Title Four Incidents / 2004.4.4
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Matthew 21:1-11, Hebrews 9:13-14
Today is Palm Sunday. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, many people came out on the road to welcome Him, breaking palm branches and waving them. That's why this Sunday is called Palm Sunday. Since the trees scattered in the subtropical region of Israel are palm trees, they could be easily obtained and shaken, so they must have picked up the tree and shook it. But the palm tree is a tree that symbolizes victory. Although the entry of Jesus seemed to have ended in tragedy on the cross, in the end, it was a triumphal event that overthrew Satan's intentions with the glory of resurrection and defeated the power of sin. It was also a Sunday.
During the Holy Week that began this Palm Sunday, several important events took place.
1. Entering Jerusalem
Today, on Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem. The Jews in Jerusalem at that time had great interest and expectations for Jesus. The reason was that they believed that Jesus was the Messiah who solved their real problems.
Their hope was an economic and political Messiah who would provide food, heal the sick, and free them from Roman oppression. The Jewish masses at that time were facing many economic and political difficulties and persecutions, so they were looking forward to the Messiah who would solve these difficulties. When Jesus entered, they must have welcomed him because they thought he was the one who could satisfy those expectations. They had seen Jesus perform miracles and had heard the rumors. So, expecting Jesus to become the Messiah, they welcomed Jesus by waving palm branches, a symbol of victory.
But they are soon disappointed. This is because Jesus was not the worldly Messiah who could solve their physical problems right away. It did not bring about immediate economic revival, as they expected, and it did not bring about immediate political change. And there was no hope that would refresh the mind by causing a military confrontation in front of the Roman powers. Jesus spoke of love and called for forgiveness and repentance. The crowd, full of realistic expectations, was so disappointed that they immediately shouted for Jesus to be crucified.
It also shows how it can be distorted when we try to find faith not in the fundamentals of human life but in the problems of eating and drinking. There is no doubt that these eating and drinking problems are important in human life, but you should know where the key to solving them lies.
The kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking
but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17
Jesus came into the world so that we may live righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit--to live righteously before God, to achieve peace among people, and to live joyfully in our lives.
God sent Jesus into the world to solve the problem of human sin. Unless the problem of human sin is resolved, our relationship with God cannot be perfect. The most fundamental and most important problem of man was the problem of sin because there could be no peace, joy, or eternal life for man without perfecting his relationship with God. God sent Jesus into the world for this, and Jesus had to bear the cross to atone for the sins of all mankind.
Dear brothers and sisters, thank you once again for the grace of the Lord on this Palm Sunday, and please make it clear why we believe in Jesus. May this Holy Week be a time to give thanks for God's grace.
2. The Last Supper
On that Passover, Jesus broke bread and gave it to his disciples. And you say
"Take this and eat it. This is my body."
Then he filled the cup with wine again and said,
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many.”
Jesus did that at his last supper on earth, even though the disciples did not understand it at the time.
According to the words of this prophecy, Jesus took up the cross, broke his body, and shed all his blood. He bore the penalty for all the sins we humans deserve. After this, there was no more need to offer sacrifices in animal blood. However, faith in the grace of Jesus, who offered his body on the altar of the cross like a lamb, became the only way for God to forgive all sins.
3. The Prayer of Gethsemane
After the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane. It is there that Jesus makes his final prayer. Especially when he accompanied Peter and John James, he said this at that time.
My heart was so troubled that I died
Stay here and watch with me (Matthew 26:38).
Where has Jesus ever said this to people? You are the only one here who said this. However, the Bible testifies that all of Jesus' beloved disciples fell asleep while he was bleeding and sweating his final prayer.
The Lord alone prayed with his face to the ground.
My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.
But not as I will, but as you will.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us reflect on these words deeply in front of today's Holy Week. The Lord speaks to us today as well. 'Stay here and stay awake with me' But when we fall asleep while drunk on the world, slumbering with idleness, and falling asleep because we are busy with other things, we say, 'How could you not stay awake like this for an hour with me? pray The heart is willing, but the flesh is weak.' Wouldn't you like to hear the Lord's voice like this?
During the Holy Week, I hope that you will be awake with the Lord in any form, through prayer and the Word, or through devotion and new resolutions.
4. Cross
Finally, Jesus was crucified at 9 am on Friday. He took away the sins of all mankind and became the sacrifice for atonement. Whether we knew it or not, whether we recognized it or not, God punished our sins and opened the way for salvation. After that, anyone who believes and acknowledges this love and grace of God has been allowed to receive this grace. You have received forgiveness of sins and salvation. For this, Jesus came into the world and took up the cross.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
It is the power of God to us who are being saved. 1 Corinthians 1:18
As long as humans live in the world, they are bound to commit sins. This is because after Adam and Eve's transgression, human life became distorted and contradictory, and the world became a world where sin took over. Nevertheless, people tend not to take the problem of sin very seriously. That's for two reasons.
First, because there is so much sin in the world that it is insensitive.
It is true that there are so many sins in the world that it is difficult to discern what is a sin and what is a right life. It's like 100 billion won or 10 billion won, so it's like the world has become a world where one million won is not considered money. That is why it is easy for even Christians to live insensitively like the people of the world.
Second, they have a wrong conception of sin.
Sometimes, when they hear the word to repent, the saints grunt and pray as if they are trying to find out even a sin that has nothing to do with it, but in reality, there are many people who struggle with what to repent of. I haven't done anything particularly wrong, so what should I repent of? I pray this and that, but fundamentally, what I need to repent of is definitely not in my heart. Why? Because they only think of sin as doing something bad. Stealing other people's things, harming others, stealing, murdering... is only considered a sin. However, I do not consider it a sin to have an unthankful heart, a heart withered in love, selfishness that only knows me, or a closed heart that does not care about the suffering of others.
As long as we live in the world, every human being has no choice but to sin. It is because we can live without stealing from others, but we cannot live by giving to others without limit. Because you can live without harming others, but you cannot live with endless love. It is because we can keep Sundays well and tithe thoroughly, but we cannot fully practice God's Word.
Jesus took up the cross, taking away all of our sins and transgressions. All we have to do now is acknowledge that grace. All you have to do is confess that the cross of the Lord was for your sins and give thanks for that grace.
Sprinkle the unclean with the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer
If you purify the body and sanctify it,
How much more the blood of Christ, who through the Holy Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God
How can you not cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9:13-14
By grace you have been saved through faith
This is not from you, it is the gift of God,
It is not of works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
Dear saints who are going through the Holy Week, let's look to the Lord who shed water and blood for us. Let's look at the cross. Let us cast off all greed, lies and unbelief. Let's have faith. Let's love the Lord. Let's be like the Lord. Let's seek the kingdom and its righteousness, devote ourselves to prayer, live in obedience and loyalty, and be together in love. That is the life of a believer who knows grace, the image of a Christian who has faith, and the faith of a person whose cross is the power.
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