20260129 [새벽묵상] 긍휼함 가운데 임하는 하나님 나라 | The Kingdom of God Manifested in Compassion (마/Mt 8:1~13)

8:1 예수께서 산에서 내려오시니 수많은 무리가 따르니라

8:2 한 나병환자가 나아와 절하며 이르되 주여 원하시면 저를 깨끗하게 하실 수 있나이다 하거늘

1 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

8:3 예수께서 손을 내밀어 그에게 대시며 이르시되 내가 원하노니 깨끗함을 받으라 하시니 즉시 그의 나병이 깨끗하여진지라

8:4 예수께서 이르시되 삼가 아무에게도 이르지 말고 다만 가서 제사장에게 네 몸을 보이고 모세가 명한 예물을 드려 그들에게 입증하라 하시니라

3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

8:5 예수께서 가버나움에 들어가시니 한 백부장이 나아와 간구하여

8:6 이르되 주여 내 하인이 중풍병으로 집에 누워 몹시 괴로워하나이다

8:7 이르시되 내가 가서 고쳐 주리라

The Faith of the Centurion

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8:8 백부장이 대답하여 이르되 주여 내 집에 들어오심을 나는 감당하지 못하겠사오니 다만 말씀으로만 하옵소서 그러면 내 하인이 낫겠사옵나이다

8:9 나도 남의 수하에 있는 사람이요 내 아래에도 군사가 있으니 이더러 가라 하면 가고 저더러 오라 하면 오고 내 종더러 이것을 하라 하면 하나이다

8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

8:10 예수께서 들으시고 놀랍게 여겨 따르는 자들에게 이르시되 내가 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 이스라엘 중 아무에게서도 이만한 믿음을 보지 못하였노라

8:11 또 너희에게 이르노니 동 서로부터 많은 사람이 이르러 아브라함과 이삭과 야곱과 함께 천국에 앉으려니와

8:12 그 나라의 본 자손들은 바깥 어두운 데 쫓겨나 거기서 울며 이를 갈게 되리라

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

8:13 예수께서 백부장에게 이르시되 가라 네 믿은 대로 될지어다 하시니 그 즉시 하인이 나으니라

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

                 예수님께서는 산상수훈을 통해 하나님 나라가 너희에게 임하였다고 말씀하셨습니다. 그리고 더 나은 의에 대해서 설명하셨지요. 마태는 산상수훈 이후에 나병환자와 백부장을 치유하신 사건을 배치함으로서 하늘 나라의 의가 긍휼을 베푸는 것과 관련된다는 사실을 보여줍니다. 이들은 그들을 불쌍히 여기시는 예수님의 권위를 믿음으로 직접 경험하게 되지요. 오늘은 ‘긍휼함 가운데 임하는 하나님 나라’ 라는 제목으로 말씀을 나누기 원합니다.

[Introduction]

Through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared that the Kingdom of Heaven has arrived. He explained the "better righteousness" required of its citizens. Now, Matthew strategically places the healing of a leper and a centurion immediately after the sermon to show that the righteousness of the Kingdom is deeply rooted in showing mercy. These individuals experienced the authority of Jesus firsthand by believing in His compassion. Today, I want to share a message titled: "The Kingdom of God Manifested in Compassion."

                먼저 나병환자의 경우를 함께 보시기 원합니다. 1절을 보니 예수님의 가르침에 수많은 무리가 따랐다고 말하고 있습니다. 그런데 오늘 본문은 그 수많은 사람들 중에서도 하필 나병환자를 치유한 이야기를 전하고 있지요. 나병환자는 어떤 사람입니까? 부정한 자입니다. 단순한 병으로 부정한 것이 아니라 하나님의 저주를 받았다고 여김을 받았습니다. 공동체 밖에서 혼자 살아야 하는 사람입니다. 심지어 사람을 가까이 하게되면 스스로 “부정하다, 부정하다” 라고 소리쳐서 전염을 방지해야 했습니다. 그런데 오늘 본문은 수많은 무리 중에 이 나병환자가 나음을 받았다고 이야기하고 있습니다. 아무도 돌아보지 않는 불가촉 천민과 같은 이 사람을 예수님께서는 만지고 치유하셨습니다. 왜 그러셨을까요? 이것이 바로 예수님께서 말씀하신 하늘 나라의 의, 즉 긍휼함을 베푸는 것을 몸소 보여주시는 장면인 것입니다. 또한 이는 예수님의 말씀을 듣고 행하는 자에게 임하는 하늘 나라가 무엇인지 보여주시는 장면이기도 합니다.

1. The Leper: A Touch of Compassion (Verses 1-4)

First, let’s look at the leper. Verse 1 tells us that large crowds followed Jesus after He finished teaching. Among those thousands, the Bible highlights the story of a leper.

Who was a leper? In that society, he was "unclean." He wasn't just sick; he was viewed as being under a divine curse. He was an outcast who had to live outside the community. Even when people came near, he had to shout, "Unclean! Unclean!" to prevent any contact. Yet, today's passage tells us that among the countless people, this leper was the one who was healed.

Jesus touched and healed this man, who was treated like an "untouchable." Why? This is a living demonstration of the "better righteousness" Jesus taught—the righteousness of showing mercy. It also shows us what happens when someone hears the words of Jesus and puts them into practice.

나병환자는 예수님의 그 말씀을 믿었습니다. 그래서 그는 율법을 어기면서까지 예수님께 나아올 수 있었습니다. 이것이 그의 행함이지요. 그는 예수님의 긍휼하심을 확신했습니다. 그래서 그는 이렇게 말합니다. “주여 원하시면 저를 깨끗하게 하실 수 있나이다” 예수님께서 자신을 깨끗하게 하실 수 있다는 것에는 한치의 의심이 없습니다. 오히려 그는 자신의 가장 갈급한 필요를 눈 앞에 두고도 자신의 뜻이 아닌 예수님의 뜻을 먼저 구하는 믿음을 보여줍니다. 내 뜻이 아닌 아버지의 뜻대로. 그 때에 예수님께서 어떻게 반응하십니까? 3절 말씀 함께 읽겠습니다. “예수께서 손을 내밀어 그에게 대시며 이르시되 내가 원하노니 깨끗함을 받으라 하시니 즉시 그의 나병이 깨끗하여진지라” 예수님께서 말씀하십니다. “내가 원한다.” 이것이 예수님의 긍휼하심입니다. 이것이 하늘 나라의 의인 것입니다. 그리고 그 예수님의 긍휼하심이 행동으로 드러난 것, 그것이 바로 예수님께서 손을 내밀어 그의 몸을 만지신 것입니다. 부정한 것이 정결한 물건에 닿으면 어떤 일이 일어납니까? 부정함이 전염됩니다. 그러나 예수님께서 만지시며 무어라고 하십니까? “깨끗함을 받으라.” 하늘 나라가 이 순간 이 나병환자에게 임하였습니다. 예수님의 긍휼과 권능이 죽음과도 같이 일그러진 나병환자의 형상을 회복시키셨습니다. 우리는 어떤 상황가운데 있더라도 예수님의 긍휼하심을 의지할 수 있습니다. 그 긍휼하심을 믿고 나아갈때에 우리는 정결한 하나님 나라의 백성이 될 수 있는 것입니다.

The leper believed Jesus’ words. He had so much faith that he was willing to break the Law’s social boundaries to approach Jesus. This was his "action." He was certain of Jesus' compassion, saying:

"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." He had no doubt that Jesus could heal him. Instead, even in his most desperate need, he sought Jesus' will over his own—"Thy will be done, not mine." How did Jesus respond? Let’s read verse 3:

"Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy."

Jesus says, "I am willing." This is the heart of Jesus. This is the righteousness of the Kingdom. Jesus’ compassion was manifested in the action of reaching out and touching his body.

Normally, when something "unclean" touches something "clean," the uncleanness spreads. But when the Holy One touched the leper, He commanded, "Be clean!" In that moment, the Kingdom of Heaven broke into the leper's life. Jesus’ compassion and power restored the image of a man that had been distorted by a death-like disease. No matter what situation we are in, we can rely on this same compassion. When we believe in that mercy and step forward, we become the cleansed people of God’s Kingdom.

그 다음 이야기도 마찬가지입니다. 이번에는 한 백부장의 이야기가 나옵니다. 이 사람은 로마인입니다. 앞에서는 나병환자, 이제는 로마인 백부장. 모두 유대인들의 관점에서는 부정한 사람들입니다. 그런데 이 백부장은 자신의 종이 중풍병으로 괴로워하자 예수님께 나아와 간구합니다. 우리는 이 장면을 통해 두가지를 볼 수 있습니다. 하나는 이 백부장이 보여준 자신의 종에 대한 긍휼함입니다. 로마 백부장이 무엇이 아쉬워서 한낱 자신의 종을 위해 자신이 지배하고 있는 지역의 선생에게 나아와 간구하겠습니까? 예수님께서 산상수훈에서 말씀하신 자신의 종이라 할지라도 하나님의 형상을 지닌 나와 같은 하나님의 백성으로 여기고 긍휼히 여기는 모습이 바로 이 백부장의 모습이 아니겠습니까? 두번째는 나병환자가 그랬던 것과 같이 그 또한 예수님의 긍휼하심과 권능을 확신하였습니다. 그래서 부끄러움을 무릅쓰고 예수님께 나아와 간구한 것입니다. 예수님께서 자신의 종을 낫게 하실 수 있다. 확신이 있었기에 그는 예수님께 나아와 간구하였습니다. 이것이 바로 그가 예수님의 말씀을 듣고 행한 것입니다. 자신의 종을 긍휼히 여겼던 백부장, 그리고 그는, 그가 긍휼히 여기었듯이 예수님께서 그와 그의 종을 긍휼히 여기실 줄을 믿었던 것입니다. 그리고 예수님께서는 그의 이 믿음을 보시고 이스라엘 중 아무에게서도 이만한 믿음을 보지 못하였다고 말씀하십니다.

2. The Centurion: Faith Rooted in Mercy (Verses 5-13)

The next story follows a similar pattern, but with a Roman centurion. First a leper, now a Roman—both were considered "unclean" from a Jewish perspective. Yet, this centurion comes to Jesus, pleading for his servant who is suffering from paralysis. We see two things in this scene:

• The Centurion’s Compassion: Why would a powerful Roman officer care so much for a mere slave? Why would he humble himself before a teacher of the nation he was ruling? It is because he saw his servant as a fellow human being bearing the image of God. This is the very essence of the Sermon on the Mount—showing mercy even to the lowest.

• Confidence in Authority: Like the leper, he was certain of Jesus’ compassion and power. He believed that Jesus was so powerful He didn't even need to be physically present; a single word would be enough.

This was his "doing"—his active response to the Word. Just as he showed mercy to his servant, he believed that Jesus would show mercy to him. Jesus was amazed by this and declared that He had not found such great faith even in all of Israel.

말씀을 맺습니다. 오늘 말씀은 치유하시는 예수님의 권위를 강조합니다. 그런데 그 예수님의 권위가 드러났던 것은 바로 예수님의 긍휼하심을 믿었던 사람들과 다른 사람을 긍휼하게 여겼던 사람들을 통하여서 였습니다. 이들은 각각 부정한 자와 이방인 이었습니다. 무슨 말입니까? 하나님의 나라는 누구든지 예수님의 이 말씀을 듣고 행하는 자에게 임한다는 것입니다. 우리가 서로를 긍휼히 여길 때에, 그리고 우리가 예수님의 긍휼하심을 믿음으로 우리의 어떠함에 상관없이 예수님께 나아갈 때에, 우리가 찾을 때에, 하늘 나라가 우리에게 임하실 줄을 믿습니다.

[Conclusion]

Today’s passage emphasizes Jesus' authority to heal. But notice that this authority was revealed through those who believed in His mercy and those who practiced mercy toward others. One was a social outcast; the other was a Gentile outsider.

What does this tell us? The Kingdom of God comes to anyone who hears the words of Jesus and puts them into practice. When we show compassion to one another, and when we approach Jesus with absolute trust in His mercy—regardless of our status or our past—the Kingdom of Heaven will manifest in our midst.