Category: World Scripture-2

Jesus Humbled Himself and Became Obedient unto Death

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Then who is Christ at the Second Advent? As the True Father and True Mother were lost in Eden, he is the one to come upon the earth as the True Father. He will become as one with God in heart, lineage and flesh, establish the position of True Mother, and form a family centered on this oneness. The Messiah’s family will be the first to live with and serve God. The Messiah solidifies the position of the perfected Adam. The Kingdom of Heaven will be established only after the perfected Adam and Eve marry, live on earth serving God, have sons and daughters centered upon Him, bring forth His clan and live on earth together with them, and then, finally, move on into the heavenly world together with God. (282-51, 1997.3.10)

Richard: This is a good summary of the Role of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and of Mrs. Moon.

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1059

Sunday is the day to offer to the other members what you have planned and saved during the week that can bring them joy. On Sundays, you can share some specially prepared food and everyone should praise their spouses. (21-88, 1968.11.3)

Jesus

13. Jesus Bore Our Sins on the Cross

He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us
whole,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the l ord has laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
Isaiah 53.3-6

Under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own; for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
    Hebrews 9.22-26

Christ Jesus, who,
though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. 44
    Philippians 2.6-11

Can You Fathom the Agony in God’s Heart When Jesus Was Dying on the Cross?

2 Kings 22

11 When Josiah heard what was in The Book of God’s Law, he tore his clothes in sorrow. 12 At once he called together Hilkiah, Shaphan, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, and his own servant Asaiah. He said, 13 “The Lord must be furious with me and everyone else in Judah, because our ancestors did not obey the laws written in this book. Go find out what the Lord wants us to do.”

Richard: This is a very interesting verse. The Jews had forgotten about God’s Law. This is the same as forgetting about the Eight Sacred Textbooks, which has actually happened in the current Unification movement.

1 Kings 2

36 Solomon sent for Shimei and said, “Build a house here in Jerusalem and live in it. But whatever you do, don’t leave the city! 37 If you ever cross Kidron Valley and leave Jerusalem, you will be killed. And it will be your own fault.”

Richard: Later, Shimeie leaves Jerusalem and is killed. See the above comment by me. These two verses go together.

Jesus

12. The Agony of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

When Jesus fell exhausted while carrying the cross to Golgotha, none among his disciples offered to shoulder the cross in his place. Neither did anyone from among the chosen people of Israel. Rather it was Simon of Cyrene, a Gentile, who shouldered the cross and participated in Jesus’ tribulation. For this reason, Christianity flourished among the Gentiles, not the Jews…
    How must Jesus have felt when he looked at Simon of Cyrene? His disciples, with whom he had shared all his joys and sorrows, had all disappeared, leaving this Gentile to suffer on his behalf. Jesus must have felt deeply embarrassed and sorrowful.
    If any man among the twelve disciples had stood up to shoulder the cross in his place, then by looking at him, Jesus could have forgotten the hardships of death. He would have overcome his own agony by feeling compassion for his disciple. When this did not happen, Jesus felt even greater sorrow. (2:275, June 16, 1957)
 
Although the Roman soldiers nailed him to a cross and pierced him with a spear, Jesus asked God’s forgiveness for them. He endured his pain with the attitude, “I am dying on their behalf. I am willing to be sacrificed on their behalf.” From that moment a new realm opened; a new world was born that had never before existed in history.
    Before Jesus’ time the rule was to take revenge on your enemy, based on the law, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” No one before Jesus had ever taught that we should love our enemies. Jesus demonstrated something totally new to the world when he loved his enemies on the cross. This was something amazingly great. From that single event sprouted a new era, a new world of God’s desire. (130:232-33, January 29, 1984)
 
Can you fathom the agony in God’s heart when Jesus was dying on the cross? Here, the children of the enemy were killing His only begotten Son, and yet God could not treat them as enemies. Can you imagine how difficult it was for God to swallow His pain and maintain a loving heart towards them? Jesus understood God’s painful situation; he knew that God had to maintain unconditional love even for the enemy Satan; therefore he loved the enemy soldiers who were killing him and prayed that God would forgive their sin.
    Because Jesus passed this test, Satan could be separated. Because Jesus kept God’s tradition of unconditional love even for Satan, Satan had no grounds to accuse either Jesus or God. This was the condition to make a division between good and evil, to lift up Christianity beyond Satan’s grasp.
    God’s providence can progress only on the condition of loving Satan and the individuals and families under Satan’s dominion. Even in the place of death, we should love and pray for them, as God does. Otherwise there can be no restoration. For this reason, Christian martyrs throughout the world have followed Jesus’ example and prayed for their persecutors, “Heavenly Father, please save them.”
 
This goes back to the principle that Satan was originally an archangel, who was to receive love from God, Adam and Eve. Although he fell to become Satan, we should not change our love for him. By following this principle, we can be fully restored and be qualified to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (244:154-55, February 1, 1993)
 
Why did Jesus appeal to Heaven, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27.46) The first human beings abandoned God, and Jesus had the mission to restore their betrayal through indemnity. That is why God forsook him.
    Nevertheless, although abandoned, Jesus kept a grateful heart. He prayed, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” (Matt. 26.39) Because Jesus wanted to become one with God and digest death and whatever hardships confronted him, no enemy could dominate him. Because Jesus did not change even in death, even when God and humankind turned their backs on him, he opened the door to resurrection.
    Likewise, even if God were to turn away from you, you must be determined to cling to the Father and attend Him to the end. That is the only way you enter the blessed realm of resurrection that Jesus Christ opened for us. (4:144-45, March 30, 1958)

Was Jesus’ Death Predestined by God?

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Adam’s family stands in a representative and central position. For that reason, you must have the concept that your couple is the representative family of all of the world’s people, and the central family of the world. That is the way the sons and daughters of God should be, isn’t it? Because you are families that will enter the heavenly kingdom, you must be like that. Therefore, Blessed Families must know the Family Pledge in order to enter Adam’s family. (265-253, 1994.11.23

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f you keep pace with the Unification Church by way of the principled standard, good spirits and ancestors in the spirit world who used to cooperate with the national fortune will work for you. Externally, you may appear unlucky with a flat face and small ears, but the spirit world sees you as a lucky child. Your ancestors within ten generations are anxious because the history of restoration is realized based on ten generations. Yet when an evil descendant appears, ancestors within ten generations judge him by saying, “Hey you! You are going to ruin us!”

Richard: Doing ministry, and specifically Home Church is like playing chess.  If you are not even playing, then how can God help you? The term “playing” means that you are doing Home Church in your 360 home area. If you are doing your best, God can arrange the chess pieces and game so that you will win (the goal of saving people will happen, and the sub-goals will happen along the way)  This process takes requires patience and takes time.

Jesus

12. The Agony of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

People say that Jesus came to die. Was his death indeed predestined by God, or was it an event brought on by circumstances? You should know that it was something that came to pass suddenly and unexpectedly. We can discern this from the New Testament’s account of the Transfiguration: “And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure [his crucifixion] which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30-31)
    When Jesus later informed Peter that he would suffer in Jerusalem and be crucified, Peter violently protested, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” (Matt. 16:22) Then Jesus lashed out at him, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God but of men.” (Matt. 16:23)
    Conventional Christians understand this passage to mean that Jesus was supposed to die on the cross, and because Peter tried to stop him, Jesus called him “Satan.” What Jesus actually meant was this: Peter had witnessed the trance-like scene on the Mount of Transfiguration alongside Jesus; hence he should have heard sometime during that event, the instruction to Jesus that he should go to his death. However, Peter had dozed off and never heard it. Yet now that Jesus’ death was decided, Peter had no business telling Jesus what to do or not to do.
    The decision [to alter Jesus’ course] been made on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus had originally come to fulfill God’s Will both spiritually and physically, but he was driven into a situation where unless he sacrificed himself, he would have to turn the nation and the people over to Satan. In that situation, by going the way of crucifixion God strove to lay at least a spiritual foundation. In other words, God had determined to lead him on a secondary dispensation, one that would give birth to Christianity. (73:218, September 18, 1974)
 
Jesus walked a wretched path, the path of the cross. Evil men whipped and beat him. They ripped his clothing, drove him along the street, and forced him to the ground. In that situation, if Jesus had been like Elijah, he might have said to the people, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left.” (1 Kings 18:22) But when Jesus left his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and went to pray, he said, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” (Luke 22:42) This was his greatness. He understood that his body was a sacrificial offering for the nation, a sacrificial offering for humanity and a sacrificial offering for God’s providence.
    Therefore, although Jesus felt his own bitter sorrow, he was more concerned for God’s sorrow. God had sent Jesus for the sake of the nation; instead he felt God’s sorrow to see him betrayed by his own people. Jesus was the Messiah. He was the Crown Prince of Heaven and the central personage of the entire universe. If he chose, he could have given way to self-pity and lamented his miserable fate. He could have set the entire universe in lamentation with him. Yet, he understood that his position was not to sigh in despair. Instead, he even went so far as to feel apologetic toward Heaven for having been rejected.
    Jesus bore the responsibility to rally the religious establishment, rally the nation, build the Kingdom of Heaven and return the world to the Father’s bosom. Yet when he was forced to abandon that mission and walk the way of the cross, he did not feel enmity toward anyone. He did not pray, “Let this cup pass from me,” for fear of death. Rather, he prayed this way because he knew his death would add to the grief of the nation and to God’s grief.
    Jesus knew that if he died on the cross, there would be an even heavier cross remaining for the future generations. It would mean that humanity’s sorrowful history would not end. He knew that the path of Golgotha would not end with him; those who followed him would also have to go the same way. Jesus knew that an even more difficult course lay beyond the cross.
 
As he was made to wear a crown of thorns, and the nails were hammered into his hands and feet, and his side was stabbed with a spear, Jesus knew that these events would have impact far beyond his own death. When he turned to God and said, “It is finished,” he did not mean that the world’s path of the cross was finished. He meant that his heart’s tearful plea of concern over the cross had reached Heaven. We need to know that Jesus comforted God by offering himself as a living sacrifice and taking upon himself all the mistakes committed by past prophets and patriots.
    More than that, as he neared death Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34) God had a mind to pass judgment immediately, a judgment even more terrible than in Noah’s time. But Jesus died clinging to the nation, clinging to the religious establishment and clinging to the cross. For this reason, God could not abandon humanity, but held on to us. Because this bond of heart existed between Jesus, the future generations of humanity and the remaining people of Israel, God could not abandon the religious organizations that turned against him, nor the people of subsequent generations. Instead, God has clung to them. (378:314, May 21, 2002)
 
 
 

Father, Forgive Them for They Know Not What They Do

Nehemiah 8

5 Ezra was up on the high platform, where he could be seen by everyone, and when he opened the book, they all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the great Lord God, and the people shouted, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed with their faces to the ground and worshiped the Lord.

Hosea 12

6 So return to your God.
Patiently trust him,
    and show love and justice.

Jesus

12. The Agony of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.”
    Matthew 16.21-23

And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”…
    There came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?” And when those who were about him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
    Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house…
    Now the men who were holding Jesus mocked him and beat him; they also blindfolded him and asked him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” And they spoke many other words against him, reviling him.
    When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” And they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” And they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
    Then the whole company of them arose, and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”…
    And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
    And when they came to the place which is called The Skull [Calvary], there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He has saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
    One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
    It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
    Luke 22.39-23.46

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27.46

Can You Understand the Heart and Situation of Jesus?

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Blessed families should establish a family tradition and create a family code of conduct. You should also create a standard of education for children and rules of conduct for the family. If the parents have not done so, they will have nothing to say when they commit an error and their children press them hard. (21-87, 1968.11.3)

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If you carefully study the contents of the Bible, you cannot deny the fact that due to the illicit love the human ancestors connected themselves to the devil, Satan, with a relationship of father and children. Human beings are precious beings who were supposed to inherit God’s lineage and be born as His own sons and daughters within His absolute love. However they were born into lineage of devil, Satan, as his sons and daughters. In the eighth chapter of Romans, it is recorded, “…but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly, as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” An adopted child has a lineage different from that of his foster parents. This is the reality of human beings. (53-261, 1972.3.1)

Jesus

11. Jesus’ Wept Out of Love for the People and Agonized Over Their Unbelief, Even as His Closest Disciples Proved Faithless

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Does God live only for Himself and His glory, or is God totally selfless, living for the well being of the entire creation? Which is true love? In fact, the true God comes to us fallen people, shedding tears. People weep either when they are sad or happy. What about God? Does He shed tears of grief looking at human misery, or tears of laughter as He saves people? Think about it. If you ever lost a loved one and then found him again years later, what would you do? You would weep, first with grief and then with joy.
    Therefore, God wants to meet His beloved ones on the path of tears. Would you like to experience God’s tears? Have you ever cried, so shaking with sobs that water runs from your nose and mouth, your entire body drenched in sweat? Until you experience what grief is, you cannot taste true love. (102:163-64, December 17, 1978)

In the world dominated by Satan, God’s providence requires battles. God has to set up fights. Jesus certainly made some people angry when he criticized the Jews living in peace and comfort, calling them “hypocrites” and a “brood of vipers” and casting curses upon them. If Jesus had praised the rabbis, scribes and priests, telling them that they were doing a wonderful job for God, would he have been killed? Confucius and Mohammed—all the saints without exception—declared to the world something it did not want to hear. By doing that, they created the momentum for change. (95:276-77, December 11, 1977)

The people who were the closest to Jesus caused him the most sorrow. His sorrow was not so much from rejection by the people of Israel whom God had prepared, or from rejection by the Jewish authorities. His greatest sorrow came when his beloved disciples—some who had followed him for as long as three years—lost faith when he needed them to believe, did not testify when he needed them to testify, did not fight when he needed them to fight, and ran from death when he needed them to face death. (3:142, October 18, 1957)

Who followed Jesus to the end without forsaking him? The twelve disciples? No, even the three chief disciples among the Twelve did not keep faith and follow Jesus to the end.
    Although Jesus tried to introduce the love of God to humankind and tried to put that love into practice, he died without building a substantial relationship of love with a single human being. Although Jesus conveyed words of heavenly love, and although his heart burned with love, he died without having found one person whom he could tightly embrace and exchange the affectionate words, “My son!” “My father!” sharing the love that runs between a parent and child.
    Can you understand the heart and situation of Jesus as he cried in anguish through the sleepless night in the Garden of Gethsemane, even as the disciples were dozing off? Many people today appreciate Jesus’ words of love, but 2,000 years ago, Jesus did not have anyone to whom he could give his love. (3:58, September 22, 1957)

Jesus lived barely thirty years, a life filled with sorrow. Jesus spent three years of public life, offering everything he had; yet who knew his heart, and who knew his situation? Not even one person.

Even the disciples, who attended him as their teacher, who shared his joys and sorrows, who were sad when he was sad and lonely when he was lonely—they did not know, either.

The disciples, who should have clung to Heaven and appealed with earnest hearts, concerned that their teacher might go the path of death, instead were confused, asking, ”Who is Jesus?” (7:45, July 12, 1959)

On this earth, who knew the heart of Jesus? Not a single person recognized Jesus, a man filled with apprehension, who experienced and felt keenly Heaven’s sorrow, who felt Heaven’s lament over humanity. Jesus did not have even one disciple who exclaimed, “My Lord!” intimately feeling God’s heart…

Enable us to sympathize with the heart of Jesus, who had to leave behind disciples ignorant of his great sorrow, with the heart of Jesus, who died without seeing his life bear fruit, even though he lived his entire life for humankind. (5:137-38, January 11, 1959)