Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Overloaded (Luke 11:37-54)
11 Plays3 days ago
Sunday Message recorded 22 February 2026
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Overwhelmed vs. Overloaded: Emotional vs. Physical Burdens
00:00:06
Speaker
Do you see a difference between someone who says, you know, I'm overwhelmed, or someone who says, I'm overloaded? When I hear the word overwhelmed, I think of emotional burdens.
00:00:20
Speaker
And maybe that's where you are today. But when I hear the word overloaded, I think of something else. I think of excess baggage whenever we're overloaded. I think sometimes because we take more and more things on, we become overloaded and it leads to feeling overwhelmed.
Pharisaic Laws and Their Burden on People
00:00:40
Speaker
In our text today, we're going to see Jesus push back. Have you ever seen in Scripture, sometimes He pushes back.
00:00:47
Speaker
He doesn't rubber stamp everything, you know. Sometimes He'll push back. own something And he definitely pushed back from the extra loads the Pharisees were trying to strap on his shoulders.
00:01:00
Speaker
What we're going to hear Jesus say to a scribe is, for you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
00:01:14
Speaker
That's in Luke 11, 46. Did you know that the Old Testament Bible contains 613 commandments. Someone has gone through those 613 commandments and they said, you know, there's really two categories.
00:01:29
Speaker
There are the thou shalt and the thou shalt nots. There are 248 positives do this and there's 365 negatives do not do this.
00:01:41
Speaker
But if that were not enough, a group called the Pharisees, a long history's corridor there, built fence of additional laws, additional traditions, regulations, and rituals around the Old Testament law.
00:01:59
Speaker
And what they said was, well, let's impose 1,500 more rules and regulations around the 613 God-given commandments.
00:02:13
Speaker
The whole thing, since I've think in pictures sometimes.
Legalism's Impact: More Than Just Rules
00:02:16
Speaker
It reminded me of what I saw many times in Ethiopia. I went there about eight times on mission trips, enjoyed every time. I love the people of Ethiopia.
00:02:27
Speaker
But I would see them stack up a load on top of a donkey. And sometimes it'd be like eight feet, 10 feet high. And I thought, where is the little donkey underneath all of that?
00:02:39
Speaker
But you know, if you were to do some research, you would find out what I learned this week, getting ready for the message. And that is the most donkeys in the world are actually found in Ethiopia. Because it seemed like I saw one constantly while I was there.
00:02:53
Speaker
The World Population Review for 2025 list says Ethiopia is number one in the world. Guess how many donkeys they have across that nation? 10,668,986 is the estimate.
00:03:04
Speaker
six hundred and sixty eight thousand nine and eighty six is the estimate Now, just to give you some perspective, they're number one, but just going down just a few nations to number five is one that's closer to where we live.
00:03:17
Speaker
Let's say Mexico. Mexico has, at number five, 3,300,639 donkeys. And so I'm thinking, wow, who went through and counted all these? I don't know, it's pretty specific. Okay.
00:03:31
Speaker
But all I know is that most times overload in life occurs when someone naively allows another person to just saddle them up with more and more responsibilities and assignments than God actually designed us to carry.
00:03:52
Speaker
That's where legalism goes. And it's like someone says, I can't carry all this. That's where these people that you're about to hear this passage and you're going to hear Jesus.
00:04:03
Speaker
He's going to hit that head on legalism. Legalism, according to Luke 11, 46, like I hinted to earlier, is when someone straps on the back of another. Here it comes.
00:04:16
Speaker
Burdens hard to bear. Jesus referred to the enforcement of those burdens with these words. He said, you guys load people with burdens hard to bear.
00:04:29
Speaker
Hence, our message this morning is based upon Luke 11, 37 through 54, and I'm giving it this creative title. Overload it. Why not?
00:04:41
Speaker
You know, Max Lucado is one of my favorite authors. I don't really see his books as much anymore, but... He made some clear statements defining legalism during one of his upwards radio broadcasts way back in May of 1993. Listen to this.
00:04:58
Speaker
He said, legalism is the search for innocence, not forgiveness. Because a legalist thinks they're innocent. And so they're just trying to prove it.
00:05:09
Speaker
It's a systematic process of defending self, explaining self, exalting self, justifying self. The obsession with legalism?
00:05:21
Speaker
One word, self. It's not God. Legalism has no pity on people. You see, legalism makes my opinion your burden.
00:05:32
Speaker
It makes my opinion your boundary. And it makes my opinion your obligation. you see what he's saying? What he's saying is it's not something God has said. It's something that you prefer. It's something that you want.
00:05:46
Speaker
That's where legalism comes from. And so before I read Luke 11, 37 to 54, I wanted
Jesus' Woes Against Legalism
00:05:52
Speaker
you to realize I'm not just cherry picking here. You can actually go to other passages in the Gospels and you'll see a lot about what Jesus thought of legalism.
00:06:02
Speaker
So if you're the kind of note taker that would like to go later and do your own personal study, I would recommend Matthew 15. Matthew chapter 15 verses 1 through 20. Or maybe Mark chapter 7 verses 1 through 23.
00:06:18
Speaker
If you want to see something that's very similar to what we're about to read together, then you could go to Matthew 23 verses 1 through 36. Where in verse 4, once again, you'll hear the same words. That's why I'm saying it's all about being overloaded.
00:06:33
Speaker
It says in Matthew chapter 23, verse 4, they tie up heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
00:06:50
Speaker
Now, as I read in a moment, listen for six woes that Jesus pronounces upon the ph the Pharisees and the scribes. Now in this passage, by the way, it's going to use the word lawyer in the ESV, but a lot of translations would use the word scribe.
00:07:09
Speaker
And so it's not talking about legal attorneys here. It's talking about ah someone who spent their whole day, you know, writing down the law, keeping the law, enforcing the law, studying the law, and so forth. They were the scribes.
00:07:25
Speaker
But this whole thing of woe, it's like in Matthew 23, rather than six woes, Matthew said, well, I count seven. And so there's seven woes. But when I hear the word woe, I go back to my teenage years.
00:07:38
Speaker
of growing up in a house right beside my grandfather's house. We had a farm, he had horses, and we would ride horses. And I loved to get the horses you know galloping.
00:07:50
Speaker
There's this funny stage between a trot and a gallop. I prefer the gallop myself. The trot is really a bumpy ride. just Just keep kicking them until they go faster than the trot.
00:08:01
Speaker
When they get in a gallop, you'll like that. But, you know, whenever the horse was galloping in a direction I didn't want him to go, you know what I said? Whoa, that's what you say. go back on those reins. You say, whoa, exactly right.
00:08:16
Speaker
Well, that's what I want you to hear Jesus saying. If by chance in your belief system, you believe that you've got to work your way into God's favor and God's love, if you believe are saying, well, I've just always been raised this way.
00:08:34
Speaker
I want you to know that Jesus is saying one word to you. Whoa, whoa, don't go that way. Don't go that way because if you go that way, then I think you're going to hear what he's going to say is ahead.
00:08:46
Speaker
There's some loads. that God never meant for you to bear. Would you stand in honor of God's word? Let's see what Jesus says. I'm going to go ahead and prepare you. I don't think we're going to finish this message this Sunday, so you'll have to come back next Sunday to get part two. But we'll see where we get. Maybe we will.
00:09:03
Speaker
But here's what it says in verse 37 of Luke 11. While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him.
00:09:15
Speaker
So he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he, this is Jesus, did not first wash before dinner.
00:09:29
Speaker
And the Lord said to him, now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
00:09:41
Speaker
You fools, you fools, I wouldn't recommend this for the next time someone invites you over to eat. But anyway, he can do it because he was accurate. But anyway, he goes on to say, Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
00:09:56
Speaker
But give his alms those things that are within. and behold, everything is clean for you.
Prioritizing God's Love Over Legalism
00:10:02
Speaker
But woe to you Pharisees. For you tithe mint and rue in every herb and neglect everything.
00:10:12
Speaker
justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees, for you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
00:10:28
Speaker
Woe to you, for you are like unmarked graves and people walk over them without knowing it. One of the lawyers answered him, teacher,
00:10:40
Speaker
In saying these things, you insult us also. And he said, to you lawyers also. For you, don't look at anybody in the room, for you load people with burdens hard to bear.
00:10:57
Speaker
And you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you. For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So your witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers. For they kill them and you build their tombs. Therefore also the wisdom of God said, i will send them prophets and apostles.
00:11:24
Speaker
Some of whom they will kill and persecute. So that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be charged. against this generation.
00:11:35
Speaker
From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
00:11:48
Speaker
Woe to you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.
00:12:00
Speaker
As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him to catch him in something he might say.
00:12:15
Speaker
Let's go the Father in prayer. Lord, I am so thankful that you made a way for us to come into your family. You made a way for the load of our guilt to be removed.
00:12:29
Speaker
But Lord, the religions all around the world, they're distorting that way. That way is a way of grace. That way is a way of faith.
00:12:40
Speaker
That way is a way of surrender and repentance where we align ourselves with the true and the living God. That way is not through countless rules and regulations and rituals and more and more religions.
00:12:55
Speaker
Oh Lord, would you take this simple passage And open it up to us. I pray that it would have more application than we ever dreamed. And so speak to us this day about what it's really about.
00:13:09
Speaker
There this man was sitting across from Jesus. And the man was focused on a ritual. And Jesus was focused on a relationship. If there's anyone here that does not yet have that personal relationship with Christ.
00:13:26
Speaker
Please God. Open their eyes that they could see. It's all about coming through Christ to have a personal relationship with the Father. In Jesus' name we pray.
00:13:36
Speaker
Amen. Thank you you. may be seated. You know, in verse 37, it says, while Jesus was speaking. You see, I believe he says that because it connects what we just read with what Josh read when we were in Luke the last time. Last week we were in Romans. But when we were back there with Josh in Luke 11, 33 to 36, he was talking about light.
00:14:04
Speaker
And those who are given light, but somehow, even though we're given light, we don't always have insight So just because we hear the word doesn't mean we're applying the word.
00:14:15
Speaker
We're receiving the word. Some are still drumming away God's message of the gospel because you're so ingrained in you that I've got to earn my way.
00:14:27
Speaker
But you see, choosing a religion about God rather than a relationship with God leads to five spiritual loads of legalism.
00:14:38
Speaker
And Jesus would simply say, whoa. Don't go that way. That is not a way of peace and forgiveness. That's not a way to be sure that your salvation is secure when you go into heaven, when you die.
00:14:55
Speaker
So if you're a note taker, I'm just warning you, you better get ready because this one is going to have a lot of sub points here. But let me start where it begins in verses 37 to 41.
00:15:07
Speaker
What I see first is this invitation from a legalist. Now, Pharisees, you know what that word means? It means separate. In other words, they felt they were better than everyone else. So they would separate themselves from everyone else.
00:15:24
Speaker
So this is really amazing. And most of the Bible scholars that I read, you know what they said? They said, this guy was honest. This guy didn't have a hidden motive. This particular Pharisee was perhaps hungry.
00:15:38
Speaker
Spiritually, he was hungry. And he just wanted to know, maybe that's why you're here this Sunday. I want you to know we're glad you're here. Even if you've never been to a church before, We're glad you're here at church today.
00:15:49
Speaker
I hope you'll come next Sunday. hope you'll always know that you're welcome here at First Baptist Church. But I thought it was interesting that this Pharisee, who's known to separate himself from everybody else, extends this invitation to Jesus.
00:16:04
Speaker
Would you come to my house? Would you eat with me? And isn't it interesting that Jesus, rather than pushing back, he knows the guy is a legalist.
00:16:15
Speaker
He knows the guy more than likely is a hypocrite. But instead of pushing away, he says, yeah, I'll come. And so Jesus accepts the invitation and he goes there.
00:16:27
Speaker
And I think this is really cool, isn't it? Something powerful is about to happen. But everything kind of takes an unexpected twist when you see the observation made by the legalist.
00:16:40
Speaker
What was it? Jesus is at the table. What was it he was focused on? Oh, well, let's see what that was. Look at verse 38. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
00:16:57
Speaker
just for clarity, this is not about hygiene. This is not about washing hands before you come to this table. You know, my mom told me at countless times, so this is no no hit toward my mom.
00:17:08
Speaker
No, this is not what it's about. No, there was like the this tradition. It was more like a ceremony or a ritual. You were supposed to wash before you came to receive any kind of a meal.
00:17:21
Speaker
So what's happening is, This tradition of man that the Pharisees, it's within that 100, 1,500 different traditions and rules.
00:17:32
Speaker
This is something exaggerated. And Jesus knows it. Jesus looks right through this situation and the guy never said a word. have seen Have you ever felt like that? Somebody that's a legalist were looking down at you and they never said anything. But you see that look.
00:17:48
Speaker
You got that look, give you that mean look, you know. Well, something like that must have happened or else Jesus just read his heart. He read his mind because he's definitely capable of doing that, right?
00:18:00
Speaker
We saw that. And so Jesus comes right back at it. He pushes back rather than ignoring the fact that this guy's all upset because he didn't, you know, keep this tradition.
00:18:14
Speaker
It wasn't biblical, but it was traditional. Well, He confronts him. He confronts him. Remember, no words were spoken, only thoughts. And yet Jesus being omniscient, he can read thoughts.
00:18:27
Speaker
And so he knows what happened. As a matter of fact, if you were to go back in this chapter, look at verse 17 if you're in chapter 11. But Jesus knowing their thoughts. So this is what I preached a couple of Sundays back But he says he knows the thoughts.
00:18:44
Speaker
It's not surprising, right? Because when Mary and Joseph took Jesus into the temple, remember there was a guy named Simeon and he pronounced an incredible prophecy. He said, I've been waiting on the Messiah.
00:18:57
Speaker
I've been waiting for the Christ. And I felt like that the Lord told me I was going to see the Messiah someday. And you remember what he said to Mary? He said to her, he said, you know what?
00:19:09
Speaker
This child The thoughts from many hearts are going to be revealed through this child. And that's so true. Because you know what? Jesus is more interested in the heart than he is on the outside and so forth.
00:19:25
Speaker
And so what I want this first point to remind you of is that the legalist is focusing on an external over the internal. Because look at the concentration of the legalist in verse 39.
00:19:41
Speaker
Verse 39 says, and the Lord said to him, now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
00:19:56
Speaker
You see, the Pharisee was focusing on hands and Jesus was focusing on the heart.
Heart Purity Over Rituals
00:20:05
Speaker
And so the Pharisee was saying, you got dirty hands.
00:20:10
Speaker
And Jesus was looking at him right straight to the heart and he said, you got a dirty heart and your heart is full. Notice what he says. He actually says it is full of greed and wickedness.
00:20:26
Speaker
You see why we don't go by outside things? You see why it doesn't matter if you wear your Mr. Rogers sweater just to get one more. I'd love to get one more dig in. I got the mic. Why can't I do this?
00:20:39
Speaker
But it doesn't matter what you wear. What matters is who you are. On your inside, in your heart. That's what Jesus was trying to say when he's sitting across the table from this Pharisee who gave him this mean look.
00:20:54
Speaker
And so you go down to the verse 40 and you see what was the preoccupation of the legalist? The preoccupation was with the body. I don't think he's alone.
00:21:06
Speaker
You ever think that our society is just like over the edge on body? And I'm thinking, wait a minute. We're giving our kids a complex because of body image and so forth.
00:21:18
Speaker
And look at what he says here in verse 40. He says, You fools, did not he, our creator, who made the outside, make the inside also?
00:21:32
Speaker
You know, sometimes it's like, man, a guy could lift, say, 500 pounds. I'm not saying I can lift 500 pounds. I'm just saying some guy hypothetically could lift 500 pounds.
00:21:43
Speaker
Well, that's great. I mean, I'm not knocking that. But what about on the inside? How much spiritual weight are we lifting? What are we like in our soul, in our heart, who we are at our core?
00:21:57
Speaker
That's what the Lord is the most concerned about. And yet a legalist isn't concerned with that. He's just concerned you didn't make the checklist. We got 1,500 different check marks here, you know, and you didn't have a check mark on that box.
00:22:14
Speaker
So Jesus says, I'm going to give you some counsel. I'm going to give you some advice. So verse 41 is a consultation with the legalist. He gave him some wise counsel. on You know what he basically said?
00:22:27
Speaker
You Pharisees need to start with the heart. That's where you start. Look at what he says here. But give as alms those things that are within.
00:22:40
Speaker
And behold, everything is clean for you. In other words, if you get right with God and God cleanses your heart, you'd be surprised how that's going to cleanse all your actions.
00:22:52
Speaker
You won't have to worry about rules and all of those things. If you're filled with God's spirit, if the Holy Spirit is controlling you, you're filled with the word of God, you're going to be doing, you don't have to worry about a checklist.
00:23:05
Speaker
The Lord from within is going to help you do all the right things. And so I'm thinking, wow, thank you, God, so much for this. You know, it reminds me of what Paul was mentoring, discipling Timothy.
00:23:20
Speaker
And so he writes him this letter in 1 Timothy 1.5. And he says, Timothy, don't ever forget in ministry, what's the goal? What's it all really about? What is the goal of our instruction?
00:23:34
Speaker
And here's what he wrote him in 1 Timothy 1.5. The aim of our charge is the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
00:23:49
Speaker
Now that right there is something to focus on. That's something to say, Lord, help me to focus on that, that I might have a pure heart, that I might have a good conscience, that I might have a sincere faith.
00:24:05
Speaker
And that's that's what it's really all about. Not rituals. And not traditions. It's about you being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
00:24:18
Speaker
So let's move to the second thing that could happen. If someone chooses to be a legalist, rather than to, you know, walk with the Lord in grace and faith and obedience and surrender and all of those good things, then guess what happens?
00:24:33
Speaker
You're going to be focused on on the external Over the intern. You won't care about your heart as long as you're going through the motions and doing all the right things. But the second thing is you're going to also have another load because you're going to be exacting over the secondary while you are neglecting the primary.
00:24:55
Speaker
Wait a minute. If something's primary, shouldn't that be first? Shouldn't that be the most important part? Have you ever seen someone in your whole life become so intense over a secondary issue while totally neglecting a more primary, a more important issue?
00:25:14
Speaker
It's like they have misplaced priorities. The first of six woes, remember a woe, was when we should pull back on the reins because God's saying, I'm not pleased with that.
00:25:28
Speaker
If you go down that road, I'm telling you there are pitfalls down there. There's pain down there. There's consequences. There are judgments down that way. So he's saying, don't do that.
00:25:40
Speaker
Don't be focused on secondary and neglect primary. And so what he says is, but woe to you Pharisees, for you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God.
00:25:55
Speaker
These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. So it's not like he was saying you're wrong in tithing or giving and whatever. He just said tithing and giving doesn't doesn't cover up.
00:26:10
Speaker
You don't know who I am. You know, that's what God would say. God would say, are you growing in knowing who I am? That's what discipleship is all about. When he says you should be focused on justice and love of God.
00:26:26
Speaker
God is a just God, but God is also a loving God. What a perfect balance, right? What a perfect balance. He's so holy and yet he's also merciful. He's righteous, but he's also gracious, gracious.
00:26:38
Speaker
And so I'm thinking, wow. So Jesus is saying, get to know who the Father is. that should That should be your primary goal in your life. That should be the primary thing in your teaching, in your ministry, in your personal walk, in your discipling. Saying, please God, don't let me overlook who you are.
00:26:59
Speaker
Yes, I want to tithe. Yes, I want to give the gifts that you would want me to give, the offerings. But just don't neglect the importance of what should be First, what should be first?
00:27:12
Speaker
I wanna illustrate this with a story I heard a few years ago. It's really impossible to forget it once you hear it. But there was this couple, they drove through a drive-through of a Kentucky Fried Chicken.
00:27:26
Speaker
And they said, why don't we get a bucket of chicken, let's go to the park, got the blanket in the car, we'll sit out there, we'll look at the lake, and we'll just enjoy time to together. So they come by, they said, we'd like one bucket of chicken,
00:27:39
Speaker
and two Dr. Peppers. So they said, okay. So they give them the two Dr. Peppers, they give them the bucket, the couple drives off. When they get to the park and they put down the blanket and they get the cup set there where they won't tump over and they pop open the bucket of chicken, guess what?
00:27:57
Speaker
It's the proceeds from the day before Kentucky Fried Chicken. someone couldn't find the the zip, the the locking envelope or bag that they put the offering in or not the offering, but the sales in.
00:28:11
Speaker
So all the proceeds for the previous day, they were looking for the bag. We can't find it. So the assistant manager said, just put it in a bucket. So they put all of the proceeds from the previous day in the bucket.
00:28:24
Speaker
And so when the little girl was looking, she just saw that bucket already had a top on it. So she grabbed the bucket of cash, not chicken, and gave it to the couple. The couple get out there, and they discover it. You know what? They felt bad about that.
00:28:39
Speaker
And the man knew. He was a businessman, and he knew, you know what? More than likely, that little girl that served us that bucket of chicken, she's going to lose her job over this. It's not right. Let's take it back.
00:28:51
Speaker
So they packed everything back up. They went back to KFC. They went through the drive-thru window. And they couldn't believe it because the girl says, Dad. That's them right there. She was so excited. And the assistant manager goes to the window and the guy says, look, I don't know why this happened. I don't have to know anything. I just want to i just want to return this. This is full of your money.
00:29:13
Speaker
And I would like a bucket of chicken. He says... The guy says, I've never seen this in my life. He said, look, this is big. He said, I want you to pull around here and I'm going to call the local newspaper. We're going to put this on the front page of the newspaper. And the guy said, no, that's not necessary. I just wanted to bring it back. We don't want to eat credit. We just want our chicken and we're going to go.
00:29:36
Speaker
And the assistant manager says, no, sir, no, we're not going to we're not going to do it that way. If I need to, I'm to send one of these boys around there to stop you from leaving this parking lot because we want to make this a lesson for the whole community.
00:29:50
Speaker
And the guy leans over and he said, this woman is not my wife. So now let me ask you. How do you feel about somebody that returns the bucket of chicken, but he's cheating on his wife?
00:30:06
Speaker
i mean, it doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? Because he's doing something secondary when he ought to be concerned about the primary. Well, I think something like that happens more than we would know, not because of immorality, but I'm talking about the Lord.
00:30:23
Speaker
You know, 2 Corinthians 8, 5, there was a group of churches in a place called Macedonia, And those churches gave an amazing offering when they
Harmful Effects of Legalism
00:30:33
Speaker
were suffering.
00:30:34
Speaker
It was hard times for them. And yet they gave. And you know what? Paul said, here's why they did that. 2 Corinthians 8, 5. He said, they gave themselves first to the Lord.
00:30:50
Speaker
And then by the will of God to us. That's why they were. You see what was happening? They were focused on the primary, not on little secondary things.
00:31:02
Speaker
Jesus was stating that the legalists were not only neglecting the importance of what should be first rather than last. Oddly enough, the Pharisees were obsessive over an infatuation with the best.
00:31:18
Speaker
Would you look with me now at verse 43. Woe to you Pharisees, for you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
00:31:31
Speaker
So were these legalists, were these Pharisees, were these scribes, were they really interested in God's glory? Or were they interested in someone else's glory?
00:31:42
Speaker
Who did they want to have the spotlight? Who did they want to have the highest position and chair and so forth? They were not pursuing God's glory. They wanted to have self in the spotlight.
00:31:55
Speaker
And that's why so many times if you dig deep enough, you keep clawing deep enough, you'll find that a legalist is really only thinking about himself.
00:32:06
Speaker
It's really all about pride. But the legalist to the legalist, I would say, you know what? The best way to lead others to God is through your personal example, not through endless regulations and rules.
00:32:23
Speaker
Because what was happening was, verse 44, Jesus says, woe to you for you are like, so he's gonna use a metaphor, you're like unmarked graves.
00:32:35
Speaker
And people walk over them without knowing it. So back then they would sometimes have these you know caravans that would come through. If you didn't mark where the grave was, somebody might fall in a grave.
00:32:50
Speaker
accidentally and be harmed, be injured, or even worse, you know, lose their life. And so that's why they had a tradition that they would always mark the graves. I wonder, is that where we got tombstones from?
00:33:02
Speaker
Because a tombstone marks the grave. And so I'm just thinking, maybe this is kind of like where that came from. But nevertheless, the problem is that they did not address the danger of their influence toward the worst.
00:33:21
Speaker
They want the best. So that's why they pick out the best seats and all of these different and things. They want the best. They're neglecting the most important thing, but now their influence is toward the worst because guess who falls in the grave?
00:33:38
Speaker
The unsuspecting. Someone comes to a church and they're totally unsuspecting. They're thinking, I need grace. I heard this is where I can find grace. I need mercy.
00:33:49
Speaker
I hear this is where I can find mercy. I need God's forgiveness. I hear this is where I can find forgiveness. And then to be blindsided by someone who says, no, you're not keeping all of our rules about dress or whatever.
00:34:04
Speaker
You know, and I thought, whoa. You know, Jesus was saying, look, if you don't watch it, then you're going to accidentally or maybe intentionally, you're going to injure people.
00:34:18
Speaker
You're going to hurt people. And it could be that legalism and being like a Pharisee, it could cause someone to leave and never give God another chance.
00:34:28
Speaker
And we don't want to do that. We always want to say, God, help me. Help me to always be like an instrument that you would use to influence other people toward Christ, not away from Christ.
Embracing Grace Over Legalism
00:34:43
Speaker
I want to end with ah the next to last slide, by the way. You'll have to skip ahead to get there. But I'm gonna bring the message to a close today. But I just wanted to go to another another gospel, to Matthew matthew chapter 11, verses 28 to 30, because I think it puts everything in perspective.
00:35:02
Speaker
You see, Matthew's gospel was written for a Jewish audience, whereas Luke's gospel we've been reading was written for a Gentile audience.
00:35:14
Speaker
And so it would stand out more to Matthew that Jesus said what I'm about to read from Matthew 11, 28 to 30. See, the legalist complicates the invitation,
00:35:30
Speaker
whereas the Lord simplifies the invitation. The Pharisee extended a simple invitation to Jesus to dine with him, but there he was, his own obsession with the rules distracted him from a personal relationship with Christ.
00:35:47
Speaker
He had the Son of God sitting across the table. Do you know that the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, He's here with us today. And don't be this close to Jesus and let some complicated thing in your head cause you to walk away and not trust Him for forgiveness, for cleansing, and so forth.
00:36:08
Speaker
But here's the simple way that Matthew records what Jesus said in Matthew 11. 28 to 30. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.
00:36:24
Speaker
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I'm gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
00:36:34
Speaker
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. See, that's that's our Lord. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the invitation today.
00:36:46
Speaker
Will you just come to Him? That's why we always have this invitation, you know. We want to give people the opportunity to simply go to Jesus. Come to Him.
00:36:58
Speaker
Trust Him. He can get rid of the burden of guilt. But you know what He can also get rid of? You know, every time that you go to a church...
00:37:10
Speaker
The people around you, they don't all have the same background. Some people have been in churches before that hurt them deeply and they have injuries. They ah they feel pain.
00:37:20
Speaker
And so it's really hard for them to learn to trust again. But if here we say to them, go to Jesus, he'll take away the burdens.
00:37:31
Speaker
That's the best message we can give. That's the best message for our country is to say, trust in Jesus Christ, turn to Christ, He's what you're looking for. Why don't we stand together? He went to a cross to pay the price for your sins and mine so that we could be forgiven.
00:37:50
Speaker
And God the Father looked at that sacrifice and he said, well done, my son. So he raised him from the dead three days later. And he said, you come back to heaven and be here with me.
00:38:02
Speaker
And that's why he can help us to know how to find eternal life in him. So let's pray together. Lord, We wanted to extend an invitation, and the invitation is from you.
00:38:13
Speaker
And what you said to the people back then, and you say to the people today, is just come to me. So help the people just go to you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:38:31
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.