Who does Jesus help? Jesus helps the exploited: “He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil.” — Acts 10:38. The Greek word for oppressed is stronger than we often realize. It can mean exploited. To be exploited is to be taken advantage of. Maybe you relate to that today? Your kindness was taken advantage of by others. You keep getting asked to help because people know you won’t say no. There are many hurtful ways people take advantage of others. It is profoundly comforting that Christ helps the exploited daily through the presence of his Holy Spirit, the scriptures, prayer, other Christians, and even professional counselors. Let’s be clear: It hurts that others take advantage of us. Thanks be to God, Jesus never will! In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking to those who feel exploited and taken advantage of: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”-Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

Jesus, as the name above all names helps us recognize something harder: he helps traitors to His love. We often point fingers at obvious sinners such as thieves and awful people who turn their backs on God. G.K. Chesterton had a different view. He believed Christ helps us by empowering us to see what we really are. He was a British writer, philosopher, and Christian thinker known for his sharp wit, paradoxical insights, and defense of the Christian faith in the early 20th century. He wrote essays, novels, poetry, and apologetics, and is especially famous for Orthodoxy and the Father Brown detective stories. Chesterton once answered the question, “Who is responsible for problems in the world?” His reply struck a chord: “Dear sirs: I am responsible.” Think of it! A Christian who is well know and respected, claiming that he is just as sinful as the world is! That is the point through how Jesus helps us. Before the cross, our sin is on level ground! We become better followers of Jesus when we realize without the grace of Jesus, we are just as capable of sin as others are. Friends, this is not a bleak outlook on human behavior, it’s just in the Bible. The Apostle Paul, describing Jewish and Gentile Christians was that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23. Jesus sees our predicament, and came so we might be “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”- Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭24‬. A gift that we don’t deserve, but that’s what makes Jesus special, he helps all who come to Him anyway! This ‬‬ revelation that Christ saves the exploited andtraitors to His purposes inspired Brennan Manning, the famed author of The Ragmuffin Gospel to write:

“I believe that among the countless number of people standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands (Revelation 7:9), I will see include the businessman besieged with debt who sold his integrity… the insecure clergyman addicted to being liked… the troubled teen… (who makes bad choices), but also still whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday school. 

‘But how?’ we ask.

Then the voice says, ‘They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”

This is great news! Jesus helps traitors and the exploited, the question is how? How does Jesus help traitors and those who have been exploited by the devil? He gives life through His Name: “Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” — Acts 10:43. The Greek word for forgiveness can mean pardon, dismissed, and even freedom from captivity. All traits that are the beginnings of living the life that God has created us to live. That is one way how Jesus gives life! Not just through forgiveness, but by putting his redeemed in position to live a life he has created them to live.

For example, It was life changing for me to consider that there is so much more to Jesus than forgiveness! I remember rolling my eyes at a Doctor’s appointment a while back when asked to take care of myself with my diet, etc. Isn’t the point of taking care of myself just to not die too soon? It took my Doctor, my wife, and others to tell me that taking care of myself is so much more than premature death. Good doctors don’t just say, “Stop smoking” or “Exercise more” to avoid death—they encourage you to do those things so you can live a life worth living. Jesus helps us the same way. When Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”-John 14:6, He was not calling us to forgive others like he did so we can be saved, He was calling us to live life His way, a way of life we could never live on our own.

Rhiannon and I discovered Jesus was more than forgiveness when we moved to Frankston Texas. We both grew up in Christian homes, and Lubbock did have a lot for students and had great churches, but I didn’t have a chance to last long enough to see Jesus work in areas other than spiritual matters until we graduated and moved to Frankston. I remember being blown away, not just by what Christians believed, but by how they acted. The love of Jesus was prominent in the disciples of Jesus at Frankston Methodist in a lot of areas. Members of the church would ask Rhiannon and I out to eat for lunch after worship. They had a lay leader Jennie Minter who really ministered to Rhiannon and I during those early years we lived in Frankston. I remember our neighbor at the house ran a daycare for kids, and every day we came home from work she was the nicest person she could be. The piano player for the church would rope me in to sing solos for the church, and Methodist men’s reps would invite me to be a part of their meetings each week. Frankston ISD even had coaches who attended the church and would connect with Rhiannon and I all the time. One of the students at the church is a good friend of mine, and we still talk when we can. He is married, with kids, and I am proud of all the Lord is doing in his life. What do these examples and more have in common? Jesus was present through relationships. Community is important, why?  What happens when Christians gathered together? Church happens. Matthew 4 tells us that Jesus healed sickness and diseases “and large groups of people followed Him.” In one of Jesus most famous prayers in John 17, Jesus prays for all of His disciples gathered in the upper rom. Hear the Good News Introverts, you aren’t excluded from the power of Jesus either! In John 4, the woman at the well was alone. Scripture tells us she didn’t just have one, but 5 husbands. Yet, Jesus approached her and invited her to taste the living water he could provide! “I am going to tell everyone who you are” she said. Friends, wether its in community, or one on one, because of Jesus, prayer happens, relationships are formed, broken lives are repaired, the blind see (spiritually and reality) and the lame walk! When we invite people to come to and be a part of the church, THAT is what we are inviting them to. Jesus and the abundant life he offers is not just an invitation to the forgiveness of sins, abundant life in Christ almost always starts with an an invitation to relationships. Forgiveness is important, but with Jesus, life is so much more!

As we close, remember this: there really is something about the name of Jesus. Not because He makes life easier, but because He makes life worth living. Jesus carries rest for the weary, mercy for the exploited, forgiveness for the traitor, and life for the one who feels stuck, tired, or ashamed. Jesus does not simply rescue us from judgment; He invites us into a new way of living, surrounded by grace, shaped by love, and sustained by community. His name still heals, still restores, still calls people by name and gives them another chance. The same Jesus who welcomes the exploited and forgives the traitor is present here today, offering life through His name. The question is not whether Jesus is willing—He already proved that on the cross. The real question is whether we are willing to come, to trust, and to follow Him. Where in your life do you feel weary, exploited, or burdened right now? In what ways might you need to admit, like Chesterton, “I am responsible”? How is Jesus inviting you not just to forgiveness, but to a rich life of following and being like Him?

These are questions worth asking. Kings and kingdoms will pass away, but Jesus lives, inviting us again and again into abundant and resurrection life. Will we accept His invitation? In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.