Title: The Law and the Prophets!
Contents
Sunday day sermon
Text: Matthew 22:34-40
Title: The Code of the Law and the Prophets!
At the time of Jesus, the Sadducees were wealthy, and they were also a Jewish sect, but unlike the Pharisees who believed in the resurrection, they did not believe in the resurrection. For those who do not believe in the resurrection, they believed that eating and living well on earth was God's greatest blessing, no matter what. Then, out of nowhere, a villager of Nazareth appeared and it seemed to them that they were talking nonsense in their eyes, saying, “He who believes in me will never die.” The first was married and died suddenly, so the second married his sister-in-law, and he died suddenly. This time, the third married, but he also died, and the fourth. Then the woman asks whose wife is she going to be.
Then Jesus said, “You have misunderstood that you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven!” He continued, taking the case of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as examples, saying, “I tell them again that God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. Emphasize once.” The Pharisees heard the news that even the Sadducees, who never believed in the resurrection of mankind, could not properly answer Jesus about the resurrection. This time, they came to Jesus with the intention of tying him up and said, “Teacher, which one of the Law is Is the commandment the greatest?” Immediately Jesus said to them, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. All the law and the prophets!”
When the Pharisees heard this from Jesus, they left without saying anything. Because none of what Jesus said is wrong. They went to the temple to kill cattle and slaughtered sheep and offered sacrifices. In reality, he said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Also, the words “Love your neighbor as yourself” are also referring to the meaning of never being able to love your neighbor with a heart that lacks truth.
But in this world with a corrupt heart, what kind of person can love God even at the cost of his own life, and can love his neighbor as himself? Everyone says that they love God, but it is human nature to deny God when death is imminent. Like Muslims, there are some Christians who will not deny God with the vague belief that Allah (the God they believe in) will take care of them if they die unconditionally. It is a belief that comes from
Even the Pharisees, who boasted that there was no flaw in the Law at that time, after hearing Jesus' words, realized that they were not able to put it into practice, and quietly retreated. What we regret here is that if we were not able to carry out such actions, how would it have been better if we had confessed that fact in front of Jesus cleanly and tried to live such a life through Jesus? the point is
Today's Christians, who believed in the name of Jesus, who came to the land of Israel, and received the Holy Spirit to become spiritual Israelites, are no different from the Sadducees and Pharisees at the time of Jesus.
Christians today also go to the chapel to die, donate offerings, do faithful service, and offer all kinds of worship services, but all of these are of no use unless they start from the heart to honor God. Also, helping others is something that you do not do from the heart, but in reality you do it for your own benefit. If you say this, some may say that they truly worship God with love, donate money, and help others, but those who say this already are being deceived by themselves.
Even believers never make such vain labor. What are the wishes of believers? He is silently carrying out such a difficult task without saying anything in the hope that God will recognize his hard work later and fill him with eternal life. This is the belief in the belief that comes out of one's own thoughts. The act of drinking kimchi soup by yourself, even though you don't even think about the person who will give you rice cakes. Eternal life is not attained by any luck or one's blood and sweat, but only through the grace of Christ, and is possible only with the mercy of Christ.
If today's Christians really want to believe in God, they must abandon the idea of going before God on their own. A person with a corrupt heart can never trust God well. The Pharisees tried so hard to come before God in their own righteousness, but no one could come before God. The only person who can come before God without any hesitation is the Son whom God has sent.
Therefore, the only way for human beings born in sin to approach God is through the Son. However, if there is a person who intends to come before God by excluding his son, then such a person is already falling into the trap that Satan has dug. And man with a corrupt heart cannot love God with comfort, nor can he love his neighbor as himself on earth. In order to accomplish this and to put it into practice, only Christ is needed by humans. Make sure that the Spirit of Christ, who came as the Spirit of the Son, is seated in your heart, not the Holy Spirit, who came as the Spirit of the Father! Otherwise, you are still not a real Christian.