Lesson #69 – 1/13/2018 講員：Kevin
Berg 翻譯：Angie Berg
Has anyone here heard of what
some people call a “miracle baby”? It is usually when a couple has been trying
to start a family with no success. Maybe they have exhausted all of their
options. They may have gone through testing and medical procedures, and finally
the doctors have told them that they were not able to have children. However,
then sometime later they end up getting pregnant, and it may have been after
many years. And, because they thought it was impossible for them to have
children, after the child is born they consider it a miracle.
有沒有人聽說有人叫“奇蹟寶寶”？ 通常情況下是當一對夫婦一直試圖建立一個家庭但沒有成功 。 也許他們已經用盡了所有的選擇。 他們可能已經通過了檢測和醫療程序，最後醫生告訴他們他們無法生育孩子。 然而，過一段時間後，他們終於懷孕了，可能已經過了很多年，而且，因為他們認為他們是不可能生孩子的，所以孩子出生後他們認為這是一個奇蹟。
We don’t know if it is a
miracle or not. The new parents sure believe it, and in some cases I believe
that it may just be the case. However, in other cases it may not be a miracle
from God. Although some people may argue that every time a baby is born that it
is a miracle, but that is not what we are talking about tonight.
我們不知道這是不是一個奇蹟。 這對新任父母肯定相信是奇蹟，在某些情況下，我相信可能就是這樣。 然而，在其他情況下，這可能不是神蹟。 雖然有些人可能會爭辯說，每當一個嬰兒出生時，這是一個奇蹟，但這不是我們今天晚上所要談論的。
If someone believes that their
child is a “miracle baby”; that their prayers were answered, and that it could
only be by God’s grace that they have been blessed with their child, then what
conclusion must they be forced to come to? If the baby is truly from God, if it
is truly a miracle, then the child must be someone special, right? God must
have great plans for this baby, a purpose for this child for Him to bless these
parents in this way. There must a reason, and it would just make sense that
this baby would grow up to do great things for the kingdom of God, right?
如果有人認為自己的孩子是“神蹟寶貝”， 他們的禱告得到了回應，只有上帝的恩典才能得到他們的孩子的福份，那他們還得出什麼結論呢？ 如果寶寶真的是來自上帝，如果真的是神蹟，那麼孩子一定是個特別的人，對嗎？ 上帝必須為這個嬰兒有偉大的計劃，為這個孩子有目的因此祂以這種方式祝福這些父母。 一定有個原因，而且這個嬰兒長大後會為上帝的國度做偉大的事情才合理，對嗎？
We don’t know for sure if
something miraculous has gone on, and we really don’t have to know. It would be
nice if we knew of a great man or woman of God whose parents had been told that
they couldn’t have children, then they had this baby and look what they have
become, they are now a great evangelist, or a great pastor, or a great missionary.
Wouldn’t that be great? However, I don’t know anyone like that in our
generation, although that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t happened – there may be
some situations like that, in our day and age, but I just don’t know about it.
我們不確定是否有事情奇蹟般的發生了，我們真的不需要知道。 如果我們知道他們的父母是敬畏上帝的男人或女人被告知他們無法生孩子，那麼他們卻有這個孩子，並且看他們成了什麼，現在他們是一個偉大的傳道者，或者是一個偉大的 牧師，還是偉大的傳教士。 這不是很棒嗎？ 然而，我們這代人並不認識這樣的人，儘管這並不意味著沒有發生過 - 在我們這個時代，可能會有這樣的情況，但我不知道。
However, in the bible it is a
different story. We do have accounts of parents who couldn’t have children who
miraculously conceived and bore children who became great people of God.
Abraham, the father of the Jewish race was promised descendants more plentiful
that the stars in the sky. However, when he was 99 years old he and his wife
did not even have one descendant. Miraculously his wife, Sarah did become
pregnant even though she had what the bible calls a barren womb. They bore
Isaac, a great man for God, and the beginning of Abraham’s progeny, which today
are very, very plentiful, just like God promised. This group is the Jewish
people, and are said to be God’s chosen people. And, it all started with a
miraculous pregnancy. A pregnancy that from all other accounts was impossible. There
are not too many women who bear children at 90 years of age. And, yes God did
have great plans for these people.
然而，在聖經中，這是一個不同的故事。 我們確實有一些父母不能生育卻奇蹟般地懷孕和生孩子，孩子成為偉大的屬神的人。 亞伯拉罕是猶太人種族之父，他曾被應許後裔會比天空中的星星還繁多。 但是，當他99歲時，他和妻子甚至沒有一個後代。 神蹟般地，他的妻子，莎拉，即使她有什麼聖經稱之為貧瘠子宮/不育的卻懷孕了。 他們生了以撒，一個屬神的大好人，以及亞伯拉罕的後代的開始，到如今非常的多，正如上帝所應許的。 這個群體是猶太人，據說是上帝的選民。 而且，這一切都是從一個神蹟般的懷孕開始的。 從所有其他的紀錄懷孕是不可能的。沒有太多女人在 90歲高齡生孩子的。 然而，上帝確實對這些人有偉大的計劃。
Another account of a
miraculous pregnancy is Mary the mother of Jesus. We know this account well.
Mary was a virgin. What may be considered even more of an impossible situation
than a barren womb. But, she got pregnant with the help of God the Holy Spirit
and bore a son. And, yes God the Father had amazing things planned for his Son.
And we appreciate the fact that He did, because our salvation is a result of
it.
另一個神蹟般的懷孕是馬利亞，耶穌的母親。 我們很清楚這個紀錄。 馬利亞是童貞女。 這比有貧瘠的子宮被認為更不可能的情況。 但是，她藉著上帝聖靈的幫助懷孕並且生了一個兒子。 並且，是的，天父上帝對祂的兒子有著驚人的計劃。 事實上我們也感激祂所做的，因為我們的救恩就是這結果。
A cousin of Mary also had a
miraculous pregnancy experience. Her name was Elizabeth. Elizabeth and her
husband Zechariah were getting old. They had been praying for years for a child.
They knew what Abraham and Sarah had gone through, so they kept the faith. But,
they had gotten to an age where childbirth was no longer possible unless God
performed a miracle. She too was barren.
馬利亞的表姊也有神蹟般的懷孕經驗。 她的名字是伊利莎白。 伊利莎白和她的丈夫撒迦利亞年紀漸長。 他們一直在為有一個孩子禱告多年。 他們知道亞伯拉罕和撒拉所經歷的是什麼，所以他們堅守信仰。 但是，他們已經到了一個分娩已經不可能的年紀，除非上帝彰顯神蹟。 她也是不育的。
When Mary was to bear the
messiah, an angel come to her to explain what was going on. And an angel also
came to her fiancé Joseph to let him know what was going on and that he
shouldn’t leave Mary. The same thing happened to Zechariah, the angel Gabriel
came to him to let him know what was going on and that he and Elizabeth were
going to have a child. And, each time an angel came to announce the
significance of these pregnancies, the angel began with the words, “do not be
afraid.” God had a plan for these parents, but as we will see God also had a
plan for these children. God was going to use these people in a magnificent
way, and the appeal was for them to not be afraid.
當馬利亞要懷彌賽亞的時候，一位天使來找她解釋會發生什麼事。 一位天使也來找她的未婚夫約瑟，讓他知道到底發生什麼事，並且他不應該離開瑪麗。 撒迦利亞也遇到了同樣的情況，加百列天使來找他，讓他知道發生了什麼事，他和伊利莎白要生一個孩子。 而且，每當有天使來宣布這些懷孕的意義時，天使就開始說“不要害怕”，上帝對這些父母有一個計劃，但是我們也會看到上帝也對這些孩子們有計劃。 上帝是要用驚人的方式來用這些人，而且這樣的呼籲是要他們不要害怕。
In the case of Elizabeth and
Zechariah their child would be of great importance for God’s plan. He would be
a prophet, and he would also fulfill prophecy. He had been expected and
anticipated. He would be a great man of God. He would have a very critical
message, and an important place in biblical history. His parents were to name
him John. This is not the John that was a disciple and then an apostle. This is
not the John that wrote the book of John. This is John the Baptist. And, John
the Baptist was a miracle baby.
就伊莉莎白和撒迦利亞而言，他們的孩子對上帝的計劃是非常重要的。 他會成為先知，他也會實現預言。 他是曾經被期待和期盼的。 他會成為屬神的偉人。 他會有一個非常重要的信息，也是聖經歷史上重要的地方。 他的父母給他起名叫約翰。 這不是那個門徒後來是使徒的約翰。 這不是寫約翰福音的約翰。 這是施洗約翰。 而施洗約翰是個神蹟寶寶。
Now, I would guess that there
is no one here that would consider themselves a miracle baby. However, God
still has a plan and a purpose for each one of us. We can’t say that since we
are not like these great people of God, our lives can’t count like theirs can. Keep
in mind, as we get introduced to John the Baptist, that none of us can think
that he was special and we are not. We are special in the eyes of God as well,
and as God calls us and leads us I believe that we can also hear (from His
word) do not be afraid.
現在，我想這裡沒有人會認為自己是一個神蹟寶寶。 然而，上帝對我們每個人仍然有一個計劃和一個目的。 我們不能說因為我們不像上帝的這些偉大的子民，我們的生命不可能像他們的那樣。 請記住，當我們介紹施洗約翰時，我們誰也不可以認為他是特別的，我們不會。 我們在上帝的眼中也是特別的，並且當上帝呼召我們並引導我們時，我相信我們也能聽到（從祂的話語）不要害怕。
Okay, back to John the
Baptist. The reason we need to get to know this John is because we not only see
him in the next verse in John chapter 1, but also because we see him many times
in the first part of the book of John.
好，回到施洗約翰。 我們需要了解這個約翰的原因，是因為我們不僅在約翰福音1章的下一節中會看到他，而且因為我們在約翰福音這本書的第一部分會多次見到他。
Our next verse in the first
chapter of the gospel of John is verse 6, which simply says:
我們在約翰福音第一章中的下一節是第6節，這裡簡單地說：
6There was a man sent from
God, whose name was John.
6有一個人，是從神那裏差來的，名叫約翰。
So, what we have been leading
up to is to find out who this John the Baptist is. He is a very significant
person in Christ’s life, in Christ’s mission, and he had a very important
message. John the Baptist came before Jesus Christ. It is important for us to
get to know him before we go on. So, let’s look at some of the historical
accounts of his life. It actually begins before his birth. Let’s look at some
of the passages of scripture that tell us about him, so that we can understand
him as we study the book of John.
所以，我們一直被引領來找出這位施洗約翰是誰。 在基督的使命中，他是基督生命中非常重要的人，他有一個非常重要的信息。 施洗約翰是在耶穌基督之前。 在我們繼續之前，認識知道他是很重要的。 那麼，讓我們來看看他生命的一些歷史記錄。 這實際上是在他出生前開始的。 讓我們來看一些關於他的經文，以便我們在學習約翰福音的時候能理解他。
In Luke 1 starting in verse 5
we get the story of John the Baptist. We don’t have time to go through the
whole narrative, but let’s look at some highlights that will help us to
understand this person. We see the announcement in verses 11-17:
在路加福音1章第5節開始，我們得到了施洗約翰的故事。 我們沒有時間去閱讀整個敘述，但是讓我們看一些有助於我們理解這個人的重點。 我們在11-17節看到這個消息：
11And there appeared to him an
angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of
incense. 12And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon
him. 13But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for
your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and
you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and
many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will be great before the Lord.
And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16And he will turn many of the
children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17and he will go before him in
the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the
Lord a people prepared."
11有主的使者站在香壇的右邊，向他顯現。 12撒迦利亞看見，就驚慌害怕。 13天使對他說：「撒迦利亞，不要害怕，因為你的祈禱已經被聽見了。你的妻子伊利莎白要給你生一個兒子，你要給他起名叫約翰。 14你必歡喜快樂；有許多人因他出世，也必喜樂。 15他在主面前將要為大，淡酒濃酒都不喝，從母腹裏就被聖靈充滿了。 16他要使許多以色列人回轉，歸於主－他們的神。 17他必有以利亞的心志能力，行在主的前面，叫為父的心轉向兒女，叫悖逆的人轉從義人的智慧，又為主預備合用的百姓。」
John the Baptist was born 6
months before Jesus Christ. He was the forerunner to Jesus. He is the last
prophet of Israel. And, like many of his predecessors he had a message about
the Messiah. As we see in these passages that we just read, he was to turn many
back to the Lord their God. There had been silence from the prophets for 400
years, which was the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The
people of Israel had gotten away from their God. John the Baptist had a very
important message, “The wait is over; the Messiah has come.” He was to prepare
the way for Jesus Christ.
施洗約翰是在耶穌基督之前6個月出生的。 他是耶穌的先驅/先鋒。 他是以色列的最後一位先知。 和他的許多前任一樣，他也有一個關於彌賽亞的信息。 正如我們在這些經文中看到的，我們剛才讀到的，他要將許多人回轉歸回他們的上帝。 在舊約和新約之間有400年以來先知的沉默（意思就是沒有先知預言）。 以色列人已經離開了他們的上帝。 施洗約翰有一個非常重要的信息：“等待結束了; 彌賽亞來了。“他要為耶穌基督預備道路。
John the Baptist began his
ministry in the wilderness at around 30 years old. He preached in the
wilderness by the river Jordan. People came from all around to hear his message
and many changed their ways and returned to God. Both Isaiah and Malachi
prophesied his mission and his message. In Isaiah 40:3, we see his arrival was
anticipated 700 years before it happened:
施洗約翰在30歲左右在曠野開始了他的事工。 他在約旦河的曠野傳道。 人們從四面八方來聽他的信息，許多人改變了方式，回轉到神面前。 以賽亞和瑪拉基都預言了他的使命和信息。 在以賽亞書四十章三節，我們看到他的到來在發生之前的七百年就預期到了：
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。
And, in verse 5:
而在第5節中：
5 And the glory of
the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for
the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
5耶和華的榮耀必然顯現；凡有血氣的必一同看見；因為這是耶和華親口說的。
John the Baptist was to
prepare the way for our Lord. In verse 5, the Lord would be revealed, just as
we saw when we studied the concept of light in the bible. And, then in Malachi,
which is one of the Minor Prophets, and is the last book in the Old Testament,
in chapter 3, verse 1 we read:
施洗約翰要為我們的主預備道路。 在第五節中，主會被揭示出來，就像我們在學習聖經中的光的概念時所看到的那樣。 然後，在小先知書之一的瑪拉基，也是舊約最後一本書的第三章第一節中，我們讀到：
1"Behold, I send my
messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek
will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you
delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
1萬軍之耶和華說：「我要差遣我的使者在我前面預備道路。你們所尋求的主必忽然進入他的殿；立約的使者，就是你們所仰慕的，快要來到。」
We see both a messenger
preparing the way, which is John the Baptist, but we also see the ‘messenger
of the covenant’, who is the one whom the way is being prepared: Jesus Christ,
the Messiah.
我們既看到一位使者預備道路，就是施洗約翰，但我們也看見了“立約的使者”，那位正被預備道路的人：耶穌基督，彌賽亞。
There is one additional
significant thing we need to know about John the Baptist at this point in time.
We will not get into his baptisms, we won’t look yet at the baptism of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and we won’t look at God the Father’s voice from heaven that
declares that Jesus Christ is His son, and we also won’t look at the Holy
Spirit descending upon our Lord in the form of a dove. What we do want to see,
before we go on is the fact that Jesus had a huge amount of respect and
appreciation for what John the Baptist did to fulfill his mission. In Matthew
11:11 Jesus makes a statement that shows what a great man of God John the
Baptist was:
在這個時候，還有一件我們需要了解關於施洗約翰的重要事情。 我們不會進入他的洗禮，我們還不會看我們的主耶穌基督的洗禮，我們不會看天父的聲音，從天上宣告耶穌基督是祂的兒子，我們也不會看聖靈以鴿子的形式降臨在我們的主。 在我們繼續之前，我們希望看的是，耶穌對施洗約翰為完成使命所做的事情有著極大的尊重和讚賞。 在馬太福音11:11中，耶穌發表了一個陳述，表明施洗約翰是屬神的偉人：
11Truly, I say to you, among
those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the
Baptist.
11我實在告訴你們，凡婦人所生的，沒有一個興起來大過施洗約翰的；
John the Baptist is the
greatest prophet of them all, according to Jesus Christ. This is an amazing
statement. John the Baptist did what he was called to do. He was not afraid. He
was the one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” He also
preached for the people to, “Return to God, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand”, as it is written in Matthew 3:1-3.
根據耶穌基督的說法，施洗約翰是所有人中最偉大的先知。 這是一個驚人的聲明。 施洗約翰做了他所要做的事。 他並不害怕。 他是在曠野呼喊，“要預備主的道”，並且對百姓說：“天國近了，你們應當悔改。”，正如馬太福音3：1所寫的。
1In those days John the
Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2"Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3For this is he who was spoken of by
the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the
wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"
1那時，有施洗的約翰出來，在猶太的曠野傳道，說： 2「天國近了，你們應當悔改！」 3這人就是先知以賽亞所說的。他說：「在曠野有人聲喊着說：預備主的道，修直他的路！」
We will learn more about him as
we go along, but John the Baptist came to get the people of his time to turn
back to God, and to inform them that the Messiah had come. Our time is not that
much different than his times. There are people in our day that need to turn
back to God too. He had a message, we have a message; it is the exact same
message, only his was in the present tense, ours is in the past tense.
當我們繼續的時候，我們會更多地了解他，但施洗約翰來讓他的時代的人回轉到神面前，告訴他們彌賽亞已經到來。 我們的時代和他的時代沒有太大的區別。 我們這個時代也有人需要回到上帝面前。 他有一個信息，我們也有一個信息。 這是完全一樣的信息，只是他的是現在式，我們的是過去式。
In our passage for this
evening we see exactly this, John 1:6-8
在我們今天晚上的經文中，我們看到了這個，約翰福音1：6-8
6There was a man sent from
God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the
light, that all might believe through him. 8He was not the light, but came
to bear witness about the light.
6有一個人，是從神那裏差來的，名叫約翰。 7這人來，為要作見證，就是為光作見證，叫眾人因他可以信。 8他不是那光，乃是要為光作見證。
Sound familiar?
聽起來有點熟悉嗎？
Let’s pray.
讓我們禱告。
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