“Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness… and every disease… among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” (Matt. 9:35-36)

That portion of text gets me every time.

The mission of Jesus was simple, and His message was clear and direct. He came to help hurting people, wanting to heal them and set them free. And He never held back when it came to teaching them why they were hurting, and who had them bound. “Repent…and follow Me.” That was the condensed version.

Like Paul, Jesus did not come with the enticing words of men’s wisdom and intellect; rather He was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and power in order to heal all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). Paul echoed this sentiment when he made it clear that he too…did not come with excellence of speech or of human wisdom…but in the “demonstration of the Sprit and of power…that our faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Cor. 2:1-5)

Paul reminded Timothy of the need to avoid pointless arguments and foolish and ignorant quarrels over disputes that helped no one. He reminded the young pastor that teachers of the word must be patient and gentle to all…and in humility correcting those who were in opposition so that God might grant them repentance… so that they too might come to know the truth. The hope being that they would ‘come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil who had taken them captive to do his will. (2 Tim. 2:23-26)

And what ‘truth’ do you suppose he was alluding to? I’m pretty confident it was the same truth Jesus declared could set men free, in John 8:32-36. The problem with that crowd was they didn’t even see themselves as being in ‘bondage’ (33). It’s pretty hard to see your need for a remedy or cure…if you are blind to the very problem that has bound and afflicted you, and is begging for a cure.

Yet there it is…for anyone who cares to read...in 'red letters': “Most assuredly I tell you that whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.” (John 8:34-35).

Do you know what a son, or a ‘child’ of God does? They follow God’s Spirit (Romans 8:14). It has nothing to do with delving into endless theology or taking up arms to defend man-made doctrines that do nothing but put men under more religious bondage (Mark 7:6-16)

In our opening text, we read how Jesus went about the region ‘teaching and preaching’ the gospel of the kingdom. In Mark’s gospel, we are told Jesus began to “teach them many things” (Mark 6:34). I would not want to begin speculating as to what those ‘many things’ were, other than what we see revealed in the pages of the gospels; but I would venture to guess it had nothing to do with simple formulas that we like to pass on about how all one ‘needs to do is accept Christ as Savior’…while leaving their lives unchanged and untransformed. We read of no empty promises... where repeating a few simple words in a prayer will ‘guarantee’ anyone anything... regardless of what one might do or not do after their encounter with Him. (Matt. 7:21-23)

‘Repent…and follow Me.’ That was His message. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27). They just don’t ‘acknowledge’ Him, they follow Him. They take up their own cross as His Spirit begins to put to death the very part of their old sinful nature that invited the spirits of darkness to come in to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’ the people, which is what sin does (John 10:10). You cannot even become a true disciple, or follower of Jesus unless you too…are willing to take up your own cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23; 14:25-33).

While ‘trained theologians’ want to debate the very existence of ‘demons’, Jesus was taking new disciples and sending them out to heal the sick and to cast out demons from people (Matt. 10:6-9; Luke 10:1-11). When they returned from one particular mission, they were elated to share with Jesus that those very demons had to comply with their orders given the Name above all names they invoked- His (Luke 10:17). Jesus assured them that the authority He had bestowed upon them would protect them from ‘all the power of the enemy’ and then He rejoices in His own Spirit thanking the Father that God had ‘hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and revealed it to the young babes’ (Luke 10:21). Also - 1 John 5:18.

Jesus never shied away from confronting sin, promising that we could be totally set free from it. But when He did address the ‘sin issue’, it was never about condemning people; on the contrary…He came to set us free and heal us…while admonishing those who heard Him to ‘go and sin no more or something worse may come upon you’. (John 3:17-18; 5:14; 8:10-11).

Listen to this invitation given by Jesus that still rings true today:  “...Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

But make no mistake about it…the very root of our weariness, our oppressive burdens and suffering afflictions, the separation we feel and sense from our Maker…it is because of sin. And if we are unwilling to ‘repent…we will all likewise perish’ (Luke 13:1-5). That wasn’t a threat…it was a warning offered up in love.

Friends…it does us no good to be able to quote from memory, the 23rd Psalm…if we are unwilling to ‘follow Him in the paths of righteousness’. You will never, ever find those ‘green pastures and still waters’ of peace and nourishment for your troubled soul, until you surrender your whole heart to Him.

"I have come...that they may have life, and that they may have it to the fullest..." - Jesus (John 10:10)

Choose life. (Deut. 30:15-20)