Title: For Peace/Luke 19:28-40
Contents June is the month of Patriotism and Veterans Affairs. As we who have experienced the 6.25 war, we know how important it is to defend our country and how precious peace is. It is the wish of all of us that such wars do not occur on this earth again. Fortunately, it has been 44 years since the gunfire stopped and the smoke disappeared. But we have to ask ourselves, are we really living in peace?
Today's text deals with this theme of peace. Jesus came near Jerusalem, looked at the city, and wept "out loud" (meaning in the original language). It was because people were so carefree. Because he had no idea what was going to happen in the near future. Because now was not the time for them to be carefree. Because it was a time to seek peace with all your heart.
Jesus sighed and said, "You should have known today the things concerning peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes." At that time, the Jews were ignorant of peace. The same can be said for modern people. What the Lord said about peace, I will summarize three things we need to know.
First, the present condition is not true peace.
Jerusalem means city of peace. But the Jews living there were unaware of true peace.
Looking back at its past history, the city, its country, and its peoples have gone through a difficult process that does not live up to its name. There were more times when it wasn't peaceful than when it was peaceful. Even at the time of Jesus, he was in a situation where he had to look into the eyes of the Roman Empire. When Jesus spoke these words, it was the time before the Passover festival, so on the surface everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. But there was tension behind it. There were Roman soldiers patrolling the city, nervous that there might be a riot. There were people who could not exercise the sovereignty of the country and were ruled by great powers and were oppressed politically, socially and religiously. This cannot be called peace. This is never peace.
What scenes come to mind when you think of peace? You will think of idyllic and idyllic scenes. It is surrounded by beautiful green mountains, with a calm lake in the middle and a meadow next to it. On top of it, animals such as cattle and sheep are leisurely grazing and lying down. Even better if the shepherd is playing the flute. A few people are leisurely fishing on the lake.
Peace is living without worries. According to this definition, can we say that our country is at peace? We seldom worry about war. Some of the society is also raising the need to abolish the security law. Since there have been only sporadic provocations since the armistice was established 44 years ago, I think that will continue to be the case in the future. This is because, as seen in the collapse of the communist countries in Eastern Europe over the past few years, it is assumed that communism has ended in failure. That doesn't mean we are at peace. What are the violent demonstrations of the Han Chongryon that sympathize with North Korea's claims and act as vanguard forces in South Korea? Isn't that a challenge to peace? Tensions with North Korea still persist. Forced provocation is possible at any time. Not long ago, North Korea fired artillery at a naval vessel that was dispatched to warn a North Korean fishing boat that had violated the Northern Limit Line in the northern part of Baengnyeong Island.
It's not just this. There is a battle for dominance on the political arena. Dozens or hundreds of violent crimes such as robbery and rape, which do not know who might be the victim, are happening all over the country every day. There are many factors that make us uneasy, such as the economic recession, trade sanctions, low exports, taxes, utility rate hikes, and early retirement.
The absence of war does not mean peace. War for entrance exams, war for commuting, competition for survival, and competition for promotion exist in our society, and this indicates that there is no true peace in our society. This is a social issue as well as a personal one.
The reality is this, but we are mistaken for peace. We must know that our present condition is not true peace.
Second, true peace cannot be achieved through human effort alone.
"Then the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled a council and said, What shall we do, for this man does many miracles? If we leave him like this, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take our land and our people." One of them that year Caiaphas the high priest said to them, "You know nothing, because you do not think it is good for you that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation should not perish... conspired to kill Jesus??(John 11:47-50,53).
They thought that if everyone followed Jesus, he would act like a king and ultimately lead the way in overthrowing the Roman Empire, so that Rome would lead an army and deprive and oppress the limited freedom it enjoyed. So, I succeeded in nailing Jesus to the cross, thinking that killing one person was the way for the peace of the whole nation. However, they did not enjoy the peace they hoped for.
Jesus prophesied that later enemies would attack Jerusalem, tearing down the walls and throwing them to the ground. And it was done. In A.D. 70, the Romans invaded Judea, and after a 143-day siege, they killed 600,000 Jews, took thousands captive, and destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem.
People's efforts for peace are like this. What they seek is not true peace, but false peace.
Ahead of the year-end presidential election, presidential candidates from each party are arguing that they are the most suitable for making Korea a welfare state. They make a number of promises to make the world a better place to live in, but even if elected, we don't believe it will be literally. This is because there have been too many cases in which successive rulers have turned their promises into promises.
The US military presence, they claim, is for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. But I can't help but wonder if they can really say that they work for world peace as international police officers. Yesterday too, I heard the news that the United States is putting pressure on Korea to purchase its own missiles, which is being considered as one of the ROK military force enhancement projects. The United States is the world's largest arms exporter. They are making great fortunes by exploiting conflicts and wars between peoples. They continue to develop advanced weapons and whisper to other countries to keep the peace with them. But peace is not guaranteed by purchasing weapons.
Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, made many majors as commander-in-chief of the European Allied Forces during World War II. Early in his presidency, he said:
"All weapons of war are, in the end, stolen from the hungry, the barren, the undressed and shivering in the cold. They consume not only money, but the sweat of workers, the materials of scientists and the hopes of adults. It is not a road, and humanity suffers under the clouds of war."
In recent years, the UN has intervened several times in conflict zones and dispatched peacekeeping missions, but it has not been able to establish complete peace in the region. Where can you find the real peace they have built?
World peace is far from human effort. Our own efforts alone cannot keep our lives in peace. You should know this.
Third, true peace comes through Christ.
The fundamental reason that people cannot enjoy peace is that they became enemies with God because of their sins. The provision of and care for people's needs can only be perfected by God, who created them. But just as a patient refuses to receive advice and treatment from a doctor, so people do not acknowledge the existence of God the Creator and reject His care. There is no room for God in their thoughts and thoughts.
?쏷he wicked man with his proud face says, The LORD does not see it, and in all his thoughts there is no God??(Psalm 10:4).
God is letting them do whatever they want. So instead of improving their condition, they only get worse.
?쏛nd because they did not want to keep God in their hearts, God gave them over to a lost will, to do what is not fitting, full of all unrighteousness, iniquity, greed, and malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. He is full of words and gossips??(Romans 1:28,29).
It is Jesus Christ who can solve the enmity between God and man. He voluntarily took on the sins of all people in the world, reconciled God and man through the shedding of his blood on the cross, and made it possible for the hostility between men to disappear.
?쏯ow you, who were afar off, have been drawn near by the blood of Christ in Christ Jesus. He is our peace, who has made the two one and broke down the barriers in the middle, and has abolished the enmity, the ceremonial law of commandments, with his own flesh. so that he might reconcile the two by creating in himself one new man from the two, and reconciling the two to God in one body through the cross. He destroyed enmity through the cross, and came and preached peace to you who are far off. He proclaimed peace to those who were near, that through him we both might have access to the Father in one Spirit??(Ephesians 2:13-18).
Jesus came to this earth to preach peace. He is "our peace." In the text, the disciples called Him ?쐔he King who comes in the name of the Lord (God)??(verse 38). The prophet Isaiah called him ?쐔he Prince of Peace??(Isaiah 9:6).
?쏤or to us a child is born, and to us a son is given, and government is upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.??(Isa 9:6)
True peace cannot be achieved because people pursue peace without Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. In order to achieve unification of the South and the North and to achieve true peace on the Korean Peninsula, our people must accept Jesus Christ. You have to make him king and follow his rule.
Peace is necessary for our family life as well as our inner world. There are a lot of people who suffer because their families are not at peace. Even in this area, if you accept Jesus and accept him as your King, you can find peace. He can make peace.
?쏱eace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid??(John 14:27).
Jesus wept over Jerusalem. He wept while foreseeing the time of tribulation that the nation is unaware of now, but will soon befall. Both our city and our country will face unjudgment in the future. How do we feel about this? Shouldn't we also weep with the heart of the Lord?
?쏥od is my witness, how I long for you all with the heart of Jesus Christ??(Philippians 1:8).