讀經: 以賽亞書六十一章1至3、10、11節 1主耶和華的靈在我身上;因為耶和華用膏膏我,叫我傳好信息給謙卑的人(或譯:傳福音給貧窮的人),差遣我醫好傷心的人,報告被擄的得釋放,被囚的出監牢; 2報告耶和華的恩年,和我們神報仇的日子;安慰一切悲哀的人, 3賜華冠與錫安悲哀的人,代替灰塵;喜樂油代替悲哀;讚美衣代替憂傷之靈;使他們稱為公義樹,是耶和華所栽的,叫他得榮耀。 10我因耶和華大大歡喜;我的心靠神快樂。因他以拯救為衣給我穿上,以公義為袍給我披上,好像新郎戴上華冠,又像新婦佩戴妝飾。 11田地怎樣使百穀發芽,園子怎樣使所種的發生,主耶和華必照樣使公義和讚美在萬民中發出。 |
耶穌基督在公開事奉之始,在拿撒勒的會堂中向百姓誦讀的經文,就是以賽亞書六十一章1至2節。最令在場人士吃驚的是,耶穌基督竟然說:「今天這經應驗在你們耳中了」(路四21),換言之,祂指出先知以賽亞所預言的人正是祂本人,所以經文已在祂的身上應驗。 這段經文究竟有甚麼意思呢?神的靈已經以一種獨特的方式臨在基督身上。在祂公開事奉之前,聖靈曾帶領祂到曠野,面對撒但的試探。神從來不會試探人,聖靈只是帶領基督到曠野,向祂展示勝過試探之道。 聖靈一方面會帶領耶穌基督到需要祂服侍的地方;同時也會帶領祂離開群眾,到隱密的地方去與父神相交。我們在耶穌基督的生平中,可看到聖靈如何帶領人的寶貴實例。 讓看看我們今天選讀的經文,思想耶穌基督如何將福音的好信息傳給願意聆聽的人,如何讓罪人認識神的愛,以及祂來到世上的目的。 此外,基督不單醫治了憂傷的心靈,祂還親手撫摸各種病患者、瞎眼的人、甚至是痲瘋病人,祂更幫助人去解決各種困苦與問題。 基督降世,是要使人得自由。祂除了使人脫離撒但與污鬼的轄制,更要使人脫離罪惡的權勢。 請記著,耶穌基督始終如一,祂是永恆不變的。祂今天仍要將好信息傳給每個有需要的人;祂的信息仍然是神愛罪人,並且神已差派祂的兒子降世,為了拯救罪人。 基督今天仍能醫治我們的心靈,仍能使我們得享自由。祂今天雖然不在世上,可是,祂已將聖靈賜給我們,要我們藉著聖靈來繼續祂的工作。我們是否秉承這一責任,為主作工呢? |
Bible Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3, 10, 11 1 Isaiah 61:1-3;10-11 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. |
These first verses were read aloud by Jesus Christ himself in the synagogue at Nazareth. To the surprise of all who were listening he took these words as applying to himself. What he said was 'This day is this scripture fulfilled', in other words 'Isaiah was speaking about me, when he said this'. What do these words mean? The Spirit of God was upon Christ in a special way. That ministry of the Spirit took him into the wilderness to face Satan. It could never be said that God tempts anyone to sin but the Spirit of God took Christ there to show the way of victory over temptation. The same Spirit took him away into other secret places to have fellowship with his Father. At other times the Spirit took him into places of service. What a wonderful example of the Spirit's leading can be seen in the life of Jesus Christ. Look again at our text. Think of Christ, the evangelist, preaching the good tidings of the gospel to all who were willing to hear. His was a gracious ministry telling of God's love for sinners and the purpose of his own coming into the world. Picture Christ's healing ministry too. He came to bind up the brokenhearted. He did that and more. What a wonderful sight it must have been to see his healing touch on blind people, on sick men and women, even on lepers. He also helped those who were deeply distressed and in trouble of every kind. Christ came to set men free. There were those he set free from the power of Satan and his demons. There were many who were set free from the guilt of sin. Remember, Jesus Christ is the same today. He has good news for those who need it. His message, is still that God loves every sinner and has given his Son to save them. Christ can still do his healing work in hearts. Christ can still set men free. But he is not here physically as he was in Nazareth long ago. Instead he has given his Spirit to Christians to carryon his work through us. How much are we doing-how much will we do for Jesus today? |
沒有留言:
張貼留言