Safe and Secure in Jesus’ Hand

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:22-30.  Let’s go!

John 10:22-23 (NIV) 
22  Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 
23  and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

On verses 22-23:  The Feast of Dedication was a relatively new festival that the Jews first began celebrating in 164 B.C. to commemorate the reconstruction and rededication of the temple in Jerusalem by Judas Maccabeus in 165 B.C. after it was destroyed by the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B.C.  This Feast of Dedication involves a celebration of lights and is now more commonly known as Hanukkah, a festival that Jewish people continue to celebrate to this day.  During Jesus’ time on earth, whenever the Feast of Dedication was celebrated, there was an undercurrent of hope among the Jews that the Messiah would arrive at the temple and begin establishing Israel as an independent nation.  It is in this context that the Jews surround Jesus as he is walking in the temple area in Solomon’s Colonnade during the Feast of Dedication.

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不可佯為不見

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〈申命記〉 22:4 你若看見弟兄的牛或驢跌倒在路上，不可佯為不見，總要幫助他拉起來。

在〈申命記〉22 章1-12節裡，神教導我們一些做人的原則。

在第1-4節裡，神用了三次「不可佯為不見」，也就是說不可以假裝看不到。

在什麼情況下不可假裝看不到呢？1. 你若看見弟兄的牛或羊失迷了路，不可佯為不見，總要把牠牽回來交給你的弟兄。2. 你的弟兄無論失落甚麼，或是驢，或是衣服，你若遇見，都要這樣行，不可佯為不見。3. 你若看見弟兄的牛或驢跌倒在路上，不可佯為不見，總要幫助他拉起來。

在今天，牛羊或驢都可以改成別的東西，例如：衣服，手機，兒女，腳踏車，雨傘，等等。只要你看到是弟兄姐妹的東西，就不要假裝沒看見，在他人的疏忽上，付出你的關心，使他人不遭損失。

這段經文的重點在於：「你的弟兄無論失落什麼」，當然也包括姐妹。你若看見有人忘了或疏忽了他的東西，就要把它收好，或是拿去還給他，或是留著等他來取。這裡所說的是第十誡的延伸：「不可貪戀。」也是主所教導的：「你們願意人怎樣待你們，你們也要怎樣待人。(路6:31)」弟兄是指認識的人，不是不認識的人。當時的人所養的牛羊身上都有自家的記號，因此看了記號就知道是哪家走失的牲畜。看到了之後，不可以佯裝不見，總要把牠牽回來交給你的弟兄。若是弟兄住得遠，或不知道是誰的，就要牽回家，等失主來認領。天父要我們在彼此的照顧上，讓愛心有切實的行動。

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The Good Shepherd

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:11-21.  Let’s go!

John 10:11-13 (NIV) 
11  “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 
12  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
13  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 

On verses 11-13:  Here Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, the one who owns the sheep and loves the sheep so much that he would lay down his life for the sheep.  This is exactly what Jesus would do for us when he would die on the cross for our sins. 

Who is the “hired hand” that verses 12-13 are referring to?  It is not clear.  However, Israel had had its share of corrupt kings, lying prophets and false messiahs who should have led and taken care of Israel but only took care of themselves.  Prophets like Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 23:1-4, for example), Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 34:2) and Zechariah (see Zechariah 11) would speak against these “hired hands”.  

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人若有二妻

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〈申命記〉21章 15-17節 人若有二妻，一為所愛，一為所惡，所愛的、所惡的都給他生了兒子，但長子是所惡之妻生的。到了把產業分給兒子承受的時候，不可將所愛之妻生的兒子立為長子，在所惡之妻生的兒子以上，卻要認所惡之妻生的兒子為長子，將產業多加一分給他；因這兒子是他力量強壯的時候生的，長子的名分本當歸他。

你可能沒想到，在《聖經》裡居然會談到一個人同時有兩個妻子的事情。可見在神的眼裡心中，祂非常清楚人的情慾所帶來的罪惡及後果。神也明白人的有限，若碰到無法解決的謀殺案，以色列人應當怎樣行。神沒有說，祂會幫我們查清命案，但是神要人在神面前自表清白。

你會覺得很可笑，現在的人特愛說謊，上至美國總統下至平民小販，有誰不說謊？尤其是廣告，更是吹牛撒謊無所不用其極。你覺得神的方法管用嗎？

有很多人喜歡看偵探片，尤其是像這種橫屍在田野裡，不知凶手是誰的凶殺案。若是有福爾摩斯出來，細細把那地上查一查，看看屍體身邊腳印的深淺，來斷定凶手是個左腳或右腳有殘缺的人，然後一直追蹤下去，讓真凶無所遁形，那該是何等引人入勝的小說。只可惜，神並不想滿足人的好奇心。

既然不知道是誰殺的，那麼就到離死者最近的城裡，找頭未曾耕地、未曾負軛的母牛犢，把牠的頸項打斷，然後在牠上面洗手，表明無辜。其實，神豈有不知道的事嗎？祂一定知道是誰幹的！為何祂不幫忙把真凶找出來呢？只要祂藉著天使把警長或祭司長一直帶到那個真凶面前，把他一抓，繩之於法，看有誰還敢做壞事？或是讓凶手夜不能眠，日不能食，讓他的良心痛苦得不能不去自首，還有誰敢犯罪呢？

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How Jesus Leads

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:1-10.  Let’s go!

John 10:1-5 (NIV) 
1  “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 
2  The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 
3  The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 
4  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 
5  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

On verses 1-5:  Back during Jesus’ time on earth, shepherds would bring their respective flocks together to be placed in a communal pen for the night.  One shepherd would be assigned to be the watchman to watch the flocks at night while the other shepherds slept.  In the morning, the shepherds would return to the communal pen to collect their sheep.  But how would they separate their own sheep from the rest of the sheep in the communal pen?  By the sound of the shepherd’s voice.  The shepherd would give out a special call, and based on the shepherd’s voice his own sheep would separate from the rest in the communal pen and follow the shepherd. 

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