約翰福音11:1-16

 

11:1 有一個患病的人，名叫拉撒路，住在伯大尼，就是馬利亞和她姊姊馬大的村莊。
11:2 這馬利亞就是那用香膏抹主，又用頭髮擦他腳的；患病的拉撒路是她的兄弟。
11:3 她姊妹兩個就打發人去見耶穌，說：「主啊，你所愛的人病了。」
11:4 耶穌聽見，就說：「這病不至於死，乃是為上帝的榮耀，叫上帝的兒子因此得榮耀。」
11:5 耶穌素來愛馬大和她妹子並拉撒路。
11:6 聽見拉撒路病了，就在所居之地仍住了兩天。
11:7 然後對門徒說：「我們再往猶太去吧。」
11:8 門徒說：「拉比，猶太人近來要拿石頭打你，你還往那裡去嗎？」
11:9 耶穌回答說：「白日不是有十二小時嗎？人在白日走路，就不至跌倒，因為看見這世上的光。
11:10 若在黑夜走路，就必跌倒，因為他沒有光。」
11:11 耶穌說了這話，隨後對他們說：「我們的朋友拉撒路睡了，我去叫醒他。」
11:12 門徒說：「主啊，他若睡了，就必好了。」
11:13 耶穌這話是指著他死說的，他們卻以為是說照常睡了。
11:14 耶穌就明明地告訴他們說：「拉撒路死了。
11:15 我沒有在那裡就歡喜，這是為你們的緣故，好叫你們相信。如今我們可以往他那裡去吧。」
11:16 多馬，又稱為低土馬，就對那同作門徒的說：「我們也去和他同死吧。」

 

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷ and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸ “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. ¹⁰ It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

¹¹ After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

¹² His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” ¹³ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴ So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶ Then Thomas (also known as Didymus^[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

 

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    這會不會太奇怪了，拉撒路還生病的時候主耶穌不去，竟然死了以後主耶穌才去！要是主耶穌在拉撒路生病的時候去，就可以的醫治，也就不會損失一條生命，這樣是不是主耶穌對拉撒路「無情」？

 

    照基督徒的信仰而言，基督徒對死亡並不覺得可怕，而且是應該勇敢面對的，在希伯來書也說：「按著定命，人人都有一死，死後且有審判。」(9:27)這裡還用很「時髦」的基督徒話語「命定」呢

 

    既然命定都有一死，就不需要害怕刀劍、瘟疫、洪水、猛獸、…，等等。因為，早死晚死都是死，死後還回到主耶穌那裏，有甚麼好怕兇死或病死？甚至主所愛的拉撒路生病，主都等到他死了才去看他！

 

    親愛的弟兄姊妹，主耶穌這樣的做法是不是「無情」？當然不是！而是要行更大的事，只是在當時不知道！