Jesus was often criticized by religious people for spending time with sinners. They believed holiness meant separation, but Jesus showed that holiness moves toward people, not away. He didn’t avoid the broken – he ate with them, loved them, and invited them in. Today, we’re tempted to isolate ourselves in the safety of Christian bubbles. But when we do, we separate ourselves from the world God gave his life for.
People in Jesus’ day – and today – criticize or abandon Jesus when he doesn’t meet their expectations. This message explores historical messianic expectations, Jesus’ subversion of those expectations, and the modern tendency to either bolt from God or sculpt him into our own image. Instead, accept Jesus as he is, rather than making him into who you want.
Jesus didn’t just heal the paralyzed man – he forgave his sin and claimed an authority that only belongs to God. That’s the scandal: Jesus doesn’t just teach like God or love like God – he is God. That was hard to accept then, and it still is now. But if it’s true, everything changes. Because if Jesus is God, your forgiveness is real – and the debt is already paid.
Jesus was criticized for breaking the rules, but what he really broke were the human traditions that distorted God’s law. He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it with justice, mercy, and love. If your rule-keeping gets in the way of loving people, you’ve missed God’s heart. Jesus didn’t come to make you love the rules – he came to set you free to love like him.
