The Scripture we just read is from the Gospel of Matthew, which is the first book in the New Testament. It is found in the early parts of Matthew Chapter 3, but before this, a man named John the Baptist appears. This story takes place in the region now known as Palestine, where Israel is located. There is a lake called the Sea of Galilee, and the river that flows from the lake is the Jordan River. At the end of the Jordan River is the Dead Sea. Although it is called the Sea of Galilee, it is actually a lake. Because it is quite large, it is also referred to as a sea.

That region was where Jesus primarily carried out His ministry at the time, in Galilee. John the Baptist appeared before Jesus, gave a baptism of repentance to the people of Israel. When the people were self-satisfied, thinking, ‘Yes, I am faithfully following God’s law!’ John the Baptist came and baptized them, saying, “You people are sinners! Though you believe you have been keeping God’s law well, you have not! Therefore, come and confess before God, ‘I’m a sinner!’” He helped them to be fully immersed in the water. If they stayed under water, they would surely drown, right? So, he brought them out of the water again.

Baptism, specifically John’s baptism, is the mark of repentance. Therefore, John referred to his baptism as the “baptism that leads to repentance!” This means complete surrender before God. Those who used to be full of confidence come to God, kneeling in total surrender, saying, “I don’t have any strength! I am a sinner. I need God’s help! I tried to love God and keep His laws by myself, but I haven’t any strength to do that. I need help. What should I do?” These people came to John to be baptized. Consequently, many people lined up to be baptized.

And among them was standing Jesus. However, John the Baptist recognized that Jesus was someone special when He approached him. So, when Jesus came to him, he said, “I need to be baptized by you, so how can I baptize you instead?” and didn’t know what to do. But Jesus replied, “Let it be so now! Why? It is first and foremost that we fulfill God’s righteousness!” In other words, “Even if you don’t understand it now, there is a profound will of God behind this. Therefore, you ought to baptize me now.” And so, John baptized Jesus. He did it with nervousness and a deep sense of regret because he knew that Jesus was without sin. Therefore, he felt sorry because Jesus was being baptized just like all the other sinners. It also seemed unfair because He who was without sin was being treated like a sinner. “But let us fulfill the work we ought to before God!”

As Jesus was baptized and came out of the water, He saw the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of God, descending upon Himself. Although the Holy Spirit is typically invisible, He can manifest in a way to be seen because He is God. Jesus saw the Holy Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. And at the same time, a voice came from heaven. What did the voice say? It was God speaking about Jesus. He said, “This is My beloved Son!” And then He said, “He is the One I am pleased with!” These are the words spoken by God. “This is My Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased!”

This is a completely different situation to what people knew before. Because Jesus came to be baptized, even those who had respected Him or thought that He was different from others might have thought, “Oh, He’s just the same as everyone else. He is a sinner!” And for Jesus, that may seem unjust. Because He Himself knows who He is. He was sent by God and He is without sin. Yet He was baptized. Then, when He got baptized and came out of the water, there was a voice from heaven that testified, saying, “This is My Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” The righteousness of God means the standard that God is most pleased with. So, if someone fulfills God’s will, they fulfill God’s righteousness. Therefore, as you follow God’s will, people may misunderstand you, despise you, treat you as a sinner, or even consider you a fool. But in order to fulfill God’s righteousness, we have to endure all of that. When we do so, God will acknowledge us even if people don’t. So, when Jesus did so, God Himself acknowledged Him and said, “This is My Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased!”

This is the same for our faith life. People may not accept us. Belief in Jesus? They may not accept that. Moreover, your decision to come to our church is not an easy one, especially considering the challenges our church is currently facing. Some might even ask, “Why did you choose to attend that church put of all churches?” However, this pattern has existed since the time of Jesus. Many people pointed fingers at Him, treated Him like a sinner from the start, and in the end, was accused a sinner and crucified Him. As He hung on the cross, passersby mocked Him, saying, “He claimed He is the Son of God, and now He’s on the cross!” Others even said, “If you’re truly the Son of God, save yourself and come down from there!” Even the criminal crucified alongside Him said, “Save yourself and us!” while ridiculing, insulting, and despising Him. However, we believe, follow, and serve Him as the One whom God loves and is pleased with. This is our faith. To believe in and follow Him, whom others mock, attack, and ridicule, as our Lord, Savior, and God is our faith.

Personally, even though our church is going through challenging times, it has made me reflect and realize, “Ah! This is how our faith is meant to be, isn’t it?” Our faith is fundamentally about honoring and serving Him, whom others despise, mock, and reject as our God and our Lord.

When God referred to Jesus as “My beloved Son,” what exactly does the term “Son” mean? Did God birth Jesus? Does it imply that Jesus is of lesser status, and God is of greater status, and therefore saying, “My Son” means “You must kneel before Me”? It is easy for us humans to think in a way based on our familiar norms, but when the Bible uses the term “Son,” it carries a different concept we think of. In Korean culture, there is a distinction in status between fathers and sons, where sons are expected to obey and honor their fathers. While this aspect is part of the relationship, the fundamental concept that should be understood first is that a “Son” implies equality with the Father. This is the key point. Thus, when God says, “He is My Son,” it essentially means, “You are equal to Me!” This differs somewhat from what we commonly know.

In the olden days, what did people do when they increased their wealth? If a person had hundreds of sheep and hundreds of cattle, and later passed away. And then who would inherit his wealth? It would be inherited by his son. So, if the father had a hundred sheep, how many sheep would the son have later? The son would have that same one hundred. Therefore, God was saying, “You are the One who will inherit everything I have! You will inherit My name! You will have all the authority I possess! You are My beloved Son!”

So, when people saw Jesus on earth through by the fullness of the Holy Spirit, they saw something in Him: the glory of God’s only begotten. When we say, “the only begotten,” how many sons are there in total? Just one, right? If there were two sons and the father had a hundred sheep, each son would get fifty, assuming they were divided equally. Hence if there were two sons and you saw one of them, would that be the same as seeing the father? No, it wouldn’t. If you saw one of the sons, you would only be seeing half of the father, which is 50%. However, the term “the only begotten” means there is just the One and Only Son. For instance, if the father had a hundred sheep, he inherited all of them to his only son. So, when you see the Son, whom have you seen? You have seen the Father! Therefore, it means that when you look at Jesus, you can see the Father in Jesus 100%. Saying, “the glory of the only begotten” conveys this: “Seeing Jesus is the same as seeing the Father.”

In that sense, the phrase “Jesus is God’s only begotten” can also be expressed in another way – Jesus is the image of God. Why? Because there is an image, you can see it. So, we say that “Jesus is the image of God” in the sense that “Jesus reveals God as He is.” Therefore, saying, “Jesus is God’s only begotten!” and “Jesus is the image of God” essentially convey the same meaning. It can also be stated as, “seeing Jesus means seeing God the Father.” Additionally, it can be expressed as “believing in Jesus is believing in God the Father who sent Him.”

Therefore, when God the Father said, “Jesus is My beloved Son,” it means that Jesus is equal to God. Even though He was a man, and had just been baptized and came out of the water. Did people in those times wash their faces every day? Did they brush their teeth every day? Did they even wash their hair every day? Yet, despite His shabby and rugged appearance, God said, “He is equal to Me!” How can anyone believe this? However, we can believe that when God gives us His grace; when He helps us. Who can receive such help from God? Those who kneel before Him and confess, “I am a sinner!” can understand this mystery.

So far we all understand this. We understand that Jesus is the One who is equal to God. But after that, God said, “with whom I am well pleased.” Does being a son always bring joy? Not necessarily; often, sons can bring sorrow. A lot of the times, your son will be displeasing to you, a source of heartache. However, when God said, “This is My Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased,” it means that His Son was obedient to Him. Which then means God had commanded Him to do something, right? It means this: “He has done everything I have commanded. Therefore, I am pleased with Him!” In other words, Jesus is the One who faithfully carried out everything God commanded, obediently submitting even to the point of death. He is God’s servant!” To say “Jesus is God’s servant” is to say “Jesus is the Christ.”

The term “Christ” means a servant. It means the anointed one; the one used by God; or the one who does God’s work. Why would the one who is equal to God want to be a servant? It doesn’t seem befitting, but He has both qualities. There is a significant difference between the “Son of God” and “Christ.” “The One who is equal to God became a servant of God, came to earth, obeyed God completely, and fulfilled God’s will. Therefore, the One who is equal to God is also the One who God is pleased with. This is how Jesus came.” This is what we believe in.

Why should the One equal to God come here to go through all that suffering? Why would He, who is equal to God, come here and be crucified? Why? Who made Him do that? Who commanded Him? God did. Why did God command Him to do that? To save us. It was to save us because we were suffering in sin; we were under a curse and on the path to eternal punishment. That is why God sent His beloved Son, the One who is equal to God, to endure such suffering. So, when we see how Jesus—the One equal to God—came and suffered this way for us, obeying everything God commanded Him, we can then see what kind of God He is. So, what is God like? He is love.

God is love, right? He sent His beloved Son for us; He displayed such love for us humans. Therefore, to say, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” is the same as saying that God is what? “God is love.” That’s what it means. This is why the Bible starts off in the book of Matthew by stating, “Jesus is Christ, the Son of God!” And then towards the end of the Bible in 1 John with confession, “God is love!” And then it comes to an end.

Hence our faith is all about receiving the love of God. And the way to receive it is by responding to everything God, saying, “Yes! You are right!” Since God declared of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son!” we ought to respond to it in agreement and say, “Yes, that’s absolutely right! Jesus is the One equal to God, the Son of God!” Also, as God proclaimed, “I am well pleased with Him!” we also should reply, “Yes, that is right! Jesus is the Christ.” Salvation is found for those who confess in this manner. Since God said, “Jesus is My beloved Son; the One I am well pleased with,” what would be the faith that save us? Our faith is to believe and confess, “Jesus is the Son of God and Christ! He is equal to God, yet He obeyed God to the point of death! Jesus displayed the love of God perfectly!” God gives salvation unto those who hold this faith, and those souls are brought together to become the church.

Thus, the church, including Sungrak Church and every church throughout the world, is built upon this faith. I bless you in Jesus’ name that you will keep hold of this faith until the end. There are profound significances to confessing this truth. And as you live your church life, you will find out about them. Furthermore, to serve God who gave us His Son is our faith life. I bless you in Jesus’ name to be successful in your faith life.

<Prayer>

God our Father, thank You for sending us your beloved Son, Jesus. And thank You Jesus for You are the Son who obeyed the Father to the point of death and fulfilled God’s will. Through the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we have been saved and received life. Help us to know more of God’s will and spread this salvation to many people. We pray that our God will give grace to those who are starting their faith life, so that they may become a blessing through whom many souls are blessed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.