Teachable Hearts And The Way Of Jesus

Doubt, debate, and a miracle collide in Jerusalem as Jesus teaches at the Feast of Tabernacles and confronts leaders who prize appearances over truth. We walk the crowded courtyards where a man once paralyzed now carries his mat on the Sabbath, and hear why that act reveals God’s heart better than any rule could. The question stings today as much as it did then: are we judging by optics, or by a righteousness shaped by Scripture and the Father’s will?

We unpack Jesus’ claim that his doctrine comes from the One who sent him and why that undercuts the obsession with pedigree, platform, and geography. The leaders add heavy layers to the law; Jesus uncovers the law’s purpose and fulfills it. Using circumcision as a precedent, he argues that restoring a person to wholeness on the Sabbath is not a violation but a sign of true rest. Along the way, we confront our own tendencies to chase names, defend traditions, and miss mercy standing in front of us. The call is to cultivate a teachable heart that recognizes God’s voice, redirects glory to the Father, and discerns with prayerful clarity.

From family skepticism to cultural pressure, we face the same frictions the early crowds did. We talk about following Jesus for who he is rather than what he gives, and about trading snap judgments for Spirit-led wisdom that weds conviction to compassion. If the spotless Lamb heals what the law only exposes, then real change begins inside us—leading to words and deeds that invite repentance rather than fuel division. Join us as we seek the mind of Christ, learn to judge with righteous judgment, and practice a cross-shaped kindness that can reshape homes, churches, and communities. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find it.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Are we making a judgment call on people based on what we perceive as going on in their hearts? Or do we step back and say, Lord, what's going on in their hearts? What is it that you want me to see in this situation? This rule that I've found in your word. Am I applying it correctly? Am I understanding your heart in this matter? Or am I just acting as judge and jury and passing judgment on people?

Avoiding Superficial Judgments

SPEAKER_01 0:51

From our vantage point, it's easy to look back on the religious leaders of Jesus' day and see how wrong they were. Clearly, they were missing the point, and Jesus had to set them straight. Obviously, they weren't understanding what God wanted them to. But is it that simple? Do we get everything right? In today's message, Pastor Carl challenges you not to make the same mistake as the Jews did in Jesus' day, but to maintain a teachable attitude, a heart always ready to hear from the Lord. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

Mixed Reactions To Jesus

Teaching With Authority In The Temple

Doctrine From The One Who Sent Me

Glory Seeking Versus God’s Glory

Law, Fulfillment, And Hypocrisy

The Sabbath Healing Controversy

SPEAKER_02 1:34

The people themselves weren't sure of who Jesus was. Some were like totally sold out. He is good, he is from God. What do you mean? And others would say, no, no, no, he's demonic, he's from Satan. This is not good. He he breaks the rules. And of course, the leaders had these same discussions as well. Well, they for the majority of the leaders, they were like, this guy is a deceiver, and he we need to get rid of him. However, no one spoke of him for fear, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. When they spoke to each other in the crowds, they were like, Do you know about this guy? I don't know about this guy. Well, I think this guy is great. But they didn't want the leaders to hear it. Because uh they didn't know what the leaders would do to them. If I say that I am for Jesus to these leaders who are against Jesus, what will that do to me? And how will that uh cause me to just speak out loud or not? But people were talking about him, people were wondering about him, people were you know coming up with ideals of who this Jesus was. And as we looked at last chapter, but they still didn't understand fully the breadth of who Jesus was. They were missing who Jesus was declaring to them who he was. They were missing the fact that there's much more to who he was than they were perceiving or they were hoping to get out of him, going back to that. I'm coming back because I want more fish, I'm coming back because I want more healing, and then once I get it, I'll go off and do my own thing. Jesus wants us to come to him for him, to know him, to grow in him, to be changed by him. And again, there are reasons for the way he went about doing things. And at this time, he is secretly traveling by himself, coming down to Jerusalem for the feast of the tabernacles. Now, verse 14 about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. He arrived secretly, and then all of a sudden, he is in front of everybody, and he's teaching. Now he's not in the temple, he is in one of the courtyards of the temple area where the people were gathering, but that's where he would set up and he spoke. And because he spoke in the midst of the crowd, you know, the Jewish leaders kind of had their hands tied. They they couldn't go and arrest them because that would start a ruckus. And if you start a ruckus, then you get Rome upset, and you don't want to get Rome upset. So they kind of just let him do what he was doing. And the Jews marveled, saying, How does this man know letters, having never studied? Since they knew they couldn't seize him at that moment, they started listening to what he was saying. And Jesus was teaching from the scriptures, and uh they knew that he wasn't trained by any rabbi, at least none that they knew of. And they know he came from Galilee, and you know, Galileans, they aren't so sharp. That was the attitude at the time. They marveled, you know, because when he spoke, he spoke with authority. When he taught, it was it was like the words of God, just like it, right? And it caused them to think a little bit, what how is this? But apparently not enough for them to change their perspective on who he was. And Jesus knew that they were saying this among themselves, the leaders. How could he say this? He's from He's from Galilee. He he teaches like nobody else have ever taught, but he's never gone to school. And Jesus discerned that they were saying this. And he declared, for everyone to hear, my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. My doctrine, my teaching, the things that I'm sharing with you, they're not mine. I didn't come up with this, but it's the will of him who sent me. If anyone wills to do his will, the Father, he shall know concerning the doctrine whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority. Here he's challenging people, the leaders specifically. If you know the word, if you know the scriptures, and you hear how I'm teaching them, you should know that this is coming from the Lord, because I'm not adding anything to it, I'm not subtracting anything from it, I'm expounding on what the Father has given us in the scriptures. And if you, leaders of Israel, know the word, this should connect with you. Now, the problem with the Jews, the leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they kind of added to the word, didn't they? They kind of added all these new rules to it to keep people under a yoke and under the pretense of helping them understand what God really meant by these words. And because there was so much of that that went on, they they've kind of lost sight of what the word actually said. And to actually hear from the Lord Himself. So he's saying, you ought to know that what I am teaching is true because it comes from the word, it comes from Scripture. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, which is an implication that that's mostly what they were doing. The religious leaders loved to be venerated, they loved to be acknowledged. Here comes Rabbi so-and-so to share with us today. Oh, we just love to hear from Rabbi so-and-so. And I think we could do that in our church today at large. How many pastors do you do you listen to on the radio because of their name? And how many of those pastors like it to be acknowledged? But I know there are a lot of pastors out there that have done well and are on big platforms, and yet they don't like that the attention is to them. They want to put the attention on the Lord. That should be all of our hearts, right? It's not about me, it's it's about the Lord. We are here to learn from the Lord. But it's really easy to fall into, well, you know, the Lord chose me to share with you, and so it's right to exalt me a little bit, right? Right? We need to be careful. And he's speaking directly to the religious leaders because that was their heart. They were seeking their own glory and not the Father. But he, implying himself, who seeks the glory of the one who sent him, pointing to the Father, is true and has no unrighteousness in him. He's talking about himself, but he's talking about not talking about himself, so he's talking in the third person. But he has to make these points because he has come to reveal himself to the world, but he has not come to glorify himself. Does that make sense? He is the answer to our sin problem. He is the answer to bring us into reconciliation with the Father. And at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord. So that has to be known, but it's not like I need as my position as a man, I'm not seeking glory for myself. I am seeking glory for the Father. And so he had an interesting way of working around that. But the point is, he's declaring that I came from the Father. I declare his heart from the Word. The things that I say are true, and I am sinless. There is no unrighteousness in me. And that's a necessity because the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has to be spotless. And you know that from the scriptures. Whenever you brought a sacrifice, it needs to be spotless. Otherwise, it doesn't count. So he's declaring that I am spotless and I'm standing before you. Do you understand? Do you receive? Do you understand the implications to this? And then he goes, Did not Moses give you the law? And of course, they exalted the law, which was good because they were keepers of the law, and the law reflects the heart of God. The law reflects the righteousness of God. But the law also reflects our absolute inability to fulfill it. The law is good in that it reveals to us our sin, but it doesn't give us any power to take care of the sin problem. Jesus is coming to take care of the sin problem. But they were still stuck in the law. They thought that we could fulfill the law and gain God's blessing. But he points out, you know, you think you're following the law, but you know, none of you really keeps the law. I am the fulfillment of the law. And you're seeking to kill me because you think I've broken the law? How can you say that when you don't even know how to keep the law? And you're seeking to kill me. And he's talking directly to the Jewish leaders, which the crowds did not realize were out to kill him. So in verse 20, the people answered and said, You have a demon who is seeking to kill you. I mean, you got most of this crowd is out seeking to hear from you, to learn from you. You know, they're for you. What do you mean we're out to kill you? And Jesus answered and said to them, I did one work, and you all marvel. He did one work. The last time he was there for another feast, you remember that? He was at the pool of Bethia. And there was a man that was paralyzed for 34 years, something like that. And Jesus came up to him and asked him if he wanted to be healed. And the guy had all these excuses of why he couldn't be healed to be thrown in the water and this and that. And Jesus told him in chapter 5, beginning of verse 8, he said to him, Rise up and take up your bed and walk. Jesus didn't wait for him to say, Yes, I want to be healed. He said, You just need to be healed. Get up. And immediately the man was made well. And he took up his bed and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and told the man to go walk, pick up his bed and walk. That is work. That is against the law. And the Jews therefore said to him who was cured, It is the Sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your bed. I don't know if they didn't realize as this man has been paralyzed and could not walk for 34 years, and all of a sudden he's walking. Isn't that like something to celebrate? Something big happened? Instead, they said, You're breaking the law, you're carrying your bed. And the man who was healed answered them and he said, He who made me well said to me, Take up your bed and walk. You know, I think what this dude said overrides what you say. It was pretty powerful. I mean, he's obviously from God. And at this point, he didn't really know who Jesus was. He just knows this guy came and he healed me. And it was like nothing I've ever experienced before. Just a freedom, a life, a love. And he told me to get up and walk and carry my bed. And I could, and so I did. And you're asking me why I'm walking with my bed? Well, I don't know. You go ask this dude. Well, going back, Jesus is talking about that instance. And in verse 22, he said, Moses therefore gave you circumcision, not that uh it is from Moses, but from the fathers. Circumcision came predates the law. And you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. When a male child was born, it was prescribed that on the eighth day that child should be circumcised. And it needs to be the eighth day. So if it works out that the eighth day is Saturday, then it would not be considered work, but you know, a holy thing to be done on the Sabbath. And it was not only accepted, but it was required. That boy needs to be circumcised on the eighth day. Now, if a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken. Are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? I think of what the Apostle Paul considered circumcision, or at least the wrong use of circumcision. He called it the mutilation. Because it's a cutting away of the foreskin. It's not a comfortable thing. It's destroying in a way, it's bringing harm to the body. You know, something that was there was now being removed. There's blood involved. And of course, Paul was upset about it because circumcision pointed to a change of heart that would come with the gospel. And when people were coming to faith in the Lord and being changed by the Lord in areas that were Gentile, the Jews would come in and say, if you really want to be saved, you need to be circumcised. And Paul is saying, that's just mutilation at this point. It has nothing to do with their salvation. Jesus secured our salvation. And if you're circumcised or not, when you come to faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus changes you from the inside out. And Jesus is kind of using a similar tone here. The circumcision is uh is kind of uh a rough thing to do to somebody on the Sabbath day when you're supposed to be resting. But I am bringing life and wellness on the Sabbath, and you're you have that against me? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. Don't just go and make your decisions based on what it looks like is happening here. But go back, study, and pray. Is there something I'm missing here, Lord? Is there a bigger picture you're trying to show me? Because we look back, and it's easy for us to say, well, we we know that Jesus is right and that and that he's declaring who he is, and they're just missing it. And if I were there, I would I would have gotten it, you know, and and that's not necessarily the case, but we we benefit from knowing the story. And we understand the bigger picture. But how do we look at what's going on in our world today? How do we look at how we're perceiving other people today? Are we making a judgment call on people based on what we perceive as going on in their hearts? Or do we step back and say, Lord, what's going on in their hearts? What is it that you want me to see in this situation? This rule that I found in your word, am I applying it correctly? Am I understanding your heart in this matter? Or am I just acting as judge and jury and passing judgment on people? When it comes down to it, we need the Lord's discernment. When it comes down to it, as we kind of looked at at the beginning, are we living our lives with the Lord, where we say, Thanks, Lord, I went to church, now I'm gonna do my own thing? Or are we living our lives recognizing that the Lord has purchased us and we have completely surrendered our lives to Him, and we say, Lord, have your way with me, be glorified through my life, share with me your heart, your insight. Give me your mind, give me your heart, change me from the inside out, because I realize that my ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts. So I want to align myself with you and be used by you to touch others in a way that will bring them to the Lord and and not push them away. Let's ponder these things. Ponder the fact that Jesus had trouble with his own family. They didn't know who he was, they didn't recognize who he was. And I think a lot of us too have problems with our own families, where they don't understand our relationship with the Lord, they don't understand their need to surrender all and to take the word of God literally and to be changed by Him. So we recognize those things, how do we respond to those things? How do we respond to others in the community? And uh addressing Marxism in the church and at culture in large, how do we respond in those situations? We call out what is wrong and we declare the truth, but we need to do it in a way that we're not doing it in our flesh that push people away, but that the power of the Holy Spirit were work in and through us, that through the kindness, as we study the spiritual gift of kindness, would lead them to repentance and to a relationship with the Lord, which is the goal, isn't it? That people would come to know the Lord. And of course, if tons of people come to know the Lord and surrender to Him and are changed by Him and have a whole new perspective on life, that will change society and culture, won't it? Lots of things to consider. They're all good, but they're challenging as well. Aren't they? Father, thank you for sharing your heart with us. And Lord, thank you for giving the Apostle John the insight to share some of the struggles that you had as a man, declaring the truth to a confused world. You came to your own and you were rejected. Even your own earthly family made fun of you and kind of rejected you like they rejected Joseph. And we thank you for that. We're also saddened that you had to go through things like that. At least in my simplistic mind, it it would have been so good just to see the whole world repent and turn to you, and we live in harmony, and it's great. But we re recognize it's a great spiritual battle as well. So we pray that you would fill us anew so that we would empty ourselves of ourselves and be filled with you that, as you said, anyone who would come after you, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow after me. Help us to deny ourselves. It's so easy to fall back into our flesh, into our worldly way of thinking. But Lord, give us your heart, give us your mind, give us your compassion and kindness for others. Help us in our lives, in our deeds, our actions, and in our words to lead people to the cross, where we find the answer to all these problems. We thank you, Lord, and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

That's Pastor Carl of the Mountain Cross on Come On Up. We're currently going through the book of John. We're so glad you've been with us, and we know there's so much to get out of this gospel book. One of the most powerful moments is in a well-known passage in John chapter 3. Jesus is meeting with Nicodemus and explaining what it means to be born again, not physically, but spiritually. As you might have memorized, Jesus speaks this to Nicodemus, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What a promise from God! It sounds so easy, right? But sometimes the pressures of life can push you further away from wanting a relationship with God. Let me tell you, the most important decision you'll ever make is being in right relationship with God. He wants you with him for eternity. So don't be waiting around for the right moment. The best time to choose Jesus is now. If you'd like to learn more about what all of this means, head over to themouncross.com and click on How to Know God. The Mountain Cross is a group of believers in Jesus who seek to grow in faith by simply teaching the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We meet on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville. We look forward to worshiping with you. Well, that's all for today, but come on up to the mountain with us again as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come On Up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.