利益薰心的猶大(一)談欲望

‧猶大這個名字的意思是“上帝被贊美”。然而，猶大卻是整個聖經裡最黑暗的一個人。

‧我們對猶大的研究，要從我們剛才提到的那個宴席開始。這件事發生在耶穌生命的最后幾天裡。他在一個人家坐席，一個女人來用油膏抹他，這件事引起了人們強烈的反應，而且不都是積極的。這件事告訴我們一個上帝的子民經常會遇到的掙扎：我們當中很多人面對強烈的功利主義信仰而感到掙扎。

‧到底是應該在敬拜中把我們最好的獻給神，還是應該用我們的金錢來支持神國的事工，這兩者之間的矛盾與沖突常伴隨在我們左右。但是有時候，那隻是一個煙幕。

‧其實，我們也活在這種矛盾沖突中。人就是人，就是活在需要和榮耀之間。

‧耶穌和我們的想法不一樣。他讓我們看到我們對美德的看法是不完全的。在這段經文中，他讓我們看到我們如何對待耶穌才是關鍵。

‧我們對耶穌的愛既不排除也不否定我們對別人的善行。

‧猶大是最主要的反對者，他把給窮人的錢拿出來，滿足自己的欲望。這使得這一幕變得復雜了。在這一點，我們不僅僅是在理論上討論如何做管家的問題。

‧我們需要先把理論放在一邊，來思想思想永生的意義，因為在猶大身上我們看到，我們的期望能使我們遠離上帝。猶大的反應源於他拒絕讓耶穌來重新塑造他的想法，來重新認識上帝，重新認識天國。他拒絕讓耶穌改變他的期望。

Judas: Blinded by Desire

The name Judas comes from Judah, which means "God be praised." Yet, this man is the darkest character in all of Scripture.

The starting place for our exploration of Judas is to reflect on this scene in which Jesus is within the final days of his life. He's at a meal at a home, and a woman comes anointing him with oil, which stirs a strong reaction--not all of it positive. It reveals a struggle that is often present among God's people: many of us struggle with a strongly utilitarian faith.

This scene is complicated by the fact that Judas was the primary objector and that he used the needs of the poor to satisfy his desire for his own needs. At this point, we get into more than a theoretical discussion of stewardship.

Judas' reaction arose from his refusal to allow Jesus to reshape his idea of what God should be like, of what the kingdom should be like. He refused to allow Jesus to reshape his expectations.