[236] World Scripture - Jesus 11 - Jesus’ Wept Out of Love for the People

[대태양/김현수]

11. Jesus’ Wept Out of Love for the People and Agonized Over Their Unbelief, Even as His Closest Disciples Proved Faithless

World Scripture

Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; and he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” John 11.32-36

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23.23-28

And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Mark 14.32-41

And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the maids of the high priest came; and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway. And the maid saw him, and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. And after a little while again the bystanders said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.” But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept. Mark 14.66-72

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Does God live only for Himself and His glory, or is God totally selfless, living for the well being of the entire creation? Which is true love? In fact, the true God comes to us fallen people, shedding tears. People weep either when they are sad or happy. What about God? Does He shed tears of grief looking at human misery, or tears of laughter as He saves people? Think about it. If you ever lost a loved one and then found him again years later, what would you do? You would weep, first with grief and then with joy.

Therefore, God wants to meet His beloved ones on the path of tears. Would you like to experience God’s tears? Have you ever cried, so shaking with sobs that water runs from your nose and mouth, your entire body drenched in sweat? Until you experience what grief is, you cannot taste true love. (102:163-64, December 17, 1978)

In the world dominated by Satan, God’s providence requires battles. God has to set up fights. Jesus certainly made some people angry when he criticized the Jews living in peace and comfort, calling them “hypocrites” and a “brood of vipers” and casting curses upon them. If Jesus had praised the rabbis, scribes and priests, telling them that they were doing a wonderful job for God, would he have been killed? Confucius and Mohammed—all the saints without exception—declared to the world something it did not want to hear. By doing that, they created the momentum for change. (95:276- 77, December 11, 1977)

The people who were the closest to Jesus caused him the most sorrow. His sorrow was not so much from rejection by the people of Israel whom God had prepared, or from rejection by the Jewish authorities. His greatest sorrow came when his beloved disciples—some who had followed him for as long as three years—lost faith when he needed them to believe, did not testify when he needed them to testify, did not fight when he needed them to fight, and ran from death when he needed them to face death. (3:142, October 18, 1957)

Who followed Jesus to the end without forsaking him? The twelve disciples? No, even the three chief disciples among the Twelve did not keep faith and follow Jesus to the end.

Although Jesus tried to introduce the love of God to humankind and tried to put that love into practice, he died without building a substantial relationship of love with a single human being. Although Jesus conveyed words of heavenly love, and although his heart burned with love, he died without having found one person whom he could tightly embrace and exchange the affectionate words, “My son!” “My father!” sharing the love that runs between a parent and child.

Can you understand the heart and situation of Jesus as he cried in anguish through the sleepless night in the Garden of Gethsemane, even as the disciples were dozing off? Many people today appreciate Jesus’ words of love, but 2,000 years ago, Jesus did not have anyone to whom he could give his love. (3:58, September 22, 1957)

Jesus lived barely thirty years, a life filled with sorrow. Jesus spent three years of public life, offering everything he had; yet who knew his heart, and who knew his situation? Not even one person. Even the disciples, who attended him as their teacher, who shared his joys and sorrows, who were sad when he was sad and lonely when he was lonely—they did not know, either.

The disciples, who should have clung to Heaven and appealed with earnest hearts, concerned that their teacher might go the path of death, instead were confused, asking, ”Who is Jesus?” (7:45, July 12, 1959)

On this earth, who knew the heart of Jesus? Not a single person recognized Jesus, a man filled with apprehension, who experienced and felt keenly Heaven’s sorrow, who felt Heaven’s lament over humanity. Jesus did not have even one disciple who exclaimed, “My Lord!” intimately feeling God’s heart.

Enable us to sympathize with the heart of Jesus, who had to leave behind disciples ignorant of his great sorrow, with the heart of Jesus, who died without seeing his life bear fruit, even though he lived his entire life for humankind. (5:137-38, January 11, 1959)