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.
