The Jesus Way: Finding The Way of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke | Donovan Rillion | The Authorized Way

On January 28th of 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger

disaster launched from Cape Canaveral. It was

an unusually cold morning, as you can imagine,

for Florida. We've got some Florida people here.

It doesn't get cold often. It was cooler there

than it normally is. And they needed... to launch

this shuttle, or I guess they wanted to launch

this shuttle. And it was a colder day than normal

for a shuttle launch. It was colder than the

previous shuttle launch. And the night before

this launch, engineers from a company that was

contracted with NASA, Morton Teokal, they...

expressed concern for this launch. They told

NASA that the rubber O -ring, which bonus points

if you know what that is, in the booster joints

might not function properly because of the temperatures.

And their concern was very specific. They told

NASA exactly what they were worried about. And

they had discussions. NASA, they debated it.

They discussed it. They argued about it. There

was pushback. There was pressure to launch because

we need to get this done. We need to do this.

They had schedules. People had expectations.

There was public anticipation. And so the launch

proceeded. And maybe you were alive and are aware

of what happens after the launch happens. 70

-something seconds pass after liftoff and tragedy,

chaos. Lives ruined. And it all stems from this

truth. Under pressure, Weakness is exposed. This

space shuttle had a weakness. It was very clear

to the people that were responsible for building

this shuttle. The people that designed it, they

built it, they made it happen, they knew everything

about it. These are engineers who have degrees

that I can't even imagine how to pronounce. I

mean, they are qualified. They are authorities

in the field. And they told NASA... Not a good

idea. And under pressure, the weakness was exposed.

The shuttle broke apart and seven crew members

lost their lives. And what makes this tragedy

especially sobering is the fact that the risk

had been identified. They knew exactly what could

be the problem. Not only had the risk been identified,

but they warned them that the warning was voiced.

Somebody told them this is not a good idea. And

then the authority of the engineers, they spoke.

But the warning was ultimately ignored. And when

the pressure came, the whole thing failed. History

time and time again shows us what happens when

we don't. Listen to authority. History time and

time again also shows us something that's very

hard for maybe, I won't speak for you, but my

thick head to get through is that ignoring rightful

authority doesn't always produce immediate consequences,

but it does produce consequences. Now for the

challenger, it didn't immediately break apart,

but it wasn't very long after that the weakness

was exposed. See, sometimes everything looks

fine at liftoff. Sometimes everything looks good.

Everything feels right. It seems like things

are going to plan. And then life happens. Bad

things happen. Sickness, death, pain happens.

And when that happens, the weakness is revealed.

And that brings us to Luke chapter 6. Because

Luke 6 · chapter mention

here in Luke chapter 6, Jesus is going to make

Luke 6 · chapter mention

authoritative claims. He's going to show his

expertise. He's going to speak from a place of

authority. And just like the engineers from Morton

Theocle, they are going or he is going to challenge

the beliefs and the expectations of those in

positions of power. He teaches, he does things

that challenge the traditions, that challenge

the beliefs of those witnessing his teachings,

of those witnessing his actions. And throughout

this entire chapter, there is one question that

I want us to ask ourselves today. It's actually

two questions. And that is, who has the authority

to make rules for living? And will we submit

to him? Because there's only one person that

has that authority. And are we going to listen?

And so Luke 6 begins with Jesus and the disciples.

They're walking through a field on the Sabbath,

which if you know Jewish, I guess, culture, tradition,

Sabbath is Saturday, which is supposed to be

a day of rest. And so the disciples, they're

walking, and as they walk, they're picking some

grain from a field, and they eat it. And so you...

will see that this is an issue because the Pharisees,

these religious elites, they get upset at this.

And there's a reason we'll talk about it, but

they asked this question to Jesus and the disciples

and they say, why are you doing what is not lawful

to do on the Sabbath? And so the reason that

they are upset about this, the reason that they're

questioning Jesus, they're questioning his followers

is because they were doing something They were

actually doing two things that were problematic

for Jews to do on the day of rest. They were

walking probably more steps than they were allowed

to. I tried to find out what the rule on this

was. And essentially, it breaks down to you couldn't

walk more than half a mile on the Sabbath. So

think about how little that is. Like you might

walk half a mile just getting up and walking

around your house, okay? And so they were breaking

Sabbath by walking more than they were supposed

to. They were also harvesting. They were picking

grain and they were eating it. So they were working.

And that's what it essentially breaks down to

is they were working on a day of rest. And so

the Pharisees, these men that are charged with

keeping tradition and making sure that the people

under their leadership are following these rules,

rules and their religion, they're upset about

this because this man is claiming to be a rabbi.

He's claiming to be a good Jewish teacher and

he is doing things that are not lawful. And now

he's leading other people astray in doing that.

And so the ancient Jews, they were very serious

about the law. And Sabbath, it wasn't just this

small command. This is something that was instituted

by God. God very clearly wanted his people to

have a day of rest. God himself took a day of

rest. He creates the world. Six days, he takes

a rest on the seventh day. And so it's something

that God wants for his people. It's something

that's woven into the rhythm of Israel's life,

and it is a sign that they belong to him. Think

about Christians, for example. People know that

we gather on Sundays to go to church. We gather

for worship. And so when you're a Christian and

you maybe apply for a job, if that job, that

place of employment is open on a Sunday, they

may ask you, is Sunday going to be an issue?

I can remember my first job. I was 16. I got

a job at Little Caesars. And I remember the owner,

when he was interviewing me, he asked me, he

said, you know, what are your schedule requirements?

What days are you looking to work? What days

do you need off? And I said, I cannot work on

Sundays. I cannot work on Wednesdays. I go to

church on those days. And he tried to push back

and he was like, are you sure? Like, you know,

church is only from, you know, nine to 12. You

can't come to work after. I said, I cannot work

on Sundays. I can't. man, I work on Wednesdays.

I don't work those days because those are my

days that are committed to God. And so people

that know me, they know don't ask Donovan to

do stuff on Sundays and don't ask him to do stuff

on Wednesdays because there is one thing that

is going to take precedent. And for the Jews,

this was their life. But what happened is...

The Jewish rabbis and their leaders, they kind

of cultivated this elaborate list of these do's

and don'ts for Sabbath. These things that the

Jews were not allowed to do on the day of rest

or the things that they were allowed to do. And

Jesus and his disciples, they were doing the

don'ts. And so this is an issue. And I just want

to illustrate how serious this is. So in 1992,

tenants living in an Orthodox Jewish community,

they had a fire in one of these apartments in

this community. What happened is the fire breaks

out in one apartment, but it's on a Sabbath.

And so the tenants, they asked their rabbi, they

say, hey, is it considered work if we call the

fire department? And in the half hour it took

the rabbi to decide, yes, it is work. You should

not call the fire department on Sabbath. Two

other apartments caught fire, three apartments

burned down because it was Sabbath and we can't

work on the Sabbath. Now that's a bit of an extreme

example, but it's a real life example of how

serious Sabbath is. So when Jesus and the disciples

are breaking Sabbath, this is a real issue for

the Jews. And it's not to mock, it's not to disregard

devotion. This is to point out what happens when

the rules take precedence over mercy and needs.

And so this is how Jesus responds to the question

of why are you doing what is unlawful? He says,

have you not read what David did? And that's

underlined, so I want us to read that together.

Have you not read what David did when he was

hungry? Have you not read what David did when

he was hungry? He and those who were with him.

And he tells this story. He refreshes their memory

because when he says, have you not read? He knows

they read it because these are people that know

scripture way better than any of us could ever

know it. So he knows that they've read it. He's

really saying, do you understand what you've

read? Or do you not remember when David? And

his people were hungry. And he refreshes their

memory on this time when David, this well -respected

hero in their history, he took bread that was

meant for God, known as the bread of presence,

and he gave it to his men so that they could

be fed when they were in need. And what Jesus

is not doing is he's not dismissing the law.

He's just revealing its intention. The law was

never meant to overtake or suffocate mercy. Human

need was not meant to go, to be crushed under

the man -made layers of tradition. What Jesus

wants them to know is that the law was meant

to help. The law was meant to protect. The law

was meant to care for God's people, to keep God's

people safe, to take care of them where they

needed to be told what to do and what not to

do. The law was not meant to keep them under

the rule of oppression. And so when Jesus is

saying this, what he's saying is, don't be mistaken.

The law is not about the... regulation. The law

is about the relation. It is about taking care

of God's children. And then he says something

far greater for a clarification about mercy,

or far greater than a clarification about mercy.

He says, read this with me, the Son of Man is

Lord of the Sabbath. Now, I want us to just sit

there for a moment. I want you to just think

about that. The Sabbath belongs to God. It's

under his rule. The Sabbath was instituted by

God. The Sabbath was commanded by God. It was

a covenant sign between God and his people. And

so Jesus isn't just saying, I interpret the Sabbath

differently. He's not saying I interpret the

Sabbath correctly. What he's saying is I am Lord

of the Sabbath. I'm over it. So once again, Jesus

is not making a minor statement. He is making

a statement that tells them exactly who he is.

He is claiming deity. He is claiming divine authority.

He's not just correcting their tradition. He's

asserting authority over something that belongs

to God himself. He's saying the Sabbath answers

to me. And then he walks into another Sabbath

moment. We see this in Luke 6, verses 6 -11.

Luke 6:6–11

Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, and this

man with a withered hand approaches him. And

what you would imagine is the man is seeking

healing because he's heard that this great rabbi

is not just a great teacher. He does these miraculous

healings. And so he comes to Jesus, probably

for healing, and... I think that was God saying,

hey, don't go long. So he comes to Jesus for

healing and the Pharisees, the scribes, they're

watching him closely to see if he's going to

heal on the Sabbath because healing would count

as work, right? And so they're making sure this

man is not working on the day of rest. They're

not concerned about the man with the withered

hand. They are concerned about catching Jesus

committing sin. But Jesus knew exactly what they

were thinking. He knew their minds. And so he

brings the man front and center. He brings him

up into the front of the synagogue, right there

in the middle, right in front of everybody. And

then he... heals the man. But before he heals

the man, he looks at these religious leaders

and he asks this question, underline, read it

with me. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good

or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?

And so in other words, Jesus is asking, is there

ever a bad day to do good? Is there ever a bad

day to let somebody go unhealed? Is there ever

a bad day to not take care of the needs that

somebody has? Is there ever a bad day to do good?

He forces these religious leaders to wrestle

with the heart of the law, and then he heals

the man. And this makes them so angry. It fills

them with fury. And so they start to ask themselves,

what are we going to do to him? Are we going

to hurt him? Are we going to throw him out? Are

we going to kill him? They start talking about

what they might do to him. Why? Because this

is no longer about grain in a field. It's no

longer about just walking around on the Sabbath.

This is no longer about a technical violation.

This is about authority. And they don't like

that this man is claiming divine authority. He's

teaching, he's healing, he's redefining and commanding

with an authority that for nobody or for anybody

but the Messiah, anybody but God, this would

be considered blasphemous. And that is like chief

sin number one. And so they have an issue with

this. And everyone watching is forced to ask,

is this the Messiah? Is this the Lord? And some

answer yes, some answer no. But no one in that

room, nobody witnessing this can ignore the claim

that he thinks he is Lord. And so then Jesus

appoints 12 apostles, which apostles just means

sent ones. So he appoints these people among

his followers, these 12 to be his sent ones.

And that in itself is an authoritative act. That

in itself is him claiming that he has the ability,

he has the right to form this new covenant community

around himself. And then he stands before a great

multitude and he preaches what is referred to

as the Sermon on the Plains. You've probably

heard of the Sermon on the Mount. Some people

refer to this section in Luke chapter 6 as the

Luke 6 · chapter mention

Sermon on the Plain. And in the sermon, he speaks

of the poor being blessed. He speaks of the hungry

being filled. The weeping will be laughing. The

hated will be rewarded. He commands love for

our enemies. He teaches generosity without repayment.

mercy instead of condemnation, self -examination

instead of judgment, bearing good fruit as opposed

to just being, as we said last week, a pew potato.

These aren't just suggestions. They're not just

inspirational thoughts. Jesus was not just a

motivational speaker. This series is called The

Jesus Way because this is Jesus establishing

a new way of living. Scratch that, the way of

living. This is Jesus establishing his way. He's

telling us again exactly what his way is. It

is a way of others before self. It is a way of

mercy. It is a way of love. And these are commands

issued by one who speaks as king, one who speaks

with authority. And after all of that, after

all that teaching, after he says all of those

things that we need to do, the things that we

don't need to do, the way we need to live, the

people we need to be, the way we need to think

and speak and act, after all of that, he looks

at them and he says, why do you call me Lord,

Lord, and not do what I tell you? Why do you

call me Lord? Why do you claim that I am your

master? Why do you claim that I am your teacher,

that you are my followers, that you're my disciples,

that you're my apprentices, but you don't do

what I'm teaching you? Why is that? You've heard

me teach. You've seen me heal. You've seen this

challenge of religious power. You've heard this

godly claim of authority, and you're calling

me Lord. But if I'm your Lord, why are you not

obeying? Why are you not acting? on what you

are learning. See, it's not a casual thing to

say, Lord. This is a title of master. It's authority.

It's owner. And what he's teaching right here

is that it is possible to say the right words.

It's possible to admire Jesus. It's possible

to believe in Jesus. It's even possible to agree

with Jesus. I saw a tweet the other day from

Elon Musk. He tweeted out, I agree with the teachings

of Jesus. And I sit there and I wonder, okay,

well, are you going to follow him? Are you going

to live in accordance with those teachings? Because

it is possible to do all of these things, these

right things, and still not do all that he has

taught us. It's possible to do all of that and

still not be all that he has taught us. He's

called us to be disciples, to be apprentices,

not just students. He's called us to be people

that will do what he is instructing us to do.

And Jesus explains this further by giving them

a picture in verses 47 through 49. And this is

what he says. Everyone who comes to me and hears

my words and does them, I will show you what

he is like. He's like a man building a house

who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.

And when a flood arose, the stream broke against

that house and could not shake it because it

had been well built. But the one who hears and

does not do them is like a man who built a house

on the ground without a foundation. And the stream

broke against it. Immediately, it fell. And the

ruin of that house was great. Here's something

I want us to notice. Both houses in that illustration

faced the storm. Both houses faced pressure.

Both houses probably looked good until the flood

came. And the difference when that flood comes

is not the appearance. It's not the intention

of the builder. The difference is the foundation.

What is the foundation? You know, we started

this lesson talking about the challenger. The

engineers warned NASA. The authorities on the

situation, they spoke. But when the pressure

came, the weakness was exposed. And so Jesus

is saying something similar here. He says, you

can call me Lord. You can sit here under my teaching.

You can listen to all of these wise words that

I have to say. You can see all the healing. You

can be near me. You can be near my people. And

I'll make it modern. You can come to church.

You can read your Bible. You can listen to sermons.

You can sing the songs. You can put the cross

tattoo on your arm. You can wear it around your

neck. You can put a cross on your house. But

when pressure comes, when persecution comes,

when life throws its wrenches at you, when Satan

slings his flaming darts at you, when temptation

comes, when cultural opposition comes, when suffering

happens, even the final judgment of God, when

all of that hits you, what you have built on.

will be revealed. The foundation of your life

will be exposed. Obedience to Jesus is the foundation.

Submission to Jesus as Lord is the foundation.

It's so much more than just this verbal acknowledgement.

It's so much more than just believing. It's so

much more than just attending. When the flood

of life, when judgment breaks against your life,

A life built on his authority will stand. But

a life built on just believing, a life built

on just attending or just claiming, that life

will fall. And the life built on his authority

stands not because it's comfortable. It stands

because it's anchored to the one who is Lord.

And so the question we have to ask ourselves

daily is, Will I submit to the authority of Christ

as Lord? You see, a lot of people want Jesus

as Savior. A lot of people want Jesus as healer.

A lot of people want Jesus as miracle worker.

We love, you know, there's the song, Waymaker,

Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the

Darkness. We love. that Jesus. But do we love

the Jesus that calls us to do something? Do we

love the Jesus that calls us out of these seats

into the community to heal people, to feed the

hungry, to heal the sick, to be there for the

hurting, to be there for the outcast, to be there

for the marginalized? Do we want to follow Lord

Jesus or do we just want Savior Jesus? Do we

just want friend Jesus? Will I leave my comforts?

Will I set aside my traditions and my preconceived

ideas of life and follow Jesus? Will I love my

enemies when it costs me something? Will I show

mercy when I want to condemn? Will I examine

myself before I critique and judge others? Will

I bear fruit that reflects obedience to his commands?

Simply, will I build my life on his teachings?

instead of just admiring them. Will I follow

Lord Jesus? Because the truth is pressure is

coming for all of us. Our moment of pressure

is coming and maybe you faced it. Maybe it was

the loss of a loved one. Maybe it was the loss

of a job. Maybe someone walked out on you. Maybe

someone that you trusted betrayed that trust.

Maybe you've been given the diagnosis that just

shakes you to your core. Maybe you've been walking

in this life with trauma and hurt. I don't know

what pressures have already come, but I do know

pressure is always coming for all of us. Pressure

will come. No one can escape it. And so when

that pressure comes, Will your foundation be

exposed as strong or will it be exposed as weak?

I also want to make this clear because I know

that's a little heavy. I need to make clear that

the same Lord that... us to get up and do something.

The same Lord that looks at us and says, why

do you call me Lord if you're not going to obey

me? The same Lord that does have the authority

to condemn. He has the authority to say who's

in and who's out. The same Lord that has that

authority has the same mercy for those of us

not following in accordance to his teaching.

And that same Lord continues to invite us. And

so this morning, we offer the same invitation.

If you've not been following Jesus as Lord, if

you've not been following him as rabbi, if you've

not been in an apprenticeship relationship, and

I want to say this, there's a difference between

being a student and an apprentice. An apprentice

trains so that he can go do. You know, a lot

of schools, high schools, they're implementing

like vocational tech programs. My high school

finally started to implement some of those things.

They have a welding class now. And so you can

be in the welding program and then by the time

you graduate high school, you're a certified

welder and you can go straight into the workforce.

Isn't that awesome? Well, what those welders

do is they're essentially apprentices to the

teacher of that class, the instructor. And they

are learning so that when they... graduate, they

can go then be welders. Do you know where the

term Christian comes from? In early church history,

the people that were witnessing Christians would

call them little Christs. Kind of like, you know,

if you saw my youngest son, Peyton, you might

say, oh, that's just a little Donovan. because

he looks like me, and he's kind of crazy like

me, and he's annoying like me. And so you'd look

at him, and you'd be like, that's a little Donovan.

And so people would start calling the followers

of Jesus, they would call them little Christ.

And then it was those Christians. Like you would

say, I'm a Blairsvillian, or I don't know what

you, is that the right way to say that? I don't

know if anyone would say that. Like Whoville,

you'd be a Whovillian, right? And so you would

say they are Christians. Christ ends. They are

little Christ. And what it is, is they lived

a life that followed the teachings of Jesus so

closely that when people saw them, they saw Jesus.

And I'm asking us today, when people see the

church today, do they see Jesus or do they just

see a bunch of people that look at and observe

and admire a motivational speaker? Do they just

see people that like the teachings that claim

Jesus, but they don't actually live like Jesus?

Are we going to follow and obey? Or are we just

going to claim salvation? Is he Lord or is he

just Savior? Jesus here wants everyone to know

he is not just here to be their buddy. He's not

just here to be a good teacher. He is here to

call them into a life of submission to God's

way, to the Jesus way. And so this morning, If

you've never said yes to the lordship of Jesus

and you feel the need to respond to his teachings,

whether that be publicly or privately, I want

you to know the invitation's here. And also,

because I know there's a lot of us in this room

that we have said yes to Jesus. We accepted him

as Lord and Savior. We gave our lives to him

in baptism when we rose up committing to walk

in a new life, but we haven't exactly been following

our rabbi. We haven't been apprentices. We've

just been students. If you've been in that boat

and you want to commit, you want the prayers

of the church, you want the encouragement of

the church, you want people to help you to become

a better disciple, the invitation's here. Wherever

you're at today, whatever you need, whatever

it is that you're struggling with, whatever you're

hurting with, it doesn't have to be about this

lesson. It can just be about life in general

because I know life is hard and that pressure

is hitting some of you right now. Whatever it

is. We mean this sincerely when we say the invitation

is here. If you need anything, please come now

as we stand and as we sing.