The Wedding
-
Greg Waybright
- John 2:1-11
- Signs The Book of John
- 39 mins 43 secs
- Views: 791
Questions for Reflection
John 2:1-11
- How has the bridegroom and his family failed to meet expectations? When have you fallen short and been disappointed in yourself?
- What can we infer that Jesus’ mother expect him to do? What does this say about her understanding of him? In response to uncertainty, what did she tell others to do (vs. 5)?
- Do you respond this way in challenging times? Do you encourage others to do the same? What is Jesus telling you to do that might be unexpected?
- What might the six jars of ceremonial water represent? How does Jesus go far beyond expectations to meet their needs (vs. 6-7, vs. 10)?
- A sign is meant to point to something. What does this sign reveal about Jesus’ mission and identity? How did Jesus’ first sign affect His disciples (vs. 11)? How does a sign about a wedding and abundance inform your own relationship with God?
Study Notes
Signs: The Wedding
John 2:1-11
I spent the summer of 1973 doing mission work in Japan as a part of the Wheaton College student missionary program. Somehow, the mission leaders in Japan discovered I financed a lot of my way through college singing, i.e., recording music jingles for radio, soloing in churches and evangelistic meetings, etc. So, after a few weeks of being in Japan, the mission leaders asked me to take a trip up to the Aomori Retreat Center to sing at a conference there. However, I they said would need to take the train trip on my own because no one was available to go with me. As a 21-year-old college student, I was sure I could do it. I was living in Kofu City and the retreat center was a 6-7-hour trip through Tokyo and then to the north.
Everything went fine until the train went past Sendai and into more rural train stations. Back then, the signs in rural areas only were written in Kanji i.e., a script I couldn’t read. 
Not being able to understand the spoken announcements and not being able to read the signs, I began to panic. I went from person to person in the train car to ask if they would help me know when to get off – and they all simply shook their heads as if to say, “I don’t speak English. I don’t know what you are asking.” Let me tell you: On that day I began to understand the importance of signs if we will find our ways to our destinations. And, I learned I not only need to have signs – but to be able to understand the signs.
I think all of you can understand that illustration. We’ve all had times when we have tried to find the exit from a theater, the directions to a person’s home, and even our way around a church campus as complex as ours is here at LAC. The important thing about a sign is not the sign itself. What is important is what the sign points toward or tells us about. Signs point to realities that we do not currently see or understand. A sign points us to something that is very real but may not be visible at the moment. Sometimes, heeding a sign can save our lives. For example, when a fire erupts in a room, we look for an exit sign, not because of the aesthetic beauty of the sign, but because the sign points to a means of escape.
In his Gospel, the Apostle John did not call the supernatural works of Jesus miracles. He called them signs (semeion). The 7 signs he recorded for us were magnificent. But, the main thing about them was that they all pointed to something – or someone – much more magnificent than themselves. They all pointed to something about Jesus’s identity that people otherwise would never have seen. Jesus was a man. People could see that. But, he was much more. Jesus did what human beings did – ate, fished, took trips, etc. But, he came to do so much more. The signs in John demonstrate who Jesus is and what he came to do in our lives and in our world.
So, what will happen to you when you have eyes to see what the signs of Jesus were pointing toward? Hear John’s words: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (20:30-31).”
Do you see the two effects of opening your eyes to see and be directed by these signs? 1) You will believe in Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God, and 2) you will have your life changed. Indeed, you will find the “life to the full” (Jn 10:10) for which God created you.
We start today where John started in his gospel, i.e., with what he called “the first sign” in v. 11. That could mean that it was chronologically the first sign Jesus did. However, I’m pretty sure that John also meant that it was the foundational sign pointing us to who Jesus is, to why he has come into the world, and to how he can change our lives. This one took place in the small town of Cana in Galilee, just 16 miles from where Jesus spent most of his ministry life and did most of his miracles, i.e., in Capernaum. 
More importantly, this sign took place at a wedding. You have heard the story when the Scripture was read a moment ago. John tells us in v. 11 that this sign points to Jesus’s glory.
To what/whom does this sign point? I believe that as the 1st sign, this sign points back to what has happened in our world as well as forward to what Jesus came to do in our world, i.e., that he will make all things new. And, today, when we see those things, we see how this sing speaks into our present lives too, especially into times that feel like crises.
A Sign to Help us Understand Our Past – God has been at work since before the beginning. On the third day… (2:1). Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing… (2:6).
Right now, I turn your attention to two phrases in the story – the one about the 3rd day and the mention of the 6 jars. As we look at these phrases, one important thing to know is how important the early chapters of Genesis are for John’s telling us about Jesus. In fact, the Gospel of John begins with the same opening phrase as does Genesis, i.e., “in the beginning”. In Genesis, God creates our world in 6 days simply by speaking it into existence. In John, Jesus himself is the “Word” through whom the world is created (1:1-4).
So, when we come to the phrase, “on the 3rd day” in 2:1, we have to stop to ask -- the 3rd day of what? Is it the 3rd day of the wedding? Is it three days after the last episode in John? I think it’s more than those. John tells his Gospel in a way that forces us to ask why he simply says, “on the 3rd day.” And, one question we should ask is, “What happened in Genesis on the 3rd day of creation? This is a part of what we read, God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so (Gen 1:11).
When we read the prophecies in the OT that pointed toward the coming of the Messiah, one prophecy had to do with the Messiah demonstrating God’s sovereignty over all plant life including the fruit and wine that comes from it. So, over 700 years before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah had prophesied that when Messiah comes:
The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines… He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken (Is 25:6-8).
The point I want you to see in this sign is that this is our Father’s world. God loves this world he has made and always has. We should be aware that God has been at work in our world since the very beginning. When I say that, I do not mean that God is not fully aware of the imperfection of his world. Jesus came into the world to change all that is not what it should be.
That brings us to the 2nd phrase I mentioned, i.e., the one in v. 6 about 6 jars usually used for purification rites. The world was created in 7 days. So, in Jewish thought, the number 6 pointed to incompletion while the number 7 means perfection. So, we have six jars, big purification jars, used because there are things in this world that are impure, unjust and imperfect. Genesis 3 tells that part of the story. People walked away from God and that act affected everything. Everything, including all people. But, all the washing that could be done with these huge jars still could not make things completely clean, right and just in this world. These jars were good because they pointed to our need to be made clean, but they were incomplete. Indeed, they were empty. Jesus came to do what those jars could not do perfectly. He came to make pure what was not pure, to perfect what is imperfect.
Let’s stop for a moment to try to see what this part of the sign points toward as it points back in history. I think Jesus’s 1st sign points us toward a way of looking at the world we live in. God loves it. When God made it, it was good. But, things are not now what they should be. We and our world need purification. Everything needs to be purified and made right. And, God is at work to do that very thing – to right the wrongs in our lives and his world. Jesus came to begin that process. This sign in Cana is pointing to that.
When we see that, we should learn not to be surprised when things go wrong. Instead, we should look for evidence of God being at work and ask him to show us how to trust him as he works – even how to be a part of what he’s doing in this world. I’ll come back to this point in a moment – but right now, I want to share with you how this might apply to our church at this point in our history. On one side, we should not be surprised when we see things that are imperfect now – even in church. We are a church filled with redeemed but still imperfect people who have been promised that God will finish what he has started in us. And, we live in a still imperfect world too. But, God knows this -- and has been at work here at LAC for a long time. And, I tell you, he is at work among us now too.
So, as our Nominating Committee is looking for the next elected leaders in our church as well as a Search Committee for our next Sr. Pastor – and then we will all vote of what they recommend -- I encourage us to discern what God has been doing in our church and among our leaders up to now. Throughout my time here, I have witnessed our leaders seeking the Lord together and, often, hearing from him together. I urge us to have eyes to see and ears to hear what he has already been saying and doing. We want to be a part of what he is doing in the world. Just as the coming of Jesus was consistent with the work and prophecies of God, so too where God takes us as a church will be built on what he has said and done before.
But, saying that, I also want to say that, built on the past, God takes us into new places and a great future.
A Sign to Make Known Our Future – Our Destiny is Indescribably Fantastic. Each held from 20 to 30 gallons… (2:6). “Everyone else brings out the choice wine first… but you have saved the best till now (2:10).”
I want to say as briefly as possible that followers of Jesus have always loved this part of the sign Jesus provided at the wedding in Cana. Please do not miss two parts of it: 1) the quantity – Jesus created 120-180 gallons of wine. It was, and still would be, an exorbitant and almost outrageous amount of wine. Some people think that what Jesus did was scandalous.
And, 2) the quality – it was the best wine! This was a part of the miracle, of course. Wine aficionados point out that the best Bordeaux wines do not become their best until 30-40 years after they’re bottled. But, in Cana, Jesus spoke, and the wine was the best. And, he did it to meet a need and to restore the joy of the wedding.
I know that some in our day may be troubled by the quantity and quality of the wine Jesus made – but our brothers and sisters in Christ in the early church were not. Remember that they were a minority people, often persecuted and even killed for their faith. But they held on to the fact that God is at work and the Jesus they knew had not come to kill, steal and destroy. He gave us life to change our lives now but, just as much, to provide a fantastic future. Listen to one of them, a man named Irenaeus, when he, based on this story at Cana, described what he thought the world will be like when the Messiah returns and makes all things new:
The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty gallons of wine. And when any one of the God’s people shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, “I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me.”
What Irenaeus is saying is that our future is more fantastic than anything he could possibly describe. God is not a spoilsport. You see, what Jesus had come to do was not only to make things the way they were in Genesis 1-2 before sin entered the world. No! Even in paradise, Adam and Eve were still susceptible to evil. Essentially in this sign Jesus says, “Look and see. I have come to recreate the world I have created and that has gone wrong. I will do more than those 6 purification jars could do.”
What Jesus will bring about is much more and much better than even the Garden of Eden was. We will be liberated from the enticements of evil. We will celebrate our recovery!! We will be fully conformed to the image of Christ himself, which means, we will be set free. I know this is hard to imagine being possible. But, what is impossible for us will be made possible by God. That is our fantastic destiny.
A Sign to Give Us Hope Now – Jesus Is with Us in our Crises – The mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine (2:3).”
A wedding is usually a significant event in our lives and in our families. But, even the biggest and most extravagant wedding in the world I’ve grown up in, are nothing compared to the significance of weddings in Jesus’s day. Their ceremonies lasted at least three days. A wedding was a community event in which two extended families were brought together. The groom and his family were expected to provide the celebration for the whole community – just like others’ families had done for generations. And, the food and the wine were central to the celebration. Sometimes, half of what a man would earn his whole life would be spent on the wedding celebration. The reputation of both families rested on doing this well.
There is pathos in Mary’s words when she simply said to Jesus, “They have no more wine.” No more needed to be said. This meant shame would come upon the groom, and his family and his wife’s family as well. I don’t know if there is any event in our culture that has so much riding on it. Maybe, it would now be having a member of our family being discovered to be a pedophile. But, what was about to happen in Cana was worse.
The group of pastors I meet with to prepare sermons put me on the spot about this. They asked if I had personally experienced times of shame. A number of incidents flooded into my mind – because shame has the power to stick in our memory banks. One time, it happened just before Chris and I got married. I was a music missionary in Germany for 6 months a year and a graduate student at Wheaton Grad School for 6 months a year. And, I didn’t have much money. So, one year, just before heading back to Germany, I bought Chris an engagement ring, paid the bills and knew I had, and then raked up every penny I could so that I could take to lunch one of my teachers who had blessed me in countless ways. I wanted to honor him – to thank him.
I thought I had enough money to do this but on the morning of our lunch – and of the day I would be flying back to Germany, I received a notice from Wheaton’s business office that I still had an outstanding debt that had to be paid. And, it took all my money. Remember, back then we had no cell phones, so I could not text him to cancel. So, it was with a lot of anxiety – and shame – that I stood at the restaurant waiting for him to come. And, he came with such joy and said, “I can’t believe that you’re doing this for me, Greg.” Just as I was trying to find the words to say, “Well, I’m not… I can’t…” – a couple rushed over to us and said, “Greg Waybright! You sang and spoke at our church last Sunday. It was such a blessing. We’ve already told the server that we’re paying for you and your friend to have lunch today!”
It was something like that – though much, much bigger – that happened at Cana that day. Did you notice that Jesus didn’t take credit for it? The wedding manager only knew that the groom had left the best wine until last. Jesus stepped into the crisis and removed the man’s shame.
Tsega Worku, our LAC Director of Counseling, pointed out that it used to be that, when church people faced a crisis in their lives, their first instinct was to go to church and meet Jesus with their church family. Now, he said, we have a growing tendency to hide our crises and problems from one another in church -- and look elsewhere for support. But, a church should be a place where we meet Jesus together in the midst of a world in which God is not yet done with his work and, because of that, crises and shame are still very much alive.
So, Mary brought the crisis to Jesus. Jesus said, “Woman, what does this have to do with me?” He was not being disrespectful when he said that. Jesus was pointing out what I’ve been trying to say to you today, i.e., Jesus’s central identity was as Son of God and his main calling was to do his Heavenly Father’s will. The prophets had said that the Messiah would someday have a wedding – God’s people would be the Messiah’s bride. In a later book, Revelation, John would write that there would someday be a great wedding feast in which Jesus will be the founder of the feast – with no shortage of wine. But, that time had not yet come.
Nevertheless, in this time of crisis – Jesus was still the one to whom Mary came. So, I say to you: Whatever happens to you, when crisis and shame come into your life this side of heaven, do not run away from Jesus and the church into which he has put you. He was at work in the past. He will be at work into our fantastic future. But he is at work now to. Even when the crisis hits, do what Mary did – go to Jesus. And, let Mary’s admonition ring in your ears, “Do whatever he tells you.” Then, see what he does.
And, should I tell you what happened as I was panicking in the train in rural Japan – unable to read the signs? Certain I would never find my way? Well, just as the train was stopping at a rural train station, a young man who earlier had shaken his head as if to say to me, “No English”, suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. He said, in perfect English, “Sir. This is your stop.” Through him, I found my way.
So, I pray that this series of messages on the signs in John might be messages in which uses me me – or whoever opens God’s Word to you – to tap you on the shoulder so that you will see better what God is doing in your life and that you will trust him. I pray, as John prayed, that these signs will lead you to reaffirm that you believe in the Lord Jesus -- and that, in doing so, you will find more and more of the life that Jesus came to give you – until his work is finished and all things are made new --to His glory alone.
Chinese Study Notes
為上之道必先為下
馬可10:31-45
艾米力.芮, 是聞名於世的企鵝出版社出版人和編輯，翻譯過荷馬史詩“奧迪賽”，大約70 年前有人請他重翻“新約”的四福音書。芮是有名的不可知論者。芮的兒子多明尼克，也是一個有名的古典作家和語言學家，他聽說此事後就說：“我很有興趣看我的不可知論爸爸如何翻譯四福音，我更想看四福音如何改變我爸爸。”這話不久，翻譯還工作不到一年，快70歲的艾米力.芮博士成為一個委身的基督徒。今天的這段經文對他生命轉變至關重要。
我準備這篇講道的時候想到這件事。我每次讀福音書都會帶給我更新。這段對我是非常重要的經文，幫助我明白神要我如何作你們牧師。這一周我又一次發現，神藉著經文對我說話，更新我的生命，我盼望這也發生在你的身上。
我想進入今天主題的最好方法是先看看馬可福音10：35節記載的雅各、約翰兄弟帶到耶穌面前的那些請求，或稱之為“要求”：“老師，如果我們向你求什麼，希望你為我們成全。”
你有沒有類似的禱告？我承認我有，我想大多數人都會有；而且當我回想這樣禱告的時候，我能瞭解為什麼主在38節對雅各和約翰說：“你們不知道自己在求什麼！”我仿佛聽到主對我說：“格裡高利，如果你知道你要的是什麼，你就不會要我答應你的所求。”我要謙卑地說：“主啊，我現在知道了，儘管我禱告的時候並不明白。”你有沒有這樣的經歷？
讓我們看看西庇太的這些兒子在請求主時所要的是什麼？
故事: 一反常態的神的國 (或稱顛倒的國度)
可10：32-34記載，在去耶路撒冷和十字架的路上，耶穌特別把門徒叫到一旁，第三次向他們宣告了自己即將要面對死亡。
宣告#1 -- 8:31-32 --耶穌說自己要被害並要復活； 彼得攔阻他.
宣告 #2 -- 9:32-34 --耶穌說自己要被害並要復活；門徒卻彼此爭論誰為大。
我們看看這第三次耶穌對門徒所說的：“耶穌又把十二使徒帶到一邊，開始告訴他們將要發生在他身上的事，說：‘看，我們現在上耶路撒冷去，人子將被出賣給祭司長和經文士。他们要定他死罪，并且要把他交给外邦人。他们要戏弄他、向他吐唾沫、鞭打他，并杀害他；然后在第三天，他要复活’。”
注意下一節 可10:35: 這時候，西庇太的兒子雅各和約翰來到耶穌面前，說：“老師，如果我們向你求什麼，希望你為我們成全。”
我可以想像耶穌在36節回答他們時一定有些生氣：“要我為你們做什麼呢？” 他們說：“請准許我們在你的榮耀裡，一個坐在你的右邊，一個坐在你的左邊。”
對他們的話第一感覺是太不明白事而且很粗，好像是說：“耶穌，你說去耶路撒冷是赴死，但我們以為不見得；所以我們要爭取下周抵達後我們在你的國裡能有一個尊貴的位置。”當然，這只是一種猜測。
有二點可能幫助你對經文有不同看法，第一，這二兄弟天生好鬥，他們強壯有自信。在可3：17， 當耶穌揀選他們時，耶穌稱呼他們為“雷震子”。耶穌知道他們是這樣的人，但耶穌還是要他們跟從自己。在一次旅途中，他們的暴躁脾氣顯露出來：那時耶穌一行正經過撒瑪利亞，結果他們與當地人起了衝突，於是路9：54節記載著他們說：“主啊，你要我們吩咐火從天上降下來燒滅他們嗎？”
第二點我提醒你們的是，這二兄弟要坐在耶穌左右，不僅是要最尊貴的席位，就像宴會上坐在主人旁邊的位置；事實上在戰鬥中，統帥左右的人是要確保主帥的安全。
這樣我們再讀的時候，二兄弟好像說：“耶穌，我們知道你為耶路撒冷的敵對勢力很頭疼，甚至認為會死在那裡；但放心，我們不會讓這樣的事發生，只要有我們在你左右准保沒事！你不可能死，所以你只要應允我們，我們就會為你去！”
耶穌說：“你們連自己在求什麼都不知道啊！”他們確實如此，他們不知道自己在這世上最需要的就是罪過得贖。因此，他們也認識不到耶穌來世界的真正原因就是出生入死。耶穌的言行，他們有眼看不懂，有耳聽不明。
因此耶穌問他們：“我所喝的杯，你們能喝嗎？我所受的洗禮，你們能受嗎？”換句話說：“你們能承受我即將面對的那種痛苦去完成我父在地上的事工麼？”他們竟毫無猶豫地說：“我們能！”換句話說：“耶穌，那另外10個門徒可能不行，但你知道我們---我們是雷震子！我們能保護你，所以別再說死的事了，就答應我們的要求吧！”
耶穌知道他要面對的爭戰比對付那些在耶路撒冷的反對者大得多，他要與世界的國度爭戰，與邪惡的國度爭戰，與破壞人心的罪的國度爭戰。耶穌在40節告訴二兄弟“坐在我的右邊或左邊，不是我所賜的，而是已經預備給誰，就賜給誰”,因為父要讓萬事相輔相成。有意思的是，在耶穌死而復活後，二兄弟真地在神國建設中居功至偉—他們一定看到了比他們此時所求的位置更大的場景；二人為福音的緣故喝了耶穌的杯，他們死而後已，但只是肉體的死。
10：41節描述了那10個門徒聽到就很惱怒，你們懂得！這二兄弟竟然捷足先登，要當領袖啊---要成為耶穌的左右手發號施令，指揮全隊呀，豈不是高居眾人之上了！他們氣這二人要當副手，而自己只有惟命是從了。弟兄姊妹們，這不就是世界的想法麼？
我稱10：42-45為“馬可福音的定音錘”，因為耶穌第一次談到他為什麼必須死，他要讓他們、也讓我們知道世界上最偉大的一幕是如何成就的。請聽：於是耶穌把他們召來，對他們說：“你們知道，外邦人有所謂為首的壓制他們，也有為大的管轄他們。但你們當中卻不是這樣；相反，無論誰想在你們當中為大，誰就該做你們的僕人；無論誰想在你們當中為首，誰就該做大家的奴僕。要知道，就是人子來，也不是為了受人的服事，而是為了服事人，並且獻上自己的生命，替許多人做救贖的代價。”
耶穌不僅如此說，也如此做了，在可10：46-52，耶穌又醫治了一個叫巴提賣不名一文的瞎子，然後就徑直走向耶路撒冷為救贖他的門徒、救贖我們而死。這就是藉著死而生的故事，是藉著服事而偉大的故事。為上之道必先為下。
這段經文對我們說了什麼: 這是對新生命的呼召！
就如我早先所說，這段經文是神呼召我擔當任何角色的基礎---無論是丈夫還是父親，校長還是牧師，我會簡明告訴你們為什麼，我相信對你們也是一樣，讓我們還是用這系列的三句話：認識、明白、回應：
認識– 神定意在這個世界上成就的遠超我們的眼見。 耶穌就說：“你們不知道自己在求什麼（10：38）！”
我們很容易責備雅各和約翰，不是嗎？他們顯得愚拙、固執，但我越想到他們，就越從他們身上看到我自己。他們知道世上的敗壞，經歷了不敬神政府的高壓，也認為自己的人民對神冷漠是錯的，但他們無從把握耶穌的死為什麼能帶來改變。他們一遍遍見過耶穌的神跡，知道他是唯一能更新萬事的人---也許和摩西、以利亞一樣的偉大，但為什麼要為眾人死？這就是他們當時的認識。
你們能懂他們嗎？你們認識到了麼？對他們而言最不可思議的事，就是這世界的唯一盼望---即藉著耶穌的死帶來救贖盼望。你現在所處的境地是否讓你無解，以致你會說：“一切都一團糟！”“我的婚姻一團糟！”“教會的過度期一團糟！”
我提醒你們，在我們信仰的核心，我們相信神的同在，相信他讓萬事相輔相成，羅8：28：“這是為了愛神之人的益處，就是那些按照他的心意蒙召之人的益處。”
所以，若你不知道現在為什麼要發生這些事的時候，請睜開你信心的眼睛，就會看見神讓萬事互相效力，並帶給你盼望的更新。
明白 –儘管神願意在他的計畫裡使用我們，但他並不願意我們救助他。請准許我們…一個坐在你的右邊，一個坐在你的左邊 … (10:37)
我每一次讀經都有新的感受。這一次，我想起自己曾像二兄弟那樣求：“主啊，若你照著我求的做，你就會看見我可以為你做大事。”也有一些禱告並不壞：“主啊，若你醫治我的癌症，你就會看見我將多麼熱心地愛神愛人…”我這樣禱告時，就聽見主說：“格裡高利，不要管你現在是怎樣的健康狀態，只要盡心事奉，更深地愛人。至於我的醫治，就是我在你生命試煉中要做的，你並不一定現在就看見，但請相信我！”
我也要坦白，有時我想：“主啊，若你讓我成為教會的一個仁慈的獨裁者，我就能讓一切運轉自如。”而主說：“孩子，你知道誰是教會的主嗎？你知道誰使教會健康成長呢？不要從鏡子裡找答案，我要堅立我的教會，地獄之門不能得勝。儘管我呼召你並使用你，但並不需要你拯救我的教會！”
我大概不是唯一一個曾試著禱告說：“主，我要你答應我求的一切，你就看見我為你做多大的事！”你有沒有想過：“主，讓我贏這個頭彩，我就會給教會足夠的錢，再不會擔心預算，可以派更多的宣教士啊。”我想主可能對你說：“在我給你的小事上忠心，你才能在許多事上忠心。”
你有沒有說過：“主啊，若你讓我這次得到提升，你就會看見我不像我的老闆那樣苛待員工，我要向他們見證主！我要花更多時間陪伴家人…”你有沒有聽見神說：“現在就這麼做，看我如何用你”？
我要說，求主醫治、求主供應、求主在工作上開路這樣具體的禱告都不錯，但我們不應像雅各和約翰那樣說：“把我們所求的給我們，我們就為你做大事。”我們當效法耶穌的禱告：“我父啊，如果有可能，讓這杯離開我吧！但不要照我的意願，而要照你的意願。”耶穌所領受的父的旨意是我們得救的唯一道路。
認識---明白----
回應 – 神每天都差遣工人進入世界服事。外邦人有所謂為首的壓制他們，也有為大的管轄他們…就是人子來，也不是為了受人的服事，而是為了服事人(可10：42-45)
這些經文值得我們多次講道，其中一點就是：如何使用神給我們的影響力和權力。權力可以讓我們自我為中心，也可以吞噬我們，就像我們在馬可福音10：17-31節看到的那個富有的年輕官。但若我們被賦予了權柄，我們不可以濫用，要用它在我們的影響範圍內服事人。我們的影響力和權力不是為自己服務的，而是為了那些我們可以照顧到的人。耶穌死裡復活後，使徒保羅說：“你們應當有這樣的意念，這也是基督耶穌的意念。雖然他就是神本體的存在，卻不把與神同等看做是一件要強抓不放的事，反而倒空自己，取了奴僕的形像，成為人的樣式，以人的形態出現。”（腓2：5-7）
我今天要說的是：效法基督的生命呼召就是去服事。我們在這世上都有不同的影響，你可能作為家長或孩子影響家庭；可能作為老闆和員工影響企業；可能作為老師或學生影響學校。耶穌在以死服事你之前就教導說，你要天天服事那些神放在你生命中的人，這就是我們應有的生活。
世人認為權力越大越了不起，但耶穌把世界的法則推翻了。他說：“那些願意為小的就會成為至大。”當然我們做不到耶穌服事的樣式，我們既沒有權柄舍己來赦免世人的罪，我們也不能每天服事我們城市中的每一個人，但耶穌要我們效法他，有意識地關照神放在我們生命中的人，要去認識他們，瞭解他們的需要，用我們的智慧和資源去服事他們。
這是新的生命之道：耶穌呼召我們每天都用我們的言行服事我們周圍的人；要祈求，使自己能看見神定意放在我們生命中的人；要在不公義之處用神所賜的來尋求公義；要在沒有憐憫的地方表達我們的憐憫；當人人為己的時候，我們卻要謙卑地與神同行。
我還有很多要說的，但我今天就停在這裡，請大家思想：就在耶穌去耶路撒冷赴死之前，他說他來是要服事人---為我們捨命，贖去我們的罪惡、羞恥和罪疚。他來不是為了受人的服事，而是為了服事人，並且獻上自己的生命。他呼召我們也如此“無論誰想在你們當中為大，誰就該做你們的僕人；44無論誰想在你們當中為首，誰就該做大家的僕人。”
耶穌完全顛倒了世界的價值和方法。在我們主耶穌基督的眼中，為上之道先為下。生命若此，必將單單歸榮耀給神。
榮耀歸給神！
Greg Waybright 博士
主任牧師