📖 Injili ya Yohana — Sehemu ya 9: Saa ya Utukufu📖 The Gospel of John — Unit 9: The Hour of Glory

Utangulizi — Saa ImefikaIntroduction — The Hour Has Come

Katika Injili hii yote saa imekuwa ikiendelea kwa utulivu nyuma ya pazia. Tena na tena Yohana anatuambia kwamba watu hawakuweza kumtia Yesu mikononi, "kwa sababu saa yake ilikuwa haijaja bado." Sasa, katika Yohana 12, saa inagonga. Na inatangazwa kwa namna ya kushangaza: si kwa jeshi, si kwa kiti cha enzi, bali kwa kikundi kidogo cha wageni wenye ombi rahisi. Wayunani kadhaa waliokuwa wamekwea kuabudu katika sikukuu walimwendea Filipo wakasema, "Bwana, tunataka kumwona Yesu." Habari ilipomfikia, Yesu akajibu, "Saa imefika atukuzwe Mwana wa Adamu" (Yohana 12:23). Jambo la ajabu ni jinsi utukufu huo unavyokuja kuonekana. Katika saa hii utukufu wa Mungu unafunuliwa kupitia chembe ya ngano inayokufa, sauti kutoka mbinguni, na kitambaa na bakuli. Hebu tuufuatilie.All through this Gospel a clock has been ticking quietly in the background. Again and again John tells us that men could not lay hands on Jesus, "because His hour had not yet come." Now, in John 12, the hour strikes. And it is announced in a striking way: not by an army, not by a throne, but by a small group of foreigners with a simple request. Some Greeks who had come up to worship at the feast found Philip and said, "Sir, we would see Jesus." When the word reached Him, Jesus answered, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified" (John 12:23). The strange thing is what that glory turns out to look like. In this hour the glory of God is revealed through a grain of wheat that dies, a voice from heaven, and a towel and a basin. Let us follow it through.

I. "Bwana, Tunataka Kumwona Yesu"I. "Sir, We Would See Jesus"

Ombi la Wayunani ni mojawapo ya shauku kuu za moyo wa mwanadamu. Walikuwa wamevuka tamaduni na kusafiri mbali, na walichotaka hakikuwa fundisho wala mjadala bali Nafsi: "Tunataka kumwona Yesu." Watu bado huja hivyo. Katika ulimwengu uliopasuliwa na mfadhaiko, unaotatanishwa na maswali magumu, wenye wasiwasi juu ya wakati ujao, wanaume na wanawake bado huja mahali pa ibada wakitumaini, chini ya sababu zao nyingine zote, kumwona Yesu — kukumbushwa kwamba maisha yao yana maana, kwamba Mungu anajali, kwamba kuna tumaini. Niliwahi kusoma habari ya msichana wa miaka tisa, aliyekuwa akifa kwa saratani ya damu, ambaye imani yake ilimpa amani kubwa kiasi kwamba muda mfupi kabla ya mwisho aliiambia familia yake, "Nitakuwa wa kwanza kumwona Yesu — mngependa nimwambie nini kwa niaba yenu?" Nafsi inapomwona Yeye kwa kweli, kila kitu hubadilika. Kama mwamini mmoja alivyosema, "Unapomwona Yesu kwa kweli, nakupa changamoto umtilie shaka." Saa ya utukufu inaanza na ulimwengu ukianza kumtafuta Bwana.The request of the Greeks is one of the great longings of the human heart. They had crossed cultures and traveled far, and what they wanted was not a doctrine or a debate but a Person: "We would see Jesus." People still come that way. In a world torn by stress, puzzled by hard questions, anxious about the future, men and women still come to a place of worship hoping, beneath all their other reasons, to see Jesus — to be reminded that their lives matter, that God cares, that there is hope. I once read of a nine-year-old girl, dying of leukemia, whose faith gave her such peace that just before the end she told her family, "I am going to be the first to see Jesus — what would you like me to tell Him for you?" When a soul truly sees Him, everything changes. As one believer put it, "When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him." The hour of glory opens with the world beginning to seek the Lord.

II. Chembe ya NganoII. The Grain of Wheat

Lakini watafutaji hawa, na ulimwengu wote baada yao, wangewezaje kumwona Yeye? Yesu alijibu kwa picha kutoka shamba la mkulima: "Chembe ya ngano isipoanguka katika nchi ikafa, hukaa hali iyo hiyo peke yake; bali ikifa, huzaa sana" (Yohana 12:24). Mbegu iliyowekwa salama rafuni hubaki vile vile ilivyo — mbegu moja ya upweke. Ni kwa kuzikwa tu, kupasuka, na kuonekana kama imepotea ndipo inapoinuka kuwa mavuno. Ndivyo ingekuwa kwa Mwana wa Adamu: njia ya kuelekea utukufu wake, na kuelekea ulimwengu uliojaa watu waliokombolewa, ilipita moja kwa moja katika kifo chake. Msalaba haukuwa kushindwa kwa saa ile bali ndiyo njia yenyewe ya utukufu wake. Naye aliiweka sheria ile ile juu ya kila mtu anayetaka kumfuata: "Yeye apendaye maisha yake atayapoteza; naye ayachukiaye maisha yake katika ulimwengu huu atayasalimisha hata uzima wa milele" (Yohana 12:25). Ngumi iliyofumbwa haishiki chochote; mkono ulio wazi, uliojitoa, ndio unaozaa matunda.But how would these seekers, and all the world after them, come to see Him? Jesus answered with a picture from the farmer's field: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12:24). A seed kept safe on a shelf stays exactly what it is — one lonely seed. Only by being buried, broken open, and seemingly lost does it rise into a harvest. So it would be with the Son of Man: the path to His glory, and to a world full of redeemed people, ran straight through His death. The cross was not the failure of the hour but the very means of its glory. And He pressed the same law upon every would-be follower: "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25). The clenched fist keeps nothing; the open, surrendered hand is the one that bears fruit.

Tunapinga jambo hili kwa nguvu zetu zote, kwa maana linakwenda kinyume cha mioyo yetu inayojilinda. Tunataka utukufu bila msalaba, matunda bila kaburi, taji bila kujitoa. Lakini Bwana wa utukufu Mwenyewe hakuchukua njia ya mkato kuikwepa mbegu iliyozikwa, wala hawapi wafuasi wake njia hiyo. Njia ya kupanda juu, katika ufalme wa Mungu, siku zote imepita chini kupitia udongo.We resist this with everything in us, for it runs against the grain of our self-protecting hearts. We want glory without a cross, fruit without a grave, a crown without surrender. But the Lord of glory Himself would take no shortcut around the buried seed, and He offers His followers none either. The way up, in the kingdom of God, has always run down through the soil.

III. Sauti Kutoka MbinguniIII. The Voice from Heaven

Saa ile ilikuwa halisi, na gharama yake vivyo hivyo. "Sasa roho yangu imefadhaika," Yesu alisema, "nami nisemeje? Baba, uniokoe katika saa hii? Lakini ni kwa ajili ya hayo nimeifikia saa hii. Baba, ulitukuze jina lako." Na kisha likatokea jambo lililotokea mara chache tu katika maisha yake yote ya duniani: "Basi sauti ikatoka mbinguni, Nimelitukuza, nami nitalitukuza tena" (Yohana 12:28). Mkutano uliokuwa umesimama pale ulisikia sauti hiyo lakini si kwa namna moja: wengine walisema ni radi, na wengine walisema malaika amesema naye. Hata sauti inayosikika kutoka mbinguni husikiwa kwa namna tofauti na mioyo tofauti, kulingana na jinsi ilivyo wazi kwa Mungu. Lakini maana ilikuwa wazi: Baba angetukuzwa ndani ya Mwana, katika ishara zilizokwisha kutolewa na katika msalaba uliokuwa sasa karibu. Basi, utukufu huu ni nini? Utukufu ni utakatifu wa Mungu uliofanywa kuonekana. Hakuna aliyeweza kuutazama moja kwa moja — hata Musa alionyeshwa tu mng'ao wake uliobaki baada ya kupita. Lakini "Neno alifanyika mwili, akakaa kwetu; nasi tukauona utukufu wake, utukufu kama wa Mwana pekee atokaye kwa Baba" (Yohana 1:14). Ndani ya Yesu, na hasa kabisa katika kifo chake cha kujitoa, utukufu uliofichika wa Mungu unatoka wazi mahali ambapo macho ya wanadamu yanaweza kuuona.The hour was real, and so was its cost. "Now My soul is troubled," Jesus said, "and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." And then something happened that happened only a few times in all His earthly life: "Then a voice came from heaven, saying, 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again'" (John 12:28). The crowd standing there heard the sound but not the same way: some said it had thundered, and others said an angel had spoken to Him. Even an audible voice from heaven is heard differently by different hearts, according to their openness to God. But the meaning was plain: the Father would be glorified in the Son, both in the signs already given and in the cross now near. What, then, is this glory? Glory is the holiness of God made visible. No one could look on it directly — even Moses was shown only its afterglow. But "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14). In Jesus, and supremely in His self-giving death, the hidden glory of God steps into the open where human eyes can see it.

IV. Kitambaa na BakuliIV. The Towel and the Basin

Ikiwa bado unataka kujua utukufu wa Mungu unafananaje, nenda pamoja naye katika chumba cha juu. Usiku ule ule aliosalitiwa, msalaba ukiwa umebaki saa chache tu, wanafunzi wake walikuwa wakibishana ni nani kati yao aliye mkubwa. Barabara za nchi ile zilijaa vumbi na matope, na miguu iliyovaa viatu vya wazi iliingia ikiwa michafu; katika kila nyumba ya heshima mtumishi alingoja mlangoni akiwa na maji ya kuwatawadha wageni miguu. Lakini kikundi hiki kidogo hakikuwa na mtumishi, na hakuna hata mmoja wa watu hawa wenye kiburi aliyekubali kujishusha kufanya kazi hiyo. Kwa hiyo Yesu, "hali akijua ya kuwa alitoka kwa Mungu, naye anakwenda kwa Mungu," aliondoka chakulani, akaweka kando mavazi yake ya nje, akajifunga kitambaa kiunoni, akachukua bakuli, akawatawadha wanafunzi wake miguu (Yohana 13:3–5). Huyu hapa ni Mwana wa Mungu, saa chache kabla ya Kalvari, akipiga magoti mbele ya miguu michafu ya wavuvi. Huu ndio utukufu ambao Wayunani waliomba kuuona.If you still want to know what the glory of God looks like, go with Him into the upper room. On the very night He was betrayed, with the cross only hours away, His disciples were arguing about which of them was the greatest. The roads of that land were thick with dust and mud, and sandalled feet came in filthy; in any proper household a servant waited at the door with water to wash the guests' feet. But this little band had no servant, and not one of these proud men would stoop to the task. So Jesus, "knowing that He had come from God and was going to God," rose from supper, laid aside His outer garments, tied a towel around His waist, took a basin, and washed His disciples' feet (John 13:3–5). Here is the Son of God, hours from Calvary, kneeling at the dirty feet of fishermen. This is the glory the Greeks asked to see.

Unapindua kabisa kipimo chote cha ulimwengu cha ukuu. Ulimwengu hupima ukuu kwa idadi ya watu wanaokufanyia kazi; Bwana huupima kwa idadi ya watu unaowafanyia kazi. "Aliye mkubwa wenu," alikuwa amefundisha, lazima "awe mtumishi wenu." Mmishonari mmoja huko China aliwahi kuwauliza kikundi cha waamini ni nini kilichowavuta kwa Kristo kuliko dini walizokuwa wamezijua. Hayakuwa miujiza, walisema; dini zao za zamani zilikuwa na maajabu pia. Hayakuwa hata mafundisho. Mwishowe mzee mmoja alisema kwa urahisi, "Ilikuwa Yesu akiwatawadha wanafunzi wake miguu. Hatukuwa na kitu kama hicho — Mungu, akiinama chini na kitambaa na bakuli." Tunapojaribiwa kusimama juu ya heshima yetu, haki zetu, nafasi yetu, lazima tuione picha ile tena: Bwana wa utukufu akiwa amepiga magoti na kitambaa. Naye akaigeuza kuwa amri: "Basi ikiwa mimi, niliye Bwana na Mwalimu, nimewatawadha miguu, imewapasa ninyi nanyi kutawadhana miguu ninyi kwa ninyi. Kwa maana nimewapa kielelezo, ili kama mimi nilivyowatendea, nanyi mtende vivyo" (Yohana 13:14–15). Bado tunatawadha miguu — tunapowahudumia wagonjwa, kuwalisha maskini, kuwaheshimu wazazi wazee, kumpeleka jirani kwa daktari, kufungua nyumba zetu. Ukuu katika ufalme huvaa aproni.It overturns the world's whole scale of greatness. The world measures greatness by how many people work for you; the Lord measures it by how many people you work for. "The greatest among you," He had taught, must "be your servant." A missionary in China once asked a group of believers what had won them to Christ over the religions they had known. It was not the miracles, they said; their old religions had wonders too. It was not even the teaching. At last an old man said simply, "It was Jesus washing His disciples' feet. We had nothing like that — God, stooping down with a towel and basin." When we are tempted to stand on our dignity, our rights, our place, we must see that picture again: the Lord of glory on His knees with a towel. And He turned it into a command: "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (John 13:14–15). We wash feet still — when we care for the sick, feed the poor, honor aging parents, drive a neighbor to the doctor, open our homes. Greatness in the kingdom wears an apron.

V. Amri MpyaV. The New Commandment

Kabla usiku ule haujaisha, Yesu aliyakusanya yote hayo — chembe inayokufa, utukufu uliofunuliwa, kitambaa kilichochukuliwa — katika amri moja mpya: "Amri mpya nawapa, Mpendane. Kama vile nilivyowapenda ninyi, nanyi mpendane vivyo hivyo. Hivyo watu wote watatambua ya kuwa ninyi mmekuwa wanafunzi wangu, mkiwa na upendo ninyi kwa ninyi" (Yohana 13:34–35). Ulimwengu unaosema, "Bwana, tunataka kumwona Yesu," utamwona kwa uwazi zaidi si katika hoja zetu wala majengo yetu bali katika watu wanaoyatoa maisha yao kwa ajili ya wenzao kama Yeye alivyoyatoa yake. Hiyo ndiyo saa ya utukufu ambayo bado inaingia. Kwa hiyo sura hii inageuka na kutuuliza waziwazi: je, unataka kumwona Yesu? Basi tazama kwanza chembe ya ngano iliyoanguka katika nchi ikafa kwa ajili yako — na kisha, ukiisha kumwona, chukua kitambaa.Before that night was over, Jesus gathered all of it — the grain that dies, the glory revealed, the towel taken up — into one new commandment: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34–35). The world that says, "Sir, we would see Jesus," will see Him most clearly not in our arguments or our buildings but in a people who lay down their lives for one another as He laid down His. That is the hour of glory still breaking in. So the chapter turns and asks us plainly: do you want to see Jesus? Then look first at the grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died for you — and then, having seen Him, take up the towel.

Wasilisha Mtihani & Angalia KufauluSubmit Exam & Check Pass Weka Upya SehemuReset Unit