| 耶穌講完登山寶訓之後，旋即遇到兩個向祂求助、又顯出莫大信心的人。主耶穌在世時的巴勒斯坦，痳瘋病似乎相當普遍，似乎只有10個人已知得了醫治。痳瘋病人通常被隔離，受歧視，並讓人退避三舍。 這個痳瘋病人顯然聽過耶穌所行的奇妙神蹟，唯一令他躊躇的是怕基督不肯幫他。他的話充滿了信心和懇求：「主若肯，必能叫我得潔淨。」我們幾乎能聽見他就近耶穌時，打從心底發出的哀求和盼望。 基督怎樣回答呢？祂伸手去摸他。自從他患病以來，沒有人這樣做過！接著，基督還說了一句最令他感動的話：「我肯，你潔淨了！」基督看見這個不幸的猶太人滿有信心和盼望，便立即醫治了他。 基督那天後來遇見的另一個人，不是猶太人，而是一個羅馬長官，從離耶穌講道地點頗遠的迦百農來。他也是為了一個緊急需要來找耶穌──不過，不是他本人的需要，而是他的僕人。猶太人大都憎恨羅馬人，但根據路加福音的記載，連猶太人的領袖都稱許這個羅馬長官，因為他為他們建造了一個會堂。這人也許有點像使徒行傳十章的那個長官哥尼流，認識猶太人的神，卻還未遇見基督。 兩人在第8至10節的對答，對我們來說可能有點希奇。但作為一位羅馬長官，那人知道他只要命令一下，就會被立即執行；所以，他說「我知道你也能下命令，不管離你多遠，都會立即成就。」基督看見痲瘋病人和羅馬兵兩人的信心，便立即應允了他們的請求。我們來到主面前禱告時，有沒有帶著信心呢？若沒有，也許正是我們某些禱告不蒙應允的原因了。讓我們今天好好反思這點吧！ |
| Following the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was abruptly brought face to face with human need on the one hand and beautiful, pleading faith on the other. Leprosy seemed to have been tragically common in Palestine in our Lord's time on earth and it seems there was no known cure. Lepers were isolated, neglected, and even shunned. This man somehow learned of the remarkable miracles Jesus had performed. His only hesitation was whether Christ would be willing to help him. There was faith and petition in his words, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me well again." You can almost hear the sadness and the longing in his heart as he approached Christ. Christ's answer? He reached out and touched the sick man. No one had done that since the day he discovered his illness. Then came the wonderful words, "I want to. Be healed!" Christ recognized both the faith and the desire of this unfortunate Jewish man and immediately helped him. The other man Christ met later that day was not a Jew but a Roman, officer from Capernaum some distance away from the site of Christ's sermon. He also came with a serious need, not for himself but for his servant. Most Romans were hated by the Jews but in Luke's account of this incident, the Jewish leaders spoke warmly of this man. For some reason or another he had built them a synagogue. It would seem he may have been like Cornelius, a man who knew the God of the Jews but had not yet met Christ. The interchange of words in verses 8-10 may seem a little strange to us. As a Roman officer he knew what instant obedience meant. He was saying in effect, "I recognize that you too can give orders which are instantly obeyed, even at a distance from where you are." Christ saw faith in both these men - the leper and the soldier - and the requests of both were granted. As we come to Christ in prayer, is our faith what it should be? If not, perhaps that is why some of our prayers are not answered. Let's think about that today. |
