Would you be saved today if you lived back then; or would you have ran from Jesus - because He's not allowed? Is Jesus allowed to do what He likes?
You say: Shane, what do you do with that scripture? I don't know, but I do know this: if you're a mum, and you're believing for your unbelieving children - you keep doing that. Jesus sees that stuff somehow. A later writer said it this way: The faith of a saved wife, can save her unbelieving husband. Do we believe that? Was Paul allowed to write that? Would Paul be allowed to preach in churches, if he said that? What do you do with that? I don't know.
Somebody asked me: so Shane are you saying you can go to heaven if you marry the right woman? My answer is this: I have no idea. Who goes to heaven, and who goes to hell, is outside my pay grade. What I do know, is that if you marry the wrong one, you will live in hell today! Like really past the far depths of it!
Is Jesus allowed? Can I not do what I want to do with my own money? We have to deal with this belief system. Any belief system in us that says: God has to conform to the way we see things, has to die, for heaven to be established. Can Jesus not do what He wants to do?
Hey, my personal favourite: there's a rich guy. Any time a story in the Bible starts there's a certain rich guy, with no name - it ends poorly right. There's a rich guy, and this rich guy came to Jesus and said: what must I do to inherit eternal life? Remember? What does Jesus tell him?
Well buddy, you've got to ask me in your heart - everybody knows that. There's this prayer you've got to pray, and you've got to ask me into your heart, to be your Lord and savior - that's where eternal life comes from. Is that what Jesus says to him? No. Somebody tell me loud with confidence, what does Jesus say to the guy?
Sell what you have, give it the poor, and eternal life will be yours! Woo-hoo! Is Jesus allowed to say that; or is Jesus a heretic too? And what would happen if someone preached that?
What would happen if, on a big enough stage, someone said: it's possible to inherit eternal life, by selling what you have, and giving it to the poor? What would happen to that guy? What would he be called? Heretic! There'd be websites dedicated to his honor!
So how far has Christianity come from Christ, that a direct quote from Christ is now heresy? Is Jesus allowed? Is someone responding to Jesus by being generous - is that not appropriate? Is someone responding to Jesus by washing His feet with their hair - is that not appropriate? Is someone responding to Jesus by going: please remember me; is that not appropriate? They all respond to Jesus, but they respond to Jesus their way.
See people like to say: Jesus is the ONLY way, Shane, Jesus is the ONLY way. Is that true? Is that okay to say that? Yes, that's okay to say that. I'm not tricking you people, like I don't know; like yes, of course that's okay to say that - probably not with that face... but - yeah, don't say it with that face. It's ugly, don't do that, but Jesus is the only way. But there's a big difference between saying: Jesus is the only way; and saying: my way to Jesus, is the only way to Jesus. That's two very different things. Does everybody have to get saved like you?
What if there was a 17 year old Mongolian kid, who was taking a nature walk, and that day he sees a river flowing into a stream. He looks at it, and something goes off in his heart; and he looks at the sky, and he says: whoever made this - I can't wait to meet you one day. I think You're amazing, and anything I can do to meet You - I would love to; because I'm assuming You're the same guy made the stars and the trees, and I just find You fascinating.
What if that 17 year old Mongolian kid dies early, and he meets Jesus, and Jesus says: hi, I'm the way. The Mongolian kid says: are You the guy that made the river? Yeah, that was Me. You're amazing! I am so glad to meet You, let's have dinner, let's have some coffee, I've got tons of questions to ask You. I find You fascinating! The stars too? Yep. Trees? Yepper, that was Me. Oh great! When do we get to have coffee? This is going to be fantastic!