A Remnant People

In every generation, there is a remnant that runs after Jesus with passion and thanksgiving. I believe the Samaritans and outsiders came to Jesus because they were not bound by forms and rituals. They did not have to unlearn it all. Many of the ‘good’ Jews of his days had been raised orthodox, their minds trained from childhood in ritual and ceremony, and they were still bound by their traditions.

Many outsiders in Jesus’s days witnessed the phoniness of the religious leaders and churchgoers. They saw Pharisees robbing widows and taking away their homes. They saw priests bribing and being bribed. They saw the temples filled with money changers, turning God’s house into a den of thieves. They saw scribes making rules for others that they never lifted a finger to observe themselves.

Outsiders see all the whitewashed fronts, the false faces, and double standards. They often say, “This is the blind leading the blind, and it’s not for me. I want the real thing.”

When we get drawn into religious society and the ‘good’ life, we must stop and think, “Wait a minute! I remember what it was like when I had prestige in these circles and security. I was miserable. My so-called friends all rejected me at the first sign that I might be sick or troubled. I was empty, bound by sinful habits, full of hate and bitterness. It was a living hell. Why should I go back to that?”

When we realize this, our heart should begin to burn with this knowledge: “Look at me. I’m clean. Jesus healed me. The church can wait; my family and career can wait. I’m going to Jesus! I want to get to know the one who healed me.”

The outcasts of Jesus’s day came to the same conclusion all remnant people come to, saying to themselves, “There is nothing out there that I want. It’s all vanity. I’m going to Jesus, and he will be my reality.” Everything in us should become consumed by the desire to live out this verse: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, ESV).