English
He is the Suffering Victor
Mark 8:27-33; 9:2-13
This is the first weekend of Lent – that season when Christians all over the world take time to focus on the journey Jesus took toward Jerusalem where he knowingly and intentionally offered up his life in our place on a cross. The journey Jesus took is sometimes called the Via Dolorosa, meaning the Road of Anguish. I know that most people think about the Via Dolorosa as being the ½ mile path Jesus took when he had to carry his own cross through Jerusalem to Golgotha.
But the Bible describes Jesus’ specific journey toward the cross as being a lot longer. In some ways, Jesus' journey to Golgotha began the day he was born in Bethlehem. Throughout his entire life, the shadow of a cross he must bear to offer forgiveness of sins to people like you and me constantly shadowed his mind and steps. Jesus knew he had come to die.
But, there is one time in Jesus’ life when he set his face resolutely toward Jerusalem. In doing so, he told his disciples plainly that he was going there to die. Mark describes Jesus’ journey as starting from a city called Caesarea Philippi in Mark 8:27 and ending with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Mark 11. During these coming weeks leading up to Easter at the Lake Avenue Church, we will be seeing what Mark wrote about Jesus’ strategic and intentional trip toward his crucifixion.
I want us to start today exactly where Mark started in 8:27-9:13. What this passage shows us is that this Jesus who said he had come to suffer and die is the same Jesus who had consistently demonstrated his authority everything in this world in the first 8 chapters of Mark. On one side, the suffering and death Jesus experienced was torturous. But please make note at the beginning of Lent 2013 that Jesus knew the cross was not his final destination. It was a necessary part of a great victory.
On this journey, Jesus will tell his disciples at least three times that he had come to die – but also three times that there he had a destination after the cross. He declared, “After three days, I will rise again.” Here is a point I do not want you to miss: Both hardship and victory, both suffering and triumph were essential parts of Jesus’ path. And, Jesus insists, the same will be true of us. For Jesus, there was no real victory without the suffering. There is no resurrection life without Jesus’ crucifixion and atoning death.
If you can grab hold of this today, it will lay a foundation for your understanding of what to expect in this world when you follow Jesus. We who follow Jesus should never be surprised by the difficulties that arise. But, there is a purpose to the suffering. There is a final destination beyond the suffering. And, that destination is glorious. So, on this first weekend of Lent, we will see the early disciples wrestling with this question: How could Jesus be the triumphant Messiah and all-powerful Son of God and still declare that he must suffer and die?
If we can grab hold of this, then we will be able to grasp the remarkable claim of the Bible that Jesus invites us to join with him in his work of making all things new. Jesus entered into a world in which other kingdoms reigned. He suffered as he began a work that would destroy the evils in our world. A part of his suffering was due to your sin and mine. But, even as he is doing a work of remaking you and me, he sends us into the world to bring his message, to fight for his justice, and to show his compassion. This will not be easy. But the end of God’s ultimate work and of our own journeys will be the kingdom of God.
How can we be faithful to that calling? Here’s what I want us to consider. Our faithfulness:
- Begins with having a clear understanding of who Jesus is,
- Is sustained by having shared experiences of his presence and power,
- Is strengthened by active service.
I. Our faithfulness begins with having a clear understanding of who Jesus is.
Our studies in the first half book of Mark have been dominated by one question, i.e., who is Jesus? Who is this one who raises the dead and calms storms? At last, in Mark 8:27-30, we find Jesus asking the question: “Who do people say I am?” There are several human opinions found in 8:27-31.
1. The Crowds’ View (8:27-29). “Jesus was a good religious man but not the Messiah.”
The disciples had been traveling a lot around the villages of Galilee as well as into Gentile territories so they probably were in touch with public opinion about Jesus. The interesting thing is that while people had a high regard for Jesus, they stopped short of identifying him as the Messiah or the Son of God. They only said, "John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets of God…” They agreed that Jesus was exceptional but only so far as he belonged in the same category as the inspired spokesmen found often in religion. They weren't talking about him as being unique. He was one of many good religious people.
What do you think was the reason the people were reluctant to think of Jesus as the Messiah? Almost certainly, the answer lies in the style of Jesus' ministry. The people in Jesus’ day almost all expected a Messiah who would focus on political action, a descendent of King David in certain stereotypical ways: 1) he would associate with the high and mighty and 2) he would focus on military strategies. And Jesus simply didn't fit that stereotype. Jesus was a man who associated with the outcasts rather than kings. He was a man of words rather than arms. Hence, their speculation about him was this: an Elijah maybe; another holy man like John the Baptist maybe; son of David never.
I’m not sure that the public opinion today is always so much different that it was then. Here in Southern CA, if we could conveniently put Jesus into the category of religious prophet or guru, then few would have problems with him. There have always been and still are religious types who supposedly help people become more spiritual. But, they don't demand obedience and worship. They're just people -- though there may be a special spiritual quality about them. Prophets are interesting figures, challenging even, but we don't feel that every human being must follow them to be saved. But what if Jesus is more than a prophet? That's what worries people isn't it? And it brings us to the second human opinion.
2. The Disciples’ View (8:30). “Jesus was Messiah but not a sufferer.”
Peter was able to see more than the crowds. Peter rightly called Jesus “the Christ”, another word for the Messiah. Peter was a Galilean so, like all Galileans, he surely thought of the Messiah as a military, revolutionary type. To think that Jesus was Messiah was quite an insight for Peter to have. To get to this point, Peter’s whole mental concept of what the Messiah would be had to be turned on its head. He saw before him one who spent his days ministering to the sick, preaching to the poor, one who taught his followers to love their enemies and to turn the other cheek to evildoers. And yet this same Peter this surly, aggressive, patriotic fisherman from Galilee found himself saying, "You are the Messiah."
But. Peter at this point could only see a part of who Jesus is. He, along with the rest of the apostles, could not yet grasp the idea of the Messiah suffering and dying on a cross. That became clear when Peter rebuked Jesus in v. 32 for saying that he would be killed. Still, something remarkable had begun in Peter's thinking. I've no doubt about that. The crowds were willing to see Jesus just as a prophet, an exceptional man. But Peter knew enough about him to know that he was more than a prophet. He was the Messiah.
And please notice that Jesus did not contradict him. After all, if Jesus didn't think Peter's verdict was correct, he should have set him straight immediately saying, "Don't go overboard, Peter. I'm not the divine Messiah the Scriptures say will come.” But no, Jesus accepted the statement that he was the Messiah. But Peter and the disciples still were blind to an essential part of Jesus’ identity.
3. The religious establishment’s View (8:31). “Jesus was a dangerous threat.”
If Peter's confession that this humble carpenter from Nazareth was the Messiah was a shocker, then Jesus’ statement that the religious leaders would kill the Messiah was an earthquake. In v. 31, Jesus predicted that one day soon, the very leading figures of the Jewish establishment would pass their opinion on him too and that opinion would be that he would have to die as a heretic, as a criminal.
And this would happen not by some tragic accident. No, Jesus said that there was a great necessity that required his death. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer." What made suffering a “must”? If you read the rest of the Bible carefully, you'll find that what Jesus meant was the “must” of biblical prophecy. Jesus' insisted that some OT passages about the Messiah were being ignored in his day. 800 years before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah had said that the Messiah would be a servant who would save people not as a victorious military general but as a sacrificial victim. Isaiah said Messiah would deliver his people by “pouring out his life unto death, being numbered with transgressors, and bearing the sin of many… (Isa. 53:12).”
But, this was not the kind of Messiah they wanted. In fact, they thought a “false Messiah” like they thought Jesus would keep the true Messiah from coming if he was not stopped. So, their verdict was that he was a dangerous man – a liar or a lunatic -- who had to be put to death.
Here then are the three human opinions about Jesus. The Galilean crowds could accept him as a prophet, Peter knew he was Messiah but could not see that Messiah must suffer, and the establishment denounced him as a heretic and put him to death. Who do people today say Jesus is? Who do you think he is? Is he the one who has power over all other kingdoms? Or, is he the one who has to suffer in this world?
You need to decide what you believe about Jesus. Will you follow him only if he gives you what you want? Only if being a Christian “works for you”? Do you only want a miracle working Jesus who does his miracles for you? Or will you follow him and share in his suffering until you see his victory. Our faithfulness in living for God in this world begins with a clear idea of who Jesus is and what he came to do.
That brings us to a second key to our faithfulness in this world.
II.Our faithfulness is sustained by having shared experiences of his presence and power (9:1-7).
There is so much that could be said about the Transfiguration of Jesus recorded in Mark 9 but we will focus today only on one thing. In 9:7, God the Father tells us definitively who Jesus is: A cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
What happened was amazing. Six days after calling all disciples to self-denial and cross-bearing, Jesus took Peter, James and John up onto a mountain and read 9:2b-4. What is recorded here is a foretaste in this world of what it will be like in heaven. We see the glorified Jesus with his people.
The thing I want to notice here is that Jesus was not an ordinary man, not one prophet among other prophets, and certainly not a dangerous pretender to being the Messiah. He was and is the Messiah and the one and only Son of God. What happened on that mountaintop is that the deity of Jesus -- which was really there all the time though veiled by the flesh of his humanity -- that deity broke through. What Jesus was inside was made known to human eyes. It was like the bright light of the dawn breaking through a partially drawn curtain. The disciples caught a mind expanding glimpse of Jesus’ glory as it was before the manger in Bethlehem and as it would be after he would return to his Father. This was the majestic Jesus that John met on the Isle of Patmos in Revelation1.
Jesus talked there with the OT greats, Moses and Elijah – great men of God who had met God on a mountaintop. Moses had gone away from one encounter with God with his face glowing. But, the shining and the glory emanated from Jesus. He was like a hologram (though surely more than that). The disciples could see this was Jesus but they also saw the glory radiating as a part of him. He is the glory of God. Moses and Elijah had pointed toward God but they were not the one and only Son of God. And the Father declared, “Listen to him!” “Obey him!”
And, in v. 9, having seen the glory and uniqueness of Jesus, they looked again and saw the Jesus they had seen walking among the poor, bringing hope to the needy, and bringing healing to the broken. This was the same Jesus who had just said he would suffer and be killed. It was the same Jesus.
Jesus obviously thought these men needed a very clear experience of his greatness if they were going to be faithful to carry his good news to the world. There would be other glimpses of Jesus’ greatness recorded in the Bible like this, e.g., in Luke 24, John 21, Acts 1, Acts 9, Revelation 1… It’s my conviction that what is normal when we follow Jesus is that we will have many times that we simply must trust him even when we do not see. When he leads us through the kinds of difficult times he went through himself, we must trust that his promise is true and that he never leaves us or forsakes us.
But sometimes, God gives us more of a glimpse of his presence and his glory that we normally have. I have had those times in my life – often coming quite unexpectedly as it must have been for these disciples. And, I’m convinced that one of the reasons we are called to meet as we meet each week in a service like this one is to pull aside from the normal activity of the world and “worship”, i.e., to put God at the center of our vision and affirm that he is who he says he is – the all-powerful, all-loving, all-holy God of the universe who is at work in this world even when we don’t know what he is doing.
“Don’t forsake meeting together!” That’s how you will be provoked to live faithfully in this world, according to Hebrews 10. But come to meet God. Come, and ask God to make himself real to you. Come and ask him to say something to you when we open this Word. Listen to him. Hear God say, “Jesus is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
And then go into this world with no illusions about there being no hardship. But, also go -- knowing that there is no hardship greater than the Lord who is with us. We are sustained in our faithfulness by having experiences of worship that remind us that God is great and that he is with us.
III.Our faithfulness is strengthened by active service offered to an imperfect world in Jesus’ name.
Let’s go back and look at Peter’s comment in v. 5 when he saw Moses, Elijah and the transfigured Jesus: "This is great Jesus. Let's put up tents and stay here!" Peter, though frightened, surely thought that this spiritual experience was much better than all the talk about suffering and death. “Let’s just stay here and stay away from that hard world, Jesus.”
We’re still tempted to do the same. If we have a wonderful experience with God together with other believers in our church group, we’re tempted to say, “Let’s just spend our whole lives in Christian things. Let’s stay on the mountain and talk about how bad things are down in the streets.” But we can’t do that and follow Jesus. Jesus didn’t live that way. The story of Mark’s gospel is that Jesus walked and talked with people struggling and failing in every possible way in his world. But, in doing so, he offered us a way out of the sin and darkness of the world. But, to do so, Jesus had to leave heaven – and he had to come off the mountain and touch people’s lives in his world. And that’s what we must always do too. We need to come and worship God together – but then God sends us back into our neighborhoods to live for him.
So, in v. 9, after the transfiguration, Jesus immediately began talking again about the death he must die. And the disciples were confused. They still couldn’t put the all-powerful Jesus together with the suffering Jesus. But, Jesus would not stay on the mountain. He came off the mountain to bring God’s kingdom to the streets and he called his disciples to stay close to him. Come week by week over the next few months and you’ll see what Jesus had to face in the streets: Marriage issues. Jealousy! Materialism! Selfishness! Sickness! It sounds like our world. It is our world. But, it’s a world Jesus loves.
Jesus left the mountain to bring good news to the world. As he did, he called his followers to go with him. And, he calls you to follow him today. When you go with Jesus, you discover he sends you both to serve your church community and to serve the hurting places in the world. Beware: when you bring Jesus to your world, you’ll find the “kingdoms” reigning in our world fighting back. But the kingdoms of the world will not win – not in the end. As you serve those coming to our church who need to know the Bible and need you to get involved in their lives, you will find Jesus is there with you. As you serve wherever God sends you in the neighborhood, you will find Jesus is there with you. When you serve in Jesus’ name, you will face challenges – but you will also know he is with you and that he is sufficient. We do not grow simply by having mountaintop experiences. Service is essential. So, serve:
- Those who are a part of our church family,
- Those who need the love of Jesus in our world
Jesus came off the mountain in Matthew 9 -- and in the very next story, his disciples could not cast out a demon. They did not take any time to pray. They thought they could do it without Jesus. Jesus had to correct and teach them. But, he did not give up on them. He called them to follow and eventually – they saw more. Because of their faithfulness, the gospel made it out of Jerusalem and has reached all the way – all the way to Pasadena.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Chinese|lac_tab
祂受苦,卻是得勝者
馬可福音8:27-33; 9:2-13
這是齋期的第一個週末——在這期間,全世界的基督徒把目光都關注在耶穌的耶路撒冷之旅,耶穌有意地在我們的地方、在十字架上獻上自己的生命。這個旅程有時也被稱為“苦難之路”,就是極度痛苦的道路。我知道,多數人認為耶穌的“苦難之路”有1/2英里,祂不得不背著自己的十字架,從耶路撒冷去往各各他。
但是聖經描述的耶穌的具體路程更長些。從某種意義上講,耶穌去往各各他的行程始自祂在伯利恒出生的時刻。縱觀祂的整個生命,因為祂必須為了赦免像你我這樣罪人而獻上自己,因此十字架的陰影一直籠罩在祂的思想和行動上。
但是,在耶穌的生命中,有一個時刻,祂堅決地轉向耶路撒冷。如此做,祂是在清楚地告訴門徒,祂將要到那去死。在馬可福音8:27中,馬可描述耶穌的行程始於一個叫做Caesarea Philippi的城市,而11章告訴我們,行程結束于耶穌榮入聖城。幾周後,我們將迎來復活節。在LAC( 湖邊教會),我們將看到馬可所描述的耶穌如何有計劃地、有意地走向祂的十字架。
我想我們今天的起始點,恰恰是馬可在8:27-9:13的起始點。這段經文告訴我們,這個說祂來要受苦和受死的耶穌,與在第8章堅持說祂是統管萬有的是同一個耶穌。一方面,耶穌所要經歷的痛苦和死亡會令祂飽受折磨。但是,在2013年齋期開始的時候請你注意,耶穌當時就知道十字架並非是祂的終點。它只是一個偉大勝利的必不可少的環節。
在這個行程中,耶穌至少要三次告訴門徒祂將要受死——但祂同樣三次告訴門徒十字架之後的終點。祂說,“三天后,我將要復活。”這裡有一點我希望你不要錯過:苦難與得勝,受苦與成功,都是耶穌道路上必不可少的部分。耶穌堅持說,這對我們來說同樣是必不可少的。對耶穌而言,不受苦就沒有真正的勝利。沒有耶穌的被釘和救贖的死,就沒有生命的復活。
今天,如果你能抓住這個,就為你打下了基礎,你就因此會明白,在這個世界上,當你追隨耶穌的時候,你要有怎樣的盼望。我們追隨耶穌的人,不該對出現的困難感到驚奇。但是,受苦總有用處。在受苦之上有一個最終的目的地。這個目的地是非常榮耀的。因此,在齋期的第一個週末,我們將看見早期門徒在這個問題上的掙扎:既然耶穌一直說祂必須受苦並受死,祂怎麼可能是得勝的彌撒亞和全能的神的兒子呢?
如果我們能抓住這一點,我們就抓住了聖經中非常重要的一點:耶穌邀請我們加入祂的工作,就是要讓一切都更新的工作。耶穌進入世界,這個世界被其他的王國所統治。祂受苦的同時開始了一項工作,就是把世界的罪惡除去。祂受苦的一部分是因為你和我的罪。但是,當祂做了一項工作來重塑你和我的時候,祂也把我們送回這個世界,帶去祂的信息,為祂的公義而戰,並彰顯祂的憐憫。這並不容易。但是,神的最後工作的終點和我們自己行程的終點一樣,都是神的國。
我們如何對呼召有信心?這裡我希望大家思考一下。我們的信心:
1. 始自我們對耶穌是誰有一個清晰的認識,
2. 因著經歷耶穌的同在與能力而越發堅定,
3. 因著主動的服事而增強。
#1: 我們的信心始自我們對耶穌是誰有一個清晰的認識.
我們在馬可福音前半部分的學習中著重在一個問題上,就是耶穌是誰?這個可以令死人復活、平靜風浪的人是誰?最後,在馬可福音8:27-30中,我們發現耶穌問了一個問題:人們說我是誰?在8:27-31中,我們可以看到幾個觀點。
1. 群眾的觀點(8:27-29)。“耶穌是一個傑出的宗教人士,但不是彌賽亞。”
門徒在加利利的村莊旅行了很長一段時間,他們也進入了外邦人的地界,因此,他們可能瞭解公眾對耶穌的看法。有趣的是,雖然群眾對耶穌非常尊敬,但他們不認為祂是上帝的兒子彌賽亞。他們只是說,“祂是施洗約翰,以利亞,神的先知中的一位......”他們贊同耶穌是與眾不同的,但祂只是有說服力的宗教演說家。他們並不把祂看做是獨一無二的,祂只是傑出的宗教人士中的一個。
你認為人們為什麼不願意承認耶穌是彌賽亞?幾乎可以肯定,答案在於耶穌使命的特點。耶穌時代的人們都在盼望一位彌賽亞,他們刻板地認為,彌賽亞會有很強的政治力量,是大衛王的後裔:1)他將是至高和全能的;2)他將使用軍事手段。耶穌卻不符合這樣的標準。耶穌被排斥在列王之外。祂使用話語,卻不使用武力。所以,群眾對耶穌的想法是:是以利亞;是另一位像施洗約翰一樣的聖者;但卻從來不認為祂是大衛的兒子。
我不確定今天公眾的觀點與那時候的觀點通常會有很多的不同。這兒是南加州,如果我們輕易地把耶穌歸入宗教先知或宗教導師之列,那麼,就會產生幾個問題。總有一些宗教的典範可以幫助人們變得更屬靈。但是,他們不要求順服和敬拜。他們僅僅是人——他們可以有一些特殊的屬靈品質。眾先知就是很有趣、很有挑戰性的例子,但是我們沒有覺得每個人為了得救都必須追隨他們。但假如耶穌不僅是先知呢?這是很令人擔憂的,不是嗎?這將我們帶到人的第二個觀點。
2. 門徒的觀點(8:30)“耶穌是彌賽亞但不是受苦者”。
彼得看到的比群眾更多。彼得準確地稱耶穌“基督”,這是彌賽亞的另外一種說法。彼得是加利利人,像所有的加利利人,他顯然認為彌賽亞應當是軍事、革命的類型。認為耶穌是彌賽亞,對彼得來說確實是一個洞見。為了能夠 達到這一點,彼得頭腦中有關彌賽亞的概念必須全部被顛覆。他看到在他面前的這個人花時間去照顧病人,給窮人講道,並教導祂的跟隨者愛他們的仇敵並轉過另一半臉來給那惡者打。可是同一個彼得——這個從加利利來的,粗暴的、好鬥的、愛國的漁夫——發現他自己說:“你是彌賽亞。”
但是,彼得在這一點上僅僅看到耶穌身份的一部分。他,連同其他的門徒一起,沒有抓到彌賽亞受苦並死在十字架上這一點。從32節中我們可以清楚地看到這一點,因為當彼得聽耶穌說祂會被殺時就勸耶穌。儘管如此,有一些不尋常的東西已經在彼得的思想裡產生了。我絲毫不懷疑這一點。這群人看耶穌僅僅是一個先知,一個不尋常的人。但彼得知道祂不僅是先知。祂是彌賽亞。
請注意耶穌沒有否認這一點。畢竟,如果耶穌認為彼得的判斷是不正確的,他本可以立刻說:“彼得,不要走極端。我不是聖經所說的要來的彌賽亞。”但是,耶穌接受了祂是彌賽亞的說法。但是彼得和其他的門徒仍對耶穌實質的身份不清楚。
3. 宗教組織的觀點(8:31)“耶穌是個危險的威脅”。
如果彼得承認這個謙卑的拿撒勒木匠是彌賽亞是令人震驚的,那麼耶穌宣稱這些宗教領袖要殺彌賽亞就是地震了。在31節中,耶穌預言不久的某一天,猶太組織的領袖人物將通過他們對耶穌的審判——並且這個審判就是祂將作為異端、罪犯而被處死。
而耶穌受死不是起於某種悲劇的發生。耶穌明確說道祂的死是必須的。祂說,“人子必須受許多的苦。”是什麽使得受苦成為必須。如果你仔細讀完聖經的其它部份,會發現耶穌的“必須”受苦乃是應驗了聖經預言。耶穌強調,在祂的時代中,人們忽略了一些有於彌賽亞的舊約經文。在耶穌前八百年,先知以賽亞說,彌賽亞將以一個僕人身份來拯救人類,不是作為凱旋的將軍,而是作為犧牲祭。以賽亞說,彌賽亞“他將命傾倒以至於死,他也被列在罪犯之中,他卻擔當多人的罪...”(以賽亞書53:12)來拯救人類。
但是,這不是他們想要的彌賽亞。事實上,他們以為耶穌是個“假彌賽亞”,以為如果不阻止耶穌這樣的人就會妨礙真正的彌賽亞的到來。因此,他們的裁決是,他是個危險人物 - 一個騙子或瘋子 – 必須被處死。
在這裡我們看到三種人對耶穌的看法。伽利略的人群可以接受他作為一個先知,彼得知道祂是彌賽亞,但無法看到彌賽亞必須受害,統治者譴責他是異教組織,並把他治死。今天的人們說耶穌是誰?你認為祂是誰?祂是能力掌管萬國的一位?還是在這個世界上祂是要受苦難的一位?
對耶穌是誰的認識你必須自己來決定。如果你跟從祂只是因為祂會賜給你想要的東西?還是作為一個基督徒對你“行得通“?你只想要一個會行神跡的耶穌,為你的生活創造奇蹟?還是,你跟從祂,分擋祂的痛苦,直到得見祂完全的得勝。在這個世界上我們信實地為神活著始於對耶穌是誰清楚的認識。祂來的目的?
這帶給我們在世上信心生活的第二個要點。
#2:我們的信心因著經歷耶穌的同在與能力而越發堅定。(9:1-7)。
在馬可福音9章中,許多有關耶穌登山變像的記載可以討論,今天我們將重點集中在一件事情上。在9:7中,上帝天父明確地告訴我們耶穌是誰:有一朵雲彩來遮蓋他們,從雲中傳來一個聲音:“這是我的愛子,你們當聽從他!”
所發生的事實在是奇妙。耶穌呼召門徒捨己背起十字架來跟從祂之後第六天,耶穌帶上彼得,雅各和約翰到一座山上,9:2b-4。這裡記載了初嘗一點天上生活是什麽樣子的滋味。我們看見榮耀的耶穌和他的子民在一起的景象。
注意耶穌不是一個尋常人,也不是先知中的一個,當然更不是一個假冒彌賽亞的危險人物。祂過去和現在都是彌賽亞,獨一神的兒子。在山頂發生的是耶穌的神性發出榮光,雖然身披人性血肉體,他的神性始終都在。耶穌內在的神性發出啟示給人的肉眼得以看見。如同一道晨曦透過光明初現的帷幕。門徒們得以瞥見耶穌榮耀的一現,使他們大開眼界。如同耶穌在伯利恒的馬槽出現,也如同祂回到父的懷抱中再來一樣。這是約翰在啟示錄一章中拔摩海島上見到的尊貴威嚴的耶穌。
耶穌在山上與舊約的偉人摩西和伊利亞說話----這兩位屬神的偉人在山頂上與神相見。摩西遇見神后離開,臉上放光。那是從耶穌發出的聖潔的光芒和榮耀。門徒看見的是耶穌,但也看見榮耀在祂的身上。摩西和伊利亞指引人往耶穌那去,但他們自己不是那位獨一的神子。天父的聲音從雲彩出來說:“你們要聽從祂!”“順服祂!”
9節,門徒們見過耶穌的獨特和榮耀,定睛再看,只見與窮人同行,將盼望帶給需要的人,給傷心的人帶來醫治的耶穌。就是同一位的耶穌,說祂要受苦並且要被殺。 是同一位的耶穌。
耶穌顯然想如果這些人要信實地將神的福音傳給世界他們需要清楚地經歷神的偉大。 在聖經其它地方,如路加福音24章,約翰21章,使徒行傳1章,9章,啟示錄1章等等……也記載了其他人驚鴻一瞥神的偉大。我個人相信跟隨耶穌有時候我們眼不能見就只是單純信靠祂是很正常的。祂領我們經過各種難處是祂自己曾經經歷過的,應該信靠祂的應許的真實,祂永遠不會丟棄我們,離開我們。
有時候神給我們格外一些的恩典,使我們得以多瞥見一些祂的同在和榮耀。我的生命中也曾經有過這樣的經歷,常常是在預料之外,對門徒來講一定也是這樣。我深信每星期神呼召我們聚集的目的之一就是放開世上的事務來敬拜神,將神放在我們眼目的中心,確信祂就是如祂所宣稱的一位,是全能、全愛,全聖的神,確信祂正在做祂的工,即使有時我們不明白祂要做什麼。
“不要停止聚會!”這可以幫助我們在屬世的生活中互相激勵,象希伯來書第十章所教導的一樣:生活在信心裡。我們來遇見神,前來求神向你顯明祂的真實。當我們打開神的話語時,求神親自向你說什麽。聆聽祂,聽祂在你耳邊細語:“這是我的愛子。你們要聽祂。”
我們不要帶著幻想進入世界,以為世界沒有艱難險阻。但我們還是要進入世界—確信神與我們同在,並且確信祂能夠戰勝所有的艱難困苦。共同敬拜能夠提醒我們神的偉大、神的同在,這能夠幫助我們堅守信念。
#3:當我們奉耶穌的名積極服事這個不完全的世界時,我們的信心得以增強。
讓我們回到第5節,看看彼得看見摩西、以利亞和變了形象的耶穌時說的話:“拉比,我們在這裡真好。可以搭三座棚,一座為你,一座為摩西,一座為以利亞。”彼得雖是甚為懼怕,他顯然認為這個屬靈經歷遠遠好過所有關於受難、死亡的教導。 “耶穌,就讓我們呆在這裡,遠遠離開那個艱難的世界。”
我們也是欲試同樣的事。如果我們在教會中與眾信徒共享與神同在,這美好常常會向我們發出試探:“就讓我們生活在基督徒中間。就讓我們呆在山頂談論街頭的各樣壞事。”但是,我們不能這樣跟隨耶穌。耶穌並非這樣生活。馬可福音故事中耶穌走在人群當中,並且向那些在諸般失敗中掙扎的人們說話。如此祂預備人一條脫離世界的罪惡、黑暗勢力的道路。為了這個目的,耶穌必須離開天堂—祂必須離開山頂來到世間,與民眾直接相交。而這也是我們必須去做的。我們需要來教會共同敬拜—可是隨後,神就把我們派回去,回到我們的鄰舍當中,為祂而活。
所以,在第9節,登山變象之後,耶穌馬上開始關於死亡的教導—祂必須去死。門徒們迷惑了,他們無法將全能的耶穌與受難的耶穌劃上等號。但是,耶穌不會呆在山頂。祂離開山頂是為了將神的國帶到世界並且呼召門徒們緊緊地跟著祂。如果你每週都來,接下來幾周到下面幾個月的講道,你會看到耶穌在街頭面臨什麼:婚姻問題、嫉妒、物質主義、自私自利、疾病!聽來是不是和我們今天的世界一樣?這就是我們的世界。但這也是耶穌熱愛的世界!
耶穌離開山頂,就是要將好消息帶到這個世界!祂就是這麼做的。祂呼召跟從祂的人與祂一同前往。而今天,祂呼召你與祂一同前往。當你與耶穌同行時,你會發覺祂既派你服事教會,也要服事這個充滿傷痛的世界。請注意:當你將耶穌帶進世界的時候,你會發覺統治世界的“王國”會反抗。但是,這些世界的王國必不能得勝——必不能最終得勝。當你服事那些來到教會的人們——那些需要了解聖經的人們,那些需要你進入他們的生命的人們——你就會發現耶穌其實正在與你同工。當你服事鄰里的時候,無論在世界哪一個角落,你都會發現耶穌與你同在。當你靠耶穌的名服事的時候,你將面臨挑戰—但你一定會經歷祂的同在與祂的豐富。我們的成長不僅需要經歷山頂,更需要經歷服事。所以,去服事吧!
1.服事教會——神的大家庭(的成員們);
2.服事世間那些需要耶穌愛的人們。
在馬可福音第9章,耶穌從山頂下來---下一個故事,祂的門徒不能將鬼趕出去。他們沒有花時間禱告。他們以為可以不要耶穌自己也行。耶穌必須教導他們,糾正他們。但是,祂沒有放棄他們。祂呼召他們跟隨——他們最終得以見證更多神的同在及神的榮耀。因為他們的信心,福音傳遍了耶路撒冷,傳遍各地—直傳到Pasadena。
祂的荣耀,
格雷格Waybright博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2013, Lake Avenue Church