Genesis-164 – In the Wilderness – Part 1

Genesis 50:15–21

“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father left these instructions before he died: “This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.” Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’ When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said. But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” Amen.

 

Between Jacob’s Exodus and Joseph’s Exodus: The Time in the Wilderness

Last week, we looked at the story of an exceedingly grand funeral held in the ancient world. Even by today’s standards, it was of such an overwhelming scale that it could be called the “funeral of the century.” Records show that when a Pharaoh of Egypt passed away, the period of mourning lasted 72 days; for Jacob, the mourning lasted 70 days, giving us a glimpse into the immense prestige he held. Usually, as we look at this magnificent scene, we estimate the vast power and wealth Joseph enjoyed. However, if we peel back that outer shell and look at the essence, Joseph’s true intent was not to proclaim his own authority. It was to declare the unchanging covenant of the land God had promised—the fact that Israel would eventually return to Canaan.

 

In the midst of this grand narrative toward the fulfillment of God’s promise and the entry into Canaan, an unexpected problem arose: the anxiety of the brothers. As soon as the funeral rites were completed, the brothers came to Joseph. Their reason was clear. It was due to a deep-seated fear. Now that their father was gone, they were consumed by the terror that Joseph might reveal his true colors and wield the sword of revenge. The brothers went before Joseph and said, “Before our father died, he left these instructions. He said that even if we did evil to you, you should now forgive your brothers. So please, forgive our transgressions.” Then, they prostrated themselves before Joseph, surrendering and calling themselves his servants. Upon hearing this pitiful confession, Joseph wept. Why did he weep? As we already know, it was because a sincere forgiveness toward his brothers had already taken root in Joseph’s heart.

 

If we meditate deeply on Genesis 50, we find a very interesting structure. In the first half, Jacob leaves Egypt through his funeral, which we can call “Jacob’s Exodus.” However, as we move to the latter half of the text, an earnest will left by Joseph to his brothers and the descendants of Israel appears. He charges them, “When I die, carry my bones up to Canaan.” This is “Joseph’s Exodus.” Thus, the majestic conclusion of the book of Genesis is structured such that the Exodus events of these two figures, Jacob and Joseph, bookend the narrative.

 

This schema aligns with the later event of Moses leading the people out of Egypt, and the scene 40 years later where Joshua leads the next generation across the Jordan River into Canaan. Think of the journey of the Exodus. In the wilderness, Moses repeatedly teaches the theological meaning of the Exodus to the people like a new covenant. It gives the impression that two Exoduses exist. And that second Exodus is finally completed through the Book of Joshua.

 

But, everyone, what lies between these two Exoduses? It is the rigorous 40 years of time in the wilderness. This is why I have titled today’s sermon “In the Wilderness.” The time like a wilderness placed in that middle ground between Jacob’s Exodus and Joseph’s Exodus—those moments where dryness, anxiety, and constant trials intersect—is the point of faith we must pay attention to today.

 

Comfort that Looks Toward God Beyond the Misery of Sin

In fact, Joseph could have responded to his brothers in very ordinary, everyday language. “Brothers, what are you saying? Do not worry.” He could have offered such moderate comfort and settled the situation. The brothers were already forgiven, and there seemed to be no reason to dig up old wounds. But why does the Bible specifically illuminate this scene again?

 

The behavior of these brothers is strikingly similar to the conduct of the Israelites who entered the wilderness after their Exodus. Having turned their backs on Egypt and entered the wilderness, the Israelites experienced God’s concrete guidance and protection at every moment. Every morning they gathered manna, and whenever they were thirsty, they drank living water gushing from the rock. Nevertheless, at every opportunity, they longed for the Egypt of their past slavery and tested God by grumbling. They constantly raised doubts, asking, “Can God truly feed us? Can we really trust this guidance?”

 

That image of mistrust in the wilderness overlaps with the image of the brothers standing before Joseph. Therefore, this narrative we are facing is not a mere replay of an event. Just as the Israelites who had experienced the Exodus were tested in the wilderness, it shows that the brothers are standing before Joseph with the same existential problem.

 

Here, we need to momentarily set aside today’s text and reflect on the past point in time when Joseph had already forgiven his brothers. In Genesis 45:5, Joseph proclaimed: “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” In verse 7, he declares even more clearly: “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”

 

Although we are currently meditating on chapter 50, Joseph had already finished this same confession of faith in chapter 45. This magnificent declaration—“God sent me to save you”—was an immovable confirmation of forgiveness. Specifically, Genesis 45:15 records: “And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.” This scene of sharing each other’s warmth and responding with tears was a place of perfect reconciliation.

 

Yet, in today’s text, Joseph bursts into tears again. These tears do not originate simply from the thrill of reunion. In terms of biblical pages, it is only a few chapters apart, but in reality, about 17 to 20 years have passed. During those long years, how sincerely and devotedly did Joseph care for his brothers and their families? He provided comfortable dwellings, took responsibility for their livelihoods, and even meticulously prepared fertile land for them to maintain their occupations.

 

Nevertheless, in the depths of their hearts, the brothers had lived without being able to clear away the sediment of distrust, thinking, “One day, Joseph will take revenge on us.” How must Joseph have felt when he faced that sorrowful truth? The sadness mixed with self-reproach, “Have I been so untrusted by my brothers?” must have overwhelmed him. Many biblical scholars interpret Joseph’s tears in this way, which provides a very deep spiritual insight.

 

However, behind those tears, there certainly exists another fundamental reason. It is the “misery of sin.” The cause that created such a distance between the brothers was none other than sin. Joseph gazed directly at the reality that sin was the entity that gave birth to deep-rooted anxiety, fear, and never-ending vigilance. Joseph let out a deep sigh as he witnessed how sin devastates and ravages the human soul.

 

When the brothers came and prostrated themselves, servilely pleading, “Consider us your slaves,” Joseph did not overpower them with his authority. Instead, he soothed their trembling hearts, saying, “Don’t be afraid.” And verse 21 describes the scene like this: “And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”

 

The Bible does not record that Joseph logically “persuaded” his brothers, but describes it as “reassuring them with earnest words (comforting them).” Joseph did not argue over the rights and wrongs of the past. He did not push them away by rebuking them, “Why do you not trust me?” nor did he inflict any punishment. Instead, he offered heartfelt comfort toward the brothers who had wounded him again by failing to trust him fully.

 

Now we must stand before this solemn question: With what language and on what grounds was Joseph able to comfort his brothers so earnestly?

 

Am I in the Place of God?: A Shift in Perspective

The first word of comfort Joseph offered was none other than the confession, “Am I in the place of God?” Looking only at the translation, this expression could potentially sound like a light rebuke, as if saying, “Do you think I’ve become God?” However, the nuance of the original text is completely different. It is a confession of faith—trembling with awe before the Creator—asking, “How could I possibly sit in the seat of God?”

 

In fact, if we were to discuss qualifications, no one would be more suitable to sit in the seat of a judge than Joseph. Joseph had saved his brothers from famine, led them to Egypt to provide a foundation for their lives, and was responsible for their entire livelihood. Based solely on human order and standards, Joseph was in a position to judge his brothers' faults more confidently than anyone else. However, Joseph clearly draws a line. He proclaimed that this entire journey was personally led by God and was a divine providence accomplished by God.

 

Joseph clearly recognized the position of his own existence. “I am not your judge. I too came to this position by God’s grace, and I am merely an imperfect human being living by His mercy. How then can I replace the sovereignty of God?” This is the core of what Joseph wanted to convey. His attitude went beyond mere humility; it was filled with the certainty that God was working at this very moment to save the brothers and their families.

 

Joseph is correcting their perspective by substituting the object of their fear from a human named Joseph to God. The comfort we often offer usually stops at trying to smooth over the situation, saying, “It’s okay, it’s all in the past.” But the comfort of Joseph revealed in the Bible is of a different dimension. He took his brothers' eyes off the visible being called Joseph and directed them toward the invisible God. That was the noble first step of the comfort Joseph showed.

 

This spiritual principle applies equally to us living today. Are the barren environments you face, the numerous deficiencies and despairs that overwhelm you, and your pain and frustration capturing your gaze? Before the massive walls that seem impossible to overcome by your own strength, Joseph exhorts us to proclaim: “How can you replace God?”

 

The reality that drives and holds my life is not the harsh environment before my eyes. Whether the situation is optimistic or pessimistic, it cannot be the sovereign that determines the destination of my life. Only God, my Father and Savior, is the sole Governor who fashions my life. Joseph wanted his brothers not to fear the hands of man but to seek the face of God. Because that was the true comfort that sets the soul free.

 

Every step of life we pass through is never easy. The future of our children, broken health, or the existential anxiety encountered in the wilderness of an immigrant society surrounds us. At that time, we must boldly cry out: “Material things, honor, or worldly comfort do not dictate my life. How can you replace God?”

 

Do not give up the seat of the master to the hatred, disappointment, lamentation, and distress that trouble your heart. How could those things replace the Holy God? They never can. This is the essence of the “earnest comfort” Joseph delivered to his brothers. Dear congregants, lift your heads now. Do not let your hearts be stolen by disappointment. Nothing has the authority to destroy your life by replacing God.

 

Direct Confrontation with Sin and Confidence in God’s Goodness

When the shift in perspective is fully achieved in this way, Joseph’s second comfort finally manifests. Joseph declares: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” When we hear these words, we usually intuitively think of the promise in Romans 8:28, “all things work together for good.” However, today I want to meditate more closely on the meaning contained in the depths of this confession.

 

There is a solemn fact we must never overlook when Joseph says this. It is that Joseph never distorted the past or glorified the brothers’ sins. He did not avoid the tragedy of the past or wrap it in a romanticized way. Joseph clearly asserts: “You intended to harm me.” He did not change this painful fact; he stared that truth directly in the face.

 

This point is a very important passage directly linked to the essence of faith. When we comfort someone, we often try to maintain peace by burying or ignoring uncomfortable truths. However, this is a part we must confront in the process of following Christ. When preaching the Gospel, there are those who say: “Pastor, the word that God is with us is indeed a comfort. But why does the Bible mention sin so obsessively, and why must it expose the shame of so many sinners?” Or they appeal, “I am already suffocated by the weight of life and my self-esteem is thin, so being labeled a sinner makes it even harder. Can’t you preach without that story?”

 

It is a perfectly natural and human response. However, the Bible is entirely punctuated with the stories of unholy sinners. What was the world’s reaction when Christ proclaimed the words of life? The Gospel of John testifies, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it.” Why did people execute the Lord of love on the cross? It was because He exposed the sin hidden within them.

 

Then why must the awareness of being a “sinner” come first for us? It is because if we do not face the facts and if we conceal our true state, we can never gauge the depth of the true comfort God has prepared. How can the relief of taking medicine for a minor cold be the same as the thrill of surviving a desperate cancer surgery? Only those who clearly know what kind of swamp of death they were rescued from can sing songs of true gratitude and joy. A cold can be dismissed as a routine hardship that could happen again, but a fatal disease is not like that. Unless we honestly face ourselves, we can never personally experience what a wondrous miracle God’s true comfort is.

 

We must truthfully face our own existence and frailty. This absolutely does not mean to grossly exaggerate sin or to become a slave to guilt by belittling oneself. We must stand before the mirror of God’s justice and holiness. Only when we stand before His pure light do we honestly realize who we are.

 

The tool we need to realize the misery of sin is God’s law. The core of that law is “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” When we stand before this solemn ark of the law, we finally despair. It is because we realize we are beings who cannot perfectly fulfill even a single piece of that requirement by our own strength. Do we not repeatedly witness human fickleness, where people vow eternal love only to become enemies over a minor conflict of interest?

 

The attitude to be wary of here is “self-pity,” becoming submerged only in oneself who committed the sin. Self-loathing, saying, “I’m only this kind of person, I can never change,” is not confronting sin, but rather just an act of being immersed in self-centeredness. However, when you focus on God, the narrative changes. When you realize how vast and good God is, you realize your own shabby existence before Him and finally reach evangelical contrition.

 

We often fear the visible punishments or disadvantages that will come as a result of sin. The brothers in today’s text were also trembling with anxiety, fearing that Joseph would start his revenge and imprison or execute them. But the true misery of sin does not lie in physical punishment. What is more terrible is the loss of all spiritual blessings we are meant to enjoy. The state of having a heart that cannot love, and being in a state of isolation where true fellowship and soul-to-soul communion are impossible, is the most tragic punishment.

 

People are terrified of the physical flames of hell, but the essence of hell revealed in the Bible is a space where God’s love is completely absent. It is a place where one can neither love nor be loved, where only hatred and resentment are infinitely repeated. If the soul burns up just because a relationship with one person goes wrong, how cruel a suffering would it be to dwell in hatred for eternity?

 

The fundamental reason we feel the misery of sin is that we completely lose God’s love, mercy, and goodness. We cannot even recall the good God, nor can we enjoy rest within the truth. Thoughts become contaminated with the toxins of evil, and from our lips, only thorny language that pierces others is uttered. The alienated life of one eternally severed from God’s grace and love—that is the most terrifying face of sin.

 

God’s Faithfulness that Even Evil Cannot Overcome

The ultimate reason Joseph reaches out to his brothers is to lead them to God. He intends to bring his brothers to the side of that very God whom he met, deeply realized, and above all, whose vast grace and love he personally experienced. Joseph never tethers his brothers' gaze to himself. He does not make them notice him, but makes them look only to God. He wanted to lead his brothers to that faithful God whom numerous saints would later sing together in confession: “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.”

 

So, Joseph is in effect proclaiming: “Brothers, do not be afraid of me. Do not look at me.” Reflecting this into our lives today, it is as follows: Do not look at your barren environment. Do not let your heart be stolen by the finite things you hold in your hands. Do not become submerged in the obsessions you consider most precious in the world, or the deep swamp of despair, pain, hatred, and wounds that torment you. Lift your eyes and look at God. Joseph asserts: “My Lord has turned even all those things we were looking at into good.”

 

In this passage, we naturally recall the words from Romans 8, “all things work together for good.” Usually, when meditating on this verse, we focus on God’s supernatural power and miracles. We marvel at the mystery of how even evil can be sublimated into a tool for good. However, the true intent of this word is much stronger and more profound than that. It goes beyond simply meaning “He used evil as a material to fashion good”; it is closer to meaning, “Despite the fact that our evil and sin existed, God’s goodness was never frustrated.”

 

In other words, it is a confession that no degree of our perversity or sin could defeat God’s zeal and love for us. God’s love was vast enough to cover our transgressions and thus never collapsed. We often dismiss this word as an optimistic result-oriented view that “eventually everything will work out.” But the true essence lies not in the phenomenal result, but in the character of God, in whom there is no change. Our gaze must stay on the fact that despite the flooding of evil and sin, God is still good, and our sin can never overwhelm His grace.

 

This word is not a secular narrative of “sweetness after bitterness” or “turning a misfortune into a blessing.” It is a solemn promise that even if these are ruins where no good thing can come out, and even if it is a desperate situation with no sign of improvement, God does not give up His goodness and mercy. It speaks of the victory of immeasurable grace that accompanies us to the end, letting us taste God’s goodness and eventually making us kneel before Him.

 

The life of Jim Elliot, a martyr in the Amazon, and his wife Elisabeth Elliot vividly demonstrates this truth. Jim Elliot chose the path of martyrdom without resisting before the spears of the natives. His wife Elisabeth lost her husband and later remarried, only to have to silently watch her second husband suffer from cancer before passing away. She recorded in her book: “If I look only at the cross-sections of my life, I cannot conclude that God is good and merciful. Because one husband was murdered and the other was weakened by cancer.”

 

But her confession does not stop there. “The environment visible to a Christian can never be the standard of judgment. My trust in God’s love does not originate from volatile emotions or instincts, but from faith in the God who promised.” She confessed that trusting in the sovereignty working within God’s love is the great victory that overcomes the world. This fact—that God is the Sovereign of my life and is with me even now—is the most amazing comfort and the basis of victory in our lives.

 

God’s Promise that Gives Peace and Hope

The prophet Jeremiah also very earnestly proclaimed God’s true heart toward us. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” This is the word from Jeremiah 29:11.

 

Everyone, do you truly want to know the truth that flows in the depths of our lives? Although it is a familiar passage, I want us to read this verse once more with the resonance of the soul. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

 

Everyone, do not fight with God. This word is precisely the heart of God that He has clearly revealed toward you. He affirms that it is not we who know the direction of our lives, but God alone who knows. And He promised to surely fulfill this good plan in our lives. This is the truth that exists strictly in your life, and it is the bulwark of true comfort we will enjoy.

 

Joseph’s narrative does not end with the declaration, “God turned everything into good.” Joseph comforts his brothers while harboring God’s holy purpose. That comfort leads to the confession in the text that “He brought it about to save many lives.” This is a solemn proclamation that God has achieved a salvation that saves lives. But this salvation is not buried within Joseph as an individual, nor does it stagnate within us. Joseph says: “Through you, brothers, God has saved many lives.”

 

The horrific event where the brothers sold Joseph seems, outwardly, to be an atrocious sin and the epitome of evil. However, God used those very works of darkness that intended to harm Joseph as a channel to save many lives. What a wondrous paradox of providence. Everyone, contemplate the deep layers of this word. Even Joseph did not grasp all these secrets from the beginning. When Joseph was imprisoned in a cold underground cell or bound in chains, would he have prayed with detachment, “Lord, thank You for preparing such suffering to save many lives through me”? No.

 

As we meditated in the Psalms, he cried out and appealed before God while his neck was in an iron collar and his feet were in shackles. “Lord, why is this happening to me?” Jacob, Joseph, and Abraham were no exceptions. If you trace their lives, there was not a single person who lived while foreseeing exactly how they were currently being used within God’s massive redemptive blueprint.

 

Do you see what spiritual lesson this suggests to us? When I deal with the congregants, sometimes a deep regret stays in a corner of my heart. It is when those who should never dwell in disappointment seem to fail to personally experience how glorious the salvation granted to them is. When I see people’s lives and thoughts looking impoverished because they do not recognize what status they were called into or what they are currently enjoying, I feel a deep sorrow as a pastor.

 

The Bible clearly testifies. You, by the very existence of breathing and moving on this earth, are already the “source of blessing” established by God. In every place where you move your steps, the world is receiving a transfusion of God’s grace through you. You are like “spiritual vitamins” providing vitality to this spiritually parched world. Those you encounter are, without even realizing it, receiving the grace of life through you within God’s sovereign providence.

 

Joseph, Abraham, and Jacob also did not fully understand in their time. You may only remember the visible service, devotion, or teaching you performed. But on the day we stand before God’s judgment seat, we will face fruits more brilliant than the small things we were counting. At that time, God will say, “Look, this is the fruit borne through your hands.” We will be amazed and ask in return, “Lord, when did I ever perform such a noble task?”

 

This is the truth revealed by the Bible. While God was governing salvation using us as tools, the warm words we spoke unintentionally and the minor service we thought was insignificant had already ripened into fruits of eternal life. People who have returned from mission fields often say out of humility, “I didn’t do anything because the language didn’t even click.” But who knows if that one young soul they met will grow into a giant tree in the kingdom of God? That is God’s mysterious and perfect way of working.

 

The Best Time of My Life, Salvation in the Wilderness

We often experience God’s grace and His kingdom on unexpected trajectories of life. It is precisely such a moment when, looking back under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we realize that a relationship with a spouse that was marked by conflict and confrontation for a lifetime was actually a holy channel that made me grow deeper and more mature before God. The moment we face that subtle providence, we finally become immersed in true joy that the world cannot give.

 

There are times when we encounter the deep truth—God’s work that we had not yet fathomed. Even in those suffocating events that were impossible to understand with human wisdom, and those painful moments we felt would have been better if they had never happened, God was still weaving the warp and woof of our lives. The fact that such brilliant grace of God flows through flawed us toward the world is truly a wondrous mystery.

 

Joseph’s life also shows a classic example of this divine providence. He is now reflecting on his turbulent life and confessing that God’s massive redemptive history, which he himself could not fully measure, was flowing continuously through his life. God is one who surely fulfills His purpose. And that purpose does not stop at our individual horizons but makes it flow passionately toward the nations within Christ.

 

Dear congregants, the people we encounter while living in this world are never accidents. The daily life we lead is also not a sequence of meaningless time, and even the language we utter is not accidental. Even if the task you face seems insignificant, or even if you lament, “Why was such a harsh burden placed only on me?” because of the unbearable pain accompanied in the process, remember: You are never alone on that lonely road. The Lord of Immanuel is by your side, and God is precisely using all those processes to complete His good purpose.

 

The very center where this great narrative of salvation is being completed is the wilderness. The wilderness is a place where fear, disappointment, and existential anxiety still coexist. While eating manna every day and drinking living water gushing from the rock whenever we are thirsty, we forget God’s presence and ask hollow questions like, “Lord, where on earth are you?” It is our deep-seated weakness to long for the physical comforts of Egypt even while living and breathing grace.

 

Why would we be submerged in the trials of the wilderness? Why would we resent God and turn our heads toward the severed past of Egypt? It is because of the anxiety and terror lurking within us. Despite having the vivid memory of salvation—crossing the Red Sea and passing over the plague of death by the blood of the Passover lamb—we still tremble. It is because we are currently passing through an uncertain zone called the “wilderness.”

 

However, the Bible firmly proclaims to us: You and I are not wanderers suffering aimlessly in the wilderness. We are certainly not those wasting time suffering from reasonless mental pain. Instead of a life that flows like water, saying, “The world is just like that,” or “It’s the result brought about by my misjudgment,” we are currently living out God’s salvation existentially. Every event that happens in your life is a holy process of deeply experiencing God’s salvation.

 

Therefore, the very moment you are living and struggling is the time standing at the pinnacle of history. There is no stand-in in the world to live your reality for you. But at this very point, you are passing through the most important season of your life. Because God Himself is accompanying you and completing His salvation. Although the current suffering is grave and painful, within the overall redemptive map, this time is the “best time of life” when God’s glory is being realized. Joseph proclaims to his brothers with this very certainty:

 

“God, the Master of the universe, has saved you.”

 

What on earth—even the stubborn hatred and greed within us, or Joseph’s own anger and wounds—how could they possibly snatch you away from God’s almighty hand? They never can. Given the weight of that noble grace and love God paid for you, what creature in the world could sever you from His embrace? Thus, Joseph moves toward this majestic obedience: “So then, I will obey this God. I will provide for you and your children.”

 

The Hatred and Sorrow Borne on the Cross, Now into Love

Through the magnificent hymn in the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul cried out: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Truly, Amen. It is a truth we cannot help but respond to with all our hearts. Dear congregants, God has already borne your sins through Christ.

 

However, do not stop at the mere relief of the forgiveness of sins. You must not stop at a personal sense of liberation, thinking, “Now I am not condemned, so I am at peace.” If God has borne the sin you suffered from so much, and if the Lord Himself bore that curse, you must now move to the place of actively doing good. If God has obliterated that terrible hatred and anger lurking within you, now live by actively loving.

 

Many people, while confessing that they have “received forgiveness of sins” or “gained freedom,” are actually trapped in a deceptive attitude. We often witness the sight of people returning to the habits of the old self, saying, “Now I have become righteous, so no one can criticize me. Now I will live freely as my desires lead.”

 

Everyone, that is not the freedom the Gospel speaks of. That is license and a distorted theological misunderstanding. You must never fall into such spiritual deception. Gaze precisely at the essence of freedom revealed by the Bible. The Lord bore your sorrow on the cross in your place. Therefore, it is a solemn calling to shake off the ashes of that sorrow and rise to wear the crown of joy.

 

“I have put all your tears in my wineskin, so now rejoice in me. I have nailed your jealousy and envy to the cross, so now live by encouraging one another, sharing each other’s burdens, and praising one another. I have borne all your greed and lust, so now live a life of compassion, giving and sharing with one another. I have endured all your despair, so now sing and praise with eternal hope.”

 

If the Lord has wiped away your tears, should you not now be the one who wipes away the tears of your suffering neighbors? If the Lord died after nailing your pride to the cross, is it not right to walk the path of humility by lowering your heart? “I shed your tears for you, so you live with a smile. I bore your evil, so you now live by practicing goodness. I extinguished your hatred, so you now live by loving passionately.” This is the earnest desire of our Heavenly Father toward us.

 

“I took away all your pain and tears, sighs and despair, and the anger and hatred filled in your heart upon the cross, so now you live only by focusing on beautiful and good works. Live a life that fulfills the law of love and becomes a sacrifice of joy.” The Lord says this to us today. Do not grab hold of the dark remnants of the past again. Do not let your soul be devastated by hanging onto wounds that have already passed. Do not forget for a single moment that love of the cross where He poured out water and blood for you.

 

Whatever your immediate problem is, and wherever the source of that pain lies, there is the Lord who already gave His life for it. So then, what kind of attitude toward life should we maintain now? Like the confession of a certain hymn from long ago, the Lord calls to us with a still, small voice: “Comfort, just as I comforted you when you were in pain. Wipe away the tears, just as I wiped away your tears when you were sobbing. Love is a favor, a gift, and a mercy from me; therefore, you also love, love to the end.”

 

That’s right. The request of the Gospel is, “I have washed your sins clean, so now walk the path of righteousness.” Everyone, is it still painful to let go of hatred? The place where the Lord bore and extinguished that hatred in your place is precisely Calvary’s Hill. Is there a frustration deep in your soul that simply won’t be resolved? The Lord has already seen the tears you shed in that darkness, and He has placed those tears in His heart. It is solely to grant you true peace and joy.

 

Therefore, dear congregants, if you have come before the Lord of the cross, now truly find rest in His embrace. Do not summon the past that has been resolved and push your life back into a misery like hell. “Lord, since You died for me, now let me fully enjoy this ecstasy, the song of the Gospel, and the true love You have granted me.” I bless you in the name of the Lord to live out this time called today with this desperate confession of faith.

 

Let us pray.

Dear Lord, through the Word today, we reflect upon our lives once again under Your holy illumination. For what purpose on earth did You pour out such immeasurable rain of grace upon us?

 

How could we possibly turn away from those noble purposes You are painting upon the canvas of our lives, and Your almighty hand that is leading us even at this very moment?

 

Lord, now that we have realized Your passionate true heart toward us and Your magnificent sovereignty, let us humbly kneel before You. Let us completely surrender our egos before Your rule, and let us become holy living sacrifices that joyfully carry out Your heart and Your Word.

 

We pray in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our eternal Redeemer. Amen.