Commentary on John2 (3)
At the end of Chapter 2, there is a scene where Jesus refuses to entrust himself to those who claim to believe in him.
“Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover. Many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men. And needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man.” (John 2:23-25)
There are many people then and now who believe in Jesus Christ, but why can't they become a temple where Christ dwells by pouring the Holy Spirit into them?
The reason is because there is an idol inside that person.
The biggest obstacle to accepting Jesus Christ as the Savior is the perception that the building is a temple on the outside, and the old person that is full of ego and greed on the inside.
Jews, with their stereotypes about the temple, cut off the path to God through Jesus Christ, so they still remain as non-believers in God.
And even if a sinner born in Adam is born again and found as a new creature in Christ, greed gives up when suffering, but the ego lasts a long time.
Idols outside, such as images and buildings, are sorted out as you listen to the Word, and things and people that steal your heart disappear through tribulation, but the ego within you is the highest idol, so this self-disposal lasts for a long time.
When Moses was 40 years old, he rose up to save his brothers who were oppressed and grieved by his faith, and struck down an Egyptian to take revenge, but he did not gain the trust of the Israelites because God was not on his side (Acts 7: 23-27)
However, after 40 years in Midian, God appeared to him through an angel in the midst of a thorn bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai (Acts 7:30).
Then he tells him to take off his shoes and welcomes him into the holy land (7:33).
Of course, Moses would have complained a lot, saying, “You should have called me when I was young and lively.”
However, in order for Moses' ego to be disposal, Midian Theological Seminary was needed.
As a result, Moses’ meekness in bowing down before God earned him a gold medal, surpassing all the people on earth (Numbers 12:3).
This means that God trusts Moses and always entrusts Himself to him.
Therefore, the Lord did not entrust himself to even a useful Jewish religious person like Nicodemus, but simply told him that unless he was born again, he could not see the kingdom of God, and unless he was born of water and the Spirit, he could not enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3 ,5)
However, the process and results of born again in Chapter 3 occur after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
That is why the Lord said that on three days there would be a wedding feast, or in three days I would raise up the temple.
Before the events of Christ's death on the cross and being raised up occur, we may know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, but we cannot accept him as our Savior.
This is because there were still procedures left for the Lord to deal with human problems.
Even Jesus' disciples could make all kinds of amazing confessions, but they could not receive Jesus Christ as their Savior while he was in the flesh.
However, after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit, works of salvation began all over the world, with people receiving Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
So, he says, Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, and the purpose is so that people can believe in him and gain eternal life. (John 3:14-16)
Then, in John 3:16, which we all know well, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Therefore, John 3:14-15 is as important as verse 16.
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent on his staff in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life.”
After Jesus Christ died on the cross and was raised, the Gospel of John is fulfilled and eternal life is gaining.
So, is the time when this Gospel of John is fulfilled when Jesus was in the flesh, or is it after he died on the cross and rose again on the third day?
Even today, people who believe in Jesus and the Lamb who sits on the throne of heaven, but who have not received salvation by not receiving the only begotten Son of Emmanuel, who is present as Christ, as their savior, struggle to find salvation in the Book of Revelation, and in the end, they are raising their voices and asking whether the 12 tribes were created, and which tribe are you?
In one word, it is absurd.
I have gained eternal life in Christ and have become one body and one spirit with Christ, what kind of sleep talk is this?
A person who only knows Jesus, stays in front of the cross, and waits for the Lord to come again may feel uncomfortable and cringe at those words.
However, it is a joke for those who are born again in Christ and become citizens of heaven, abandoning their ego and operating the engine of the spirit.
Written by Ptr. Yohan Kim.
Translated by Nancy Chung
COME AND SEE WORLD MISSION