20250129 [새벽묵상] 깨닫지 못하는 사람들과 끝까지 말씀하시는 주님 | Persistent Grace: When Understanding Fails, God's Message Prevails (요/jHN 8:21~30)

8:21 다시 이르시되 내가 가리니 너희가 나를 찾다가 너희 죄 가운데서 죽겠고 나의 가는 곳에는 너희가 오지 못하리라

[Dispute Over Who Jesus Is]

21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

8:22 유대인들이 이르되 그가 말하기를 내가 가는 곳에는 너희가 오지 못하리라 하니 그가 자결하려는가

22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

8:23 예수께서 이르시되 너희는 아래에서 났고 나는 위에서 났으며 너희는 이 세상에 속하였고 나는 이 세상에 속하지 아니하였느니라

8:24 이러므로 내가 너희에게 말하기를 너희가 너희 죄 가운데서 죽으리라 하였노라 너희가 만일 내가 그인 줄 믿지 아니하면 너희 죄 가운데서 죽으리라

23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

8:25 그들이 말하되 네가 누구냐 예수께서 이르시되 나는 처음부터 너희에게 말하여 온 자니라

8:26 내가 너희에게 대하여 말하고 판단할 것이 많으나 나를 보내신 이가 참되시매 내가 그에게 들은 그것을 세상에 말하노라 하시되

25 “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

8:27 그들은 아버지를 가리켜 말씀하신 줄을 깨닫지 못하더라

8:28 이에 예수께서 이르시되 너희는 인자를 든 후에 내가 그인 줄을 알고 또 내가 스스로 아무 것도 하지 아니하고 오직 아버지께서 가르치신 대로 이런 것을 말하는 줄도 알리라

8:29 나를 보내신 이가 나와 함께 하시도다 내가 항상 그가 기뻐하시는 일을 행하므로 나를 혼자 두지 아니하셨느니라

8:30 이 말씀을 하시매 많은 사람이 믿더라

27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

                저는 모태신앙이다보니 아주 어렸을 때는 어머니 손을 잡고 교회를 나갔고 그리고 유치원을 갈 나이에는 선교원을 다니며 제게 언제 믿음이 생겼는지도 모른채 예수님이 저의 구주라는 것을 너무도 당연하게 생각하며 살아왔었습니다. 모태신앙으로 자란 사람들이 대부분 많이 겪는 방황의 시간을 저도 겪었지만 그럴 때에도 제 안의 믿음은 계속 유지해왔던 것 같습니다. 그러다보니 저는 모태신앙이 아닌분들, 원래 믿음이 없으셨던 분들이 믿음을 갖게 되는 과정이 너무 궁금합니다. 도대체 어떤 과정을 거쳐서 믿음을 갖게 되는 것인가? 저처럼 당연한 믿음이 아니라 어떤 계기가 원인이 되어, 또는 누군가의 전도를 통해, 예수님이 우리의 구주되심을 믿게 된다는 것이 저에게는 너무 신기한 것이지요. 그도 그럴 것이 저는 가끔 생각합니다. 내가 모태 신앙이 아니었다면 나는 예수님을 믿을 수 있었을까? 기계나 과학처럼 이성적이고 논리적으로 납득 할 수 있는 것만을 받아들이는 제 성격상 제가 예수님을 몰랐다면 과연 저는 예수님을 지금처럼 믿을 수 있었을까? 제가 이 말씀을 드리는 이유는 오늘 말씀에, 아니 요한복음 전체에서 이 같은 일이 끊임없이 반복되기 때문입니다. 예수님이 표적을 보이시고 가르치시고 말씀하시지만 많은 사람들이 도무지 깨닫지를 못합니다. 만약 제가 오늘 말씀에 나온 유대인들 중 하나였다면 나는 과연 예수님의 말씀을 깨달을 수 있었을까? 잘 모르겠습니다. 그러나 감사한 것은 예수님께서 이들에게 끝까지 말씀하여주셨다는 것입니다. 도무지 깨닫지 못하는 이들임에도 예수님은 끝까지 말씀하여 주셨습니다. 그래서일까요, 오늘 말씀은 마지막절 30절 말씀에 “많은 사람이 믿었더라”라고 끝맺음을 맺습니다. 오늘은 이 말씀을 나누어볼까 합니다. 깨닫지 못하는 사람들과 끝까지 말씀하시는 주님.

Having been born into a Christian family, I attended church from a very young age, holding my mother's hand. When I was old enough for kindergarten, I went to a Christian preschool. I grew up thinking it was perfectly natural that Jesus was my Savior, not even knowing when this faith began. Like many who grew up in Christian homes, I went through periods of wandering, but I think my inner faith remained constant throughout. Because of this background, I'm very curious about how people who weren't born into Christian families, those who didn't have faith originally, come to believe. What process do they go through to gain faith? Unlike my natural faith, what circumstances or causes, or through whose evangelism, do they come to believe that Jesus is our Savior? This is fascinating to me.

Sometimes I wonder: if I hadn't been born into a Christian family, would I have been able to believe in Jesus? Given my personality that tends to accept only rational and logical things like machinery and science, if I hadn't known Jesus, would I have been able to believe in Him as I do now? I bring this up because in today's passage, actually throughout the entire Gospel of John, this pattern repeats constantly. Jesus shows signs, teaches, and speaks, but many people just cannot understand. If I had been one of the Jews in today's passage, would I have been able to understand Jesus's words? I'm not sure. However, what's grateful is that Jesus continued to speak to them until the end. Even though they couldn't understand, Jesus persisted in speaking to them. Perhaps that's why today's passage ends with verse 30, saying "many believed in him." Today, let's explore this message: the Lord who continues to speak to those who cannot understand.

                먼저 깨닫지 못하는 사람들입니다. 21절에 예수님께서 다시 말씀하십니다. “내가 떠나 가리니 너희가 나를 찾다가 너희 죄 가운데서 죽겠고 내가 가는 곳에는 너희가 오지 못하리라.” 이를 듣고 유대인들은 예수님께서 어디로 가신 다는 것인지, 왜 그들이 예수님 가는 곳에 오지 못한다는 것인지 깨닫지 못하지요. 그들은 예수님이 설마 자살하시려는가? 라며 그들의 생각의 틀이 이 세상 안에 갇혀있음을 보여줍니다. 예수님께서는 당신이 하늘 아버지에게서 오셨음을 이야기 하고 있는데 유대인들은 예수님이 갈릴리 출신인 것 만을 생각하고 있으니 말씀을 알아들을 수 있을리 없지요. 이미 요한복음 7:33에서도 예수님께서는 “나를 보내신 이에게로 돌아가겠다,” 즉 예수님께서 하나님 아버지에게서 오셨으며 하나님 아버지에게로 돌아가신다고 분명히 말씀하신바 있습니다. 그러나 그들이 깨닫지 못한 것은 그들이 예수님의 말씀을 믿지 않았기 때문입니다. 하나님의 아들이신 예수님께서 이 땅에 보내심을 받은 것을 믿지 못한다면 그들은 오늘 21절 말씀처럼 죄 가운데서 죽을 수 밖에 없습니다.

First, let's look at those who cannot understand. In verse 21, Jesus says again, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come." Hearing this, the Jews couldn't understand where Jesus was going or why they couldn't go there. They wondered if He was going to kill Himself, showing how their thinking was confined to this world. While Jesus was talking about coming from the Heavenly Father, the Jews could only think about His Galilean origin, making it impossible for them to understand His words. Jesus had already clearly stated in John 7:33 that He would "go to the one who sent me," meaning He came from God the Father and would return to Him. However, they couldn't understand because they didn't believe Jesus's words. If they couldn't believe that Jesus, the Son of God, was sent to this earth, they would die in their sins, as stated in verse 21.

                그러자 예수님께서는 23절에서 이들에게 다시 말씀하십니다. “나는 위에서 났으며 너희는 세상에 속하였고 나는 이 세상에 속하지 아니하였느니라” 이들에게 다시 한번 예수님께서 위, 즉 하늘에서 나셨으며 이 세상에 속한 분이 아니라는 것을 말씀하고 계신 것입니다. 이들에게 그들이 가지고 있는 예수님에 대한 생각의 틀을 열 수 있도록 예수님께서 이들이 생각하는 갈릴리 출신이 아니라 하늘에 속한 분이라는 것을 알려주고 계신 것입니다. 그리고 24절에는 이렇게 말씀하십니다. “너희가 만일 내가 그인 줄 믿지 아니하면 너희 죄 가운데서 죽으리라” 자, 앞에서는 예수님께서 당신이 하늘에 속한 분임을 이들에게 말씀하셨습니다. 이제는 그들에게 내가 그인 줄 믿지 아니하면 죽으리라고 하십니다. 예수님께서 이 말씀을 굳이 이들에게 하시는 이유는 왜 일까요? 내가 그인 줄을 믿으라고 하시는 말씀이 아니겠습니까? 내가 그다. 내가 메시아이다. 내가 하나님이다. 나를 믿어라. 나를 믿고 생명을 얻으라는 말씀인 것이지요.

Then in verse 23, Jesus tells them again, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." He's telling them once more that He came from above, from heaven, and doesn't belong to this world. He's trying to help them break free from their limited understanding of Him as just someone from Galilee, revealing that He belongs to heaven. And in verse 24, He says, "If you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins." Now, Jesus first told them He belonged to heaven. Then He tells them they will die if they don't believe He is the one. Why does Jesus specifically say this to them? Isn't it to encourage them to believe that He is the one? I am he. I am the Messiah. I am God. Believe in me. Believe and receive life - that's what He's saying.

                그러나 그들은 도무지 깨닫지를 못합니다. 이들에게 조금의 믿음이라도 있었다면 아마 예수님께 그게 무슨 말씀입니까? 저희에게 밝히 말하소서라고 질문하였을지도 모릅니다. 그러나 25절에 보니 그들은 예수님께 이렇게 질문합니다. “네가 누구냐?” 이들이 예수님이 누구였는지 몰랐던 것이 아닙니다. 이들이 이 질문을 하는 것은 “예수님에게 네가 누구기에 믿으라는 것이냐?” 하는 반문인 것이지요. 예수님은 이렇게 무례한 이들에게 “나는 처음부터 너희에게 말하여 온 자니라”라고 말씀하시며 당신이 누구신지 처음부터 계속 말씀하셨던 것을 상기시키십니다. 예수님께서 이렇게까지 이들의 무지와 무례에도 불구하고 계속 이들에게 말씀을 전하셨던 것은 바로 예수님이 이 땅에 오신 목적이 이들을 심판하려 하심이 아니라 이들을 구원하시기 위함이었기 때문입니다. 그것을 26절에서 우리는 찾을 수 있습니다. “내가 너희에 대하여 말하고 판단할 것이 많으나” 여기까지는 무슨 말씀입니까? 심판의 말씀이지요 그러나 그렇게 하지 않으시고 다음 말씀을 하십니다. “나를 보내신 이가 참되시매 내가 그에게 들은 그것을 세상에 말하노라 하시되” 하나님께서 예수님을 이 땅에 보내신 것. 하나님께서 예수님을 통하여 세상에 말씀하고자 하신 것이 무엇입니까? 바로 구원의 말씀인 것입니다. 그러나 이렇게 예수님께서 이들에게 끝까지 말씀하고 계시지만 27절에 보니 이들은 아직도 예수님의 말씀을 깨닫지 못합니다.

However, they still cannot understand. If they had even a little faith, they might have asked, "What do you mean? Please explain clearly." But in verse 25, they ask Him, "Who are you?" It's not that they didn't know who Jesus was. Their question was more like a retort: "Who do you think you are to tell us to believe?" To these disrespectful people, Jesus responds, "Just what I have been telling you from the beginning," reminding them that He had been telling them who He was from the start. Jesus continued to speak to them despite their ignorance and disrespect because His purpose for coming to earth was not to judge them but to save them. We can find this in verse 26: "I have much to say in judgment of you." Up to here, what kind of message is it? It's a message of judgment, right? But He doesn't stop there and continues: "But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world." What was God's purpose in sending Jesus to earth? What did God want to say to the world through Jesus? It was the message of salvation. But even as Jesus continues to speak to them, verse 27 shows they still don't understand.

                그래서 예수님께서는 28절과 29절을 통하여 다시 한번 말씀하십니다. 28절 “이에” 즉 27절에서 그들이 깨닫지 못하기에 예수님께서 다시 말씀하시는 것입니다. “너희가 인자를 든 후에 내가 그인 줄을 알고” 여기서 말하는 인자는 단순한 사람을 말하는 것이 아닙니다. “그 인자” 즉 특정한 사람을 말합니다. 다니엘서 7:13-14에 나오는 바로 그 인자. 하나님의 모습을 하고 계신 메시아를 말하고 계시는 것입니다. 즉 이 말씀은 너희가 메시아를 든 후에 내가 그 메시아인줄 알리라는 말씀인 것입니다. 예수님께서 다시 한번 자신을 드러내어 당신께서 메시아되심을 이들에게 분명히 말씀하신 것입니다. 이처럼 말씀을 깨닫지 못하는 이들에게 예수님께서는 끝까지 이들을 포기하지 않고 말씀해주십니다.

So in verses 28 and 29, Jesus speaks to them one more time. Verse 28 begins with "So," meaning Jesus is speaking again because they didn't understand in verse 27. "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he." The Son of Man mentioned here isn't referring to just any person. It refers to "that Son of Man" - a specific person. It's the Messiah with God's image mentioned in Daniel 7:13-14. In other words, He's saying that after they lift up the Messiah, they will know that He is that Messiah. Jesus once again reveals Himself, clearly telling them that He is the Messiah. Even to these people who cannot understand His words, Jesus doesn't give up but continues to speak to them until the end.

                말씀을 맺습니다. 오늘의 말씀은 예수님의 말씀을 깨닫지 못하는 사람들과 그들에게 끝까지 말씀하시는 주님에 대해서 이야기하고 있습니다. 이 말씀을 보니 우리가 갖고 있는 믿음이라는 것이 얼마나 소중하고 감사한 것인지 다시 한번 생각해보게 됩니다. 우리도 어쩌면 오늘 말씀의 유대인들처럼 예수님의 말씀을 듣고도 듣고도 또 듣고도 깨닫지 못할 수도 있었을 텐데 우리를 포기하지 않으시고 끝까지 우리에게 다가오시고 말씀해주셨던 주님 때문에 우리는 이렇게 믿음을 가질 수 있었습니다. 오늘 말씀 30절에 “이 말씀을 하시매 많은 사람이 믿더라”라고 하셨던 것처럼, 우리 또한 그런 하나님의 은혜로 믿음에 이르게 된 것을 고백합니다. 말씀을 깨닫지 못하는 사람들. 그러나 그럼에도 끝까지 말씀하시는 주님. 우리에게 이 믿음을 주신 주님께 감사하는 마음으로 우리 함께 기도하시기 원합니다.

Let me conclude. Today's passage talks about people who cannot understand Jesus's words and the Lord who continues to speak to them until the end. Looking at this passage makes us think again about how precious and grateful we should be for the faith we have. We too might have been like the Jews in today's passage, hearing and hearing and hearing Jesus's words without understanding, but because of the Lord who didn't give up on us and continued to approach us and speak to us until the end, we were able to have this faith. Just as verse 30 says, "Even as he spoke, many believed in him," we too confess that we came to faith through such grace of God. People who cannot understand the Word, yet the Lord who speaks to them until the end. Let us pray together with grateful hearts to the Lord who gave us this faith.