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A. Mary Waited the Water Changed to Wine (the Wedding Woe) : John
2:1-5,
- On the third day a
wedding took place at Cana
in Galilee. Jesus' mother was
there,
- and Jesus and his
disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
- When the wine was
gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
- "Dear woman,
why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet
come."
- His mother said to the servants, "Do
whatever he tells you."
Jewish wedding feasts often lasted a week, IF TT they were running out of wine, it was
embarrassing off the wine. Mother of Jesus informed Jesus of not enough wine,
then she followed the
direction of Jesus, waited and instructed the servants to obey whatever Jesus’ direction.
B. Mary
Waited Near the
Cross: John
19:25-27,
25, Near the cross of Jesus
stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary
Magdalene.
26, When Jesus saw his mother
there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother,
"Dear woman, here is your son,"
27, and to the disciple,
"Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her
into his home.
Even
while dying on the cross, Jesus was concerned about his family. He instructed
John to care for Mary, Jesus’ mother. Jesus asked his close friend John, the
writer of this Gospel, to care for Jesus’ mother, Mary, whose husband,
Joseph, must have been dead by this time. Why didn’t Jesus assign this task
to his brothers? As the oldest son, Jesus was responsible for his mother’s
well-being. So he entrusted his mother to a person who stayed with him at the
cross-and that was John.
Mary,
being the mother of the Messiah, she experienced pain and she received the
provision of a new “son” to take care of her. Our
families are precious gifts from God, and we should value and care for them
under all circumstances. Neither Christian work nor key responsibilities in
any job or position excuse us from caring for our families. What can you do
today to show your love to your family?
C. Mary
Waited with
Obedience and Expectation: Acts
1:12-14
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem
from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath
day's walk from the city.
13 When
they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those
present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew
and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of
James.
14 They
all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary
the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
After
Christ was taken up into heaven, the disciples immediately returned to Jerusalem and had a prayer meeting.
Jesus had said they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days, so they waited and prayed. Mary was with the disciples, as
they waited
for
the coming of the Holy Spirit. Having encountered the risen Christ, this
period of waiting was characterized by a strengthened faith. Mary and the
others were constantly prying – they were actively waiting.
When
we face a difficult task, an important decision, don’t rush into the work.
Instead, we
first step should be to pray for the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance.
QUESTIONS:
Jesus not only produced wine from water, but
that He produced the “best” wine. What does that tells us about what we can
expect from Jesus? Is it “safe” to leave the answer up to Him?
We saw the kind of power that Jesus had, can change the very structure
of matter-—something modern science still
cannot do!
Mary’s Actively Waiting
from Cana
to the cross to Pentecost we see her persistently waiting.
Mary is a model of patient, faithful
waiting. It is as if she is perpetually
saying to Jesus, “Do as you
choose and I will follow.”
Conclusion:
We have learned wait persistently
in a quiet times when we are waiting for God to answer. Pray
specifically and personally. Remember the faithfulness and trustworthiness of
God, who surprises us with unanticipated blessings.
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A. 瑪利亞：勤勉地等待水變酒
婚禮中的不幸 約翰福音 2:1-5,
- 第三日、在加利利的迦拿有娶親的筵席．耶穌的母親在那裡。
- 耶穌和他的門徒也被請去赴席。
- 酒用盡了、耶穌的母親對他說、他們沒有酒了。
- 耶穌說、母親、〔原文作婦人〕我與你有甚麼相干．我的時候還沒有到。
- 他母親對用人說、他告訴你們甚麼、你們就作甚麼。
猶太人的婚禮是整週慶祝的, 酒喝完了是很羞恥之事。耶穌的母親向他報告說已沒酒了，耶穌表示時候未到, 她就尊行不再提起，而叮嚀工作人員要等待和順服從耶穌來的指示。
B. 瑪利亞：勤勉地等待於十字架旁:
約翰福音19:25-27,
25, 站在耶穌十字架旁邊的、有他母親、與他母親的姊妹、並革羅罷的妻子馬利亞、和抹大拉的馬利亞。
26, 耶穌見母親和他所愛的那門徒站 在旁邊、就對他母親說、母親、〔原文作婦人〕看你的兒子。
27, 又對那門徒說、看你的母親。從此那門徒就接他到自己家裡去了。
即使在十字架上臨死之際，耶穌仍關心他的母親，叫祂最接近的門徒，就是那寫約翰福音的作者約翰，照顧祂的母親瑪利亞,
這時瑪利亞的丈夫約瑟極可能離世。耶穌生為長子，把母親託付給自己最親密的朋友,
為什麼他不叫他的弟弟照顧呢？他認為長子要付起照顧的責任，因此他託付母親給仍在十字架旁伴隨他的人，那就是約翰。
瑪利亞,
作為彌賽亞的母親，她經驗到苦不堪言，
但她接受這供應，就是一位新的“兒子”照顧他。
我們的家人是上帝賜給我們的寶貝，在任何情況下都要照顧他們、看重他們，沒有任何事工或職責可成為疏忽家人的藉口，您今天可作些什麼向家人表示愛意呢？
C. 瑪利亞：勤勉地順從與期待:
使徒行傳 1:12-14
12 有一座山名叫橄欖山、離耶路撒冷不遠、約有安息日可走的路程．當下門徒從那裡回耶路撒冷去。
13進了城、就上了所住的一間樓房．在那裡有彼得、約翰、雅各、安得烈、腓力、多馬、巴多羅買、馬太、亞勒腓的兒子雅各、奮銳黨的西門、和雅各的兒子〔或作兄弟〕猶大。
14這些人、同著幾個婦人、和耶穌的母親馬利亞、並耶穌的弟兄、都同心合意的恆切禱告。
當耶穌升天後，門徒立刻回到耶路撒冷，並舉行禱告會。耶穌說他們在幾天內就會受聖靈的洗，所以他們邊等候、邊禱告。瑪利亞與門徒等候聖靈降臨。與升天後的耶穌相遇，在等待之這段時間，是必有強烈的信心. 瑪利亞與門徒們是不段的禱告 – 他們是勤勉地等待。
當我們面對一項困難的工作、一個重大的決定，或處於令人迷惑的窘境時，我們第一件要做的事就是禱告，請求聖靈賞賜能力和帶領，不要急忙進行工作。
問答：
耶穌不只使水變酒，且是最好的酒。這奇蹟告訴我們，耶穌是可信賴、可期望的嗎？等待祂的回答有“安全”嗎？
我們看到耶穌的能力，能完全改變結構的實體 – 是現代科學界不能作到的。
瑪利亞等待自迦拿、到十字架、到聖靈降臨節
(猷太教的五旬節)，我們看到她持續的等待。瑪利亞忍耐的典範和信任是一直持續的。她且不段的向耶穌說，“做如你的選擇，我將會跟隨.”
(from Rhonda L. Carrim, the Faith Connections Bible Study Guide)
結論 :
- 我們已學到當我們在等待上帝的回答時，要安靜且持續的等待。
- 要親自做細節的禱告。記住! 信實和值得信任的上帝，祂的供應是無可預料的祝福。
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Mary: Actively Waiting
