Sermon(Lk 23:39-43): Unconditional love

The original Korean text: https://stevision.blog.me/50025251822

 

 

 

 

 

>> 39 one of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk 23:39-43) <<

 

Some people find the value of a man not in his personality but in his utility or monetary value for themselves. Judas Iscariot, who sold Jesus, was this case. Why did Jesus not cast out Judas Iscariot at first? Because Jesus was a good shepherd. (From the beginning) Jesus knew that Judas was an evil one, but Judas came to him, publicly acknowledging him as his master, so Jesus, a good teacher, had to accept Judas as his disciple, thinking of the prospects of him who had no possibility of improvement whatever. If Jesus had rejected Judas from the beginning, many people would have doubted that he was a merciful Savior; and Devil would have made evil use of it. People could think, 'Isn't he a good teacher and Savior when he teaches a man well and makes him a good man even though he is the most wicked man?' So Jesus accepted Judas as his apostle so that he might be trusted in by others, although he definitely was to meet suffering because of him. In fact, If Jesus had driven out Judas before he actually betrayed Jesus, Devil would have attacked him, saying, "You are not qualified to be the good shepherd and Savior of mankind." After all, Jesus behaved as a good shepherd to Judas, Devil's instrument, from beginning to end, and was betrayed by him and suffered the death of the cross, in order that he might become the good shepherd to other elected ones. This week is Passion Week. Are there any pastors who have been betrayed by those whom they trusted in, and who are in great pain? You've defeated Devil. You're really good shepherds. You are pastors resembling Jesus if you would rather be betrayed by evil ones than first give up loving them.

 

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked Jesus to allow them to sit respectively at Jesus' right and left hand when Jesus became a king. They were saying that they wanted to be the second and the third in ranking in Jesus' kingdom. Today, Christians have this kind of faith. Of course, few Christians believe in Jesus for that purpose. However all Christians want to succeed in the world. Who would bear the cross voluntarily? No, are there any crosses for Christians to bear today? Were there any times when Christians could live an easier religious life than today? Today you don't have to fear tyrants like Nero, or starvation because of severe famine. (Of course I'm saying to Korean Christians now.) Today you hardly have the chance to pray like this: "Lord, must I drink this cup?" So many Christians show a lot of interest in succeed in the world and spend a lot of their prayer time begging for that kind of blessings. Thinking of our ancestors who sacrificed their life for the evangelization of this nation, we can see that the abundant riches of our nation have not been acquired for nothing. All are God's blessings. Perhaps naturally God has blessed Korean Christians because many Koreans went abroad to preach the gospel. Many pastors want to make a large church and to live a dignified and rich life. That, too, is a precious wish because God is mercy and generous, I think. Lord, all Christians in Korea give thanks to thee for thy abundant grace and blessing. only to thee be thanks, praises, glory and honor! Amen!

 

According to the biblical text today, one of the criminals who were being crucified with Jesus sarcastically told Jesus, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" This man's faith is the faith of those who think, 'If I fail in anything in the world, it's all Jesus' fault.' He who says, "Jesus is bad if he doesn't restore my bankrupt business"; he who says, "Jesus is irresponsible if he doesn't help me pass this promotion exam"; he who protests that Jesus was irresponsible because he didn't help his son enter a prestigious university; he who complains that Jesus was really bad and irresponsible because he exposed him to the traffic accident - all of these men have the faith of the above criminal. There are surprisingly many who blame Jesus for their faults, sins and misfortunes. Jesus keeps silent to their complaints. Jesus' silence is like saying, "Do you have a faith of that kind?" My brethren, if you have failed in something in the world, reflect on your own mistakes first and try to find the way to recover with the help and power of God. Are you displeased with the rude words of a crucified criminal to Jesus? But many Christians have that kind of faith. If you have a right faith, you'll give thanks to God for everything.

 

But the other criminal on another cross says rightly. He says first, "We are receiving the due reward of our deeds." My brethren, this is the faith that gives us blessing of God. Those who honestly admit their sins are qualified for forgiveness and mercy of God. If you are an obvious sinner, nevertheless do not admit your sins, you'll never be forgiven neither by people nor by God. Sometimes God signals us to repent, for it is difficult for you to have a normal fellowship with God with sin in you. Then we should pray the Holy Spirit to remind us of our sins and to help us give prayer of repentance, and should frankly admit our sins and beg forgiveness of God. And immediately God's peace will come upon us and we'll feel free. Sometimes you can't recall your sins. Then pray to God, "My God, it seems like I've sinned unknowingly. Forgive me!" Our spirits become clean vessels to receive God's grace when we wash away our sins. It is foolish to seek God's blessing without being forgiven sins.

 

The criminal who admitted his sins acknowledges that Jesus is innocent. "This man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong." I think that this confession of this man is very important. It was pronounced already through the mouth of the Roman governor Pilate that Jesus was sinless. You need to be acknowledged to be sinless by law or by the judgment of those who have good knowledge, personality and life. However it is more important that you are admitted to be innocent by those who are living at the bottom of the world. For example, a rich man may be found innocent in court and be praised by many, however, he may not be regarded as 'a righteous man' by someone in his town who committed a murder robbery. Would those who lived at the bottom of society have sinned because they wanted to sin? Who dislikes being a righteous man and commits theft and robbery? Consider the story of a rich man and Lazarus, a beggar. Wasn't the rich man sent to hell immediately after death because he wasn't recognized as a righteous man by Lazarus? And in that sense, the assessment of Jesus by the criminal tells us exactly who Jesus really is. Jesus was recognized as righteous even by a wicked evildoer who was crucified. Of course, the other evildoer with a blurred conscience could not make such a confession. So what was the result? Jesus said, "Today, you will be with me in Paradise." You can't go to heaven thanks to your friends or with coupons.

 

Closing his life, the criminal said something truly valuable. It is not certain that this criminal really believed in Jesus as the Son of God, and in his eternal kingship. Nor is it certain that this man really believed in his (the criminal’s) resurrection and final judgment. If he had believed in his resurrection and final judgment, he wouldn’t have committed grave sins to be sentenced to crucifixion. But this man knew that Jesus was a good man, that Jesus had wandered from place to place to establish the kingdom of God. At that time, however, people understood the kingdom of God as a theocratic nation of Israel liberated from Roman colonial rule. Maybe the criminal's understanding was not far from this. This man knew that Jesus was crucified as a political offender while working for the recovery and establishment of the kingdom of God. This man comforts Jesus when he sees Jesus, a really good righteous man, die on the cross in vain. "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." This man has never been healed by Jesus. This criminal is now at the end of his life, so he can't be promised any future blessings by Jesus. But this criminal who knew Jesus was a good man acknowledged Jesus as the king of the kingdom of God and asked him to remember him in accordance with Jesus' claim. I think that his remark is not so much a request for future blessing after death as words of comfort for the good Jesus.

 

Yes, my brethren! Do you trust and love Jesus' character unconditionally like that man? Perhaps, are you going to desert Jesus if you are convinced that there is no heaven? Is the purpose of your love for Jesus not the resurrection after death and the eternal paradise? If you love Jesus because of the blessings in heaven after death, you are loving the blessings more than Jesus. It is not an unconditional love but an extremely conditional love. If you grant Jesus the grace to believe in him because of the conditional love (that is, in return for his blessing), you'll complain even when the easiest trial comes. If we truly love Jesus, we must acknowledge his goodness and infinite love, and love even his cross. His cross is people's assessment of him. How can we love Jesus unconditionally, thinking of the worldly blessings and the heaven?

 

However, Jesus says something that the criminal can't understand easily when he (Jesus) is about to die. "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Maybe the other criminal retorted upon that remark, saying, "You're talking big to the end!" But perhaps the criminal who was promised the paradise by Jesus answered him with the words of voluntary excessive(!) trust. I don't know his true mind, but maybe he said to Jesus, "Thank you, Jesus!" However, I think that he in his mind said to Jesus, 'Jesus, actually I'm not sure of your promise, but I'll be very happy if I really live in the paradise after death. This world was really hard for me to live.'

 

My brethren, do you know why the criminal was saved just before he died? Because, when Jesus was crucified for all mankind, the world abandoned him, but he recognized him as 'a good man'. It was after his resurrection that people realized that Jesus was the God. With his resurrection, also the heaven and the eternal life that Jesus had promised them became a reality in people's faith. My brethren, what do you think is the most precious faith in the world? It is the most precious faith to admit that Jesus is so good. Ironically indeed, now when there is a manifest hope for heaven, we can't have the same pure love as the criminal had. Of course, he who thanks God for all crosses Jesus allows him is one who has pure love for Jesus. When Jesus said, "Blessed is he who believes without seeing," he emphasized pure love. We must believe that Jesus is good even though we do not see the blessings before us.

 

Perhaps Jesus knew the real thought of the criminal. (Maybe Jesus knew that the criminal had said so to comfort him.) Nevertheless Jesus got all that the criminal said fulfilled. Like this, the spoken confession of faith is so important. The will of the confessor is in the spoken confession, so God acknowledges the confession as genuine. The spoken confession is heard by all. So the confessor, that is, the criminal, could hear a rebuke from the other criminal, "What a stupid man! Do you really believe him?" Spoken words bear responsibility, and God acknowledges the responsible words of confession as the real faith.

 

Consider the words, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." To the criminal's request, "Remember me when you become the king of Israel," Jesus answered, "Today is the day." This means that it was when Jesus died on the cross that he became the king of all human beings. By Jesus' crucifixion, the Devil, the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2) who had been ruling the world, was eternally tied up. Now the power of sin and death fell back, and Jesus' power of righteousness and life took the place. Jesus said to the criminal, "You'll be in the paradise with me!" The paradise is a gift that Jesus gives those who love him unconditionally. The criminal had never asked for paradise, but Jesus allowed it to him who acknowledged Jesus as a good man. Even though we have a small faith in Jesus, he gives us a tremendous gift that we've never thought of, because he is the great God, and because the paradise is his. The paradise is the place where we'll live with him. Our life becomes a paradise when Jesus is with us.

 

May all of you confess Jesus as good and be forgiven your sins and gain the paradise.

 

Chong Tack Kim

                                       - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -