|
Jesus
Sun Myung Moon regards Jesus of Nazareth as the greatest of all the religious founders. He has made an exhaustive study of his life and work; his speeches about Jesus take up many volumes. He does not view Jesus from the conventional Christian perspective as the Savior who fulfilled everything through his atoning death on the cross. No, Father Moon’s Jesus knew he had a much greater mission—to live and establish God’s Kingdom on earth during his lifetime. The crucifixion cut short his mission, frustrated his aspirations, and prolonged the centuries of suffering and wars while the Kingdom tarried until the days of the Second Coming. It is through this lens that he views scripture passages about Jesus’ person, preparations for his coming, his relations with his family, his ministry, the cross, and the resurrection.
Father Moon knows Jesus as the “man of sorrows.” He asserts that even in his youth, during the 30 years prior to beginning his public life, Jesus was misunderstood and ridiculed by his family and his village. The fact that Jesus never married, when it was customary for all Jewish men in their twenties to do so, is taken not as a mark of special holiness but rather as the painful lot of a man of questionable birth and strange behavior who was not regarded as marriageable.
When it came time for Jesus to begin his ministry, all Heaven’s attempts to prepare the Jewish people to welcome him ended in failure—notably the ministry of John the Baptist. Consequently, Jesus was never able to preach what he set out to preach: the gospel of the Kingdom of God in plain language. Instead he had to speak in obscure parables. He was never able to do what he set out to do: lead a spiritual and political movement to win Israel’s independence from Rome and establish God’s Kingdom throughout the world.
Jesus’ sorrow only increased as the forces opposing his ministry grew stronger and he was compelled to take an alternative course, the way of the cross. His grief was exacerbated by the weakness of his disciples, who fled and scattered leaving him alone at the end. In the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed desperately, knowing the sorrow of God and the sufferings of generations to come that would ensue if he took that path and died without completing his original mission. But by that time the people’s rejection was unalterable; the die was cast and he obediently accepted the cross as God’s will.
Yet Jesus never changed his heart-felt love for the people, even for those who were killing him. When he forgave his enemies on the cross, it was an earth-shaking moment that changed history forever.
1. Jesus Came to Save Sinful Humankind
World Scripture
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1.15
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”… And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. Matthew 4.17, 23
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14.6
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11.28-30
And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9.10-13
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. John 10.11-16
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Jesus spent his whole life fulfilling his responsibility and mission. What he completed on earth during his 33 years of life secured an eternal and inviolable accomplishment. His Gospel of faith, and the example of his life, will remain for eternity. Jesus took responsibility, not only for his own generation but also for all of history. Jesus singlehandedly took responsibility to complete the providential will that God had been striving to fulfill for 4,000 years. (1:37, May 16, 1956)
Jesus came to answer the universal questions, resolve humanity’s sins, and solve the problem of death. Jesus was the only person who could provide solutions to these problems. Moreover, more than anyone else, Jesus lived a truthful life for the sake of God. Disregarding his personal life, he sought to elucidate the fundamental questions of the universe. Disregarding his own glory, he labored and sacrificed endlessly to fulfill the will of God. By virtue of his consistent heart and life, he was elevated before Heaven as the foremost torchbearer, representing all of history. That is why he could confidently cry out, “Believe in me.” (3:14, September 8, 1957)
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” What a bold statement! Was his way a treacherous mountain trail? No, it was a firm and solid road. Was his truth dim and obscure? No, he clearly knew everything that he spoke. He intended that his truth should be welcomed by all peoples, and it should become the measure of all truth. Was his life one of dying or thriving? He lowered himself to serve others, yet as he said, those who humble themselves will be lifted up. (106:13, November 4, 1979)
People in a state of imperfection cannot establish the ideal world. People ignorant of the truth cannot lay its foundations. Therefore, God promised to send to Israel the Messiah—the one perfected person with complete knowledge. Jesus would be the beginning of the God-centered sovereignty and nation; this would be possible once the Israelites united absolutely with him.
That is, by attending38 the Messiah, immature people were to proceed on the path to individual perfection and establish families, communities and a nation united with Jesus. They had to obey Jesus’ will in its entirety. However, the Israelites who met the Messiah did not understand that God had sent him. Neither did they know that God’s work for Jesus was to save not only his own people but also the world. (54:41, March 10, 1972)
|