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Efforts We Must Continue To Make To Avoid Repeating Our Mistakes
(John8:31-47)
Mari Ikeda
August is a time for Japan to recall memories of the war, but this year, due to the heat of the Paris Olympics, I have the impression that media coverage of war-related issues has been reduced compared to previous years. Last week, there were Peace Memorial Ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. Hiroshima did not invite the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus, and Nagasaki did not invite the ambassador of Israel in addition to those two countries.
The cover of today’s bulletin is a picture of the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims of Hiroshima, which I used some years ago. The cenotaph reads, “Rest in peace. We will not repeat our mistakes.” This statement indicates that the mistakes of nuclear weapons and war are not the sole responsibility of the country that used them or the country that started the war, but that all mankind bears the responsibility to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated. This year marks 79 years since the end of the world war, but we are still repeating the mistakes all over the world, and the words of this cenotaph seem so empty. But even if they feel empty, we must not stop trying.
Today we continue our series on the Gospel of John by reading 8:31-47, in which Jesus reveals the nature of human sin and gives us hints as to why we repeat our mistakes and what we should do to avoid repeating them. Whether it is bullying that occurs between individuals or wars between nations, at the root of it all is the problem of human sin. I believe that we repeat our mistakes because we see the problem only in others and fail to recognize that we have this problem within ourselves.
So let’s read a little bit. First, verses 31-33.
1. Stop discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion (31-33)
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
At first, I want you to keep in mind that Jesus is speaking here to “the Jews who had believed him,” as verse 31 says. In other words, they are those who already got faith. They thought they knew God well and had the right kind of faith, but Jesus saw that this was false and turned harsh words against them. So if we think we know God well and have the right faith, we need to be careful. We need to listen to Jesus’ harsh words here, thinking that they may be directed at us. Let us now read the contents. The first of our sin nature that Jesus reveals here is the sin of having a sense of privilege based on race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion, and discriminating against and excluding those who do not belong to us. In verse 33, the people say to Jesus, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone,” they protested. They were proud of the fact that they belonged to the bloodline of Abraham and were of the race (ethnicity) of Jews. Their pride was so strong that it made them say, “Our hearts have never been slaves to anyone,” even though the fact that their ancestors were slaves in Egypt and were destroyed by Assyria and Babylon, and even though they themselves are now under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was because they had a pride that they were God’s chosen people, a special people. But that pride was not healthy, and it led to the assumption that the Jewish people were superior to other peoples, and it led to an emphasis on bloodlines in order to maintain the purity of the people, and it led to discrimination and exclusion of other peoples. God loves everyone, regardless of our bloodline, ethnicity, or religion. If we have a sense of privilege based on such things, we will deny and exclude Jesus, just like the Jews here. Moreover, we would even think that we are righteous and justified in doing so. Let’s move on to the following verses, 34-38.
2. Know that we are slaves of our sin (34-38)
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
The reason we have an unhealthy sense of pride and privilege is because we are slaves to sin. Sin, as Jesus teaches, is a way of life that misses the mark. It is a way of life that lacks the center, not aiming in the direction it should be aiming. In the first place, it is only God’s love that can truly fill our hearts. But we mistakenly believe that we can satisfy our hearts with various things other than God. They may be power, wealth, social achievements, or admiration from others. The frightening thing about those things is that we feel compelled to get more. In order to get more, we then need to compete with others and deprive them of what they have. We cannot escape from this pointless cycle as long as we are trying to fill ourselves up. Fulfilling ourselves becomes our central concern, and we become indifferent to others and incapable of trying to understand them. Conversely, we come up with all sorts of excuses to justify taking what belongs to others. Excuses like, “Because they are special,” “Because they took from us first,” “Because they are doing evil,” “Because they are wrong for not following us.” This is why Jesus said that we are slaves to sin.
3. Know that we cannot save ourselves, but Jesus can save us (35-36)
Jesus says in verse 36, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” This means that if we receive the love of Jesus, who gave his life on the cross, we will not have to fill ourselves. Jesus did not give his life to protect us because we are superior. He gave his life to save us because he loves us as we are. We don’t have to be better than others. It is wrong to think that we have to be. We are equally irredeemable sinners before God, equally forgiven and loved by God. So only Jesus can save us from our off-the-mark way of life and the pointless cycle of deprivation.
4. Don’t use God selfishly (39-42)
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.
We misunderstand the grace of being chosen by God to be His children and use it selfishly and for our own convenience. The status of God’s child is not a privilege we obtain on our own, but a grace given to us through God’s mercy. It is like God carrying us on His back when we are unable to walk on our own. All we can do is to cling to God. We often mistakenly think that we are marching in the lead with God’s army in tow. At such times, for us, God is only there to prove that we are right. When this happens, we mistakenly believe that the justice we believe in is God’s justice, and we think it is absolute. We then lose our willingness to understand the opinions of those who disagree with us and make the mistake of assuming that they are all enemies and eliminate them. Abraham entertained strangers who came to his house unexpectedly as his guests. In fact, they were God’s messengers. Abraham also trusted God’s word and left his familiar land to travel to a distant land. To be able to act in such a way is to be a child of God in the true sense of the word. It means that we open our hearts and accept the people God allows us to meet and the places He takes us. Let’s move on to verses 43-44.
5. Know that we are easily influenced by the devil (43-44)
43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The word devil means one who opposes God. The devil’s purpose is to rebel against God, to keep us from fulfilling God’s desires. Therefore, he rejoices that we forget God’s love and remain slaves to sin. If we continue to live selfishly, depriving one another and engaging in futile struggles that never satisfy our hearts, we will only please the devil. The devil will feed us lies that it is the right thing to do. And he delights more than anything that we despair and give up. We need to know that we are susceptible to the devil’s influence. If we try to rely on our own strength instead of relying on God’s love, we will be contributing to the devil’s work. If we do not rely on God, we will rely on the devil. Not many people actively worship the devil, but not worshipping God pleases the devil and we are unintentionally set in his ways. That is how the devil works. Now, let’s read the last part, verses 45-47.
6. Put God’s will before our own (45-47)
45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Here is a one word summary of what we must do. It is to come from God or to belong to God. God originally created all of us in His own image and likeness, so we are all from Him and belong to Him. But we have given up that status ourselves. This is because, as I have told you today, it feels more free and attractive to think that we can rely on our own strength. As a result, we have become slaves to sin and we please the devil. So we need to be born again by God. It means making the decision to start over anew as God’s children, once again and over again. It means acknowledging that our own values and ideas will always have limitations, biases, and errors, and instead continuing to search for what God wants us to do. It also means believing that God’s love is poured out on us and on all other sinners, and joining God in the work of transforming the world as we ourselves are transformed by God. It takes humility and patience to admit that what we have believed to be right was wrong, and to try to understand those who have been our adversaries, and it may even be painful. Nevertheless, God’s love will always lead us to the right way. Let us trust in that and start over again and again. Let us continue our efforts to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and walk the path of following Jesus.
(Prayer) Lord Jesus, we each do what we think is right, but please help us to remember that we are the ones who make mistakes and that we can always humbly admit our mistakes and correct our direction. Please stand between me and the person I think I don’t understand. Let me know that You love them and me equally. The world today is full of things that grieve you, and we are repeating our mistakes, but please help us not to despair, but to pray for the realization of your love and hope, and to continue our efforts to achieve peace. Lord Jesus, we pray in your name. Amen.
Summary
Whether it is peer rivalry and bullying between individuals or wars between nations, the underlying problem is the same. We are all guilty of self-centeredness and indifference to others. In order for us to avoid repeating mistakes as much as possible, each of us must continue to make efforts. That effort means acknowledging that our judgments and values will always be biased and erroneous, believing that everyone is of equal value before God, getting to know strangers, and trying to understand those with whom we disagree. And it is to seek to allow the love that Jesus taught us to grow within ourselves, so that it may be transmitted from us to others, even in an imperfect way.
For Discussion
- How do we distinguish between our (or our country’s) justice and God’s justice?
- How do we distinguish between the words of the devil and the words of God?