Make God Known – Pastor Jade Yi

Psalm 145:10-18

Ephesians 3:14-21

John 6:1-21 (1:18)

Introduction:

You might have read the introduction on the front page of our bulletin. For the coming five weeks, we will mainly focus on Jesus who is the Bread of Life. And the theme will end on Jesus who is the Word of Eternal Life on August 25. Welcome to the journey on the BREAD of LIFE. 

您也許已閱讀了我們公告首頁的介紹。在接下來的五週，我們的主題是: 耶穌是生命之糧。 8 月 25 日，主題將以《耶穌為永生之道》做結束。歡迎一起進入這《生命之糧》的信仰旅程。

Today, there are two miracles in John 6:1-21. One is done with a crowd, the feeding of the five thousand; another one is done with the disciples alone, Jesus walking on water. We see the manifestation of the divine from these two miracles. Actually, the Evangelist John doesn’t use the word ‘miracle’ like Matthew and Mark. He uses the word, “SIGN” to describe God’s mighty works.

今日，約翰福音書的第 6 章 1-21 節中有兩個神蹟。一個是，涉及到一大群人的神蹟 〰 餵飽五千人；另一個是，單獨在門徒前行的神蹟 〰 耶穌在水上行走。我們從這兩個神蹟中看到了神的大能。事實上，福音傳道家約翰並不像馬太和馬可那樣使用「神蹟」這個字眼。他是用「標示」這個字眼，來形容上帝偉大的作為。

The word SIGN is one of the highlights from the gospel according to St. John. He really wants his readers to see and experience something even more amazing than the miracles themselves. For example, what does John want us to see or experience through these two signs –  feeding the five thousand or walking on water?

根據傳道家約翰的說法,「標示」這個字眼是約翰福音中的亮點之一。他希望他的讀者，能夠看到和體驗比「神蹟」本身更令人驚奇的事情。例如，藉著餵飽五千人或在水上行走這兩個「標示」,傳道家約翰希望我們真正能看到和體驗到的，是甚麼呢?

What are signs for? We see signs everywhere. Signs direct us to a destination. If we don’t know where we are going, signs are useless. Where do Jesus’ signs direct people? In John 1:18, it says that no one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made God known. Therefore, Jesus’ mission is to make God known.

標示，是做什麼用的呢？我們隨處都可見標示。路標的標示指引我們到達目的地。如果我們不知道要去哪裡，那麼路標的標示就沒有用了。耶穌所行的神蹟，是要將人引向何處呢？約翰福音書第 1 章 18 節說，沒有人見過神，只有祂獨一的兒子，而這獨一的兒子本身就是神，並且與父親的關係最為密切，這獨一的兒子使神為人所知。因此，耶穌的使命就是要讓人們認識神。

Jesus’ mission is our mission. All the ministries we do should be like signs that direct people to be with God – to see God, to know God, to experience God, to trust God, and to glorify God.  If all ministries we do function as SIGNs that make God known, what does that look like to you?

耶穌的使命就是我們的使命。我們所做的事工，都應該要有和標示的用途一樣，引導人與神同在──看見神、認識神、經歷神、信靠神、榮耀神。 如果我們所有的事工都起到「標示」的用途，使神為人所知，那麼對你來說，這將是一個什麼樣的場景呢？

The second highlight from this gospel are the words “I AM” in John 6:20 that Jesus uses. “I AM” has been associated with the name of God since the biblical tradition in the Old Testament. Do you remember Moses asking for God’s name in Exodus 3:13-14? God told him to tell the people of Israel that  “I AM” is the way to address God. As Jesus walks across the water, he identifies himself to his disciples with the divine name, “I AM”, and confirms that his walking on water is a theophany. Jesus shares God’s work and God’s identity. Indeed, the sign is done, and the name of God is announced. 

這本福音書的第二個亮點是，耶穌在約翰福音書第 6 章 20 節中，使用的「我是」一詞。自舊約聖經傳統以來，「我是」就與上帝的名字連結在一起。您還記得摩西在出埃及記第 3 章 13-14 節中，求問神的名字嗎？神要他告訴以色列人，「我是」是稱呼神的方式。當耶穌在水面上行走時，他用神的名字「我是」, 向門徒們表明自己的身份，並讓他們認知到，祂在水上行走是神顯現自己身份的一種方式。耶穌與神，共同享有神的大能，也共同享有神的身份。在此事件中，神蹟的「標示」已經顯明了，神的名字也已經宣告了。

Our Story

During last Thursday’s morning devotion with the elders, we talked about God always meeting our most basic needs in Psalm 145:15. It says, “The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. The framework of Psalm 145:10-18 resembles the framework of the Lord’s Prayer. What is the first petition that Jesus taught us to pray? Give us today our daily bread.  

在上週四早上與晨光團契的年長者的靈修中，我們在詩篇 145:15 中談到，神總是會滿足我們最基本的需要。經文上說：「主啊，萬民都仰望祢，祢就按時賜給他們食物。」詩篇 145:10-18 的架構，與主禱文的架構，非常相似。在主導文中，耶穌也教導我們，第一個向神的祈求是什麼呢？今日，賜給我們，日用的飲食。

Let’s process briefly how a relationship is developed between a newborn baby and a mother. How does the baby know if the mother loves him or her? Through feeding and nurturing by spending time together! For the baby, the feeding is a sign that leads the baby to get to know the love of the mother and to trust who will provide basic needs. 

讓我們簡單回顧一下，新生兒和母親之間的關係，是如何發展的。寶寶是如何知道，媽媽是否愛他或她呢？是透過在一起，花時間餵養和養育的一個過程！對嬰兒來說，餵食是一個「標示」。藉著這個 「標示」， 讓嬰兒了解到母親的愛，並且相信她是那位，會提供基本需求的人。

And how long does it take for such a precious relationship to grow strong and steady? It doesn’t really take long. However, the love and trust can diminish or disappear if the basic need is not met. That must be the reason why us being fed matters to God. 

如此珍貴的關係，需要多長時間才能變得牢固和穩定呢？這並不需要很長的時間。然而，如果基本需求得不到滿足的時候，愛和信任就會減少或消失。這一定就是為什麼，對神來說，我們被餵養這件事，是很重要的。

And can we measure how mature or immature the developed relationship between the baby and the mother is? A simple way to know is seeing the baby love the mother back and honor her. And the last question: who has the right and power to give the final evaluation on how the baby is doing in terms of learning about love and trust? The mom.

對於嬰兒和母親之間，所發展下來的關係，我們能否衡量，是否有多成熟或是不成熟呢？一個簡單的衡量方法，就是看到嬰兒也愛母親並尊重她。最後一個問題：誰有權限和權力對寶寶在學習愛和信​​任方面的表現，做出最終的評估衡量呢？當然是她(他)的母親。

 

God’s Story

Let’s go back to the story in John 6. The five thousand were fed by Jesus at least once or twice. Did they get to know who Jesus was to them? Did they feel that Jesus loved them? How much had they learned to trust Jesus? Jesus can do as many miracles as he wants. If miracles are seen as the end of what God does, we miss the whole picture of God’s mission. At the time, many,including his disciples, couldn’t fully grasp it. However, through the last most important sign – his resurrection, many were led to God-Self in the first century. In Jesus Christ, they saw God, knew God, experienced God, trusted God, and glorified God. 

讓我們回到約翰福音書第六章的故事。那五千多人的群眾，被耶穌餵飽至少有經歷過一兩次。他們知道，耶穌對他們而言的重要性嗎？他們能感受到耶穌愛他們嗎？他們有學著信任耶穌嗎，學習得如何了呢？耶穌可以隨心所欲地創造許多神蹟。如果神蹟只被視為神彰顯大能的最終目的，那們，我們就錯過了上帝使命的全貌。當時很多人，包括耶穌的門徒，都無法完全理解這一點。然而，藉著最後一個最重要的「標示」——也既是祂的復活，許多人在第一世紀被引導到神的面前。在耶穌基督裡，他們看見神、認識神、經歷神、信靠神、榮耀神。

Challenges

So, what’s our challenges? A question for us might be, “How do we do ministries differently so that they function as signs that lead people to God? Most importantly: Since it is our mission to make God known, what have we learned from today’s passage? In order to answer these questions, we don’t want to overlook these two concepts: Jesus’ glory and Jesus’ grace.

所以，我們面臨的挑戰是什麼呢？我們面臨的一個問題也許是：「我們要如何以不同的方式，來

推行事工，使它們成為引導人們歸向神的「標示」呢？最重要的是：既然《使神為人所知》是我們的使命，從今日的經文，我們需要知道些什麼呢？為了回答這些問題，我們不能忽視以下這兩個概念：《耶穌的榮耀》和《耶穌的恩典》。

A biblical commentator points out how important it is to understand Jesus’ glory and Jesus’ grace. He comments: How believers hold the grace and the glory of Jesus in balance is critical to the life of faith. One cannot coexist with the grace of Jesus if that person tries to harness it for one’s own glory which is false power or authority. And one cannot coexist with the glory of Jesus if that person does not recognize the presence of the glory in the quiet places of Jesus’ grace. Both the grace and the glory of Jesus are essential to God’s revelation in Jesus.

一位聖經註釋家指出，了解《耶穌的榮耀》和《耶穌恩典》是非常的重要。他評論道：在信仰生活中，信徒必須學習如何對《耶穌的恩典》和《耶穌的榮耀》，要有平衡的認知。如果一個人試圖利用恩典來獲得虛假的能力和權威，也既是自己的榮耀，此人便無法與耶穌的恩典共存；如果一個人不能看見《耶穌的榮耀》存置於《耶穌恩典》的寧靜之處，此人也便無法與耶穌的榮耀共存。《耶穌的恩典》和《耶穌的榮耀》，對於神在耶穌裡的啟示，都是至關重要的。

Feeding the five thousand is about Jesus’ grace. Jesus’ grace can’t be controlled by the crowd’s desire for glory, such as their desire to have Jesus be their king like King David. Walking on water is about Jesus’ glory that he will not hold back in the quiet places of his’ grace, just like his mission to the cross. He is no one else but “I AM”, our God. 

餵飽五千人是來自耶穌的恩典。群眾不能利用耶穌的恩典，來渴望耶穌能像大衛王一樣成為王的榮耀。在水上行走是起於耶穌的榮耀，在寧靜祂的恩典當中，祂不避諱彰顯祂的榮耀，就有如祂背負十字架的使命一樣。祂不是別人，因祂自稱為:「我是」。祂是我們的神。

Good News

So, What’s the Good News for us today?  

所以，今日的好消息福音是甚麼呢?

Neither Jesus’ grace be controlled by us, nor will Jesus withhold his glory, because that is the very reason why God comes to us in human flesh to make God known. Thanks and praises be to God. 

耶穌的恩典不會被我們控制或利用，耶穌也不會隱瞞祂的榮耀，因為這就是神以肉身來到我們當中，讓我們都能認識神。感謝和讚美歸於神。

Amen.

阿們。