Sunday 2nd Service
Title/Scripture: The Greatest Evidence of the Covenant (Matthew 21:23-27)
Speaker: Rev. Ryu Gwang-su
Date/Location: May 15, 2022, Immanuel Church (Seoul)
Matthew 21:23-27
23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
Summary
If a person takes on a special ideology from childhood, truth does not enter. From childhood, the Jews heard that the Lord was the only God of their nation, and that a messiah would come to destroy other nations and make their nation the greatest sovereign nation. Yet Jesus was born in a stable as the son of a carpenter, so the Jews raised the issue that they could not believe he was the Son of God. Today they raised the issue of where he received the authority he was exercising. At that point Jesus asked where John’s baptism came from. So they used their wits and lied, saying they did not know. Jesus also said he could not tell them where his authority came from.
▣ Introduction_ Matthew 11:11 “Among those born of women there hath not risen a greater”
1. Matthew 13:11-13 He spoke in parables in order to conceal what is truly valuable.
2. Matthew 21:24 (Matthew 3:15)
When Jesus said, “Let it be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness,” John the Baptist, who had said he was not qualified to baptize Jesus, baptized him. Why did Jesus want to receive baptism from John? On the Day of Atonement, which removes all curses, calamities, and sin, the lamb’s neck is pierced and its blood drawn, and the priest lays his hands on the lamb’s head and speaks and prays, transferring the sins of himself and all the people onto its head. This is what John the Baptist prayed as he laid his hands on Jesus’ head:
1) Priest (calamity) – the priest who removes all sin
2) King (king) – the king who overcame Satan’s authority
3) Prophet (way) – the prophet who opened the way to meet God
3. The cross (Isaiah 53:1-6) – the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20) – From this point on, Jesus explained that he would die on the cross to pay for everything, and rise again on the third day.
▷ Take hold of the covenant regarding what you must do today. Make this place the best place of prayer in the world. A full-fledged movement of prayer, healing, and Remnant must arise. The answer is this (Introduction point 2).
237 nations, healing, summit – people of many nations are wandering the world just to survive. These people must be healed. This place must become a place of prayer, a place of rest. They must be made into a summit that knows the power of God.
▣ Main
1. 120 people – those who understood these words became the 120.
1) Mt Calvary – those who know the event (liberation) of Mt Calvary
2) Mt Olive – those who know the answer (prayer) of Mt Olive
3) Mark’s upper room – those who gathered in Mark’s upper room
2. Paul – Paul, who understood these words, arose.
1) Acts 13:5-12 He healed these people.
2) Acts 16:16-18 He healed one possessed by a demon.
3) Acts 19:8-20 They burned all the books of idol worship.
3. Wandering nation – RT – Israel became a wandering nation and entered among the great powers. The Remnant who remained here evangelized the world.
1) The one who remains, the one who stays, the one who is left, the one who is kept – they stood as the one who remains, the one who stays, the one who is left, the one who is kept.
2) Pilgrim, conqueror – they stood as pilgrims and conquerors who save the whole world.
3) Platform, watchtower (bartizan), antenna – build a platform, a bartizan, an antenna that the 237 nations can look to and come.
▣ Conclusion
1. All day – deep prayer, forum (covenant), healing – Starting next week when you come to church, hold onto the message the whole day and have a time of deep prayer walking around this area. Hold a covenant forum with people. On at least one day, find out who among you is sick, connect with them, and pray for healing together, breathing deeply together.
▷ Do not spend this day of worship carelessly; it must be spent as something extremely important.
2. Evidence – seeing the evidence, yet another person comes.
3. Opportunity – we must give the precious people of many nations and the Remnant who have come to us, struggling just to survive, a first, last, and eternal opportunity.
▷ Tell the people of many nations, “Restore everything and go as a witness.”
Transcript
If a person takes on a special ideology from childhood, truth does not enter at all. That is why childhood education is important. You can consider that it almost never leaves. Unless some great hardship comes and completely changes the brain, it doesn’t leave. Instead, what is imprinted in childhood produces an answer as time goes by. That is why our organization and church use the word Remnant.
From childhood, the Jews heard, “The Lord is not the God of other nations, but the one God of our nation.” That is what they heard. “A messiah will come who will crush all other nations and make our nation the greatest sovereign nation.” They heard this from childhood. But Jesus was born in a stable and came as the son of a carpenter. So the Jews said they absolutely could not believe he was the Son of God. Even when God’s tremendous power appeared, they still did not believe. They followed him around picking arguments. Today, what argument did they pick? They picked this argument: “Where did you receive the authority you are now exercising? Where did this authority originally come from?” Like that. The Pharisees, who held powerful positions, the scribes, these kinds of people came and spoke to him. “Where did you receive it?” Then Jesus asked this: “Where did John’s baptism come from?” That is what he asked. When he asked that, these people began to use their wits. Ah, if they answered one way they would be cornered, if they answered the other way they would be cornered, and they feared the people. So they lied. They said, “We do not know.” That is what they said. Then Jesus answered like this: “Then I too cannot tell you where my authority came from.” Today, unless it is explained thoroughly, this is a story you cannot understand at all.
▣ Introduction_ Matthew 11:11
Jesus said this in Matthew 11:11. Looking at John the Baptist, he said, “Among those born of women, he is the greatest.” He said this. Since Jesus said it, John was the greatest figure among all who had ever lived until then. Now, when we look at the Pharisees’ question, there is something we must absolutely know here.
1. Matthew 13:11-13
In Matthew chapter 13 Jesus spoke while giving a parable. When asked why he gave parables, he said this: “I have given parables so that you may understand well.” He said, “I have given parables so that you may not understand well, so that others may not hear.”
“The Greatest Evidence of the Covenant”
Now, this is today’s title: the greatest evidence of the covenant among evidences. If we take hold of this, it will work out. Because it is the greatest evidence of the covenant. This came out today from Jesus’ conversation in Matthew chapter 11.
First, you all need to realize something. What God truly considers valuable, He places in such a way that it does not show (Matthew 13:11-13). Now, it is hard for those who understand these words. For instance, as I have said before, if the choir members, since this is so important, were given, say, ten million won every time they sing once, that would be fine too. Why? Because it is so precious. Especially those who carry instruments are heavy work, so give them fifteen million won, like that. Today I also saw that my grandson, performing in the choir for the first time as a special guest, would get twenty million won. Now, if you did it that way, what would happen to our church? Enormous singers would flock here. Right? Eventually, once it becomes famous worldwide, even BTS would apply to come. “Let’s go,” they would say, but then it becomes fake. Do you understand what I mean?
So when Jesus came right into the royal palace, it caused an uproar. Right? He was the Messiah, the Christ, prophesied in Scripture that he would be born in a stable. Like this, people with great worldly desire do not believe even when God’s word is there, even after hearing it. It was clearly prophesied that he would be born in a stable. Right? Yet they still do not believe. So he used parables to hide it. You all must keep this in mind in your life of faith. You must know what it truly means to receive an answer. Then in Matthew chapter 10 he explained the parables thoroughly.
2. Matthew 21:24 (Matthew 3:15)
Now, there is so much important content here that I need to explain a little. In Matthew 21:24 he asked, “Do you know John’s baptism?” He asked, “Where did John’s baptism come from?” That’s what he asked. When he asked this, these intellectuals, who knew Scripture well, could not answer. Jesus said, “Then I cannot tell you either.” Most of you probably do not know what this means. Let me explain briefly, given the time. John the Baptist explained to people, looking at Jesus, that he was the Christ. Who was John the Baptist? He was a priest of the legitimate nation of Israel. That priest said that Jesus was the Christ, the lamb who bears the cross. That is what he was asking about. If they said, “John the Baptist is nothing special,” that would go against Scripture. If they acknowledged it, then another problem would come to them from someone else. But that is not really the important point—why did he call John the Baptist the greatest figure? He should have asked, “Do you know John? Do you know John the Baptist?” but instead he asked, “Do you know John’s baptism?”
(Matthew 3:15)
Now let me give a simple explanation here. When Jesus appeared, John the Baptist said that this person was the very Lamb of God who would bear the cross. This John the Baptist was a priest of the tribe recognized by everyone, one who baptized people. But Jesus came to John the Baptist and said, “Baptize me.” What did John the Baptist say then? He said, “No, I cannot do that. I am not worthy even to untie the strap of your sandal.” That is what he said. The word “strap of the sandal” refers to the strap of the sandal-like footwear worn in that country at the time, which they would untie and wash the feet. He said he was not even worthy to do that. In simpler terms, he said, “I cannot even be worthy to be your servant who washes your feet.” Then Jesus said this: “Let it be so now, that you and I together may fulfill God’s righteousness.” So without saying another word, John the Baptist baptized Jesus. At that moment the voice from heaven was heard. The work of the Holy Spirit broke out. That is what Jesus was now asking about.
Now, this is not something that would come up on a civil service exam, but you should still know it. Why did Jesus want to receive baptism? From John the Baptist. John the Baptist should have received it—why did Jesus receive it? There is one important event that continues from the Old Testament. What is it? There is the Day of Atonement, which removes all curses, calamities, and sin. At this time, the lamb’s neck is pierced, blood is drawn, and the priest lays his hands on the lamb’s head. This is an event that all of Israel practices. It is a great event. What do they say as they lay their hands on it? They say, “I transfer the sins of myself and all the people onto your head.” That is what they said. It is a strange event, isn’t it? And they prayed.
1) Priest (calamity)
What John the Baptist prayed as he laid his hands on Jesus’ head was: the priest who removes all sin. Calamity is not removed. The priest.
2) King (king)
The king who overcame Satan’s authority.
3) Prophet (way)
The prophet who opened the way to meet God, that is what this means.
The world looks down on this. “What is this?” they say. You all, among those who know this, even the king, when going to offer a blood sacrifice, was told, “Are you crazy? Why offer a blood sacrifice? Just do it plainly.” They said, “These people have gone mad! They must be hungry. Feed them a little rice.” A blood sacrifice—it cannot be understood. This is an extremely important matter.
That is why, as I reported earlier concerning our missionary. The presidents and leaders of America absolutely will not say it. Isn’t Elder Shin Heung-gyun someone who has devoted himself greatly to making a certain person president this time? He is in America. He absolutely will not say it. What? Eight or nine out of ten children now have lost their minds and are on medication, right now. Depending on the school there is somewhat of a difference, but it is common overall. You truly must send your children well. Studying abroad. That one student came back and said, “I want to come out to Korea.” Pastor Park Seong-jin’s daughter went to America. That is what she said. “I definitely want to come out to Korea, get married, and raise my child in Korea.” It is serious. They do not realize it. “Why believe in Jesus? Just study well and work hard. Believe in yourself and live faithfully. Why believe in Jesus for that?” That is a fair statement. But this (Introduction point 2) does not get resolved by that. What will you do? So they keep lying. Monks, please stop lying, and keep going deeper into ascetic practice. You think that will make it work, but it only gets harder. Do not go through such hardship—rest, go home, grow your hair out, and just live like that. Or shave your head bald and go that way. No, it’s the same for people who attend church too.
You all, if you don’t understand this gospel (Introduction point 2), it’s all the same. Why go through such needless suffering? This (Introduction point 2) is a fight. When I say this from Scripture, people don’t understand and say, “What strange talk is this?” That’s what happens. I am truly sorry. There are missionaries here from Japan. In every household there is at least one or two with mental illness, in Japan. They absolutely do not talk about it. It’s embarrassing, so they don’t say it, but they don’t know how to heal it, or what it even is. They don’t know why it came. It’s not that God said not to worship idols for no reason. They don’t even know why He told them not to. “Don’t bow down to things like stones—if you do, a spirit will attach to you.” They don’t understand what that means. They just don’t understand. That’s what this is about right now.
“John is the greatest among those born of women”—that was spoken in Matthew chapter 11. Then he asked again: “Do you know where John’s baptism came from?” When they said, “We don’t know,” he said, “Then I cannot tell you either.” That was Israel’s end. Exactly 40 years after that, Israel collapsed. When was it restored? It was restored in 1948. This statement is extremely important. I cannot explain it any further. So because they could not answer about John the Baptist, what happened afterward?
3. The cross – the resurrection
Now Jesus begins to explain in earnest. He explains that he would pay for everything on the cross, dying on the cross and rising again on the third day. Now, this is the first thing that is hard to believe—the resurrection. Now, because science has advanced so much, there are two things that have been proven. What are they? One is that “the earth will someday disappear.” That’s right. That the earth will disappear is something all intellectuals commonly agree on. But Scripture prophesied this beforehand—that it would disappear. It said that at that time, everyone would be resurrected so they could go to an eternal place. It said that even those who died long ago would rise again. What about those who are alive? Those who are alive will be transformed as they are.
1 Corinthians 15:20
So in 1 Corinthians 15:20 it says, “Jesus is the firstfruits of that.” He died on the cross and would rise again, as was prophesied in Isaiah 53:1-6. Now, this part (Introduction) is extremely important—this is where Christ now stands. Today, take hold of the covenant regarding what you all must do. Now let us not just go on as usual. Today Professor Han Mu-yeong came and held this “fire-preventing water gathering,” and we must also do that for the 237 nations, 237 countries. This time, whatever we do this time, make this place the best place of prayer in the world. God did not just send us here for nothing. Right? You must have your spiritual eyes opened. Now a full-fledged movement of prayer, a movement of healing, a full-fledged Remnant movement must arise here. The answer is this (Introduction point 2). Mental illness absolutely cannot be healed any other way—it is only healed by this (Introduction point 2).
237 nations
Do you all know how the people of the 237 nations are living right now? We must save them. They did not just come for no reason. It is beyond words. Even in this neighborhood, people of many nations come to get married. Others come to Korea to get a job. Later it turns out that they had a child born in that other country, and they brought the child along. But that child cannot enroll in school. Just such children—in the metropolitan area alone the statistic came out at sixteen thousand. And it turns out that’s not all either. There are cases where someone was paid money and told, “I’ll say you’re my child,” and brought along that way. It’s impossible to know, this situation. These people are wandering the world just to survive. What should we do when we call them in? Should we just give them bread? Of course we give bread, that’s basic.
Healing
We must heal these people. This must happen here. That is why I say, build such a sanctuary. Today, the matter of the 237 water is nothing at all. Why? Just develop this area entirely and get government approval. You can clear away small things like brush. Just don’t cut down the trees. Build a place of prayer and hold water gatherings. Let the people of this neighborhood be able to rest here when they come. When people of many nations come, it becomes a place of rest, and prayer happens there completely.
Let me tell you again. There’s a North Korean woman who fled carrying her child—listen to that story of her escape. When I heard it, I really cried. She couldn’t survive in North Korea, so she fled, but she had a child. What was she to do with this child? So she gave the child sleeping medicine. Why? Because if the child fell asleep, it wouldn’t make noise. The child understood too. It was so tense that even after taking the sleeping medicine, the child could not sleep. As she was escaping, the child who had taken the sleeping medicine still could not fall asleep, she said, because it was too tense. The small child, hearing her mother’s words, gripped her mother’s neck tightly, they say. All the way down until they finally escaped. And so they arrived on South Korean soil. What then, once they arrive in South Korea? They must be healed. Their long-held wounds and sicknesses must truly be healed. If we cannot do that, the church is unnecessary. Why keep a church around, causing a fuss? Just get rid of it. That is why God tore down the temple in Jerusalem. It looks as though Rome tore it down, but it was something God allowed. Jesus had prophesied it—that it would be torn down.
Summit
That is why we must truly make these people into a summit who know the power of God. This tremendous question is contained within all this.
▣ Main
Is there any greater evidence than this? Let me explain briefly.
1. 120 people
Those who understood these words became the 120.
1) Mt Calvary
Those who understood these words are those who know what event happened at Mt Calvary.
2) Mt Olive
This must be taught. It means understanding what the answer of Mt Olive is. We must heal the 237 nations, but what must we teach them? We must truly teach them what prayer is, what liberation is, what prayer is.
3) Mark’s upper room
These people gathered in Mark’s upper room, 120 of them gathered. Through them, the world was evangelized.
Our team is making this now. When people come to our church, at any time, we must produce material—people to be healed, people to become the summit can see it. Number 24. Make it.
2. Paul
Paul, who understood these words, arose. If we were to describe Paul in our own nation’s terms, he would be a graduate of Seoul National University. Paul. Right? If he was a member of the Sanhedrin, that would be like a member of the National Assembly. That’s the kind of person Paul was. And he was a Pharisee. A person of the highest rank. Yet he threw all of that away and followed. Because he knew how precious it was.
1) Acts 13:5-12
Through Paul, even people who, from the standpoint of those earlier (Introduction point 1), appeared to have no value at all—he healed them. It’s the same then as now.
2) Acts 16:16-18
When spiritual problems arise, people become demon-possessed and strange. He healed such people.
3) Acts 19:8-20
In Acts chapter 19 also, he performed healing. All the books of idol worship in that town were burned. It’s fine now, but at that time, one scroll cost about fifty million won in our Korean currency. For just one. They burned all of it, it says.
3. The wandering nation – RT
Now, look at something more important. You don’t know about the people of Israel. Why it happened. At last, Israel became a wandering nation. They entered into those great powers.
1) The one who remains, the one who stays, the one who is left, the one who is kept
The Remnant who remained here evangelized the world. So they stood as the one who remains, the one who stays, the one who is left, the one who is kept.
2) Pilgrim, conqueror
They stand not just as ordinary people, but as pilgrims and conquerors who save the whole world.
We must begin such a life, begin such work, and become such a church.
3) Platform
It’s not something simply finished. Never listen to lies about this. The 237 nations are dying right now, they say. Build a platform that they can come to. All of that is a lie.
Those who say money is everything simply have never had money. It’s not the greatest thing. If you all had one trillion won but had no ability to manage it, great disaster would come. Right? It’s not an easy thing. It would be better if it just disappeared—if you can’t manage it, you end up going to prison, because problems erupt. It’s better to live on a salary.
That happens in great powers, but in many poor nations, people are lying right now. They are getting sick and dying.
Watchtower (bartizan), antenna
Build a watchtower (bartizan) and antenna that they can look to and come. This (Introduction) is for someone who has understood. Today’s message may seem like a simple sermon to you, but it is not simple. It contains a great deal. Because such a tremendous thing happened, they asked, “By what authority are you doing this?” So he asked, “Do you know John’s baptism?” That is astonishing, yet it seems like nothing. People who know only worldly things, only eating, have no value at all, that’s it.
We must build a true church, and we must truly receive an answer. God knows which is right. We don’t even need to go as far as God—Satan knows well.
▣ Conclusion
This is the conclusion. You must now take hold of the covenant and restore all of this.
1. All day – deep prayer
Starting next week, when you come to church, hold the message the entire day and have a time of deep prayer, walking around this area like this. It’s really good, here.
Forum (covenant)
Spend one day continuously holding a covenant forum with people.
Healing
And on about one more day, identify who among you is truly suffering, connect with them, and continue praying for healing together here, breathing deeply.
Do not spend this day of worship carelessly—you must spend it as something extremely important. This is real. Then this news will reach the sick and those in hardship. Distance? It doesn’t matter at all. If needed, they will all come. Try having nothing at all here. Why would they come this far otherwise?
You yourselves must first hold this covenant properly. Try it. Let me give an example. I mentioned this yesterday. This week I had a physical examination. I was admitted and had a thorough two-day, one-night examination. Why? Because a professor I know, who always had physical exams at the university, had it done carelessly and it wasn’t discovered until his cancer reached its final stage. You must not do it carelessly. For some parts, they take photographs from top to bottom to find any problem, and that alone takes thirty minutes, they said. Okay. People say those thirty minutes are hard, but that doesn’t matter to me. Those thirty minutes—how good a time were they for me! An opportunity had come, thirty minutes. There might be moments of boredom while waiting.
I entered into deep prayer for the 237. It felt like it ended right away when I came out. It was thirty minutes, but I entered that deeply into prayer. So on the Lord’s Day when you come, don’t talk with people. Keep entering into deep prayer and pray the important prayer. Try it. See what happens.
2. Evidence
Then, even without saying a word, one day they will know. Your family, friends, relatives—they are in hardship. That is exactly calling them into evidence. Truly try it. Who benefits from it? It doesn’t matter at all. Come and receive God’s grace. Seeing the evidence, yet another person comes. “Wow, I went to that church and the prayer was good, they had all the materials, it was so good.” You can build the best church there is. That is how the condition is set up.
3. Opportunity
Third, we must do this much. To the precious people of the 237 nations and the Remnant who have come to us, many who have come struggling just to survive—we must give these people a first, a last, and an eternal opportunity. First, last, and eternal opportunity.
When I was evangelizing in the industrial complex, I spoke without holding back. I said this (Conclusion point 3): “I don’t know how long you and I will meet.” Around holidays especially they wouldn’t come back, they’d go elsewhere. Looking at the industrial complex. I asked, “How much is your salary?” They told me the amount. I said, “You came all the way here from Jeolla-do just to earn that? What a pitiful life you live.” They said no. “You are restoring everything here. When you go home, you go as a witness.” Tell that to people of many nations. “You are restoring everything and going as a witness.” They are all lying. They pretend it’s not so. It’s not exactly a lie. They pretend it’s not so. In reality they are going mad but pretend they are not. So they come. They came because of money but cannot say so. That’s how they come. If we wound them further with worldly things, this becomes a bad church. Let us pray.
Prayer
Lord, we thank You for giving us this opportunity to truly receive grace. Lord, let us restore the true power that comes down from above. So save the many nations, developed and developing, that are deceiving themselves and forcibly enduring. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.