Title: The Road to Freedom
question about jesus
The words we read today (31-38) are contained in verses 12 to 59, which are called apologetics for the identity of Jesus. In verse 12, Jesus refers to himself, saying, “I am the light of the world.” In verse 25, the Jews ask Jesus: "who are you?" These questions have been asked not only during Jesus' life, but also after that. Although it was said above that this question is meaningless to us, it is only to describe a fragment of the problem presented to us, not to imply the essential dimension of the question. If today we no longer ask the question of who Jesus is, it would be either. In one case, we do not approach the issue of faith from the level of serious reflection, but in one case we believe that Jesus is our Messiah.
disciple's way
In today's text, Jesus opens his mouth like this: “If you take my words to heart and live, you are truly my disciples.” We see here what is central to the relationship between the teacher, Jesus and the disciple. The right way to become a disciple of Jesus is to keep in mind the words of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus.
To take the words of Jesus into your heart means to enter into the world they point to. Jesus’ words are not just ethical teachings about being good or just tips for living a happy life in the world, but are connected with a much more fundamental situation. This fundamental situation is the kingdom of God. When Jesus began his public ministry, the first words he proclaimed were, “Repent. The kingdom of God is at hand.” Jesus taught many people about this kingdom of God in parables. The events of curing the disabled or those with incurable diseases also signify what will happen in the kingdom of God. The accusation of blasphemy for proclaiming that people's sins are forgiven can also be understood only in the kingdom of God that Jesus was trying to convey.
These days, as I am working on sermon criticism on my own, half-and-half, I have come across other people's sermons frequently through Christian broadcasts or through sermons. In many of those sermons, I was able to confirm that there are many passages that we should listen to, but usually there are many things that are not very essential. Occasionally, there were many people who preached content that did not even reach the level of common sense or was just a liberal arts lecture. For example, there have been many sermons that say, 'Laughing brings blessings' or that praying will solve all problems. Or, there are those who are zealous to not eat other people's money. These are just common sense or culture. There is a problem with the central theme of sermons that everyone who lives with common sense should keep.
So, what is a sermon about the kingdom of God? If you answer based on today's text, it can be said that sermons based on the kingdom of God are to look deeply into the relationship between the fact that we take the words of Jesus into our hearts and the fact that we become disciples of Jesus, and to interpret the relationship. There is.
the way of truth
Jesus said that you must become His disciples to know the truth. What the hell does this mean? Yes, it is not wrong to think that Jesus is telling you to believe in Jesus, but it is not a sufficient answer. Last Sunday was Reformation Sunday, but looking back on the past church history, we Christians say we believe in Jesus, and on the contrary, we have done many things that are contrary to the truth. In this field, what justification is there in Jesus' words that if we become His disciples, we will know the truth? Because these fundamental problems are related to reading the Bible, many people not only do not get into the depths of the Bible, nor do they make any effort to go into it, they just use it as a tool for their own religious purposes.
This proposition that the disciples who put the words of Jesus in their hearts will know the truth was the most fundamental confession of faith in early Christianity, including the John Community. What did they think the truth was? The Jews thought that keeping the law was the way of truth, and the Greek philosophy of Socrates and Plato thought that ‘knowing yourself’ was the way of truth. However, early Christianity and today we believe that taking the words of Jesus into our hearts is the way of truth. Since the words of Jesus are Jesus Himself, keeping Him in our hearts is the way of truth. In John 14:6, Jesus referred to himself as the way, the truth, and the life. This is the early Christian confession of faith. Jesus is the truth itself, so if you follow him, you will soon come to know the truth.
We know a lot of mathematical formulas, or deep knowledge of genetic engineering, which we usually think of as truth, but they are only information to get to the truth. Even in music, the skill to play the sheet music is musical information, not music experience. The reason the early Christian community recognized Jesus as the truth was because they saw the ultimate life event in Jesus. They thought that life was not determined by the conditions of existence that politics and economy provided us with, but by Jesus.
This also means that our life is not perfected by our own abilities, but is entirely in the hands of God. Just as the resurrection of Jesus was caused by the power of God, the life in which we will participate can be completed only by God. The idea that life belongs to God's prerogative is not just an original idea by the Christian community. Already, the Old Testament testifies that God created the world, especially man, and thus that life is only in God's hands.
Because today's genetic engineering advances almost endlessly, people think that the day may come when we will fully understand the essence of life and even intervene in the realm of life creation. In the future, when genetic engineering is much more advanced, by manipulating the genes of the fetus, children with the most perfect physical beauty and health, children who are close to genius intellectually, and furthermore, only children with angelic kindness in mind. If you live in this world and your heart breaks, you change your heart, if your eyesight deteriorates, you change your eyes, and if your brain becomes dull, you can simply restore it to its original state, like bowling a car engine, and you may enjoy eternal life. To have such a dream is human freedom, but that way, humans cannot handle life at will. Because, in Heidegger's words, man is 'being in the world', and according to the teaching of the Bible, man is a creature.
road to freedom
Jesus said, “The truth will set you free” (32). This is also consistent with the confession of faith in early Christianity. The truth is that Jesus Christ sets us free. I mentioned above that a future in which human beings can dream of eternal life can come through genetic technology, but just because they taste eternal life in that way does not mean that humans are free. Such eternal life may rather be a cursed fate for humans. Because as long as man is trapped in the desire not to die, he can never be free.
When the Jews heard these words of Jesus, they raised objections like this. “We are descendants of Abraham, and we have never been a slave to anyone, but what happened when you said to us that we would be set free?” (33). The Jews, who were proud to be descendants of Abraham, never recognized themselves as slaves of that powerful nation, although they had prolonged their colonial life by neighboring powers. As God's chosen people, they had strong national pride. However, they only accepted the horizon of truth and freedom that Jesus spoke of as their own standards. Jesus speaks at a depth of 10, but those people interpret it at a depth of 2. In such a situation, true conversation is never possible.
The reason why this happens is that, as recorded in verse 38, Jesus is speaking what God the Father has shown, and the Jews live as their ancestors told them to do. Jesus entered the world of seeing, but the Jews remained in the stage of hearing. Jesus speaks from the horizon of the kingdom of God, which is the ultimate life, but the Jews are only raising objections from the horizon of the kingdom of Israel. They thought that they were still free people even if they were forced to become colonies due to the loss of national power if they firmly kept the national spirit.
John was seeing precisely the limits of the freedom that could be attained in that way. Early Christianity believed that true freedom was secured in Jesus Christ, not in the way Jews thought, as evidenced by the fact that even though modern humankind has built a significant welfare society, it is still far from ultimate freedom. . They believed that Jesus was one with God, the Creator of life. If the very God who created life was united with Jesus, then believing in this Jesus was the only way to gain that life. The person who obtained that life is, of course, free.
However, this life has not yet been materially revealed to us. It is promised to us by the words of Jesus. So today we do not yet possess complete freedom. That freedom, too, was given only by promise. Although it is a promise to be fulfilled in the future, we believe that it is faithful. The person of Jesus, crucified and resurrected, guarantees this promise. Those who believe in Jesus are truly free people, and they will be.