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What Would Make You Happy
What Would Make You Happy
- Greg Waybright
- Mark 2:1
- This Too Shall Be Made Right
- 33 mins 46 secs
- Views: 992
Pastor's Letter
This Too Shall Be Made Right - Week 6
If you could be given one thing in this world to make you happy, what would it be? A better-paying job? Loss of 50 pounds? Your favorite team winning the championship? A healing? What would you pick?
If you could be given one thing in this world to make you happy, what would it be? A better-paying job? Loss of 50 pounds? Your favorite team winning the championship? A healing? What would you pick?
This weekend, we meet a man who would have responded, "If only I could walk again, I would be happy."
But this man had a more significant problem. As always, Jesus could see the deeper problem. When Jesus saw this young man and his friends seeking a physical healing, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
Jesus did not mean that all infirmity in this world comes about directly because of one's own personal sin. Jesus was very clear about this elsewhere in the Bible. But, in this particular case, the man's problem was due, at least in part, to his own sin. Jesus perceived that. On a deeper scale, Jesus knew that the sin problem was much greater than the physical problem. For the man to be happy in the long term, he needed healing in his soul more than he needed healing in his body.
Of course, when Jesus declared the man's sins forgiven, he set a chain reaction into motion. Some religious authorities heard what Jesus said and were shocked. No human being—no Pharisee, no scribe, no priest or theologian—had such authority. They asked, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (v. 21) This weekend, we'll think about what they would have wanted in order to be happy. One thing is clear: These religious leaders wanted no authority over them—either a political regime or a young rabbi like Jesus. They could be happy only if they were in charge.
Jesus asked the authorities a penetrating question: "Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say 'Get up and walk'?" Which of the two is easier? Pronouncing forgiveness of sins seems easier: If it doesn't happen, what mortal would ever know? But then, to forgive sins demands the power and authority that only the Maker of all human life possesses. So, then, healing a crippled man must be easier than forgiving sins. But no, that's not "easy" either.
As everyone wrestled with the question, Jesus cut to the chase. He proclaimed that he "has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Mk. 2:10). With no further rationale given, Jesus both forgave and healed the man.
This Bible text forces us to ask what we need most in order to live well. We'll learn from Jesus words and deeds that biblical forgiveness is our most basic need. Then, we will remember the blood poured out for the forgiveness of our sins.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Study Notes
This Too Shall Be Made Right - Week 6 - Study Notes
Aladdin is an old Middle Eastern folk tale set in China in which a young man grabs a wonderful oil lamp from a magical cave of wonder. When Aladdin’s mother tries to clean it, a powerful genie appears, who is bound grant the wish of the person holding the lamp. Aladdin takes the lamp over and, with the aid of the genie, he becomes rich and powerful and marries the Emperor's daughter. The genie builds Aladdin a wonderful palace – far more magnificent than that of the Emperor himself. There are some struggles but, in this fictional story, all the good people live “happily ever after”. The idea behind the story is that, if we could get our heart’s desire, have our greatest passion granted, we would find happiness.
title="English
What Would Make You Happy?
Mark 2:1-12
Aladdin is an old Middle Eastern folk tale set in China in which a young man grabs a wonderful oil lamp from a magical cave of wonder. When Aladdin’s mother tries to clean it, a powerful genie appears, who is bound grant the wish of the person holding the lamp. Aladdin takes the lamp over and, with the aid of the genie, he becomes rich and powerful and marries the Emperor's daughter. The genie builds Aladdin a wonderful palace – far more magnificent than that of the Emperor himself. There are some struggles but, in this fictional story, all the good people live “happily ever after”. The idea behind the story is that, if we could get our heart’s desire, have our greatest passion granted, we would find happiness.
That’s a folk tale, of course. In most real life stories people who get their heart’s greatest wish – that one thing they think can bring them happiness -- discover that the thing doesn’t deliver “ever-after” happiness. In fact, someone in our church left me an article a few weeks ago written by Mark Crane, the executive director of a counseling firm that works specifically with physicians who have worked their whole lives to be doctors, thought that doing medical work would be fulfilling and discovered that their careers didn’t satisfy them the way they had always imagined. Here’s a part of it:
The physicians in our classes are successful by traditional definitions; they have status and high income. But they're unhappy. The biggest obstacle physicians face in making a career change is psychological, according to consultant Celia Paul. "Once you've become a doctor, you're supposed to have it made," she says. "Our exercises make people look inward and dig deeper to find out what's important to them," she says. "What do you really want out of life? What price do you place on your happiness? Would you give up a high salary, say, to get what you say you want – or, is the high salary really what you wanted but, having it, find it insufficient?"
Mark Crane, Executive Director, Celia Paul & Associates
Jesus takes on this huge issue of seeking happiness in Mark 2:1-12. The event takes place on a day during which a paralyzed man looking for healing confronts Jesus. It’s a beloved story in which four friends carry the man through the crowds, up onto the roof of the house, and then down into Jesus’ presence. As we come to it, Jesus is developing a huge following. People are flocking into the town of Capernaum to see this amazing miracle worker, healer and exorcist. Just like people today, everyone loved the wow factor. Jesus was great entertainment. But, we will see that Jesus had come to do more than short-term healings and entertaining miracles. In today’s text, Jesus will make his mission clear. When he does, opposition against him begins. So, let’s see what the paralytic man was looking for.
The Man’s Wish – Heal me and I’ll have a good life.
This story couldn’t be more dramatic. A man helped by his friends will stop at nothing to get to Jesus. They’ve surely heard about Jesus’ healing power and knew he was the one who could change things for this man. What did the man want? His heart’s wish was obvious. Everybody who saw him knew what he wanted. Everybody but one: Jesus didn’t seem to know because, when Jesus saw the man, he didn’t say, “Rise up and walk! Be healed!” Instead, Jesus addressed the man’s need for forgiveness.
Can you imagine this happening here in southern California? If a person comes to a pastor with a physical or financial need and the pastor says, “Let’s talk about your sins,” most people would be offended. They would say, “Forgiveness of sins. That’s not cool when I can’t walk. That’s the way you people in organized religion are. You call us all sinners and then ignore our real problems because you don’t want to deal with us. I have a more pressing problem here than talking about my sin.”
But, essentially, Jesus said to him “No you don’t! You think you know the real problem of your life but you don’t. I know you’re suffering physically and I’ll get to that. But you need to realize that the biggest problem in any person’s life is never their suffering -- but something much deeper.”
Try that out here in our neighborhood. This message isn’t palatable to people in our world. I wonder whether many of us find hard to stomach what Jesus did. I imagine we jump quickly to the end of the story to tell people that Jesus did heal the man’s paralysis. And, let’s not forget that followers of Jesus should care about the physical needs of people. One of the things I love about LAC is that so many of us are involved in the social, financial, and educational needs of those our neighborhood. I get a lot of compliments about that – even from people who never go to church. “Oh,” people say when I tell them I’m the pastor here. “You people really care about people. You mentor kids, support our schools, feed people, and try to help the homeless.” And we do – and we should. But the Bible teaches us that we are more than just physical beings so our real needs are much more comprehensive than we often imagine.
Jesus Response to the Wish: He Goes Deeper
What Jesus does here is that he goes deep into this man’s life. When we think that our main problem is something that’s happened to us, we haven’t gone deep enough. You’ve underestimated the depths of our human longings. I recently saw a play entitled "Lovin' Chocolate" written and performed by Kelley Williams from our church. In it, she probes the issue of human identity, particularly when we think we can identify all we are simply by one physical characteristic. As she reflects through poetry and music on whether it's sufficient to identify ourselves solely by the color of our kin, she writes with great passion on a sheet of paper, "Not enough!" Skin color is a real and beautiful part of who we are and what shapes us. But, to see that as our entire identify is "not enough." That's what Jesus saw in this man in Capernaum. He was more than his disability. He was a man made to know and walk with God... If he would be whole, simply healing the paralysis would not be enough. Jesus knew that even though few others did.
This paralyzed man had a physical limitation. Any one of us who would have had the kind of paralysis that he had would have wanted to have it eliminated. It’s only right. But, surely, this man would have been resting all his hopes on that one thing. He was surely tempted to think, “If only I could walk again, then everything would be good in my life. I’d never be unhappy. I’d never complain.”
Essentially, Jesus is saying, “My son, you are mistaken. What I must teach you may seem irrelevant to you now but, if I only heal you physically, you will be euphoric – but only for a little while. Everyone who sees you will be amazed – but only for a little while. Wait a few months. They will forget and want more amazing entertainment. And, you’ll see you need something more. The reason for this is that you are human. More than anything else about you, you were made to know God. And, there is something keeping you from God. You long for physical wholeness – and your paralysis is not what God made you for. But, as you long for shalom, you truly are longing for something much more than a temporary healing.
Consider how this same longing usually plays out in our world: Most people have never been able to get that big thing they most want so most people keep living thinking that some big thing happening in this world would make them happy in a lasting way. If they had a genie’s lamp they could rub it and say, “If only… if only they could win the lottery, or get that big acting role, or become partner in the firm… The word I hear on countless lips is this, “That’s my passion. If only I could have my passion, then…
We look all around us at those who have somehow gotten the big thing they wanted: They won the lottery, they got were awarded the Oscar or Grammy, they got the coaching job… Fill in your greatest wish and think of those who have achieved it. What you almost always find is that those who have gotten what they longed for find they are left disillusioned. Tom Brady achieved what many, many men dream of every football season. He had won multiple Super Bowl rings, league MVPs, and even married a super model. In an unforgettable interview on 60 Minutes, this is what he said,
Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, “Hey man, this is what is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life.” Me, I think, “God, it's got to be more than this. I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be.”
Tom Brady, 60 Minutes Interview with Steve Kroft
Jesus was not going to deal only with a part of this man’s need. Fundamentally, Jesus says to him, “You cannot have what is truly your deepest wish until you replace what you think is your deepest wish with something much, much bigger. Truthfully, we look to those things we think would give us abundant life as our “saviors”. We think they will rescue us from boredom or from anxiety or from countless others things. So, this is how most people live: If they don’t get what they most want, they’re frustrated. And, if they do get them, they’re more frustrated.
Specifically, Jesus spoke of the man’s need of forgiveness. The forgiveness he needed was forgiveness from the sin that kept him from God. Forgiveness in Mark 2 has the meaning of needing God to pardon whatever wrong the man had done to damage his relationship with the holy God who loved him. For Jesus to forgive was for him to declare that the debt owed for the sin would be paid for. Jesus is saying that he will take care of the debt. There is an important point being made here: The Bible is consistent in teaching that all sin ultimately is against God. “How is that true?” we ask. “We hurt other people too and need their forgiveness.” And that’s true too. But, ultimately, when we do wrong, we fail to live in the way our Maker, whose image we bear, created us to live. When we seek forgiveness, we first go to God as David did in Psalm 51 and say, “Against you have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” When we get that relationship right, then we are at last in a place to deal with other relationships. So, all sin is ultimately against God. Therefore, God is the one who can forgive.
The Basis for our Forgiving: Receiving God’s Forgiveness
The religious authorities would complain when Jesus claimed to forgive sins, “Who can forgive sins except God?” They were right. They were getting at the point that all sin at its root is against the way God created human beings to live. Let me tell you what happens when we see the seriousness of our sins and then bring our sins to God. We find him full of grace and ready to cast our sins from east to the west. Those of us who experienced God declaring that all is right with him are overwhelmed by God’s grace. This overwhelming gratitude is what provides the basis for and motivation for going to others to seek forgiveness – and to offer forgiveness to those who have wronged us. When we know how great God’s mercy is to us we can never be proud. We simply must be ready to forgive those who seek it. So you see it? Getting things right with God sets the foundation for getting other things right.
This is why Jesus would say, in his Sermon on the Mount, “Forgive us our sin as we forgive those who sin against us… Matthew 6:14-16: If you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. The basic principle is this: You will know that you have truly received the forgiveness of God when you forgive. Those who have been shown mercy, show mercy. When we cannot forgive, we almost certainly have never appreciated how deep the grace of God is toward us.
There is nothing greater in all of life than when we truly grasp that God declares us forgiven and right with him. The only thing that is even close to it comes when we grow in our faith to the point that we can forgive those who have wronged us. Lewis Smedes put it so well in his book, Forgive and Forget, "When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself."
So, Jesus asks one of his Jesus-like questions in vv. 8-9: Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?”
This is a brilliant stroke. Which of the two is easier? From a human perspective, pronouncing forgiveness of sins would appear to be much easier: If it doesn’t happen, what mortal would ever know? But then, to forgive sins truly demands the power and authority that only the Maker of all human life possesses. So then, healing a crippled man must be easier than forgiving sins. But no, that’s not “easy.” True healing would demand empirical verification. What at first seemed to be a question easily answered, on further reflection appears to be unanswerable. Of course, Jesus knew what it would take to forgive sins. And, out of love for this man, he was ready both to forgive and to heal.
As everyone was thinking about the question, Jesus just cut to the chase. He proclaimed that what he was about to do would demonstrate that he “has authority on earth to forgive sins (v. 10).” With no further rationale given, in one stroke, Jesus both forgave sins and healed the man. He turned to the man and commanded, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
To frequent churchgoers: Make Sure You Seek the Giver More than the Gift
I find that we must come back to the point of this text again and again. It becomes so easy to long much more for what God might give than to long for God. You know how it is: When we first go to church, we often do so because we believe in God and we hope we can get God to give us our “saviors” – those things we think are most important. Sometimes, it hardly occurs to us that we’re really going to church looking to get something beside Jesus to save us. I want to have a child – I want to pass my bar exam – I want to get well. In our prayers, we say, “This is my problem and this is what I need to solve it.” We may get four friends to carry us in prayer asking God to give us that thing we want. But, let us learn from this text – Jesus will almost always say, “I have to go deeper than that. You need to change the thing your heart most longs for if you will truly find life.” Never forget that God cares about that thing you need more than you do. But, he also loves you more than you love yourself. Sometimes, we ask God for what we want but we must always learn to seek our Giver more than the gift. We must learn to pray as Jesus prayed: “This is what I long for, Father. But your will – not mine.” By the time we see the end of the story, we will know his way is better than our own.
To those still seeking: Seek the Beautiful and Aggressive Forgiveness of Jesus
Jesus is ready to receive you – to forgive you – to deal wonderfully and deeply with you. So, I don’t want you to miss v. 5 when Jesus forgave the man. One thing that has troubled people about this is how it seems Jesus forgave the man without the man repenting. It actually makes some people angry to think that anyone – even Jesus -- would forgive someone who will not ask for forgiveness. And, it’s the only place in the Bible that this happens. Jesus said we must both repent and believe. “Where’s the repentance here?” some ask.
But I think it’s here. If I’m right, the Bible is teaching something beautiful about the heart of Jesus. In v. 8, we’re told Jesus could see into the hearts of the hardened and critical religious leaders. With this man placed in contrast to those leaders, I think the Bible is suggesting that Jesus could see something different in this man’s heart. Jesus could see a heart knowing it needs to change and ready to change. Again, if I’m right about this, then what we see in Jesus is what I call an aggressive grace. Jesus does not need us to say perfect words or pray prayers with theologically trained words like the Senior Pastor. If you know you have things in your life that need to be forgiven and you are ready to turn your life over to Jesus, I tell you he is ready to forgive you and start a new life with you.
In the Bible, sin ruins our lives and our worlds. Jesus came to make things right – and that starts with making forgiveness possible. Is it easier to say “be healed” or to say “your sins are forgiven”? Now, we will do what Jesus told us to do so that we would never forget how hard it is to forgive sins. But, although it took his death on the cross, his love and grace are greater than our sins.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Chinese
假如你有一個心願
馬可福音2:1-12
《阿拉丁》是一個古老的中東民間故事,故事的背景是在中國。有一個叫阿拉丁的年輕人,他從仙洞裏得到了一盞美麗的油燈。當他的媽媽擦拭燈的時候,突然出現了一個很厲害的妖怪,牠可以滿足油燈主人的所有願望。阿拉丁擁有這盞油燈,因此,靠著妖怪的幫助,他成為有錢有勢的人,並且娶了國王的女兒。妖怪為阿拉丁造了一座神奇的宮殿——比國王的王宮還要宏偉。雖然過程有些波折,但故事裏的好人從此都過上了幸福的生活。故事裏蘊含著一種思想:假如我們能傾註最大的熱情來實現心中的願望,我們就會獲得幸福。
當然,那不過是個民間故事。在現實生活中,有些人認為只要實現了心中的最大願望,就會帶來幸福,但最終他們發現事實並非如此。在我們教會裏,有人幾周前給我留下一篇Mark Crane的文章。Mark Crane是一家咨詢公司的總經理,這家公司專門為一些醫生服務。這些醫生把做醫生視為他們生活的全部。但當他們實現了自己的目標之後,卻發現這份職業並未帶給他們當初想象的生活。請看下面這段話:
如果按照傳統觀念,參加我們課程的醫生都是成功者。他們有地位,收入高,但卻不快樂。影響這些醫生職業發展的最大障礙是心理上的。公司顧問Celia Pau說,"一旦你成為醫生,你就應該有了這種障礙。我們的訓練使人們向內看,往深處挖掘,去發現什麽對他們是重要的。""什麽是你真正想要的生活?你認為你的幸福需要多少錢?你會放棄高收入,然後說,去爭取你想要的-或者,高收入的確是你想要的,有了它後,卻發現有它還不夠?"
總經理Mark Crane, Celia Paul及同事
在馬可福音2:1-12中,耶穌給我們展示了這個關乎追求幸福的大問題。某一天,一個正在尋求醫治的癱子遇到耶穌。這個人的四個朋友擡著他穿過人群,上到屋頂,然後把他縋到耶穌面前。我們知道,耶穌有很多追隨者。人們蜂擁到迦百農,要看一看這位能行神跡、能醫病、能趕鬼的人。就像今天的人一樣,大家都喜歡轟動性的事件。耶穌對他們來說,也是偉大的娛樂。但是,我們將會看到,耶穌來這裏,並非只是做短期醫病或者展示娛樂性的神跡。在今天的經文中,耶穌將顯明祂的使命。當祂做這事的時候,反對者也開始行動。
人的願望—醫治我,我就會有好生活
這個故事非常富有戲劇性。一個人在朋友的幫助下,不惜一切代價去見耶穌。這些朋友一定聽說耶穌有醫病的能力,知道祂可以改變那個癱子的生活。那個癱子想要什麽?他的心願是顯而易見的。每個看到他的人都知道他想要什麽,除了耶穌:只有祂看起來好像不知道。因為當耶穌看見這個人,祂沒有說,"起來,走!痊愈!"耶穌而是說那個人需要被赦罪。
你能想象這種情況發生在南加州會是什麽樣嗎?如果一個人因為身體或者經濟上的需要來找牧師,牧師說,"讓我們來談談你的罪。"多數人都會感到被冒犯了。他們會說,"赦罪,對我這個不能行走的人而言沒什麽用。它是你們這些參加宗教組織的人的方式。你把我們稱為罪人,卻忽視我們的真正問題,因為你不想為我們解決真正的問題。我這裏有比談論罪更緊迫的問題。"
本來耶穌可以說,"不,你沒有。你以為你知道生活中的真正問題,其實你不知道。我知道你身體在受苦,我會解決它。但你要認識到,任何人生命中最大的問題,不是他們的苦難——而是更深層的東西。"
試試在我們的鄰居當中這樣做。這個信息對世界上的人而言不那麽美味可口。我想知道,是否我們當中許多人會難以容忍耶穌所做的。我想我們會迅速跳到故事的結尾,告訴大家耶穌醫治了那個人的癱瘓。並且讓我們不要忘記,耶穌的追隨者應當關心人們身體上的需要。有一點非常令我感動:LA教會對我們社區的社會、金融及教育需求有許多幫助。對此,我收到許多溢美之詞—甚至來自一些從不到教會的人們。得知我是這裏的主任牧師時,他們常常這樣說:"噢,你們真有愛心。你們輔導孩子,資助學校,餵養饑餓者,幫助無家可歸的人"。我們是這樣做的—我們應該這樣做。但聖經教導我們:除了物質的存在之外,我們還有更深遠的意義,所以我們真正的需要遠遠超出我們的想象。
耶穌對人們需求的回應:祂總走進更深的層面。
耶穌做的是:進入人生命的深處。我們常常把發生在自己身上事情看做主要問題,但這深度還不夠。我們常常低估自己渴望的深度。我最近看了一場戲叫"Lovin' Chocolate",是由我們教會的Kelley Williams 創作並表演的。她探討了"找出人類共同的特質"的問題,就是期望用某些簡單的物質概念來概括我們所有的特征。對於"是否能僅僅憑膚色概括人類的共同特征",她用詩歌與音樂充滿激情地回答"不夠!"。膚色只是我們特征中美麗的一部分。但若用膚色來定義人類的特征,的確"不夠!"。這就是耶穌在迦百農那個人身上的看見:還有比殘疾更深的問題—他是被神創造的人,旨在了解神、並與神同行......如果想要他完全,僅僅醫治其癱瘓是不夠的。耶穌知道還有別的要做。
這個癱子身體不便。所有人都希望消除自己身上類似的不便。這當然是對的。他們會這麽想:"只要能行走,我就滿足了。不幸將離我而去,我將不再抱怨。"
而耶穌卻說:"孩子,你錯了。我要教導你的,看起來與你的疾病毫不相幹。如若僅僅醫治表面的疾病,你會感到歡欣,但只維持一小會兒。別人見到你被醫治,會感到驚奇,但也只一小會。他們很快就會忘卻,去尋求更刺激的歡欣。而且,你也將有更多的需要。因為你是人。你被造的最重要目的就是認識神,而某些東西卻使你遠離神。你期待身體的完全—身體癱瘓並不是神造你的目的。如果你期待屬神的平安,你的追求就必須超出短暫的醫治。
看看世人的渴望是如何無休止的:大多數人永遠無法實現他們的夢想,於是他們只能想象美夢成真的歡愉。如果他們擁有一盞阿拉丁神燈,擦擦它,說:"只要...",只要能贏得一次彩票,或者只要能得到主角,或者只要能成為某大公司的生意夥伴... 無數人說:"這是我的夢想。只要我能實現這個夢想,那麽..."
再讓我們環顧四周,看看那些已經 "美夢成真"的人們。他們贏得了彩票,贏得了格萊美獎,得到了教練的職位... 可是,你在他們身上卻常常能看到"理想破滅"。Tom Brady贏得了許多男人夢寐以求的足球季節。他贏得許多超級杯戒指,MVPs聯賽,他還娶了一個超級模特作太太。但在一場60分鐘的訪談節目中,他的話令我難忘:
為什麽我得到了三個超級杯戒指,卻覺得還有什麽缺憾?許多人說"嗨,生活就應當這樣。我實現了自己的目標、夢想、想要的生活。"但我想,天哪,生活應當不止這些。我是說,這不應當是生活的全部意義。
Tom Brady, 與Steve Kroft的60分鐘談話錄
耶穌不僅處理這個癱子的表面需求。 耶穌告訴他:除非你用那個大得多得多的東西取代你心目中最想要的,你無法真正得到你要的。事實上,我們常常把某些東西當成我們的"救主",以為能使自己實現"豐盛的生命",以為它們能救自己於懸崖邊,或脫離焦慮......這就是世人生活的模式:無法得到他們想要的,他們感到挫折;如果他們得到了想要的,他們更受挫折。
特別是,耶穌說到那人需要被寬恕。他所指需要被寬恕的,是指寬恕他的罪,因為是他的罪讓他遠離神。寬恕在馬可福音第二章的意思是,無論那人曾經做了怎樣的錯事,以致損傷了他和那愛他的聖潔的神之間的關系,需要神的原諒和寬恕。耶穌的寬恕宣告了因為罪所欠的債被赦免了。耶穌是說祂會來替代他償還債。這裏有一個要點要提:聖經中說,所有的罪都是冒犯神。"這怎們可能呢?"他問。"我們傷害到了其他人,也需要別人的原諒。"那也是事實。創世者照著祂的形象創造了我們,而我們卻因為自己的罪而沒有活出創世者要我們活出的生命。當我們尋求原諒時,我們要像詩篇中的大衛一樣,先來到神的面前:"我向你犯罪,惟獨得罪了你,在你眼前行了這惡。"(詩篇51章)當我們擺正了和神的關系時,我們才能正確處理和我們周遭人的關系。所以,任何的罪,最終是冒犯了神。因此,只有上帝能寬恕我們。
我們被寬恕的基礎:接受神的寬恕
宗教權威人士因為耶穌宣稱能夠赦免罪而抱怨。 他們說"除了神以外,誰能赦罪呢?"他們是對的。他們知道所有罪的根源是與神為我們創造的生活背道而馳。讓我告訴你,當你看到自己所犯的罪的嚴重性而把罪帶到神面前會發生什麽。我們會發現,神滿有恩慈,並預備好了赦免我們的罪。那些有過被神赦罪經驗的人都聲稱,當他們擺正了和神的關系時,他們都被神的恩典大大的充滿。被恩典充滿的感激之情讓他們有了去向別人請求原諒的動力和勇氣, 而且能夠原諒冒犯他們人。當我們了解到神對我們如此仁慈,我們就不應該驕傲。當那些冒犯我們人請求我們的原諒時,我們要準備好接受。你們知道嗎?擺正了和神的關系是擺正其他關系的基礎。
這就是為什麽耶穌在他的登山寶訓中說,"免我們的債,如同我們免了人的債。" (馬太福音6:12) "你們饒恕人的過犯,你們的天父也必饒恕你們的過犯。你們不饒恕人的過犯,你們的天父也必不饒恕你們的過犯。"(馬太福音6:14-15) 基本原理是:當你真正接受神的寬恕的時候,你會能夠懂得原諒別人。被饒恕了人才會寬恕別人。 當我們不能原諒別人時,我們肯定是從來都沒有真正感受到神對我們的恩慈有多深。
當我們真正意識到神免了我們的債,原諒了我們的過犯,我們擺正和祂的關系時,生活中沒有比這更重要的了。只有一件事能夠讓我們到達這樣的境界,那就是當我們在靈命成長到一定階段時,我們能夠原諒那些傷害我們的人。Lewis Smedes 在他的著作《原諒和忘記》中寫得很好,"當你將一個冒犯你的人從他所對你做的錯事中釋放出來的時候,你其實就是將一個惡性腫瘤從你的內心世界中割去了。你釋放了一個囚犯,但是你會發現,真正的囚犯卻是你自己。"
所以, 耶穌問了一個非常耶穌式的問題:"或對癱子說,你的罪赦了,或說,起來拿你的褥子行走,那一樣容易呢?"(8-9節)
這是一個多麽精彩的還擊。哪一個更容易呢?從一個常人的角度來看,宣告赦罪會看上去容易一些。因為如果罪沒有被赦免,他人也看不出來。 可是,真正赦罪需要創世者的能力和權柄。那樣看來,醫好癱子一定會比赦罪容易些。但是,那也不容易,因為真正的痊愈需要用經驗來證實。一個看上去容易回答的問題,當你沈思多一點的時候,可能並沒有答案。當然,耶穌知道罪怎樣才能被赦免。但是,正因為耶穌愛這個人,祂已經準備好不但赦免了他的罪而且治愈他。
正當每個人想這個問題的時候,耶穌立刻知道他們心中所想的。祂宣告,祂所要展示的是:"但要叫你們知道人子在地上有赦罪的權柄."(10節) 沒有更多的解釋,一下之間,耶穌不但赦免了他的罪而且治愈他。祂對癱子說,"我吩咐你起來,拿你的褥子回家去吧。"
對常來教會的基督徒:你們要先尋求恩賜者,再要求恩賜
我覺得我們要再而三地思想這段經文。比起渴望神, 渴望神的賞賜會容易得多。你知道是怎麼回事:我們第一次去教堂,常是因為我們相信神,我們希望能得到神給我們的"救星" - 那些我們認為最重要的事情。有時,我們甚至很少會註意到,我們到教堂真正在找的東西是除了耶穌拯救我們以外的東西。我想要有一個孩子 - 我想要通過我的律師資格考試 - 我想要身體好了。在我們的祈禱中,我們說,"這是我的問題,這是我需要解決的。"我們可能會要求四個朋友來幫我們禱告祈求神滿足我們這個願望。但是,讓我們從這段經文中學會一件事,耶穌幾乎總是會說,"我要更深入了解一些。如果你真正要得著生命,你需要改變你心裏的願望。千萬不要忘記,神比你更關心你所需要的。但是,祂也愛你,比你更愛你自己。有時候,我們向神求我們想要的,但我們必須總是先尋求那給予者-我們的神,再尋求祂賜予的禮物。我們必須學會像耶穌這麼禱告:"這是我的願望,天父。但照你的旨意行 – 而不是我的。"當我們看到故事結局的時候,我們就知道神的方法比我們自己的好很多。
對於那些仍在尋求者:尋求耶穌那美麗、積極的寬恕
耶穌已準備好接受你 - 原諒你 –與你奇妙而深入地在一起。所以我不希望你錯過第5節,當耶穌原諒了這個人。在這裡有一件會困擾人們的事,就是似乎這一個人並沒有要悔改,而耶穌就原諒了他。實際上,這使得有些人氣憤地認為,任何人 - 甚至耶穌 - 會原諒一個不請求寬恕的人。這是聖經中唯一有這種情形的地方。耶穌說我們必須悔改並相信。一些人問道,"這裡沒有懺悔啊?"。
但我認為這裏是有的。如果我是正確的,聖經在此教導一件關於美事,這件事關乎耶穌的心。第8節告訴我們,耶穌能看透內心剛硬、好批評的宗教領袖的內心。耶穌和這些宗教領袖不同,我認為聖經意指耶穌能看到這個人內心的不同的東西。耶穌可以看到一個需要悔改和想要悔改的心。如果我說得對,那麼我們在耶穌身上所看到的就是一個積極的恩典。耶穌並不需要我們像主人牧師那樣,用通過神學訓練的字眼說一些完美的話語或是來禱告。如果你知道在你的生命中有某事需要得到赦免,而且你已經準備好要把你的生命交給耶穌,我告訴你,他已經準備好來原諒你,與你開始新的生活。
在聖經中,罪破壞我們的生活和我們的世界。耶穌來是要改正事情 – 而且是以饒恕作為起始點。兩者比起來,"被治愈"或者說"你的罪赦免了",那一個比較容易呢?現在,我們應照著耶穌告訴我們的來做,這樣我們永遠不會忘記赦罪是多麼困難。盡管赦罪是以祂在十字架上的死換來的,但祂的愛與恩典,遠遠高過我們的罪。
祂的荣耀,
格雷格Waybright博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2012, Lake Avenue Church
Study Guide
This Too Shall Be Made Right - Week 6 - Study Guide
What Would Make You Happy?
Mark 2:1-12
- Put yourself in the place of the man brought to Jesus in Mark 2:3. If he could have been granted one wish, what would he have wished for?
- Do you think that the man with a physical need would have been surprised at Jesus' words in 2:5? Why?
- How important is it to have a community of people like those in 2:3–4 in times of need? When in your life have you felt that friends carried you?
- The religious "authorities" did not like having a pagan authority (i.e., Rome) over them and thought that the Messiah would overturn that political power. Put into your own words how they responded to Jesus' authority.
- 5. In vv. 10–11, Jesus made a proclamation about his authority to address people's problems. Do you think what he offered was what the man needed? What the authorities needed? What you need?
- Jesus cared not only about the man's spiritual needs but also about his physical needs. How can we demonstrate care for both of these in our own community?
- What is the most important lesson you will apply to your life from this Bible text?
2012 Study Series • Copyright © 2012, Lake Avenue Church