Good evening. It's a blessing to be here as we worship our God on this day of rest. Please turn in Luke chapter 14, verses 1 through 6. You should find that on page 1,038 of your Pew Bibles. Luke chapter 14, verses 1 through 6. In Luke, we find Jesus on a journey to Jerusalem. On his way, he engages in preaching and teaching, and also in a number of meals, a number of dinners. And in this passage, we find Jesus at a dinner, not only with rich people, but also with the poor. And this is with the Pharisees, so something is bound to happen. Let's read Luke chapter 14, verses one through six. This is the word of God. One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out? And they could not reply to these things. Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you for the blessing of your word. We thank you that we can read it. In a country that gives us the freedom to do so, we thank you. for the truths that you give to us. And we pray, Lord, that we would heed your word and that it would cut us to the heart, that we'd seek after you with all we have, and that in you we would find true rest. So in the name of Christ, we pray these things. Amen. What question do you think has caused the most unrest throughout history? What question has kept people up for hours on end? What question have the philosophers spent grueling years attempting to provide a reasonable response to? Perhaps you might think that's the question of the existence of God. Maybe the purpose of man. Other classic questions are, when will the world end? What's right and wrong? How do I know that I know? All these questions have certainly caused a lot of distress over the ages. But what questions keep you up at night? What questions make your day drag along as you nervously ponder them? Such as, when will my problems be fixed? Where does God want me to go next? How am I supposed to balance all my responsibilities? When will my spouse or kids or parents or teachers get their act together? When can I just relax? When will my sorrows end? What's for dinner tonight? So do you think, in all these questions, is there a common factor? Is there a response that would solve every single stressful question of mankind and of your life? Imagine if you no longer had to spend hours on end pondering questions and anxiety because you already had the one response that solved them all. Well, all these questions are similar in that they concern rest. They're all essentially asking where, or how, or in what do I find rest? Questions concerning stress, distress, unrest, also all concern rest. We've all asked at some point in time where, or how, or in what do I find rest? So we'll call this the question of rest. And the setting of this narrative is perfect for asking this question because it takes place on the Sabbath day. Literally that Hebrew word Shabbat referred to a period of time that a group was to rest or to cease. So it was on this day that Jesus and the Pharisees crossed paths. And they weren't at some conference discussing what rest was. They were there on the Sabbath day acting according to their response to this question of rest. And so this is the very question that is asked and answered in this text. There's three main parties here. One has no response, and two have very different responses. So whose response will be put to rest? And whose response will rest as true? Now as we continue to dive into God's word, you will see that the Holy Spirit teaches you in this passage that you must find true rest in Jesus Christ. Find true rest in Jesus Christ. So we'll consider three aspects of rest. Find true rest in the response of Christ, in the release of Christ, and in the reality of Christ. The response, release, and reality of Christ. So first, where do you find true rest? Find true rest in the response of Christ. Now as you walk into this passage, you enter a battle scene. The Pharisees have invited Jesus into their home court, and it doesn't look like a fair fight. The ruler of the Pharisees has his gang behind him, famous boxers like Rocky. They only had to take on one fighter at a time, but Jesus is encircled in this ring. But this fight's different than a boxing match. Instead of left and right hooks, the blow consists of questions and responses. Questions and responses. In fact, the passage here opens up with a question. Jesus was invited to their house, and then look at verse 2. There's no reason for the Pharisees to have an unclean man at their home in their courtyard on the Sabbath day. In fact, that would be quite odd. As strict followers of the law, the Pharisees would detest the presence of an unclean sinner, especially on the Sabbath day. Can you imagine a modern Pharisee in their suit and tie inviting the dirty, smelly, sick man off the street to their house for Sunday lunch? No, this wasn't normal. It was a trap. A trap and a question. And Jesus saw this as a question because he responded to it. That's what it says in verse three. And Jesus responded. And you have to be impressed with his response because he completely flips this question back on the Pharisees by asking them a question that he knew they could not respond to. Now look at verse three. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? And to this they chose to remain silent. Why would they not answer? Well, to say, yes, it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath would be to deny their own response to the question of rest. And Luke has actually already made this clear to us. If we look back to chapter 6, Jesus had already healed a withered man's arm on the Sabbath day, and the Pharisees responded by being filled with fury and rage, and they discussed what they might do with Jesus. And then just a chapter before this, in chapter 13, Jesus healed a woman on the Sabbath day, and his adversaries were put to shame. Luke has already made it loud and clear, the Pharisees don't think it's okay to heal on the Sabbath. So these Pharisees, in their attempts at perfection, had developed their own strict law to keep the Sabbath, to keep the law of God. The Israelites of the past, the Jews of that day, they knew from scripture that perfection was necessary to enter the final rest. In fact, the Israelites spent 40 years wandering the wilderness looking for the promised land and where they might find rest because of their imperfection. Only the cleanest of the cleanest Levites were allowed to enter the holy presence of God in the temple and tabernacle. Perfection was and is necessary for perfection, for holiness and for rest. It's necessary that the wages of sin might be paid. And the wages of sin is death, and death is the opposite of rest. And so, the Pharisees developed and attached their own response to this question of rest by adding to the law of God. Their new law redefined the Sabbath day, this day of rest that was appointed by God. Because of this, they could not allow another teacher to question their stance. The Pharisees would stubbornly hold their ground against any contrary response, so they could not answer yes. But they couldn't answer no, since the people would immediately classify them as what they truly were, arrogant snobs, unloving leaders, and false teachers. Now like the Pharisees, this world is standing its ground on many false responses to this question of rest. These delicious lies don't reveal their dark consequences until it's too late. So what false responses is the world teaching you? Do you hear the world saying, the next thing will give you rest? To the student, it whispers, you'll get there once you graduate. To the single man or woman, it breathes, only marriage can fix you. To the parents, it cries, just wait till you get retirement. Will the American dream give you rest? Can you really, truly settle down once you have the house, your spouse, the kids, the job? Will job security solve your stress? Will the next president save the world or single-handedly cause it to fall into mass distress? Will working harder, impressing more people, or generating more results of any kind really bring you rest? Listen to these words of Isaiah 46. Here God describes the making and use of an idol. It says, those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh out silver in the scales, they hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god. Then they fall down and worship. They lift it to their shoulders. They carry it. They set it in its place. And it stands there. It cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his distress. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his distress. The idols of this world continue to entrance people into slavery and false worship. But when you most need an answer, the world's idols are silent. They will not free you from your distress. The world's lying to you. Beware that you not listen to its fabricated responses to the question of rest. And for you, who hold the noble task of responding to the questions of this world, Beware your words. Are you speaking the truth? Do you know that it's better for one to tie a millstone around his neck and jump into the sea than to cause a little one to stumble? So we've considered the response of the Pharisees. Now what sets Jesus' response apart? What makes him so different from the Pharisees? How can anyone say that his response is better than that of the Pharisees? Well, Jesus speaks with authority and mercy, with both truth and love. In a world of lies, only the creator of the world and the upholder of the moral law has the authority to speak to this question. But God chose to give this authority to appointed vessels, and these prophets spoke the word of God with authority. Now, Jesus is the creator himself, and as creator, he holds the blueprints and the copyright to the Sabbath day, and he even further argues that since the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, that he, being the son of man, has the authority to speak to this day of rest. Now, Jesus Christ is a prophet, and that he reveals to us, in his word and spirit, the will of God for our salvation, the will of God for our rest. And one way he reveals this to us is by his response. Look at verse four. Jesus took him, healed him, and sent him away. Jesus pictures salvation beautifully in the healing of this needy man. He reveals himself and his father to be a God of love and mercy. And ultimately, he's the God who provides rest. And no other will you find the authority and love adequate to give you rest. Now you might be wondering if one response from a man who walked this earth could really solve the problem of stress. Could one man really respond to the backbone of your problems? Let's consider the life of Jesus. Certainly he did have to develop responses to questions. He grew in wisdom and stature. There was a learning process. And also Jesus did spend time under stress. Before he went to the cross, he was in agony to the point that his sweat became like drops of blood. But Jesus never lived in stress because he had no response to his unrest. He knew very well why he was under stress, and he knew how to give himself rest. Jesus actually chose to be like a lamb, silent before its shears, not because he was weak, not because he had no answer, but in order to give his sheep rest. His response to your need was to take on your stress, and that is the only response that will give you rest. And this is what he says in his word. Jesus says, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lonely in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. You will find rest for your souls. And so, his response to the question of rest is to take on the greatest distress of his people in order to give them rest. And now compare this to the Pharisees' response. Unfortunately, they couldn't put their money where their mouth was. They talked the talk, but they couldn't walk the walk. Though they claimed that they followed the law, their integrity to the spirit of the law was not found. They knew that this day was for rest, for God's people, but they only cared to ensure rest for themselves. They couldn't endure any sort of distress for the sake of another's rest. So therefore, their double-minded hypocrisy became evident. and their silence. Verse six says that they are unable to reply to him. And this is how it will be on that last day. Those who have listened to the response of Christ will find rest. But those in opposition to the law of God will be utterly silenced before his throne. So in whose words or in whose response will you rest? Where will you find rest? God's word calls you to find true rest in the response of Christ. And now that you know where to find true rest, how will you find rest? What must you do to get it? Can it be earned? Can it be bought? Well, God's word directs you to find true rest in the release of Christ. Find true rest in the release of Christ. Take a look at verse two. And behold, there is a man before him who had dropsy. This character has nothing to say. In this battle of questions and responses, he has nothing to contribute. This man's almost a nobody, but there's one certain characteristic that the text gives. This man's needy. This disease of dropsy would cause excess fluids to build up in the cavities and tissue of a human body. They would have tight, red, painful skin. They're heavy, they're stiff, it's hard to walk. Their body desperately needs to release this pressure. This man was needy, and he knew it. He surely was asking, how can I find rest from my pains? But unlike the Pharisees, he offers no response. He never even speaks. He was utterly helpless. So instead of chasing his own way, he simply was being used as a pawn by the Pharisees. These rulers, these spiritual rulers who claim to have a response to the problems of the world. If you haven't already, at some point in your life, you need to realize the reality that you're like this man. I hope you already side with Jesus and I think most of us do, but do you sometimes stand in opposition to him like these Pharisees? Do you try to provide the solution to your problems all on your own? Or do you listen to the advice of this world? At some point you must recognize that you're utterly incapable of providing yourself with rest. What cup have you drank from seeking comfort? How many hours have you spent indulging in movies, music, food, drink, pleasures, excess work? These aren't all bad in themselves, but they'll never provide you with true rest. In fact, the idols of this world become drugs of addiction. Men and women become slaves to their desires. Freedom and true rest require a release from bondage, and release can only be found in Christ. Now remember that this whole discussion takes place on the Sabbath, the day of rest. Think back to the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5. When the fourth commandment is given, God tells his people to remember that he had released them from slavery in Egypt. God says, because of your release from Egypt, therefore, observe the Sabbath. This day of rest was already intimately tied to this concept of release. And isn't this why we're here now? Remember what we celebrate every single Sunday, it's the resurrection of Christ. On that Sunday morning, Jesus rose again. Death in the grave could not hold him. No, he was released from the grips of death. And likewise, all those who died with him are released in his resurrection. And this message is painted right here in verse four. It says this, then he took him and healed him and sent him away. He took him. For when distress withdraws you, this would be painful. Imagine someone grabbing your swollen arm, and it says he healed him. Has this man done anything? Did he ask for help? Did he even reach out his arm to Jesus? No, Jesus chose to heal this needy man, and then he sent him away. Jesus, the great shepherd, freed or released this man from this pack of wolves. No longer was he a pawn to these Pharisees, No longer was he entrapped by the pressure of his disease. The release his body desperately needed set this man at rest. And that's the gospel, isn't it? Jesus takes his people even though they don't want it. It hurts, but it hurt him more. He did the necessary work of mercy and love to give you life so that you might live, so that you might rest. This isn't something you can earn, you can't buy your own life. On the contrary, if you're in Christ, in Christ alone, he has healed you and he has released you from the wages of your sin. And if this picture of healing wasn't vivid enough, Jesus drives this message home again in verse five. Jesus said to them, which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on the Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out This might sound like a rhetorical question to us. Who wouldn't save their son, or even an animal, if they're stuck in a pit on the Sabbath day? As a day of rest, we usually cease from work, but acts of mercy and of love, acts of necessity, that provide rest for God's people, they're proper. But unfortunately, these Pharisees were so self-focused, they couldn't see the spirit of the law, and they were unwilling to provide rest for others. Now in these words here, Jesus amazingly foreshadows what would soon happen to him. He, the very Son of God, would die and be sealed in the tomb of the rocky earth, like a sheep who was led to the slaughter and his body was thrown into the deep well of the earth. The Pharisees themselves might have been willing to free their own son or donkey on the Sabbath day, but they would willingly throw the Son of God to his death. Interestingly, the Gospels actually record that the Pharisees went to the Roman courts on the Sabbath day to ask the government to guard the tomb so that Jesus' body couldn't even be lifted on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees were unwilling to work to give rest for others, but they were willing to work to even prevent rest. No wonder Jesus kept calling them hypocrites. But now, what happened on that following Sabbath day? He was raised up by God. You must understand that his release from the pits of death was necessary for your rest. If he had not risen, the faith and hope of God's sons and daughters is a sham. Your release from death hinges on his release from death. Your rest hinges on the rest that he found that Sunday morning. And so this shows that only a person who doesn't know the gospel would refuse to lift up his son from the pit. And for you, as sons, as daughters, you know very well that this is what God did for you. Those who are in Christ have been released from the very grip of death and enslavement to sin. So ask yourself this, am I living as a slave to anything in this world? Is your unrest a result of an addiction? Is sin silently tying up your wrists as you become overwhelmed with guilt and shame? Does fear drive your life? If so, you need released. Now ask yourself, how can I find rest? You need the blood of Christ. It's his payment alone that can buy your own life. As our priest, Jesus Christ, atones for every imperfection and need that you carry. His perfection washes your record clean. He died for the sins of those he releases. The power of his resurrection gives you release from the wages of your sin, death. You cannot release yourself. You cannot earn your own rest. So turn now to the one who gives rest by his release. Let's consider one more aspect of true rest. In what do you find true rest? God's word calls you to find true rest in the reality of Jesus Christ. Find true rest in the reality of Jesus Christ. Let's think back to Genesis. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they essentially redefined for themselves what was good and evil. They redefined the law. The life they had been created for now was warped by a totally redefined reality. Their state of nature changed from moral holiness to a depraved state of sin and misery. No longer did they act as humans were tuned to perform, but they chose a new reality for themselves. This sin of Adam and Eve plummeted man into a state of death and unrest. Remember one of the curses of the fall, the curse on the ground. God said to Adam, cursed is the ground because of you. In pain, you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Oh, the distress of this curse continues to cause us today. Men continue to strive day and night trying just to put food on their table. How many minimum wage employees do you think are even asking today, when am I going to find rest? How many people choose to work seven days a week thinking they can provide themselves with a little comfort even ensure a stable retirement. In vain, so many stay up late and rise early, sorting for food. And people have been asking where they might find rest for thousands of years. In fact, it was 2,500 years before the birth of Christ that a man by the name of Lamech gave birth to a son. And he said, this one, this one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands caused by the ground, which the Lord has cursed. And so he named his son by the word for rest in his language, Noah. And God did clearly use the life of Noah as an image of the release from this curse of distress on mankind. God did deliver his church through Noah from total destruction in the flood. But the curse continued even after Noah. And so the millennia passed by and people continued to offer different false responses to this question of rest. Perhaps this God, perhaps this idol would provide rest. Perhaps conquering the known world would provide rest. Perhaps having hundreds of sheep for cattle or goats would ensure true rest. But in each case, those in search of rest, or those who even gave up searching, they all developed a false law, a false rule to determine this question. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Mankind has been playing life with the wrong rules. They kicked God out of the equation and so man could never find the real answer to this question. Now like the numerous, numerous generations before them, the Pharisees believed they could find true rest in their own law. They were utterly blinded to their desperate need for help. Rather than seeking a release from their unrealistic work salvation, they gripped tightly to the handcuffs that they had snapped on their own wrists. The reality is they were enslaved to their sin. Their future reality under their false law was the greatest distress, death. But For those who are hidden in the shadow, work, and perfection of Christ, their reality is life. Those who have the real Savior for the coming destruction of this world, they're freed from the curse of death. Think back again to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. It was after creation that God introduced this day of rest. Life follows creation, and for those who have true rest, the reality is that they are a new creation. Rest won't come to you until you are a new creation in Christ. God's word says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come. This reality can be so challenging to believe, but it's true. And knowing that we're a forgetful people, God calls us to remember his promises. Joshua 1.13 says this, remember the word that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, saying, the Lord your God is providing you a place of rest. The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest. We, God's people, have assurance that God will give us rest. This is the reality. And furthermore, Christ, who has made his people a new creation, is the king of his people. He created and he reigns over his kingdom. The great promise that we so often sing in the Psalms is that the Lord is king. The Lord is king. And why is this such a comfort? Well, he as king calls out his people, he provides for them, he defends them, and he releases them from any danger. Like that needy man was Dropsy, the people of God were like a damsel in distress. But Christ swooped in and saved her, not only from the great dragon of Satan, but from the very wrath of God towards her own adultery and uncleanness. What king like our Lord Jesus would ever choose to love you? but he loved you enough to lay down his life. The reality of Christ's reign should cause all those opposed to tremble, but should put to rest all fear and distress for his people. And if Christ is your king, you're a new creation in him. If these promises are your reality, if they are, you can look forward to the future. No distress can harm you, even if the burdens of life seem to pile up. even if a sinner presides over this nation, even if the heavens and the earth pass away, you will enter your final rest. For those in Christ, you can look forward to the creation of a new heavens and earth, a land devoid of distress. You can look forward to the days when you won't even think to ask where or how or in what will I find rest. For those hidden under the shadow of his wings, eternal rest is your reality. You might feel like you're wandering this earth looking for a place to rest. The promised land might seem so far off as you wander in the hot, dry wilderness. You might spend each day asking where, how, and what am I ever going to find rest? Only in Christ may your seemingly aimless quest be finally put to rest. For those of you asking this question, Jesus Christ has the release, the response. For those of you feeling the stressful pressures of life, Jesus Christ has that release. And for those of you wallowing in hopeless sin and death, Jesus Christ offers the reality of life. God calls you to find true rest in Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you for the great promises you've given to us. You have told us that you will provide rest for us, and you've shown that work in the life of Christ. In his response, we can trust. All fears can be put to rest. In his release, we no longer need to fear our guilt. And in the reality, we know that we are a new creation in Him. We have life, and for this, we thank you, Lord, and we turn to you in worship. In all this, may your name be glorified. It's in the name of Christ we pray to you. Amen.