天父乐意让所有寻求祂的人都能看见。

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Luke 18:38

大卫的子孙耶稣啊，可怜我吧！-路加福音18章38节

Some years ago a traveling companion noticed I was straining to see objects at a distance. What he did next was simple but life changing. He took off his glasses and said, “Try these.” When I put his glasses on, surprisingly my blurred vision cleared up. Eventually I went to an optometrist who prescribed glasses to correct my vision problem.

几年前去旅行时，同行的友人发现我要把书本拿得老远才看得见。于是，他做了一件简单但对我影响甚大的事。他把自己的眼镜摘下来递给我，对我说：“试试看吧！”戴上他的眼镜后，我意外地发现原本模糊的视力瞬间变得十分清晰。后来，我去找眼科医师并配了一副眼镜，以矫正视力。

Today’s reading in Luke 18 features a man with no vision at all, and living in total darkness had forced him to beg for a living. News about Jesus, the popular teacher and miracle worker, had reached the blind beggar’s ears. So when Jesus’s travel route took Him by where the blind man was sitting, hope was ignited in his heart. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 38) he called. Though without sight physically, the man possessed spiritual insight into Jesus’s true identity and faith in Him to meet his need. Compelled by this faith, “He shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (v. 39). The result? His blindness was banished, and he went from begging for his living to blessing God because he could see (v. 43).

在今天阅读的路加福音18章中，描述了一个瞎眼的人，生活在黑暗中，并被迫以乞讨为生。这个瞎眼的乞丐已经听闻有关耶稣这位大受欢迎的老师，以及祂施行神迹的消息。所以当这个瞎子知道耶稣行经他所在之处时，心中燃起了希望，便大声呼喊：“大卫的子孙耶稣啊，可怜我吧！”（38节）虽然他双目失明，但他心灵的眼睛却能看出耶稣真实的身分，并且相信耶稣能满足他的需要。这样的信心驱使他“越发喊叫说：‘大卫的子孙耶稣啊，可怜我吧！’”（39节）结果呢？他立刻看见了，不再以乞讨为生，转而跟随耶稣，一路赞美上帝（43节）。

In moments or seasons of darkness, where do you turn? Upon what or to whom do you call? Eyeglass prescriptions help improve vision, but it’s the merciful touch of Jesus, God’s Son, that brings people from spiritual darkness to light.

当你身处黑暗的景况中，你会向何人求助？你会寻求什么？又会呼求谁呢？配戴眼镜固然可以改善我们的视力，但上帝的儿子耶稣慈爱的触摸，却能将你我从属灵的黑暗中，带入光明的国度。

亲爱的天父，求祢开启我们心灵的眼睛，好让我们能清楚看见耶稣是谁，以及祂的大能。

Luke 18:35-43 NIV

18 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

路加福音 18:35-43 

18 耶稣将近耶利哥的时候，有一个瞎子坐在路旁讨饭。 36 听见许多人经过，就问是什么事。 37 他们告诉他，是拿撒勒人耶稣经过。 38 他就呼叫说：“大卫的子孙耶稣啊，可怜我吧！” 39 在前头走的人就责备他，不许他作声，他却越发喊叫说：“大卫的子孙，可怜我吧！” 40 耶稣站住，吩咐把他领过来。到了跟前，就问他说： 41 “你要我为你做什么？”他说：“主啊，我要能看见！” 42 耶稣说：“你可以看见！你的信救了你了。” 43 瞎子立刻看见了，就跟随耶稣，一路归荣耀于神。众人看见这事，也赞美神。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

From the gospel of Mark we learn the blind man’s name is Bartimaeus(10:46). Bible scholar Kenneth Bailey, in Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, tells us that Bartimaeus’s story is best understood in the context of what happens next—Jesus’s encounter with Zacchaeus,the chief tax collector of Jericho (Luke 19). With these two men, Jesus is reaching out to the extremes of the social context of first-century Israel—a blind beggar and a wealthy publican. Christ shows profound grace to both by giving Bartimaeus his sight and bringing salvation to the house of Zacchaeus(19:9–10).

我们从马可福音得知，这个瞎子名叫巴底买（10章46节）。圣经学者肯尼斯·贝利在《中东人眼中的耶稣》一书中指出，要理解巴底买的故事，最好是能一并思想接下来所发生的事，那就是耶稣与耶利哥的税吏长撒该的相遇（路加福音19章）。耶稣遇到这两个人，显示祂接触到第一世纪以色列社会阶级的两个极端：一个是瞎眼的乞丐，一个是富有的税吏。基督让这两个人都领受莫大的恩典，巴底买的眼睛能够看见，而撒该的家得到救恩（19章9-10节）。

A key element that connects these stories is the word son. Bartimaeus calls Jesus “Son of David,” a title identifying Jesus as the Messiah that Israel had longed for. Jesus calls Zacchaeus a “son of Abraham” (v. 9). This was not an ethnic description but an affirmation that Zacchaeus had come to faith (Galatians 3:7). The stories close with Jesus’s self-identification as“the Son of Man”—another title with Messianic implications (Luke 19:10).

连接这两个故事的关键字是“子孙”。巴底买称耶稣为“大卫的子孙”，这表明耶稣是以色列民渴盼已久的弥赛亚。耶稣称撒该是“亚伯拉罕的子孙”（9节），这不是指他的种族，而是肯定撒该已经相信了上帝（参阅加拉太书3章7节）。在这两个故事的结尾，耶稣以“人子”自称，这是另一个有弥赛亚含义的称呼（路加福音19章10节）。

On the cross Christ would complete His work of seeking and saving those who are lost—like Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus, and us.

基督在十字架上完成祂的工作，就是寻找和拯救失丧的人，如巴底买、撒该，以及我们。

整理：于姊妹