CHRIST’S WISDOM GIVES FORGIVENESS
Lemah Putro, Sunday, May 31, 2020
By Ps. Paulus Budiono
Shalom,
If we still have the opportunity to have a church service even though it’s through online, it is a gift from God on the day of Pentecost that we are commemorating. Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, He wants to help His people to be restored to their original condition in the Garden of Eden. Also by opening the pages of the Bible, we can find God's grace to give thanks and worship Him for the most part in gripping these days. We really need the strength of His Word and Holy Spirit in our daily walks of life. But don't forget that the greatest gift given to us is His only begotten Son, Jesus, to the world to save sinful men through His sacrifice on the cross.
Today (Pentecost day) we receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit as a "gift" from the Heavenly Father and in Triune in addition to having bestowed His Son – the Word – to become flesh. Unfortunately, because we often receive His kindness, we often do not appreciate Him, instead, we easily forget Him.
What happened to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the era of the early church? And what relation is it to the Gospel of John 8 that we are studying these weeks? Evidently, Jesus in the human condition also received the power of the Holy Spirit when facing the problem of traps about the woman caught in the act of adultery.
We will always be able to give thanks when the Holy Spirit and His Word are in us and long for Jesus who died for us, rose, and will come back soon.
We learn more about what happened in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as written in Acts 2:36-38, 41-42, 46-47, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit……Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers…….So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
The gift of the Holy Spirit undoubtedly had a great impact, Peter (and his colleagues) who were filled with the Holy Spirit became brave – loudly preaching the crucified Jesus. The impact? The Jews, who gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, were pierced in their hearts. They repented, were baptized, were forgiven of their sins, and received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and caused others to be saved (life reproduction). This is the meaning of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as well as the longing of Heavenly Father that many people will be saved. So, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not just a movement / speaking fluently in tongues and enthusiasm in praise.
Before being lifted up to heaven, Jesus told many people, who gathered on the Mount of Olives, "But you shall receive power (dunamis = strength, power) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Clearly, the Holy Spirit is poured out so that we become His witnesses.
Witness to Jesus about what? After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two of His disciples who were walking to Emmaus. After their eyes were opened, they, who were so grim, changed and recognized Jesus (Luke 24:15-16, 30-31). They then returned to Jerusalem and found eleven other disciples who were gathering with their friends. Two of Jesus' disciples testified of what happened on the way and how they recognized Him when He broke the bread (vv. 33,35). While they were having a conversation, Jesus suddenly stood in their midst and said, “…..Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (vv. 46-49)
Note that the meaning of the gift of the Holy Spirit is to make others – our family, friends and people – repent in addition to providing guarantees for redemption that makes us God's property (Ephesians 1:14). The power of the Holy Spirit aims at revealing the wrong, forgive and save those who are wrong.
Introspection: What does the Holy Spirit speak in our hearts these days? Be aware, our bad attitudes and actions actually make other people not repent and reject Jesus.
What did Jesus do with the power of the Holy Spirit towards the adulterous woman? At that time Jesus returned to the Temple to teach, (John 8:1-6,10-11) after previously His teaching was rejected when teaching in the Temple because people thought He had never studied Theology (John 7:15). Jesus asserted that His teachings came from God who sent Him and He did not seek respect or popularity (vv. 16-18). In the Feast of Tabernacles He promised “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (vv. 37-39). The Gospel of John chapter 7 speaks of the teaching of the Word and the Holy Spirit which can quench our thirst.
While teaching in the Temple, Jesus was confronted with the problem of an adulterous woman, who was caught red-handed, and according to the Torah regulations the woman had to be stoned. If on the Day of Pentecost there was forgiveness of sins, on the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus was trapped so as not to be able to solve crucial problem regarding marriage.
It turns out that when the early church congregation gathered, there were also accusations. This proves that people who entered the temple were diverse. Who gathered at that time? The Levites who served in the Temple, the scribes, the Pharisees, the adulterous woman, the disciples of Jesus and Jesus – the Word of truth that is full of grace.
Implication: when someone goes to church, of course he wants to get something he needs. But in reality, there are people who go home from church with a grumble because they do not like the other church members or the speaker, there are also synods with different perceptions about the Holy Spirit and so on. Whatever we do in worship, we reap what we sow.
Why didn’t Jesus answer the questions raised by the scribes and Pharisees? Because He knew they were not consistent with the law. In fact they know for sure when a person commits adultery, both the man and woman must be put to death (Leviticus 20:10). But in this case, they only brought the woman to be "tried" by Jesus. The Apostle Paul acknowledged that the law is good when it is properly used (1 Timothy 1:8) but he claimed to be the most sinful person after meeting Jesus. Evidently the scribes and Pharisees often distorted the truth of the law. They were simply hypocrites (cf. Matthew 23:1-36).
What was Jesus' response when the scribes and Pharisees constantly asked Him? He answered, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst." (John 8:7-9)
At first so many people gathered in the temple but eventually Jesus – the Word – and the adulterous woman remained. Indeed, the woman was guilty, but the words of Jesus full of the power of the Holy Spirit revealed their guise that they were all sinners.
Introspection: What does the church do these days? Is the church able to turn sinners' hearts upside down for salvation? The temple / church should not be filled with people who come only because of tradition or meet church regulations because of service, etc. who then find fault with others, but come as sinners who really need God's Word and the Holy Spirit to be forgiven.
There was a dialogue between Jesus and the adulterous woman. The woman was waiting for a verdict from Jesus but unexpectedly she was set free and reminded not to sin again.
Application: We should not be afraid of coming to Jesus – the Word – who came not to punish us but to expose all our mistakes (despite our plentiful sins as we grow older) to be restored. When we believe in Him, the Holy Spirit fills us to lead us into all truth (John 16:13) that sets us free (John 8:32).
The Word of God gives a warning not to sin again. Of course we should not only want grace but don't want truth or vice versa, want complete truth without grace. Only Jesus can forgive and give us the truth.
The adulterous woman (also us) can still sin again; that is why Jesus – the Word – needs to remind us because no one is immune to sin. But if we sin, we have a Mediator, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1). Also Jesus revealed Himself as the light of the world. Whoever follows Him does not walk in darkness (sin) but has the light of the world (John 8:12). Beware, if we live in hatred, we are still in darkness (1 John 2:9-11).
The Day of Pentecost as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit is an extraordinary gift of God that we should be grateful for. It must be admitted that we can still sin but the Word of God and His Holy Spirit always remind us not to obey the desires of the flesh. The Holy Spirit also leads us into all the truth that sets us free and guarantees us the redemption that makes us God's. Amen.
Video: Ibadah Pentakosta - 31 Mei 2020 - Pdt. Paulus Budiono