QT 24/12/2024 Tue. Christmas Message 06. A different kind of King. 与众不同的王.
QT 24/12/2024 Tue. Christmas Message 06. A different kind of King.
READ http://www.esvbible.org/zech9:9-10
Zechariah 9:9–10 The Coming King of Zion
[9] Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (ESV)
[10] I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth. (ESV)
A few hundred years before Jesus Christ, Alexander the Great was known to have conquered vast areas of the Middle East till there was, to his dismay, no more land to conquer. Yet with every step of his conquest, more blood was shed at every step.
The prophet Zechariah, however, pointed his readers to an alternative, a different kind of king. Firstly, the residents of Zion and Jerusalem, were to envisage their king firstly to be "righteous and having salvation", instead of more deaths and killings upon a conqueror's conquest (like Alexander).
As Jesus entered Jerusalem on the week of his crucifixion (Matt 21:1–5, alluding to Zechariah 9:9), the mode of transport was not a war horse, but a donkey. And not only any donkey at that, but "on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (9:9), a very young animal that was not known to be weapons of war.
REFLECTION: What "weapons" do you admire today? What tools are you proud of? Money, sports car, political influence, or military prowess?
In view of this, readers today must understand that the Star of Christmas is a baby born in a manger. Not a prince born in a magnificent palace of an influential family. Unlike a proud and haughty conqueror, this Jesus was born into a poor family in a seemingly insignificant town.
Yet, Zechariah pointed readers to the power of this person he was pointing to—though not holding weapons of war, he is able to somehow cut off the chariots and war horses (9:10). With the cutting off of the bow, he is able to bring peace across large swaths of the earth, from sea to sea, even to the ends of the eart (9:10).
Celebrating this Christmas, message number 6 reminds us that his kingdom was not to be won or maintained just by rely on the usual state of the art military or financial muscle as important and useful as these may be. God's kingdom is to be propagated by his righteousness, salvation and humility. May your Christmas and the following year be filled with this kind of attitude and values of a God pleasing work ethic as we follow this King.
QT 24/12/2024 星期二. 圣诞信息 06: 与众不同的王
http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/zec/1
撒迦利亚 9:9–10 锡安的民哪，应当大大喜乐。耶路撒冷的民哪，应当欢呼。看哪，你的王来到你这里。他是公义的，并且施行拯救，谦谦和和地骑着驴，就是骑着驴的驹子。10 我必除灭以法莲的战车，和耶路撒冷的战马。争战的弓也必除灭。他必向列国讲和平。他的权柄必从这海管到那海，从大河管到地极。
众所周知，在耶稣基督之前几百年，亚历山大大帝征服了中东的大片土地，直到他失望地发现，再也没有土地可以征服了。然而，他征服的每一步都流淌着更多的鲜血。
先知撒迦利亚为他的读者指出了另一种选择，一种与众不同的国王。首先，锡安和耶路撒冷的居民首先要设想他们的王是 “公义的”、是“施行拯救”，而不是在征服者（如亚历山大）征服时造成更多的死亡和杀戮。
耶稣在被钉十字架的那一周进入耶路撒冷时（马太福音 21:1-5，暗指撒迦利亚书9:9），乘坐的交通工具不是战马，而是驴子。而且不只是驴，而是 “骑着驴的驹子”（9:9），一种非常年轻的动物，众所周知不是战争武器。
反思：今天，你欣赏哪些 “武器”？你为哪些工具感到自豪？金钱、跑车、政治影响力，还是军事实力？
有鉴于此，今天的读者必须明白，圣诞之星是一个出生在马槽里的婴儿。而不是一个出生在富丽堂皇的宫殿里的王子。与骄傲自大的征服者不同，这位耶稣出生在一个看似微不足道的小镇的贫困家庭。
然而，撒迦利亚向读者指出了他所指向的这个人的力量--虽然他没有战争武器，但他能够以某种方式切断战车和战马（9：10）。由于弓箭被砍断，他能够在大地上带来和平，从海到海，甚至到天涯海角（9:10）。
在庆祝这个圣诞节的时候，第 6 条信息提醒我们，神的国度不是仅仅依靠最先进的军事或财政力量就能赢得或维持的，尽管这些资源可能是重要和有用的资源。上帝的国度要靠他的公义、救赎和谦卑来传播。愿你们的圣诞节和接下来的一年，在我们追随这位君王耶稣基督的过程中，都能充满这种态度和办事理念。
