To be forgiven is a blessing
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6.12 Sermon text: John 8:1-11
Forgiveness is a blessing
I saw an interesting statistic a while ago. What is the song that Koreans sing the most in karaoke? was to do. The answer was a song called Meeting Noh Sa-yeon. The question of who one meets in life is very important. Because life changes depending on who you meet. We often hear stories of people who have succeeded in meeting good spouses, meeting teachers, and meeting friends. But most of all, there are people we need to meet in our lives. He is Jesus Christ. The text shows the tremendous changes and blessings that occur when we, who are only sinners, meet Jesus through the case of a woman who was caught in adultery and came to Jesus.
On the other hand, if Jesus answered Yes to the questions of the scribes and Pharisees, they would accuse Jesus of emphasizing love, telling us to love even our enemies, as contradictory. Also, when Israel was an independent state, summary dispositions were possible according to the law, but after being colonized by the Romans, it was forbidden by the Roman law to execute summary dispositions. So when Jesus tells them to stone them, they have a chance to sue Jesus to the Roman government. Jesus was well aware of these tricks. So Jesus told them that the one among you who is without sin should throw a stone at them, and he escaped from the trap the Pharisees and scribes had dug at once. It is refreshing to see that Jesus resisted the tricks of the scribes and Pharisees, but two meanings can be found in the text.
First, Jesus made us realize the reality of man through these words. No one is free from sin. However, while people are overly generous with their own faults and sins, they are very strict about the faults and sins of others. Therefore, verse 7, “Whoever is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at him” is teaching us how wise a person who lives in sin should deal with the sins and transgressions of others. He is reminding us that whether it is good to expose, condemn, and kill each other, or that we should find our own faults in the faults of others and use this as an opportunity for self-reflection and maturity. Furthermore, he is criticizing the heartlessness of the Pharisees and scribes, who, because they misunderstood the law, cannot forgive people's transgressions and are quick to judge and condemn.
Second, the goal of Jesus' ministry is to renew those who have fallen into sin. Verse 11 says, “Jesus said to him, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Like the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus did not fail to condemn the woman caught in adultery for their sins. Even though he was without sin, he did not condemn. He knew that Jesus could fully condemn and judge people, but that was not the way to truly make people worthy and happy. So he offered a method of understanding and forgiveness. And further, Jesus tells the woman not to sin again. This is the core of Jesus' ministry to free people from sin and lead a new life.
To transform sinners into a new life, Jesus came into this world for this ministry. He knew how painful and heavy the burden of sin is. Sadly, however, people fall into the temptations of material things and the pleasures of the world and do not know what the end of sin is. It should be fun. I like it when it makes a profit right away. So many people live in this world with their hopes. It can be a material or a person. Then, when hope is lost, despair. I'm anxious.
Dear saints,
It is Jesus who embraces us who are nothing but sinners apart from our interests, loves us and forgives us endlessly, renewing our lives. Only when we meet this Jesus can we become happy. When we stay in the grace of God who saves sinners, our lives, which have been neglected, marginalized, and pointed at, begin to have value. The Lord renews even the woman who was caught in adultery and brought out while being disgraced by thousands of people, and even the woman who fell to the bottom of despair because of shame, inferiority and suffering. In the name of the Lord, I pray that the blessings of love, forgiveness, understanding, and regeneration that Jesus gave to this woman will be the blessings and graces that you all enjoy in this age.