Summer School: The Gospel — Tuesday
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV)
My wife, Leah, and I took a trip to Mexico a few years ago, and our resort had several restaurants. When packing for the trip, I specifically refused to bring pants—only stretchy athletic shorts and swim trunks—because I had intended to eat a ton and largely (both in size because of the eating, and in terms of time spent) sit at the beach and the pool. I saw no pants required in that equation.
A few days in, we were looking to try a different restaurant at the resort and were checking out the menu. It subtly mentioned something along the lines of “long pants required.” We called, and they confirmed this to be the case. I was dismayed. To make this long story short, we walk off the resort (despite the plan to never, ever leave the resort) to a Walmart. I’m 6’4, 225 pounds, and the pants were sized generically: small, medium, large, and so forth. I bought some jeans for around $3 and walked back, ready to dine in style with my unintentionally very skinny jeans in high water mode.
We bust into the restaurant at our designated time, and I scope the place out: I was the only male patron wearing pants in the joint. Of course.
I’m a big rule follower, and certain Jewish groups in the early church were as well. The Judaizers were one of these groups, and they made a habit of essentially following Paul and other apostles around to different regions as they shared about Jesus, acting almost like the snake in the garden by injecting religious rules and their own preferences into the gospel message (more on that tomorrow).
While it served a purpose for a time, this law they were desperately trying to preserve was impossible for people to keep due to sin, and at that time, it was also being leveraged as a gatekeeping tool by different groups for various reasons. The law couldn’t save us, and it could even enslave us—which is exactly why Jesus made a better way. He sacrificed himself to bring us a freedom that rule-following couldn’t. I’m so thankful for the gospel He brought because I know that without Jesus, I’d be found undesirable no matter how well I followed the rules. Because of the gospel, we know God isn’t looking to see how good of a job we’re doing—He sees us through the lens of what Jesus has already done for us.
Tuesday’s Reflection
Matthew 11:28 tells us that all who are weary and burdened can find rest by coming to Jesus. Are there areas in your life leaving you weary and burdened because you haven’t come to Jesus with them yet?
