📖 1 Petro — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 6: Kristo, Kielelezo cha Mateso📖 1 Peter Intensive — Unit 6: Christ, the Suffering Example

Kifungu: 1 Petro 2:18-25Text: 1 Peter 2:18-25

Kutii Hata Katika Mateso Yasiyo ya HakiSubmission Even Under Unjust Suffering

Sasa Petro anawageukia wale walio mahali pagumu kuliko wote — watumishi wa nyumbani. "Ninyi watumishi, watiini bwana zenu kwa hofu nyingi; si wao walio wema na wapole tu, bali nao walio wakali" (1 Petro 2:18). Anaendelea kusema kwamba hakuna sifa katika kupigwa kwa ajili ya kutenda mabaya; "Lakini mkivumilia mkiteswa kwa kutenda mema, huo ndio wema mbele za Mungu" (1 Petro 2:20). Kinachompendeza Mungu si mateso ya mwenye hatia, bali ni uvumilivu wa subira wa mtu anayeteswa isivyo haki huku akitenda mema.Peter now turns to those in the hardest place of all — the household servants. "Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh" (1 Peter 2:18). He goes on to say that there is no credit in being beaten for doing wrong; "but when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God" (1 Peter 2:20). What is pleasing to God is not the suffering of the guilty, but the patient endurance of one who suffers unjustly while doing good.

Tunapaswa kutulia hapa, kwa sababu amri hii kwa watumwa inawasumbua wasomaji wa leo. Kwa nini Ukristo haukukomesha utumwa mara moja? Katika siku za Agano Jipya kulikuwa na watumwa wapatao milioni sitini — wengi wao wakiwa madaktari, walimu, na wanamuziki — lakini hawakuwa na haki zozote na walihesabiwa kuwa sehemu ya mali ya bwana wao. Wakristo wengi wa mwanzo wenyewe walikuwa watumwa. Kama kanisa lingeitisha uasi wa silaha, vuguvugu changa la Kikristo lingepondwa, kama kila uasi wa watumwa uliotangulia ulivyopondwa. Hivyo Injili haikuanza na uasi; ilianza kwa kupanda mbegu ambayo kwa wakati wake ingeuangamiza utumwa kutoka ndani. Paulo aliandika kwamba katika Kristo "hapana mtumwa wala huru... kwa maana ninyi nyote mmekuwa mmoja katika Kristo Yesu" (Wagalatia 3:28). Alipokutana na mtumwa aliyetoroka, Onesimo, alimrudisha kwa bwana wake Filemoni — lakini akaomba apokewe si kama mtumwa tena bali kama ndugu mpendwa. Ukristo haukuupindua utumwa kwa usiku mmoja; uliweka uhusiano mpya ambao hatimaye uliuondoa, na Wakristo walisimama mstari wa mbele katika vuguvugu la kukomesha utumwa huko Uingereza na Amerika. Lakini somo la papo hapo kwa waamini hawa ni kanuni itakayojaza sehemu iliyobaki ya kifungu hiki: jinsi ya kuteseka isivyo haki, na kuteseka vizuri. Na kwa ajili hiyo, Petro anayainua macho yao kwa Kristo.We should pause here, because the command to slaves troubles modern readers. Why did Christianity not at once abolish slavery? In the days of the New Testament there were some sixty million slaves — many of them doctors, teachers, and musicians — yet they had no rights at all and were counted as part of the master's property. Many early Christians were themselves slaves. Had the church called for armed revolt, the young Christian movement would have been crushed, as every earlier slave revolt had been. So the gospel did not begin with rebellion; it began by planting a seed that would in time destroy slavery from within. Paul wrote that in Christ "there is neither slave nor free... for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). When he met the runaway slave Onesimus, he sent him back to his master Philemon — but asked that he be received no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother. Christianity did not overturn slavery overnight; it ordered a new relationship that eventually undid it, and Christians stood at the forefront of the abolition movement in England and America. But the immediate lesson for these believers is the principle that will fill the rest of the passage: how to suffer unjustly, and well. And for that, Peter lifts their eyes to Christ.

Kristo Aliteswa, Akatuachia KielelezoChrist Suffered, Leaving Us an Example

"Kwa sababu ndio mlioitiwa; maana Kristo naye aliteswa kwa ajili yenu, akawaachia kielelezo, mfuate nyayo zake" (1 Petro 2:21). Swali "kwa nini Kristo alilazimika kuteseka?" ni swali ambalo Petro analijibu katika kifungu hiki, na jibu lake la kwanza ni hili: Kristo aliteswa ili atuachie kielelezo. Neno lililotafsiriwa "kielelezo" lina picha hai; maana yake halisi ni "kitu kilichoandikwa chini." Linaonyesha daftari la mfano ambalo mtoto hulitumia kujifunza kuandika, lenye herufi kamili juu ya ukurasa ili mwanafunzi azifuatishe. Kristo ndiye nakala hiyo kamili. Tumeitwa kuyafuatisha maisha yetu juu ya maisha yake — kumwiga Kristo. Kama yeye angekuwa anaishi maisha yako, akiwa na vipaji vyako na nafasi zako, angefanya nini? Kwa sababu Yesu alikuwa mwanadamu halisi, Mungu anaweza kwa haki kutuita tufuate kielelezo alichokiweka, na kielelezo hicho hakikuwa na dosari: aliutafuta kwanza ufalme, alimtii Baba sawasawa kabisa, na aliishi bila dhambi. Somo linainua vielelezo viwili hasa."For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21). The question "why did Christ have to suffer?" is one Peter answers in this passage, and his first answer is this: Christ suffered to leave us an example. The word translated "example" is a vivid one; it literally means "something written underneath." It pictures the copybook a child uses to learn to write, with the perfect letters at the top of the page for the pupil to trace. Christ is that perfect copy. We are called to trace our lives over His — to the imitation of Christ. If He were living your life, with your talents and your opportunities, what would He do? Because Jesus was a real man, God can rightly call us to follow the pattern He set, and that pattern was flawless: He sought first the kingdom, obeyed the Father exactly, and lived without sin. The lesson lifts up two examples in particular.

Cha kwanza ni kielelezo cha unyenyekevu. Katika Chumba cha Juu, usiku ule ule kabla ya kifo chake, wanafunzi walikuwa wakibishana ni nani kati yao atakuwa mkubwa. Na Mwana wa Mungu, msalaba ukiwa mbele yake, aliinuka, akajifunga kitambaa kiunoni, akaosha miguu yao. Dkt. Henry Sloane Coffin aliwahi kuliuliza kundi la Wakristo wa China ni nini kilichowavuta kwa Kristo kutoka dini zao za zamani. Si miujiza, walisema, kwa maana dini zao za zamani zilikuwa na miujiza; si mafundisho, kwa maana walikuwa na walimu waliosema mambo mazuri. Mwishowe mzee mmoja akasema, "Ni Yesu akiosha miguu ya wanafunzi wake." Hawakuwa na kitu kama hicho — Mungu akiinama na bakuli na kitambaa. Mafarakano mengi sana ulimwenguni na kanisani yanatokana na kukataa kuchukua nafasi ya chini: mchezaji anayeacha timu kwa sababu hachezeshwi vya kutosha, mwimbaji asiyetaka kuimba bila kupewa wimbo wa peke yake, mtu anayekasirika kwa sababu hakupata atakavyo. Tunapojaribiwa kufikiria heshima yetu na haki zetu, na tumwone tena Mwana wa Mungu akipiga magoti miguuni pa wanafunzi wake.The first is an example of humility. In the Upper Room, on the very night before His death, the disciples were quarreling over which of them would be greatest. And the Son of God, with the cross before Him, rose, wrapped a towel around His waist, and washed their feet. Dr. Henry Sloane Coffin once asked a group of Chinese Christians what had won them to Christ from their old religions. Not the miracles, they said, for their old religions had miracles; not the teaching, for they had teachers who said fine things. At last an old man said, "It was Jesus washing His disciples' feet." They had nothing like that — God stooping with a basin and towel. So much division in the world and in the church comes from a refusal to take the lower place: the player who quits because he does not play enough, the singer who will not sing without the solo, the man who is angry because he did not get his way. When we are tempted to think of our dignity and our rights, let us see again the Son of God kneeling at His disciples' feet.

Cha pili, na kilicho kikuu zaidi, ni kielelezo cha kutii mapenzi ya Baba. Baada ya chakula Yesu alikwenda Gethsemane, akijua kilichokuwa mbele yake — uchungu mkuu, msalaba, na kutengwa na Baba — hata pambano lake likamtoa matone ya damu. Na mwishowe aliomba, "Uniondolee kikombe hiki; walakini si mapenzi yangu, bali yako yatendeke." Alikuwa mtiifu hata katika kukinywea kikombe kichungu. Maandiko yanatusisitizia jambo hili: "Yeye asemaye kwamba anakaa ndani yake, imempasa kuenenda mwenyewe vile vile kama yeye alivyoenenda" (1 Yohana 2:6). Haitoshi kusema unaamini, au kujidai jina la Mkristo, au kujua habari za Injili; uthibitisho wa wokovu ni kwamba unajitahidi kuenenda kama Yesu alivyoenenda. Kama kitabu cha zamani In His Steps (Katika Nyayo Zake) kilivyofundisha kizazi kimoja kuuliza kabla ya kila uamuzi, "Yesu angefanya nini?\"The second, and greatest, is an example of obedience to the Father's will. After the supper Jesus went to Gethsemane, knowing what lay ahead — agony, the cross, and separation from the Father — until His struggle pressed drops of blood from Him. And at the end He prayed, "Take this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done." He was obedient even in drinking the bitter cup. Scripture presses this on us: "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:6). It is not enough to say you believe, or to claim the name of Christian, or to know about the gospel; the proof of salvation is that you are striving to walk as Jesus walked. As the old book In His Steps taught a generation to ask before every decision, "What would Jesus do?"

Hakutenda DhambiHe Committed No Sin

Sasa Petro anakaza macho kwenye ukamilifu wa kielelezo hiki: "Yeye hakutenda dhambi, wala hila haikuonekana kinywani mwake" (1 Petro 2:22). Kristo alijaribiwa sawasawa na sisi katika mambo yote, bila kufanya dhambi (Waebrania 4:15); "wala ndani yake hamna dhambi" (1 Yohana 3:5). Aliishi kati ya wenye dhambi na akafanya hivyo bila kutenda dhambi. Kwa kawaida tunazungumza juu ya ukamilifu wake kwa upande hasi — hakutenda dhambi — lakini kuna upande chanya pia. Hakuepuka tu kuvunja sheria za Mungu; aliyatenda mapenzi ya Mungu kikamilifu katika kila jambo, na alimpenda Baba kwa moyo wake wote, roho yake yote, na akili zake zote. Hakuna mwanadamu wa kawaida awezaye kudai jambo hili, kwa maana "wote wamefanya dhambi"; ni Kristo peke yake aliyetimiza kila matarajio ya Mungu.Peter now fixes on the perfection of this example: "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). Christ was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15); "in Him is no sin" (1 John 3:5). He lived among sinners and did it without sinning. We usually speak of His perfection in the negative — He committed no sin — but there is a positive side as well. He did not merely avoid breaking God's rules; He perfectly did the will of God in everything, and loved the Father with all His heart, soul, and mind. No mere man could ever claim this, for "all have sinned"; only Christ fulfilled every expectation of God.

Waamini wakati mwingine wameuliza swali lililo ndani zaidi: si tu kwamba Kristo hakutenda dhambi, bali kama angeweza kutenda dhambi. Wakristo wacha Mungu wamejibu kwa njia tofauti. Wengine wanashikilia kwamba kwa sababu yeye ni Mungu kamili, na Mungu hawezi kutenda dhambi, hakuweza kutenda dhambi. Wengine, wakiwa na uhakika uleule kwamba yeye ni Mwana wa milele, wanashikilia kwamba kama mwanadamu halisi alijaribiwa kwa kweli, akiwa na uhuru halisi wa kuchagua. Pande zote mbili zinakubaliana juu ya ukweli mmoja wa msingi: Kristo hakutenda dhambi. Somo linaelekea upande wa mtazamo wa pili, na sababu zake zinafaa kupimwa kwa sababu zinalinda kweli za thamani. Uwezekano wa dhambi, linasema, ndio unaofanya ubinadamu wake kuwa halisi — mwanadamu halisi hufanya maamuzi, na pale Adamu alipochagua kutotii, Yesu alichagua kutii. Ndio unaofanya kujaribiwa kwake kuwa halisi — weka matufaha halisi na matunda ya nta mbele ya wavulana wenye njaa, na ni matunda halisi tu yanayowavutia; jaribu lisilo na uwezekano wa kushindwa si jaribu hata kidogo. Ndio unaofanya kujitambulisha kwake nasi kuwa halisi — tuna Kuhani Mkuu awezaye kuchukuana nasi katika udhaifu wetu, awezaye kusema, "Najua, kwa maana nimepita hapo." Na ndio unaofanya utii wake kuwa halisi — hakuwa mashine inayosukumwa na mtambo, bali Mwana aliyechagua kwa hiari kutenda mapenzi ya Baba yake.Believers have sometimes asked a deeper question: not only that Christ did not sin, but whether He could have. Godly Christians have answered in different ways. Some hold that because He is fully God, and God cannot sin, He was unable to sin. Others, equally sure that He is the eternal Son, hold that as a true man He was genuinely tested, with a real freedom of choice. Both sides agree on the one essential fact: Christ did not sin. The lesson leans toward the second view, and its reasons are worth weighing because they protect precious truths. The possibility of sin, it argues, is what makes His humanity real — a true man makes choices, and where Adam chose disobedience, Jesus chose obedience. It is what makes His temptation real — set real apples and wax fruit before hungry boys, and only the real fruit tempts; a test with no possibility of yielding is no test at all. It is what makes His identification with us real — we have a High Priest who can be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses, who can say, "I know, for I have been there." And it is what makes His obedience real — He was not a machine moved by a lever, but a Son who freely chose to do His Father's will.

Alipotukanwa, Hakurudisha MatukanoReviled, He Did Not Revile Back

Sasa Petro anaonyesha jinsi Kristo asiye na dhambi alivyoenenda chini ya ukatili: "Yeye alipotukanwa, hakurudisha matukano; alipoteswa, hakuogofya; bali alijikabidhi kwa yeye ahukumuye kwa haki" (1 Petro 2:23). Watu walipomlaani, hakuwalaani. Walipomtesa, hakutoa vitisho. Badala yake aliikabidhi kesi yake yote kwa Mungu, Hakimu mwenye haki, akimtumaini kuweka mambo yote sawa mwishowe. Huu ndio moyo wa jinsi Mkristo anavyoteseka vizuri. Mwamini anayeshambuliwa hapaswi kulipa tukano kwa tukano wala kupanga kisasi, bali, kama Bwana wake, ajikabidhi kwa Mungu ahukumuye kwa haki. Mtumwa anayetendewa ukali, kanisa linalosingiziwa, mwamini anayedhulumiwa — wote wameitwa kwenye kujikabidhi huku kwa utulivu mikononi mwa Mungu.Now Peter shows how the sinless Christ behaved under cruelty: "who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). When men cursed Him, He did not curse back. When they made Him suffer, He uttered no threats. Instead He handed His whole case over to God, the righteous Judge, trusting Him to set all things right in the end. Here is the heart of how a Christian suffers well. The believer under attack is not to repay insult with insult or to plot revenge, but, like his Lord, to entrust himself to the God who judges justly. The slave being treated harshly, the church being slandered, the believer being wronged — all are called to this same quiet committal of themselves into God's hands.

Alizichukua Dhambi Zetu Juu ya MtiHe Bore Our Sins on the Tree

Lakini mateso ya Kristo yalikuwa zaidi ya kielelezo; hili ndilo jibu la pili kuu la Petro kwa swali "kwa nini aliteswa?" — Aliteswa ili atulete kwa Mungu. "Yeye mwenyewe alizichukua dhambi zetu katika mwili wake juu ya mti, tukiwa wafu kwa mambo ya dhambi, tuwe hai kwa mambo ya haki; kwa kupigwa kwake mliponywa" (1 Petro 2:24). Alijitwika dhambi zetu; alizichukua katika mwili wake mwenyewe; na alifanya hivyo ili tumalizane na dhambi na tuwe hai kwa haki. Kizuizi kikuu kati yetu na Mungu ni dhambi, na kwa sababu Mungu ni mtakatifu ni lazima ashughulikie dhambi. Angeweza kutuhukumu sisi sote tu, jambo ambalo ndilo tunalostahili. Angeweza kuiweka kando sheria yake mwenyewe ya haki — lakini hilo lingeikana tabia yake mwenyewe na kuutumbukiza ulimwengu katika vurugu. Au angeweza kulipa deni yeye mwenyewe. Na hivyo ndivyo hasa alivyofanya katika Kristo. Msalabani, haki na upendo viliunganishwa.But Christ's suffering was more than an example; here is Peter's second great answer to "why did He suffer?" — He suffered to bring us to God. "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24). He took our sins upon Himself; He bore them in His own body; and He did it so that we might be done with sin and alive to righteousness. The great barrier between us and God is sin, and because God is holy He must deal with it. He could have simply condemned us all, which is what we deserve. He could have set aside His own law of righteousness — but that would deny His own character and plunge the world into chaos. Or He could pay the debt Himself. And that is exactly what He did in Christ. In the cross, justice and love were combined.

Somo linasimulia habari ya mvulana asiyetii aliyepelekwa kulala usiku peke yake katika chumba cha darini kama adhabu yake. Lakini baba yake, akijua kwamba mvulana aliogopa giza, hakuweza kupumzika. Alichukua matandiko na kupanda juu kulala kando yake, akisema, "Mwanangu, umekuwa mkaidi, nami siwezi kuiondoa adhabu, lakini nimeamua kuibeba pamoja nawe." Wawili hao walipotelemka pamoja, hiyo ilikuwa haki na upendo. Petro anasema, jambo kama hilo ndilo Mungu alilotufanyia. Lakini wokovu huu si wa moja kwa moja bila kuupokea. Unatolewa bure kwa wote, lakini si wote wanaoupokea. Kuna habari ya kweli ya George Wilson, aliyehukumiwa kunyongwa, ambaye Rais alimsamehe — lakini Wilson aliukataa msamaha huo. Kesi ilifika hadi Mahakama Kuu, na Jaji Mkuu aliamua kwamba msamaha ni kipande cha karatasi tu usipokubaliwa; "ukikataliwa, si msamaha." George Wilson alinyongwa. Ndivyo ilivyo kwa msamaha wa Kristo. Alizichukua dhambi zetu; msamaha kamili na wa bure unanyooshwa kwa kila mmoja wetu — lakini msamaha uliokataliwa si msamaha hata kidogo. Petro atasema jambo hilo hilo tena sura moja baadaye: "Kwa sababu Kristo naye aliteswa mara moja kwa ajili ya dhambi, mwenye haki kwa ajili yao wasio haki, ili atulete kwa Mungu" (1 Petro 3:18).The lesson tells of a disobedient boy sent to spend the night alone in the attic as his punishment. But the father, knowing the boy was afraid of the dark, could not rest. He took bedding and climbed up to lie beside him, saying, "Son, you have been disobedient, and I cannot take away the punishment, but I have decided to bear it with you." When the two came down together, it was justice and love. Something like that, Peter says, is what God did for us. Yet this salvation is not automatic. It is offered freely to all, but not all receive it. There is a true story of George Wilson, sentenced to hang, whom the President pardoned — but Wilson refused the pardon. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, and the Chief Justice ruled that a pardon is only a piece of paper unless it is accepted; "if it is refused, it is no pardon." George Wilson was hanged. So it is with Christ's pardon. He bore our sins; a full and free forgiveness is held out to every one of us — but a pardon refused is no pardon at all. Peter will say the same thing again a chapter later: "Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

Kondoo Waliopotea, Waliorejea kwa MchungajiStraying Sheep, Returned to the Shepherd

Petro anaifunga sura hii kwa picha ya upole: "Kwa maana mlikuwa mkipotea kama kondoo; lakini sasa mmerejea kwa Mchungaji na Mwangalizi wa roho zenu" (1 Petro 2:25). Kondoo hawajitunzi wenyewe; wanatangatanga. Kama Isaya alivyosema, "Sisi sote kama kondoo tumepotea; kila mmoja amegeukia njia yake mwenyewe" (Isaya 53:6). Philip Keller, aliyefuga kondoo, alisimulia habari ya mmoja wa kondoo wake jike bora kabisa aliyekuwa daima hana utulivu wala kuridhika — "mpenya-uzio" aliyekuwa akipenya katikati ya uzio hadi kwenye ardhi kame, na zaidi ya hayo, aliwafundisha kondoo wengine kumfuata. Sisi tunafanana sana na kondoo huyo anayetangatanga. Lakini ajabu ya Injili ni kwamba waliopotea wamerudi nyumbani: tumerejea kwa Mchungaji na Mwangalizi wa roho zetu, Mchungaji Mwema, Yesu Kristo, aliyedhihirisha upendo wake katika hili, kwamba "tulipokuwa tungali wenye dhambi, Kristo alikufa kwa ajili yetu" (Warumi 5:8). Sura iliyoanza na mateso inaishia katika usalama — kondoo waliopotea wamekusanywa tena kwa Mchungaji aliyezichukua dhambi zao.Peter closes the chapter with a tender image: "For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls" (1 Peter 2:25). Sheep do not look after themselves; they wander. As Isaiah said, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). Philip Keller, who kept sheep, told of one of his finest ewes who was forever restless and discontented — a "fence-crawler" who would push out through the fence onto barren ground, and worse, would teach the other sheep to follow her. We are much like that wandering sheep. But the wonder of the gospel is that the straying have come home: we have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who proved His love in this, that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). The chapter that began with suffering ends in safety — the lost sheep gathered back to the Shepherd who bore their sins.

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