Title: Obedience (John 5:30)
Contents
I can do nothing on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgments are righteous, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
1. to start
Today we are sitting at the Lord's table. This award is the one the Lord Himself has prepared for us. Originally, it started with the Passover supper that Israel had to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, but the Lord changed the Passover table to His salvation.
The situation at that time is recorded in detail in the Gospel of Mark.
“As they were eating, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, Take, this is my body.” And he took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, and he drank it, and said, “This is my blood, which is shed for many It is the blood of the covenant." (Mark 14:22-24)
We hope to receive the sacrament today while chewing the cud of the Lord's words. Those who receive, eat and drink this sacrament with faith will receive the grace of spiritual presence according to the word of the Lord's body and blood.
The Apostle John wrote the words of the Lord Himself:
"Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so also he who eats me You will live because of me” (John 6:53-57).
I pray that all of us who eat this sacrament today will be blessed with eternal life.
Now, through one verse of the text, I would like to meditate on the one holy disposition of the Lord that dwells in the Lord's Supper and preach the word. That is obedience.
2. The sacrament is the faith of obedience.
“For he, being in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as robbery, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human form, and being found in human form, humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. ." (Phil 2:6-8)
To be like Jesus is to imitate obedience. Those who do not obey are those who do not know Jesus even though they do not know Him. In other words, obedient believers are believers who have properly and deeply understood Jesus and his gospel.
Let's think about the meaning of obedience in one verse of today's text in three simple ways.
1) Obedience begins with listening
In the text, Jesus says:
"I can do nothing of my own accord. As I hear, I judge."
Jesus said there is nothing we can do on our own. He emphasized that only listening to the Father's word and obeying it. Here we can see that the first step to obedience is listening. To obey God, we must keep our ears open and listen to what He has to say at all times. There is also a Korean word for "listen to me", which means obedience.
2) Obedience is accepting what God wants to do
In the text, Jesus said, 'I do not do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me'. Jesus is the 'Lamb of obedience' who accepted the Father's will as it is. The prophet Isaiah said:
“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb to the slaughter, and a sheep silent before its shearers, he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
Acceptance means no objection. It is not only opening and hearing God, but also closing my mouth. It is a very necessary faith in our daily life. When God's will is not accepted, there is always only resentment and complaint. There is an illustration made with roses.
One day, the rose, who had always boasted of being the flower of flowers, complained to God.
“God, when you made me the most beautiful in the world, why did you give me an ugly, stinging thorn to keep bees and butterflies away from me? Please remove the thorns.”
God granted the rose's wish without saying a word. The rose was overjoyed, and waited for the butterfly to come. Then he saw a goat coming to eat him from afar. Only then did the rose realize her mistake and shed tears. God put thorns on the rose again.
Even if it seems we don't need it, the Lord knows better what we need.
3) Belief in the results of obedience
If you accept your thorns like the rose above, you must believe that it will ultimately benefit you. Obedient believers must believe in the righteousness of God who requires obedience.
At the end of this passage, Jesus said, “My judgment is righteous, because I will do the will of the one who sent it.” If we obey and act, we need the belief that 'even if the process is difficult and incomprehensible, the result is always good'.
3. Closing
Dear saints, Let us examine the faith of obedience in our faith as we receive the sacrament. As we eat the bread of obedience, we must not be disobedient.