Ministry in Word

Love Is a Beautiful Thing – Part 1

爱是一件美事 – 第一篇

Mark 14:6-9
马可 14:6-9
“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached through-out the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

耶稣说：由他罢！为甚麽难为他呢？他在我身上作的是一件美事。因为常有穷人和你们同在，要向他们行善随时都可以；只是你们不常有我。他所作的，是尽他所能的；他是为我安葬的事把香膏预先浇在我身上。我实在告诉你们，普天之下，无论在甚麽地方传这福音，也要述说这女人所作的，以为记念。

STORY OF LOVE

爱的故事

The Gospel of Mark, chapter 14, verses 1 to 9 recorded a remarkable story of a woman honoring Jesus with an expensive jar of perfume. Since today is Valentine’s Day, I thought it is appropriate to talk about this story, because it is a story about love.
马可福音第十四章一至九节记载了一个异常的故事，是关于一位妇人以一瓶贵重的香膏向耶稣表示爱戴。既然今天是情人节〔瓦伦丁日〕，我觉得讲述这故事是很恰当的，因为那是一个爱的故事。

We have heard of the expression “love is blind”, that is, when people are in love, they are blind to each other’s flaws. When in love she is always beautiful to him and he is always handsome to her. They may not be completely blind; they may know that their beloved are not perfect. But they believe love can transform their beloved into ideal perfection. When people are in love, sometimes they sure behave irrationally. This was what the people thought of the woman in today’s story. They thought that she acted irrationally. Let’s see what she did that made them think so. Here is how the story goes.
我们有听过「爱情是盲目的」这句话，意思是指当人在恋爱中他们看不见彼此的缺陷。在爱中她在他眼中永远是美丽的，而他在她眼中永远是英俊的。他们可能不是完全盲目，他们也许知道他们所爱的人并非完美。不过他们相信爱情能改变他们所爱的人进入理想的完美中。恋爱中的人有时真的表现不合理。这就是人们对今天故事中的妇人的看法，他们认为她的行动不理智。认我们看看她做了什麽使他们有此定论。故事发生如下。



It was 2 days before the Passover, Jesus and His disciples were in the town of Bethany. They were at Simon the Leper’s home for a party. Simon the Leper was probably a leper healed by Jesus, and he entertained Jesus and others at his home. All of a sudden a woman came in carrying an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She went up to Jesus, broke the jar, and poured out this expensive perfume onto Jesus’ head. The perfume made of the extract of this plant called nard must be well known for its high price, because some of the people there were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.”
再过两天就是逾越节了，耶稣与他的门徒来到伯大尼城，他们在长大麻疯的西门家坐席。西门的大麻疯可能得到耶稣的医治，他就在他家里招待耶稣和其他客人。突然间一位妇人进来，带着一玉瓶至贵的真哪哒香膏。她到耶稣跟前，打破玉瓶，把香膏浇在耶稣的头上。这从哪哒植物提链出来的香膏一定是有名的昂贵，因为有几个人心中很不喜悦，说：「何用这样枉费香膏呢？这香膏可以卖三十多两银子周济穷人。」

They rebuked her harshly because they thought she acted unwisely. Why would she use such expensive perfume on Jesus? Why used the whole jar? Why on such occasion? If she wanted to do a good deed, why not sell it and give the money to the poor? They think she acted irrationally.
他们就向那妇人生气因为他们认为她的行动不智为何她要用这般名贵的香膏在耶稣身上呢？为何要用整瓶呢？为何在此场合呢？如果她要做一件好事为何不卖了它，把钱周济穷人呢？

SHE ACTED IMPULSIVELY

她冲动地行了

Yes, the woman acted irrationally because she loved Jesus. She loved Jesus so much that she acted IMPULSIVELY that day. She loved Jesus so much that she came into Simon’s home in the midst of his party without an invitation. Not only that, according to the custom of the time there was no place for a woman at a party. Besides, she didn’t ask for Jesus’ permission to apply the perfume on Him. It was a spontaneous, lavish gift poured upon the Lord’s body out of her love for Him. When a person is in love, it must carry her beyond herself. Oswald Chambers says, “If love is always discreet, always wise, always sensible and calculating, never carried beyond itself, it is not love at all. It may be affection, it may be warmth of feeling, but it has not the true nature of love in it.” It is good and important to know Christ intellectually, but it is also necessary to know Christ emotionally. This is how one’s love for God should be!
对，这妇人无理性地做了这事因为她爱耶稣。她极爱耶稣到当天她冲动地如此行了。她极爱耶稣到她不请自来西门家中的宴会。不单如此，按当时的风俗妇女是不该在宴会中。况且她没有先得到耶稣的许可才浇上香膏。那是出于她对耶稣的爱的自发慷慨的礼物浇在主的身上。当一个人在爱中，会有情不自禁的现象。奧斯瓦爾德章伯斯说，「如果爱是完全慎重，完全智慧，完全合理和计算清楚，永不会情不自禁的话，那就一定不是爱。它可能是感情，它可能是些微感动，但它缺少爱的真缔在其中。」以理智来认识基督是好的也是重要的，但也须耍在感情上认识基督。一个人对神的爱该是如此！

To be continued next week.

下周待续。

May we experience God’s love deeply, know God both intellectually and emotionally. May we love God so much that it carries us beyond ourselves.
愿我们深深地经历神的爱，在理智上和感情上认识神。愿我们爱神爱到情不自禁。

Tom and Tehwan Tso
仲谋与德菀

“The outcome of your faith is the salvation of your souls.” 1Peter 1:9

“信心的果效， 就是灵魂的救恩” 彼得前书1：9