It is Christmas time, 快要聖诞节了. And so it would be appropriate if we look at a passage appropriate to this season. 觉得如果我们看了一段经文是跟聖诞节有关系的，这是很好. And that is in Luke chapter 2, verse 34. So I'll ask Brother Joel to read it for us, please.
Now, maybe those last words, you are going to do what? This is not an accurate translation, unfortunately. If you have an English version, you will have a more accurate picture of what's being said. Here it says that He will be a sign that will be spoken against. This word "sign" is the key to this passage. It cannot become just translated into some kind of topic, a kind of talk. And so what it is being said is Jesus Himself will be a sign from God. 所以你說，耶穌會是神給我們的一個標記.
The word "sign" is used very frequently in the Gospels. 在福音裡面，這個標記，這個字，時常用. And so if you look at a concordance, you will be able to see how frequently it is used. The important point is that Jesus came into the world, which we remember at Christmas time, to be a sign from God. A sign is to communicate a message. We have such a thing as sign language. You know, people who are deaf and dumb, they cannot hear what you're saying, so they make signs. This is sign language. That is, it's communicating a message by giving various signals or signs.
And what it's saying in this passage is that Jesus is God's sign. He is communicating a message. Very close to the first words of John's Gospel: in the beginning was the Word. A word is something that conveys a message. But a word is usually an audible message, something that you can hear with your ear. But a sign is an inaudible message, one you cannot hear. You see it, but you cannot hear it. Conveying a visible message to us, for us to see.
And by this sign, many will rise, or many will fall. In fact, first fall, then rise. So it's a very important sign because it determines your whole future, the future being whether you will fall or whether you will rise, or both. Will we rise? Or do we fall?
Now, what is very interesting here is that you have in this passage two elderly people, two old saints. One Simeon and the other Anna. And you remember the beautiful story is that Joseph and Mary come into the temple with the baby Jesus. Just a little baby. And there is the old man Simeon in the temple, and when he sees the baby, he has a lot of things to say about the baby.
Now, there's nothing unusual about babies coming into the temple. 有時候他們沒有人看小孩的，如果你要到聖殿來崇拜，那麼你也帶你的小孩去的. 那麼當然那時候，耶穌不是唯一的嬰孩. 那麼西面這個老人家，他在聖殿裡面時常在哪，他看到很多的嬰孩. 但是當他看到這個嬰孩耶穌的時候，他要講一些話. 他說，我的眼睛看到神的救恩. 老人家你說什麼？這個是小嬰孩，什麼神的救恩呢？
但是他還有別的事要講. 它這裡說，耶穌這個嬰孩是神給我們的一個標記，一個我們可以看到的 sign. And he will determine the future of people. 而他會決定我們將來，whether they will be saved or they will not be saved, depending how they relate to him. 到底他們會得到拯救，還是會滅亡，在乎他們的回應.
這裡他所說的標記是我們回憶所事，很難明白. 這裡說到這個標記是會被他人反對、還是敵對. 很多基督徒，當我們看聖經的時候，我們不看清楚神要跟我們所講的. 我們不知道到底這個標記是什麼. 這裡所說的標記不是每一個人都會跪下來敬拜. 這裡沒說到每一個人都張開手來歡迎耶穌. 反過來，這裡說耶穌是這個世界的救恩，但是很多人會敵對、拒絕他. 他們會攻擊他，他們會抵擋他.
抵擋他到什麼程度呢？這是很難以明白的. 因為以色列國，他們每一個人都正在等待救贖主. 但是這裡西面說，耶穌會給別人敵打、敵對. 很多人會說毀謗他的話. 然後這個西面就跟他的母親說. 大家可以想一下那時候的情景，他們那老人家就是包著耶穌，然後他跟 Mary 說. 瑪利亞，the sword is going to pierce right through your own soul. 這裡說你自己的心也要被刀刺透.
Here in the Greek, a very unusual word for sword is used. 這裡說到這個刀字是一個很特別的字，在原文是一把劍. 在希臘文有兩個字用來描述劍. 路加他用另外一個字來描寫劍這個字五次. But here there is a word used that is used only once in the New Testament outside of the book of Revelation. 但是這個字，劍這裡的這個字只用一次，特別在路加裡面，特別是在啟示錄以外只用過一次. And it is used six times in the book of Revelation. So a total of seven times in the New Testament. 在啟示錄裡面用過六次，那麼在新約裡面一共是用了七次.
I try to determine why a different word for sword is used. 可能這個劍比較寬，那個是兩刃的劍. And it has therefore a handle, a hilt, which makes the sword look like a cross. 看起來像一個鍋，然後劍柄和劍刃就有一個，就好像一個，這個一個鐵，那麼好像看起來好像一個十字架一樣. And what Simeon seems to be saying is, he is hinting at the cross. 其實這裡西面所暗示的就是說到十字架. I think you've often seen a sword and you can see that it does look like a cross. 那麼當你們看到劍的時候，你看到好像一個十字架一樣.
And Simeon is saying that the sword will go through your own soul. 然後他跟瑪利亞說，這個劍會刺透你的心. Wow, that is hardly a very comforting message. You come into the temple to worship God, and some old man starts talking to you about your baby, which sounds good. You know that He is the salvation of Israel, and you would have thought everybody is going to welcome this salvation. 那麼對一個母親來說，這是很難受的. 你帶你的孩子來到聖殿裡面，然後這個老人家就跟你講，說到耶穌就是神的標記，是神的救恩. 但是又說到這個刀，這個劍會刺透你的心.
So hinting that in fact this very incident will cause her exceeding great pain, maybe even her death. 這裡說到可能這個劍刺透到的時候，甚至可能她要死亡了. Well, so now you can see that this sign is going to be spoken against. 這個標記是會被人敵擋的. 神給我們一個標記，但是我們歡迎這個標記嗎？我們接受嗎？不會，我們會敵對、拒絕.
When you look at this word translated as "spoken against" or "rejected" or "opposed," 讓我們看這個字說到敵對這個字. You'll find that in Hebrews chapter 6 verse 16 for example, it is translated as "disputed." That means people speak against it, disputing against it, arguing against it. 在希伯來第六章裡面也有用這個字，就是描述別人就是要用言語來敵對、反對. Say, oh, Jesus, He cannot be the Messiah. He cannot be the Savior. 這裡說他們會說，耶穌不可能是救主.
In Jude chapter 1, in Jude 11, it says it's translated as "rebellion." 那麼在猶大書裡面第十一節說到這個就是一個反叛. So it speaks of Korah's rebellion. That is the word that is used there for rebellion. 說到 Korah 就是摩西的一個兄弟，他反叛.
And then in Romans 10 verse 21, it speaks of Israel as a people who are always disobedient and contradictory, speaking back, talking back. 那麼在羅馬書裡面也說到以色列國，他們是不順服主，而且反叛神的. The opposition against this sign is enormous. 這裡說到敵對，這個敵對的程度是很大的.
Now this point is of exceeding great importance and we must grasp it very well. 這一點我們要很清楚地明白. We certainly do not expect a sign which will help us to identify Jesus as God's Son by this means. 當我們看到這個標記的時候，我們肯定就是不會想到這就是神的兒子. Put it in another way, how would you know that Jesus is God's Son? How do you know He is the Savior of the world? 或者另外一個問題就是你們怎麼可以知道這就是神的兒子，耶穌就是世界的救主呢？
The sign is so unexpected. If you see somebody who is spoken against, who is opposed, who is contradicted, that is the sign. 這個標記不是我們期望的. 這個標記是會被人反對、抵擋的. Have you ever thought of such a sign? 你們想到這樣一個標記呢？
You see so many religious teachers so well accepted. 我們看到很多屬靈的那個領導，他們是很得到別人的接納. 這個好像說，釋迦摩尼，他是每個人都尊敬，每個人都接納，沒有人反對他的. 然後說到摩哈曼在回教裡面，很多人都把他當著好像神一樣去敬拜他. 但是你會說跟耶穌也是一樣呢？That is the problem. 問題就在這裡. That precisely is the problem. 這就是問題.
Do you understand what I'm talking about? 大家明白我所說嗎？Maybe not. 可能不. Let's put it this way. If you meet a person or you hear about a person about whom everybody says bad things. 舉個例子來說，如果你遇到一個人，那個人是每一個人都是敵對他. Let's say me. 就是好像我.
Believe me, the world is full of people who say bad things about me and that's no exaggeration. 在這個社會裡面，有很多人都敵對我，而且說我的壞話. I even can't go to find somewhere in peace where somebody doesn't say something bad about me. 很多時候我去到任何地方，我都沒有這個平安，也找到有人就是講我的壞話. It's not because I want people to say bad things about me. 不是因為我喜歡別人說我的壞話. Does anybody like to be unpopular? 有沒有人喜歡被別人 unpopular？
Even they have never met you before but they heard bad things about you. 甚至他們還沒有見到你，但已經聽到你的壞話，而且不喜歡你了. So a few years ago I thought I will go to a country where surely nobody knows me. 那麼幾年前，我去到一個國家，我想在那裡肯定沒有人認識我吧.
So I went to Costa Rica. Do you know where Costa Rica is? 那麼我去了那個 Costa Rica，知道在哪兒？If I gave you a map, could you point out Costa Rica to me? 給你地圖你知道 Costa Rica 在哪兒嗎？中美. That's right, Central America. So I went there and I said, surely nobody knows me here. 我說在那兒，肯定沒有人認識我了. But I was mistaken, of course. 但是，我錯了.
Because soon it was found that there were those who heard about me and knew what a bad guy I am. 那裡有人已經聽到我了，他們知道，我聽了很多人講我的壞話，他們想我可能是一個壞蛋. Oh, this is the 大壞蛋. You know, not just the 壞蛋. Not only a bad guy. A big, a real bad guy. So immediately there were two groups: one that supported me to some extent, and the other group would strongly maintain that I'm a bad guy. 那裡有兩派. So even in Costa Rica.
Now tell me this. When you hear bad things said about Joel, would you say, oh, I'd like to be your friend, you're such a bad guy? 比如說，如果你聽到人說，哎呀 Joel，Joel 是個大壞蛋. 那麼你會說，哎呀我太幸運了，我是 Joel 的好朋友. Yeah. If you hear bad things about him, even if you know him, you might have some questions. As they say, without fire there's no smoke, right? So it must be something about this guy. 如果你聽到別人說我的壞話，甚至你認識我的，可能你心裡面也有很多的疑問，你想沒有火哪裡有煙呢.
So even if you met him, you would have suspicion. This guy, I have to be careful. 如果你遇到我，你也要小心. 近我三，遠我三.
Now do you understand what I'm getting at? 大家明白我想跟大家講的嗎？When everybody is saying bad things about Jesus, how could you want to believe in Him? 當每一個人都在敵對、反對耶穌，為什麼所有的人都要信他的呢？The same thing about the church. If you hear so many bad things about the church, why are you going to attend that church? 就好像如果你聽到一個教會是不好的，你為什麼會到哪兒去敬拜神呢？
This is what "speaking against" means. It is He will be a sign that people will reject, will argue against, will oppose, contradict. 這裡說到耶穌就是這個標記，會被人反對、抵擋、攻擊的.
Now this raises a major problem for faith. If salvation depends on faith in Him, and everybody says bad things about Him, how are you going to believe? 這裡講到說到一個很重要的問題，就是信心. 那麼如果我們是憑信心得救了，那麼現在每個人都講耶穌的壞話，我們怎麼相信耶穌呢？
Well, our problem is easy today, is it not? 我們現在的情況很容易的. Who's speaking bad about Jesus? 有誰講耶穌的壞話呢？Hardly anybody. 沒有什麼人嗎？So what happens is we have a major difference between the situation in the New Testament and the situation today. 那麼問題就在這裡，我們現在的情況跟新約時候的情況是完全相反.
It's easy to believe today because who's speaking against Jesus? 今天要相信耶穌是很容易，沒有人敵對耶穌. But that raises a problem. If the situation is different today, 那麼今天我們的信心也是不同.
You see, when I am a bad guy and somebody says, I hear all these bad things about you, but I trust you anyway. Wow, that is something. 就比如說有人聽到，聽了別人講我很多的壞話，那麼他說很多人講你的壞話，但是我還是信任你. 這就不同了. But when I become popular, when I am something important and everybody respects me, what faith do you need? 但是如果我是很出名的，我是很重要的，每個人都要跟我結交，那麼相信我的、信任我的有什麼特別.
For example, in Hong Kong, the opposition to me is fading away. 在香港我所受的敵對慢慢地就減少了. And the reason is that many of the leaders, the church leaders in Hong Kong, begin to express that they don't oppose what I teach. 那麼開始在香港教會的那些領導，他們現在就表明他們不再敵對我所教導的. In fact, they express agreement on major points. 他們甚至還表示贊同，特別是在一些重要的那個原則.
For example, recently a sister from Hong Kong went to Australia and attended one of our churches there. 比如說近來有一個姊妹來到澳洲我們的一個教會. And she was a member of a church where the pastor is a very famous pastor in Hong Kong. 那麼他是從一個，他的教會，他的牧者是一個很出名的牧師. And she wrote back to her church, 他就寫信給他的教會, and asked about our church and about me. 然後他就問我們教會的背景.
The reply she got was, that's a good church, by all means feel free to attend it. 那麼他得到的答案就是，啊，這個是一個好的教會，你可以在哪裡聚會. That's very surprising. 那麼對他來說參加我們教會，這不困難，因為他的母教也這樣告訴他，贊成他可以.
So what would have been different would be this. No matter what her church at home would have said, if she had come to our church, listened for herself, observed, examined the scripture, and said, this church stands on the word of God, I will stay here, even if others oppose. 如果轉過來就是說，如果他不論他的母教跟他講什麼，但是他來到我們在 Australia 的教會，他聽了教導，他看到的一切，然後他決定不論母教是怎麼說，他也會決定來參加我們的聚會. 那就不同了.
The point is that we always like to see whether other people approve or don't approve of this person or this church. 這裡我想說的就是我們很喜歡要看別人是贊同的還是不贊同的. We cannot make our own decision. 我們不可以自己做決定.
So what has happened now is people begin to become favorable to me for one reason only: the opposition against me in Hong Kong is dying down. 那麼現在很多人對我都很友善，因為在香港抵擋我的慢慢地也減少了. Let me tell you this. You know your true friends when you are under attack. 那我告訴大家，我們知道那個是我們的好朋友，當我們被攻擊的時候. When you are attacked and everybody runs from you, you also know what kind of friends you have. 當你受到攻擊而你的朋友全部離棄你的，你就知道你的朋友是怎麼樣.
當耶穌給抓了要去釘十字架，他所有的門徒都離棄他. In the time of attack, you really know who is who. 當你受攻擊的時候，你就會知道誰是你的朋友. I have good opportunity to find out. 我有很多機會來認認誰是我的朋友.
Now this is the point. What I want to say is something exceedingly important regarding faith. 這是一個很重要的一點，就是特別說到我們對神的信心. For it raises the question whether our faith is after all a New Testament faith or not. 特別這裡說到到底我們的信是聖經裡面新約所說的信.
We are saved by faith, right? 我們得救是憑信. And Luther wanted to say we are saved by faith alone, right? 甚至路德他要說我們只是但憑信心得救. The question is, what kind of faith? 那麼問題就是這個信是怎麼樣的信呢？
And what we have here is something of the greatest importance. Because it is saying this: 我們這裡所看到的是很重要的，因為這裡所說的就是, that is, if you believe in Jesus when He is being opposed, when He is being rejected, that is faith. 這裡所說的就是你信耶穌，當他是被攻擊、反對的，這就是信. But today you believe in Jesus. Why? Because there are hundreds of millions of believers today. 但是這個時代我們信耶穌，因為有一百萬、一千萬的人都是信耶穌的.
Everybody believes in Jesus, so what's so difficult? 如果我們要舉手和做你的承諾有什麼困難呢？What happens in the situation, 當你被帶到一個基督的家，然後你只供依照你的父親，然後變成一個基督教的背景，然後你是跟從你父母的，他們是基督徒，你也信耶穌. 可能在學校也有你的同學他們反對你，但是主要你的父母他是基督徒.
So as Christian parents, we are faced with a serious problem. 那麼對基督徒，身為基督徒的父母，他們面對很大的問題、困難. That is, how genuine is the faith of your children? 就是到底你自己的孩子他們的信是多純潔呢？Maybe that my child believes in Jesus because she respects me and trusts me completely. 就可能我的女孩，他對我，他信耶穌是因為他尊敬我. Is that the New Testament faith? That is the problem here. 這是不是新約的信呢？
Because there is no contradiction against Jesus that needs to be overcome. 這裡沒有什麼矛盾就是要敵對耶穌，沒有什麼困難. Because at least in our home, she does not find any contradiction against Jesus. Jesus is always exalted. 因為對我女孩來說，在我家裡面耶穌是沒有被抵擋的，耶穌是高高在上. And even if other people contradict Him, it's not important, because the people she really respects uphold Him. 甚至別的人抵擋耶穌也不要緊，因為他所尊敬的人是高舉耶穌的. 別人的意見對他來說不重要，但是他父母的意見是最重要.
Now unless we grasp this situation and you grasp this situation, you may not have a New Testament faith in Jesus. 所以這裡除非你們清楚這一點，不然的話你們可能沒有新約裡面所說的信. There may be other people even in our church or in our teams who follow Jesus mainly because of respect for me. 可能在我們教會甚至在同工裡面有很多人他們跟從主是因為他尊敬我. But if they change their opinion about me, they may change their opinion about Jesus. 那麼可能如果他們對我的看法改變了，那麼他們對耶穌的看法也改變. In other words, their faith is dependent on man. 這裡是要說他們的信心是在乎人.
For example, recently I got an email 近來我收到一個 email from a co-worker 是一個同工寄來的, who told me how much the recent attack upon me and on the church here in Montreal affected her. 那麼這個同工就告訴我，近來教會所受的一切的敵對、敵黨怎麼去影響她對我的看法. And she said the problem was this, that it affected her faith in God. 甚至她告訴我影響她對神的信. When she heard the contradiction, the attack on me, it shook her faith in God, and she nearly collapsed spiritually. 當她聽到別人攻擊我的時候，她的信心被動搖，然後她差點就是也是放棄她的信心.
So here comes again back to the question: on what is your faith founded? When we come to this Christmas time and we are talking about this sign from God, can you accept that sign? 當我們接近這個聖誕節日的時候，我們要想到底我們的信是在乎什麼，到底是不是在乎神所給我們的標記.
Or is your faith, the reason you come to church, the reason you got baptized, the reason you believe, because you said, well, I like these Christians, they are nice people, they love one another, I like to be one of them? 或者你成為一個基督徒因為你看到教會很好啊，這裡所有的基督徒都很好啊，我想好像他們一樣，那麼我就信主了. Is that New Testament faith? 這是新約的信呢？
The only faith that is spoken of here in the New Testament is a faith that can believe in Jesus when everybody contradicts Him, everybody else rejects Him, I believe. 新約裡面所說的信就是當別人攻擊耶穌、抵擋他的時候，我還是要信耶穌. That is a miracle. 這就是一個神蹟. If you believe in Jesus because everybody else believes, that's commonplace. Any psychologist can explain that. 如果我們信耶穌因為每一個人都信他，那麼那個是很明顯的、很容易，那麼那個心理學家也知道.
In a Christian country, everybody is Christian, you just follow the crowd. You don't need faith. 在一個基督徒為基督教為國教的一個國家裡面，信主是很容易. To describe this as faith, a saving faith, is not the New Testament definition, is it? 如果說這就是可以拯救我們的信，這不是新約裡面所說的信.
To believe is to believe in the face of contradiction. That is the message here. 這裡所說我們信，甚至當我們受到敵對或者耶穌被攻擊敵對. Even more astonishing, we identify the object of faith, in this case Jesus, by the fact that He is rejected. We know He is true precisely because He is rejected. 而更進一步我們知道這是神的標記，就是當耶穌被敵對、拒絕的時候，我們還是要信他.
Here is the sign. Here is the signal from God. If you want to know who to believe in, look around and see who is rejected. That is the object of faith, Jesus Himself. 那麼如果你想看我要信那一位神呢，那麼你要四周地看，到底那一位神是被人抗拒敵對的，那位就是正神.
I'm talking about a person, not sitting here. Jesus as a person.
So now the other important factor we have to bear in mind is who was rejecting Jesus, who was speaking against Jesus. 另外一個很重要的問題我們要看，到底誰敵對耶穌. When you read your Bible, are you listening, are you seeing what is there? 當你讀聖經的你看到聖經所講的嗎？Today we read it as a Christian book, 今天我們這個時候我們看的就是一個基督教的一本書, where everybody supports Jesus. 很多人都是擁護耶穌. But that's not what is being said. 但是聖經裡面不是這樣講. 聖經裡面說，耶穌是被所有的人拒絕.
讓我給你們一些證據. 在馬太福音看看誰是抗拒耶穌，而他們所說的是什麼. 這裡說到文士. 文士這裡說他們熟悉神的法律、神的話語，整個話語. The whole word of God. They were lawyers because the Old Testament, the main part of the Old Testament was called the law. 他們是文士因為他們特別在熟悉舊約、神的話語，特別說到神的律法. The first five books of Moses are described as the law, the books of the law. 那麼舊約前五本書是摩西所寫的，就是說神的律法. 這些文士對律法是很熟悉的. Isn't their opinion very, very important? 你講他們的意見是不是很重要了？
What do they say? They say for example in Matthew chapter 9 verse 3, that Jesus is a blasphemer. He blasphemes. 在馬太福音裡面他說耶穌是褻瀆神的. Now that's a very serious charge coming from somebody who is a Bible expert. 這是很嚴重因為這是文士所講的.
Now the Pharisees. They were a group of very religious, 很虔誠、很忠誠的人. 那麼法利賽人他們是很虔誠的人. And they were the major group of people who oppose Jesus. 他們是最大一半人，敵對耶穌的最大一半人. So in Matthew chapter 9 verse 3 for example, and then also in chapter 10 verse 25, chapter 12 verse 24. What do they say about Jesus? They say something very, very serious. 那麼在馬太福音很多地方他們怎麼講耶穌呢？耶穌趕鬼，他是憑什麼能力呢？他是憑鬼王的能力，他們講了很多次.
Now their opinion in Israel was very, very important because they formed a large and very devoted group of people. They consider themselves very devoted to God. 這些人，法利賽人，他們在以色列的位置是很特殊的，他們是很屬靈、很虔誠的，所以他們所說的話是很有分量. In fact in chapter 10 verse 25, they actually say that Jesus Himself is not only a demon, but is a prince of demons, the king of demons. 甚至在馬太福音第十章祂不但只說耶穌是憑鬼王的能力來趕鬼，耶穌本人就是鬼王.
Now for you, the opinion of Pharisees and lawyers, scribes may not be important. 可能對我們來說這些文士、法利賽人他們的意見對我們來說不重要. But among the people of Israel, their opinion was the most important. 但是對以色列人來說那時候這些人的意見是最重要. The common people don't understand the Bible. 平常的人他們不明白聖經所說的. So they had to look to their religious leaders. 當然他們要跟随他們屬靈的領導. 但是這些屬靈領導文士、那些法利賽人他們都是屬靈的領導.
And they say, not just some ignorant fellow down there, but the whole group of them, not just one or two, but the whole group of them say: Jesus, whatever He does, He does by the power of the devil. 那麼這半人不只是一個人，是整隊人，全部的人都是指責耶穌，而且說他所做的一切都是憑鬼王的能力. Now of course the people are deeply influenced by this. 當然民眾受到影響.
And we can see that also in chapter 11 and verse 19, where the crowds also speak against Jesus, saying that well He is a glutton. Oh, many charges now brought. He is a drunkard, and He is a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Now notice they do not dare to bring spiritual charges because they are not experts in spiritual things. That they have to leave to their leaders. But they accuse Him of being a glutton, that is somebody who likes to eat a lot of food. A drunkard, somebody who drinks a lot of wine. And He mixes with all the wrong people. 那麼在馬太十一章民眾也開始就指責耶穌，當然他們不敢在屬靈方面指責他，但是也是說他貪吃貪喝啊，他們更順利和罪人做朋友.
But the attack against Jesus was relentless.
# A Sign for the Lord Jesus Being Spoken Against (Part 2)
But the attack against Jesus goes even to the highest levels. To the highest level. And that is, for example, the high priest in Matthew 26, 65. The high priest, that is the highest person in the religious life of Israel. He describes Jesus as a blasphemer. 那麼在聖殿大祭司，是以色列最大屬靈的領導，他也說耶穌是褻瀆神的. Now whose opinion is more important than the high priest? 誰的意見還比這個大祭司重要？
It's like for the Roman Catholic. If the Pope says that somebody is a blasphemer, that is final, that settles everything. So it goes further in Matthew 27, verse 63. It says that the chief priests, that is all the priests under the high priest, and together with the Pharisees, declare Jesus to be an imposter, that is a false person. That is the very devil himself. 還有什麼可以攻擊耶穌的嗎？其實這裡講得很明白，耶穌就是鬼王，他就是魔鬼.
Interestingly, I was almost accused of exactly the same thing. 也很奇怪，我差不多也是這樣被人攻擊的. So here you can say what did they say against Jesus, and who said it? 那麼這裡我們看到誰攻擊耶穌，而且他們所說的話是怎麼樣的.
And then it raises the question, what about Jesus' followers? 然後這裡我們又想到，對於主的門徒又怎麼樣了. Well, if only the outside people attack Jesus, then it's okay. Maybe here's a small group of disciples who are all blind to the reality, and they follow Him blindly. 那麼可能我們說在外面他人怎麼攻擊他也不要緊呢？可能在裡面跟隨祂的全部都是盲目的.
Unfortunately, that was not the case either. 但是事情不是這樣. You see that in John chapter 6 and verse 66, in that even when He said some of the things they couldn't take it, they rejected Him. 在約翰福音第六章裡面，說到耶穌的一些教導，甚至他的門徒也不會接受，他們也抗拒耶穌. So they left Him. 他們離開耶穌.
And you can imagine when they left Jesus and people said, hey, weren't you following Jesus before? 那麼你可想像別的人就說，哎，你以前是跟隨耶穌的嗎？那為什麼你現在又不跟隨他呢？Do you think they will say nice things about Jesus? 你想他們會說一些好話嗎？為耶穌說好話嗎？What kind of explanation would they give? 他們會給什麼理由呢？
Well, I was deceived. I was cheated. Or Jesus did not live up to my expectation. They have to find something to say why they don't follow Jesus anymore. 當然他們要找到一些理由、借口，就好像說，哦，我受騙了，或者耶穌不是我想像裡面那樣. So they also would have to speak bad against Jesus, wouldn't it? To justify their departure from Him. 當然他們要離開耶穌，他們也要講耶穌的壞話.
As though all this is not yet enough. 這還不夠. One of His hand-picked men, one of the twelve. 那麼十二個使徒裡面的一個. Not only said bad things about Him, that would have not been that serious even compared to what He actually did. 不但只是說祂的壞話. He sold Jesus to the enemies. 祂出賣耶穌. For a very small amount of money, thirty pieces of silver. To show how much He thought of Jesus, worth thirty pieces of silver, the amount you pay for a slave. 把耶穌交給他的敵人，就是以一個三十兩銀子的，就是賣了耶穌。就是這個三十兩銀子，就是賣個奴隸的價錢.
And you can see all Jesus' enemies rubbing their hands and say, you see, what did we tell you? This guy is a bad guy. Even His disciples abandoned Him. 他們可想像這些屬靈的領導他們怎麼說，啊，我告訴你，這個就是壞蛋了。甚至祂的門徒也不信祂，出賣了.
One of His hand-picked men, not just any of the disciples, but one of the twelve, the closest circle, they also reject. This one also rejects Him, and even sends Him to His death. 不是一個平常的門徒。而這個門徒、使徒，是耶穌親手揀的。他是出賣耶穌。而且就是要致耶穌於死地.
Simeon was right after all, wasn't He? 所以這裡剛才我們看到那老人家西面，他講的是對. Everything He said was true. 他所講的全部都是對. A sign that everybody rejects from the high priest at the top to the crowds below. 所以說這個目標、這個標記是每一個人都敵對、反對的，從高層到最低層的。甚至祂最親近的使徒之中，one of these disciples that was living with Him for two and a half years at least. 而這個人曾經是跟祂一起生活的. Who knew Him through and through. He 認識耶穌. Or at least so it was thought He did. 可能他以為他認識耶穌吧. 他出賣耶穌.
How can you believe in such a Jesus? Let me ask you, how can you believe when everybody rejects Him? 如果每個人都反對、抗拒耶穌的，那麼你又怎麼去信耶穌呢？Is it because you haven't really even considered the facts? 可能你也不知道這件事情. Did you not realize that Jesus was the sign spoken against and still is? 你知不知道耶穌其實還是一個被反對、敵對的標記呢？
當然這些敵對慢慢也減少了，因為很多人是信耶穌的。當我最近在美國，我看到一本基督教書。那麼那個書名就明顯地吸引了我。Jesus the Magician. 這裡說耶穌魔術師。Wow, that's an interesting title. 這是一個很特別的書名. Written by nobody? 是一個不出名的人寫的。No, it's written by a professor at Columbia University. 不是，是一個在 Colombia 一個教授寫的. And he says that Jesus did all His miracles through magic. 他說耶穌的所有的他所行的神蹟都是魔術的.
Is your faith beginning to shake now? 你的信開始動搖了嗎？Maybe you don't care about the Pharisees and the high priest, but the professor from Columbia, I mean, his words you have to take seriously. 可能我們不理法利賽人他們的意見，但是那個 Colombia 的教授所說的重要吧. Jesus is just a magician. 耶穌是個巫師.
And he tries to show that these kinds of techniques were used by the Egyptians and so on and so forth, Jesus used. 然後他書裡面說了很多他要證明耶穌是怎麼樣用巫術、魔術來做他的神蹟. And then recently I looked in another bookshop and what do I see there? And there is a book which calls Jesus the Heretic. Oh, this is getting better all the time. 就是另外我看到一本書呢，書名就是說耶穌是一個異端份子. Big thick book, not some small pamphlet. 很厚的一本書. You dare to read such a book? 你敢看這些書嗎？Oh, your faith would go down the drain. 可能一看了之後你的信心就沒有了.
Some of us who have to study theology, let me tell you, the stuff we have to study will astonish you. 對那些要讀神學的來講，我們要讀神學是有很多的那個資料，神學資料是很困難的. In fact, many people who study theology in England as I did, they lost their faith. 很多人讀神學之後，他們就失掉他們的信心. 為什麼呢？因為我們要讀那些資料是反對基督教的. And some of them are written by brilliant philosophers. 有些材料是一些很出名的哲學家寫的. That we have to study. 我們要讀這些.
很奇怪，I quite enjoyed studying it. 很奇怪，我就很喜歡讀這些. 但是有些人就是失掉他們的信心. 但是有些人沒有失去他們的信心，但是他們就失去了他們的熱忱. 這裡敵對教會那個程度，雖然沒有以前那麼兇，但是也是很多. 還有很多就是反對教會或者信心的.
有些時候不是太明顯。我所講的道很多時候都很難聽。很難接受。很多的教會主持人說，wow, your preaching makes the gospel very hard to swallow. 我們應該說的一些比較容易。有些人告訴我，你講道的時候應該講得比較容易嘛. 但是我就是这样講道，我要把神的話語講出來. And so there is a high level of resistance. 因為有很多人抗拒.
在新約的時期，當你信主的時候，作為一個基督徒，你可能會喪失你的生命。很多基督徒從第一個世紀到第三個世紀，他們因為信耶穌的緣故，他們被殺。因為大家都說了基督徒的壞話，所以你可能會殺了一個基督徒，他們說，幹得好。然後有很多基督徒在前面的基督徒。所以很多基督徒為主殉道。
非常少今天，今天就没有了。但是在北美的，我們也可以為主殉道，你知道吗？今年9月15日的時候，有一個人就進了一個在美國的浸信會。然後他就開槍，在教會裡面開槍。雖然可能這個機會很小，但是還是有。這個人就開槍，打了一百個子彈。向著四百個會眾。
奇怪就是，雖然他向四百個人開槍，但是他就射中了十四個。然後之後他就自殺。七個被殺。七個被殺的基督徒不但只是好的基督徒，他們是奉獻給主的基督徒。而這些基督徒他們是很願意為主殉道了。這七個被殺了。
當火開始了，她和她的身體被射中了一個子彈。那麼在七個受傷裡面有一個女人，她因為要保護她一個朋友，就受傷了。她背後中彈。但 strange enough, her back was abnormal. 她背後有一個彈性。她因為她的骨頭有一個病，所以她的那個骨脊不準了。結果是，她的彈性被彈了她的彈性了。那麼奇妙就是這個子彈就打中她彈的地方，而沒打中她重要的內臟。如果她不是因為有這個毛病，她可能就會被殺。
這個人甚至還弄了一個炸彈。但是炸彈沒有爆。那麼最後這個大屠殺的結果，這件事就傳遍了全世界。那麼那時候那些牧師他們就有機會跟全世界來講話。而結果就是有二億人就有機會來聽神的話語。那麼這大屠殺的結果就變成很多人的祝福。在日本就是有一個聚會裡面，但是一個聚會就有三十五個人信主.
幾年前，另外有一個男人，他來到美國的西岸。他進了一個教會，然後來到一個牧師面前就把他槍殺了。為什麼這些人這麼憎恨或者抵擋福音呢？甚至他們要這樣做.
當我前幾個星期在美國開車的時候，我聽了那個無線電。結果就是我聽了長時間談論的 Columbine 的死亡。你記得，有兩個人在高校在 Columbine，然後幾個學生裡面就殺了很多學生。They talked about the two students in the school. What happened there was that one particularly touching thing was that one of these young people, the gunman, confronted a young girl in the school.
He said, do you believe in God? Do you believe in Jesus? She was a young girl, 17, 18. He said, do you believe in Jesus? You believe in Jesus? She said, yes. He pulled the trigger and shot her there. How much did he hate Jesus? Why? He 憎恨 Jesus to what extent? And why? This young girl had nothing to do with him.
So there's still a chance to become a martyr for Jesus today. But in 北美 we still have a chance to be a martyr for Jesus today.
So let us conclude for today. What is the point of our message? If everyone speaks against Jesus, from the leaders at the top to the common people below, and say all these things about Jesus, how do you know that He is true?
Well, one can say the sign was already given. He would be the one spoken against. But is that enough for you to believe in Jesus?
The conclusion of this matter is quite simple in the New Testament. There is only one way to believe in Jesus. And that is by revelation. When everybody rejects Him, then the only way to know that He is from God is for God to reveal that to you. That's the only way you can know.
You have read Matthew 16 verse 17. What does it say there? Where the Lord asked the disciples, who do you say that I am? You heard all these people saying bad things about Me. What do you say? And Peter comes up with an astonishing reply. He said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter, how can you know that? Peter is able to know that this man He sees in front of Him is the Son of the living God? The same person that Judas would be willing to sell for thirty pieces of silver. This same person Peter says, you are the Son of God.
And what is Jesus' reply? He said, nobody could have told you this, but only my Father in heaven. And the interesting thing is that Jesus didn't want them to tell anybody else about what was revealed to them. He wanted the Father to reveal this to any other person as well.
You think only Peter needs the revelation of God to know who Jesus is? Of course not. The point is, throughout the New Testament, even the Apostle Paul says, how does He know who Jesus is? Well, you know what happened on the Damascus road. God revealed to Him who Jesus is. 當然，彼得不是唯一得到神的啟示，就好像保羅也是。他在那地方，神也是啟示給他，知道耶穌是誰。這是對每一個真正的基督徒也是一樣.
How do you think Simeon knew who Jesus is when looking at this baby? 剛才那個老人家西面，他又怎麼知道耶穌就是神的兒子呢？也是上帝給他的啟示。然後之後說到安娜，另外一個先知。八十多歲的女人。神啟示給她知道這個嬰孩是誰。
沒有人可以認識耶穌是神的兒子，但耶穌是被人攻擊抵擋。除非神啟示給他看。現在我祈禱神就是開你們的眼。因為我祈禱神就是開你們的眼。不然的話，你的信是在乎人。因為我說，我去讀神學校，就好像剛才我想，很多人讀神學的時候，他們就是因為讀神學，他們就喪失了他們的信心，還是他們對神的熱忱。為什麼？因為他們的信是在乎別人對耶穌的意見。他們信耶穌因為他聽到別人說耶穌的好話。如果這樣的話，當你聽到別人講耶穌的壞話，那麼你的信心就給動搖了，沒有了。
為什麼這件事不影響我呢？因為我的信不是關乎別人對耶穌的意見。如果你們知道這意思，你們知道什麼是啟示。你知道神已經開了眼睛來看誰耶穌是。如果你經歷這些事情，你明白的。不論別人怎麼說，是神啟示給你知道耶穌是真神。
所以我非常害怕，如果你的信心是在乎錯的基礎，你會失去你的信心。你會離棄耶穌。如果你信心的基礎是錯的，終有一天你會喪失你的信心。你會離棄耶穌。特別當逼迫來的時候，你會離棄他。
但最後的問題是這個，如果信心是從證明中，似乎是同樣的基礎。我們不能做任何事。神為自己的信心。另外一個問題就是說，如果信心是憑啟示的，那麼到底跟那個預定論是不是有關呢？當然不呢。這裡意思就是說，我們不可以自己明白這件事情，而是神要啟示給我們的。
但是我們可以祈禱。就是在馬太福音裡面，耶穌怎麼說呢？登山寶訓。他說，尋找，你就會找到。禱告，祈求，你就會得到。敲門吧，門就會為你開。如果你要得到神的啟示，你要求祂。我們不可以開門，但是神會為我們開門。但是我們可以敲。直到神開那個門。直到那個門打開的時候，我們就看到神的殿裡面美麗的事情。那裡我們看到神的啟示。