今天我們要讀的是馬可福音第三章1到19節。這段經文中有幾個非常有趣的故事，其中蘊含著深刻的含義。
首先，耶穌進了會堂，看到一個人枯乾了一隻手。在猶太人當時的宗教聚集地，安息日是非常嚴謹的。有一個非常嚴格的規矩是關於安息日的行為規範。至於即使有人生病，除非是快要死掉的病，否則任何病人都必須等到隔天才能得到治療。這種做法顯然是沒有愛心且不合理的，但當時的情況就是如此。而耶穌走進這個會堂中，他是要來展現上帝的心意。
他刻意來到這裡，向所謂的宗教人士發出挑戰，他要透過這個人表達一個心意，表達上帝的心意。他首先問的是：安息日行善行惡、救命害命，哪個是可以的呢？在這個時候，這些律法師們被問倒了，他們沒辦法講話，因為他們不可能回答行惡，也不可能回答害命是對的。但他們也不願意去承認說應該行善因為今天是安息日，回答的話會自打嘴巴，所以他們選擇不講話。這些宗教領袖只不過是拿沉默去忽略耶穌。耶穌怒目看了他們，憂愁他們的心剛硬。上帝的心從來都不是要我們只是為了守規矩而忘了愛的原則。
在這裡，耶穌表達了上帝的心意，一切的本意都是為了愛。規矩也是為了愛，所以當他看著那些守規矩卻缺乏愛的人時，他心中非常憂愁、非常難過。他命令這個人伸出手來，一下這個人的手就復原了。
與此同時，也看到了這件事情發生後，那些人沒有馬上悔改信主。他們眼見的奇蹟發生了，他們看見耶穌的作為，便出去找希律一黨的人。希律一黨的人是誰呢？是和羅馬人關係密切的一派猶太人。對於正統法利賽人來說是不屑的一群人。說起來其實是敵人的關係。但是在耶穌出現以後，這兩派人找到了合作的理由。至少，現在眼前有一個共同的敵人出現了，所以這兩派不聖潔也不正直的幫派暫時合在一起了。
這是人性，面對問題的第一個選擇不是解決問題，而是解決提出問題的人。耶穌挑戰了他們的信仰和地位。但是他們沒有選擇去思考和聆聽，反而是首先想要讓耶穌閉嘴，甚至不惜殺害他。
我們還看到揀選12門徒的過程。法利賽人是一個非常封閉的小圈子，是一種精英主義而不是一種包容的心態。
我們看到在上帝耶穌揀選十二門徒的時候，他也很刻意地安排。讓我們來研究一下這十二個門徒都是什麼樣的人。
首先，在這群門徒中有馬太。馬太是當時的一個稅吏，就是我們昨天提到的稅吏利未，是被猶太人所痛恨的人。而另外一邊，是奮銳黨的西門，他是當時一個猶太民族主義的組織成員，對於羅馬人來說，他們是製造麻煩的人。在平常的情況下，西門一定會盡一切辦法要殺死馬太這樣的人。這兩個人竟然能夠同時成為耶穌的門徒，這是非常不尋常的。但在上帝的門徒之中，結合了各種不同的思想和不同階層的社會人士，他們互相愛護、彼此生活。
其次，耶穌挑選的人其實根本沒有什麼特別的資格。他們沒有錢，也沒有什麼高的學歷，更沒有什麼權利地位，他們不是社會上的高層人士，只是十二個平凡不過的普通人。然而，他們具備了兩個重要的特質：首先是願意順服耶穌並且專心聆聽耶穌所說的一切話；其次是他們真的很有勇氣，因為他們已經跟當權派翻臉了，已經被打為異端份子。在這樣的情況下，這些門徒仍然想繼續跟隨耶穌，這是非常勇氣可嘉的。
這些看似無關緊要的十二個門徒卻在十幾年內就翻轉羅馬這個橫跨了整個歐亞非大陸的帝國，成為了翻轉世界的開端。在上帝的手中，即使是微不足道的人也有翻轉世界的可能。耶穌挑選的這些門徒雖然沒有什麼特別之處，但上帝卻用他們，這些看似不起眼的人，來改變了整個世界。
讓我們明天繼續閱讀第三章的20到35節，故事將會更加精彩！
Today we are going to read Mark 3:1-19. In this passage, there are several very interesting stories, each containing profound meanings.
Firstly, Jesus entered the synagogue and noticed a man with a withered hand. In Jewish religious gatherings at that time, the Sabbath was strictly observed. There was a very strict rule regarding Sabbath conduct. Even if someone fell ill, unless it was a life-threatening condition, no one could receive treatment until the following day. This practice was obviously lacking in compassion and unreasonable, but that was the situation at the time. Jesus walked into the synagogue with the intention of expressing the will of God.
He deliberately came here to challenge the so-called religious leaders. He wanted to express a principle through this man, expressing the will of God. His first question was: On the Sabbath, is it lawful to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? At this moment, these Pharisees were confounded; they couldn't speak because they couldn't answer that doing evil or killing was right. But they also didn't want to admit that doing good was lawful on the Sabbath because that would contradict their stance. So, they chose to remain silent. These religious leaders merely used silence to ignore Jesus. Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardened hearts. The heart of God has never been merely about obeying rules at the expense of forgetting the principle of love.
Here, Jesus expressed the will of God, where everything is ultimately about love. Even rules are meant to be expressions of love. So, when he saw those who observed the rules but lacked love, he was deeply troubled and saddened. He commanded the man to stretch out his hand, and immediately his hand was restored.
At the same time, after this incident, those people did not immediately repent and believe in Jesus. They witnessed the miracle, saw what Jesus did, and went out to find the party of Herod. Who were the party of Herod? They were a group of Jews closely associated with the Romans. They were despised by the orthodox Pharisees. In fact, they were considered enemies. But after Jesus appeared, these two factions found a reason to cooperate. At least now they had a common enemy before them, so these two impure and dishonest factions temporarily joined forces.
This is human nature; when faced with a problem, the first choice is not to solve the problem but to eliminate the one who raised the problem. Jesus challenged their faith and status. But they didn't choose to think and listen; instead, they first wanted to silence Jesus, even to the extent of killing him.
We also see the process of choosing the 12 disciples. The Pharisees were a very closed circle, characterized by elitism rather than inclusivity.
We see in God's choosing of the 12 disciples that He did so deliberately. Let's study who these twelve disciples were.
Firstly, among these disciples was Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector at the time, much like the tax collector Levi we talked about yesterday, and he was hated by the Jews. On the other hand, there was Simon, a member of the Zealots, who was a member of a Jewish nationalist organization at the time. For the Romans, they were troublemakers. Under normal circumstances, Simon would definitely try everything to kill someone like Matthew. It was very unusual for these two people to be chosen as disciples of Jesus. But among the disciples of God, there were various thoughts and different social classes, and they loved and lived with each other.
Secondly, the people Jesus chose actually had no special qualifications. They had no money, no high education, and no social status. They were not high-ranking people in society; they were just twelve ordinary people. However, they possessed two important qualities: first, they were willing to obey Jesus and listen attentively to everything he said; second, they were truly courageous, because they had already turned against the authorities and been branded as heretics. In such circumstances, the fact that these disciples still wanted to continue following Jesus was very commendable.
These seemingly insignificant twelve disciples overturned the beliefs of the entire Roman Empire within a few decades, becoming the beginning of a world-changing movement. In the hands of God, even the most insignificant person has the potential to change the world. Although the disciples chosen by Jesus were not special, God used them, these seemingly insignificant people, to change the world.
Let's continue reading from Mark 3:20-35 tomorrow; the story will become even more exciting!
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