文/克里斯琴·喬治 譯/任東升
By Christian George
Jesus and his freshly minted2mint鑄造。followers walked up a series of stairs that lead to the entrance of a two-story synagogue3synagogue猶太會堂。in Capernaum. The building itself was a prominent and imposing feature of the seaside. After the destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonian armies of Nebuchadnezzar4尼布甲尼撒二世,古巴比倫國王(公元前634—前564;公元前605—前562在位),曾攻占耶路撒冷,建空中花園。in 586 B.C., Jews were required to build synagogues wherever there were at least 10 adult males in a community. The blueprints for each synagogue had to be virtually identical so that a Jew could feel at home in any city throughout the land of Israel. Although sacrifices had to be offered at the Temple that Herod5希律,羅馬帝國占領(lǐng)區(qū)猶太國王(公元前73?—前4;公元前37—前4在位),以殘暴出名。was constructing in Jerusalem, these local synagogues provided a place for Jews to sing Psalms6《詩篇》,又稱“贊美詩”。, hear scriptures,listen to sermons and pose questions to the teachers of sacred texts.
[2] Jesus stepped over the threshold of the main wooden door, which was located on the western fa?ade7fa?ade建筑物正面。of the large rectangular structure. The walls around Him were constructed of basalt8basalt玄武巖?!?dark, volcanic rock ubiquitous9ubiquitous無所不在的。throughout Galilee—and rose two levels. Opposite the main door, Jesus saw a curtained alcove10alcove壁龕。in the corner protecting a cupboard. Inside the cupboard rested a series of scrolls11scrolls“妥拉”(Torah)卷軸,希伯來圣經(jīng)之前五卷,即“摩西五經(jīng)”。; one would be read aloud to the congregation12congregation會眾。during the service. This highly decorated nook13nook角落。was reminiscent14reminiscent 引人聯(lián)想的。of the Holy of Holies15至圣所,以幔子和外面的圣所隔開,被認(rèn)為是耶和華的居所。inside the tabernacles16tabernacle會幕,類似帳篷,意為“神的居所”。and temples of long ago—a room where the most sacred objects of Jewish faith were housed. Jews even believed thatYahweh17神名,“耶和華”(中國基督教),另有“雅威”(天主教)、“亞衛(wèi)”(非宗教)之譯。Himself took up residence there(Leviticus18《利未記》,希伯來圣經(jīng)(即舊約)經(jīng)卷之一。16:2).
[3] Jesus continued to walk across the smoothed cobblestone floor beneath Him. One by one, He passed heartshaped columns that lined the interior of the main worship area and supported a second-story balcony that was already crowded with eager worshipers. The service would begin when the teachers and elders took their positions in the rock-hewn19rock-hewn石塊削成的。chairs, called Moses seats,which were situated against the side walls, facing inward toward the congregation.
[4] It was the task of the senior elder of chief ruler to select a preacher20preacher傳道者。for the day. On this particular morning, the preacher was Jesus.
[5] After several Psalms were sung,Jesus ascended the stairs leading up and then down into the large central pulpit21pulpit講壇。that rested atop the elevated stonebema22bema(猶太人教堂中的)讀經(jīng)臺。. All eyes were on this curious young radical. What will He say? What will He teach? Jesus donned23don披上。a white napkin, orsudarium24sudarium白色麻布頭巾。, that teachers of the Law were required to wear on their heads when they read from the scrolls.As Jesus started to speak, a low murmur erupted near the Moses seats.
[6] “The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority” (Mark 1:22). His words were bold, yet soft. A confident demeanor25demeanor舉止。caused Simon and Andrew to exchange a glance.Who is this man?
[7] This was not the first time Jesus had amazed a crowd. When He was 12 years old, He traveled with His parents on their annual pilgrimage to offer sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem.After getting separated from their son,His parents found Him “in the Temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46).
[8] But on this day, Jesus was not asking. He was telling. And the message He was proclaiming would soon be too controversial to remain within the port cities of Galilee. In a matter of years, it would spread to through the Judea, Samaria and even to the very perimeters26perimeter周邊。of the Roman Empire. It was a message so repulsive27repulsive令人反感的。to Jews, so revolutionary for Romans, that when Jesus brought the message to His childhood haunts in the Temple courts of Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders would convince the Roman authorities to execute Him. ■
耶穌和這幾個(gè)剛剛皈依的信徒拾級而上,來到迦百農(nóng)一幢兩層會堂的門口。此會堂在這片海濱地區(qū)不僅顯眼,而且壯觀。公元前586年,所羅門圣殿被巴比倫國王尼布甲尼撒二世率領(lǐng)的大軍摧毀;之后,猶太人在其居住區(qū)只要夠了10名成年男子就要按要求建造會堂,而且每座會堂的藍(lán)圖須一模一樣,以便讓他們在以色列的土地上任何一座城市都有賓至如歸的感覺。雖然猶太人要向希律王正在耶路撒冷興建的圣殿奉獻(xiàn)貢物,這些本地的會堂還是為他們提供了唱詩、習(xí)經(jīng)、聽道、向圣經(jīng)教師提問的場所。
[2]耶穌抬腳跨過門檻,進(jìn)入這幢寬敞的兩層矩形建筑。木制主門位于西側(cè),四面墻都是用加利利地區(qū)隨處可見的黑色火山巖——玄武巖砌成。在主門的正對面,耶穌注意到角落里有一個(gè)用幕簾遮擋的壁龕,保護(hù)著一個(gè)柜子。柜里擺放著好幾個(gè)經(jīng)書卷軸,進(jìn)行敬拜時(shí),其中一卷要向會眾高聲朗讀。這個(gè)精心裝飾的角落令人想起很久以前帳幕和圣殿中的“至圣所”——供放猶太教至圣物的空間,猶太人甚至深信“耶和華”神就居住于此(《利未記》16∶2)。
[3]耶穌踩著平整光滑的鵝卵石地面繼續(xù)往前走,他走過主要敬拜區(qū)內(nèi)排列整齊、支撐二樓樓廳的一根根心形廊柱,此時(shí)樓廳已經(jīng)坐滿渴切的敬拜者。會堂側(cè)墻邊,對著會眾安放著一排石鑿座椅即“摩西座”。只待圣經(jīng)教師和長老在此就位,禮拜儀式隨即開始。
[4]為當(dāng)日挑選講道者是管事的資深長老的職責(zé)。這個(gè)特別的上午,講道人是耶穌。
[5]幾首贊美詩唱過之后,耶穌沿著先上而下的臺階,來到高于石頭讀經(jīng)臺之上的中心大講壇。所有人的目光都投射到這個(gè)讓人好奇的激進(jìn)年輕人身上:他要講什么?他會有怎樣的教導(dǎo)?耶穌頭戴一塊白色麻布帕子,即猶太律法教師在朗讀圣經(jīng)時(shí)需要戴在頭上的帕子。耶穌剛開口,摩西座附近就發(fā)出一陣低微的嘀咕聲。
[6]“眾人都對他的教誨感到驚奇,因?yàn)樗虒?dǎo)他們正像有權(quán)柄的人”(《馬可福音》1∶22)。他言辭夠狂,但語氣柔和。這樣一副自信的神態(tài)舉止使西門和安德烈不由得交換了一下眼神:此乃何許人也?
[7]這并非耶穌頭一回令人稱奇。早在12歲時(shí)他隨父母前往耶路撒冷,進(jìn)行每年一次的朝圣,到圣殿敬獻(xiàn)貢物。父母和耶穌走散,結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)他“在殿里坐在教師們中間,一邊聽道一邊提問”(《路加福音》2∶46)。
[8]不過,在今天這個(gè)日子,耶穌不是在提問,而是在宣道,而且他講的道不久就會引發(fā)巨大爭議,甚至傳出加利利那些港口城市。用不了幾年時(shí)間,耶穌所宣講的道就會傳布到猶太地、撒瑪利亞,乃至羅馬帝國四境。這是一種令猶太人反感、讓羅馬人嗅出火藥味的道,以至于耶穌把這道傳入他童年常去的耶路撒冷圣殿時(shí),猶太領(lǐng)袖決意要說服羅馬當(dāng)局將他處死。 □