Title: To Offer Salvation
Contents
Zechariah 9:9-10
to bring salvation
Dear brothers and sisters, who do you live your life with this confession in front of? I hope that you will become a saint who can make such a confession to God, not to a robber.
Today is Palm Sunday, the sixth Sunday in Lent and the first day of Passion Week. When Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, the Jews sang “Hosanna” to celebrate the entrance of Jesus, so this day was sometimes called 'Hosanna Sunday'. It is also called '(Palm Sunday).
Every human being in this world is born with two yokes. One is ‘yoke of solitude’ and the other is ‘yoke of death’. Even the yoke of loneliness is hard. But the yoke of death is the most difficult yoke man can bear, and it is the most difficult yoke man can bear. That is why all human beings live under the pressure of fear and fear of death. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Persian king Xerxes wept over his mighty expeditionary force when he thought that none of them would survive a hundred years from now. Many of those who wielded great power have tried to overcome death by using their strength and wealth.
Emperor Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty put an end to hundreds of years of war and established China's first unified empire. He built the Great Wall of China, built Abang Palace, and built a huge tomb at the foot of Mount Liu where he would be buried when he died. It is said that this tomb was excavated by a farmer digging a well in 1974, about 2,200 years after Qin Shi Huang's death, and it took 700,000 prisoners to build it over 38 years. It is said that 700 life-size robbers, more than 100 chariots, 40 horses, and 100,000 weapons were discovered in the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, which is still being excavated. Qin Shi Huang wanted to live forever under their escort. So, I selected 3,000 southeasters and sent them to various places to get the medicine for immortality.
Even the kings and pharaohs of Egypt had a strong attachment to eternal life. So they built a tomb called a pyramid. The pyramid made by King Khufu in Gije was built by 100,000 people over 20 years, and it is huge with a base of 230m and a height of 146.5m. The reason the kings of Egypt built such large tombs was because they believed that they had the power to secure eternal life after their death. So they built great tombs, mummified the corpse, animated it through magical rituals, and put enough riches in the tomb to live forever. Not only wealth, but also various tools and items used by kings, and those closest to and loved by their families and the royal family were also buried. It was because he thought that when the king was resurrected, he had to have servants to attend, and he also had a loving wife.
This preparation for the world after death is a testament to how fearful humans are of death. In death there are three unknowns and three known. The three things you don't know are you don't know when you'll die, you don't know where you'll die, and you don't know how you'll die. Three things to know about death are that you must die once, that no one can go with you, and that you can't take anything with you. That's right. Everyone dies at some point. The Bible says, “It is appointed for man once to die, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
But Jesus knew well what happened after death. So I was not afraid of death. Even in the face of death, he showed a completely different attitude from humans. Humans want to avoid death because they fear it. But Jesus volunteered to go to the place where death awaited. He boldly approached the death that humans so desperately wanted to avoid. He went to Jerusalem, knowing that the people who were trying to kill him were waiting with their swords sharpened. When we read the words of the Gospels that record Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, we can feel that Jesus' approach to death is like the triumphal procession of the triumphal general.
When he entered Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, people spread their cloaks on the road, cut branches and spread them on the road, and broke palm branches and waved them, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna” (Matthew 21:9), welcoming Jesus. The singers did not know how to betray Jesus and cry out, “Crucify him,” before the excitement of the procession was over. But Jesus knew. He knew that before the echo of this crowd's praises could be gone, their praise would turn into a voice of resentment. Indeed, as Jesus expected, the praise “Hosanna will be praised” turned into accusations and boos, “Crucify him,” before a week had elapsed. I hope that you will become a saint who does not live intoxicated by people's praise and popularity.
Death is something that every human being wants to avoid. But Jesus went to the place where death awaited. This is the greatness of Christianity. This is what makes Christianity a Christian. The march towards death is the greatness of Christianity. This march of Jesus towards death is to bring salvation to all mankind. Jesus volunteered to go to where death awaits to bring salvation to you and me. What everyone is afraid of, what everyone fears, what everyone desperately wants to avoid, but where all human beings have no choice but to go, something that can never be avoided, you went towards it. Man has no choice but to go, but Jesus voluntarily went to death. He was able to grant us salvation because Jesus volunteered to go to death.
1. First, Jesus was silent in the face of death to save us.
Silence is a strong expression of confidence. Look into the eyes of a tiger, silently staring at its prey. You can't find the fuss of a hyena or a wolf intercepting other people's food. But that gaze is a gaze of strong confidence that can subdue all animals. A confident person never makes a fuss. Making a fuss is a camouflage tactic for not being confident. The empty wagon makes a noise, and the frightened dog barks wildly.
So is language. There is no language as strong as silence. Isn't it called 'silence is gold'? That is why, when learning the art of speaking, it is imperative to teach the ‘art of rest’. The part of speech that stops in the middle and does not say anything is called a 'pause part', and this 'pause part' is not just a rest. It is this ‘waste paper’ that can convey the most intense thoughts and ideas. Have you ever been called and scolded by your parents or teachers when you were young? Wouldn't it make you more anxious if you were called and knelt down and just looked down without saying anything? Have you ever had a couple fight? It would be better to point out the error and say that it would be better to do this and that, but wouldn't it be more disturbing if you didn't say anything? Silence is the most intense language a human being can use. It is the most powerful language.
So is music. Violins, violas, cellos, flutes, piccolos, and oboes hold their breath, while trumpet and trombone take over strongly. When silence arrives, people hold their breath at the sudden silence, and they can't slow down the tension about the next note. The note following that silence is the most intense language.
Recent architecture and design emphasize the importance of 'empty parts' rather than 'filled parts'. So, I am doing a lot of research on ‘how to empty the space’ rather than ‘how to fill the space’. That's right. Silence or emptiness is the strongest language, the most powerful expression.
Jesus was silent at the shouts of the people. He was silent on the accusations and false witnesses of people. He was silent on Pilate's question. The prophet Isaiah prophesied, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb to the slaughter, and a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). As Isaiah prophesied, Jesus was silent. Matthew 27:12 testifies of Jesus who was silent, saying, “He was accused of by the chief priests and elders, but he gave no answer.” Jesus' silence is not an acknowledgment of sin, but rather an expression of confidence in his innocence. It is an expression of truth, courage, and truth that cannot be overcome even by the accusations and death of countless people.
Crucifixion is a polar form. It is a sadistic punishment. It is a horror and shameful death. Therefore, it is a punishment that was mainly applied to set an example for the lower classes, slaves, or conquered people. A person being crucified is hung naked in a place where people pass by a lot, such as a crossroad, an amphitheater, or a hill and is open to the public. The prisoner to be crucified was first whipped, then carried the cross and dragged across the street to the place of execution. And the executioners nailed the hands and feet of the executioners to the trees. The death row inmates who did not die after being nailed in this way usually suffocated. Your diaphragm is gradually compressed because your nailed hand alone cannot support your weight. The corpses of the death row inmates were not buried and were left to rot. So this crucifixion is the most shameful, degrading and painful punishment.
But Jesus, the Son of God, remained silent in the face of such an insulting, shameful, and most painful cross. The reason Jesus remained silent while dying on the cross, suffering shame and suffering, was to fulfill God's will to save mankind. It was to bring salvation to you and me.
2. Second, Jesus endured to save us.
Jesus did not escape death