我們首先看到耶穌呼召的馬太，這個馬太是誰呢？就是後來寫馬太福音的馬太。在這個時候，他是一個稅吏。
當時做稅吏的猶太人其實是非常受到猶太人的憎恨的，因為他們是在為羅馬人工作，而羅馬人是猶太人所仇視的統治者。其次呢，當時的稅吏其實有很大的權柄，也就是說政府所要求交的稅，他們可以自行收取，甚至可以壓榨自己的猶太同胞。因為他們才是記帳的人，所以他們可以為所欲為。他們是非常受到猶太人憎恨的。馬太雖然生活因為他的工作過得非常好，很有錢，但他自己也知道他與社會兩邊都格格不入。羅馬人看不起猶太人，而猶太人又不把馬太當成是自己人，所以他就算是有錢，也是一個非常孤獨寂寞的人。
這個時候，耶穌來到他的面前，對他說："你跟從我來"，他就起來跟隨了耶穌。其實，這簡短的一句話對於馬太和周圍的人來說都是一個極大的震撼。首先，他需要放下原本非常豐厚的稅收收入，宣告自己要跟隨耶穌，這也意味著他可能會背叛羅馬帝國，成為被迫害的人。但與此同時，他也重新找回了他的良心，重新融入了猶太人的群體，洗刷過去的錯誤，並悔改成為後來馬太福音的作者之一，成為耶穌重要的十二門徒之一。
當我們聽到福音的時候，我們應該勇敢地去抓住它。很多時候，我們可能會擔心家人是否會贊同我們的決定，或者是否會帶來後果。但是馬太在這個時候想得非常清楚，他要追尋真理，毫不猶豫地放下手上的工作，直接跟隨耶穌。這需要相當大的勇氣，感謝主，他後來也成為了天國裡重要的工人。
這裡還有另外一個重要的比喻。在第21節中，寫道："沒有人把新布縫在舊衣服上；恐怕新补的破裂，新补的和舊衣服就不相稱了。也沒有人把新酒裝在舊皮袋裡；恐怕酒把皮袋裂開，酒和皮袋就都丟了，惟有把新酒裝在新皮袋裡。"
耶穌是一個講故事和比喻的大師，他善於用簡單易懂的道理來傳達深刻的信息。在這裡，耶穌再次告訴我們的是新酒代表新的觀念，而新皮袋則代表具有延展性的心靈空間。如果你是一個舊皮袋，失去了彈性和接受新觀念的能力，那麼這些新的思想反而可能會破壞你的生活。
這樣的新布在當時還沒有泡水或經過收縮，如果用新布去補舊衣服，一旦受到水的浸泡，它就會縮小，導致舊布也一起被撕裂。因此，耶穌再次告訴我們的是，如果我們的心靈沒有更新、沒有準備好接受新的事物，那麼即使我們獲得了新的機會或觀念，也可能會拉扯我們舊有的信念。對於一個人來說，當我們接受新的觀念時，我們必須保持心靈的彈性和延展性。即使某些觀念對我們來說很難理解，我們仍應該試著先去接納它，並包容地思考，慢慢來理解這個議題，而不是馬上加以否定。
從第21節一直延續到第三章的部分關於安息日的事情其實非常重要。在明天的講道或分享中，我們還將探討另一個與安息日有關的重要故事：安息日上行善還是行惡，救命還是害命，哪一個是可以的呢？在第二章的末尾，耶穌已經告訴了眾人，安息日是為了人而設立的，人不是為了安息日而設立的，因此，人子也是安息日的主。今天，上帝設立安息日的目的並不是要限制我們，而是要我們學會休息，要我們效法祂的方式。因為我們只是人，我們需要這樣的休息，我們需要身體和心靈上的安息。所以，讓我們一同來思考安息日的意義，並期待明天分享第三章的內容。感謝各位的聆聽。
Brothers and sisters, peace be with you. Today’s bible reading leads us to Mark 2:13-28.
We first see Jesus calling Matthew. Who is this Matthew? He is the same Matthew who later wrote the Gospel of Matthew. At that time, he was a tax collector.
Tax collectors were actually despised by the Jews because they worked for the Romans, who were the rulers despised by the Jews. Furthermore, tax collectors at the time had significant authority. They could collect taxes as demanded by the government, and even extort their fellow Jews. Since they were the ones keeping the records, they had free rein. They were deeply hated by the Jewish people. Although Matthew lived a wealthy life due to his job, he knew he didn't fit into either side of society. The Romans looked down on the Jews, and the Jews didn't consider Matthew as one of their own. So, despite being wealthy, he was a very lonely person.
At this moment, Jesus came to him and said, "Follow me," and he got up and followed Jesus. In fact, this simple sentence was a great shock to Matthew and those around him. First of all, he needed to let go of his lucrative tax income and declare himself as a follower of Jesus, which also meant he might betray the Roman Empire and become persecuted. But at the same time, he found his conscience again, reintegrated into the Jewish community, cleansed his past mistakes, and repented to become one of the authors of the Gospel of Matthew, one of Jesus' important twelve disciples.
When we hear the Gospel, we should boldly seize it. Many times, we may worry about whether our family will agree with our decisions or if there will be consequences. But Matthew thought very clearly at this time; he wanted to pursue the truth. Without hesitation, he gave up his job and followed Jesus directly. This required considerable courage, and thanks to the Lord, he later became an important worker in the kingdom of heaven.
Here's another important parable. In verse 21, it says, "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins."
Jesus was a master storyteller and used simple, understandable truths to convey profound messages. Here, Jesus once again tells us that new wine represents new ideas, while new wineskins represent a mind space capable of expansion. If you are an old wineskin, lacking elasticity and the ability to accept new ideas, these new thoughts may instead disrupt your life.
This new cloth had not yet been soaked or shrunk at the time, so if you used new cloth to patch old clothes, once it was soaked with water, it would shrink, causing the old cloth to tear apart. Therefore, Jesus once again tells us that if our minds are not renewed, not ready to accept new things, then even if we receive new opportunities or ideas, they may pull at our old beliefs. For a person, when we accept new ideas, we must maintain the flexibility and expansiveness of our minds. Even if some ideas are difficult for us to understand, we should try to accept them first and think about them inclusively, slowly understanding the topic, rather than immediately denying them.
From verse 21 to the beginning of chapter 3, the part about the Sabbath is actually very important. In tomorrow's sermon or sharing, we will also explore another important story related to the Sabbath: whether it is permissible to do good or evil, to save life or to kill on the Sabbath. At the end of chapter 2, Jesus had already told the people that the Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath, so the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. Today, the purpose of God establishing the Sabbath is not to restrict us, but to teach us to rest, to emulate Him. Because we are just human, we need this rest, we need physical and spiritual rest. So let us together ponder the meaning of the Sabbath and look forward to sharing the content of chapter 3 tomorrow. Thank you all for listening."
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