1. Mtu Anatoka Kaburini1. A Man Walks Out of a Tomb

Bethania iko umbali wa chini ya maili mbili kutoka Yerusalemu. Siku nne baada ya Lazaro kuzikwa, dada zake bado wanapokea waombolezaji. Pango lenye mwili wake limefunikwa kwa jiwe. Harufu ya kuoza imeanza. Kisha mwalimu (rabi) mmoja kutoka Galilaya anakuja akipanda njia. Amechelewa kwa makusudi — angeweza kufika mapema na kuzuia kifo. Anasimama mbele ya pango. Analia machozi mbele ya lile jiwe. Anaamuru jiwe liondolewe. Anainua macho yake kwa Baba yake. Kisha anasema maneno manne: Lazaro, njoo huku nje. Na yule mtu aliyekufa anatoka, akiwa bado amefungwa sanda yake.Bethany is less than two miles from Jerusalem. Four days after Lazarus is buried, his sisters are still receiving mourners. The cave that holds the body is sealed with a stone. The smell of decay has begun. Then a Galilean rabbi walks up the road. He has been delayed on purpose — He could have come earlier and prevented the death. He stops at the cave. He weeps in front of the stone. He commands the stone to be moved. He raises His eyes to His Father. Then He says four words: Lazarus, come out. And the dead man walks out, his graveclothes still wrapped around him.

Soma sura hiyo nawe utaona jambo ambalo msomaji wa haraka hulikosa. Kabla Yesu hajaenda kaburini, anasema sentensi moja inayoeleza kila kitu kinachokaribia kutokea:Read the chapter and you will see something the casual reader misses. Before Jesus walks to the tomb, He says one sentence that explains everything that is about to happen:

Yesu anamwambia Martha sentensi hiyo wakati Lazaro bado yuko kaburini. Dakika chache baadaye anasimama mbele ya pango na kutenda kile alichokitangaza sasa hivi. Maneno na tendo ni fundisho moja. Muujiza haujatengana na mahubiri. Muujiza wenyewe ndio mahubiri. Hiyo ndiyo kanuni ya sehemu hii.Jesus speaks the sentence to Martha while Lazarus is still in the tomb. Minutes later He stands in front of the cave and performs what He has just declared. The words and the act are one teaching. The miracle is not separate from the sermon. The miracle is the sermon. That is the principle of this unit.

2. Kanuni2. The Principle

Miujiza ya Kristo si maonyesho ya nguvu yasiyo na mpango. Si matangazo ya kuitangaza huduma yake. Si mbinu za kuvuta umati. Mingi yake pia hufanya kazi kama ishara zinazotendwa — inahubiri, pamoja na kuonyesha nguvu na huruma. Neno la Kigiriki ambalo Mtume Yohana hupendelea kwa miujiza ya Yesu ni sêmeion — ishara. Ishara ni kitu kinachoelekeza zaidi ya chenyewe. Pale ambapo Maandiko yenyewe yanaufunua uelekezaji huo, kama Yohana anavyofanya tena na tena, muujiza ni neno linaloonekana, na neno linalosemwa ndilo linaloufasiri.Christ’s miracles are not random displays of power. They are not advertising for His ministry. They are not stunts to attract a crowd. Many of them also function as enacted signs — they preach as well as demonstrate power and compassion. The Greek word the Apostle John prefers for Jesus’ miracles is sêmeion — sign. A sign is something that points beyond itself. Where Scripture itself draws out that pointing, as John does again and again, the miracle is the visible word, and the spoken word interprets it.

Ukiuchukulia muujiza kama tamasha tu, utahubiri msisimko. Ukiuchukulia muujiza kama mfano unaotendwa, utahubiri Injili. Samaki hawakuwa kiini cha kuwalisha watu elfu tano. Mikate haikuwa kiini. Kiini kilikuwa Chakula cha Uzima, ambacho Yesu alikitangaza kwa sauti siku iliyofuata katika Yohana 6. Muujiza ulihubiri. Kisha neno lililosemwa likaufasiri muujiza.Treat a miracle as a spectacle and you will preach a thrill. Treat a miracle as an enacted parable and you will preach the gospel. The fish were not the point of the feeding of the five thousand. The bread was not the point. The point was the Bread of Life, which Jesus declared aloud the next day in John 6. The miracle preached. Then the spoken word interpreted the miracle.

3. Lazaro kama Mfano Unaotendwa3. Lazarus as Enacted Parable

Kufufuliwa kwa Lazaro kuna hatua nne, na kila moja ni sehemu ya mahubiri mamoja ambayo Yesu anahubiri kwa mikono yake na sauti yake kwa pamoja.The raising of Lazarus has four movements, and each one is part of a single sermon Jesus is preaching with His hands and His voice together.

Msiba wa kifo. Lazaro anakufa, ingawa Yesu ameambiwa kwamba ni mgonjwa. Kifo si kitu laini katika Biblia. Mtoto mchanga wa kike wa dada yangu alipokufa baada ya upasuaji wa kawaida nilipokuwa na umri wa miaka kumi na tano, uzoefu wangu wa kwanza wa kifo ulikuwa kifo cha mtoto ambaye alikuwa bado hajajifunza kutembea. Kifo ni msiba kijana anapokufa. Ni msiba asiyeamini anapokufa. Ni msiba ugonjwa wa muda mrefu unapomchukua mtu hatimaye. Bwana aliukiri msiba huo — Yesu akalia machozi, Yohana anatuambia, katika mstari mfupi kuliko yote katika Biblia. Hakujifanya kwamba kifo si kitu. Alikililia.The tragedy of death. Lazarus dies, even though Jesus is told he is sick. Death is not gentle in the Bible. When my sister’s infant daughter died after a routine operation when I was fifteen, my first experience with death was the death of a child who had not yet learned to walk. Death is a tragedy when a young man dies. It is a tragedy when an unbeliever dies. It is a tragedy when a long illness finally takes someone. The Lord acknowledged the tragedy — Jesus wept, John tells us, in the shortest verse in the Bible. He did not pretend death was nothing. He wept at it.

Jaribu la kifo. Yesu angeweza kufika mapema. Alikaa pale alipokuwa siku mbili zaidi. Wanafunzi hawakuelewa. Martha hakuelewa. Mariamu hakuelewa. Yesu alikuwa akiwafundisha — na sisi pia — kwamba wakati wa Mungu si wakati wetu, na kwamba kuchelewa ni sehemu ya jinsi anavyowaandaa watu wake kuuona utukufu wake. Muujiza haungekuwa muujiza kama Yesu angefika kwa wakati wa kuzuia kifo. Kuchelewa kulikuwa ndiyo turubai ambayo juu yake muujiza ungechorwa.The trial of death. Jesus could have come early. He stayed where He was two more days. The disciples did not understand. Martha did not understand. Mary did not understand. Jesus was teaching them — and us — that God’s timing is not our timing, and that delay is part of how He prepares His people to see His glory. The miracle would not have been a miracle if Jesus had arrived in time to prevent the death. The delay was the canvas on which the miracle would be painted.

Machozi ya kifo. Mariamu analia. Martha analia. Waombolezaji wa kulipwa wanalia. Majirani Wayahudi wanalia. Na Yesu analia. Miaka mingi iliyopita niliketi na mwanamke ambaye mumewe alikuwa amemwacha kwa ajili ya mwanamke mwingine. Alikuwa akizuia huzuni yake, akikataa kuiacha iwe halisi. Siku ambayo hatimaye alijiruhusu kulia ndiyo siku aliyoanza kupona. Machozi ni sehemu ya jinsi Mungu anavyouachilia moyo. Bwana hakuyakataa machozi pale Bethania. Yeye mwenyewe aliyamwaga kabla hajamfufua aliyekufa.The tears of death. Mary weeps. Martha weeps. The professional mourners weep. The Jewish neighbors weep. And Jesus weeps. Many years ago I sat with a woman whose husband had left her for another woman. She was holding back her grief, refusing to let it be real. The day she finally let herself cry was the day she began to heal. Tears are part of how God lets the heart loose. The Lord did not deny the tears at Bethany. He shed them Himself before He raised the dead.

Ushindi juu ya kifo. Yesu anaita kwa sauti kuu. Lazaro anatoka. Sanda bado iko mwilini mwake. Yesu anasema, Mfungueni, mkamwache aende zake. Muujiza unatenda kile ambacho sentensi ilisema: Mimi ndimi huo ufufuo, na uzima. Ni mahubiri, yaliyohubiriwa kaburi likiwa mimbari na maiti ikiwa kielelezo. Mchungaji anayesoma hadithi hii kama ajabu tu hukosa kile ambacho Yesu alikuwa akifundisha. Hakuwa akitangaza nguvu zake. Alikuwa akijihubiri Mwenyewe. Muujiza ndio ujumbe.The triumph of death. Jesus calls in a loud voice. Lazarus comes out. The graveclothes are still on him. Jesus says, Loose him, and let him go. The miracle does what the sentence said: I am the resurrection and the life. It is the sermon, preached with a tomb as the pulpit and a corpse as the demonstration. A pastor who reads this story only as a wonder misses what Jesus was teaching. He was not advertising His power. He was preaching Himself. The miracle is the message.

4. Mwenye Kupooza Kule Kapernaumu4. The Paralytic at Capernaum

Ikiwa Lazaro anaonyesha kanuni hii katika umbo lake kuu kuliko yote, Marko 2 inaionyesha kwa uwazi zaidi. Marafiki wanne wanamleta kwa Yesu mtu aliyepooza kwa kumshusha kupitia paa. Umati ni mkubwa mno hata hawawezi kumfikia kwa njia nyingine yoyote. Yesu anamtazama yule mwenye kupooza na kusema jambo la kushangaza. Hasemi, Ondoka, uende. Anasema, Mwanangu, umesamehewa dhambi zako.If Lazarus shows the principle in its grandest form, Mark 2 shows it most plainly. Four friends bring a paralyzed man to Jesus by lowering him through the roof. The crowd is so thick they cannot reach Him any other way. Jesus looks at the paralytic and says something startling. He does not say, Rise and walk. He says, Son, your sins are forgiven you.

Waandishi wanapinga kimya kimya mioyoni mwao. Ni Mungu peke yake awezaye kusamehe dhambi. Yesu anayasoma mawazo yao na kuwauliza swali linalofungua Injili nzima.The scribes object silently. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus reads their thoughts and asks them a question that unlocks the whole gospel.

Isome mistari hiyo polepole. Yesu anatuambia kwa lugha rahisi kile ambacho kila muujiza wake unafanya. Mpate kujua. Muujiza unatendwa ili jambo halisi lisiloonekana — msamaha — liweze kuonekana. Mwenye kupooza anasimama ili kuthibitisha kwamba dhambi zimeondoka. Tendo linaloonekana linahubiri kweli isiyoonekana. Injili yote ya Marko imejengwa juu ya mdundo huu. Kristo anaponya ili watu wajue ni nani awezaye kusamehe. Kristo anatuliza dhoruba ili wanafunzi waulize, Ni nani huyu, basi, hata upepo na bahari humtii? Kristo anawalisha watu elfu tano ili umati umsikie akisema, Mimi ndimi chakula cha uzima. Kila muujiza unahubiri. Kila muujiza ni mfano unaotendwa.Read those verses slowly. Jesus tells us in plain language what every miracle of His is doing. That you may know. The miracle is performed so the invisible reality — forgiveness — can be seen. The paralytic stands up to prove the sins are gone. The visible act preaches the invisible truth. Mark’s entire Gospel is built on this rhythm. Christ heals so people will know who can forgive. Christ stills the storm so the disciples will ask, Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him? Christ feeds five thousand so the crowd will hear Him say, I am the bread of life. Every miracle preaches. Every miracle is an enacted parable.

5. Jinsi ya Kusoma Hadithi ya Muujiza5. How to Read a Miracle Story

Kwa kila muujiza unaouhubiri, uliza maswali manne. Kwanza, Yesu anatenda tendo gani linaloonekana? Mtu anaponywa, dhoruba inatulizwa, maji yanakuwa divai. Lieleze tukio linaloonekana waziwazi. Pili, Yesu anasema nini kabla ya muujiza, wakati wa muujiza, au baada yake? Neno linalosemwa karibu kila mara hulifasiri tendo. Mimi ndimi huo ufufuo. Mimi ndimi chakula cha uzima. Umesamehewa dhambi zako. Neno linalosemwa ndilo ufunguo wa muujiza. Tatu, tendo na neno kwa pamoja vinahubiri kweli gani ya kiroho? Ufufuo kutoka mautini. Riziki katika njaa ya kiroho. Msamaha wa dhambi. Mamlaka juu ya uumbaji. Kuona kwa ajili ya nafsi iliyo kipofu. Nne, kweli hii inakidhi vipi mahitaji ya watu watakaosikia mahubiri yangu? Muujiza unaoonekana uliwahubiria mashahidi wa kwanza walioona kwa macho yao. Kweli ile ile inahubiri leo kwa mioyo ya aina ile ile.For every miracle you preach, ask four questions. First, what physical action does Jesus perform? A man is healed, a storm is stilled, water becomes wine. State the visible event plainly. Second, what does Jesus say before, during, or after the miracle? The spoken word almost always interprets the act. I am the resurrection. I am the bread of life. Your sins are forgiven. The spoken word is the key to the miracle. Third, what spiritual truth do the action and the word together preach? Resurrection from death. Provision in spiritual hunger. Forgiveness for sin. Authority over creation. Sight for the blind soul. Fourth, how does this truth meet the needs of the people who will hear my sermon? The visible miracle preached to the original eyewitnesses. The same truth preaches today to the same kinds of hearts.

Angalia kwamba hakuna hata moja kati ya maswali hayo manne linalouliza, Yesu alifanyaje hivyo kisayansi? Muujiza si swali la fizikia. Muujiza ni mahubiri yanayotembea. Mchungaji anayetumia asubuhi yake ya Jumapili kutetea kemia ya maji kugeuka kuwa divai hukosa kile ambacho Yohana alikuwa akifundisha kwa hadithi hiyo.Notice that none of the four questions is, How did Jesus do that scientifically? The miracle is not a physics problem. The miracle is a sermon in motion. The pastor whose Sunday morning is spent defending the chemistry of water becoming wine misses what John was teaching with that story.

6. Daktari wa Moyo Kule Chattanooga6. The Cardiologist in Chattanooga

Dkt. Maurice Rawlings alikuwa daktari bingwa wa moyo huko Chattanooga, Tennessee. Alikuwa Mkristo wa jina tu wakati jambo hili lilipotokea. Mgonjwa mmoja alikuja kufanyiwa kipimo cha moyo kwa kutembea juu ya mashine (treadmill). Mtu huyo alipatwa na shambulio la moyo wakati wa kipimo. Rawlings alimfufua. Mgonjwa alikuwa akipiga kelele, Ninahisi miali ya moto, usiniache niende. Alipatwa na shambulio jingine na jambo lile lile likatokea. Alipatwa na shambulio la tatu. Mara tatu mtu huyo alifika ukingoni.Dr. Maurice Rawlings was a heart specialist in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was a nominal Christian when this happened. A patient came in for a treadmill stress test. The man had a heart attack during the test. Rawlings revived him. The patient was screaming, I feel the flames, do not let me go. He had another attack and the same thing happened. He had a third attack. Three times the man went to the edge.

Mara ya tatu, kitu pekee ambacho Rawlings aliweza kukumbuka kilikuwa mstari aliojifunza katika Shule ya Jumapili: Mwamini Bwana Yesu Kristo, nawe utaokoka. Alimwuliza mtu huyo, Je, unaamini? Mtu huyo aliamini. Mtu huyo aliishi. Rawlings aliichunguza upya imani yake mwenyewe, akawa hai katika kanisa lake, na yule mgonjwa alijiunga na kanisa hilo na kumtumikia Bwana siku zote za maisha yake zilizobaki.The third time, all Rawlings could remember was a verse he had learned in Sunday School: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. He asked the man, Do you believe? The man believed. The man lived. Rawlings re-examined his own faith, became active in his church, and the patient joined that church and served the Lord for the rest of his days.

Daktari huyo alikuwa akihubiri mahubiri yale yale ambayo Yesu alihubiri kwenye kaburi la Lazaro. Kufufuliwa kwa mgonjwa huyo kulikuwa mfano unaotendwa. Mtu huyo alirudi kutoka kifo cha kimwili mara tatu ili aweze kuokolewa kutoka kifo cha kiroho mara moja. Mwili ulikuwa turubai; nafsi ilikuwa mchoro. Isome huduma yako ya kichungaji kwa namna hiyo nawe utamwona Mungu akitenda katika kanisa lako kama alivyotenda pale Bethania. Mwili ulioponywa, ndoa iliyookolewa, mraibu aliyepona, ombi lililojibiwa — kila kimoja ni mahubiri yanayomngoja mchungaji ayafasiri. Usiliache tukio linaloonekana bila maelezo. Sema neno linalogeuza tendo kuwa mahubiri.That doctor was preaching the same sermon Jesus preached at the tomb of Lazarus. The patient’s revival was an enacted parable. The man came back from physical death three times so that he could be saved from spiritual death once. The body was the canvas; the soul was the painting. Read your own pastoral ministry that way and you will see God acting in your church the way He acted at Bethany. The healed body, the rescued marriage, the recovered addict, the answered prayer — every one of them is a sermon waiting for the pastor to interpret. Do not let the visible event remain unexplained. Speak the spoken word that turns the act into a sermon.

7. Makosa ya Kawaida katika Kuhubiri Miujiza7. Common Errors in Preaching Miracles

Makosa matatu huwanasa wachungaji wengi kifungu cha muujiza kinapojitokeza katika ratiba yao. Kila moja ni njia ya kusahau kwamba muujiza ni mfano unaotendwa.Three errors trap many pastors when a miracle text comes up in the calendar. Each is a way of forgetting that the miracle is an enacted parable.

Kosa la kiasili (la kinaturalisti). Hii ni tabia ya mtu wa fikra za kisasa (mmodernisti) ya kuueleza muujiza hadi uishe. Kuwalisha watu elfu tano kunakuwa hadithi ya kila mtu kugawana chakula cha mchana alichokuwa amekificha. Kutulizwa kwa dhoruba kunakuwa Yesu kubahatika kukutana na kipindi cha utulivu. Kutembea juu ya maji kunakuwa fungu la mchanga. Mchungaji anayeieleza miujiza hadi iishe hana kitu kilichobaki cha kuhubiri. Mwandishi hakuwa akitueleza mfano wa kistiari aliposema Lazaro alitoka kaburini. Alikuwa akitueleza muujiza. Uache muujiza usimame. Kisha uuhubiri.The naturalistic error. This is the modernist’s habit of explaining the miracle away. The feeding of the five thousand becomes a story about everyone sharing their hidden lunches. The stilling of the storm becomes Jesus catching a calm patch. The walking on water becomes a sandbar. The pastor who explains miracles away has nothing left to preach. The Author was not telling us a metaphor when He said Lazarus came out of the tomb. He was telling us a miracle. Let the miracle stand. Then preach it.

Kosa la tamasha. Kosa lililo kinyume chake. Mchungaji anasimama kwenye tazama jinsi Yesu alivyo na nguvu. Anahubiri muujiza kama msisimko, lakini haachi kamwe muujiza uwe mahubiri. Kusanyiko lake linarudi nyumbani likiwa limevutiwa. Halirudi nyumbani likiwa limebadilishwa. Muujiza ulikusudiwa kuhubiri ufufuo, chakula cha uzima, msamaha wa dhambi. Ukisimama kwenye tamasha, unawanyima watu wako ujumbe hadi wanaona njaa.The spectacle error. The opposite mistake. The pastor stops at look how powerful Jesus is. He preaches a miracle as a thrill, but he never lets the miracle become a sermon. His congregation goes home impressed. They do not go home changed. The miracle was meant to preach the resurrection, the bread of life, the forgiveness of sin. Stop at the spectacle and you starve your people of the message.

Kosa la kimafumbo (la kialegoria). Sehemu ya 6 ilituonya juu ya hili katika mifano. Onyo lile lile linahusu miujiza. Hatuna ruhusa ya kubuni maana za kiishara kwa kila undani. Mikate mitano si vitabu vitano vya Musa. Vikapu kumi na viwili vya masalio si mitume kumi na wawili. Kaa na neno kuu ambalo Yesu alilisema pamoja na muujiza. Neno hilo ndilo tafsiri iliyoidhinishwa. Kitu kingine chochote ni ubunifu wa mhubiri.The allegorical error. Unit 6 warned us against this in parables. The same warning applies to miracles. We do not get to invent symbolic meanings for every detail. The five loaves are not the five books of Moses. The twelve baskets of leftovers are not the twelve apostles. Stay with the central word Jesus spoke alongside the miracle. That word is the authorized interpretation. Anything else is the preacher’s invention.

8. Kusinzia Kwenye Kochi8. Falling Asleep on the Couch

Jioni moja mvulana mdogo aliyekuwa akitazama kipindi kuhusu kifo alimwuliza mama yake, Kufa kunakuwaje? Alifikiri kwa muda kisha akasema, Ni kama kusinzia kwenye kochi jioni, na kuamka kitandani mwako. Sababu ni kwamba baba yako anakuinua, anakubeba, na kukufunika kitandani. Vivyo hivyo, kifo kwa Mkristo ni kama kulala usingizi — Baba anakuja na kukubeba, nawe unaamka na kujikuta mahali panapofaa.One evening a young boy who had been watching a program about death asked his mother, What is it like to die? She thought for a moment and said, It is like falling asleep on the couch in the evening, and waking up in your own bed. The reason is that your father picks you up and carries you off and tucks you in. In the same way, death for a Christian is like falling asleep — the Father comes and carries you off, and you wake up and find yourself in the right place.

Mama huyo alikuwa akimhubiria mwanawe ufufuo wa Lazaro kwa lugha ambayo masikio yake yangeweza kuibeba. Alikuwa akisema neno linalofasiri jambo halisi linaloonekana la kifo. Muujiza ambao Yesu alitenda pale Bethania ulikuwa neno hilo hilo likifanyika mwili — Baba, ndani ya Mwanawe, akimwinua Lazaro na kumbeba kutoka kaburini hadi mahali panapofaa. Mchungaji anayejifunza kusoma miujiza kama mifano inayotendwa anaweza kusema faraja hiyo hiyo katika nyakati elfu za kichungaji. Chumba cha hospitali. Kando ya kaburi. Mjane kwenye meza ya jikoni kwake. Ufufuo wa Lazaro unahubiri huko.That mother was preaching the resurrection of Lazarus to her son in language his ears could carry. She was speaking the spoken word that interprets the visible reality of death. The miracle Jesus performed at Bethany was that same word made flesh — the Father, in His Son, picking up Lazarus and carrying him out of the tomb into the right place. A pastor who learns to read miracles as enacted parables can speak that same comfort in a thousand pastoral moments. A hospital room. A graveside. A widow at her kitchen table. The resurrection of Lazarus preaches there.

9. Njia ya Mchungaji ya Kuandaa Mahubiri juu ya Kifungu cha Muujiza9. The Pastor’s Sermon Method on a Miracle Text

Kifungu cha muujiza kinapoangukia Jumapili yako, yapitie maswali manne kwa mpangilio. Tafuta tendo linaloonekana, tafuta neno lililosemwa, tafuta kweli, tafuta matumizi. Jenga mahubiri yako yafuate mpangilio huo. Anza na tukio linaloonekana ili watu wako waone kile Yesu alichotenda. Endelea kwenye neno lililosemwa ili wasikie kile alichosema. Onyesha jinsi viwili hivyo kwa pamoja vinavyohubiri kweli moja kuhusu Yesu ni nani. Kisha ilete kweli hiyo ndani ya chumba ambamo watu wako wameketi. Mimi ndimi huo ufufuo, na uzima inamkuta mjane aliyeketi safu ya tatu. Umesamehewa dhambi zako inamkuta mraibu anayejitahidi kuendelea kuja kanisani. Mimi ndimi chakula cha uzima inamkuta mfanyabiashara aliye na kila kitu lakini ana njaa kali.When a miracle text falls on your Sunday, work the four questions through in order. Find the visible action, find the spoken word, find the truth, find the application. Build your sermon to follow that pattern. Open with the visible event so your people see what Jesus did. Move to the spoken word so they hear what He said. Show how the two together preach a single truth about who Jesus is. Then bring that truth into the room where your people sit. I am the resurrection and the life meets the widow in the third row. Your sins are forgiven meets the addict trying to keep coming to church. I am the bread of life meets the businessman who has everything and is starving.

Mpangilio huu unakuokoa kutoka kwa yale makosa matatu. Unakataa kuueleza muujiza hadi uishe, kwa sababu tukio linaloonekana ndilo hatua ya kwanza. Unakataa kusimama kwenye tamasha, kwa sababu neno lililosemwa ndilo hatua ya pili. Unakataa kubuni mafumbo, kwa sababu kweli lazima iwe ile ambayo Yesu Mwenyewe aliitaja.This pattern saves you from the three errors. It refuses to explain the miracle away, because the visible event is the first step. It refuses to stop at spectacle, because the spoken word is the second. It refuses to invent allegory, because the truth must be the one Jesus Himself named.

10. Lazaro, Njoo Huku Nje10. Lazarus, Come Out

Neno la mwisho katika hadithi ya Lazaro si neno la Yesu. Ni la watu waliosimama karibu. Baada ya Lazaro kutoka pangoni akiwa bado amefungwa sanda yake, Yesu anasema, Mfungueni, mkamwache aende zake. Muujiza ulikuwa wa Kristo. Kufungua kulikuwa kazi ya watu wake. Hiyo ndiyo picha ya huduma ya kichungaji. Bwana huwarudisha wafu uzimani. Sisi tunafungua sanda. Kristo anafufua. Mchungaji anaachilia.The last word in the Lazarus story is not Jesus’ word. It is the bystanders’. After Lazarus walks out of the cave still bound in his graveclothes, Jesus says, Loose him, and let him go. The miracle was Christ’s. The unbinding was His people’s. That is the picture of pastoral ministry. The Lord brings the dead back to life. We unwrap the graveclothes. Christ raises. The pastor releases.

Mchungaji, kila muujiza katika Biblia yako unakuhubiri wewe na kuhubiri kupitia wewe. Lisikilize neno lililosemwa pamoja na tendo, nawe utasikia kile ambacho Yesu alitaka watu wake wajue ili wapate kuamini. Hubiri tukio linaloonekana kama mahubiri yanayoonekana. Hubiri neno lililosemwa kama tafsiri yake. Kisha uwageukie watu wako, waliofungwa katika sanda zao wenyewe za dhambi na hofu na huzuni, useme kile ambacho Bwana aliuambia umati wa Bethania useme: Wafungueni, mkawaache waende zao.Pastor, every miracle in your Bible is preaching at you and through you. Listen to the spoken word that came alongside the act, and you will hear what Jesus wanted His people to know that they may believe. Preach the visible event as the visible sermon. Preach the spoken word as its interpretation. Then turn to your people, who are bound in their own graveclothes of sin and fear and grief, and say what the Lord told the Bethany crowd to say: Loose them, and let them go.