📖 Injili ya Mathayo — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 10: Njia ya Kwenda Yerusalemu📖 Matthew Intensive — Unit 10: The Road to Jerusalem

Andiko: Mathayo 21:9Text: Matthew 21:9

Mafundisho Magumu NjianiHard Teachings on the Way

Sura hizi zinamchukua Mfalme katika kipande cha mwisho cha njia ya kwenda Yerusalemu, kuingia mjini, na kupitia juma la mapambano yanayozidi kuongezeka, linalomalizika kwa Yeye kuulilia Yerusalemu. Njiani anatoa mafundisho kadhaa magumu. Kwa Mafarisayo wanaomjaribu kuhusu talaka anakumbusha habari ya mwanzo: "Basi alichokiunganisha Mungu, mwanadamu asikitenganishe" (Mathayo 19:6). Wanafunzi wanapowafukuza watoto wadogo, Yeye anawakaribisha: "Kwa maana watoto kama hao ufalme wa mbinguni ni wao" (Mathayo 19:14). Na kijana tajiri anapouliza ni jambo gani jema imempasa kufanya, Yesu anamwambia auze alivyo navyo, awape maskini, na amfuate — naye kijana anaondoka kwa huzuni, kwa maana alikuwa na mali nyingi. "Kwa wanadamu hilo haliwezekani," Yesu anasema, "bali kwa Mungu yote yawezekana" (Mathayo 19:26). Ufalme hauwezi kununuliwa wala kustahiliwa kwa juhudi; unaweza tu kupokelewa kama mtoto na kuingiwa kwa neema ya Mungu. Sura hizi tano husomwa vizuri zaidi kama safari moja yenye nusu mbili. Nusu ya kwanza, njiani, inaendelea kuwafundisha wanafunzi jinsi ufalme ulivyo hasa; nusu ya pili, ndani ya mji, inamwonyesha Mfalme akiimiliki nyumba ya Baba yake na kuwakabili wale wanaoiendesha. Kila kitu kinaelekea juma moja na kilima kimoja nje ya kuta za mji.These chapters carry the King the last stretch of the road to Jerusalem, into the city, and through a week of mounting conflict that ends with Him weeping over Jerusalem. On the way He gives some hard teachings. To the Pharisees who test Him about divorce He recalls the beginning: "What God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:6). When the disciples push the little children away, He welcomes them: "Of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14). And when a rich young man asks what good thing he must do, Jesus tells him to sell what he has, give to the poor, and follow — and the man goes away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. "With men this is impossible," Jesus says, "but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). The kingdom cannot be bought or earned; it can only be received like a child and entered by the grace of God. These five chapters are best read as one journey with two halves. The first half, on the road, keeps teaching the disciples what the kingdom is really like; the second half, inside the city, shows the King taking possession of His Father's house and facing down those who run it. Everything moves toward one week and one hill outside the walls.

Neema ya Shamba la MizabibuThe Grace of the Vineyard

Yesu anasisitiza jambo hilo hilo kwa mfano wa wakulima katika shamba la mizabibu. Mwenye shamba anaajiri wafanyakazi alfajiri, na tena saa ya tatu, ya sita, ya tisa na ya kumi na moja, na mwisho wa siku anawalipa wote ujira ule ule. Walioajiriwa kwanza wanalalamika, lakini mwenye shamba anajibu kwamba hakuwadhulumu; alikubaliana nao kuwalipa kwa haki, naye yuko huru kuwa mkarimu kwa wengine. "Vivyo hivyo wa mwisho watakuwa wa kwanza, na wa kwanza watakuwa wa mwisho" (Mathayo 20:16). Ufalme hauendeshwi kwa hesabu za ujira bali kwa ukarimu wa Mungu, anayempa aliyechelewa neema ile ile aliyompa yule aliyefanya kazi mchana kutwa. Hakuna anayestahili nafasi kwa juhudi zake; wote wanaipokea kutoka kwa mkono ulio wazi.Jesus presses the same point with the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. A landowner hires workers at dawn, and again at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours, and at day's end he pays them all the same wage. Those hired first complain, but the owner answers that he has done no wrong; he agreed to pay them fairly, and he is free to be generous with the rest. "So the last will be first, and the first last" (Matthew 20:16). The kingdom does not run on the arithmetic of wages but on the generosity of God, who gives the latecomer the same grace as the one who labored all day. No one earns a place; all receive it from an open hand.

Ukubwa ni UtumishiGreatness Is Servanthood

Kwa mara ya tatu Yesu anawaambia wanafunzi waziwazi kwamba atahukumiwa, atauawa, na atafufuka. Lakini mara baada ya hapo, mama wa Yakobo na Yohana anaomba wanawe waketi mkono wake wa kuume na wa kushoto katika ufalme. Wale kumi wengine wanakasirika, na Yesu anawakusanya wote ili kupindua wazo la ulimwengu kuhusu ukubwa: "Mtu yeyote anayetaka kuwa mkubwa kwenu, atakuwa mtumishi wenu... kama vile Mwana wa Adamu hakuja kutumikiwa, bali kutumika, na kutoa nafsi yake iwe fidia ya wengi" (Mathayo 20:26-28). Huu ndio moyo wa njia ya kwenda Yerusalemu. Mfalme anakwenda msalabani si ili atumikiwe bali ili atoe uhai wake kuwa fidia, na ukubwa katika ufalme wake hupimwa kwa utumishi, si kwa viti vya enzi. Kisha anawaponya vipofu wawili huko Yeriko wanaolia, "Utuhurumie, Mwana wa Daudi," cheo kile kile cha kifalme ambacho umati utakipaza sauti malangoni mwa mji.For the third time Jesus tells the disciples plainly that He will be condemned, killed, and raised. Yet right after, the mother of James and John asks that her sons sit at His right and left in the kingdom. The other ten are indignant, and Jesus gathers them all to overturn the world's idea of greatness: "Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant... just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:26-28). This is the heart of the road to Jerusalem. The King is going to the cross not to be served but to give His life as a ransom, and greatness in His kingdom is measured by service, not by thrones. He then heals two blind men at Jericho who cry, "Son of David, have mercy on us," the same royal title the crowds will shout at the gates of the city.

Mfalme Anaingia Mji WakeThe King Enters His City

Yesu anatuma watu wamletee punda na anapanda kuingia Yerusalemu, akitimiza kwa makusudi unabii wa nabii Zekaria: tazama, Mfalme wako anakuja kwako, mpole, amepanda punda. Umati unatandika nguo zao na matawi na kupaza sauti, "Hosana, Mwana wa Daudi; ndiye mbarikiwa ajaye kwa jina la BWANA!" (Mathayo 21:9). Mfalme anaingia katika mji wake mkuu — lakini si juu ya farasi wa vita. Anakuja kwa amani na unyenyekevu, kinyume kabisa cha mkombozi mshindi ambaye wengi walimtarajia. Kisha anakwenda moja kwa moja hekaluni na kuwafukuza wale waliokuwa wakinunua na kuuza, akizipindua meza za wabadili fedha: "Nyumba yangu itaitwa nyumba ya sala; bali ninyi mmeifanya kuwa pango la wanyang'anyi" (Mathayo 21:13). Mfalme amekuja kuidai nyumba ya Baba yake, naye anaikuta imeharibiwa.Jesus sends for a donkey and rides into Jerusalem, deliberately fulfilling the prophet Zechariah: behold, your King comes to you, lowly and riding on a donkey. The crowds spread their garments and branches and cry, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" (Matthew 21:9). The King enters His capital — but not on a war horse. He comes in peace and lowliness, the very opposite of the conquering deliverer many expected. Then He goes straight to the temple and drives out those buying and selling, overturning the tables of the money changers: "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13). The King has come to claim His Father's house, and He finds it corrupted.

Mamlaka Yahojiwa, Hukumu Yaonyeshwa kwa PichaAuthority Questioned, Judgment Pictured

Siku iliyofuata wakuu wa makuhani wanadai kujua ni kwa mamlaka gani anafanya mambo haya. Yesu anajibu kwa maswali na mifano. Katika mfano wa wana wawili, mmoja anasema hatakwenda kufanya kazi lakini baadaye anakwenda, na mwingine anasema atakwenda lakini haendi — na Yesu anatangaza kwamba watoza ushuru na makahaba wanaotubu wanaingia katika ufalme kabla ya viongozi wanaosema tu maneno sahihi. Kisha unakuja mfano wa wakulima waovu, wanaowapiga watumwa wa mwenye shamba na mwishowe kumuua mwanawe ili walinyakue shamba la mizabibu. Yesu ananukuu Maandiko, "Jiwe walilolikataa waashi, hilo limekuwa jiwe kuu la pembeni" (Mathayo 21:42), na anaonya, "Ufalme wa Mungu utaondolewa kwenu, nao watapewa taifa lingine lenye kuzaa matunda yake" (Mathayo 21:43). Viongozi wanaelewa kwamba anasema habari zao, nao wanataka kumkamata, lakini wanauogopa umati.The next day the chief priests demand to know by what authority He does these things. Jesus answers with questions and parables. In the parable of the two sons, one says he will not work but then goes, and the other says he will but does not — and Jesus declares that tax collectors and harlots who repent enter the kingdom ahead of leaders who only say the right words. Then comes the parable of the wicked vinedressers, who beat the owner's servants and finally kill his son to seize the vineyard. Jesus quotes the Scripture, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (Matthew 21:42), and warns, "The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it" (Matthew 21:43). The leaders understand He is speaking of them, and they want to seize Him, but they fear the crowds.

Shamba la Mizabibu Kama KiooThe Vineyard as a Mirror

Mahubiri ya zamani yenye kichwa "Shamba la Mizabibu na Wapangaji Wake" yanaupeleka mfano huu mbali zaidi ya kuwatambua wahusika wake na yanatutaka tusimame mbele ya kioo chake. Mpangaji wa shamba hulima ardhi iliyo mali ya mtu mwingine; mwenye shamba hutoa kinachohitajika na kwa haki anatarajia matunda. Hilo linaufanya mfano huu kuwa somo la uwakili pamoja na hukumu. Mungu alikuwa amelilinda na kulihudumia shamba lake la mizabibu, akawatuma watumishi wake tena na tena, na mwishowe akamtuma Mwanawe. Dhambi kubwa ya wapangaji ilikuwa kutenda kana kwamba shamba la mizabibu lilikuwa mali yao. Donald Grey Barnhouse alitumia mzabibu mkubwa wa Hampton Court kama kielelezo cha kuzaa matunda: matawi yaliyo mbali huzaa kwa sababu yanabaki yameunganishwa na mzabibu ulio hai. Suala si kumiliki mali au cheo cha kidini, bali ni matunda. Kwa hiyo mahubiri yanauliza swali linalowafikia watu zaidi ya viongozi wa karne ya kwanza: tunafanya nini na kile kilicho mali ya Mungu? Ufalme hauwezi kuchukuliwa kama milki yetu binafsi. Mwana aliyekataliwa anakuwa jiwe kuu la pembeni, na watu waliokabidhiwa kazi ya Mungu wanatarajiwa kuzaa matunda yanayomheshimu Mwenye shamba.The older sermon "The Vineyard and the Sharecroppers" presses this parable beyond identification of its characters and asks us to stand before its mirror. A sharecropper works land that belongs to someone else; the owner supplies what is needed and rightly expects fruit. That makes the parable a lesson in stewardship as well as judgment. God had protected and provided for His vineyard, sent His servants again and again, and at last sent His Son. The tenants' great sin was acting as though the vineyard belonged to them. Donald Grey Barnhouse used the great grapevine at Hampton Court as an illustration of fruitfulness: distant branches bear because they remain joined to the living vine. The issue is not possession of religious property or position, but fruit. The sermon therefore asks a question that reaches beyond the first-century leaders: what are we doing with what belongs to God? The kingdom cannot be treated as our private possession. The rejected Son becomes the cornerstone, and the people entrusted with God's work are expected to bear the fruit that honors the Owner.

Mabishano HekaluniThe Controversies in the Temple

Katika sura ya 22 maadui wa Mfalme wanamjia kundi moja baada ya jingine, naye anawanyamazisha wote. Anasimulia mfano wa karamu ya arusi, ambapo wengi wanaalikwa lakini mmoja anakuja bila vazi la arusi na anatupwa nje — "waitwao ni wengi, bali wateule ni wachache" (Mathayo 22:14). Mafarisayo wanajaribu kumtega kuhusu kulipa kodi, naye anajibu, "Basi, mlipeni Kaisari yaliyo ya Kaisari, na Mungu yaliyo ya Mungu" (Mathayo 22:21). Masadukayo wanaudhihaki ufufuo, naye anawasahihisha: Mungu "si Mungu wa wafu, bali wa walio hai" (Mathayo 22:32). Kisha mwanasheria anauliza ni amri ipi iliyo kuu, na Yesu anatoa kiini cha torati yote: mpende BWANA Mungu wako kwa moyo wako wote, kwa roho yako yote na kwa akili zako zote, na umpende jirani yako kama nafsi yako. "Katika amri hizi mbili hutegemea torati yote na manabii" (Mathayo 22:40). Mwishowe anawauliza Kristo ni mwana wa nani, nao hawawezi kujibu, kwa maana Daudi mwenyewe anamwita Bwana.In chapter 22 the King's enemies come at Him one group after another, and He silences them all. He tells the parable of the wedding feast, where many are invited but one comes without a wedding garment and is cast out — "many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). The Pharisees try to trap Him on paying taxes, and He answers, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21). The Sadducees mock the resurrection, and He corrects them: God "is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:32). Then a lawyer asks which is the great commandment, and Jesus gives the heart of the whole law: love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:40). Finally He asks them whose Son the Christ is, and they cannot answer, for David himself calls Him Lord.

Ole Wenu WanafikiWoe to the Hypocrites

Kisha Mfalme anageuka na kutamka hukumu juu ya waandishi na Mafarisayo kwa mfululizo wa "ole." Wanasema lakini hawatendi; wanawatwika wengine mizigo mizito; wanapenda viti vya mbele na vyeo. "Viongozi vipofu," anawaita, wanaochuja mbu na kumeza ngamia. Wanasafisha nje ya kikombe ilhali ndani kumejaa unyang'anyi na tamaa; wamefanana na "makaburi yaliyopakwa chokaa, nayo kwa nje yaonekana kuwa mazuri, bali ndani yamejaa mifupa ya wafu" (Mathayo 23:27). Dhambi ya ndani kabisa ambayo Yesu anaitaja hapa ni unafiki — dini ya maonyesho ya nje yenye moyo uliokufa, kinyume kabisa cha kweli aliyoifundisha tangu mwanzo, kwamba unajisi na usafi ni mambo ya moyo. Baba zao waliwaua manabii, na kizazi hiki kitakijaza kipimo.Then the King turns and pronounces judgment on the scribes and Pharisees in a series of woes. They say and do not do; they load heavy burdens on others; they love the best seats and the titles. "Blind guides," He calls them, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. They clean the outside of the cup while the inside is full of greed; they are like "whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones" (Matthew 23:27). The deepest sin Jesus names here is hypocrisy — a religion of appearances with a dead heart, the very opposite of the truth He taught from the first, that defilement and cleanness are matters of the heart. Their fathers killed the prophets, and this generation will fill up the measure.

Maombolezo Juu ya YerusalemuThe Lament Over Jerusalem

Na kisha, baada ya mapambano yote, sauti ya Mfalme inavunjika kwa huzuni. "Ee Yerusalemu, Yerusalemu, uuaye manabii, na kuwapiga kwa mawe wale waliotumwa kwako! Mara ngapi nimetaka kuwakusanya watoto wako, kama vile kuku avikusanyavyo vifaranga vyake chini ya mbawa zake, wala hamkutaka! Angalieni, nyumba yenu mmeachiwa ukiwa" (Mathayo 23:37-38). Hii si hasira ya dhalimu bali ni huzuni ya Mwokozi. Mfalme yule yule aliyeingia kwa vigelegele vya Hosana sasa analia juu ya mji utakaomkataa, akitamani kuwakusanya watu wasiotaka kuja. Njia ya kwenda Yerusalemu inaishia hapa, ukingoni mwa msalaba, Mfalme akiwaombolezea watu wale wale aliokuja kuwaokoa.And then, after all the conflict, the King's voice breaks into grief. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate" (Matthew 23:37-38). This is not the anger of a tyrant but the sorrow of a Savior. The same King who entered to shouts of Hosanna now weeps over the city that will reject Him, longing to gather a people who will not come. The road to Jerusalem ends here, at the edge of the cross, with the King grieving over the very people He came to save.

Njia ya Kwenda YerusalemuThe Road to Jerusalem

Tukiziweka pamoja, sura hizi zinamwonyesha Mfalme akija kwa walio wake. Anaingia mjini mwake kama Mfalme wake halali, lakini kwa unyenyekevu, juu ya punda, kwa amani. Anaisafisha nyumba ya Baba yake. Anajibu kila changamoto kwa hekima kamilifu, akifafanua upya ukubwa kuwa utumishi na torati yote kuwa upendo kwa Mungu na kwa jirani. Anaifichua dini tupu ya viongozi na kuonya kwamba ufalme utapewa wale wanaozaa matunda yake. Na katika yote haya anatembea kuelekea msalaba, kwa maana Mwana wa Adamu hakuja kutumikiwa bali kutoa nafsi yake iwe fidia ya wengi. Njia ya kwenda Yerusalemu ni njia ya kwenda msalaba huo, na hata Mfalme anapouombolezea mji unaomkataa, moyo wake umekaza kuwakusanya watu kwake. Sehemu inayofuata itasikia mafundisho yake ya mwisho, mlimani akiutazama mji, kuhusu mwisho wa dahari na kuja kwake mara ya pili. Kwa sasa inatosha kuona kwamba Mfalme hakujikwaa kuingia Yerusalemu kwa bahati mbaya. Alipanda kwa makusudi, akijua kilichokuwa kinamngoja huko, na alipanda akiupenda mji ule ule ambao ungemsulubisha. Huyo ndiye aina ya Mfalme ambaye Mathayo anatuita tumfuate.Put together, these chapters show the King coming into His own. He enters His city as its rightful King, but humbly, on a donkey, in peace. He cleanses His Father's house. He answers every challenge with perfect wisdom, redefining greatness as servanthood and the whole law as love for God and neighbor. He exposes the hollow religion of the leaders and warns that the kingdom will be given to those who bear its fruit. And through it all He is walking toward the cross, for the Son of Man came not to be served but to give His life a ransom for many. The road to Jerusalem is the road to that cross, and even as the King laments over the city that turns Him away, His heart is set on gathering a people to Himself. The next unit will hear His final teaching, on the mountain looking back at the city, about the end of the age and His coming again. For now it is enough to see that the King did not stumble into Jerusalem by accident. He went up on purpose, knowing what waited there, and He went up loving the very city that would crucify Him. That is the kind of King Matthew calls us to follow.

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