12月13日 拯救
12月13日，周六
拯救
那藉着水和血来的就是耶稣基督，不是单用水，而是用水又用血；作见证的是圣灵，因为圣灵就是真理。（约翰壹书5:6）
那位要来的弥赛亚，祂最根本、最重大的使命，就是要把祂的百姓从罪和一切罪的后果的捆绑与奴役中拯救出来。因为人自己的罪，不论男女老少，都活在神的公义忿怒之下，被世界、肉体和魔鬼的权势辖制——不但外在受罪的捆绑，内心也深深受罪的奴役。因此，这位弥赛亚、救主，必须为我们的罪成就挽回祭与赎罪祭，付上赎价，使我们从罪的权势中得释放、得自由。这就是祂伟大而荣耀的任务。
约翰告诉我们，耶稣基督就是这样一位弥赛亚，祂遵照这一使命来到世上，并且已经成就了这救恩。当我们看见祂在约旦河受洗，又看见祂在十字架上的死时，我们就看见祂如何完成了救赎的工作。从某个意义上说，祂的洗礼是祂作为弥赛亚这一身份，公开地展开祂大能服事的起点——祂“藉着水”来到世上、显明自己是弥赛亚。主耶稣基督藉着受洗，主动进入罪人的群体，完全体认了人的罪性状态，替我们背负罪；祂藉着十字架，真正解决了罪，为罪成就了赎罪、挽回了神的忿怒，使我们得以从神的忿怒中被释放，也因此从罪的权势，以及世界、肉体和魔鬼的捆绑中得拯救。
现在我们就能明白，为什么约翰在他的福音书中并没有记载基督的降生。整卷约翰福音一直在强调基督就是弥赛亚、是神的儿子，约翰把焦点定睛在这一点上。因此，他没有记载主耶稣的诞生，却特别记载了祂的受洗。我想，这也帮助了我们更清楚地理解，这里为什么会有这句话：“不是单用水，而是用水又用血。”主耶稣基督并不只是替我们背负罪而已——祂走得更深、更远。祂对付了罪，不是只“藉着水”，也是“藉着血”。祂的受死，是在祂受洗之上绝对不可或缺的补充和完全。
默想主题：
藉着受洗，基督主动进入罪人的群体，完全体认了人的罪性状态，替我们背负罪；祂又藉着十字架，真正解决了罪。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：代下14-15章，启4章
个人灵修：该2章，约3章
December 13, Saturday
DELIVERANCE
This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. (1 JOHN 5:6)
The great business of the Messiah who was to come was to deliver the people from the thralldom and bondage of sin and its consequences. Men and women, as a result of their sin, were under the wrath of God. They needed to be delivered from the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil—the power of sin both inside and outside. So the Messiah, the Savior, had to make expiation for our sin and set us free from its power. This was His great task. And John tells us that Jesus Christ came as the Messiah and has done that, and we see Him doing it as we look at His baptism and as we see His death on the cross. His baptism, in a sense, is the beginning of His power as the Messiah—He came as the Messiah by “water.” Through that He identifies Himself with our sin, and it is upon the cross that He deals with it, expiates it, and delivers us from the wrath of God and therefore from the power of sin and the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Now I think we see why John does not refer to Christ’s birth in his Gospel. He has been pointing to Christ as the Messiah, fixing his attention upon that, that Jesus is the Son of God. So he does not refer to the birth; but he does refer to the baptism. And so I think we see very clearly why it is that we have this phrase “not by water only, but by water and blood.” The Lord Jesus Christ did not merely identify Himself with us and our sins—He went further. He dealt with it not in water only, but also in blood. His death is an absolute essential in addition to the baptism.
A Thought to Ponder: Through His baptism Christ identifies Himself with our sin, and it is upon the cross that He deals with it.