文/克里斯琴·喬治 譯/任東升

By Christian George

The Gospel of Mark chronicles a day from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. 《馬可福音》記載了耶穌傳教伊始的一天。

日出前，星期六地點(diǎn)不詳

只用了短短24小時(shí)，耶穌就選定了第一批門(mén)徒，他在會(huì)堂講道，驅(qū)趕污靈，醫(yī)治好數(shù)十或許數(shù)百個(gè)疾病纏身的人。假如他繼續(xù)這樣行動(dòng)密集的行程，就需要想辦法恢復(fù)體力、補(bǔ)充精力。

[2]次日清晨日出以前，耶穌“起來(lái)，到曠野地方去，在那里禱告”（《馬可福音》1∶35）。他已經(jīng)習(xí)慣這么做。他在約旦河接受約翰施洗之前，就曾到一個(gè)荒蕪之地隱居一個(gè)多月——或許就在死海西岸炎熱的山區(qū)（《馬可福音》1∶12-13）。

[3]之后的三年里，耶穌的日程不再允許他繼續(xù)隱居。照管大群的人，有時(shí)候一次多達(dá)幾千人，使他幾乎沒(méi)有時(shí)間隱居。這就是這樣一個(gè)清晨——一個(gè)要獨(dú)處、禱告、內(nèi)省的安息日清晨——如此神圣的原因。

Before Sunrise, Saturday Location Unknown

In a span of only 24 hours, Jesus had selected His first disciples, preached in a synagogue, exorcised2exorcise驅(qū)除。evil spirits and healed dozens, maybe hundreds, of disease-ridden people. If He was going to continue this high-octane itinerary3highoctane itinerary行動(dòng)密集的行程。,He would need to find a way to replenish4replenish補(bǔ)充。His energy and recharge His battery.[2] Before sunrise the next morning,Jesus “got up, went out, left the house and went off to a solitary place” (Mark 1:35). Jesus had grown accustomed to doing this. Before His baptism in the Jordan River, He had retreated for over a month to a deserted place—probably in the parched5parched炎熱的。mountains on the west bank of the Dead Sea (Mark 1:12-13).

[3] Over the next three years, Jesus’schedule would not permit Him to repeat the retreat. Managing large crowds,sometimes thousands of people at a time, would leave little time for seclusion6seclusion退隱。. That is why morning like this one—a Sabbath of solitude, prayer and introspection7introspection內(nèi)省?！獁ere sacred.

[4] It would not take long for the small-town carpenter from Nazareth to become a wide-spread sensation8sensation轟動(dòng)。. His fame for challenging the status quo9status quo現(xiàn)狀。would permeate10permeate傳布。beyond Capernaum and the cities of Galilee. Everyone wanted a piece of this prophet, especially when it was discovered that a mere touch of His tunic would heal even the most prolonged disease (Mark 5:25-29).

[5] He will criticized the wealth of the upper class (Mark 10:21-23), dine with tax collectors, save the lives of prostitutes and often find Himself “moved with compassion” (Mark 1:41) for the marginalized11marginalized被排斥的。. Jesus broke Sabbath laws, challenged religious leaders and,in a time of great political instability,propagated12propagate擴(kuò)散。the precarious13precarious危險(xiǎn)的。rumor of a kingdom—other than Rome—that “has come near” (Mark 1:15).

[4]用不了多久，這位從拿撒勒小鎮(zhèn)來(lái)的木匠就會(huì)成為聲名遠(yuǎn)揚(yáng)的轟動(dòng)人物。耶穌挑戰(zhàn)現(xiàn)狀的名聲會(huì)傳播到迦百農(nóng)及加利利各城以外。誰(shuí)都想觸摸這位先知一下，尤其是發(fā)現(xiàn)僅僅觸摸他的短袍就能治愈經(jīng)年不愈的疾?。ā恶R可福音》5∶25-29）。

[5]他會(huì)指責(zé)上層階級(jí)聚斂財(cái)富（《馬可福音》10∶21-23），與稅官一起吃飯，解救妓女的性命，而且經(jīng)常對(duì)那些遭到排斥的人“動(dòng)慈心”（《馬可福音》1∶41）。耶穌打破了安息日的誡命，挑戰(zhàn)宗教領(lǐng)袖，而且在政治極不穩(wěn)定時(shí)期宣傳危險(xiǎn)思想：一個(gè)“神國(guó)”（而非羅馬產(chǎn)帝國(guó)）“已經(jīng)近了”（《馬可福音》1∶15）。

[6]更加危險(xiǎn)的是，耶穌支持一種教義，即“我和天父乃是一”（《約翰福音》10∶30），這最終導(dǎo)致他被處死。耶穌把自己等同于神這樣的主張威脅到猶太教最核心的教義，即一神論信仰。對(duì)猶太人來(lái)說(shuō)，希伯來(lái)圣經(jīng)里最重要的一句話就是《申命記》6章4節(jié)：“神是獨(dú)一的主。”

[6] Even more dangerously, Jesus espoused14espouse支持。a teaching that resulted in His execution: “I and the Father are one”(John 10:30). The claim that Jesus was equivalent to God threatened the very core of Judaism, namely its belief in the oneness of God. By far the most important verse in the Hebrew scriptures15希伯來(lái)圣經(jīng)，即舊約書(shū)卷。for Jews was Deuteronomy16希伯來(lái)圣經(jīng)（即舊約）之經(jīng)卷《申命記》。6:4, “the Lord is one.”

[7] How could the Jewish leaders tolerate a 30-year-old carpenter who challenged thousands of years of Jewish tradition? On three occasions, they nearly executed Jesus. On the fourth, they convinced the Roman authorities to do it on their behalf (though the Romans needed little incentive).

[8] Jesus would be hunted and captured. He would be sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, the prefect17prefect總督。of Judea, who couldn’t tolerate a rebel who threatened the peace of Rome. All of Jesus’ closest friends would abandon him.Judas would betray him, James and John would desert him. Even the first follower recruited by Jesus—Simon Peter—would cursed the very mention of His name and return to his former occupation as a Galilean fisherman (Luke 22:54-62).

[9] Dark days were coming—but for the morning, for the moment, Jesus was alone and safe. ■

[7]猶太領(lǐng)袖們豈能容忍一個(gè)30歲的木匠來(lái)挑戰(zhàn)幾千年的猶太傳統(tǒng)？有三次，他們差點(diǎn)兒將耶穌置于死地。第四次，他們說(shuō)服了羅馬當(dāng)局處死耶穌來(lái)維護(hù)他們的利益（盡管羅馬人無(wú)須什么動(dòng)機(jī)）。

[8]耶穌會(huì)遭到追捕和逮捕，被羅馬駐猶大的總督本丟·彼拉多判處死刑，彼拉多本人也不能容忍威脅到羅馬和平的暴動(dòng)發(fā)生。所有的親密伙伴會(huì)棄耶穌而去：猶大出賣(mài)他；雅各和約翰離棄他；就連耶穌最早收下的門(mén)徒西門(mén)·彼得一聽(tīng)到耶穌的名字就發(fā)出詛咒，他重操舊業(yè)，做加利利漁夫（《路加福音》22∶54-62）。

[9]黑暗的日子就要來(lái)臨——不過(guò)這個(gè)清晨，此時(shí)此刻，耶穌獨(dú)自一人，安然無(wú)險(xiǎn)。 □