Miracle is all about faith X 神蹟是從零到一的信心

在最近讀聖經的過程中我漸漸發現一件有趣的事情，神蹟關乎我們有多少的信心。而我的領受是從經文而來的。

I have been reading the bible and I found out something interesting that Miracle is about how much faith you have.

那時群眾圍繞著耶穌，耶穌繼續講論說：「這時代的人多麼邪惡呀！他們竟要求看神蹟，可是除了約拿的神蹟，再沒有別的神蹟給他們看了。約拿怎樣成為尼尼微人眼中的神蹟，人子也要同樣成為這一代人眼中的神蹟。(路加福音 11:29-30)

And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30)

在這個段落裡面我們可以看到在英文的版本中，Sign這個字取代了神蹟，這時你心裡會有疑問說，為什麼要這樣做? 有那些不一樣在其中。很明顯的Sign的意義告訴了我們一個神蹟很重要的功能，就是去指引人們的方向同時指點迷津的作用。但是在神蹟兩個字裡面，我們可能看不到這樣的作用，而單純認為是神在地上所做的超自然並且科學無法解釋的工作。

In this paragraph, we can see that the word “sign” is used instead of “miracle”, so the question might have already come up to you. Why does it use the word “sign” and what is the difference there? Obviously, the meaning of "sign" is to show people the way which is a considerable feature of a miracle. By saying “miracle” could possibly mislead people by seeing that it’s an unexplainable work by the divine emissary.

當我們再說Sign的時候，是指著一個可以帶領我們到耶穌面前的記號，耶穌會拒絕這些人是因為他們的心眼是瞎的。他們需要先悔改才能挪去那塗在他們心上的油，也才能夠因此有信心在他們裡面，所以約拿所帶給尼尼微城悔改的神蹟會是他們首先需要的，就像是我們在認識信仰進入基督教的順序是認識神，悔改認罪接受耶穌，進而受洗一樣。

When people said they want a sign, they meant a sign which could lead us to believe in Jesus. Jesus refused their demand because he knew these people’s heart was blind. They had to repent first in order to have faith, so Jesus replied them that the sign of Jonas the prophet should be the sign to help them find the way to the truth before any others do.

這段在馬太福音13:54-58的經文則告訴了我們有沒有信心對於耶穌是否有做工是很重要的，這邊是「有」跟「無」的差別。

Here are the verses which show the importance of the faith in Jesus’ mighty work in Matthew 13:54-58. This is the matter of how having faith or having no faith affect Jesus’ mighty work.

回到自己的家鄉。他在會堂裏教導人；聽見的人都很驚訝，說：「他從哪裏得到這樣的智慧？他還行神蹟呢！這個人不是那木匠的兒子嗎？他的母親不是馬利亞嗎？雅各、約瑟、西門，和猶大不都是他的弟弟嗎？他的妹妹們不都住在我們這裏嗎？他這一切本領究竟從哪裏來的呢？」於是他們厭棄他。 耶穌對他們說：「先知在本鄉本家外都受人尊重。」因為他們不信，他在那裏沒有行很多神蹟。

And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

先把重點放在「不信」兩個字上面。這邊還有另一處經文在馬太福音14:26-33，是關乎信心在神的路標中的作用～～「小信」跟「大信」的差別。

Put the emphasis on the word “unbelief.” Also, here’s another place about what faith does in a sign in Matthew 14:26-33 which shows us the difference between “little faith” and “big faith.”

門徒看見他在海面上走，就驚慌了，說：「是個鬼怪！」便害怕，喊叫起來。耶穌連忙對他們說：「你們放心，是我，不要怕！」彼得說：「主，如果是你，請叫我從水面上走到你那裏去。」耶穌說：「你來吧。」彼得就從船上下去，在水面上走，要到耶穌那裏去；只因見風甚大，就害怕，將要沉下去，便喊著說：「主啊，救我！」耶穌趕緊伸手拉住他，說：「你這小信的人哪，為甚麼疑惑呢？」他們上了船，風就住了。在船上的人都拜他，說：「你真是上帝的兒子了。」

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

在這邊我們可以看到明顯的差別，不信的人失去機會親眼見到耶穌偉大的工作。就像是一條通往神的路徑，第一步我們要悔改，也就是約拿的神蹟這個Sign指示我們要做的；第二步則是門徒在大風大浪的船上遇到的，耶穌對正在下沉的彼得說:「你這小信的人哪，為什麼疑惑呢?」，神對那些相信祂的人施行神蹟。最終，行在水面上並且平靜風和浪的Sign引領門徒們歸向耶穌，在祂面前下拜尊祂為神的兒子。

Here, we can see the difference. People of unbelief lost the chance of seeing the mighty works. It is a path that all people start as a sinner and the first step toward God is to repent which is done by the sign of Jonas the prophet. The second step is the sign of Jesus which disciples had encountered on the boat in the boisterous sea. Jesus said unto the sinking Peter “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Jesus showed the mighty work to disciples who had even little faith in him. Eventually, disciples led by the signs and believed in Jesus that he is the son of god.

對每一個人來說，神從創世以來已經設立了一條通往祂的道路給我們，讓我們藉著耶穌來到祂面前。雖然不同的人有不同的道路，但是身為罪人我們都應該先悔改我們的罪，進而對耶穌有信心，當我們即使只有微小的信心時，神也會像對彼得那樣的向我們伸手，我們只要給耶穌一個機會在大風大浪中與你一同行在水面。最終祂會向你展現祂是真正神的兒子。

For everyone, it is a path set for us to believe in Jesus. With different peoples, we have different paths, but we all have to repent of our sin first and then have faith in Jesus. Give him a chance to help you in the boisterous sea. At last, he will show us he is truly the son of God.