As we turn through the words of chapter 6 we find Jesus in opposition to the religious establishment. through a series of teachings and comparisons, Jesus highlights the faulty nature of religion and calls people to be his followers.
The religious leaders are more concerned with rules and their own preservation, above the work of God at hand. No healing on the Sabbath, no picking grain on the Sabbath. This launches Jesus into what we call the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel. The section called the beatitudes essentially warn those who think they have it all together, and offers hope to those who have been pushed aside by the religious. According to Jesus it is no longer about keeping the rules and doing what the religious people prescribe. It is simply following Jesus. Living like Jesus calls us to live. This means life is not always fair, this means we might lose out on something. It means we might give away everything.
Religion is much easier than following Jesus. In religion there is not a lot of question about what to do when. When we begin to follow Jesus, things can get much more messy. We cover territory that is not familiar or comfortable. We do not get a vote when we are following, we simple go where the leader goes and do what the leader does.
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