Sermon(Jn 7: 14-24): Do not judge by appearances but judge with right judgment

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025222166

 

 

 

Scripture reading

>If on the sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. (Jn 7:23-24)<

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In Jn 5, Jesus healed a sick man who had suffered from disease for 38 years. The man, who was freed from a horrible physical illness, walked out to start a new life with the pallet on which he used to lie. However, the key figures of Judaism provoked a quarrel with him, saying, "Why are you carrying a thing on Sabbath?" The healed man said, "The man who healed me told me to take this pallet and go." The key members of Judaism, knowing that Jesus was the healer, began to criticized Jesus for curing a sick man on Sabbath, violating the law of Moses, and seducing simple people. They openly said they would kill him.

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In Jn 7, Jesus taught the word of God in the temple about the middle of the feast, but people despised him and his teachings, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied? (v. 15)" Seeing that they were full of hatred and hostility against him, Jesus said to them, "Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" Jews replied, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" Jesus answered, "If on the sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the sabbath I made a man's whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."

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Brethren, what is >judging by appearances< that Jesus pointed out? First, Jews didn't recognize the authority of Jesus, who was not an authorized religious leader at that time. Those days, the authorized religious leaders were priests and Pharisees. Jesus teaches us that those who place higher authority on the sacred profession than on the words of God themselves are worshippers of the clergy (or idolaters of priesthood). Jesus, by saying, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me (v. 16)," teaches us again that the words of God are the highest authority. What is the highest authority today in Christianity? It is the Bible. The Bible contains all useful words of God that he has said to human beings for thousands of years. Therefore, no one should challenge the words of God preached in accord with the Bible because they are the words of God. Of course, they must be preached under God's permission. In particular, since the rebuke based on the Bible against sinful pastors is 100% the word of God, so they should not defy the rebuke because of their wounded pride and fall into sin. The most harmful pest in Christianity is the idolization of the priesthood. on account of this idolatry, God wrote most books of the Bible not through official clerics but through those whom he called from their secular workplaces, making them prophets. Look at those who wrote the books of the Bible or the great Christian leaders. Moses was a shepherd. So was David. Solomon was a king. And almost all of the prophets of the Old Testament were not priests when they became prophets. None of Jesus' apostles were priests. Official clergymen, or professional ministers, need to be more humble. What is crucial, Jesus, the Savior and the Master of the church, was not a cleric who was ordained priest.

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What is important is >being called by God<, and the words of God themselves preached by his servants are important. Considering the clergymen in the denominations, some of them may have become a clergyman themselves without being called to God, or some of them may have used money to occupy good posts. History proves this. We must respect the divine office and the hierarchy of the clergy. At the same time, we must not overlook the fact that there are God's servants who as farmers or fishermen have been called by God to be non-regular priests. Therefore you can avoid >the idolatry of priesthood<, that is, >the blind respect for and obedience to the wicked clergy<, when you pay attention to whether the preachings are the words of God, no matter who preaches.

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One example of >judging by appearances< that Jesus mentioned is so-called scholarship, that is, learning. Jerusalem's scholars, who worked in the palace of king, looked down upon Jesus, a countryman from Nazareth. Perhaps they thought, 'What is he going to teach us? He is a middle school(!) graduate.' "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied? (v. 15)" Those who say that almost 100% never have experienced God's power. I (Z^_stevision) have not experienced many things until now, but I can say that at least the words of God do not come from logical reasoning based on knowledge learned in the world. A servant of God has the Holy Spirit in his heart, and the Holy Spirit makes the words of life and truth flow continually from the heart to give words of life to people through him as a clean fountain gives people clean water to quench their thirst. The priests and Pharisees of those days, who were preoccupied with politics and worldly standing, had never experienced the word of God springing from their minds, so they idly questioned Jesus' educational background. Just from this can we know their spirituality. In Jesus Christ, God the Father was speaking. Jesus' words were the Father's words. Those who tried to take Jesus, the Master of logic, into the trap with their trick, had to taste the bitterness of complete defeat. “But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ (is) the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Cor 1:24)” “In whom (in Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:3)” Jesus doesn't need a degree. His disciples endeavored to live a life imitating Jesus, and wrote the New Testament. Great theologians studied the Bible written by his disciples, and established doctrines of Christianity. And many modern intellectuals studied hard the theology of such great theologians and received their great Ph.D. or D.D. (Doctor of Divinity). Today, there are still many Harvard or Oxford professors who make a living by studying Jesus' ideas. Therefore Jesus didn't need to take a doctorate. If he had taken a doctorate as a student of a great religious leader at that time, it would never have been a help to him. This is why he did not need a degree. These days, there are many great doctors who are smart believers at church, and who don't look up to pastors with bachelor's or master's degree of theology of insignificant College of Theology. It is a bad habit. Try to break your bad habits at once! So God lets all the words of his servants who graduated from insignificant universities come true so far as the words do not transgress the Bible, in order to make their words authoritative. Wise saints, meet all pastors with a heart-warming respect regardless of the size of the churches in which they minister. Especially, if you have a chance to meet a pastor of a small church, give him a wonderful treatment. If there is a new small church near your house, you can help the pastor of the church with prayer and money even if you do not attend the church. What a pity that God has given you many chances to serve others, which you miss!

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Jesus is pointing out that the literalism in the interpretation of the Bible is wrong. He says that it is wrong not to do God's work on the Sabbath because of the law that you shall not work on the Sabbath. It is wrong to make money by doing medical work every Sabbath, but it is God's work to cure emergency patients on the Sabbath, and to cure poor people's disease for free on the Sabbath. Free lunch for the poor people on the Sabbath enhances God's glory. To defile the temple is a sin, however it is a holy work showing God's mercy to allow the homeless to sleep in the temple in the cold night of winter. No less harmful than the literalism of the Bible is doctrinalism. Presbyterian or Methodist churches should be proud of their doctrines, but they should not unilaterally declare other churches heresy. And you should not argue in the church on receiving the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gift of tongues. You should not impose your faith and standards of godliness on others. I suffered much trouble before when a minister forced me to pray hard in order to receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues. He ordered me to pray until I got hoarse. But it was a nonsense to me! I couldn't satisfy him. I'm not a man whose faith is formed by others' coercion. I've naturally received the Holy Spirit when I believed in Jesus and was baptized, and it does not matter that I can't speak tongues, because I can manage to live a somewhat godly life without the gift of tongues. I think that the gift of tongues is given to believers who have prayer-mission for the church. I think that it is hard to pray long with live senses, so God gives the gift of tongues to saints so that they can pray long, deeply, with the language the Holy Spirit gives. Those who keep and establish the church and do God's work by prayer need the gift of tongues. I read books for a long time rather than pray long, so I have not much time to pray even if I receive the gift of tongue. And even when I do not pray long by tongues but pray sincerely and briefly, I can usually know God's will, so I don't have any trouble to live a religious life. The problem is that God has given various gifts to various believers according to their ability and ministry, nevertheless, some ignorant saints who do not know that and some proud ministers despise and condemn others based on the standards of their faith and piety. This is a very haughty and ignorant deed. You should avoid it. I will tell you what is a really important gift. Please keep in mind. The most important gift in the church is the gift of preaching the word of God. It is the most important thing in church to find the exact meaning of the words of the Bible and to preach the words in accordance with the times. The gift of healing is valid until the death of the healed person. The gift of speaking tongues does not have particular advantage compared to ordinary prayer. Neither does the gift of prophecy, compared to Bible-reading. The gift that enables the pastors to interpret the Bible properly and to preach the words of the life well is a gift to keep the church and a gift related to the eternal life, therefore, the most important gift. Do you understand? So the most precious pastor is he who preaches the words of God rightly. He has received the most important gift even though he may not have received the gifts of tongues or healing.

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Jesus said, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. (Jn 7:24)" Why do you judge others recklessly? Have you ever given grace to them? Are you a man who gives them the heaven and the eternal life? Why do you want to make your taste a global standard? You must repent if you have unjustly judged others by appearances so far. If you have judged others by appearances to hurt their feelings, apologize to them. And please learn the Bible properly under the guidance of the humble pastors. Some people with only passion and haughtiness but without the knowledge of the Bible and theology tend to judge others by appearances and their standards. When I talked with lay people who were members of heretic churches, I couldn't put up with them because they tried to teach a normal Christian with their false and narrow knowledge of faith. Less tolerable than them are those who like judging others by appearances in church. It's hubris! Be humble! You have still many logs in your eyes to be taken out. Read a lot of words of the Bible every day, and do not criticize others' faith as far as it is not heretical. God is invisible. Some great gifts of God are visible, but there are many precious gifts that you can't see easily. Love for God, knowledge of the Bible, respect for others, love for others, etc., - these are invisible but certainly exist. You will not be reproved but praised by Jesus if you love others unconditionally and think them to be better than yourself. Then you will never make the mistake of judging others by appearances. That is how to judge with right judgement. God commanded so, and it is true that you have many logs in your eyes, that others are better than you. God made every 'I (myself)' low and every 'you' high. Do you (a low I) think that it is a loss to you? No! You are a high 'you' to all others. This is the law of the love of God.

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May God give you wisdom, humility and discretion, so that you may love and respect others to establish the church and be a good example of a good Christian to others.

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Chong Tack Kim

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                                    - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -