#77 約翰福音1:19 施洗約翰的見證

Lesson #77 – 3/17/2018

講員：Kevin Berg  翻譯：李翠雲傳道

Deuteronomy 31:6 – “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Hebrews 11:1-2 - 1”Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2For by it the men of old gained approval.”

Psalm 18:30 - God’s way is perfect. All the lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.”

申命記31:6 －6你們當剛強壯膽，不要害怕，也不要畏懼他們，因為耶和華－你的上帝和你同去。祂必不撇下你，也不丟棄你。」

希伯來書11:1-2 1信就是所望之事的實底，是未見之事的確據。 2古人在這信上得了美好的證據。

詩篇18:30 － 30至於上帝，祂的道是完全的；耶和華的話是煉淨的。凡投靠祂的祂便作他們的盾牌。

We are in John chapter 1. Last time we finished up our look at two different phrases. One was ‘grace upon grace’ in verse 16, and the other was that Christ was full of grace and truth in verse 14. Due to these verses we took a brief look at the subject of grace, and we looked at how Jesus is truth and that everything he said was truth. This is in addition to what we had seen earlier in the chapter about Christ being the light and that he shines in the darkness. And, that everything that was made was made through him. We have gotten to know much about our Lord in the first 18 verses of John chapter 1.

我們在學習約翰一章。上次我們完成了看兩個不同的短句。 一個是16節的“恩上加恩”，另一個是在14節中基督是充滿了恩典和真理。由於這些經文，我們簡要地看了一下恩典的主題，我們也看了耶穌如何是真理 他所說的一切都是真理/事實。 這是除了我們在本章前面看到的關於基督是光和他在黑暗中照亮的 。 而且，所有的一切都是通過他做的。 在約翰福音第一章的前18節經文中，我們已經對我們的主有了更多的了解。

Tonight we are going to go onto verse 19. And, as we move on in chapter 1 we are going to see some things that we have already learned about in the past. Having this preparation from the past will help us understand this passage of scripture.

今晚我們將繼續討論第19節。而且，當我們在第1章中繼續時，我們將會看到一些我們以前已經學習到的事情。 從過去做好了這個準備將幫助我們理解這段經文。

When people ask us about this bible study, we have received one particular question a number of times. It comes when we describe how we are organizing the bible study. We explain how we have started with basic biblical teaching and how we are progressively introducing more complex teaching. In essence, we explain the fact that each week builds upon something that has been taught in the past; which is the biblical idea of concept upon concept or line upon line. We start with the milk of the Word and then we gradually get to the meat of the Word. It is a lot like the subject of Math. But, the question that always comes up is what if someone new joins, and they weren’t there in the past, what do you do about that? That is the reason that Angie has posted the past lessons online.

當人們問我們關於這個查經班時, 我們很多時候得到一個特定的問題。當我們描述我們如何組織查經時這個問題就來了。我們解釋了我們如何開始基本的聖經教導和我們如何逐步引入更複雜的教導。從本質上講, 我們解釋了一個事實, 即每個星期都建立在過去教過的東西上;這是聖經的概念, 在概念上加概念或行上加行。我們從這個道的牛奶開始, 然後我們逐漸得到這個道的肉。這和數學的科目很像。但是, 總會出現的問題是, 如果有新的加入者, 他們過去不在這裡, 你會怎麼做呢？ 這正是Angie在網上發布過去課程的原因。

If we talk about baptism, like we will briefly tonight, then a person can go into Angie’s blog and read the whole lesson on baptism. If someone hears a term that they don’t understand it is usually because we have already covered it in the past in enough detail to understand the concept. I am not sure how other ministries do it, but that is how we are handling the situation for this bible study. So, if you are interested you can talk to Angie after our lesson tonight and get the information.

如果我們談論洗禮，就像今晚我們將簡要介紹一樣，那麼一個人可以進入Angie的部落格並閱讀關於洗禮的全部課程。 如果有人聽到他們不理解的專用語，通常是因為我們在過去已經涵蓋足夠的細節理解了這個概念。 我不確定其他的事工是如何做到這一點的，但這就是我們如何處理這個聖經班的情況。 所以，如果你有興趣，你可以在今晚我們的課程後和Angie談談，並獲得資料。

In verse 19 we are going to see another term, which we have talked about in the past, which is the concept of witnessing. In the past, we used the example of a courtroom. In court, a witness is called to present their testimony. The testimony is to be of something that the witness has personal experience with, and it is to be the truth. It could be about a person, an event, or an expertise that the person has. In verse 19 we are going to see John the Baptist’s testimony. It comes about because some religious people come to him asking him many questions. In essence, we are going to see that these people are asking him, “Who do you think you are?”

在19節中，我們將看到另一個專用語語，這是我們過去以經談到過的，這就是見證的概念。 過去，我們用了法庭為例。 在法庭上，證人會被要求出示他們的證詞。 證言是證人親身經歷的事情，並且是事實。 它可能是關於一個人，一個事件或一個人擁有的專業知識。 在19節我們將看到施洗約翰的見證。 這是因為一些宗教人士向他詢問許多問題。 實質上，我們將會看到這些人在問他：“你認為你是誰？”"你以為你是誰？

Have you ever had someone come to you with a question like this? It could be in the workplace, it could have been in an educational setting, or it could be in a religious setting like we are seeing John the Baptist face here. They might ask, “What gives you the right, to …” Or they might say, “Do you have the authority to so such and such?” Or even simply, “How do you know?”

你有沒有曾經有人來問過你這樣的問題？ 它可能是在工作場所，它可能是在教育環境中，或者它可能是在一個宗教場合，就像我們看到施洗約翰在這裡所面對的那樣。 他們可能會問，“什麼給予了你權利，......”或者他們可能會說，“你有權力如此這般嗎？”甚至簡單地說：“你怎麼知道的？

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were always at odds with our Lord, but also with those who communicated his message. And, that is what is going on here in John 1:19-23.

耶穌時代的宗教領袖一直與我們的主做對，但也與那些傳達他的信息的人有分歧。 而這就是約翰福音1：19-23這裡所發生的事情。

19And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."

19  約翰所作的見證記在下面：猶太人從耶路撒冷差祭司和利未人到約翰那裏，問他說：「你是誰？」 20他就明說，並不隱瞞，明說：「我不是基督。」 21他們又問他說：「這樣，你是誰呢？是以利亞嗎？」他說：「我不是。」「是那先知嗎？」他回答說：「不是。」 22於是他們說：「你到底是誰，叫我們好回覆差我們來的人。你自己說，你是誰？」 23他說：「我就是那在曠野有人聲喊着說：『修直主的道路』，正如先知以賽亞所說的。」

We know what these men are getting at. They want to know John the Baptists’ credentials. People today get asked this all the time. And, we are used to answering these types of questions with some facts about ourselves. We have a degree in this or that, we have such and such experiences in the past, or we have been studying this particular topic for the past number of years, etcetera. We want to impress the people who are asking, to prove that we are worthy; however not John the Baptist. Do you get a sense of humility in these verses? He isn’t giving his credentials, just the opposite; he is stating what he isn’t. He isn’t trying to impress these men. What is he? In verse 23 he states that he is a voice. A voice? That is all he is? Yes, he is saying that he is NOT the source of truth, that he simply bears witness to the one who IS the truth.

我們知道這些人正在說什麼。 他們想知道施洗約翰的身份。 今天的人們總是被問到這一點。 而且，我們習慣用一些關於我們自己的事實來回答這些類型的問題。 我們在這個或那個領域擁有學位，過去我們有過這樣和那樣的經歷，或者我們在過去的幾年裡一直在研究這個特定的話題，等等。 我們想要打動那些要求的人，證明我們是值得的; 然而, 不是施洗約翰。 你在這些經文中感受到謙卑嗎？ 他沒有給出他的證書憑據，恰恰相反; 他正在說明他不是什麼。 他並不想打動這些人。 他是什麼呢？ 在23節他說他是一個聲音。 一個聲音？ 他就是這樣而已嗎？ 是的，他說他不是真理的源頭，他只是為那位是真理的做見證。

We learned about John the Baptist in the past, and the reality is that he is quite impressive. But, what we learned about him is found in other gospels. In the gospel of John, we get very few details. We learned that his parents were past the age of child bearing, but by a miracle from God, not only did his mother Elizabeth get pregnant, but also his father was visited by the angel Gabriel to announce the fact that she was pregnant. In John 1:6 it simply states that God sent him. He could have used either of these facts to attempt to impress these men, but he didn’t. He is humble as it says in verse 8,

在過去, 我們學習到了關於施洗約翰的事, 事實上, 他是相當令人印象深刻的。但是, 我們在其他福音書中發現了關於他的知識。在約翰福音中, 我們得到很少的細節。我們瞭解到, 他的父母已經過了生育的年齡, 但憑藉上帝的神蹟, 不僅他的母親伊莉莎白懷孕了, 而且, 天使加百列也拜訪了他的父親，宣佈她懷孕的事實。在約翰福音1:6 它簡單地陳述上帝派遣他。他本可以用這些事實來試圖打動這些人, 但他沒有。他是謙卑的, 正如在第8節所說的,

“He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.” 

8他不是那光，乃是要為光作見證。

There are a number of questions that these religious men ask John. Many of these questions relate to things found in the Old Testament. They asked him if he was Elijah. Elijah is unique in that he didn’t die. Instead, God took him up in a whirlwind into heaven. This is found in 2 Kings 2:11-12. And, because of this there was a common misunderstanding from Malachi 3:1, and Malachi 4:5-6. They thought that Elijah himself would come back to announce the Messiah. But, the verses state that the one who will announce the Messiah will be like Elijah, not be Elijah. We see that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of this prophecy in Matthew 11:14. We won’t go through these passages, but if you like you can look at them later in light of our passage.

這些宗教人士問約翰有很多問題。 這些問題中有許多與舊約中的事物有關。 他們問他是否是以利亞。 以利亞獨特之處在於他沒有死。 相反，神提他進用旋風中帶入天堂。 這可以在列王記下2：11-12中找到。 因此，瑪拉基書3：1和瑪拉基書4：5-6有一個共同的誤解。 他們認為以利亞自己會回來宣告彌賽亞。 但是，這些經文指出，宣布彌賽亞的人將像以利亞，而不是以利亞。 在馬太福音11:14中我們看到施洗約翰是這預言的應驗。 我們不會閱讀這些段落，但如果你喜歡，你可以稍後看看我們的經文。

The next question is whether he is the Prophet. He is a prophet, but he is not the prophet. This refers to a prophecy from Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. This passage is actually referring to the Messiah, not to John the Baptist. So, John says no to these questions. So, in verse 23 he finally answers the question, “So, who are you?”

接下來的問題是他是否是先知。 他是先知，但他不是那先知。 這是指申命記18：15-19中摩西的預言。 這段經文實際上是指彌賽亞，而不是施洗約翰。 所以，約翰對這些問題說不。 所以，在23節，他終於回答了這個問題：“那麼，你是誰？”

This again refers to a famous passage in the Old Testament. This one is found in Isaiah 40:3 – this one we will look at.

這又是指舊約中的一段著名的經文。 這個是在以賽亞書40：3中找到的 - 我們將會看看這一個。

3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

3有人聲喊着說：在曠野預備耶和華的路或譯：在曠野，有人聲喊着說：當預備耶和華的路，在沙漠地修平我們神的道。

These religious leaders knew this passage very well. It was a tradition in the ancient world that when a dignitary traveled into an area there would be a herald that would go before him. The herald would announce the imminent arrival of the King. This way the city would be prepared. The route would be cleared, and the town straightened up. The forerunner was simply a messenger he had no power. If the people heeded his warning it was only because of their respect for the coming monarch, it had nothing to do with the herald. The herald was simply a voice.

這些宗教領袖非常熟悉這段經文。 這是古代世界的傳統，當一個高官來到一個地區時，會有一位先驅/報信者/傳令官走在他的前面。 先驅會宣布國王即將到來。 這樣城市就會做好準備。 該路線將被清除，小鎮整理好。 先行者只是一個信使，他沒有權力的。 如果人們聽到他的警告，那是因為他們對即將到來的君主的尊重，這與先驅無關。 先驅只是一個聲音。

Thus this is how John described himself. He was the forerunner, the herald, or the messenger, nothing else. He was not special; the one who he announced was the special one, as we will see in verses 24-28.

這就是約翰如何形容他自己。 他是先行者，先驅者或者信使，沒有別的。 他並不特別; 他宣布的那一位是特別的，正如我們將在24-28節看到的那樣。

24(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." 28These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

24那些人是法利賽人差來的或譯：那差來的是法利賽人； 25他們就問他說：「你既不是基督，不是以利亞，也不是那先知，為甚麼施洗呢？」 26約翰回答說：「我是用水施洗，但有一位站在你們中間，是你們不認識的， 27就是那在我以後來的，我給他解鞋帶也不配。」 28這是在約旦河外伯大尼有古卷：伯大巴喇，約翰施洗的地方作的見證。

We see this same humility in verse 27. But, first they ask him about the fact that he is baptizing people. In Israel there was a ritual of baptism that the religious leaders performed. So, this question is one of, “What gives you the right?” Or, “What gives you the authority to do this?” The Pharisees were more concerned about rules, like all religions. They had power, they had authority, and they thought that they were the only ones who should perform the rituals. In human terms, they were the ones with the proper credentials. These rules, these traditions, these rituals without reality, were man-made. What John the Baptist was doing was a new thing, not the old formal rituals that these men were referring to. There were a lot of differences, but these men didn’t notice or try to notice.

我們在第27節看到了同樣的謙卑。但是，他們首先向他詢問他是在給人施洗。 在以色列，是宗教領袖進行洗禮儀式的。 所以，這個問題是：“什麼給了你權利？”或者“什麼使你有權這樣做？”法利賽人更關心教規，像所有的宗教一樣。 他們有權力，他們有權威，他們認為他們是唯一應該執行儀式的人。 就人而言，他們是具有適當證書的人。 這些規則，這些傳統，這些沒有現實/實際的儀式，都是人為的。 施洗約翰所做的是一件新事，而不是這些人所指的舊禮儀。 有很多差異，但這些人沒有注意到或試圖注意。

John’s baptism was symbolic. It represented something different than what the Jewish traditional baptism did. This baptism represented the fact that the people being baptized had changed their minds. They had repented from their past ways, their religious beliefs, and they turned back to God, and His ways. This was an expression of that change in their lives it wasn’t the change itself. John quickly got off of the topic of baptism and pointed the way to the Messiah. It was not baptism that was important; it was the fact that the Messiah had come to take away the sins of the world. Baptism simply pointed to the fact that the people had seen the light, and accepted the light. John wasn’t the light, he just pointed to the light. The people who were baptized were witnessing to the fact that they had come, they had heard, and they had accepted the message. They had believed, and they wanted others to know they had believed. But, these religious people didn’t even know Jesus Christ. They focused on John’s credentials, instead of focusing on what John was teaching. They had their eyes on men, instead of having their eyes on God, and the fact that He sent his son. This is what we saw when we studied verse 15, which says:

約翰的洗禮是像徵性的。它代表了與猶太傳統洗禮不同的東西。這種洗禮代表了一個事實, 那就是受洗的人改變了他們的想法。 他們已經從過去的道路，他們的宗教信仰中悔改，然後他們回轉到上帝和祂的道路。這是他們生命改變的一種表達，而不是改變本身。約翰很快脫離了洗禮的話題並指明了彌賽亞的道路。並不是洗禮是重點，重要的事實是彌賽亞已經帶走了世界的罪孽。洗禮只是指人們看到了光，並接受了光。約翰不是光，他只是指明光。受洗的人見證了他們的來了, 他們聽到了, 他們接受了這個信息。他們相信, 他們希望別人知道他們相信。但是, 這些宗教人士甚至不知道耶穌基督。他們專注于約翰的資歷, 而不是專注于約翰的教誨。 他們專注在人，而不是專注在神，和祂差派祂的兒子的事實。這是我們在讀第15節時看到的：

15(John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'") 

15約翰為他作見證，喊着說：「這就是我曾說：『那在我以後來的，反成了在我以前的，因他本來在我以前。』」 

What is important is the savior, the Son of God, who God the Father sent into the world. And, in this case that is what his testimony is all about. That is who is he testifying about.

重要的是救主，上帝的兒子，天父上帝派遣來到世界。 而且，在這種情況下，這就是他的見證的全部內容。 那就是他做見證的那位。

In the last phrase of verse 28 we see the geographical location of where this all took place.

在第28節的最後一句中，我們看到這一切事發生的地理位置。

John was a threat to the religious leaders, and Jesus was a threat to the religious leaders. The religious leaders did not want to give up their authority. They didn’t like having people question their teaching and their authority. They enjoyed their power and their prestige. The truth threatened them, and pointed out, to everyone to see, where they were wrong. There are people who despise the truth. The darkness rejects the light. These men didn’t want to hear John’s message. These men only wanted to complete the task at hand, the task they had been given by the Pharisees; go and find out who this guy is. Find out why so many people are going out to hear what he has to say. Why are people starting to follow this Jesus guy instead of us? But, these men missed the whole point; their focus was on the wrong thing. They missed it, or they merely rejected it. They had human viewpoint instead of divine viewpoint.

約翰對宗教領袖構成威脅, 耶穌對宗教領袖構成威脅。宗教領袖不想放棄他們的權威。他們不喜歡讓人們質疑他們的教導和權威。他們享受著自己的權力和威望。真理威脅他們, 並指出，讓每個人都看到他們錯在哪裡。有些人鄙視真理。黑暗拒絕排斥光。這些人不想聽到約翰的信息。這些人只想完成手頭的任務, 這是法利賽者的任務;去找出這傢伙是誰找出為什麼這麼多人要出去聽他說的話。為什麼人們開始追隨耶穌而不是我們？但是, 這些人錯過了整個重點;他們專注的是錯誤的。他們錯過了, 或者只是拒絕了。他們有人的觀點, 而不是神的觀點。

Does God provide grace, love, and mercy? Yes. Does He also provide judgment and condemnation? Yes. Is he the same yesterday, today, and forever? Yes. So, it is true, the sovereignty of God and the free will of man co-exist during human history. If we choose to reject God and His ways, then we receive judgment, condemnation, or discipline. We bring it on ourselves. If we choose His way, His truth, and His life, then we receive His mercy, and His deliverance. The pivotal question that we all must answer for ourselves is what do we think of Jesus Christ. Then after we answer that question, if we accept his free gift, the question is what do we think of his thinking, the Word of God. Will we follow it, or will we choose to follow our own desires and lusts?

上帝是否供應恩典，愛心和憐憫？ 是的。 祂是否也供應判斷和譴責呢？ 是的。 祂是昔在，今在和以後永遠都是一樣的嗎？ 是的。 所以，在人類歷史中，上帝的主權和人類的自由意志是共存的。 如果我們選擇拒絕上帝和祂的方式，那麼我們就會受到審判，譴責或管教。 我們自己招致的。 如果我們選擇祂的道路，祂的真理和祂的生命，那麼我們就會獲得祂的憐憫和祂的拯救。 我們都必須為自己回答我們對耶穌基督的看法這個關鍵問題。 然後，當我們回答這個問題後，如果我們接受祂的免費禮物，問題是我們如何看待他的心思意念，上帝的話語。 我們會遵從嗎？還是我們會選擇遵從我們自己的慾望和私慾？

Let’s pray.

讓我們禱告。