第四週 · 週三

w04d03-ch

📖晨興餧養

可四39 『耶穌醒來，斥責風，又向海說，安靜罷！不要發聲！風就止住，大大的平靜了。』

弗六12 『因我們並不是與血肉之人摔跤，乃是與那些執政的、掌權的、管轄這黑暗世界的、以及諸天界裏那邪惡的屬靈勢力摔跤。』

馬可四章是美妙的一章，論到國度的種子、基因及其完全的發展。…你可能會想，四章的結尾與四章一至三十四節說到國度比喻的那一段，二者怎樣相合。

首先，馬可四章論到神的國。緊接着國度的記載後，就有背叛的記載。三十七節說，忽然起了大風暴，波浪打入船內。這是一幅背叛的圖畫。

本章先有國度，然後有征服背叛。從神的觀點來看，國度乃是神自己作生命種子的發展。但從神仇敵的觀點來看，國度就是征服背叛（馬可福音生命讀經，一七四至一七五頁）。

📖信息選讀

撒但不僅有家，也有國〔可三23~25〕。他的家是罪的家（約壹三8、10），他的國是黑暗的國（西一13）。罪人屬於他的家，也屬於他的國。鬼屬於他的國，也為着他的國附在人身上。撒但是這世界的王（約十二31），和空中掌權者的首領（弗二2）。他有他的權勢（徒二六18）和他的使者（太二五41），這些使者是他的從屬，就是那些執政的、掌權的和管轄這黑暗世界的（弗六12）。因此，他有他的國，就是黑暗的權勢（西一13）。

奴僕救主強有力的講論神的國以後，立即對祂的門徒說，『我們渡到對岸去…。』〔可四35〕當時那背叛者撒但使用他空中的使者，和水中的污鬼，挑動背叛。因此，『忽然起了大風暴，波浪打入船內，甚至船要滿了水。』（37）風暴使載着主和門徒的船很難渡海。

門徒跟從奴僕救主時，祂這位有神聖權柄的人，就管住威脅他們的風暴〔39〕。…奴僕救主斥責風，命令海安靜，因為風裏有撒但的墮落天使（弗六12），海裏有鬼（太八32）。空中墮落的天使和水中的鬼，合力阻止奴僕救主渡到對岸，因為他們曉得祂要去趕出那邊的鬼（可五1~20）。…主曉得風暴是由天使與鬼鼓動出來的，為着阻止祂渡到海那邊去趕出群鬼。當主趕出群鬼時，國度就來到了。

現在我們看見，主在馬可四章論到國度，在五章趕出群鬼，好執行國度。在講論國度的話與國度的執行這二者之間，有海上風暴這件事。主斥責風，並向海說話以後，風就止住，大大的平靜了，因為空中邪惡天使和水中污鬼的背叛被征服了。所以，我們在四章三十五至四十一節看見，國度乃是征服背叛的能力。

四章的順序很有意義。揭示國度以後，緊接着就是征服背叛，這是為着執行神的國（馬可福音生命讀經，一二七、一七五至一七七頁）。

參讀：馬可福音生命讀經，第五、十二至十三、十六至十七、十九、二十五、六十四、六十六篇；聖經的十條路線，第六、十篇。

WEEK 4 — DAY 3

Morning Nourishment

Mark 4:39 And having awoken, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Be silent! Be still! And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Eph. 6:12 For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.

Mark 4 is a wonderful chapter concerned with the seed, the gene, of the kingdom and its full development…Perhaps you are wondering how the last part of chapter 4 fits in with 4:1-34, in which we have the parables of the kingdom.

First, Mark 4 speaks concerning the kingdom of God. Then immediately after the record of the kingdom, there is a record of rebellion. Verse 37 says that a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat. This is a picture of rebellion.

In this chapter we first have the kingdom and then the subduing of rebellion. From God’s point of view, the kingdom is the development of God Himself as the seed of life. But from the point of view of God’s enemy, the kingdom is the subduing of rebellion. (Life-study of Mark, 2nd ed., pp. 147-148)

Today’s Reading

Satan has not only a house but also a kingdom [Mark 3:23-25]. His house is a house of sin (1 John 3:8, 10), and his kingdom is a kingdom of darkness (Col. 1:13). Sinners belong both to Satan’s house and to his kingdom. The demons belong to his kingdom and possess people for his kingdom. Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31) and the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2). He has his authority (Acts 26:18) and his angels (Matt. 25:41), who are his subordinates as rulers, authorities, and world-rulers of this darkness (Eph. 6:12). Hence, Satan has his kingdom, the authority of
darkness (Col. 1:13).

Immediately after the Slave-Savior spoke a strong word on the kingdom of God, He said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side…” [Mark 4:35]. The rebel, Satan, then used his angels in the air and his demons in the water to stir up rebellion. Because of this “there arose a great windstorm, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already beginning to fill up” (v. 37). This storm made it very difficult for the boat carrying the Lord and His disciples to cross the sea.

While the disciples were following Him, the Slave-Savior, as a man with divine authority, controlled the storm that threatened them [v. 39]. The Slave- Savior rebuked the wind and commanded the sea to be still because in the wind were the fallen angels of Satan (Eph. 6:12), and in the sea were the demons (Matt. 8:32). The fallen angels in the air and the demons in the water collaborated to frustrate the Slave-Savior from going to the other side of the sea because they knew that He would cast out the demons there (Mark 5:1-20). The Lord knew that the storm was instigated by these angels and demons in order to frustrate Him from going to the other side of the sea to cast out the legion of demons. When the Lord cast out those demons, that was the coming of the kingdom.

Now we can see that in chapter 4 the Lord spoke concerning the kingdom, and in chapter 5 He carried out the kingdom through the casting out of demons. Between the word concerning the kingdom and the carrying out of the kingdom, there is the incident of the stormy sea. After the Lord rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea, the wind ceased and there was a great calm, for the rebellion of the evil angels in the air and the demons in the water was subdued. Therefore, in 4:35-41 we see the kingdom as the power to subdue rebellion.

The sequence in this chapter is significant. Immediately after the unveiling of the kingdom, we have the subduing of rebellion. This is for the carrying out of the kingdom of God. (Life-study of Mark, 2nd ed., pp. 106-107, 148-149)

Further Reading: Life-study of Mark, msgs. 5, 12—13, 16—17, 19, 25, 64, 66; CWWL, 1959, vol. 3, “Ten Lines in the Bible,” chs. 6, 10