예수님안에 있는 좋은 소식(복음)

예수님안에 있는 좋은 소식(복음) The Good News (Gospel) in Jesus Christ(Luke 4:16-21)

이사야 52장에 나타난 복음의 실체되신 예수 그리스도 Jesus Christ, the essence of the Gospel revealed in Isaiah 52

막1:1 막1:14-15 눅11:20 마11:4-5

말3:1 말4:5 마11:14 슥9:9 행1:11

눅24:21 골1:14 고후5:17

Summary

In this sermon, we explored the Gospel message through the book of Isaiah. The Gospel consists of three parts: God reigns, God is returning, and God redeems. When God reigns over us, His peace, goodness, and salvation are restored not only in our lives but in all of creation. Jesus, the embodiment of God's reign, fulfilled the Gospel through His life, death, and resurrection. He is the ruling God both then and now. Jesus is also returning, and His second coming brings hope and restoration. Lastly, Jesus is the God who redeems us from sin and sets us free. His blood has the power to liberate us from bondage. The Gospel is not limited to a particular group but extends to all nations, including Gentiles, Muslims, and remote tribes. We are called to share this Gospel with others and experience the power of Jesus in our lives today. Let us wholeheartedly embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior and participate in His kingdom work.

Script

We have contemplated "What is the Gospel?" through the message in Isaiah 52. A herald is running toward the people in the ruined city of Jerusalem, proclaiming three messages. Firstly, God reigns. When He reigns over us, "Shalom, Tov, and Yeshua" will be restored not only in my broken and wounded state, relationships, but also in all of creation. God's reign signifies not just the salvation of one individual but an cosmic restoration encompassing all nations and creations. Secondly, God is returning. The God who had departed from the temple will come back. He will come to us who were ruled by Satan and death, transferring us from sin and fear to the kingdom of life. Lastly, God redeems. He comforts us in our shattered state and redeems us. He will free us from bondage, even if it means paying the price through His holy arm, His power, and His servant.

Though the initial proclamation of this good news was directed to Israel, it was a "Gospel for all nations," including us as Gentiles, Muslims, and even remote tribes, anyone who has encountered the living Gospel. This Gospel demands that it doesn't stop with me but should be shared with my neighbors, Muslims beside me, and even unreached tribes at the ends of the earth.

Praying that the wonders and powers of this Gospel will be restored, and a community that spreads the Gospel to all nations will be blessed in the name of the Lord.

Following the messenger's message in Isaiah 52, this 'Three Parts (3R) of the Gospel' will manifest as an even more glorious and good news (Gospel) in 'Christ.' So the Jews longed for the Gospel to be fulfilled in the 'Christ (Messiah),' who is 'Jesus.' He is the One who walked this earth with us two thousand years ago, with whom we breathed the same air, touched, and heard. The Gospel was accomplished through 'Jesus,' the very One Isaiah 52 prophesied about, the 'holy arm of the Lord.' The Gospel reveals that the embodiment of the ruling God is 'Jesus' who has come to us.

First and foremost, Jesus Christ is the ruling God, both back then and even now.

The Gospel of Mark is the earliest recorded Gospel in the New Testament. It begins with these words in Mark 1:1: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." From verse 2 onwards, it quotes from Isaiah, introducing 'John the Baptist' as the first person to proclaim the message of this Gospel. However, even John himself, as well as Mark, the author of the Gospel, explicitly state that John the Baptist is not the one who fulfills the prophecy from Isaiah. As we read further, until Mark 1:13, it becomes evident that Jesus Christ is the one who fulfills the prophecy, and the camera's lens keeps narrowing down to focus on Jesus.

From verse 14, Jesus finally begins His public ministry. He proclaims the arrival of the 'Gospel,' announcing His mission as the messenger of the Gospel. This is recorded in Mark 1:14-15: "After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 'The time has come,' he said. 'The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!'“

In the Gospel of Luke, the same verb "to proclaim the Gospel" is used to describe Jesus' role in delivering the good news. This is evident in the passage we read from Luke 4:17, where it refers to Isaiah 61:1-3. In verse 18, it says, "'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free...'". How long had the Jews been reading this passage in the synagogue? How excited they must have been at the thought of the anointed One, the Messiah, who would come and comfort the sick, the possessed, and all those who were oppressed! They must have been eagerly praying, "God, please come! Let this good news be fulfilled for us today! Is it today? Or tomorrow?..." as they eagerly anticipated its fulfillment.

Then one Sabbath morning, after reading the words of Isaiah 61, a carpenter's son stands up and declares in Luke 4:21, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." The Jews, hearing these words that Isaiah had spoken 700 years ago, now hearing them as a living voice right there at that moment, were deeply moved.

Dear saints! When we read the words written in the Scriptures, may we be blessed to experience them not as dead words on a page but as living words spoken directly by the Lord, vibrating and resonating in our hearts with a voice that touches and transforms us. May the word of God not be just ink on paper but a living word, where God speaks directly to us, sometimes comforting our souls, and other times, prompting us to extend forgiveness, so that His grace can be restored in us.

To understand that the kingdom of God and God's reign truly came through Jesus Christ, we can look at the evidence presented in Luke 4:18. The evidence lies in the fulfillment of the following: "the captives are set free, the blind receive sight, the oppressed are released." These are the signs that God's rule has come.

In Luke 11:20, Jesus Himself affirms that these accomplishments were done "by the finger of God" when He cast out demons. He says, "But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

When John the Baptist had doubts about whether Jesus was truly the awaited Messiah, Jesus answered him with Isaiah's words, as recorded in Matthew 11:4-5: "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.“

Indeed, with the coming of Jesus, the reign of God started to manifest. Wherever Jesus was present, restoration and salvation began to take place. However, does the power of this Gospel end with the events that happened 2,000 years ago? No, it does not. The power of this Gospel continues to work as it has throughout history in the same manner that Jesus proclaimed it, and even now, it is working in our lives. The power of the Gospel is active in our world today and will continue to be so.

So, who will witness the manifestation of this Gospel? It is those who repent of their sins, accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord, and submit to God's reign. It is those who, with a heart that aligns with Jesus' heart, live in obedience to His Word and participate in His work. The power of the Gospel will continue to work where Jesus' heart is present, and in those places and in our daily lives, we can believe that the power of the Gospel will unfold.

I am currently attending a lecture called 'Encountering Islam.' It is almost coming to an end, and last week, during a Zoom meeting with a missionary, I heard some sharing that made me feel quite ashamed. Muslims live in a tightly knit community-centric society. Therefore, it is nearly impossible for someone to claim to believe in Jesus alone within their family. It would be considered a betrayal of both family and community, leading to great shame. In such a society, even if someone kills a person who claims to believe in Jesus, no one would speak out against it.

However, in many cases, Muslims are experiencing conversion through visions or direct experiences with Jesus. But what happens to them if they decide to maintain their faith? They might have to face martyrdom, betray Jesus, or move to a third-world country where they could live their faith openly. Ultimately, Muslim believers in Jesus have to forsake both life and comfort to pursue a life of faith. Missionaries can't help them without the guidance and supernatural power of the Holy Spirit; without that, maintaining faith is incredibly difficult in such extreme circumstances. They are living in a severe situation where there seems to be no solution without God.

Nevertheless, stories of Jesus' words coming to life, of the afflicted being healed, and supernatural events taking place are common among them as God's kingdom manifests among them. When sharing these stories, the representative missionary expressed deep astonishment and confessed, 'However, the faith of the missionaries who went to share the gospel with them is too weak.' They seem to be even weaker in faith than the newly converted Muslims. Missionaries who went to share the gospel..."

Listening to this confession, I started feeling ashamed. After all, the resurrected Jesus, who conquered death, is in me. Should I be afraid of death? Am I displaying a weak faith, trembling even with the slightest worries and anxieties? Such a sense of shame overwhelmed me. Then, I wondered, is the Jesus in me lacking strength? No, that is not the case. Jesus is the God who reigns over death. He redeems us from all pain and fears and proclaims peace to us. In an instant, all evil and demonic forces bow before Him. When we encounter Jesus and wholeheartedly confess Him as our Lord, the oppressed are set free, the afflicted are healed; this is the history of the early church, the underground churches in China and among Muslims, and it continues to happen today, even within our community. I believe this to be true.

Second, Jesus is God, both then and now, and He is returning.

Not only in the book of Isaiah but also in other Old Testament scriptures, God foretold that He would come and perform great works. He announced that He would send a messenger ahead of Himself to prepare the way. This is stated in Malachi 3:1, 'I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,' says the Lord Almighty. And in Malachi 4:5, 'See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.‘

God sent someone in the role of Elijah, and that was John the Baptist. In Matthew 11:14, Jesus Himself affirmed, 'And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.' So, if John was the Elijah, who is Jesus? He is God Himself, coming in the person of Jesus. Look at Zechariah 9:9, 'Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He rode on a donkey. He could have walked, but He chose to ride on a donkey. The Jews who had been longing for the Messiah saw this sight and recognized that Jesus was the One they had been waiting for—the Messiah, the God they had been eagerly anticipating. God had returned to them.

Now, Jesus has ascended to heaven, and the New Testament Scriptures testify that He will come again. We naturally hope for the return of our Lord. Acts 1:11 states, 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.‘

Indeed, our Lord is coming again. He will comfort and restore us, wiping away all the sorrows and toils we faced while following Him. Therefore, the sufferings caused by the gospel, the deaths on the mission field—these actually increase our hope for the return of our Lord, our God who rules over us. What else could be the power of the gospel if not this? There is power in the name of Jesus. We praise the hope found in the name of Jesus.“

Lastly, Jesus is the God who redeems, both in the past and in the present.

The name Jesus means 'salvation' or 'God is salvation.' The Gospels repeatedly emphasize that Jesus is the One who will save Israel, quoting various scriptures to affirm this truth. Luke 24:21 says, 'But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.'" Jesus, the Messiah, was the hope of Cleopas and the other disciple who believed in His coming. However, their hope was shattered when He was crucified. Yet, Jesus conquered death and became the first fruit of resurrection. Moreover, He granted resurrection to all who believe in Him, redeeming us from sin. Colossians 1:14 states, 'In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.‘

The Gospel proclaimed by Isaiah's messenger has now become 'the Gospel of Christ.' The good news that Isaiah foretold has finally been fulfilled 'in Christ.' 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!'" In Christ, we experience a new life, and the old ways have passed away.

The story of Kim Yoonsang, the missionary, is a remarkable testimony. After graduating from Handong Global University, he went to Mexico as a missionary in 2017. However, in 2018, he was involved in a head-on collision on the highway during a rainy day, resulting in a shattered spine and critical injuries. When he arrived at a rural hospital, he had lost 60% of his blood and was unconscious. Urgent surgeries were performed, but there were complications, leading to more surgeries. He even developed pneumonia and septicemia, and medically, his survival seemed impossible. During the 24 days he remained unconscious in the intensive care unit, Kim Yoonsang experienced a profound encounter with the spiritual realm. He found himself standing in judgment, facing Satan's relentless accusations and attempts to drag him to hell. In this dire situation, he deeply experienced the power of Jesus Christ's precious blood, the only one who could save him. Miraculously, he recovered during this time of spiritual encounter.

Kim Yoonsang shares his testimony, saying, "Was it because of that? During the period when I was unconscious in the hospital, I experienced the judgment spoken of in the Bible, which is also the end of life. I learned about the principles of the spiritual realm and experienced the incredible power of Jesus Christ's blood in reality. I truly met the living Jesus Christ in that place and was granted life again from the end of death. I realized that I had been mistaken, thinking that I was the master of my life. The true owner of my life is God. The wilderness is not primarily a place of suffering, but a place where we meet and come to know God. It is a place where the true Master of our lives is exchanged, and God's glory and presence are established in our lives. Previously, although I claimed to believe in Jesus, I did not surrender the lordship of my life. But when I yielded that place to God, I experienced the fruits of life that I had longed for but couldn't achieve on my own. Even though I faced difficulties in life, I received precious treasures like jewels. Thinking about Jesus Christ and His redemptive work, even the hardships are an immense grace and a reason for thankfulness.“

Indeed, Jesus Christ's blood has set us free from all our sins and has given us victory. We are no longer slaves to sin or bound by its power. When we open our hearts to Jesus Christ and confess Him as the Lord of our lives, all the deceptions, false messages, addictions, immoralities, materialism, bad habits, depression, fears, and anxieties that once bound us are broken. Instead, we experience the liberating and joyful Gospel becoming a reality within us and overflowing in our lives.