[칼럼] Hero and Sage Story 7 -  ● Jesus’ Sacrifice and Love That Ruled the World by Killing the Self

(NewsKorea=Seoul) Digital News Team = Hero and Sage Story 7 - ● Jesus’ Sacrifice and Love That Ruled the World by Killing the Self

 
In Acts 5:38-39, the Jewish leaders, including the High Priest, arrest Peter and several other apostles and convene a council. At this meeting, the Pharisee teacher Gamaliel advises the Jewish leaders after briefly sending out the apostles: “Leave these men alone. If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

This single statement encapsulates not only the basis for Jesus and his disciples' words and deeds but also the entire religious foundation of Christianity. It is a proof that Jesus' words and actions did not originate from humans but from God. This is the logic underpinning both Jesus' divinity and the doctrine of the Trinity.

I do not intend to delve into the theological issue of whether Jesus was the Son of God, or God himself. What I focus on is that, whether or not Jesus was God, he demonstrated extreme human suffering, patience, tears, joy, and efforts with blood and sweat after coming into the world in human form. In other words, he started in conditions no better than ordinary humans and accomplished the greatest work in human history. 

Therefore, we must deeply reflect on the source of the power that allowed Jesus to be born as the son of a carpenter in Nazareth, break the old customs of rigid Judaism, embrace the Roman Empire, and finally elevate Christianity to a global religion. I believe that even Karl Marx's theory of communism, when rigorously examined, is merely a branch of the Christian culture created by Jesus. Thus, it is entirely natural that the communist experiments in Russia and Eastern Europe came to an end before the 20th century closed and were absorbed into the parent Christian culture (Communism in Asia, such as in China and North Korea, is not communism but a completely different ideology and system).
    
After being baptized by John, before beginning his three years of ministry, Jesus first went into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, led by the Holy Spirit. Those who have traveled through Israel know that the wilderness around the Dead Sea in central Israel, due to prolonged erosion, features terrain that was once flat but has risen like mountains, with steep cliffs surrounding it.

I speculate that when the Bible mentions Jesus being taken to a high place by the devil (Matthew 4:5), it was not some fictional stronghold but rather one of these cliff-top locations. On that very cliff (or wall), the devil whispers: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For your Father, God, will catch you, and you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Many pagans think that Jesus should have jumped. They lament that if he had done so, the dark reality of still not finding an answer after two thousand years of pondering the existence of God would not exist. They believe that if God existed, he would have seen the proof, and if not, he would have seen proof of its absence.

There was another opportunity. While suffering on the cross at Golgotha, the onlookers and soldiers mockingly jeer: “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah, the chosen one.” “If you are the King of the Jews, come down from the cross.” What if Jesus had removed the nails from his hands and broken the ropes, then come down from the cross (if, as the Son of God, he had the power to do so)? He would have been revered as a hero of the Jews like David or even surpassing the hero Heracles from Greek mythology, and he would have remained in the hearts of the Jewish people, continually remembered and honored. 

However, Christianity as we know it today would not exist. In other words, Christianity, which is based on the valuable sacrifice of Jesus' death, is a flower that bloomed on that foundation. Therefore, when asked about the essence of Christian teachings, people may mention ‘love’ and the ‘message of salvation,’ but I believe it is fundamentally about self-sacrifice and a life of moderation. Without these, Jesus’ teachings and the religion of Christianity would have no meaning.
   
Jesus’ teachings, that is, Christianity, thrived alongside the Roman Empire, provided the governing ideology through the darkness of the Middle Ages, and merged with capitalism to reach the present day. Capitalism is based on the values of market economy and freedom and aims for democratic systems politically. However, capitalism has progressed in Protestant regions that developed the virtues of strict self-control, but it has shown regressive aspects in regions such as South America and Eastern Europe, which are Catholic.
 
This proves that the message of salvation that does not presuppose the ethics of self-sacrifice similar to Jesus serves political dominant ideology and combines with the consciousness of the chosen people to cast a dark shadow over human history.
 
What about Korea? Our country achieved two miracles in the 20th century. One is the economic success known as the ‘Miracle on the Han River,’ and the other is the revival of Christianity. Korea is noted as the country where Christianity experienced the most revival in the 20th century. It is home to the largest church in the world with over 700,000 members and is the second-largest sender of missionaries worldwide, after the United States. By this point, Christianity should be a guiding principle in the lives of people in Korea and should form the basis for the moral thinking and actions of political leaders and business people.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Regrettably, Christianity, or the teachings of Jesus, still feels like borrowed clothes to church leaders in Korea, remaining unfamiliar and not permeated into daily life. Even fervent believers, after finishing prayers in church and leaving, often have no idea how to think or act as Christians. Consequently, despite the immense power of the church and the number of believers, Christianity fails to contribute to the guidance that will lead the present and future of our society, people, and nation.

Why is this so? It is because we have not produced leaders armed with the intense conviction and ethics of self-sacrifice like Jesus. There are cardinals who participate in the election of the Pope, and many prominent pastors who attract believers with smooth sermons, but a true embodiment of intense ‘love’ like Jesus has yet to be born on this land. Only after such a leader emerges will Jesus’ teachings gain genuine vitality in Korea and act as a new driving force when combined with the values of market economy, freedom, and democratic politics.

☆ Author:  Atty Jeong-kee Kim ☆

● Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, State University of New York at Stony Brook
-  Doctor of Jurisprudence, Marquette University Law School
- Senior Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Research Scholar in North Korean Studies, Peking University

● Experience
- Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai
- Commissioner General for the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo
- CEO, Asia-Pacific Local Government Network for Economic and Social Development (CityNet)
- Secretary General, World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization(WeGO)
- Law Clerk, Milwaukee Circuit Court, USA
- Senior Attorney-at-Law, Dr & Aju LLC
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, World Economy Research Institute, Nanjing University
- Research Professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Peking University
- Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Political Science, Kookmin University
- Chair Professor, Graduate School of Business, Dongguk University
- First President of Soongsil Cyber University

● Publications
- Georo English Studies Series for College Students [10 volumes] (Georo Publishing)
- I Challenge the Possibility of One Percent (Chosun Ilbo)
- The Art of Negotiation (Cheongnyonneongsin Publishing)
- Korea and the World (Chekmidum Publishing)