“‘我告诉你们，你们的义，若不胜于文士和法利赛人的义，断不能进天国。’” – 太 5:20
大学录取是非常具竞争性的，因此我女儿就读的高中的辅导员，便提出多种方法使她的申请更有力。我告诉辅导员无需太担心，我女儿想就读我们宗派支持的大学，她只需要申请便会被录取。
在耶稣时代的法利赛人，刻意忠心遵守摩西律法，他们以为他们的义会促进神的国度，并会让自己在神国中占一席位。当他们听到耶稣说，妓女和贪婪的税吏竟然会比他们先进天国，真是出乎他们意料之外。
怎么会这样的？进神的国不需要任何特别的条件就能申请吗？对法利赛人来说，这是不可能的。他们把生命押注在摩西律法上，现在是不准备改变了。
然而耶稣才是那义者，祂带来神的国。那些贪婪的税吏和妓女信靠祂，他们悔改和相信耶稣，而耶稣是通往神国的道路。
他们当然没有因自己得来的义，但这不是问题，因为他们有耶稣，他们需要做的就是信靠耶稣和来到神的国里。
我们每一个人要做的也是一样，我们只要来到耶稣和祂的国那里。
祷告
耶稣，我来到你和你的国面前，求你每天都把你国度的道路指示我，并帮助我去跟从。阿们。
马太福音 21:28-32
28又说：“一个人有两个儿子。他来对大儿子说：‘我儿，你今天到葡萄园里去做工。’
29他回答说‘我不去’，以后自己懊悔，就去了。
30又来对小儿子也是这样说，他回答说‘父啊，我去’，他却不去。
31你们想这两个儿子是哪一个遵行父命呢？”他们说：“大儿子。”耶稣说：“我实在告诉你们：税吏和娼妓倒比你们先进神的国。
32因为约翰遵着义路到你们这里来，你们却不信他，税吏和娼妓倒信他。你们看见了，后来还是不懊悔去信他。
Application Accepted
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:20
College admissions are competitive. So our daughter’s high-school guidance counselor recommended ways to sweeten her applications. I told the counselor not to worry. Our daughter would be going to our church-sponsored college. To get accepted, all she had to do was apply.
The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were determined to keep the Law of Moses faithfully. They figured their righteousness would help bring the kingdom of God and would ensure their place in it. What a surprise they had when Jesus said that sex workers and turncoat tax collectors were going into the kingdom ahead of them!
What!? Was the kingdom of God just free for the taking, with no special application requirements? To the Pharisees, that couldn’t be. They had staked their lives on the Law of Moses. They were not about to turn to a different way.
But Jesus is the righteous one. He brings the kingdom. And those traitorous tax collectors and sex workers were trusting in him. They had repented and now believed in Jesus, the way to the kingdom of God.
They certainly had no righteousness of their own. But that was okay. They had Jesus. So all they had to do was come to the kingdom, trusting in him.
That’s all any of us has to do. Come. Just come to Jesus and his kingdom.
Prayer
Jesus, I come to you and to your kingdom. Show me the way of your kingdom every day. And help me to follow it. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
