them back to whatthe Sabbath is all about.
It's about this opportunity tobe with God, to be at peace, to
relax.
Now, here's the thing about thePharisees: they get a bad rap.
And likely so, right?
We read stories in scriptureswhere there are Pharisees who
are, they're looking for anymoment to see if they can trap
(09:06):
Jesus, to say that he's doingsomething wrong, that he's
breaking the law.
There are stories about that,sure.
But in this story, we don't seethat.
I find it really interestingthat these Pharisees are walking
with Jesus and his disciples.
Why?
You see, we have this idea thatthey're always trying to get
them.
They're always trying, they'rethe villain, right?
(09:27):
There's something like this.
They're the villain of thestory, right?
It's low-hanging fruit.
I had to do it, right?
They're the villains and the badguys, maybe more so like this,
right?
They're the bad guys.
They're always out to get Jesus.
Now let's pause for just amoment.
Maybe that's true for some.
(09:47):
But remember, these are peoplewho love God, who were trained
in the scriptures, who know thelaw, who are trying their best
to honor God with their actions.
And here comes someone whoclaims to be a teacher, a rabbi,
it's not lining up with whatthey know.
(10:11):
Maybe it's not malicious.
Maybe they're following Jesusout of curiosity.
Maybe they're following Jesus tosee what he's going to do next.
Maybe they're following Jesusjust to be with him and
experience him.
Maybe they're not the bad guyshere.
Maybe they're just walking withJesus and his disciples to be in
(10:35):
his presence.
Because these Pharisees havebuilt up a worldview.
They have built up a way thatthey think the world should
work.
And Jesus, what he is speakingand how he is living, is tearing
that down piece by piece.
And as the adults in this roomknow, change is hard.
(11:00):
Change is difficult.
And the older we get and themore we build into our worldview
of what we think is right andwhat we think is wrong and how
we should live, it gets harderand harder to change that
narrative, to change our story.
With kids, not so much.
Ryan talked about this last weeka little bit in that second
passage today from Matthew 21.
We see the willingness of kidsto just see Jesus.
(11:24):
In that passage, man, it's rightbefore Jesus kind of turns the
table, right after.
Jesus turns the table in thetemple.
And so the chief priests are inthere, and Jesus is healing
people in the temple.
And the chief priests arelooking at him, wondering what
is going on, and but the kidssee Jesus and they sing.
The kids simply see Jesus andwhat he's doing and how he's
(11:46):
treating these people andhealing people.
They start to sing praises.
Because the child's worldviewhasn't had years and years and
years of influence.
A child's worldview, theyhaven't got on social media yet
and scrolled to see what theythink they should believe.
(12:06):
They just see Jesus and theysing.
But us adults, it's a littledifferent.
We suffer from maybe somethingcalled selective hearing,
selective seeing, selectivereading.
Last week, we were sitting, mywife and I were sitting down in
our comfy chairs in our livingroom, and I turned to her and I
said, I'm taking all four of ourkids to the eye doctor.
(12:29):
All four of them.
And she's like, why?
And she's like, and I'm like,I'm just gonna do it.
I'm like, and this is what'sgonna happen.
We're gonna go there, they'reall gonna sit in the chair,
they're gonna do whatever theydo.
I have no idea, but one or two,one or two.
I don't know.
They don't work.
So just give me something.
They're all gonna sit in thechair, they're all gonna pass
with flying colors, they'regonna have 2020 vision.
(12:50):
And then I'm gonna go in theoffice store.
I'll be saying, I see theproblem here.
You're letting them look atletters.
Please replace the letters withdirty clothes, uh, socks on the
floor, garbages that areoverflowing, a dog that needs to
be let out, and they will goblind, I promise you.
(13:11):
They won't see a thing.
We had a granola bar wrapper atthe base of our steps for a
week.
I saw my kids do this.
I saw my kids make a game out ofit.
They didn't see it.
After a week, I'm like, pick upthe wrapper.
And they're like, Oh, I neversaw it there.
(13:33):
Selective seeing.
See, as adults, we have it.
Because we've had all of theseyears to build up what we
believe, and it's really hardwhen change comes around.
It's really hard when the lifeof Jesus and his teachings of
(13:56):
Jesus might go against what wehave come to know as true.
Because we have built our ideaof what life is.
We've built this idea of whatfaith should look like.
We've built this idea of what alife should look like.
(14:19):
We've built an idea of what wethink a marriage should look
like.
Friendships should look like.
What does it look like to be abrother, a sister?
We've built this idea of what itlooks like to be an employer.
We've built this idea of whatside of the political aisle we
should be on.
(14:39):
We've built this idea of who weshould allow to have influence
over our life.
And here we are, 30, 40, 50years old, and you're at church
one day, and you hear Jesusasking these questions, have you
not read?
(14:59):
And then you dive into thescriptures, and you hear how
Jesus loved his enemies, and youhear how Jesus loved the
unlovable.
You hear how Jesus forgave thosewho persecuted him, and you look
at your vision of what truth is,what life is, and that doesn't
(15:22):
fit.
The whole life and teachings ofJesus don't fit, but parts of
them do.
John 3.16, I love that.
For God so loved the world thathe gave his only son, I like
that.
I can make that fit.
I can go right there.
How about Jeremiah 29, 11?
(15:44):
For I know the plans I have hedeclares.
Good plans, really good plans,not to harm.
I like that.
I can find space for that.
Philippians 4 13.
I can do all things through him.
I love that.
Parents out there, how aboutEphesians 6.1?
Children, obey your parents.
(16:04):
We got room for that.
Pastors and preachers out there,Acts 20, verse 9.
A young man named Eutychus, whowas sitting in the window, began
to sink off into a deep sleepwhile Paul was preaching.
Overcome by sleep, he fell tothe ground three floors and
died.
(16:24):
Keep it short, pastors.
Keep it short.
We got room for that.
We got room for that.
See, and this is what ourworldview kind of looks like.
It's a lot of us.
It's a lot of our thoughts.
A little bit of Jesus in there.
(16:46):
And then he asks, have you notread?
And we start to look and wethink, we think we have.
But maybe we got some stuffwrong.
Maybe after all of these years,Jesus is asking us, maybe just
(17:08):
today, and give it a shot, toput that aside and let this be
it.
Let that be it.
Because have you not read meanslooking at Jesus.
And the way that he lovedothers.
(17:29):
The things that he taught.
Because he didn't go against thelaw.
Jesus was the word made flesh.
And that involves stretching.
That involves change.
And that's why he asked thequestion seven times.
(17:51):
To those who knew the law, whoknew the scriptures, have you
not read?
And here's the beautiful thingabout this is that this model
over here changes all the time.
It changes with a flick onsocial media, it changes with a
news story, it changes bysomething that happens in your
life.
(18:11):
This never changes.
This never changes.
But we do.
We do.
And I want to leave you withthis thought.
Years ago, a matter of fact,January of 2002, I received this
book from my mom.
(18:33):
And I remember it exactlyJanuary, January 12th, 2002,
because it's that day where Ileft to go for a year-long
mission trip to Australia.
And I was a big mama's boy.
Still am.
Hi, mom, she's watching.
And uh this was a big thing forher to let her boy go for a
whole year.
And she gave me this book, LoveYou Forever.
(18:53):
Has anyone ever read this book?
All right, there you go.
Someone like, of course we'veall read it.
Just it's okay.
I'm not gonna read it all fortwo reasons.
One, it's kind of long, and two,we've done enough crying up here
for the past month that we'recovered.
But it's a sweet book about thismother who loves her son, and
every night she says words tohim, I'll love you forever, my
(19:14):
your my mommy you'll be.
Or yeah, my mommy, I'll be yourmommy, I'll be.
Maybe I should read it.
And the kid continues to grow upand grow up, and he's a
teenager, and she still saysthis to him as he rocks him to
sleep.
I read it on the plane, and Ithought, that's a cute book.
But I was going to Australia fora year.
(19:35):
I was pretty excited.
I picked this book up in themiddle of the month of January,
just a couple weeks after beingthere, when I was feeling really
homesick.
When I had missed my family,where I had missed my mom.
The words in this book did notchange.
The pictures in this book didnot change, but where I was in
(19:58):
my life did, and it meantsomething different.
I picked this book up now with adad of four kids, and at the end
of this book, it's the son thatgoes over to his mother's house
and rocks her to sleep sayingthe same words.
And I read that book now, and itmeans something different to me.
(20:21):
The pictures haven't changed,the words haven't changed, but I
have.
(21:05):
And Jesus turns to you and says,Have you not read?
You're forgiven.
That reads a little different.
Because this doesn't change.
We do.
And so have you not read,Central Lutheran Church, that
you are beloved children of God,forgiven and loved, just as who
(21:27):
you are, but in this moment,this stretching moment, maybe
God won't let you stay that way.
Maybe he wants you to experiencehim in a new way today and know
him more.
Amen.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.