Sermon(Lk 7:29-35): Joy and sadness

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025253012

 

>> 29 (When they heard this all the people and the tex collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John; 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him) 31 “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” (Lk 7:29-35) <<

 

Jesus' words are simple and clear. He does not speak indirectly or allusively, because he is the way and the truth. "You brood of vipers! (Mt 3:7)" ㅡ how correctly he touches the core! "Look at the lilies of the field and the birds in the air. Your Father in heaven clothes them all and feeds them all. So don't worry about your food, clothes and shelter." This also is a concise expression of God's love and care. Jesus' parables are easy, interesting and touching to the saved saints. In the above biblical text, Jesus, with an appropriate parable, shows well what kind of men the formal (or superficial) religioners are who wholly devote themselves to find fault with every word of others.

 

There was a children's game in Israel ㅡ a wedding-funeral game. Children are parted into two groups. If one group pipe to make an atmosphere of wedding feast, the other group must dance to the music. If one group mourn and wail, making the atmosphere of funeral; the other must weep. Jesus seemed to say that the Israelites at that time were like those who complained that the other group didn't dance when they piped, and didn't weep when they wailed. Here, there is an interpretation that the complaining party was John the Baptist and Jesus while other Israelites were the other party whose members neither danced nor wailed. There is an opposite interpretation to this ㅡ John the Baptist and Jesus didn't care about the Pharisees and the lawyers at all, living their own religious life; while the Pharisees and the lawyers questioned their way of religious life, and complained against them when they ignored their interference. I think both interpretations hold good. One side justified its faith to the other side, so did the other side. Both acted the same because both would not listen to the other side. Nevertheless, it is clear which side had the truth. There was truth on John and Jesus.

 

My brethren, there is truth in religion. It is the duty of the religious leaders to interpret the truth correctly. However the Pharisees and the teachers of the law of God at that time tried to find the truth in the wrong way. They had been approaching the truth falsely. They thought John the Baptist to be a strange man for he lived alone in the wilderness, eating honey and locusts and wearing a garment of camel's hair. They called Jesus 'a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners' when they saw him enjoy all kinds of food, drink wine, and make friends with the humble. They thought John the Baptist to be the saddest man in the world who had renounced all good comforts of the world. In their eyes, Jesus loved the (secular) world too much. Therefore they concluded that there was no truth on John and Jesus.

 

Truth is an event that God brings about. Some people are very sad about their sins. Some grieve deeply, thinking of the sin and evil of the world and the future judgment of God upon the world. People in that sadness do not drink, have fun with friends, and hang around with them. Such people, thinking of the sins of the world, pray to God in repentance and tears. They do not love delicacies, but have a frugal meal. My brethren, if you called them mad men, you've despised not only them but also God, because God had opened their spiritual eyes to see the sins of themselves and the world, and made them lament over the sins and pray to God for the world. We, instead of mocking a man in such holy grief as a somewhat strange or insane man, must learn from him the word of truth that God would give us through him. Many Israelites realized their sins by the attitude of John the Baptist. They found the truth. So they were baptized by him, in the meaning of washing their sins. However Pharisees and lawyers, far from repenting their sins when they saw John the Baptist, dealt with him as a mad man. Those who always think self-centeredly can't find the truth.

 

Truth is like new wine. The truth walks before the world and leads the world. Some people put new wine into old wineskins. The old wineskins were once new ones. In other words, they were useful then. However you can be adversaries of the truth if you stubbornly keep the attitude that we must not discard the old things for they must be useful because they had been useful. For example, it might be God's permission and means to fulfill his great purpose before, that churches built big chapels and had worship several times on Sunday to increase in the number of the believers. But it is not wineskins needed for the growth of the church any more now, and some Christians, deeply grieved over the harmful results of the old ways, begin to call for church reform. Such regret and sadness are definitely works of the Holy Spirit, which is true. You must not condemn them as 'bad Christians jealous of others' successful ministry', thinking that the vision you've had is the absolute standard. Too much is as bad as too little, in some cases. Today, there are too many church buildings. We should aim for the ministry of 'serving' and 'win-win' today. You must know that it is time you were reformed when people around you feel sorry for you. You must become a new wineskin then. People tend to love and keep the old wineskins they’ve acquired. So they hardly feel sad about themselves. You behave rightly when there is sadness about you in your heart. You become stubborn if there is not such sadness in you. But others, especially young people of the new age, are different from you. People of the new age may be sad about you. Do not regard their sadness as mental disorder. Think deeply if the sadness is a holy sadness from God. Pharisees and lawyers regarded the holy rage and sadness of John the Baptist as mental disorder, and perished. However, all who had taken it seriously received the gospel and gained eternal life.

 

On the other hand, there is holy joy. Jesus had the joy. Jesus himself had fasted for 40 days, but he abhorred those who liked to make a sad face after fasting in order that others might think them holy. Jesus had his joy as God the Creator. Only the God subsists (or exists by himself), and is never disturbed by any creatures. Only the God is the true life, is truly holy and omnipotent. He lacks nothing, so he is always full of joy and satisfaction. He is full of joy when he gives life to the creatures. He is full of joy when he forgives the creatures. The joy in Jesus was an actual fact. This joy was the joy of the Creator of the whole world and of the King ruling the whole world. If he intentionally made himself sad, it would be a pretentious and untrue act, because it is not the expression of his overflowing joy. He gulped down wine with his disciples. He drank wine in a good mood for it tasted so good. He didn't refuse to talk with prostitutes and tax collectors. It is natural for him to do so, because he became a man to pardon them and to make them new creatures. "Those who are sick have need of a physician. (Mt 9:12)“

 

However, the Pharisees and lawyers despised such behavior of Jesus. "Tut, tut! What a vulgar religioner! ..." They had joy in 'being exalted by others lower than they' and in 'ruling over others on the seats several levels above them'. This joy is possible when others' pride is hurt, and when they are sacrificed. But Jesus' joy was different from that. It was the joy of Jesus to approach the humble, to raise them up, to walk in the way of the truth and the eternal life, hand in hand with them. "I am your Lord indeed. But consider me your friend. (Jn 13:13, Jn 15:15)" From this we can estimate how broad-minded he was. Jesus had joy of making good friends. He laid down his precious life to give the eternal life to his friends who followed him. "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (Jn 15:13)" When you go to heaven, you'll be surprised by this: Maybe you will meet Jesus, too human a man, I think; because he loved living as a human being very much. He called himself the son of man. He certainly has the equal divinity with the Father. But in heaven, he will show the same sense of humor and personality as he had in the world. Maybe he will live as the son of man in heaven, too. He will surely keep human friendship with Peter forever. Of course, he is definitely God. Nevertheless that God will eagerly say to the people of heaven, "Hey, please treat me as your human friend!" He loved human beings and became a man. He felt unlimited joy in friendship with people. He had such joy.

 

Jesus' joy was the joy due to the fact that the day would surely come when he and his disciples would win the final victory and the great glory. His disciples roamed about with Jesus, not knowing yet the real situation. However Jesus knew the enormous blessings that would come upon him and his disciples after his cross and resurrection, with his Second Coming. How can he not be happy with that blessings? He knew that all evil powers, whether secular or religious, would be punished with eternal pain. So, how couldn’t there be a bold pleasure in Jesus?

 

The Pharisees and the lawyers, not knowing such behind situation, just thought Jesus to be a shallow religioner who carelessly ate, drank and laughed. But Jesus' joy they thought ignoble was, in fact, a joy full of truth and faith confidence. It was the beginning of the eternal joy. They despised the joy of Jesus, so could not participate in it. My brethren, do not rashly despise the joy of others. If your friend is full of delight; be sorry for yourself if you haven't had such delight, and long for that delight. If you despise other's joy, you despise God who has given him that joy. A man without joy is foolish; a man with joy is wise. Jesus was wise, so he took delight in the social intercourse with the people and enjoyed it. The Pharisees and the lawyers avoided those Jesus met, thinking them to be dirty people. They were stupid, so they felt not delighted but disgusted when they saw normal human beings. As Jesus, looking at us, rejoices infinitely, so we must rejoice infinitely when we see him. We must have delight in him because he has done good things for us. The Pharisees and the lawyers should have found out the grounds of the joy of Jesus when they saw the happy Jesus. And if they found them out, they ought to follow Jesus even if they could lose all their possession. First of all, they should abandon their vain pride.

 

After all, the Pharisees and the lawyers who thought themselves wise ignored the wrath and sorrow of John the Baptist and the joy of Jesus, to miss the eternal life and to go to hell. On the other hand, those common Israelites whom they thought humble and mean believed the words of Jesus and John the Baptist, repented their sins, were baptized, obtained the eternal life, and became wise people. These are the very wise children of God. Wise children are those who willingly accept others' reproofs, stop their bad deeds, aim at the joy shown to them, and obtain the eternal joy. On the contrary, foolish and stupid children are those who firmly follow only their own thoughts and feelings, rejecting the truth.

 

May you all be the wise children of God. May the joy of Jesus be always full in you.

 

Chong Tack Kim

                           - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -