害怕死去的麥子
空白的支票

經文
路加福音二十二39-48
39耶穌出來,照常往橄欖山去,門徒也跟隨他。
40到了那地方,就對他們說:你們要禱告,免得入了迷惑。
41於是離開他們約有扔一塊石頭那麼遠,跪下禱告,
42說:父阿!你若願意,就把這杯撤去;然而,不要成就我的意思,只要成就你的意思。
43有一位天使從天上顯現,加添他的力量。
44耶穌極其傷痛,禱告更加懇切,汗珠如大血點滴在地上。
45禱告完了,就起來,到門徒那裡,見他們因為憂愁都睡著了,
46就對他們說:你們為甚麼睡覺呢?起來禱告,免得入了迷惑!
47說話之間,來了許多人。那十二個門徒裡名叫猶大的,走在前頭,就近耶穌,要與他親嘴。
48耶穌對他說:猶大!你用親嘴的暗號賣人子嗎?
信息分享
過去兩天我們看到耶穌面對希臘人想要見祂的消息時,似乎讓祂陷入了屬靈壓力中。無論我們如何去理解主耶穌生命中的這件事情,很明顯的是,他內心在經歷很深刻的掙扎,「我說甚麼才好呢?父啊,救我脫離這時候,但我原是為這時候來的。」(約十二27)。約翰福音十二章這段經文最有力地強調了耶穌的人性。我們看到祂曾經想過要從那將要面對的加略山的殘酷折磨裡退出來,不過那只是非常短暫的一刻,然後祂很快就重新堅定起來,不動搖地委身於天父永恆的旨意和目的。
讓我們再來留意這個真理,它似乎在這黑暗和關鍵的時刻支持著耶穌──「人子得榮耀的時候到了。我實實在在地告訴你們,一粒麥子不落在地裡死了,仍舊是一粒,若是死了,就結出許多子粒來」(約十二23-24)。主耶穌以自己的血簽寫了一張空白的支票,然後把支票交給神。祂會落在地裡死去,帶出豐富的收成。祂把自己置身於自我犧牲而不是自救的境況下。主耶穌在那一刻的掙扎,與你和我在這些默想中所面對的相似──死還是不死。我們怎樣回應將會決定我們生命的方向。
「耶穌讓自己作自我犧牲而非自救」
進深研究
腓二1-8;詩四十8,一四三10;弗六6
1. 神對祂兒子的旨意是甚麼?
2. 耶穌怎麼回應?
祈禱
天父,我感覺到我的生命正靜靜地走向一個危機──當我們要委身時所面對的危機。求您幫助我不把它視為需要討論的事情,而是需要決定的事情。奉耶穌的名祈求,阿們。
The Corn of Wheat Afraid to Die
"A blank cheque"

Bible reading:
Luke 22:39-48
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.
40 On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."
41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a]
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,
48 but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"
Message
We have seen over the past two days how Jesus, when faced with the news that some Greeks wanted to interview Him, appeared to be precipitated into a spiritual crisis. Whatever we make of this incident in the life of our Lord, it is fairly obvious that some deep struggle is going on inside Him.
And the terms of that struggle are also clear: "What shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour" (John 12:27). This passage in John 12 underlines most powerfully the humanity of Jesus. We see Him recoiling for a moment - and only for a moment - from the grim ordeal that He was about to face on Calvary, but He comes through to reaffirm His unswerving commitment to His Father's eternal will and purpose.
Note once again the truth that seemed to sustain Him in this dark and crucial hour: "I must fall and die like a grain of wheat that falls between the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone - a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat grains - a plentiful harvest of new lives" (John 12:23-24, TLB). He gave a blank cheque to God signed in His own blood. He would fall into the ground and die and bear a rich and bountiful harvest. He aligned Himself with self-giving and not self-saving. The momentous issue with which our Lord struggled in that hour is similar to the one which you and I are being called to face in these meditations - to die or not to die. The way we respond to it will determine our life-direction.
"Jesus aligned Himself with self-giving not self-saving"
Prayer
Father, I sense that quietly things are heading toward a moment of crisis in my life - a crisis of commitment. Help me to see these things, not merely as a matter for discussion, but a matter for decision. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.
Further study
Philippians 2:1-8
Psalm 40:8; 143:10
Ephesians 6:6
1. What was God's will for His Son?
2. How did Jesus respond?
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