20250131 [새벽묵상] 미치광이거나 진짜 하나님이거나 | Either a crazy blasphemer or the true God (요/Jhn 8:48~59)

8:48 유대인들이 대답하여 이르되 우리가 너를 사마리아 사람이라 또는 귀신이 들렸다 하는 말이 옳지 아니하냐

[Jesus’ Claims About Himself]

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

8:49 예수께서 대답하시되 나는 귀신 들린 것이 아니라 오직 내 아버지를 공경함이거늘 너희가 나를 무시하는도다

8:50 나는 내 영광을 구하지 아니하나 구하고 판단하시는 이가 계시니라

8:51 진실로 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 사람이 내 말을 지키면 영원히 죽음을 보지 아니하리라

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

8:52 유대인들이 이르되 지금 네가 귀신 들린 줄을 아노라 아브라함과 선지자들도 죽었거늘 네 말은 사람이 내 말을 지키면 영원히 죽음을 맛보지 아니하리라 하니

8:53 너는 이미 죽은 우리 조상 아브라함보다 크냐 또 선지자들도 죽었거늘 너는 너를 누구라 하느냐

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

8:54 예수께서 대답하시되 내가 내게 영광을 돌리면 내 영광이 아무 것도 아니거니와 내게 영광을 돌리시는 이는 내 아버지시니 곧 너희가 너희 하나님이라 칭하는 그이시라

8:55 너희는 그를 알지 못하되 나는 아노니 만일 내가 알지 못한다 하면 나도 너희 같이 거짓말쟁이가 되리라 나는 그를 알고 또 그의 말씀을 지키노라

8:56 너희 조상 아브라함은 나의 때 볼 것을 즐거워하다가 보고 기뻐하였느니라

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

8:57 유대인들이 이르되 네가 아직 오십 세도 못되었는데 아브라함을 보았느냐

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

8:58 예수께서 이르시되 진실로 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 아브라함이 나기 전부터 내가 있느니라 하시니

8:59 그들이 돌을 들어 치려 하거늘 예수께서 숨어 성전에서 나가시니라

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

                  요즘 사람들에게 예수님에 대해서 어떻게 생각하느냐고 물으면 많은 사람들이 그저 좋은 선생님이다. 또는 모하메드나 부처와 같은 영적인 지도자다. 같은 말을 합니다. 그런데 저는 이 반응이 예수님을 너무 몰라서 나오는 소리라고 생각합니다. 요한 복음에 나와있는 예수님의 말씀만 봐도 저런 말 못할 것 같아요. 요한복음 두 시간이면 읽습니다. 여러분 저희 집에서 교회까지 차로 대충 한 45분 걸립니다. 차 막히면 한 한시간 반 걸려요. 오고 가면서 계속 요한복음 듣습니다. 드라마 바이블 있지요? 그거 1.5배속 하면 교회 갔다가 집에 오면 보통 한번 이상 들어요. 제가 이번달 내내 요한복음 들었어요. 한 30번 들은거죠. 여러분 예수님 하시는 말씀 가만히 들으면요. 이건 완전 제정신이 아니에요. 유대인들이 너 귀신들렸구나, 너 미쳤구나 하는게 백번 이해가 돼요. 제가 이 말씀 왜 드리냐면 제가 처음에 사람들이 예수님 보고 뭐 좋은 선생님이다? 영적인 지도자다? 뭐 이렇게 얘기한다고 했잖아요? 그건 예수님 모르니까 하는 소리에요. 요한복음에서 말하는 예수님 가만히 보잖아요? 그러면 우리가 할 수 있는 반응은 둘 밖에 없어요. 첫번째는 감히 자기가 하나님과 동급이라고 신성모독하는 미치광이에요. 헛소리도 이런 헛소리가 없어요. 진짜 돌로 쳐죽이든지 해서 이 미친소리를 그만두게 해야해요. 자 두번째는 예수님이 하시는 말씀이 다 맞는 경우에요. 예수님이 진실만을 말하고 있다, 그러면 예수님은 진짜로 하나님이실 수 밖에 없어요. 그러면 어떻게 되나요? 그러면 우리는 결정을 해야해요. 예수님을 하나님으로 받아들이고 예수님을 우리의 삶의 주인으로 섬겨야 해요. 요한복음은 우리에게 이 두가지 선택만을 주면서 선택하라고 합니다. 들이 밀어요. 너는 어떤 결정을 내릴래? 유대인들처럼 예수님을 미치광이 취급할래? 아니면 예수님을 진짜 하나님으로 받아들일래?

When you ask people nowadays what they think about Jesus, many say "He was just a good teacher" or "He was a spiritual leader like Mohammed or Buddha." But I think these responses come from not really knowing Jesus. If you just look at Jesus's words in the Gospel of John, you couldn't make such statements. You can read John in about two hours. From my house to church, it's about a 45-minute drive, or an hour and a half in traffic. I listen to the Gospel of John during my commute. You know those audio Bibles? If you play it at 1.5x speed, I usually get through it at least once round trip. I've been listening to John all month - about 30 times. And when you really listen to what Jesus says? It's absolutely mind-blowing. I completely understand why the Jews said He was demon-possessed or crazy.

Why am I saying this? Remember how I mentioned people calling Jesus a good teacher or spiritual leader? That's what you say when you don't know Him. When you carefully look at Jesus in John's Gospel, there are only two possible reactions. First, He's a blasphemous madman who dares to equate Himself with God. It's the craziest talk ever - He should be stoned to death to stop this madness. Second, everything Jesus says is true. If He's speaking truth, He must truly be God. Then what? We have to make a decision. We must accept Jesus as God and serve Him as the Lord of our lives. The Gospel of John presents us with just these two choices and pushes us to decide. Which will you choose? Will you dismiss Jesus as a madman like the Jews did, or will you accept Him as the true God?

                  자 오늘 말씀에서 예수님이 주장하시는 것 한 번 들어볼게요. 먼저 51절 “진실로 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 사람이 내 말을 지키면 영원히 죽음을 보지 아니하리라” 이 말씀을 원문으로 보면 이중 부정문이에요. 내 말을 지키면 결코, 절대로, 죽음을 보지 아니하리라 라는 말씀이에요. 자 일반적인 상식이 있는 사람이라면 이건 말도 안되는 소리죠. 이세상 그 누구도 죽었다가 살아난 사람은 없어요. 이건 현대에 사는 사람들에게만 해당되는 이야기가 아니에요. 왜 우리가 흔히 예수님이 살던 시대의 사람들은 기적과 이사를 쉽게 믿을거라고 생각해요. 그런데 여러분 그렇지 않아요. 사람 사는거 다 똑같아요. 그 당시 사람들도 사람이 죽으면 절대로 다시 살아날 수 없다는 것, 당연히 알고 있었어요. 그래서 예수님의 제자들 조차도 예수님이 부활하셨을 때 바로 믿지를 못했던 거에요. 무덤에 가서 무덤이 비어있는걸 직접 보고도 누군가 시체를 훔쳐갔다고 생각하잖아요. 죽었던 사람이 되살아난다? 아예 옵션에 없는 거에요. 그래서 52절에 대번에 유대인들이 이야기 하잖아요. 너 귀신들었구나? 이게 무슨 말이에요? “너 미쳤구나. 이제 보니 너 완전 미쳤네.” 라고 얘기하는거에요. 자 그러면서 예를 듭니다. “아브라함과 선지자들도 죽었거늘” 자 아브라함이 누굽니까? 이스라엘 민족의 시조입니다. 이스라엘 민족이 아브라함의 믿음으로부터 시작하잖아요. 물론 그 전에도 족보가 있지만 하나님이 택하신 민족의 시작은 아브라함부터지요. 그래서 이들이 어제 말씀 33절에 “우리가 아브라함의 자손이라 남의 종이 된 적이 없거늘” 하면서 스스로 자신들이 아브라함의 자손이라고 말하고 있지 않습니까? 그렇다면 아브라함은 이들의 뿌리, 이들의 정체성에 가장 중요한 사람이지요. 자 그러면 선지자들은 누굽니까? 하나님의 대언자들입니다. 하나님의 말씀을 듣고 그 말씀을 그대로 전할 수 있을 만큼 하나님과 가까운 사람들이지요. 그래서 기적과 이사를 대부분 선지자들이 하지 않습니까? 즉 아브라함과 선지자들은 그들이 생각할 수 있는 인간 중에서는 가장 위대한 사람들을 말하고 있는 것이에요. 아니 그들도 죽었는데 네 말을 지키면 죽지 않는다니 이게 미치지 않고서야 그런 말을 할 수가 없는 것이에요.

Let's look at what Jesus claims in today's passage. First, in verse 51, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death" (John 8:51 ESV). In the original text, this is a double negative - He's saying whoever keeps His word will absolutely, definitely never see death. For anyone with common sense, this is nonsense. Nobody has ever died and come back to life. This isn't just a modern perspective. We often think people in Jesus's time easily believed in miracles and wonders. But folks, that's not true. People were the same back then. They knew just as well that when someone dies, they can't come back to life. That's why even Jesus's disciples couldn't immediately believe when He rose from the dead. Even when they saw the empty tomb, they thought someone had stolen the body. Someone coming back from death? That wasn't even an option. So in verse 52, the Jews immediately respond, "Now we know that you have a demon!" What are they saying? "Now we see you're completely crazy." They give an example: "Abraham died, as did the prophets" (John 8:52 ESV).

Who is Abraham? He's the father of the Israelite nation. Israel began with Abraham's faith. Sure, there's genealogy before him, but God's chosen nation starts with Abraham. That's why in verse 33 yesterday, they said, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone" (John 8:33 ESV). Abraham is their root, their identity. And who are the prophets? They're God's spokespersons, so close to God they could hear and relay His words exactly. That's why most miracles were performed by prophets, right? Abraham and the prophets represent the greatest humans they could think of. If even they died, how could anyone claim their words would prevent death? It had to be crazy talk.

                  예수님 또 스스로를 가르켜 뭐라고 하십니까? 54절 “내게 영광을 돌리시는 이는 내 아버지시니 곧 너희가 너희 하나님이라 칭하는 그이시라” 사실 이 말씀은 앞에 50절 말씀과 거의 같은 말씀이지요. 무슨 말이냐면 예수님께서 내 말을 지키면 죽지 않는다고 하시니 유대인들이 물어봅니다. 야 그러면 네가 아브라함보다 크냐? 아브라함도 죽었는데 너는 대체 네가 누구라고 생각하는 거냐? 그랬더니 예수님께서 이러시는 거에요. “아 내가 내 입으로 내가 가장 큰 자라고 하면 그건 의미가 없지 그런데 내가 가장 큰 자라고 하시는 분이 계신데 그분이 바로 니들이 아버지라고 부르는 하나님이시다.” 와 이거 완전 발작 버튼이죠. 미친 줄만 알았더니 감히 하나님을 들먹여요? 신성한 하나님을 끌어다가 내가 제일이라고 말을 하고 있는 거잖아요 지금. 니들이 아버지라고 부르는 하나님이 내가 최고래. 거기에 한 술 더 떠요. 55절. 니들은 하나님을 아버지라고 부르지만 “너희는 그를 알지 못하되 나는 아노니… 나는 그를 알고 또 그의 말씀을 지키노라.” 자 지금 예수님과 유대인들이 적대관계인데 예수님께서 하나님을 알고 그 말씀을 지키는 자라고 하면 이들은 반대로 하나님을 모르고 그 말씀을 어기는 자가 되는거 아닙니까? 이게 제정신으로 하는 소리겠냐구요. 자기만 하나님을 알고 자기만 말씀을 지키고 있대요. 니들은 거짓말쟁이래요.

What else does Jesus call Himself? Verse 54: "It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'" (John 8:54 ESV). This is similar to verse 50. When Jesus says those who keep His word won't die, the Jews ask, "Are you greater than Abraham? Abraham died, who do you think you are?" Jesus responds, "Well, if I glorify myself, that means nothing, but there's someone who declares me the greatest - the very one you call your God." Wow, that's pushing all their buttons! They thought He was just crazy, but now He dares to bring God into this? He's dragging the holy God into His claim of supremacy. He's saying, "The God you call Father says I'm the greatest."

Then He goes even further in verse 55: "But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word" (John 8:55 ESV). Jesus and the Jews are already at odds, and when Jesus claims to know God and keep His word, doesn't that make them people who don't know God and break His word? How could anyone in their right mind say this? He claims He alone knows God, He alone keeps the word, and calls them all liars.

                  자 여기에 마지막으로 쐐기를 박습니다. 58절에 “아브라함이 나기 전부터 내가 있느니라” 이게 무슨 소리에요. 이제 30대 초반 밖에 안된 청년이 눈 앞에 있는걸 뻔히 보고 있는데 자기가 아브라함이 태어나기 전부터 있었대요. 여러분 이 말씀을 원문으로 보면요 뭐라고 하시냐면 “아브라함이 나기 전부터 나는 스스로 있는 자니라”라고 읽을 수 있어요. 무슨 말이에요? “내가 하나님이다.” 라고 말을 하고 있는거에요. 거기 있는 유대인들은 지금 예수님이 무슨 말을 하고 있는지 정확히 알았어요. 그래서 59절에 “그들이 돌을 들어 치려” 하는거에요. 이제는 미치광이의 범주를 넘어섰어요. 하나님의 이름을 망령되이 일컫는 정도가 아니라 자기가 스스로 하나님이래요. 자 그러면 선택은 두가지 밖에 없어요. 스스로를 하나님이라고 말하는 이 신성모독자를 오늘 말씀처럼 돌로 쳐 죽이거나 아니면 이 분이 진짜 자기가 말하는 대로 하나님이라면, 이 사람이 오늘 하고있는 말이 모두 사실이고 우리는 그 말을 진실로 받아들여야 하는 것이에요.

Finally, He drives the last nail in verse 58: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58 ESV). What's this about? They're looking at a man in His early thirties claiming He existed before Abraham was born. In the original text, this reads more like "Before Abraham was, I AM." What's He saying? "I am God." The Jews there understood exactly what Jesus was saying. That's why in verse 59, "they picked up stones to throw at him" (John 8:59 ESV). This went beyond mere insanity. This wasn't just taking God's name in vain - He's claiming to be God Himself. So there are only two choices: either stone this blasphemer who calls Himself God to death, or if He really is God as He claims, then everything He's saying is true and we must accept it as truth.

                  여러분 말씀을 여기서 맺겠습니다. 여러분 가만히 생각해보세요. 우리는 예수님의 말씀을 너무 가볍게 생각할 때가 많아요. 새벽기도에 와서 듣는 좋은 말씀. 하루를 살아갈 양식. 교양. 그런데 여러분 예수님의 말씀은 그렇게 생각할 만큼 가볍지 않습니다. 그리고 우리에게 요구하세요. 너는 무슨 선택을 할 것이냐? 오늘 말씀을 보면 다른 선택이 없습니다. 예수님은 미치광이 신성 모독자이거나 진짜 하나님이시거나. 그런데 우리가 예수님이 진짜 하나님이심을 선택한다면 여러분 그것이 무엇을 의미하는지 그것이 여러분께 무엇을 요구하는지 다시 한번 깊이 생각해 보시기를 원합니다. 예수님은 하나님이십니다. 그것을 하나님 아버지께서 증언하십니다. 그리고 예수님의 말을 지키면 우리는 결코 죽음을 보지 않을 것입니다. 이것을 믿으시고 예수님을 여러분의 삶의 주인으로 받아들이시는 여러분 되시기를 축원합니다.

Let me conclude here. Think about it carefully. We often take Jesus's words too lightly. A nice message at morning prayer. Daily bread for living. Cultural enrichment. But folks, Jesus's words aren't that lightweight. And He demands an answer: What choice will you make? Looking at today's passage, there's no middle ground. Jesus is either a crazy blasphemer or truly God. And if we choose to accept that Jesus is truly God, I want you to deeply consider what that means and what it requires of you. Jesus is God. The Father testifies to this. And if we keep Jesus's words, we will never see death. I pray that you will believe this and accept Jesus as the Lord of your life.