ﾊﾞｲﾌﾞﾙｸﾗｽが行われました

Bible class on Saturday March 7^th,2015

 

今日のバイブルクラスは少し少ない３名でマタイによる福音書の２４章の後半（23節から51節まで）を学びました。

使用しているテキストThe Message にはThe Arrival of the Son of Man「人の子の到来」というサブタイトルが付いています。この箇所のはじめの部分は前の箇所The Monster of Desecration「神を冒涜する怪物」に引き続き、世の混乱の時に数多く発生するであろう偽メシアや偽預言者に対する警告です。

23-25：その仕業（偽メシア・偽預言者）は、「まばゆいばかりのパフォーマンスで、分別ある人の目さえも騙してしまう。」と記されています。しかし本物の救い主であり、ご自身の再臨を予告するイエスはその時をこう示されました。26-28：「一瞬の稲妻のように来る」。では肝心なその日、その時とはいつなのか？36：「・・・それは誰も知らない。天使も、御子も同様である。」とあります。

「・・・え～っ、それではその日（終末・再臨）に対して備えようがない！」「いつどのように準備して良いのかわからない！」という素直な思いにとらわれてしまいそうになりますが、The Message曰く、「今でしょう！」でした。

39-44：You have no idea
what day your Master will show up.「あなた方は、主の再臨がいつかを知らない。」が二度繰り返されていますが、その間に次のメッセージが記されています。Be vigilant just like that　：（この主人のように）油断なく気をつけていなさい。この油断なく気をつけているという行為や態度は具多的に何かについて皆さんと話し合いました。

神様への絶対の信頼、賛美、祈り、証し、希望、主にある交わり（愛餐）などの意見がありました。これらすべて福音の力によって働く霊に対する私達の呼応です。

今日は改めて教会は終末の時に備える霊に集められた共同体であることを認識しました。

 

Matthew 24 The Message (MSG)

 

The Arrival of the Son of Man

 

23-25 "If anyone tries to flag you down,
calling out, 'Here's the Messiah!' or points, 'There he is!' don't fall for it.
Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their
impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the
eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I've given you fair
warning.

 

26-28 "So if they say, 'Run to the country
and see him arrive!' or, 'Quick, get downtown, see him come!' don't give them
the time of day. The Arrival of the Son of Man isn't something you go to see. He
comes like swift lightning to you! Whenever you see crowds gathering, think
of carrion vultures circling, moving in, hovering over a rotting carcass. You
can be quite sure that it's not the living Son of Man pulling in those crowds.

 

29 "Following those hard times,

 

Sun will fade out,

   
moon cloud over,

Stars fall out of the sky,

   
cosmic powers tremble.

 

30-31 "Then, the Arrival of the Son of Man!
It will fill the skies--no one will miss it. Unready people all over the world,
outsiders to the splendor and power, will raise a huge lament as they watch the
Son of Man blazing out of heaven. At that same moment, he'll dispatch his
angels with a trumpet-blast summons, pulling in God's chosen from the four
winds, from pole to pole.

 

32-35 "Take a lesson from the fig tree.
From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know
summer's just around the corner. So it is with you: When you see all these
things, you'll know he's at the door. Don't take this lightly. I'm not just saying this for some future generation, but for all of
you. This age continues until all these things take place. Sky and earth will
wear out; my words won't wear out.

 

36 "But the exact day and hour? No one
knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.

 

37-39 "The Arrival of the Son of Man
will take place in times like Noah's. Before the great flood everyone
was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded
the ark. They knew nothing--until the flood hit and swept everything away.

 

39-44 "The Son of Man's Arrival will be
like that: Two men will be working in the field--one will be taken, one left
behind; two women will be grinding at the mill--one will be taken, one left
behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will
show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known
what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his
dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like
that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.

 

45-47 "Who here qualifies for the job of
overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers
on time each day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always
find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won't be
long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation.

 

48-51 "But if that person only looks out
for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases--abusing the
help and throwing drunken parties for his friends--the Master is going to show
up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He'll end up in the dump with
the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering."

 

レポート後期：

このイエスが教える終末と再臨の物語に学び、それを確かな前提として人もその集合体である国家もその時に備えて真摯に生きるならば、人間と国家の間の問題である戦争は、神に祝福される行為の基である忍耐や寛容、慈悲や謙虚さで十分に回避可能な領域に在る問題であると確信しました。

 

本福音書の物語はさらにイエスの十字架に近づきます。次回のマタイによる福音書25章でもイエスは譬えを用いて再臨や最後の審判について私達に語りかけます。折しも今レントの（受難節）の時、十字架の主の御苦しみと深い愛を覚えつつ学びたいと思います。次回は4月4日（イースター前日）の午後3時からです。