Title: Tiberiah or Galilee (John 21:15-18)
Contents
Let me start with one question. Where was today's text message given? The shores of Lake Tiberia. Take a look at verse 1. “After that, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the lake of Tiberias, and these were the things he revealed.” Then ask again. Lake Tiberia is mentioned here. What kind of lake does Lake Tiberia refer to?
Which lake are you referring to as Lake Tiberia? It refers to the Sea of Galilee. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, what is called the Sea of Galilee is called Lake Tiberias only in the Gospel of John (John 6:1, 6:13, 21:1).
Why? Was it only this author who was writing the Gospel of John who called the Sea of Galilee the Lake of Tiberias? That is the crux of the issue we will ponder today. And this is a central issue in our religious and Christian life. It is an important issue that determines the mode of thinking, thinking and acting.
Tiberias was originally the name of an emperor who ruled Rome. In Roman times, Roman emperors loved to commemorate the areas they conquered by creating huge cities with their names on them. So, here and there, the Roman soldiers conquered the city, named after the Roman emperor.
But at least, if you are going to build a city after the name of a Roman emperor, it must be dignified and boastful of scale.
There is a condition called "giant" attached to it. A small town cannot be named after a Roman emperor. It is considered disrespectful. This way of thinking and lifestyle naturally worships the value of greatness and enhances the value of greatness.
The problem, however, is that being huge is not necessarily beneficial or beautiful. Just because it's big doesn't mean it's good. Because it is huge, there are cases where it goes down the road of destruction because of its size.
In contrast, Galilee, not Tiberias, is the name of a pure and unique village in Israel. This place called Galilee was small, but it was a beautiful place with innocence. It is a place where the "eternal worth" of which Jesus Christ walked is breathing. Jesus spent most of his time here. That is why Jesus is called Jesus of Galilee. Galilee was a place for shepherds and flocks, and a place for fishermen to fish. Jesus chose and established 11 of his 12 disciples in Galilee. Only Judah Iscariot was from the city south of Jerusalem. Being small is never something to be ashamed of. Small does not mean useless and uncompetitive.
Rather, because it is small, it can quickly embrace change, make reforms, and become competitive. Because it is small, it is beautiful and because it is small, something precious can be considered more precious.
In many places, big places, the little things tend to be buried and not treated as precious.
Whether it is the age of Jesus or today, it is an age where eternal and true values are pressed by the value of greatness and it is difficult to breathe. We live in an era where small things are easily treated as worthless and neglected. We are now crushed and deceived by the value of greatness. We live in an era where only big things, great things, and big things are worthwhile.
Yes, that's right. It makes sense. It is true that hugeness has its charm. But the value of greatness cannot take precedence over the value of eternity. No matter how great or great it is, it is of no value if it is temporary. If there is no truth in it and no love, it is of no value. If there is no great truth, no love, no lies, no matter how attractive it is, it is of no value.
These days, the words "Hwanggura" and "Hwangseol" are in vogue. It is very unfortunate that people who change their mouths, transfer responsibility, and deal with life science have become such targets. Until recently, he was a national hero and a figure in the limelight, but in the end, we see it being sunk by a huge achievementism.
Although grandiose is attractive, holiness is irresistible. We do not perish for lack of greatness, but for lack of holiness. It is not because there is no greatness that there is no power, but because of the lack of holiness there is no power. It is not because Rome is small that it is destroyed. It is ruined because of lack of holiness.
Instead of praying, "Lord! Raise us," we should pray, "Lord! Sanctify us." Instead of praying, "Lord! Make me great," we should pray, "Lord, make me honest."
Saints! Be big if you can. But I hope that you will never neglect the small things in order to do the big things. You should cherish even the little things and cherish them. Small service, small service, small position, small work It is more important than anything to make it good and faithful.
In today's text, Jesus came to Tiberias, not Galilee, and asked Peter, "Is there any fish in your nets?" And to Peter, who had nothing but empty nets, he said, "Cast your nets on the right side of the boat," so that they caught an abundance of fish.
And again, it is recorded that the Lord asked Peter, "Do you love me?" And he asked the same question three times, not just once. It has deep implications. The will of Jesus, the thoughts of Jesus, and the desires of Jesus are deeply contained here.
Jesus said to Peter, "This world is seeking greatness. Peter, where you are standing right now is the place you seek to be gigantic. But you too will be like the world and live in pursuit of such greatness, and you will live by looking at the world. ? Otherwise, in a world that pursues the value of that greatness, will you pursue the value of eternity and live in the sheep that I have entrusted to you?" Jesus clearly stated that the meaning of Jesus is not in the greatness itself, but in the true love of the Lord. It's about being faithful to your mission.
The same word given to Peter and the written word of the "Logos" is the word that is proclaimed to us today as the word of "Lema" and asks us the same question. Like Peter, we too must respond to that word.
Lord! I love the Lord. Even if we live in this huge sinful world, we will live like that only if we love the Lord.
I hope you don't like big things too much. There is a theory that dinosaurs became extinct because of their hugeness. There should be holiness, truthfulness, faithfulness, goodness, and love rather than greatness.
In the history of mankind, everything that loved the Lord and pursued nothing but greatness without fear of the Lord was destroyed. Companies, countries, and peoples all went bankrupt while pursuing greatness. But the pursuit of eternity as a value never perishes. If the Lord had pursued greatness and coveted the power of the world, would the Lord of today exist?
The attitude that we Christians should pursue in life should not be that we value greatness, but that we value eternity, value truth, and value love. That way it won't crash. That way it will last for a long time.
Saints! You have to grow. must grow. It has to be huge. But it would be undesirable if it was done falsely, without truth, by scheming, without love. Even if you grow a little slower, you have to grow steadily. It is not something that happened apart from the Lord, but it must be done in the love of the Lord. (Rev. Song Ki-hyun)