WEBVTT 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:07.120 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:08.240 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:10.400 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:17.280 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:27.280 Hey MetaCurch, thank you so much for streaming with us today. 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:29.039 If you're new with us, my name's Clayton. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:34.799 I'm the lead pastor here at MetaCurch, and we are in this crazy time right now. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:40.000 Our venues are still closed, but we are streaming together and serving together. 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:45.280 We are finding ways all the time to get involved in our community and make a difference in our city. 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:49.280 We're also trying to bring encouraging content as often as we can. 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.000 So make sure that you're following us online. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:54.960 We're on Facebook, we're also on Instagram. 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:01.920 You can also go to metachurch.tv to stay updated and to watch uh past series or past sermons. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:11.040 Here at MetaCurch, we're very simply a gathering of ordinary people who are living extraordinary lives as a part of the movement of Jesus. 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:16.000 I know right now so many people are out of work, entire businesses are closing down. 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:18.079 It is a hard, hard time. 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:28.000 And yet, in hard times, we see historically that is when the church has risen up to bring hope and peace and the true hope that comes from Jesus. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:29.599 This movement matters. 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:39.840 And so if you are a part of this movement and you are still receiving income, please be doing your part to help fund this thing that's really impacting real people's lives. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:41.280 You can give in a couple ways. 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:49.120 You can give online at metachurch.tv by hitting the give button, or the easiest way to give is by downloading the MetaCurch app. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:55.840 One of the best things about being the pastor here at MetaCurch is the unbelievable staff that I get to work with. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:00.719 They have so many different talents, and today we have a very special message. 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:03.519 You guys know Noel as our worship pastor. 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:14.159 He's helped create a culture of worship through his music here, but he also has a gift in preaching, and there's something on his heart that he's been waiting to share with you guys. 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:15.680 I can't wait for you to hear it. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:18.639 I hope that you guys enjoy the rest of the service. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:23.680 Well, hey, MetaCurch, we want to welcome you to another weekend of streaming online. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:33.840 And I just got to tell you guys, MetaCurch is so encouraged by how you've stuck with us over the last three months and continue to join us on the different platforms that we're streaming on. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.360 You're interacting with the posts that we're doing throughout the week. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.240 And let me just tell you that right now is a very unique time. 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:44.639 It's probably the easiest time to invite someone to church. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:49.680 And so I want to encourage you to go ahead and hit that share button on the stream. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:53.280 You never know what life you can change in your friends list. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:57.919 If you're new to MetaCurch, my name is Noel and I am your worship pastor. 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:06.000 But occasionally, Pastor Clayton will give me the opportunity to share my heart and maybe a little bit different of a style. 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:14.960 A couple months ago in our Wonder Week series, Pastor Clayton asked if I would be willing to teach one of the weekends, and I, of course, said yes, and I was very grateful for that opportunity. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:18.319 But COVID hit, and it hit right on the weekend. 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:20.400 We decided to close our venue. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:26.240 And so Pastor Clayton and I decided it might be better for him to kind of address that situation first. 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:30.560 But now I'm here to go ahead and share that message with you today. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:41.120 If you'll remember in Wonder Week, we are actually looking at the seven days leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus and how he revealed himself in different ways to the people around him. 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:47.439 On the weekend that I was scheduled to teach, we're going to look at Jesus as a rabbi, which just means teacher. 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:48.719 And that is what Jesus did. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.840 He went around the countryside teaching all those who would listen. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:57.280 And after he ascended into heaven, his disciples continued that tradition and taught what he had taught. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:00.319 And that's continued on for the last 2,000 years. 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:06.240 So in light of looking at Jesus as a teacher, I'm calling this week's talk masterclass. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:07.680 Will you guys pray with me? 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:12.560 Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that we have an opportunity to learn more about you. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:15.680 Holy Spirit, I pray that you would speak to everyone that's listening today. 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:21.839 God, reveal something new to them about you through the words that you've given me to share. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:25.439 We love you, Jesus, and we pray all this in your name. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:26.399 Amen. 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:33.759 Now, when I say Jesus was a teacher, I'm sure that you made a natural connection to education, right? 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:42.399 And on a social uh streaming platform like what we're experiencing right now, there's probably a wide variety of points of views on what education is like. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:52.240 Like some of you started from kindergarten to your senior year in high school and had perfect attendance, straight A's, and then there were others of you who maybe didn't like school that much. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:57.120 It wasn't necessarily that you were bad at it, but you just couldn't wait to get out of it. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:03.120 Now you may be wondering where I stand on all this, and I have to tell you, uh I really loved school. 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:10.160 I mean, I must have loved school because after high school, I spent eight years in college and I never even got a degree. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:19.439 I didn't get an undergraduate degree, I didn't get a graduate degree, and I certainly did not get a PhD, which I did go to school long enough to receive. 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:24.240 And in case you haven't figured it out, I am one of those that wasn't a huge fan of school. 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:33.920 In fact, to this very day, I still have nightmares about coming to the end of a college semester and realizing that I haven't been to class one single time. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:37.279 And then I wake up feeling so relieved. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:39.920 Eight years in college, that is a long time. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:48.240 But to be fair to myself, the first five years I was getting a business management degree, but in reality, all I was doing was playing music and dropping classes. 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:56.480 I got a little bit smarter at the end of those five years and decided, Noel, if you want to play music so much, maybe you should get a music degree. 00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:01.439 And so I auditioned for the School of Music at UTSA and I got in. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:04.399 Now I wish I could say that my attendance got better. 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:07.759 It didn't really, but I did enjoy my classes a lot more. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:13.600 I had some really wonderful professors that taught me all sorts of things, like recording in a music studio. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:17.279 I got to learn about the progression of music throughout history. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:24.079 Most of these classes were geared towards teaching me or training me to teach or play professionally. 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:29.839 And probably my favorite class, oddly enough, was music theory, which isn't most people's favorite class. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:38.720 It was amazing to me that over the course of time, many people had compiled a list of rules or laws that defined exactly how music worked. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.519 And all music falls under these laws. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:48.800 Now it's up to us to figure out how to apply these laws of music into our degree plan. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:52.160 And application is always the hardest part of learning anything. 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:54.720 This is where the rubber meets the road. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:07:02.000 This was never more clear to me than in a class that required us to have an end of semester music jury. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:11.600 And most of you are very blessed to have no idea what I'm talking about, but some of us that are watching have experienced this end of semester music jury. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:15.920 And what this is, is you go into a room and you have a panel of judges. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.240 And these are made up of professional musicians. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:28.560 I'm talking like San Antonio Symphony members, PhD holders, other professors in the school, and you go in front of them and you play a piece of prepared music that you worked on for the whole semester. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:33.439 And based off of this one performance, you receive a grade. 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.439 Luckily, you didn't have to completely go through this process alone. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:42.480 Throughout the semester, you had a private instructor that would help you learn how to play this music. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:44.879 And I had just a really unique instructor. 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:48.480 His name was Sumner Erickson, and he was this hippie from Austin. 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:52.800 And I don't mean like how San Antonians will make the joke, like, oh, those hippies from Austin. 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.120 Like this guy was legitimately a hippie. 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:58.959 He wore a tie-dye shirt to every uh meeting we had. 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:09.680 He had a handkerchief that he wore around his neck, and he put magnets inside of it because he was convinced that the magnets resonated with the natural vibrations of the earth, thus making him stronger. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:16.560 Now, I don't know if that was true or not, and eccentricities aside, Sumner was an amazing musician. 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:20.240 I learned so much from him in the four semesters that he taught me. 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:24.240 But there's one lesson that stood out from all the others. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:27.600 And I learned this in what we call a master class. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:38.879 And a masterclass is when an instructor has his entire group of students come together and he teaches them a broad concept, something that he or she wouldn't teach them on an individual level. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:48.240 And as I was sitting in this master class, uh all the students started asking questions about their impending music jury, like, how are we going to be graded? 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:49.919 How are we going to be judged? 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:55.679 What were these judges looking for to see that we understood so we could get a better grade? 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:59.600 And Sumner politely answered most of these questions. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:03.039 But with every answer came another question. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:05.919 Sumner would answer and someone would say, but what about this? 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:07.200 Or, but what about that? 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:12.000 And finally, Sumner just sat quietly after a question was asked. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:15.200 And instead of answering, he asked us a question back. 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:24.000 He said, What doesn't matter is how you're going to be judged gonna change the way you practice or perform at this jury? 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:27.519 Well, the short answer is yes, of course it would. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:32.639 I mean, who wouldn't prepare differently if they knew how they were going to be judged? 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:35.519 But Sumner taught with a philosophy. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:42.879 He wanted to do more than teach us how to play notes on a page, he wanted to teach us how to play music, and there is quite a big difference. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:48.559 Like anyone at some level can learn how to play notes on an instrument. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:56.320 But when you can interpret music and play with emotion, you take a performance and change it into an experience. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:58.720 Summer boiled it down for us. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:01.600 He said, play with passion and play with purpose. 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:05.759 And if we could do those two things, the rest would take care of itself. 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:10.559 Now, I don't feel like the questions we were asking were silly. 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.519 Because it's a life, isn't that what we all want to know? 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:17.200 How are we being measured by the world around us? 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:22.639 Just like in my masterclass, we all want some sort of metric to know how we're doing in life. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:25.360 I mean, everything in life has some sort of measurement. 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:31.279 Like your time on earth can be divided by decades, years, months, weeks, days. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:38.399 Like you know you're doing well in a job by getting a promotion or a raise, and you know you're doing poorly in a job if you get a demotion. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:44.240 I mean, even your car will tell you how far you can drive before you need to get gas. 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:46.000 Metrics are not a bad thing. 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:50.320 They can give us helpful information that can uh help us improve our lives. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:11:00.639 Like when you go to a doctor and you get your blood pressure check, there's a system of metrics that tell you whether you're in a healthy blood pressure range or an unhealthy blood pressure range. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:08.559 And based off of what you uh hear back from the metrics, you can make changes in your diet and exercise to get to a healthy blood pressure level. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:17.120 Metrics can be extremely useful in our lives, but if we're not careful, metrics can turn into nothing more than checklists. 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:25.200 And there's nothing wrong with checklists, but if my masterclass had taught me anything, is that there has to be something more behind the checklist. 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:35.600 Like you can check all the boxes of having a good marriage, like being a good husband or a good wife, you can do your fair share of the dishes, do your fair share of the nighttime routine with the kids. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:41.200 But if your heart's not in it, then you're always gonna fall short of that great marriage you're looking for. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:49.039 And we've all worked with people who are following the policy to get promoted at work, but aren't actually interested in bettering their organization. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:52.559 We can do this as a movement of Jesus. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:12:01.360 It seems like there's so many religious rules and regulations, but how do we get out of these checklists and truly live for something greater? 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:03.519 Metrics are nothing new. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:07.120 In fact, the Jewish people lived by a system of metrics. 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:11.279 It was called the law, and there was 613 of them. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:14.960 And this law held a very specific purpose for the Jewish people. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:26.559 And as comes with law, there was a law enforcement, if you will, and the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and they were kind of tasked with making sure everybody was doing the right things, following the law the right way. 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:34.399 And so when Jesus came onto the scene in the New Testament and challenged some commonly held beliefs about this law, they had to do something about it. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:45.440 You have to realize that these Pharisees and Sadducees had already seen Jesus ride in on a donkey into Jerusalem, and he was lauded as Hosanna and the highest by the people around him. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:53.039 He had gone into the temple and flipped over the tax collector's table and kicked the tax collectors out of his father's house. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:13:04.159 He began to gain influence with the people, and if he gained influence with the people, that means the Pharisees and the Sadducees were losing influence with the people, and something had to be done about it. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:09.200 So we're gonna pick up the story in Matthew 22, verse 15. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:15.759 Says, Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him, Jesus, and his words. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.200 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:25.120 Teacher, they said, We know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:28.960 You aren't swayed by men because you pay no attention to who they are. 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:31.679 Tell us then, what is your opinion? 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:35.039 Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:44.879 And so these disciples of the Pharisees and these Herodians came out and they asked Jesus a seemingly simple question: Should we pay taxes to Caesar? 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.360 But it was a trap, and here's why it was a trap. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:53.519 The Pharisees, who only believed in their Jewish scriptures, thought they only owed money to God, their tithe, their 10%. 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:59.039 And these Herodians, who were also Jewish people, were sympathetic and supportive of the local government. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:02.320 And so they thought you should pay taxes to Caesar. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:06.480 So no matter how Jesus answered, it seemed like he would be in a pickle, right? 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:13.279 If he sided with the Pharisees and said, You don't owe taxes to Caesar, then the Herodians would come against him with the full force of the government. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:21.039 And if he sided with the Herodians and said, No, you should pay taxes to Caesar, then the Pharisees would come against him with the full force of the law. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:29.840 But Jesus saw through this, it says in verse 18, Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:32.240 Show me the coin used for paying the tax. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:37.039 They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, Whose portrait is this and whose inscription? 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:38.720 Caesar's, they replied. 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:43.519 Then he said to them, Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:45.360 And when they heard this, they were amazed. 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:47.919 So they left him and went away. 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:52.159 I think Jesus did what any good teacher does with a complex question. 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:54.879 He kind of brings it down to the lowest common denominator. 00:14:54.960 --> 00:15:01.759 He was saying, Listen, Pharisees, you already know what your law says, and you already know that you owe God your 10% your tithe. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:03.519 But also look at this coin. 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:05.120 This is the money in your land. 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:08.720 Whose face is on this and whose inscription is on this? 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:10.320 Well, it was Caesar's. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:12.879 And so he said, Give to Caesar what is Caesar? 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.360 And give to God what is God. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:20.960 The Pharisees had nothing to say to this, and so they walked away. 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:28.480 In verse 23, it says, That same day, the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:36.159 Teacher, they said, Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:38.240 Now there were seven brothers among us. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:42.720 The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:46.799 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:48.720 Finally, the woman died. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:52.559 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven? 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:55.279 Since all of them were married to her. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:02.879 The Sadducees were taking their turn at trying to trap Jesus, and this time they were trying to trap him in his own teaching. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.840 Because Jesus commonly taught the resurrection of the dead. 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:12.639 And this was something that the Sadducees didn't believe because it wasn't directly spoken about in the Jewish scriptures. 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:17.440 And so they asked him a question: whose wife would this woman be if she married seven different husbands? 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:21.519 If there's a resurrection of the dead, whose wife is she in heaven? 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:23.519 They thought they could trap him. 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:25.840 And then they could discredit him in his teaching. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:30.799 And if they could discredit him, then they could start making making him lose influence. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.279 But Jesus answered them. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:39.039 He replied in verse 29, You are in error because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:42.879 At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given a marriage. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:45.120 They will be like the angels in heaven. 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:49.360 But about the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you? 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.879 I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:55.200 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:59.360 And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:04.319 So Jesus answers the first question they ask about whose wife will this woman be? 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:06.559 And he simply says, There is no marriage in heaven. 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:10.559 And he doesn't just say it because he believes it, he references their scripture. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:13.839 He says, We have a model of what we're going to be like in the angels. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.279 The angels are not married. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:24.880 And so some of you just heard that that are married and got really sad because you love your husband or wife so much and you can't imagine not spending eternity in heaven with them, and that's super sweet. 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:29.440 And some of you got really excited that you're not going to be married in heaven anymore. 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:32.480 And if that's you, we have classes for that. 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:34.000 And we'll encourage you. 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:35.359 I'm just joking, that's not true. 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:40.079 But we have an example in the angels, and they're not married, and so we're not going to be married. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:43.839 But then Jesus answers the actual question that was asked. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.519 And it was about his teaching of the resurrection of the dead. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:49.599 And he uses their scripture again. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:55.759 He says, Have you not read, you Sadducees, you keepers of the law, have you not read what God said to you? 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:02.799 I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, three guys who have been dead for a very long time at this point. 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.279 And then he continues with the scripture. 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:08.240 He says, He is not the God of the dead, but the living. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:09.920 He puts them in the present tense. 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.079 They're not dead, they're actually living. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:16.240 Your idea of what uh death is is wrong. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:19.839 The body may die, but the soul still lives. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:25.200 They were an error, they didn't know the scriptures or the power of God. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:30.640 The Sadducees left them, they had nothing to say to that. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:34.960 And so they had to do something to trap Jesus. 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:42.720 So far, they had presented him with these scenarios for him to answer, these questions for him to answer, but now they're gonna change their approach. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:47.680 They're gonna uh ask him something directly about the law. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:58.480 And so they send a lawyer to him in verse 35, it says, one of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:08.400 This wasn't only a trap, it was kind of like a trick question because as long as the law had existed, nobody had been able to put an order of importance on the law, and they had tried. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:11.039 And most people decided that it couldn't be done. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:14.960 And so I'm not convinced that this lawyer necessarily cared how Jesus answered. 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:18.160 I think he cared to know if Jesus would answer. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:24.400 Like, would Jesus have the audacity to answer this question that has gone unanswered for so long? 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:29.599 The short answer is yes, he would have that audacity because he was God. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:41.039 But it's at this point that I believe that Jesus recognized something in his opposition that Sumner had recognized in us, his students, in that masterclass, that they were getting lost in the checklist. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:46.880 It didn't matter how many questions he answered, there was always gonna be another question to follow it. 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:52.720 He had to teach them something broad, just the way a teacher would do in a master class. 00:19:53.279 --> 00:20:00.000 And so Jesus replied to them, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:02.640 This is the first and greatest commandment. 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:05.839 Then he gave them a bonus answer. 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:09.119 And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:13.039 All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:21.119 This lawyer had only asked him what the greatest commandment was, and he answered it, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:24.559 But he follows it up with a second, love your neighbor as yourself. 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:27.599 And it's really interesting because he ties these two things together. 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:32.240 He doesn't put them sequentially, he doesn't say, first, love the Lord your God and then love your neighbor. 00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:38.640 He says, Love the Lord your God, and the second is like it, like it, equal to it, tied to it, love your neighbor. 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:43.119 A metachurch we say it like this: you have to love God and love people. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:52.799 Jesus was taking the notes of their checklist and helping them see the bigger masterpiece that he was creating. 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:57.440 If they could get this one teaching right, every law would be satisfied. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:03.440 Jesus really wanted them to take the knowledge that they had in their heads and make it truth in their hearts. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:08.559 And if they could do that, they could go from a checklist of laws into a lifestyle of love. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:19.359 Everyone that had surrounded Jesus that day, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the crowds had unknowingly come to a masterclass of the greatest teacher that ever existed. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:25.839 You know, I could learn how to play all the notes and I could learn all the laws of music theory. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:33.119 But my private instructor, Sumner, showed me it all boils down to play with passion and play with purpose. 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:36.640 And if I could do those two things, everything else will fall into line. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:45.920 Jesus says, you can have all the head knowledge of scripture and religion, but it's worth nothing if you can't take that knowledge from your head and make it truth in your heart. 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:48.559 You have to love God and love people. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:52.559 You really have to decide how you see Jesus today. 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:59.599 Like, was Jesus just some guy who said some good things over 2,000 years ago, or is he truly the great rabbi? 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:03.119 The teacher that we follow no matter what. 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:07.519 Because if he's a teacher, that means he has something to teach us. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:12.799 And if we listen to that teaching, we have to learn it and we have to apply it. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:17.039 And application is always the hardest part of learning anything. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.480 Jesus told us to love God and to love people. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:25.920 And it's hard in our world and our culture because so many times we're taught to do the exact opposite. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:30.160 And listen, I know you're going through it, and I've said this before, and I'll say it again. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.119 I know you're going through it because I'm going through it. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:35.599 We at MetaCurch are going through it. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.480 I know you've been hurt, and I know you've been judged. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:47.440 I know you've been treated unfairly, and not just by people you have like minimal interaction with, but oftentimes by the people you love most in your life. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:49.200 Jesus knows it too. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:50.799 In fact, he lived it. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.720 In much of his ministry, Jesus was being made to feel unwelcome. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:59.279 He's being ridiculed and threatened and overlooked, denied, and betrayed. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.480 And still, he loved the people in this world enough to die on a cross for them. 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:09.680 He showed them what love should look like as he hung on a cross. 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:15.920 He took the individual notes of the law and he turned them into a symphony of salvation. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:21.680 So are you ready to give up that checklist that you've been living your life by? 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:28.559 That checklist that makes you a performer of religion rather than a member of God's orchestra. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:32.160 I love how Pastor Clayton preaches this teaching of Jesus. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:39.519 He says that your vertical relationship with Jesus can only be as strong as your horizontal relationship with his children. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:43.759 So how do we love our neighbor as yourself? 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:48.240 You give them the grace and the forgiveness that you've been given. 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:51.920 You give up your right to be vindicated in certain situations. 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:57.920 You forgive that person who's wronged you, who's spoken poorly of you behind your back, who spread those rumors. 00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:01.759 You forgive that person that completely uprooted your life. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:03.599 You pray for them. 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:12.880 You choose not to pay back the evil that someone has done to you with the evil that you so desperately want to do to them. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:23.440 In every situation, you have to try to see the people around you not by the sum total of their actions, but rather as children of God that he desperately wants to redeem. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:28.400 But if you're gonna do that, you have to see yourself in a new light. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:42.480 I want you to make the change from being a victim to a victor, a change from being conquered to a conqueror through Jesus, from being an agent of condemnation to an agent of redemption. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:46.880 Because loving those around us is how we show our love for God. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:55.279 And if you can do that, you'll stop living for the checklist of religion and start living with purpose and passion for the kingdom of God. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:56.960 Will you guys pray with me? 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:02.559 Heavenly Father, we're again just so grateful for Jesus. 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:04.720 We're thankful for what he taught us. 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:20.400 Father, I pray that you would reveal to us as we go through our days and our weeks, Father, how we can love those people around us as ourselves, God, because we know that when we love those around us, we are showing our love for you. 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:24.160 God, we thank you for the incredible blessing that you've given us. 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:30.319 Father, I pray that we would focus on the good and trust you for the stuff that's not going so well in our life. 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:34.720 We love you, Jesus, and it's in your precious and holy name that we pray this. 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:35.759 Amen. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:40.880 MetaCurch, again, I want to thank you for joining us for today's service. 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:43.440 Don't forget to be generous with your giving. 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:48.000 There will be a link in the comments on Facebook or whatever platform you're watching on. 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:49.119 We love you guys so much. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.640 We'll see you soon. 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:56.480 Thanks so much for listening to the message today. 00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:01.839 If this was helpful to you and you want to help us get the word out, you can subscribe to this podcast. 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:05.039 You can rate and review or share it with your friends. 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:11.839 If you want to get connected further with what MetaCurch is doing, you can go online to metachurch.tv. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.319 There you can learn how to take next steps. 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:22.319 You can learn where our different venues are at if you ever wanted to visit, and you can also give financially to help push this movement forward. 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:26.000 Man, I love you guys and I hope you have a great rest of your day.