Hello. I am Pastor Kim Hyun-woo, born out of marriage, who died with a terrible sense of victimhood but was revived through the history of redemption.
Today’s Quiet Time passage is titled “He warmly received us.” A small group of brothers gladly received the apostle Paul, who had come with his fellow workers. Through today's passage, I pray we will together receive grace regarding God's love—who welcomed us, once His enemies, through the grace of the cross—and the zeal of the Holy Spirit, who never rests for our salvation. And let us meditate together on how we should willingly receive others for their salvation.
First, we should become a ‘we’ who wait together for many days.
Paul departed for Jerusalem after many days because he had to nurture and leave behind his companions who wept and tried to prevent his journey to Jerusalem, knowing he would be bound.
And if we look at verse 15 in the original language, the subject ‘we’ is implied. This signifies that we cannot walk the path of mission alone; we must be a ‘we’ who journey together. We must wait through ‘these many days’ until we become ‘us’ through endurance, the conclusion of spiritual integrity.
Thus, Paul's companions, having packed their travel bags while waiting patiently, set out with several disciples from Caesarea and Nason, a long-time disciple.
Our church is a community where those who are afflicted, in debt, wronged, and in humble circumstances gather together. Because saints like the disciples in Caesarea and Nason the Cypriot, who are in humble circumstances, have gathered, it seems we become ‘us’ who walk together even after hearing the gospel of the coming tribulation.
There are brothers who gladly receive this ‘us’ journeying together toward the mission. 'Willingly' means they welcomed him with great joy, spontaneously and actively. Because they knew God's grace in willingly accepting unworthy me, they could willingly accept Paul.
Those who accompanied the Apostle Paul earlier are called ‘disciples’ in verse 16, while those who welcomed Paul in verse 17 are called ‘brothers.’ Those who endure suffering together on the journey to Jerusalem are called ‘disciples,’ while those who willingly receive others at the mission's destination, Jerusalem, are called ‘brothers.’ May we all become disciples journeying together toward Jerusalem, where suffering is foretold, and live as brothers who willingly receive those in distress.
Thus, having become this ‘we’ who journey together, Paul's group enters to see James the next day. Having traveled a long distance, Paul enters without rest to give his missionary report the following day. Though they waited ‘many days’ to become this ‘we’ who journey together, they do not delay in fulfilling their mission in Jerusalem, where they have already arrived. And ‘we’ enter together into the Jerusalem council.
Second, we should apply this not just in words, but with hands and feet, even at our own loss.
When Paul entered the Jerusalem council, he recounted in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. Yet ‘Luke’ summarizes Paul's missionary report in just one sentence: 'the work God had done.' All too often, whatever we say, we subtly take credit for ourselves. We may claim to give glory to God, but ultimately, our secular achievements—what we did—get mixed in with God's redemptive history. Paul crossed rugged mountains and seas, endured persecution from Jews, yet he clearly and consistently conveyed the message that it was God who accomplished what he served.
The Jerusalem council received this gracious missionary report, yet they also shared Jerusalem's difficult reality: tens of thousands of Jewish believers in Jesus harbored deep misunderstandings about Paul due to their zeal for the Law. They then prescribed a costly application for Paul: to take four men who had made a Nazirite vow, enter the temple himself, and bear the expense of the sacrifices and the trouble of his own hands and feet.
We believe that when we, like Paul, apply ourselves to the point of loss for salvation, God will grant salvation as a gift. For salvation is not our doing, but God's.
Third, we should see our own sin.
Despite Paul's efforts, the Jerusalem Council still could not become brothers with the Gentile churches. Even when we believe in Jesus, it is difficult to overcome our own prejudices and values. Therefore, seeing one's own sin is a greater sign than raising the dead.
After attending the council, the Apostle Paul did not utter a single word of objection or rebuttal but immediately obeyed. How could Paul have obeyed the Jerusalem council's order to the extent of paying for the expenses of four men's purification? Jerusalem was the very city where Paul bore the guilt of Stephen's death. It was precisely in Jerusalem, where his sin was so starkly visible, that he could immediately apply and obey for salvation. Only when the evidence of guilt is clear can one serve without pretense.
My mother gave birth to a son and a daughter, then became a widow when her husband committed suicide. Her daughter also drowned in an accident. She came to Seoul, ran a restaurant, met a married man, and had an unexpected child that is me. I am an illegitimate child, never even registered in my father's family registry. Yet I grew up my whole life as a good son. After becoming an adult, however, my mother's pent-up frustration exploded. To me, she is like Paul's Jerusalem.
This week, I had a youth ministry filming in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, so I went there early in the morning. My mother called and told me to attend the funeral of a distant cousin I'd never even met. It was a long distance, I had to prepare a Sunday sermon, and I had a lot of chores at home, so I hesitated. But I went as an act of obedience for my mother, whose voice was trembling on the phone. I was flustered because I didn't know a single person at the funeral home, and that day was even the day our home hosted a small group meeting. I didn't feel like I was making a good impression in such a rushed schedule. The reason is that just three years ago, I was the one resentful toward my mother, throwing stones at her countless times. But God met me and saved me through the Word of redemption history, leading me to put on an apron and serve.
Beloved sisters and brothers, seeing our sin so we can apply it for salvation is the greatest miracle and sign. I hope you and I become those who seek such signs and serve our families. May we live and let others live, ultimately achieving salvation for ourselves and our families.
