各位弟兄姊妹平安，今天我們閱讀的經文是馬可福音3:20 – 35。
在這段經文中，有兩段特別引人深思的部分。
首先，我們看到耶穌回到家裡，他的家人卻以為他失去了理智。更甚的是，有些人甚至說他是被鬼魔附身，以鬼王的權柄趕鬼。他們認為耶穌所行的不是上帝的力量，而是鬼王的力量。在當時，驅魔的概念非常普遍，因此他們對耶穌的行為產生了疑慮。
耶穌首先向他們講了一個比喻，他說：「如果一個國家自相鬥爭，那國家就無法站立；如果撒旦自相鬥爭，他的國也無法站立。」這句話告訴我們，生活中存在著上帝的力量和魔鬼的力量，它們同時在我們身上發揮作用，所以我們的生活是一場挑戰。
耶穌的意思是，我們不應該過分關注罪的起源和原因，而是應該專注於如何克服邪惡、戰勝罪惡。舉個例子來說，如果一個人醒來發現自己的房子著火了，他應該馬上想辦法撲滅火勢，而不是坐下來深思為什麼房子會著火的原因。
這段話提醒我們，面對生活中的困難和挑戰，我們應該採取積極的態度，集中精力解決問題，而不是沉湎於問題的起因和來源。
耶穌在這裡提到一種不能饒恕的罪，這讓人容易誤解為褻瀆聖靈比褻瀆上帝或者耶穌更為嚴重。然而，耶穌在這裡的重點是指出，所有的罪都是人類的作為，但褻瀆聖靈是一種拒絕得救的機會，是故意選擇不接受聖靈的引導和光照，這樣的人是主動地放棄了得救的機會。當一個人失去了對罪的感覺，沒有悔改的意願時，他是無法得到饒恕的。那麼，這樣的饒恕又該如何來呢？
當我們聽到福音的時候，上帝常常會觸動我們的心，使我們痛悔自己的罪惡，為自己的所作所為感到憂傷。這種內心的痛悔和悔改是得救的關鍵。如果一個人心硬如石，無法看到自己的罪過，無法感受到悔改的需要，那麼他將失去得救的機會。因此，對於那些虛心悔改、願意接受聖靈的指引的人來說，饒恕是可以得到的。
在這段經文中，耶穌提到了一個重要的概念，那就是教會成為一家人。當耶穌的弟兄和母親來找他時，有人告訴他說：“你的母親和你的弟兄在外面找你。” 耶穌回答說：“誰是我的母親？誰是我的弟兄？” 他接著指著門徒說：“看哪，我的母親，我的弟兄！凡遵行我天父旨意的人，就是我的弟兄姊妹和母親。”
這段話提醒我們，教會的成員彼此之間的關係應該是基於對神旨意的共同遵行而建立的。有時候，我們可能會發現與自己的家人之間的親密關係並不如與教會兄弟姊妹之間的關係那樣深厚。這是因為在教會中，我們與其他信徒分享著同一信仰，同一目標，同一使命，這使我們彼此之間更加親近，彼此之間更像家人。
這些人會共同擁有許多珍貴的經驗和回憶，因為他們一起生活、一起經歷，這些共同的生活記憶的交織比一般的血緣關係更加重要。這也解釋了為什麼你可能與高中或大學的同學有著比與你的弟兄姊妹更親密的關係，因為你們曾經擁有一段珍貴的共同人生經歷。
其次，當一個教會中的人們擁有共同的興趣時，這是建立穩固教會的關鍵。當一個教會中的每個人都致力於愛上帝、學習上帝、了解上帝，也就是遵行上帝的話語，正如耶穌所說，凡遵行神旨意的人都是他的弟兄姊妹和母親。當我們認真地思考上帝的話語，閱讀聖經，理解上帝的旨意時，我們會在神的話語中建立起來，也會更加親密地成為一家人。
當我們都能夠服從上帝，將主耶穌基督放在我們生活的中心位置時，我們首先會愛神。因為我們先愛了神，所以我們才能更好地去愛人。我們可以看到在耶穌的名下，原本勢不兩立的人，如西門和馬太稅吏，他們成為了門徒並彼此相愛。因為他們共同服事同一位主人，他們成為了親密的朋友。所以當上帝說我們應該愛神時，這也意味著當我們都能夠愛主耶穌基督時，我們自然而然地就能夠關心、彼此相愛。
當我們擁有這樣的共同信仰以後，我們就有了共同的目標，那就是將這好消息分享給更多的人。當一個教會的事工建立在聖經的基礎上，目標是將福音傳給更多人時，我們就更容易達成合一。如果我們只是討論教會的組織架構、聚會的程序、詩歌的選擇，甚至是主日愛宴要煮什麼菜，這些問題會使我們很難達成一致。但當我們的注意力都放在聖經上，我們就能從心底明白聖經，更深入地認識基督，並且渴望將更多人帶進祂的國度裡。在教會中，我們雖然可能在一些細節上意見不同，但當我們在大原則和大使命上達成一致，這就是基督徒的目的，也是教會的本意。
這段經文非常寶貴，讓我們有機會去深入思考和討論如何成為真正的家人。明天我們將繼續閱讀馬可福音的第四章。感謝各位的聆聽。
Dear brothers and sisters,
Peace be with you. Today, our scripture reading is from Mark 3:20-35.
In this passage, there are two particularly thought-provoking sections.
Firstly, we see Jesus returning home, but his family thinks he has lost his mind. Even worse, some people say he is possessed by demons and casting them out by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. They believe that Jesus' actions are not powered by God, but by Beelzebul. In that era, the concept of exorcism was widespread, so they had doubts about Jesus' behavior.
Jesus begins by telling them a parable, saying, "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?" This tells us that in life, there are both the power of God and the power of demons at work within us, so our lives are a challenge.
Jesus' point is that we shouldn't focus excessively on the origin and cause of sin, but rather on how to overcome evil and conquer sin. For example, if a person wakes up to find their house on fire, they should immediately try to extinguish the fire rather than sit down and contemplate the reasons for the fire. This reminds us that when faced with difficulties and challenges in life, we should take a proactive approach, focusing on solving problems rather than dwelling on their causes.
Jesus mentions an unforgivable sin here, which can be easily misunderstood as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit being more severe than blasphemy against God or Jesus. However, Jesus' emphasis here is on the fact that all sins are human actions, but blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is rejecting the opportunity for salvation, deliberately choosing not to accept the guidance and illumination of the Holy Spirit. Such a person actively gives up the chance for salvation. When a person loses the sense of sin and lacks the willingness to repent, they cannot receive forgiveness. So, how can such forgiveness be attained?
When we hear the Gospel, God often touches our hearts, causing us to repent of our sins and feel sorrow for our actions. This genuine repentance and remorse from the heart are key to salvation. For those who humbly repent and are willing to accept the guidance of the Holy Spirit, forgiveness is attainable.
In this passage, Jesus mentions an important concept: the church becoming a family. When Jesus' brothers and mother come to see him, someone tells him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." Jesus replies, "Who are my mother and brothers? Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
This reminds us that the relationships among church members should be based on the common practice of God's will. Sometimes, we may find that the intimacy between us and our church brothers and sisters surpasses that with our biological family. This is because in the church, we share the same faith, the same goal, and the same mission, which brings us closer to each other, making us more like family.
These people will have shared many precious experiences and memories because they have lived and experienced together. The intertwining of these shared life memories is more important than ordinary blood relationships. This also explains why you may have a closer relationship with your high school or college classmates than with your siblings, as you have shared precious life experiences together.
Additionally, when people in a church share common interests, it is key to building a stable church. When everyone in a church is devoted to loving God, learning about God, and understanding God, as Jesus said, whoever does the will of God is his brother and sister and mother. When we seriously contemplate God's word, read the Bible, and understand God's will, we will be built up in God's word and become closer as a family.
When we all obey God and make Jesus Christ the center of our lives, we first love God. Because we love God first, we are better able to love others. We see that in Jesus' name, people who were once at odds, like Simon and Matthew the tax collector, become disciples and love each other. Because they serve the same master together, they become good friends. So when God says we should love him, it also means that when we all love the Lord Jesus Christ, we can naturally care for and love one another.
When we have this common faith, we have a common goal: to share this good news with more people. When a church's ministry is based on the foundation of the Bible, with the goal of spreading the gospel to more people, we can more easily achieve unity. If we only discuss the organizational structure of the church, the procedures of the gatherings, the selection of songs, or even what dishes to cook for Sunday potlucks, these issues can make it difficult for us to agree. But when our focus is on the Bible, we can truly understand it from the bottom of our hearts, deepen our knowledge of Christ, and eagerly bring more people into his kingdom. In the church, although we may have different opinions on some details, when we agree on the principles and missions, this is the purpose of Christians and the essence of the church.
This passage is very precious, giving us the opportunity to deeply reflect on and discuss how to become true family. Tomorrow, we will continue reading Chapter 4 of Mark's Gospel. Thank you all for listening.
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