This Spiritual Waimai is a part of a series entitled Mission Accomplished: the mission of Jesus Christ as told by Matthew and now lived out by you and me.

这篇属灵外卖是“完成的使命”系列文章之一,这个由马太福音所述耶稣基督的使命,现在要由你我活出来。

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Do you view yourself as God’s servant or slave?

你认为自己是Shen的用人还是仆人?

Up to Jerusalem
上耶路撒冷去

From the Old Testament time to the New Testament time and even today, when people traveled to Jerusalem, they say they are going “Up to Jerusalem.” This going “up” is both physical and spiritual. Jerusalem is not only situated in a mountain (known as Mount Zion) but to the west is the Mediterranean Sea (at sea level, of course) and to the east is the Dead Sea – the lowest point on the earth. No matter from what direction you approach Jerusalem – you will literally be going up. Jerusalem is also the home of the Lord’s holy temple, so those who go up to Jerusalem ascend to a holy place.

从旧约时代到新约时代,甚至是现今,当人们要去耶路撒冷旅行时,他们会说“上耶路撒冷”。这里所说的“上”既是指地理位置,也代表了属灵层面。耶路撒冷不仅位于一座山上(锡安山),而且西靠地中海(在海平面上),东临死海——这是地球陆地上的最低点。无论你从哪个方向去往耶路撒冷,你都是在往上行。耶路撒冷也是Ye He Hua的圣殿,所以上耶路撒冷去的人就是登上圣地。

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.
Psalms 24:3-4 NIV

 

谁能登Ye He Hua的山?谁能站在他的圣所?就是手洁心清,不向虚妄,起誓不怀诡诈的人。
诗篇24:3-4

Heading in to the final week before His death on the cross, Jesus and His disciples went “up to Jerusalem.” As their feet took them to higher altitude, Jesus’ eyes were lifted to His high calling. Some of His disciples’ eyes were lifted too. But they were thinking about how they could ascend to a high position in Jesus’ kingdom. What they didn’t realize was that in order to rise to that high position in God’s kingdom, you first had to go low. And Jesus was going to lead by example. As He lowered Himself to death on a cross before He was raised up to life.

Ye Su被钉死在十字架前的最后一周,衪和门徒“上耶路撒冷去”。当他们脚踏更高之处时,Ye Su举目定睛在衪崇高的呼召之上。衪的一些门徒也提升了眼界。但他们所想的是怎样才能在Ye Su的国度里登上更高的位置。他们并没有意识到要想在Shen国里上升到更高的位置,你必须先降卑。而Ye Su要带头做这个榜样。在复活之前,衪先降卑,死在十字架上。‬

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
Matthew 20:17-19 NIV

 

Ye Su上耶路撒冷去的时候,在路上把十二个门徒带到一边,对他们说:“看哪,我们上耶路撒冷去,人子要被交给祭司长和文士。他们要定他死罪,又交给外邦人,将他戏弄、鞭打、钉在十字架上,第三日他要复活。” 马太福音20:17-19

One step closer to suffering
离苦难又近了一步

As He walked up to Jerusalem, His feet brought Him closer and closer to His destiny. He clearly laid out for the disciples not only what was going to happen to Him but who was going to do it. As He spoke to them, He used ominous verbs with increasing degrees of darkness: delivered, condemned, mocked, flogged, crucified. Despite the suffering awaiting Him in Jerusalem, He was determined to continue to go up. He knew exactly what He was doing. The disciples on the other hand had a sense of foreboding and bewilderment as to what was ahead. In the gospel of Mark’s retelling of this story, Mark describes the disciples as astonished and the people following afraid.

衪上耶路撒冷去,双脚带衪更加临近宿命。衪不仅向门徒清楚地指明了自己将要遭遇的事,还说出了谁会来做这件事。衪跟他们说话的时候,在对前路的预言中使用的动词也越来越沉重晦暗:交给、定罪、戏弄、鞭打、钉十字架。尽管在耶路撒冷等待衪的是苦难,可衪仍然决定继续上去。衪很清楚自己在做什么。另一方面,门徒们对将要发生的事产生了不祥和迷惘的预感。马可在《马可福音》中复述这个故事的时候,将其描述为门徒就希奇,跟从的人也害怕。

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.
Mark 10:32 NIV

 

他们行路上耶路撒冷去。Ye Su在前头走,门徒就希奇,跟从的人也害怕。Ye Su又叫过十二个门徒来,把自己将要遭遇的事告诉他们说:
马可福音10:32

Seeking a position
寻求地位

The disciples followed Him up to Jerusalem despite their astonishment. They must have sensed something significant was about to happen because two of His closest disciples: James and John, and their mother approached Jesus with a bold and somewhat audacious request.

门徒虽然希奇,还是跟随衪上了耶路撒冷。他们一定感觉到有什么重要的事情将要发生,因为衪最亲密的两个门徒:雅各和约翰,以及他们的母亲,走近Ye Su,大胆地提出了一个近乎冒失的请求。

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Matthew 20:20-23 NIV

 

那时,西庇太儿子的母亲同她两个儿子上前来拜Ye Su,求他一件事。Ye Su说:“你要什么呢?”她说:“愿你叫我这两个儿子在你国里,一个坐在你右边,一个坐在你左边。”Ye Su回答说:“你们不知道所求的是什么。我将要喝的杯,你们能喝吗?”他们说:“我们能。”Ye Su说:“我所喝的杯,你们必要喝;只是坐在我的左右,不是我可以赐的,乃是我父为谁预备的,就赐给谁。”
马太福音20:20-23

When the mother came to Him, Jesus asked her a simple question, “What do you want?” What she wanted was a high position for her sons. But Jesus was quick to point out that a high position in His kingdom would come at a great price. Were they willing to join Him in suffering? They immediately said yes. It was true, they would suffer. James was the first disciple to lose his life for the gospel. He was killed by the sword. John was the disciple who would live the longest, but He would be exiled for his faith – to the island of Patmos.

这位母亲来见Ye Su时,Ye Su就问了她一个简单的问题:“你要什么呢?”她想要的是给儿子们更高的地位。但Ye Su很快指出,在衪的国里,身处高位是要付出很大代价的。他们愿意和衪一同受苦吗?他们立即回答愿意。确实,他们后来也历经了苦难。雅各是第一个为福音舍命的门徒。他被剑刺死。约翰是门徒中活得最久的,但他会因着自己的信仰而被流放到拔摩岛。

As you can imagine, this request for special seating in the kingdom to come did not sit well with the other disciples. But when they grumbled about it, Jesus did not take either side – neither defending nor rebuking James and John. Instead, He instructed them on how to ascend to the coveted high position.

你能想象,他们请求在未来的国度里有特别的位置,这对其他门徒来说是不怎么舒服的。当这些门徒为这事抱怨的时候,Ye Su并没有支持哪一方,既不维护也没有责备雅各和约翰。相反,衪教导他们如何才能登上梦寐以求的高位。

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:24-28 NIV

 

那十个门徒听见,就恼怒他们弟兄二人。Ye Su叫了他们来,说:“你们知道外邦人有君王为主治理他们,有大臣操权管束他们。只是在你们中间不可这样。你们中间谁愿为大,就必作你们的用人;谁愿为首,就必作你们的仆人。正如人子来,不是要受人的服侍,乃是要服侍人,并且要舍命,作多人的赎价。” 马太福音20:24-28

Go low to go high
升高先降卑

God’s kingdom is completely different from kingdoms of this world. Non-believing rulers retain their high position by holding their power with a heavy hand and exercising authority. This is not how Jesus’ high officials would rise to a place of honor. To rise up in God’s kingdom, one must first go low.

Shen的国与世上的国完全不同。无信仰的统治者靠铁腕政策、行使权威来维持高位。Ye Su的大臣并不是这样升到荣耀之位。要在Shen国高升,必先降卑。

Jesus said those in high places in His kingdom would be servants and slaves. A servant (διάκονος diakonos in the original Greek) is one who executes the commands of another. In the Bible this title is given to those who serve kings and also those who serve common people. In the early church, the title servant was used to describe those who worked in the church such as Paul, Apollos, Timothy, Tychicus, Epaphras and Phoebe. The early church leaders took Jesus’ words seriously and viewed themselves as servants.

Ye Su说那些在衪国里身居高位的人将成为用人和仆人。用人(在希腊原文中δι α κονο ζ diakonos)是指执行他人命令的人。在《Sheng Jin》中,这个职分是指那些服伺王的人,也指那些为普通人服务的人。在早期Jiao Hui中,用人被用来形容那些在Jiao Hui中工作的人,如保罗、亚波罗、提摩太、推基古、以巴弗和非比。早期Jiao Hui的领袖们很重视Ye Su的话,把自己当作用人。

Using the word slave (δοῦλος duolos in the original Greek), Jesus made it clear that His kingdom was like no kingdom on earth. For the New Testament meaning of slave is one who gives himself up to another’s will, with disregard to his own interests. Jesus loved to use slaves as key characters in His parables. This term was one of Paul’s favorite descriptions of himself at the start of his letters to the churches.

Ye Su使用了仆人这个词(δοῦλο duolos,希腊语原文),明确表示衪的国和世上的国都不一样。在新约中,仆人的意思是指一个人不顾自己的利益,放弃了自我而跟从别人的意愿。Ye Su喜欢在衪的比喻中以仆人来作为关键人物。这是保罗写信给Jiao Hui,开头描述自己最喜欢用的一个词。

To be great in God’s Kingdom, we must become servants and slaves. Ready to execute the commands of our Master Jesus and give ourselves up to His will. In this low position, we will be raised up to serve at His side in His greatness.

要成为Shen国里的伟人,我们必须成为用人和仆人。准备好执行我们主Ye Su的命令,放弃我们自己的意愿只体贴衪的旨意。在这卑位上,我们必被高举,在祂的大能中服侍在衪左右。

Do you view yourself as a servant and slave in God’s Kingdom?
在Shen国里你认为自己是用人还是仆人?

As He shared this upside-down approach to greatness, I wonder if the disciples were pondering His previous words – delivered, condemned, mocked, flogged, crucified. Could they have imagined that this would be the chosen path leading to Jesus’ destiny to serve and give His life as a ransom for many?

当衪分享了这种获得荣耀的逆向方式时,我想知道门徒们是否在思考衪之前说过的话——交给、定罪、戏弄、鞭打、钉十字架。他们有没有想过,这才是通往Ye Su宿命的必经之路,衪要服侍人,舍命作多人的赎价?

This passage begins with Jesus speaking of His destiny to lower Himself to give His life as a ransom for many. The sons of Zebedee then request a high position in His kingdom. Jesus explains that only the lowest servant and slave in His kingdom would have a high position. Finally, He reminds them that He Himself took this low position.

这段经文从Ye Su谈论衪的命运开始,再到衪要降卑自己,舍命作多人的赎价。于是,西庇太的两个儿子要求在衪的国中居高位。Ye Su解释说,在衪的国里,只有最谦卑的用人和仆人才会身居高位。最后,Ye Su提醒他们,衪自己就处在这样的低位。

As His followers, we are also called to go low and serve. In this position, He will lift us up.

身为衪的追随者,我们也被呼召去降卑,去服侍。在这个位置上,衪会把我们高举起来。

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 NIV

 

你们当以Ji Du Ye Su的心为心。他本有Shen的形像,不以自己与Shen同等为强夺的,反倒虚己,取了奴仆的形像,成为人的样式。既有人的样子,就自己卑微,存心顺服,以致于死,且死在十字架上。所以Shen将他升为至高,又赐给他那超乎万名之上的名,叫一切在天上的、地上的和地底下的,因Ye Su的名无不屈膝,无不口称Ye SuJi Du为主,使荣耀归与父Shen。
腓立比书2:5-11