2016年1月31日
為你而來 He Came for You
读经: 路加福音4章14-21節
Reading: Luke 4:14-21
主的靈在我身上，因為祂用膏膏我，叫我傳福音給貧窮的人。-路加福音4章18節
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
Luke 4:18
全年读经: 出埃及記25-26章;馬太福音20章17-34節
Bible in a Year: Exodus 25–26; Matthew 20: 17-34
著名的德文小說家法蘭茲·卡夫卡（Franz Kafka，1883-1924年）在《審判》及《城堡》這兩本書中，形容生活迫使人們喪失了人性，成為茫茫人海中一張張空洞的臉孔，沒有身分、沒有價值。他說：「人生的輸送帶送你往前，沒人知道會到哪兒。人已經成為一件物品或東西，不再是有血有肉的人。」
在耶穌剛開始傳道的時候，祂曾經在拿撒勒的一間猶太會堂，站在眾人面前朗讀以賽亞書：「主的靈在我身上，因為祂用膏膏我，叫我傳福音給貧窮的人；差遣我報告被擄的得釋放，瞎眼的得看見，叫那受壓制的得自由，報告上帝悅納人的禧年。」 （路加福音4章18-19節）
過後，耶穌坐下，並且宣稱：「今天這經應驗在你們耳中了」 （21節） 。在舊約時期，先知以賽亞曾做了類似的宣告（以賽亞書61章1-2節） 。如今，耶穌向眾人宣佈，祂來到世上成就了上帝的這個應許。
耶穌來是為了拯救所有貧窮的、心碎的、被擄的、瞎眼的以及受壓迫的人。祂來是為了因罪和苦難、破碎和悲傷而喪失人性的人。換言之，祂是為我們而來！
主啊，求祢施恩給犯罪和受苦的人，
給因罪而受苦的人，給為減輕痛楚而犯罪的人。
主啊，求祢憐憫我們。阿們。
無論世界多冷漠，耶穌待每一個屬祂的人猶如珍寶。
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In his novels The Trial and The Castle, Franz Kafka (1883–1924) portrays life as a dehumanizing existence that turns people into a sea of empty faces without identity or worth. Kafka said, "The conveyer belt of life carries you on, no one knows where. One is more of an object, a thing, than a living creature."
Early in His ministry, Jesus went to a synagogue in Nazareth, stood up in front of the crowd, and read from Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19).
Then Christ sat down and declared, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (v. 21). Centuries earlier, the prophet Isaiah had proclaimed these words (Isa. 61:1-2). Now Jesus announced that He was the fulfillment of that promise.
Notice who Jesus came to rescue—the poor, brokenhearted, captive, blind, and oppressed. He came for people dehumanized by sin and suffering, by brokenness and sorrow. He came for us!
For those who sin and those who suffer. For those who suffer because of sin. For those who sin to alleviate suffering. Lord, have mercy on us. Robert Gelinas, The Mercy Prayer
No matter how impersonal the world may seem, Jesus loves each of us as if we were His only child.