3人の異端教師たち

I was born in Tokyo, a son of Noboru Kusunoki. Through my childhood, my father insisted that the Kusunoki clan was one of the most important Samurai blood lines for the Emperor of Japan.  I did some research.  The online encyclopedia Wikipedia had this to say: “ Kusunoki Masashige  (1294-1336) was a 14th century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate. A brilliant tactician and strategist, Kusunoki's cunning defense of two key loyalist fortresses at Akasaka and Chihaya helped allow Go-Daigo to briefly return to power. However, one of the loyalist generals, Ashikaga Takauji, betrayed Go-Daigo and led an army against Kusunoki and the remaining loyalists. Kusunoki suggested to the Emperor that they take refuge on sacred Mount Hiei and allow Takauji to take Kyoto, only to swoop down from the mountain, and with the help of the monks of Mount Hiei, trap Takauji in the city and destroy him. Go-Daigo was unwilling to leave the capital however, and insisted that Kusunoki meet Takauji's superior forces in the field in a pitched battle. Kusunoki, in what would later be viewed as the ultimate act of samurai loyalty, obediently accepted his Emperor's foolish command, left his death poem with his young son and knowingly marched his army into almost certain death. The battle, which took place at Minatogawa in modern-day Chūō-ku, Kobe, was a tactical disaster. Kusunoki, his army completely surrounded, committed suicide along with 600 of his surviving troops. According to legend, his last words were Shichisei Hōkoku! Which means"Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!")”

Masashige Kusunoki at Imperial palace

Today’s Text : John 5: 16-2

7

My father took me to the Imperial palace to show me Masashige’s  statue in Tokyo. I was 7 years old. even then

I felt that I had an important history behind my family name -  “Kusunoki”.   Do you know the historical significance of your ancestry?  Jesus did.

As we read this morning from the gospel of John, Jesus claimed that He was the Son of God in verse 17.  The Jews became very upset because Jesus claimed to be equal with God.  It would have been pure blasphemy if he was not the son of God.  And the Jews did not believe that He was.  However, Jesus is the Son of God and He called His Father “my Father in Heaven.”

Last November, we looked into healing of the paralytic at the pool.  The invalid was healed by Jesus.  This man was not a believer.  He did not even know who Jesus was. The Jews were not happy with the results even though this man was healed completely.  They pointed out that Jesus had performed a miracle on the Sabbath day and in doing so, He had worked on the Sabbath.  Therefore, according to Mosaic Law, Jesus’ work was carried out contrary to the Law.  They persecuted Jesus legalistically. 

There are some legalistic believers in American Evangelical Churches.  I am not talking about our church members.  As I mentioned last November, the Lord has set my heart on starting a small group ministry from our church.  I read through some materials put together by a particular Megachurch, and I told the Megachurch that I was interested in starting a small group in Yucaipa using their “40 Days of Love” materials.  Since I was not a member of their church, I was told  that I could not start a small group using their materials unless I took their training course.  They insisted that I attend their “101” class - which is a  beginners’ training course, so I went to the church last Wednesday night  for a 3 hour class.  Was this a power play or legalism or was it perhaps both?  I felt frustrated as well as being manipulated  by “their rules”

The Jews of Jesus’ time had a similar attitude.  They felt that they were the only people who knew about God.  Their lifestyles and culture were shaped around following the Law given through Moses.  Therefore, if some one broke their laws, they had to pay for it.  The Jews totally missed the mark here in verse 16.

Let play this scene in a modern-day context.  I wanted to start a small group because I wanted to evangelize, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Inland Empire.  Due to the fact that there wasn’t a suitable small group in Redlands, I felt that our church would be a perfect candidate for the campaign.  However, this Mega-church had a different perspective on the ministry and seemed to be more concerned about keeping their laws. Their objective for the campaign was increasing only through their own members.  Wait a minute.  Are they doing this campaign as a ministry of Love?

I smelled something here.  It sounded just like the Jews when they complained about the healing of the lame.  We only have 20 people in our church.  The membership is over 40,000 at the Mega-church. They told me at the local peace campaign if we needed some help they said they would.  Their love campaign missed the mark here. I only see the Megachurch just looking for numbers so that they can claim people are touched by their ministry.  It seems to me that this campaign should be called the “40 days of ego”.  It was disappointing incident in my recent experience with the church. And their motto is “love one another as Jesus loved us”.  The Pharisees missed who Jesus was using just the same attitude, being self-centered and self–righteous.

Let’s go back to today’s scripture in verse 17

Jesus said “My Father”.  That word upset the Jews again.  Jesus recognized the heavenly Father as His Father.  Jesus not only broke the Sabbath, but he also claimed Himself to be equal with God.  At that time, Pharisees called upon “God our father”. Jesus called upon “God My Father in heaven”, with a connotation of an intimate relationship.  The Pharisees had one of two choices, to either recognize Jesus as the Son of God or to accuse him of blasphemy. They of curse chose the latter.

They were blinded by legalism.  If their hearts were right with God, they would be able to see the big picture and bear appropriate witness to the miracle of God’s work.  They missed the mark here since they were too busy observing the laws.

Jesus said, “God is working to this very day..”.

We probably have imagined an image of God who sits on His throne, just watching us from heaven.  But in actuality, Jesus confirmed that that image of God was not accurate. Our God is working hard even now. The original Greek indicated that God is working continuously without resting.  God does not need rest as his strength is infinite.

Therefore, Jesus worked hard even on the Sabbath just like his Father.  It is OK to work on the Sabbath for him since Jesus is God. God's work never ceased. 

V20-23 “ The Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the Son”

We have another wrong concept about being judged by God, the Father in heaven.  Have you seen the famous artistic portrait of Jesus as a defense lawyer and the Father as Judge on the heavenly throne? We mistakenly thought the final judge was the Father God.

Our judge is not the Father, but Jesus himself.  He is the One who judges us.  So where did we receive the Father as the Judge?  It was a Jewish teaching that the Father is the ultimate Judge on heaven.  The Jews were again upset with what Jesus said in verse 22-23.

John 5:24 (NIV)
²⁴ "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

There are three conditions for eternal life.

1) Knowledge of the Son through the Word

2) Belief in Him as the Savior and the Lord.

3) Believe the One who sent Jesus

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Recognizing who you are in Christ determines your eternal destiny.  Identify your self with Christ.  You are indeed a member of God’s family.  Once you are accepted as His child, God will not disown you.

Application

Jesus healed the paralytic and the Jews missed the mark, complaining about Sabbath day violations.  Legalism kills ministry.  On the contrary, the True love saves ministry.  “Love one another as your self” has become like a cliche.  We know about it, we have heard about it, we have probably even tried it once or twice in our lives, but we do not know how to implement  His words “love your neighbor as yourself.”  It is true that God’s love never fails.  He loves us all with the same love.  All other religions portray a god who approaches the human race from a higher ground.  They look down on us and gave wisdom for life, teaching us how to earn our ticket into Heaven.  Jesus did the exact opposite.  He came down from heaven and lived among sinners, suffered and died, purchasing a salvation on our behalf that we could never afford.  He rose from the dead.  He came to Bethesda with  the attitude of love.  He spoke to the paralytic with humility and empathy.  He loved the man.  Jesus came to his level and felt his pain as his own.  This is the difference between the Megachurch and Christ.  Christ came and showed His love on the cross.  Elitists would approach a small people from top to bottom. (“do-just-as-we-say” attitude)

 Jesus demonstrated his love as a sacrifice. He loves you and I on the same eye level. Some people just talk about love.  Jesus demonstrated his love on the same level.  That’s the difference.  We must be an imitator of Christ.

Shall we pray.