提要
我不喜歡今天的鑰節，也不喜歡下面這段話：「人到我這裡來若不恨自己的父母、妻子、兒女、弟兄、姐妹、和自己的性命，就不能作我的門徒。凡不背著自己十字架跟從我的，也不能作我的門徒。」(26~27節)我不喜歡這些話不只因為它們觸犯了我的價值觀，也因為如照著字面來看，它們似乎不合乎耶穌的性格。
我說它們不合耶穌的性格是有理由的。首先，耶穌很重視聖經，包括十誡──而其中一誡說。「當孝敬父母」。其次，耶穌也很看重小孩，祂說：「讓小孩子到我這裡來……」。耶穌尊重天父的命令：「教導孩童他們當行的路」。如果你拋棄自己的孩子，又如何教導他當行的路呢？
很明顯的，耶穌在這裡是按著祂往常的習慣，像一個好猶太教師一樣，用誇張法來強調祂的重點。祂使人們因著驚訝而明白祂的意思。而耶穌這段話的重點就是要祂的門徒將上帝和祂的國擺在第一位（「你們要先求祂的國和祂的義」），將個人的事擺在第二位[「這些東西都要加給你們了」(太6:33)]。
耶穌深愛我們的靈魂，但也因著愛，祂十分在乎我們的不忠。別欺騙祂。
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Overview
I don’t like those words in the key verse. Nor do I like these words: “if anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be My disciple. And anyone who does not his carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple” (vv.26, 27 NIV). I dislike them, not just because they offend my values, but also because they seem out of character with Jesus, if taken at face value.
I say “out of character” for a number of reasons. First of all, Jesus had a high view of scripture, which included a high view of the ten commandments – one of which says, “Honor your father and mother…” Secondly, He had a high view of children – “suffer the little children to come unto Me…” Jesus respected the word of His Father which commands us to “train up a child in the way he should go…” –so how do you do this if you have deserted the child?
Obviously, Jesus was doing here what He often did as was the custom of a good Semitic teacher: He used exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. He shocked people into seeing the point. The point here was simply that Jesus expects His disciples to put God and His kingdom first (“seek first the kingdom of heaven, and its righteousness…”), and personal concerns second (“…and all these things will be added unto you” – Matt.6:33).
He’s a lover of our souls, but He’s a jealous lover. Don’t cross Him.
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