Testing God 試探天主

【天主經系列（一）】
試探天主（谷8:11-13）

按【馬爾谷福音】的時序，法利塞人與耶穌的衝突，在第三章已經到了「與黑落德黨人作陷害耶穌的商討，為除滅祂」的地步（谷3:6）。那時候的耶穌，是一個有本領治病驅魔的「拉比/師傅」，挑戰法利塞人和經師在猶太人心目中的地位。到了第八章，耶穌不但治病驅魔，而且曾在公開場合，即除了門徒以外的其他人面前，平息過風浪（4:35-41），兩次增餅（6:30-44, 8:1-10），這就是今天所讀福音的背景。在法利塞人心目中，耶穌已經不是一個能治病驅魔那麼簡單的「師傅」了，而是一個比洗者若翰更偉大的人物。他是【梅瑟五書】所預言，像梅瑟一樣的那位先知（申18:18）嗎？莫非他就是默西亞嗎？

要驗證並不難！倘若耶穌真是天主派來像梅瑟一樣的先知，他自然像梅瑟一樣，能行來自天上的神蹟，例如分開紅海（出14:19-22）、天降瑪納（16:13-15）、擊石出水（17:5-6）；況且，梅瑟的繼承人若蘇厄，不是曾經命令太陽和月亮停頓在空中一整天（蘇10:12-13）嗎？因此，法利塞人認為，向耶穌要求一個來自天上的徵兆，考驗他，是合情合理和合法的（谷8:11）！

耶穌基督發自心中的嘆息（8:12），是可以理解的。祂珍惜和欣賞法利塞人是「以色列人的師傅」（若3:10），甚至是首領，但他們竟然不能從舊約經典的啟示中，認出耶穌基督就是天主子、默西亞，試問平民百姓，還可以憑甚麼獲得天主的救贖呢？法利塞人祇著眼法律的文字和前人的傳授，忽視了法律的精神，甚至引用法律條文，控訴耶穌不守安息日；日後更設下圈套陷害耶穌…如今法利塞人要求耶穌行神蹟，無疑觸犯了「你們不可試探上主你們的天主，如同在瑪撒試探了祂一樣」（申6:16）的法律。作為「以色列人的師傅」，竟然好像被撒殫附身一樣，試探天主子（瑪4:5-7），豈不令人悲嘆！
天父啊！不要讓我們陷於誘惑。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：michaelckw.blogspot.com

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Testing God (Mark 8:11-13)
[The Lord’s Prayer Series I]

According to the chronology of Mark, the conflict between the Pharisees and Jesus had escalated to the stage of conspiring to put Jesus to death, “The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death” (Mark 3:6). At that time, Jesus was a rabbi that healed and exorcised, challenging the status of the Pharisees and scribes among the Jews. Reaching chapter 8, not only did Jesus heal and exorcise, but He had also calmed a storm at sea (4:35-41), multiplied bread twice (6:30-44; 8:1-10) in public. This is the context of the reading today. In the eyes of the Pharisees, Jesus was not simply a rabbi who healed and exorcised but somebody greater than John the Baptist. Would He be “the prophet like Moses” foretold in the Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 18:18)? Would He be the Messiah?

It is not difficult to verify! If Jesus were the prophet like Moses sent from God, like Moses, He should be able to show them a sign from heaven, such as parting the Red Sea (Exodus 14:19-22); raining down manna (16:13-15) and striking a rock to give water (17:5-6) etc. Look, had Joshua, the successor of Moses, not ordered the sun and the moon to halt halfway across the heavens for an entire day (Joshua 10:12-13)? Therefore the Pharisees thought it reasonable and legitimate to demand a sign from heaven to test Jesus (Mark 8:11)!

It is understandable for Jesus Christ to sigh from the depth of His spirit (8:12). He cherished the Pharisees as “teacher[s] of Israel” (John 3:10), and even leaders. But they were unable to recognize from the revelation in the Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah, with what would Jewish commoners be able to obtain the redemption of God? The Pharisees set their sight on the letters of the Law and the traditions of ancestors and ignored the spirit of the Law. They even made use of the Law to accuse Jesus of failing to observe the Sabbath. Subsequently, they even lay traps to ensnare Jesus … Now that they demanded Jesus to perform miracles, they had breached the law of “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah” (Deuteronomy 6:16). How pitiful it is to see these “teachers of Israel” test the Son of God (Matthew 4:5-7) as if Satan had possessed them!
Heavenly Father! Lead us not into temptation. Amen.