📖 1 Petro — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 4: Mawe Yaliyo Hai na Ukuhani wa Kifalme📖 1 Peter Intensive — Unit 4: Living Stones and a Royal Priesthood

Kifungu: 1 Petro 2:1-10Text: 1 Peter 2:1-10

Watoto Wachanga Wanaolitamani NenoNewborn Babes, Desiring the Word

Sehemu iliyopita ilimalizika na kuzaliwa upya kwa njia ya neno lililo hai; sehemu hii inaanza na kile ambacho uhai huo mchanga unapaswa kukitamani. Kwanza, Petro anasema, kuna mambo ya kuweka mbali: "Basi, wekeni mbali uovu wote, na hila yote, na unafiki, na husuda, na masingizio yote" (1 Petro 2:1). Hizi ndizo dhambi zinazotia sumu ushirika — chuki, neno la ndimi mbili, moyo wa wivu, ulimi unaokata. Hazina nafasi katika watu waliozaliwa kwa kweli. Na mahali pake, kuna tamaa moja kuu: "Kama watoto wachanga waliozaliwa sasa, yatamanini maziwa ya neno yasiyoghoshiwa, ili kwa hayo mpate kukua; ikiwa mmeonja ya kuwa Bwana ni mwema" (1 Petro 2:2-3). Mtoto mwenye afya hulilia maziwa; hiyo ndiyo ishara ya uhakika zaidi ya uhai. Vivyo hivyo mwamini mwenye afya huwa na njaa ya neno la Mungu, na kwa hilo hukua. Neno lile lile lililoleta kuzaliwa upya sasa linaulisha uhai huo. Ikiwa mtu ameonja kwa kweli ya kuwa Bwana ni mwema, atarudi mezani tena na tena.The last unit ended with the new birth through the living word; this one begins with what that newborn life should crave. First, Peter says, there are things to put off: "laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking" (1 Peter 2:1). These are the sins that poison fellowship — the spite, the two-faced word, the jealous heart, the cutting tongue. They have no place in a people born of the truth. And in their place, one great desire: "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Peter 2:2-3). A healthy baby cries for milk; it is the surest sign of life. So a healthy believer hungers for the word of God, and by it he grows. The same word that gave the new birth now feeds it. If a person has truly tasted that the Lord is gracious, he will come back to the table again and again.

Inafaa kuzipima dhambi ambazo Petro anaagiza ziwekwe mbali, kwa maana si kashfa zile ambazo ulimwengu huziogopa zaidi, bali ni sumu za kimya za maisha ya jumuiya: uovu, yaani nia mbaya iliyotulia inayomtakia mwingine madhara; hila, yaani neno lililopotoka linaloficha kusudi lake la kweli; unafiki, yaani kinyago cha utauwa kinachovaliwa juu ya moyo tofauti; husuda, yaani kuchukia mema ya mwingine; na masingizio, yaani ulimi unaobomoa nyuma ya mgongo wa ndugu. Kanisa linaweza kuepuka kashfa ya wazi na bado likaliwa ndani na mambo haya. Dhidi yake Petro anaweka hamu moja yenye afya. Maziwa ya neno yasiyoghoshiwa ni safi, hayajachanganywa wala kupunguzwa nguvu, hayana nyongeza za werevu wa kibinadamu; na mwamini anapaswa kuyatamani kama mtoto anayenyonya anavyomtamani mama yake, si mara moja moja bali daima, kwa maana hivyo ndivyo uhai mpya unavyokua.It is worth weighing the sins Peter names to be put off, for they are not the scandals the world fears most but the quiet poisons of community life: malice, the settled ill-will that wishes another harm; deceit, the crooked word that hides its true intent; hypocrisy, the mask of piety worn over a different heart; envy, the resentment of another’s good; and evil speaking, the tongue that tears down behind a brother’s back. A church may avoid open scandal and still be eaten through by these. Against them Peter sets a single healthy appetite. The pure milk of the word is unmixed and undiluted, free of the additives of human cleverness; and the believer is to crave it as a nursing child craves its mother, not now and then but constantly, for this is how the new life grows.

Kumwendea Jiwe Lililo HaiComing to the Living Stone

Sasa Petro anabadilisha picha kutoka chumba cha watoto wachanga hadi eneo la ujenzi, na wazo kuu la kifungu hiki linajitokeza: mawe. Anaanza na Jiwe moja lililo juu ya yote. "Mmwendee yeye, jiwe lililo hai, lililokataliwa na wanadamu, bali kwa Mungu ni teule, lenye heshima" (1 Petro 2:4). Kristo ndiye Jiwe lililo hai — lililo hai, kwa sababu alikufa na kufufuka na hawezi kufa tena kamwe. Lakini angalia mgongano wa ajabu ambao ulimwengu ulifanya juu yake: amekataliwa na wanadamu, lakini ni mteule wa Mungu. Hili ndilo Jiwe lililokataliwa. Hakuja kama shujaa mshindi, kama watu walivyotaka, bali kama mtumishi anayeteseka, jambo ambalo hawakulikubali. Mojawapo ya mistari yenye huzuni zaidi katika Biblia inaliandika: "Alikuja kwake, wala walio wake hawakumpokea. Bali wote waliompokea aliwapa uwezo wa kufanyika watoto wa Mungu" (Yohana 1:11-12). Taifa lake mwenyewe lilikuwa limemngoja Masihi kwa karne nyingi, na alipokuja hawakumtaka; hata walidai kwamba nguvu zake zilitoka kwa Beelzebuli, yaani Ibilisi. Wanadamu bado wanalikataa Jiwe hili. Lakini kile ambacho wanadamu walikitupa, Mungu alikifanya kuwa cha thamani na akakichagua kuwa msingi wa kila kitu.Now Peter changes the picture from a nursery to a building site, and the great theme of the passage appears: stones. He begins with one Stone above all. "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious" (1 Peter 2:4). Christ is the living Stone — living, because He died and rose and can never die again. But notice the strange contradiction the world made of Him: rejected by men, yet chosen by God. Here is the rejected Stone. He came not as a conquering hero, which is what the people wanted, but as a suffering servant, which is what they would not have. One of the saddest verses in the Bible records it: "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:11-12). His own nation had waited centuries for the Messiah, and when He came they would not have Him; they even charged that His power came from Beelzebub, the devil. Men still reject this Stone. Yet what men threw away, God made precious and chose to be the foundation of everything.

Yashike maneno haya mawili pamoja, kwa maana Injili yote inaning'inia kati yake: amekataliwa na wanadamu, ni mteule wa Mungu. Hukumu ya wanadamu na hukumu ya Mungu juu ya Jiwe lile lile haziwezi kupingana zaidi. Waashi — wataalamu wa dini wa siku zile, watu ambao kazi yao ilikuwa kupima mawe — walimtazama Kristo na kumtupa kama asiyefaa kitu. Mbingu ililitazama Jiwe lile lile na kuliweka kuwa jiwe kuu kabisa la pembeni. Jambo hili linapaswa kumtuliza kila mwamini anayejikuta amekataliwa kwa ajili ya Kristo. Tathmini ya ulimwengu si neno la mwisho; kile ambacho wanadamu hukitupa, Mungu anaweza kukithamini. Jiwe lililokataliwa na waashi liliinuliwa hadi mahali pa heshima kuu, na wale walioungwa naye watashiriki katika kuthibitishwa kwake.Hold these two words together, for the whole gospel hangs between them: rejected by men, chosen by God. The verdict of men and the verdict of God on the same Stone could not be more opposite. The builders — the religious experts of the day, the men whose business it was to judge stones — looked at Christ and threw Him away as useless. Heaven looked at the same Stone and set it at the very head of the corner. This should steady every believer who finds himself rejected for Christ’s sake. The world’s estimate is not the final word; what men discard, God may treasure. The Stone the builders refused was raised to the place of highest honor, and those who are joined to Him will share in His vindication.

Mawe Yaliyo Hai, Nyumba ya RohoLiving Stones, a Spiritual House

Na hili ndilo la ajabu: wale wanaolijia Jiwe lililo hai wanakuwa wao wenyewe mawe yaliyo hai. "Ninyi pia, kama mawe yaliyo hai, mnajengwa kuwa nyumba ya Roho, ukuhani mtakatifu" (1 Petro 2:5). Somo linaonyesha sifa tatu za mawe haya yaliyo hai. Ni wateule wa Mungu — kama Bwana wao, aliyechaguliwa na Mungu, waamini ni wateule wa Mungu, hawakujifanya wenyewe. Wameunganishwa na Mungu mwenyewe — hawakuachwa wametawanyika, bali wamepangwa na kujengwa pamoja kuwa nyumba moja. Hakuna jiwe moja peke yake lililo jengo; kila moja limewekwa mahali pake kando ya mengine.And here is the wonder: those who come to the living Stone become living stones themselves. "You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood" (1 Peter 2:5). The lesson draws out three qualities of these living stones. They are divinely chosen — like their Lord, who was chosen by God, the believers are God's elect, not self-made. They are divinely composed — not left lying scattered, but fitted and built together into one house. No single stone is a building; each is set in its place beside the others.

Na kama ukuhani mtakatifu, mawe haya yaliyo hai yana kazi ya kufanya: "mtoe dhabihu za roho, zinazokubaliwa na Mungu kwa njia ya Yesu Kristo" (1 Petro 2:5). Huu ndio ukuhani wa mwamini. Chini ya agano la kale ni watu wachache tu waliokuwa makuhani; sasa kila mwamini ni kuhani, mwenye njia ya kumkaribia Mungu na dhabihu ya kuleta — sadaka ya sifa, ya nafsi yake, ya huduma — zote zikikubaliwa si kwa kustahili kwetu bali kwa njia ya Yesu Kristo.And as a holy priesthood, these living stones have work to do: "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). This is the priesthood of the believer. Under the old covenant only a few men were priests; now every believer is a priest, with access to God and a sacrifice to bring — the offering of praise, of self, of service — all made acceptable not by our worthiness but through Jesus Christ.

Wazo la "ukuhani mtakatifu" lingewashangaza sana wasomaji hawa. Katika hekalu la Yerusalemu ni ukoo mmoja tu ungeweza kutumika kama makuhani, kabila moja tu lingeweza kuwasaidia, na mtu mmoja tu angeweza kuingia mahali patakatifu zaidi, tena mara moja tu kwa mwaka. Sasa Petro anawaambia kundi lililotawanyika la waamini wa kawaida — watumwa na mafundi na wanawake na maskini miongoni mwao — kwamba wao wenyewe ni makuhani, kila mmoja wao. Hawahitaji kuhani wa kibinadamu ili kuipeleka ibada yao kwa Mungu, kwa maana kupitia Kuhani Mkuu mmoja aliye mkuu kila mmoja anaweza kumkaribia. Na dhabihu zao si tena wanyama waliochinjwa bali sadaka zilizo hai za sifa, za shukrani, za maisha ya utii yaliyowekwa madhabahuni, zote zikikubaliwa na Mungu kwa njia ya Yesu Kristo.The thought of a "holy priesthood" would have astonished these readers. In the temple at Jerusalem only one family could serve as priests, only one tribe could assist them, and only one man could enter the holiest place, and that but once a year. Now Peter tells a scattered company of ordinary believers — slaves and tradesmen and women and the poor among them — that they themselves are priests, every one. They need no human priest to carry their worship to God, for through the one great High Priest each may draw near. And their sacrifices are no longer slain animals but the living offerings of praise, of thanksgiving, of obedient lives laid on the altar, all made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Jiwe Walilolikataa WaashiThe Stone the Builders Rejected

Ili kusisitiza jambo hili, Petro anarudi katika Agano la Kale kuchukua semi tatu kuhusu jiwe, akikamilisha picha yake ya ujenzi: mawe yaliyo hai yamevikwa taji na Mungu kwa jiwe kuu la pembeni. Kwanza, "Tazama, naweka katika Sayuni jiwe kuu la pembeni, teule, lenye heshima, na kila amwaminiye hatatahayarika" (1 Petro 2:6, akinukuu Isaya 28:16). Jiwe la pembeni huweka mstari wa jengo zima; Kristo ndiye jiwe hilo, na yeyote anayemtegemea hatatahayarika kamwe. Pili, "Jiwe walilolikataa waashi, limekuwa jiwe kuu la pembeni" (1 Petro 2:7, akinukuu Zaburi 118:22). Jiwe lile lile ambalo wataalamu walilitupa, Mungu aliliweka kuwa kichwa cha pembe. Tatu, yeye ni "jiwe la kujikwaza mguu, na mwamba wa kuangusha" (1 Petro 2:8, akinukuu Isaya 8:14). Hivyo Jiwe hili moja linawagawa watu wote sehemu mbili. Kwa wale wanaoamini, yeye ni wa thamani, msingi ulio imara. Kwa wale wanaomkataa, Jiwe lile lile linakuwa kitu wanachojikwaa nacho na kuanguka. Hakuna aliye katikati kuhusu Jiwe hili; yeye ni ama jiwe lako la pembeni ama kikwazo chako.To press the point, Peter reaches back into the Old Testament for three sayings about a stone, completing his architecture: the living stones are divinely capped by a chief cornerstone. First, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame" (1 Peter 2:6, citing Isaiah 28:16). The cornerstone sets the line for the whole building; Christ is that stone, and whoever rests on Him will never be ashamed. Second, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (1 Peter 2:7, citing Psalm 118:22). The very Stone the experts threw away, God set at the head of the corner. Third, He is "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (1 Peter 2:8, citing Isaiah 8:14). So this one Stone divides all people in two. To those who believe, He is precious, the sure foundation. To those who reject Him, the same Stone becomes the thing they trip over and fall. No one is neutral about this Stone; He is either your cornerstone or your stumbling block.

Angalia kwamba Jiwe lile lile linaleta matokeo mawili yanayopingana, na tofauti iko kabisa katika jinsi mtu anavyompokea. Imani hulifanya Jiwe kuwa msingi; kutoamini hulifanya Jiwe lile lile kuwa mtego. Petro halilainishi jambo hili. Kristo hawezi kuwa jambo lisilo na maana kwa mtu; kukutana naye ni ama kujengwa juu yake ama kuvunjika juu yake. Yule anayeamini hupata ndani yake mahali imara pa kusimama pasipoweza kuporomoka kamwe, hata asitahayarike. Yule anayemkataa hujikwaa juu ya mwamba ule ule wa wokovu na kuanguka. Jambo hili linatia uzito moyoni, lakini pia linaweka mambo wazi: hakuna njia ya tatu, hakuna uwanja wa katikati ambapo mtu anaweza kumvutia Kristo akiwa mbali salama na kubaki bila kubadilika.Notice that the same Stone produces two opposite results, and the difference lies entirely in how a person receives Him. Faith makes the Stone a foundation; unbelief makes the same Stone a snare. Peter does not soften this. Christ cannot be a matter of indifference; to meet Him is to be either built upon Him or broken against Him. The one who believes finds in Him a sure footing that will never give way, so that he is not put to shame. The one who refuses Him stumbles over the very rock of salvation and falls. This is sobering, but it is also clarifying: there is no third option, no neutral ground where a person may admire Christ from a safe distance and remain unchanged.

Watu Wateule, Ukuhani wa Kifalme, Taifa TakatifuChosen People, Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation

Sasa Petro anakusanya utambulisho wa waamini katika vyeo vinne vitukufu — maelezo ya wateule wa Mungu. "Bali ninyi ni mzao mteule, ukuhani wa kifalme, taifa takatifu, watu wa milki ya Mungu" (1 Petro 2:9). Kila kimoja kilikuwa zamani jina la Israeli; sasa Petro anakiweka juu ya kanisa hili lililotawanyika na linaloteseka. Wao ni watu wateule — waliochaguliwa kwa neema ya Mungu mwenyewe. Wao ni ukuhani wa kifalme — makuhani walio mali ya Mfalme, wenye njia ya kumkaribia Mungu mwenyewe. Wao ni taifa takatifu — watu waliotengwa, raia wa mbinguni ingawa ni wageni duniani. Na wao ni watu wa milki yake — kwa maneno ya zamani, watu wa pekee, yaani watu ambao Mungu anawadai kuwa hazina yake binafsi. Ni jambo kubwa kama nini kuwaambia hivi waamini ambao ulimwengu unawahesabu kuwa si kitu. Na kuna kusudi ndani yake: Mungu aliwaita "mtoke gizani mkaingie katika nuru yake ya ajabu" ili "mpate kuzitangaza fadhili zake yeye aliyewaita" (1 Petro 2:9). Wameokolewa ili kung'aa na kunena, wakitangaza ukuu wa Mungu aliyewaokoa.Peter now gathers up who the believers are in four magnificent titles — the descriptions of God's elect. "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people" (1 Peter 2:9). Each was once a name for Israel; now Peter lays them on this scattered, suffering church. They are a chosen people — selected by God's own grace. They are a royal priesthood — priests who belong to the King, with access to God Himself. They are a holy nation — a people set apart, citizens of heaven though strangers on earth. And they are His own special people — in older words, a peculiar people, meaning a people God claims as His personal treasure. What a thing to say to believers the world counts as nobodies. And there is a purpose in it: God called them "out of darkness into His marvelous light" so "that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you" (1 Peter 2:9). They are saved to shine and to speak, declaring the excellencies of the God who rescued them.

Mwishowe Petro anaonyesha badiliko kubwa lililowajia: "ninyi mliokuwa kwanza si watu, bali sasa ni watu wa Mungu; mliokuwa hamkupata rehema, bali sasa mmepata rehema" (1 Petro 2:10). Zamani walikuwa umati uliotawanyika wa wageni, si watu hata kidogo; sasa, kwa rehema, wao ni watu wa Mungu. Wageni wa Sehemu ya 1 wana familia. Msimamo wote wa kanisa hili hautegemei walivyokuwa zamani bali rehema waliyoipokea.Finally Peter marks the great change that has come over them: "who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:10). Once they were a scattered crowd of strangers, no people at all; now, by mercy, they are the people of God. The exiles of Unit 1 have a family. The whole standing of this church rests not on what they were but on the mercy they have received.

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