Religion and the Gospel

One of the interesting themes of the Gospels is Jesus’ interaction with the Jewish religious crowd. These people had a genuine desire to obey God and keep his rules. They were so serious about it that they created a complete system of laws designed to keep themselves and other Jews as far away from God’s law as possible. Their interaction with the Sabbath is a great example. God’s law told the Jews to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, set apart for his purpose. They were not to work, but rather the Sabbath was a day of rest, worship, and renewal. What a great gift, a once a week vacation. But instead of celebrating the Sabbath and enjoying God, they created a set of Sabbath rules that included 39 defined categories of work. The crazy thing is that Jesus intentionally broke these rules, defying the religious folk. In their efforts to please God, the religious crowd missed him. Which is why the topic of religion, the rules, and the Gospel is so very important for us.