约翰福音：017 信心与神迹 约4章43至54
017 信心与神迹 约4章43至54
- 问小孩子：没有看见过神迹 与 看见神迹。谁的信心更大？
- 问小孩子：见过神迹的人更有信心对不对？
- Pic：上文4:4-42 许多撒马利亚人，因妇人的见证与耶稣的教导后来信耶稣是救世主 （V42）
- 4:43-54
- Pic 地图： 叙加（4:5）、加利利、迦拿、迦百农
- .(I).有些人可能因经历神迹而暂时接待耶稣
- 4:43[1]两天之后，耶稣离开那里，往加利利去。44 耶稣自己说过:“先知在本乡[2]是不受尊敬的[3]。”45 耶稣到了加利利的时候，加利利人都欢迎他【接待他】，因为他们曾经上耶路撒冷去过节，见过他所行[4]的一切[5]。
- 耶稣起初在加利利大受欢迎。因耶稣能行神迹。
- V45…因为他们曾经上耶路撒冷去过节，见过他所行[6]的一切[7]。
- 耶稣在耶路撒冷洁净圣殿，并那里行了许多神迹（2:23）
- 可惜后来他们却拒绝[8]耶稣(6:66)
- 原来加利利人都欢迎他【接待他】是暂时的。
- 这也是为什么主说： V44“先知在本乡是不受尊敬的”。
- 其实他们并没有尊耶稣为神的儿子，那拯救世人的主。
- 惊人：耶稣没有向撒马利亚人行神迹[9]，他们却信耶稣是世人的救主（4:42）
- 耶稣在犹太人面前行出许多神迹，但后来却许多犹太人不信祂 (6:66)
- 之前 (2:23–25), 约翰已经提示读者们，当时有人是因神迹而暂时相信
- 约2:23…许多人看见他所行的神迹,就信了他的名。24耶稣却不信任他们,因为他知道所有的人
- e.g.一些人因为祷告很灵验暂时相信。但其实不信耶稣所说的话
- .(II).耶稣责备犹太人，若不见神迹总是不肯信
- V46 耶稣又到了加利利的迦拿，就是他变水为酒的地方。有一个大臣[10]，他的儿子[11]在迦百农患病。47 他听见耶稣从犹太到了加利利，就来见他，求他下去医治他的儿子，因为他的儿子快要死了。48 耶稣对他说：“你们若看不见神迹奇事，总是不肯信。”
- 背景：大臣（多半是希律王安提帕的臣）tetrarch of Galilee
- Pic一个大臣儿子在迦百农患病，他到迦拿(约28公里 )求耶稣（步行需约7小时）
- “他的儿子快要死了”医疗已无效。
- 再多的钱与权利都无法换生命。他为孩子的性命求耶稣
- V48 耶稣对他说：“你们若看不见神迹奇事，总是不肯信。
- 主看起来好像不客气，但其实说这句话目的是为了让大臣与一家后来能信祂。
- 问：“你们”是谁？ = 犹太人也包括那大臣
- 问：“总是不肯信”？ 大臣不信？
- 问：若是不信又为何千里迢迢找耶稣？求耶稣救命？
- 耶稣的责备暗示
- 大臣的信心只停留在信耶稣能行神迹罢了 miracle worker
- e.g.有些人走投无路时，可能抱有试一试耶稣，若耶稣救我我才相信祂
- e.g.他们抱有耶稣可能可以帮助他，却不愿意信耶稣就是唯一的救主（4:42）。
- 问：有没有人是因经历神迹后才信主的？ 一些人像大臣看见神迹后才信主！（V53）
- e.g.一位弟兄的姐姐患上了末期癌症。后来癌症突然不治痊愈，肿瘤也突然不见！
- e.g.后来他因姐姐的这神迹，也信了主。
- 问：见到神迹的人就一定信耶稣？ 那就不一定
- e.g.耶稣在迦百农行许多神迹（可1:21-26、2:1-12、路4:23、太11:23）
- 太11:23 迦百农啊！你会被高举到天上吗？你必降到阴间。在你那里行过的神迹，如果行在所多玛，那城还会存留到今天。24 但我告诉你们，在审判的日子，所多玛那地方所受的，比你还轻呢。
- e.g.约翰在(11:45–46)会让我们看见神迹不一定使人能够信主
- 问：为什么有一些人看见神迹后不信？（太11:23-24、约11:47-48）
- 问：为什么有一些人看见神迹后会相信？
- 问：为什么一些从来没有看见神迹却相信？
- 答：神圣灵重生的恩典有关（约3:3） it is grace !
- 问：今天所有的病痛，是不是求主就有求必应？
- 神有祂的计划，祂不一定就要医治(王下13:14、林后12:9、提前5:23)
- 问：我们生病能够求主耶稣行神迹医治吗？ 当然能！
- 注：但神从来没有答应祂一定行神迹给我们！
- 一些传道人误解圣经，认为不得医治是因为没有信心。
- 注：这大臣“总是不肯信”，但耶稣却决定医治他的儿子
- 真信心并不是得医治的必要条件。关键是在于主要不要救他。
- .(III).看大臣信心的旅程
- 49 大臣说：“先生，求你趁我的孩子还没有死就下去吧！”50 耶稣告诉他：“回去吧，你的儿子好了【活了】。”那人信耶稣对他说的话，就回去了。51 正下[12]去的时候，他的仆人迎着他走来，说他的孩子好了【活了】。52 他就向仆人查问孩子是什么时候好转的。他们告诉他：“昨天[13]下午一点钟【未时】，热就退了。”53 这父亲就知道，那正是耶稣告诉他“你的儿子好了【活了】”的时候，他自己和全家就【都】信了。54 这是耶稣从犹太回到加利利以后所行的第二件神迹。
- “那人信耶稣对他说的话，“回去吧，你的儿子好了【活了】”
- 注：目前大臣还只是相信耶稣能医治罢了。
- 不知他回家的路途中是否有怀疑？难道凭耶稣一句话就行？
- 不知为什么他用了那么长的时间才到家？ （骑驴或马只需3小时）
- 查问仆人孩子是什么时候好转的，发现就是耶稣与他说话的时刻！
- V53这父亲就知道，那正是耶稣告诉他“你的儿子好了”的时候，他自己和全家就【都】信了。
- 有一些人他们对主的信心只是一些部分
- a.p.从局部相信，到完全信靠主耶稣是“唯一的救主”
- e.g.有一些需要像大臣一样类似经历。他们才全心信靠主
- a.p.主怜悯人。
- a.p.我们也应当怜悯在我们当中缺乏信心的。
- 🙏 若有一些人像这大臣一样无法全心信靠主，求主祢怜恤帮助他们。
[1] The presence of John 4:1–42 does not reflect deep dependence on Samaritan theology, or a church heavily engaged in Samaritan evangelism;17 rather, the emphasis on the receptivity of the Samaritans, the introduction of the title ‘the Saviour of the world’, and the interest of the Gentiles (12:20ff.), in line with the cosmic scale the Prologue has already established, conspire to warn Jewish readers not to miss out on the blessing to which they should be heir (cf. 12:37ff.).Carson, D. A..
[2] 主说他的本乡不尊敬他 （有许多种解释，列出3个比较可能的）（A）指犹大Judea，因耶稣是在犹大支派 ,在伯利恒出生。westcott （B）P本乡指在加利利的拿撒勒城 (太13:53–58; 可6:1–6; 路4:24-30) Keener, C. S.（C）P本乡指加利利的犹太人。比撒马利亚人接待耶稣，但犹太人却拒绝他。Carson 。 我个人觉得比较可能是（C）因为接下来约翰让我们看见 本乡指加利利的犹太人后来从欢迎耶稣到后来拒绝他
[3]Jesus himself has declared that ‘a prophet has no honour in his own country’ (unlike the reception he enjoyed in Samaria), and he determinedly and knowingly heads in that direction. Therefore when he arrives, the Galileans welcome him—not as the Messiah, but because they had seen all that he had done at the Passover Feast in Jerusalem. John has already let his readers know how Jesus viewed that kind of faith (2:23–25), that kind of welcome. The details of the healing that follows make the same point. Verse 46 again begins with oun, ‘therefore’, introducing not simply v. 46a, but the entire narrative: precisely because the welcome the Galileans displayed was so dependent on miracles (unlike the faith of the Samaritans!), therefore on visiting Cana and being petitioned to perform a healing, Jesus detects in the royal official a welcome and a faith that desires a cure but that does not truly trust him. Indeed, the royal official, in Jesus’ view, exemplifies what is wrong with the Galileans as a whole: Jesus’ rebuke (v. 48) is in the plural, addressed to the people at large. Other details in the account support this reading (cf. notes below). What this means is that when John tells us that the Galileans welcomed him, the context he develops shows that here, as so often, he is writing with deep irony.The material that follows ch. 4 also justifies this interpretation. John 5 locates Jesus back in Jerusalem, where rising opposition is apparent. Back in Galilee in John 6, the crowds misunderstand his messiahship (6:15), and many of his disciples abandon him (6:66). The drama continues to unfold until John pronounces the final summarizing verdict on the large-scale failure of the Jews to believe in Jesus (12:36–43). These stern words do not apply exclusively to leaders, for in v. 36 Jesus is addressing the vast crowds at the Feast (cf. also 12:42); nor is the denunciation aimed exclusively at Judeans (as opposed to Galileans), for John explicitly identifies the crowd as ‘that [which] had come for the Feast’ (12:12), certainly including Galileans. When John quotes Isaiah 6 and Isaiah 53, he has in mind the rejection of Messiah by Israel, not by Judeans.
If this interpretation is correct, the significance of vv. 43–54, and their place in the development of this Gospel, become clear. The Samaritan interlude reminds the reader again of who Jesus really is: the Messiah (4:25–26), the one who has been sent by his Father to reap a crop for eternal life (vv. 34, 36), the Saviour of the world (v. 42). It also makes the large-scale failure of Israel to come to terms with Jesus all the more tragic: despised Samaritans turn to Christ, while many of the historic covenant community either actively oppose him or cannot progress beyond a fascination for miracles and politics.Carson, D. A.
4:44 no honor in his own hometown. In other gospels, the “hometown” that dishonors Jesus is Nazareth in Galilee (Matt. 13:53–58; Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:24), and John likewise acknowledges Jesus’ identification with Galilee (1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52). Yet the Galileans “welcomed him” (v. 45), so here it may be that “his own hometown” is Judea (cf. v. 3), from where His ancestor David came, rather than Galilee. Or the point is that the Galileans’ welcome of Jesus is superficial and ephemeral (7:2–5), based on their need to “see signs and wonders” in order to believe (v. 48; see Introduction: Theology of John).The Reformation Study Bible
Thus the writer seems to indicate that Judea was Jesus’ own country.457 John here provides not so much “a historical judgment” as “a theological one.”458 After all, as messiah, Jesus would be a son of David (cf. 7:42), and of Judahite descent (4:9; 18:35), according to the flesh (1:14; Rom 1:3), even if he was also more than a son of David (Mark 12:36–37). Perhaps more critically, the ideal reader recalls 1:11: Jesus came to “his own,” and they did not receive him. His own are “Jews” (4:9; 18:35), “Judeans” in the broad sense of the term, which allows for a contrast with the welcome reception by the Samaritans.459 Further, in this context the Galileans explicitly welcome him (4:45).460 Thus the writer applies the saying quite differently from Synoptic writers, who apply it to Nazareth (Mark 6:4; Matt 13:57; Luke 4:24).461 John probably also reflects here the assumption that his audience knows and accepts the tradition in which Jesus was born in Bethlehem (see comment on 7:42). Keener, C. S.
[4] 约 2:23 当耶稣在耶路撒冷过逾越节的时候，有许多人看见他所行的神迹，就信了他的名。Joh 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.
[5] 45 When he reached Galilee Jesus was welcomed105 by the Galileans. Large numbers of them habitually went up to Jerusalem at the feasts, and some had been there for the events narrated in 2:13–25. “The Passover feast” (John says only “the feast,” but the Passover is surely meant) is the one mentioned in that passage. Once again we are reminded that Jesus did many things that are not recorded. He cleansed the Temple, but the record is incomplete, as 2:23 plainly shows. It is not John’s purpose to attempt a complete chronicle, but only to select such events and teachings as will bring out his thesis that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (20:31). So now he does not mention what the things were that so impressed the Galileans, but contents himself with pointing out that their attitude to Jesus was conditioned by what they had seen in Jerusalem.Morris, L..
[6] 约 2:23 当耶稣在耶路撒冷过逾越节的时候，有许多人看见他所行的神迹，就信了他的名。Joh 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.
[7] 45 When he reached Galilee Jesus was welcomed105 by the Galileans. Large numbers of them habitually went up to Jerusalem at the feasts, and some had been there for the events narrated in 2:13–25. “The Passover feast” (John says only “the feast,” but the Passover is surely meant) is the one mentioned in that passage. Once again we are reminded that Jesus did many things that are not recorded. He cleansed the Temple, but the record is incomplete, as 2:23 plainly shows. It is not John’s purpose to attempt a complete chronicle, but only to select such events and teachings as will bring out his thesis that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (20:31). So now he does not mention what the things were that so impressed the Galileans, but contents himself with pointing out that their attitude to Jesus was conditioned by what they had seen in Jerusalem.Morris, L..
[8] 加利利的拿撒勒城 (太13:53–58; 可6:1–6; 路4:24-30) 与加利利的百农 (太11:23; 可 1:21–26; 2:1–12; 路 4:23) 都拒绝耶稣。 加利利人拒绝耶稣（约6:66）
[9] 除了妇人（4:18）
[10] official. An officer in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee (cf. Matt. 14:1–12; Luke 23:7), since the term refers to one who serves a king. Although the location (Capernaum) and some details of this healing (e.g., gravity of the illness, Jesus’ healing by a word spoken at a distance) resemble those of the cure of a centurion’s servant (Matt. 8:5–13; Luke 7:1–10), the differences (official vs. centurion, son vs. servant, etc.) indicate that the incidents are distinct miracles. The Reformation Study Bible
The Greek word for ‘royal official’, basilikos, sometimes rendered ‘nobleman’, probably refers to someone officially attached to the service of a basileus, a ‘king’—here doubtless referring to Herod Antipas. He was tetrarch of Galilee from 4 BC to 39, AD and not properly a ‘king’ at all; but he was popularly considered one (Mk. 6:14).18 There is no evidence that this official was a Gentile. Unlike the Gentile centurion in Matthew 8:5–13 and Luke 7:2–10 to which he is often compared, it is his son, not his servant, who is at the point of death. Carson, D. A.
. Some exegetes have held that this is a variant of the story of the healing of the centurion’s slave but about the only things in common are some interesting verbal parallels (noted, e.g., by Barrett and Hoskyns), and the healing at a distance. There the man is a centurion and thus a Gentile, here he is in Herod’s service and probably a Jew;107 there the person healed is a slave, here a son; there Jesus speaks his word of power in Capernaum, here in Cana; there the centurion’s faith evokes Jesus’ praise, here the father’s faith is weak; there the centurion asks Jesus not to come to his home, here the father begs him to come. There the illness is paralysis, here a fever. There the elders plead for the man, here he pleads in person.Morris, L. .
[11] there is no evidence that the ‘royal official’ was a Gentile (unlike the centurion in Mt. 8:5–13; Lk. 7:2–10; cf. notes on Jn. 4:46). Here it is the official’s son, not a servant, who is healed.Carson, D. A.
[12] 51–53 As he journeyed116 his slaves (this is the meaning of “servants”) met him with the good news that the lad was well. On inquiring117 when118 the boy “got better”119 he was given a precise time: “yesterday at the seventh hour.” This presents us with something of a difficulty. If John is using the normal method of computing time this will be about one o’clock in the afternoon. But since it is only twenty miles or so between Cana and Capernaum many feel that it is unlikely that the officer would still be on his way as late as this. They suggest accordingly that John was using the alleged Roman time system so that the time meant is 7 p.m. If the man reached Jesus at such a time he might well delay his return until the next day, but, they ask, Why would he do this if the encounter took place in the early afternoon? This suggestion has its attractions, but there are strong objections to the view that John ever uses the “Roman” system (see on 1:39). In the present case the man is expressly said to have believed Jesus, so that his anxiety was relieved and he may have been in no hurry to return. Practical considerations may also have weighed with him, such as the need to rest his horse (he would certainly have ridden the animal hard on the way to Jesus). Or the delay may have been accidental. In any case sunset would bring him into a new day, though admittedly “yesterday” would sound a little strange if used in the evening of an event that had occurred around midday.Morris, L.
[13] If one assumes a fifteen-mile walk and the word of healing being spoken at the seventh hour (1:00 P.M., in 4:52), it is not surprising that the man is met by his servants the day after his son’s healing (4:50–52).Keener, C. S.