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This week is Shabbat Shuva which is known as the Sabbath of Return. In Hebrew, Shuva relates to the word Teshuva which means repentance.  Occurring between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, this is a special Shabbat focused on repentance and return.

Repentance is a word we use a lot, but to quote Inigo Montoya in the princess Bride, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” Many people have an incorrect or incomplete idea of what repentance is all about. The root of Teshuva as I said means, “return”. The concept of repentance in Scripture is turning around and returning to the Lord. It is like a person walking down a path turning around and walking back.

This morning I want to explain our need for repentance, what true repentance is, and what we look like after experiencing repentance.

So why do we need repentance? What do we need to turn away from? God’s Word describes this world and everyone in it as broken. In the beginning there was Shalom, wholeness and completeness, but because of our selfish desires the world and everything in it became broken. We see this brokenness on many different levels. We live on a planet ravaged by diseases, weather events, and other horrible catastrophes. We experience death, mourning, crying, and pain daily. Many of us feel lost and confused, searching for meaning and answers as we struggle through our lives. Nothing seems to truly satisfy us; we always need more. More money, more power, more love, more pleasure, more people giving us attention. Or to quote Ecclesiastes 1:8, “All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.” Each of us is searching for Shalom, whether we realize it or not. This anguish, this brokenness is mostly hidden away from the public eye. Only discussed in close circles or after a few adult beverages have loosened lips.

Most everyone will admit that there is evil in this world and that they themselves are not perfect, but then the debates start. Religions and philosophies will say that human beings are either inherently good or like the Rabbis say we have a “good inclination” and “bad inclination”. We like to believe humanity is ultimately good. That left to our own devices we will eventually work it all out. This idea is found in much of modern Judaism. The modern version Tikkun Olam, healing the world, teaches that righteous people are capable of bringing Earth back to a state of Shalom.

The Word of God paints a very different picture. Throughout God’s Word we read that since Shalom was broken we are born sinful, born selfish into this world. Or as King David beautifully wrote through the Holy Spirit in Psalm 14:2-3:

The Lord looks down from heaven

on all mankind

to see if there are any who understand,

any who seek God.

All have turned away, all have become corrupt;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.

No one really likes to admit they are wrong or sinful. We don’t want to acknowledge that the way we live our lives causes deep problems. We might be willing to discuss issues with our society on a large scale, but when things get personal, we start bringing out our excuses. While most people would never say that they are perfect or holy, we would argue that we aren’t Hitler or Stalin. We aren’t perfectly good, but we are “Good enough.” We miss the target, but we are still at least on the board! But “good enough” isn’t enough to stand before the perfectly holy King of The Universe.

So, this is the state of humanity, completely broken, longing to be made whole, and despite our best efforts never achieving it. We live our lives rationalizing and justifying our sins, while comparing ourselves to everyone else. This is the path we are born into this world walking down that needs to be changed. Therefore, we need true repentance

True repentance is acknowledging that we are broken and cannot fix ourselves. This is more than trying to avoid punishment or just trying to feel good. It is saying, I need help and recognizing we cannot save ourselves. It is turning from our own sinful desires, towards our great Creator. One of the best examples we have of true repentance is found in Luke 19:1-9:

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus (Zuhkayis); he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus (Zuhkayis), come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus(Zuhkayis) stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Here we have a wealthy tax collector who is hated by most people. Tax collectors were despised in ancient Israel for enforcing Rome’s taxes, while also making themselves rich through their authority. Zacchaeus(Zuhkayis)  as a chief tax collector would have been as corrupt as he was rich and well known for it.

But through an encounter with Messiah Yeshua we see something amazing has taken place. Zacchaeus(Zuhkayis) has replaced his broken need for more money and power with a desire to experience the Lord and be made right. Zacchaeus is no longer on a path that leads to suffering but one that leads to life. He is committed to helping others and making amends for the sinful things he has done in the past. This sort of radical change is not found in a self-help book or in some human philosophy. It is only found in encountering the son of God, Messiah Yeshua. Our Messiah welcomes such a man because He wants this tax collector to repent and experience salvation.

Notice that Zacchaeus(Zuhkayis) doesn’t try to bargain with Yeshua. He doesn’t try to propose a different way to return to the Lord. He doesn’t argue about philosophy, theology, or other religions. And he doesn’t approach Yeshua out of fear. He wanted to encounter the Jewish Messiah he had heard about, and the Lord met Him right where He was. In this case he met Yeshua literally in a tree. He accepted the salvation the Lord had provided and showed how his thinking had changed with his actions. Each of us needs to have an encounter with the Lord like Zacchaeus’s.

The truth is that we all are like Zacchaeus(Zuhkayis). We may not have a reputation for being sinful, but we all commit sin. Each of us needs a real encounter with our wonderful Messiah, the true Yom Kippur sacrifice, that makes atonement for us all. In Him alone is real repentance, personal transformation found in the one who knows us even better than we know ourselves.

So, we have talked about why we need to repent and what true repentance looks like. But what about after? What are our lives like after we have encountered and been transformed by Adonai? That topic is a whole series of messages, but I would suggest spending time in Galatians 5 and 6 for the full answer. Here is a shorter one.

When we are transformed by the spirit of God, our spiritual brokenness is healed. The search for Shalom has ended and we begin to be transformed daily from brokenness to perfection. We are freed from the wicked acts of the flesh, sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Instead, we can embrace the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The issues we struggle with, the empty places in our hearts we try to fill with the things of this world, have their end. We instead find hope and answers in Messiah Yeshua. It does not mean we won’t have hard times or suffer, but it does mean we have a savior who will never leave or abandon us.

Many religions and philosophies will tell you that after you embrace their form of transformation, you will become the best version of yourself. Some sort of ideal version with all your good qualities and none of the bad. Thank the Lord that is not what we find in God’s Word. The best version of me is still far from God’s holiness and I hope you feel the same. The repentance found only in Messiah Yeshua leads us to Him not ourselves. We become more like our perfect savior and less like ourselves. We are given a new way of thinking and feeling, a new mind and heart. We begin a journey through this life with Him, as we look forward to living forever with Him in a new body. Ultimately every blessing we enjoy after repentance is just a small taste of what is to come. Our new bodies will be given when our wonderful Messiah returns. We will then begin to experience eternal life with Him in the New Jerusalem forever.

As we solemnly consider our relationship with the Lord during these days of awe and on Shabbat Shuva, there are some clear lessons for us all. First, if you have yet to experience the repentance and salvation found in God’s Word, then I encourage you as strongly as I can to be reconciled to God. To experience the only source of Shalom in this broken world. The Lord desires to stay in your house as well like He did with Zacchaeus. For us today, the house is our hearts. Only in Messiah can we be transformed from within and experience the freedom that comes from His atonement.

For those of us who are joined to Messiah Yeshua, shabbat Shuva is a call for us to examine our hearts as well. To repent and turn back to the Lord where we have strayed. This is a great time to reconcile with one another and embrace the fruits of the spirit. I am reminded of King David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Shabbat Shuva is an excellent time to pray this prayer with open and sincere hearts. We need to ask the Lord to turn us back onto His path, a path that will completely satisfy the yearning of our hearts. We need to return to the only path that leads to wholeness, completeness, and everlasting life.

Repentance leads to joy, and it is my prayer this morning that we all would experience the full joy of the Lord. May the Lord cause each of us here today to turn back to Him. May our Jewish people recognize the only real source of Shalom, Messiah Yeshua, during these days of awe. May each of us daily be transformed even more to be like our wonderful Messiah, welcoming all with His Good News.