1. Swali Linapokuja1. When the Question Comes

Mchungaji wa kanisa dogo huko Meksiko anasimama mbele ya watu thelathini na watano asubuhi ya Jumapili. Amefanya kazi mbili wiki nzima na usiku uliopita alilala saa nne tu. Mwanamke mmoja ananyoosha mkono. Mwanawe ni mgonjwa. “Mchungaji,” anauliza, “je, Biblia inasema kwamba nikiwa na imani ya kutosha, Mungu atamponya sasa hivi?”A pastor in a small church in Mexico stands before thirty-five people on a Sunday morning. He has worked two jobs all week and slept four hours the night before. A woman raises her hand. Her son is sick. “Pastor,” she asks, “does the Bible say that if I have enough faith, God will heal him right now?”

Swali hilo linaweza kuonekana jepesi. Sivyo. Nyuma yake kuna mahubiri elfu moja ambayo mwanamke huyo amesikia kwenye televisheni. Nyuma yake kuna madhehebu potofu yaliyofika mlangoni pake. Nyuma yake kuna walimu wa injili ya mafanikio waliomwambia kwamba imani ni kama swichi — ukiiwasha, Mungu lazima atii. Na mbele ya mchungaji huyo wamesimama roho thelathini na tano zitakazoamini lolote atakalosema baadaye.That question may sound simple. It is not. Behind it stand a thousand sermons the woman has heard on television. Behind it stand the cults that have visited her door. Behind it stand the prosperity teachers who told her that faith is a switch — flip it and God must obey. And in front of that pastor stand thirty-five souls who will believe whatever he says next.

Hii ndiyo sababu tunasoma hermeneutiki. Si ili tuwe maprofesa. Si ili tumvutie mtu yeyote kwa maneno marefu ya Kigiriki. Tunaisoma kwa sababu mwanamke halisi ana mwana halisi, naye anahitaji jibu halisi kutoka kwa Neno la Mungu lililo halisi — nasi, wachungaji, lazima tuwe tayari kulitoa.This is why we study hermeneutics. Not to become professors. Not to impress anyone with long Greek words. We study it because a real woman has a real son and she needs a real answer from a real Word of God — and we, the pastors, must be ready to give it.

2. Neno Ndani ya Moyo Wangu2. The Word in My Own Heart

Mvulana mmoja alikuwa akisoma Biblia yake baba yake alipomkuta. Baba alikinyakua kitabu na kukitupa motoni. Mvulana bado alikuwa akitabasamu. “Kwa nini unatabasamu?” baba aliuliza. Mvulana alionyesha kifua chake akajibu, “Kwa sababu huwezi kuichoma Biblia iliyo humu ndani.”A boy was reading his Bible when his father caught him. The father snatched the book and threw it into the fire. The boy was still smiling. “Why are you smiling?” the father asked. The boy pointed to his chest and answered, “Because you cannot burn the Bible in here.”

Nililelewa katika nyumba kama ya Timotheo. Biblia ilipendwa na kuaminiwa. Nilipokuwa mtoto niliipokea kama Neno la Mungu kwa sababu ndivyo wazazi wangu walivyonifundisha. Nilipokua, imani yangu ilitikiswa mara kwa mara — jambo hilo humpata kila mwamini mnyoofu. Lakini sasa najua kwamba imani rahisi ya kitoto katika Biblia ndiyo lengo la kila Mkristo, na hasa la kila mchungaji. Neno la Mungu ni kisima tunachochota maji kwa ajili ya watu wenye kiu. Kisima kikitiwa sumu, watu wetu watakufa.I was raised in a home like Timothy’s. The Bible was loved and believed. When I was a child I accepted it as the Word of God because that is what my parents taught me. As I grew older my confidence was shaken from time to time — that happens to every honest believer. But I know now that a simple, childlike confidence in the Bible is the goal of every Christian, and especially of every pastor. The Word of God is the well from which we draw water for thirsty people. If the well is poisoned, our people will die.

3. Agizo la Paulo kwa Timotheo3. Paul’s Charge to Timothy

Katika chumba baridi cha gereza la Kirumi, mtume mzee alimwandikia mchungaji kijana. Barua hiyo ni Timotheo wa Pili. Ustaarabu uliomzunguka ulikuwa ukioza. Paulo alijua kwamba karibu atakatwa kichwa. Na mstari aliomwandikia mwanawe katika imani ulikuwa huu:In a cold Roman cell, an old apostle wrote to a young pastor. The letter is Second Timothy. The civilization around him was rotting. Paul knew his head was about to roll. And the line he wrote to his son in the faith was this:

Maneno mawili yamekaa katikati ya mstari huo: ukitumia kwa halali (kwa Kiingereza, “rightly dividing” — kugawanya kwa usahihi). Neno la Kigiriki lina maana ya kukata mstari ulionyooka — kile anachofanya fundi seremala, kile anachofanya mjenzi wa barabara, kile anachofanya mkulima akilima mtaro. Paulo hamwambii Timotheo aongeze kitu katika Neno. Hamwambii apunguze kitu kutoka kwake. Anamwambia alishughulikie kwa unyoofu. Huu ndio wito wa kila mchungaji. Neno si letu kulirekebisha upya. Ni letu kulifikisha.Two words sit at the center of that verse: rightly dividing. The Greek word means to cut a straight line — what a carpenter does, what a road-builder does, what a farmer does in plowing a furrow. Paul does not tell Timothy to add to the Word. He does not tell him to subtract from it. He tells him to handle it straight. This is the calling of every pastor. The Word is not ours to remodel. It is ours to deliver.

4. Moyo wa Ezra — Jifunze, Tenda, Fundisha4. Ezra’s Heart — Study, Do, Teach

Miaka mia sita kabla Timotheo hajapokea barua yake, kuhani mmoja aitwaye Ezra alirudi kutoka Babeli hadi Yerusalemu iliyokuwa magofu. Hekalu lilikuwa limejengwa upya lakini watu walikuwa wameisahau Torati. Ezra aliingia katika hali hiyo ya fujo akiwa amebeba gombo. Na katika sura ya saba mstari wa kumi Maandiko yanatuambia jinsi alivyofanya:Six hundred years before Timothy received his letter, a priest named Ezra came back from Babylon to a ruined Jerusalem. The temple was rebuilt but the people had forgotten the Law. Ezra walked into that mess carrying a scroll. And in chapter seven verse ten the Scripture tells us how he did it:

Yatie alama mambo hayo matatu. Jifunze. Tenda. Fundisha. Ezra hakuandaa taarifa zake, mantiki yake, wala akili yake. Aliandaa moyo wake. Na mpangilio una maana. Alijifunza kabla ya kufundisha. Alitii kabla ya kufundisha. Hakupanda mimbarini kuwafundisha wengine amri ambazo yeye mwenyewe hakuwa amezitii.Mark those three things. Study. Do. Teach. Ezra did not prepare his facts, his logic, or his intellect. He prepared his heart. And the order matters. He studied before he taught. He obeyed before he taught. He did not climb into a pulpit to instruct others in commandments he himself had not obeyed.

Huu ndio msimamo wa mchungaji wenye sehemu tatu, nao ndio kichanja ambacho kozi yetu yote imetundikwa juu yake. Huenda sisi ni wanafunzi wa Biblia. Lakini je, sisi ni watendaji wa Biblia? Na je, tunafundisha yale ambayo sisi wenyewe tumeyasoma kwanza na kuyatii? Mchungaji anayejifunza bila kutenda anakuwa mnafiki. Mchungaji anayetenda bila kufundisha anakuwa mlimbikizaji anayeficha hazina. Mchungaji anayefundisha bila kujifunza kwanza anakuwa hatari. Yote matatu — jifunze, tenda, fundisha — kwa pamoja.This is the pastor’s threefold posture, and it is the trellis on which our whole course hangs. We may be Bible students. But are we Bible doers? And are we teaching what we ourselves have first studied and obeyed? A pastor who studies and does not do becomes a hypocrite. A pastor who does and does not teach becomes a hoarder. A pastor who teaches and has not first studied becomes a danger. All three — study, do, teach — together.

5. Maandiko Ni Nini5. What the Scriptures Are

Kabla hatujajifunza jinsi ya kuifasiri Biblia, lazima tujue tumeshika nini mkononi. Paulo anamwambia Timotheo katika 2 Timotheo 3:15–17 mambo matano kuhusu Maandiko. Kila moja linaathiri jinsi mchungaji anavyolikaribia andiko.Before we learn how to interpret the Bible, we must know what we are holding. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15–17 five things about the Scriptures. Each one shapes how a pastor approaches the text.

Maandiko yanafundishika. “Tangu utoto umeyajua Maandiko Matakatifu.” Timotheo alijifunza Biblia magotini mwa mama yake. Wayahudi walisema ni afadhali mtoto alisahau jina lake mwenyewe kuliko kuisahau Sheria ya Mungu. Wazazi na wachungaji wote ni walimu. Mchungaji asiyeweza kuifanya Biblia ieleweke kwa mtoto bado hajaielewa yeye mwenyewe.The Scriptures are teachable. “From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures.” Timothy learned the Bible at his mother’s knee. The Jews said it was better for a child to forget his own name than to forget the Law of God. Parents and pastors are both teachers. A pastor who cannot make the Bible understandable to a child has not yet understood it himself.

Maandiko ni matakatifu. “Maandishi matakatifu,” ndivyo Kigiriki kinavyosema. Neno takatifu lina maana ya kutengwa, kuwa tofauti. Voltaire alisema, “Miaka mia moja kuanzia sasa Biblia na Kristo watakuwa wamesahaulika.” Chumba kile kile alimosema maneno hayo sasa kinatumika kama ghala la Biblia. Henry V wa Uingereza alifanya kusoma Biblia kuwa kosa linalostahili adhabu ya kifo. Amri zake hazikuweza kufupisha maisha yake kwa dakika moja wala kupunguza uzito wake kwa wakia moja. Hiki si kitabu cha kawaida.The Scriptures are holy. “Sacred letters,” the Greek says. The word holy means set apart, different. Voltaire said, “One hundred years from now the Bible and Christ will be forgotten.” The very room in which he spoke those words is now used as a Bible storehouse. Henry V of England made Bible-reading a capital crime. His decrees could not shorten its life by one minute or lighten its weight by one ounce. This is not an ordinary book.

Maandiko yanaongoza kwenye wokovu. Yanaweza “kukuhekimisha hata upate wokovu kwa imani iliyo katika Kristo Yesu.” Angalia — hatuokolewi kwa Biblia. Biblia si hirizi ya uchawi. Shetani anaijua Biblia lakini hajaokolewa. Tunaokolewa kwa kumtumaini Kristo anayefunuliwa katika Biblia. Neno linatuelekeza kwa Mtu.The Scriptures lead to salvation. They are “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” Notice — we are not saved by the Bible. The Bible is not a magic charm. Satan knows the Bible and is not saved. We are saved by trusting Christ who is revealed in the Bible. The Word points us to the Person.

Maandiko yamevuviwa na Mungu. “Kila andiko lenye pumzi ya Mungu.” Huko Athene, jengo la Parthenoni halina hata mstari mmoja ulionyooka katika muundo wake wote — Wagiriki walilijenga likiwa limepinda kwa sababu walijua jicho la mwanadamu huona kwa upotofu. Hatuwezi kuyaamini macho yetu wenyewe. Tunaweza kutegemea Neno la Mungu.The Scriptures are inspired by God. “All Scripture is God-breathed.” In Athens, the Parthenon has not one straight line in its whole structure — the Greeks built it crooked because they knew the human eye sees crookedly. We cannot trust our own eyes. We can rest on the Word of God.

Maandiko yana thamani — kwa mafundisho, kwa kuwaonya watu makosa yao, kwa kuwaongoza, na kwa kuwaadibisha katika haki. William Bieder-Wolf aliuliza, “Je, umewahi kumsikia mtu akisema, Nilikuwa kama mnyama kwa mke wangu, kisha nikasoma jiolojia kidogo — na sasa ukatili wangu umegeuka kuwa upole? Umewahi kusikia hivyo?” Hapana. Lakini Neno la Mungu limewabadilisha mamilioni.The Scriptures are valuable — for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. William Bieder-Wolf asked, “Did you ever hear a man say, I was a beast as a husband, and then I studied a little geology — and now my brutality is changed to kindness? Did you ever hear that?” No. But the Word of God has transformed millions.

6. Jinsi Watu Wanavyoitikia — Hatua Tano (“Five C’s”)6. How People Respond — The Five C’s

Hubiri la pili, juu ya 2 Petro 1:21, lilinifundisha miitikio mitano ambayo watu huwa nayo Neno la Mungu linapokuja kati yao. Yaangalie yote matano katika kanisa lako mwenyewe.A second sermon, on 2 Peter 1:21, taught me five reactions people have when the Word of God comes among them. Watch for all five in your own church.

Wengine hushindana nalo. Hubishana. Hugawanya. Charles Spurgeon alisema, “Niitetee Biblia? Ingekuwa sawa na kumtetea simba.” Neno halihitaji ulinzi wetu. Liachilie; linajitetea lenyewe.Some contend with it. They argue. They divide. Charles Spurgeon said, “Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion.” The Word does not need our protection. Set it loose; it defends itself.

Wengine hulichanganya. Hulipotosha. Marekani peke yake ina madhehebu na vikundi potofu zaidi ya mia tatu na hamsini, na mengi yao yanadai kwamba mafundisho yao yanatokana na Biblia. Wengi hutumia maneno yale yale, mistari ile ile, ibada zile zile — lakini huhubiri injili nyingine. Nyoka katika Edeni ndiye aliyekuwa wa kwanza kufanya hivyo: “Ati! Hakika Mungu amesema?”Some confuse it. They twist it. The United States alone has more than three hundred fifty sects and cults, most of them claiming to base their teaching on the Bible. Many use the same words, the same verses, the same services — but preach another gospel. The serpent in Eden was the first to do this: “Has God really said?”

Wengine hulihukumu na kulikataa. B. H. Carroll, ambaye baadaye alianzisha Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, wakati mmoja alikuwa kijana mwenye uchungu aliyeikataa Biblia waziwazi. Mwaka 1865 mama yake alimsihi ahudhurie mkutano mmoja wa kambi ya injili. Mhubiri aliuliza, “Ninyi mnaojitenga mbali na Ukristo — je, mmepata kitu chochote chenye thamani huko mlipo?” Moyo wa Carroll ulijibu, “Hakuna kitu chini ya mbingu yote; hakuna kabisa.” Usiku ule msomi yule mwenye uchungu alivunjika moyo mbele za Mungu.Some condemn it. B. H. Carroll, who later founded Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, was once a bitter young man who rejected the Bible openly. In 1865 his mother begged him to attend one camp meeting. The preacher asked, “You who stand aloof from Christianity — have you found anything worth having where you are?” Carroll’s heart answered, “Nothing under the whole heaven; absolutely nothing.” That night the bitter scholar was broken.

Wengine hulificha. Mfalme Yehoyakimu aliliteketeza gombo la Yeremia. Mungu alimwambia Yeremia aandike jingine. Katika siku zetu Shetani hachomi tena Biblia. Anaturuhusu tuzimiliki na kuziacha juu ya rafu.Some conceal it. King Jehoiakim burned Jeremiah’s scroll. God told Jeremiah to write another. In our day Satan no longer burns Bibles. He lets us own them and leave them on shelves.

Wengine hulithibitisha. Billy Graham, alipokuwa katika kipindi kigumu cha mashaka, alipanda milima ya Sierra Nevada akiwa na Biblia yake. Alipiga magoti akaomba, “Baba, siwezi kuelewa mambo mengi katika kitabu hiki. Siwezi kufika njia yote kwa akili, lakini nakipokea kwa imani kuwa Neno lenye mamlaka, lililovuviwa, la Mungu aliye hai.” Kuanzia saa ile huduma yake haikuweza kuzuiliwa.Some confirm it. Billy Graham, in a crisis of doubt, climbed the Sierra Nevada mountains with his Bible. He knelt and prayed, “Father, I cannot understand many things in this book. I cannot come intellectually all the way, but I accept it by faith to be the authoritative, inspired Word of the living God.” From that hour his ministry was unstoppable.

Miitikio mitano — kushindana, kuchanganya, kuhukumu, kuficha, kuthibitisha (kwa Kiingereza: contend, confuse, condemn, conceal, confirm). Watu wako watakuonyesha yote matano.Five reactions — contend, confuse, condemn, conceal, confirm. Your people will show you all five.

7. Hatari za Siku Zetu7. The Dangers in Our Day

Hatari tatu zinamkandamiza mchungaji wa kanisa dogo leo, na mchungaji asiyeweza kuifasiri Biblia yake ataangukia ndani yake.Three dangers press on the small-church pastor today, and a pastor who cannot interpret his Bible will fall into them.

Upotoshaji wa injili ya mafanikio. Nimewajua wachungaji waliotumia Yeremia 29:11 — “Maana nayajua mawazo ninayowawazia ninyi, asema BWANA, ni mawazo ya amani wala si ya mabaya” — katika kila mazishi na kila shida ya kifedha. Mstari huo uliandikwa kwa Wayahudi waliokuwa uhamishoni Babeli wakikabili miaka sabini zaidi ya utumwa. Mchungaji alipojifunza muktadha, huduma yake ilizama zaidi. Watu wake waliacha kutarajia miujiza ya kichawi wakaanza kumtumaini Mungu katika mateso.The prosperity twist. I have known pastors who used Jeremiah 29:11 — “I know the thoughts I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil” — at every funeral and every financial crisis. The verse was written to Jews in Babylonian exile facing seventy more years of captivity. When the pastor learned the context, his ministry deepened. His people stopped expecting magic and started trusting God in suffering.

Upotoshaji wa madhehebu potofu. Wamormoni, Mashahidi wa Yehova, wafuasi wa Moon (“Moonies”), na wengine hubisha milango wakiwa na Biblia ile ile mikononi mwao. Wanasema maneno yale yale lakini wanamaanisha mambo tofauti. Bila ufasiri mzuri, watu wako watadhani uongo ni kweli — kwa sababu uongo huzungumza lugha ya Biblia kwa ufasaha.The cult twist. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Moonies, and others knock on doors with the same Bible in their hands. They speak the same words but mean different things. Without good interpretation, your people will mistake error for truth — because error speaks fluent Bible.

Upotoshaji wa usasa (modernism). Walimu wengine hujiita Wakristo lakini wanakana uvuvio wa Neno, kuzaliwa kwa Yesu na bikira, ufufuo, na miujiza. Kupungua kukubwa zaidi kwa makanisa katika kizazi kilichopita kumetokea katika yale yaliyopoteza mamlaka ya Biblia. Watu hawatakuja kusikiliza mawazo ya wanadamu. Watakuja kusikia neno kutoka kwa Mungu.The modernist twist. Other teachers claim the name of Christian but deny the inspiration of the Word, the virgin birth, the resurrection, the miracles. The greatest decline of churches in the last generation has been in those that lost the Bible’s authority. People will not come to hear the ideas of men. They will come to hear a word from God.

8. Ilinde Kweli — Askari, Mwanariadha, Mkulima8. Guard the Truth — Soldier, Athlete, Farmer

Paulo alimpa Timotheo picha tatu za mchungaji anayelishughulikia Neno kwa haki.Paul gave Timothy three pictures of the pastor who handles the Word rightly.

Uwe askari — huo ni kujitoa kikamilifu. Hakuna shughuli ya pembeni. Lengo moja. Huwezi kumfuata Kristo huku ukifuatilia malengo mengine matano.Be a soldier — that is dedication. No sideline. One mission. You cannot follow Christ while pursuing five other aims.

Uwe mwanariadha — huo ni nidhamu. Hakuna njia za mkato, hakuna kukwepa hatua, hakuna kuvunja kanuni. Mwanariadha hapewi taji asiposhindana kwa kufuata kanuni.Be an athlete — that is discipline. No shortcuts, no cutting corners, no breaking the rules. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

Uwe mkulima — huo ni bidii. Mkulima anayetarajia mavuno mwezi Oktoba lazima alime udongo mwezi Aprili. Kujifunza Biblia ni kazi ya shambani. Neno halimzalii mvivu.Be a farmer — that is diligence. The farmer who expects a harvest in October must work the soil in April. Bible study is field labor. The Word does not yield to the lazy.

Kujitoa, nidhamu, na bidii. Picha tatu, wito mmoja. Ziunganishe na matendo matatu ya Ezra — jifunze, tenda, fundisha — nawe utapata maisha ya kazi ya mchungaji mwaminifu.Dedication, discipline, and diligence. Three pictures, one calling. Combine them with Ezra’s three actions — study, do, teach — and you have the working life of a faithful pastor.

9. Njia Iliyo Mbele — Kanuni Saba9. The Road Ahead — Seven Principles

Katika sehemu zijazo tutajifunza kanuni saba zinazoongoza jinsi mchungaji anavyosoma Biblia yake kwa uaminifu. Nazitambulisha hapa ili ujue tunakoelekea.In the units to come we will learn seven principles that govern how a pastor reads his Bible faithfully. I introduce them here so you know where we are going.

Kwanza, ufafanuzi wa kifungu (eksejesia) kabla ya matumizi — toa maana kutoka ndani ya andiko kabla hujaipeleka mimbarini. Pili, Maandiko hufasiri Maandiko — acha vifungu vilivyo wazi vieleze vile vigumu. Tatu, mifano si istiari (mafumbo ya kila undani) — mifano mingi ya Kristo inafundisha jambo moja kuu, si mambo kumi na mawili yaliyofichwa. Nne, miujiza mingi pia ni ishara zilizotendwa — inaweza kuhubiri na pia kuonyesha nguvu na huruma. Tano, aina ya fasihi huamua ufasiri — soma ushairi kama ushairi, masimulizi kama masimulizi, unabii kama unabii. Sita, halisi si lazima iwe ya kuchukua neno kwa neno kibubusa — Yesu alijiita mlango bila kugeuka kuwa mbao. Na saba, lengo la ufasiri ni mabadiliko — hatulengi maarifa tu bali maisha yaliyobadilika.First, exegesis before application — draw the meaning out of the text before you carry it into the pulpit. Second, Scripture interprets Scripture — let clear passages explain difficult ones. Third, parables are not allegories — most of Christ’s parables make one principal point, not a dozen hidden ones. Fourth, many miracles are also enacted signs — they can preach as well as demonstrate power and compassion. Fifth, genre determines interpretation — read poetry as poetry, narrative as narrative, prophecy as prophecy. Sixth, literal does not always mean literalistic — Jesus called Himself a door without becoming wood. And seventh, the goal of interpretation is transformation — we are not aiming at information but at changed lives.

Kila kanuni itapewa sehemu yake yenyewe. Kila moja itasimama juu ya Biblia yenyewe, si juu ya kitabu cha kiada.Each principle will get a unit of its own. Each will rest on the Bible itself, not on a textbook.

10. Agizo la Kufunga10. A Closing Charge

Maneno ya mwisho ambayo Paulo alimwandikia Timotheo yalikuwa mawili: Lihubiri neno. Uwe tayari wakati ufaao na wakati usiofaa. Wasadikishe wenye mashaka. Wakemee wanaotenda dhambi. Watie moyo wenye hofu. Fanya hivyo mbele za Mungu.The last words Paul ever wrote to Timothy were four: Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season. Convince the doubting. Rebuke the sinning. Encourage the fearful. Do it in the presence of God.

Huisomi kozi hii ili upate cheti au sifa. Unaisoma ili yule mwanamke katika kanisa lako mwenye mwana mgonjwa asikie Neno kutoka kwa Mungu atakapouliza swali lake. Hiyo ni sababu ya kutosha kusoma kila ukurasa unaofuata.You are not studying this course to earn a credential. You are studying it so the woman in your church with a sick son will hear a Word from God when she asks her question. That is enough reason to study every page that follows.