Title: Roman Emperor and King of the Jews!
Contents
Sunday day sermon
Text: John 19:1-16
Title: Roman Emperor and King of the Jews!
Rome had already invaded Asia Minor, including Israel, from several decades ago, placed it under their control, and sent governors to each country to rule them. Of course, there were also kings in the countries that were ruled, but most of them were merely bridesmaid kings. Although Herod was king in Israel at the time of Jesus, he had little real power, and the governor dispatched from Rome was in charge of all Israel's internal affairs. It is the same principle as when Emperor Gojong was crowned in Korea at the time of the Japanese invasion, but the emperor had no authority and the governor dispatched from Japan was in charge of internal affairs.
At that time, Israel also tried inexorably to get out of Roman domination, but the more they did, the stronger Rome became and oppressed Israel. The reason is that all were in the providence of God. The reason God made Rome rule Israel was because of the corrupt course of Israel at that time. At that time, Israel, who was the only one on earth to live by God's grace, from the high priest to the common people, was excited with the pride that only they were God's holy people, and their righteousness was skyrocketing.
When human righteousness is full, we naturally forget the grace of God, and when we forget grace, humans reach the height of pride. In particular, those who lead a religious life should be careful about this, but humans living in the dark do not realize this, and at the end of the day, they can always see that their words are not good. When the Israelites first received the law, they began to live their faith with fear and trembling. However, as time goes by, the law is also kept in an expedient way, and the sacrifices offered in the temple are also not offered formally. As a result, they do not have a heart to love God and become an empty-shelled believer with only their mouths moving. How could God see such a thing? For that reason, God also uses the powerful nations around him to inflict pain on Israel.
“Once they have been enlightened, have tasted the gift of heaven, and have been partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and those who have fallen cannot be renewed again to repentance.” is only given Knowing this fact better than anyone else, God sent His Son before them to save them. But the foolish people of Israel were blinded by their exalted heart and greed, so they could not recognize the Messiah God had sent, and they delivered Jesus into the hands of the Romans to be crucified. Where are these foolish people?
When the governor of Pilate, dispatched from Rome, interrogated Jesus and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Yes,” and many people, including the high priest, said, “He is not our king, but only Caesar (Roman emperor). You are our King,” and insisted that Jesus be crucified. No matter how much Jesus looked like a thorn in their eyes, how could those who were calling on God’s name be able to claim the Gentile emperor as their king, telling them to crucify the Son God sent? These were the high priests, scribes, and elders at that time. From God's point of view, wouldn't it be amazing?
This is not the case except for Christians today. Christians must also realize that they are no different from the Jews of that time. Even today's Christians are people who, at first, lived their lives like dogs and pigs without the law of the Holy Spirit. Such people heard the gospel of the evangelist, believed in Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and became the spiritual people of Israel. When a person who used to live as an unbeliever believes in Jesus, he or she receives the Holy Spirit, and when he receives the Holy Spirit, he becomes God's people on earth.
When a person who used to live as an unbeliever receives the Holy Spirit, he or she will live a slightly different life than when he lived as an unbeliever. The reason is that you have lived according to your conscience until then, but after you receive the Holy Spirit, you have to live according to the teachings of the Holy Spirit. This is called physical salvation on earth. However, in order to receive salvation so that our souls can go to heaven, we must believe in the Son God has sent and receive the forgiveness of sins hidden in our hearts.
However, since God has not yet sent such a son to Christians, the present Christians have not reached full salvation. Many Christians today, like Jews, confuse this, and their pride is so high that they are soaring in the sky. Christians should beware of this. Otherwise, you will follow the same footsteps as the Jews. Until now, only the Pharisees pointed and cursed, but we should know that we too can do these things if our spiritual eyes and ears are closed.
Anyone who has received the Holy Spirit knows this after experiencing it at least once, but when they first received the Holy Spirit, they pretended to take out all their eyes immediately, but after time passes, it is like that. This is the same principle as when the Jews first received the Law and lived their religious life with fear and trembling. Likewise, the Christian life of today's Christians is no different from that of the Jews. The beginning was good, but the reason he changes towards the end is because he is not perfect.
The truth never changes. Why do we say alpha and omega when we symbolize God? It means that the beginning and the end are the same. So is our faith. No matter how good the beginning is, if the end changes, it is not the truth. Look at the Christian life today! What hasn't changed? Once a belief is changed, no one can take it back. This is possible only with the Son sent by God. Otherwise, everyone has to stand before the judgment seat because of their sins. In the lives of the Jews we have looked at the example carefully.
Entering the Holy of Holies, which was a holy place where no one could enter without permission, even those who were in positions where only the high priest could offer sacrifices were blinded by greed and honor. He lives by upholding those who live on the earth as his own king. It would be like the church leaders who grab hold of and control the church today. Even today, those who sit in high positions and high courage in the church are more proud of their imagining.
Purple! Currently, an elder who calls on the name of God is sitting on the seat of the president of this country. Nevertheless, whenever a problem arises, the believing president tries to carry out his will with his self-righteousness and self-righteousness, rather than bowing down to God and solving the problem. This is truly what offends God. Around this time last year, it was noisy with mad cow disease candles, but a year has passed so far, and the situation is much worse due to the death of the former president.
Now and next year, what will make us uneasy? I hope that believers will realize that God pours out greater wrath when they continue to refuse to solve their problems through God. So, when a believer obeys God's word and receives God's help, it is a blessing, but when not, even the people suffer much more. Those who believe, even though they are insignificant, must honor the Son sent by God as their king, not those who are in the world.- He who has ears, listen and understand!-