3 月 20 日 预苦期第二周 星期四

(邱品尧牧师 佳恩堂)

经文- 路加福音 13：31-35

31 正当那时，有几个法利赛人来对耶稣说：“离开这里去吧，因为希律想要杀你。” 32 耶稣说：“你们去告诉那个狐狸说，今天、明天我赶鬼治病，第三天我的事就成全了。 33 虽然这样，今天、明天、后天我必须前行，因为先知在耶路撒冷之外丧命是不能的。 34 耶路撒冷啊，耶路撒冷啊！你常杀害先知，又用石头打死那奉差遣到你这里来的人。我多次愿意聚集你的儿女，好像母鸡把小鸡聚集在翅膀底下，只是你们不愿意。 35 看哪，你们的家成为荒场留给你们！我告诉你们：从今以后你们不得再见我，直等到你们说：‘奉主名来的是应当称颂的！’”

经文反思

法利赛人用政治化的言语，威胁耶稣。用分封王希律要杀害耶稣为理由，威胁耶稣离开法利赛人有影响力的城镇（31 节）。法利赛人和希律王之间的关系，是纯粹政治的结合，没有信仰的因素。希律王，一位以东人，不是犹太人，得不到犹太人的支持他作王。希律需要法利赛人支持他的王权。法利赛人需要希律王的政治势力，支持法利赛人在民间的运动。但是耶稣并没有因此而受到惊吓，恐惧，耶稣反倒勇敢地以话语回击法利赛人，并且称希律是“狐狸”，意思是“毁坏神工作的人。”并且要法利赛人转告希律，不管希律如何用他的政治势力来压迫耶稣。耶稣不会后退，他也预言了将来，耶稣会按照神的计划，在耶路撒冷丧命，死后三天复活（32 节）。

耶稣接下来是述说，宣告耶路撒冷命运的哀歌。耶路撒冷恶名昭彰，是杀害先知和上帝使者的城市。虽然上帝透过祂的使者，借着很多次机会，要把神的儿女招聚到耶路撒冷，但是，耶路撒冷的犹太人总是抵挡神。耶稣基督预言，耶路撒冷要成为“荒场”，就是预告主后七十年的耶路撒冷的被毁。而主耶稣的预言，就是耶稣必然会受死，并且等待犹太人重新尊崇主耶稣的日子来到。

这哀歌哀叹了耶路撒冷的罪恶，述说神召唤神百姓的心意，和神的最后审判。耶路撒冷居民的罪恶是杀害先知，杀害神的使者。虽然神的心意是招聚神的儿女，但是，最终因为耶路撒冷不悔 改，导致耶路撒冷的毁灭。然而，这毁灭的光景只是神的管教。耶路撒冷荒凉的光景将会结束，只要耶路撒冷重新尊荣神至高的使者-耶稣基督。

祷告

主啊，我们常常只在乎自己的影响力，自己的成就，不惜和金钱和政治力量有关联，来取得更

大的果效和成就。我们以为自己得到了荣耀，就会让神得着荣耀。却没有想到，耶稣基督是借着完全顺服父神，走上受死，埋葬，第三天复活的道路，才有真正的荣耀。主啊，我们常常不听你的话语，我们只爱听好听的话，但是我们离弃责备的话语，离弃引导我们远离恶事的话语。求你开我们的耳朵，聆听你真理的话语，欢迎你的仆人责备我们的言行举止，我们要悔改我们言语行为态度所犯的罪，使我们真正成为圣洁尊贵的圣徒，奉主耶稣基督宝贵的名求，阿门！

实践

留心每日读经的经文，神透过圣经的话如何责备我们，把这些经文记录下来，反复思想，觉察

我们错误的言行举止和态度。神的目的是要我们的言语行为态度更像基督，珍惜神给我们的指正，凭信心活出基督的样式。

20 March The Thursday in the Second Week of Lent

(Rev Samuel Chiu Redeemer Methodist Church)

Scripture-Luke 13:31-35

31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not

willing! 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Reflections on the Scripture

The Pharisees threatened Jesus with politicized rhetoric. Threatened Jesus to leave the towns where the Pharisees had influence, using the reason that Herod, the divided king, wanted to kill Jesus (v. 31). The relationship between the Pharisees and King Herod was a purely political union with no element of faith. Herod, an Edomite, was not a Jew and could not get Jewish support for his reign. Herod needed the Pharisees to support his kingship. The Pharisees needed Herod's political power to support the Pharisee movement among the people. But Jesus was not intimidated or frightened by this, instead Jesus boldly spoke back to the Pharisees and called Herod a “fox” which means “a destroyer of God's work.” And he told the Pharisees to tell Herod that no matter how much Herod used his political power to oppress Jesus, he would not back down. Jesus would not back down, and he predicted the future, that Jesus would die in Jerusalem and rise again three days after his death, according to God's plan (v. 32).

Jesus follows with a narrative, a dirge proclaiming the fate of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was notorious as the city that killed prophets and God's messengers. Although God, through His messengers, had taken many opportunities to gather God's children to Jerusalem, the Jews of Jerusalem had always resisted God. Jesus Christ prophesied that Jerusalem would become a “wasteland”, predicting the destruction of Jerusalem seventy years after the Lord's Day. Jesus' prediction was that Jesus would die and await the day when the Jews would honor him again.

This lament lamented the sins of Jerusalem, and spoke of God's intention to call God's people, and of God's final judgment. The sin of the inhabitants of Jerusalem was the killing of the prophets and of God's messengers. Although God's intention was to gather God's children, ultimately the lack of repentance in Jerusalem led to its destruction. However, this destruction is only God's discipline. The desolation of Jerusalem will come to an end as soon as Jerusalem honors Jesus Christ, God's supreme messenger, again.

Prayer

Lord, we often care only about our own influence, our own accomplishments, and are not above being associated with money and political power to achieve greater fruitfulness and fulfillment. We think that if we get the glory for ourselves, it will bring glory to God. But we fail to realize that Jesus Christ was truly glorified through His complete obedience to God the Father and His path of death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. Lord, we often do not listen to your words, and we love to hear only the good words, but we turn away from the words of reproof, and from the words that lead us away from evil things. Open our ears to your word of truth, and welcome your servants to rebuke us for our words and deeds, and let us repent of our sins in our words, deeds, and attitudes, so that we may truly become holy and honored saints, in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

Application

Pay attention to the verses in the daily Bible reading and how God rebukes us through the words of the Bible. Record these verses, think about them over and over again, and become aware of our wrong words, behavior, and attitudes. God's purpose is for us to become more Christ-like in our words, deeds and attitudes. Cherish the corrections God gives us and live in the likeness of Christ by faith.