When I say, I am saved. What was wrong with me? Saved from what? It is different from person to person: For many it is from guilt, for some from sin, for some from wrong-doings, for some from their alienation and their inner dividedness, and others from our meaninglessness. Jesus said that “his blood is shed for the forgiveness of sins.” (26:28)
When I was young, I could not understand the death of Jesus. How does his blood wash my sin? Did God kill Jesus to forgive my sin? This was a cruel image of God: Did God intend the sacrifice of his son to be able to forgive me? I learned that God is love. How can our loving God allow his son to die for me? There was no way for a young boy to understand the meaning of redemption in this cruel image of God.
Later, I understood that the messages of Jesus inevitably were related to the power play of the politics of his time. The Sadducees felt that Jesus threatened their economic interests in running Jerusalem Temple. The Roman government saw Jesus as a dangerous person who overthrew the system. The Pharisees saw Jesus as a lawbreaker who put their religion into confusion. In a word, human wickedness made Jesus die. Therefore, the suffering of Jesus became redemptive because it showed human wickedness and at the same time God’s love for us. Jesus declared that “The Spirit of the Lord is on me to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18) Do you remember when Jesus even forgave his murderers on the Cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) The cross of Jesus shows our visible guilt and God’s forgiving love to us.
Now, I know I am saved by experiencing and sharing this love. I am saved by Jesus’ healing and liberating love, and I am being transformed by his love now. I see people in the Bible liberated from their alienation and their inner dividedness through this love. They were lost but found by meeting the healing and liberating love of Jesus. Jesus breaks the patterns of life that make people weak and to become the whole.
Reflection:
When you say that you are saved, how do you understand your redemption? What do you want to be redeemed from? When do you feel redeemed?
Pastor Seok-Hwan
