📖 Injili ya Mathayo — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 4: Mahubiri ya Mlimani II📖 Matthew Intensive — Unit 4: Sermon on the Mount II

Somo: Mathayo 6:33Text: Matthew 6:33

Kutoka Tabia Hadi UtendajiFrom Character to Practice

Katika sehemu ya kwanza ya Mahubiri ya Mlimani Mfalme alieleza tabia ya watu wake, Heri zinazowatambulisha raia wa ufalme, akawaita chumvi ya dunia na nuru ya ulimwengu. Sasa anageuka kutoka kwa jinsi walivyo hadi jinsi wanavyoishi. Sura ya 6 na 7 ni utendaji wa haki hiyo, ukifanywa mbele za Mungu katika kutoa na kuomba na kufunga, katika matumizi ya fedha, katika kuwa huru na wasiwasi, katika jinsi tunavyowatendea wengine, na hatimaye katika uamuzi unaoamua maisha yote. Mahubiri haya hayaturuhusu kuzistaajabia Heri kwa mbali; yanazisukuma ndani ya mahali pa kawaida pa kila siku ambapo imani ama ni ya kweli ama ni ya maneno tu. Mfalme hatafuti washabiki wanaoionyesha imani yao hadharani, bali watu ambao utii wao ni wa kina zaidi hasa pale ambapo hakuna anayetazama isipokuwa Mungu Mwenyewe.In the first part of the Sermon on the Mount the King described the character of His people, the Beatitudes that mark the citizens of the kingdom, and called them the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Now He turns from who they are to how they live. Chapters 6 and 7 are the practice of that righteousness, worked out before God in giving and prayer and fasting, in the use of money, in freedom from anxiety, in the way we treat others, and finally in a decision that determines a whole life. The sermon does not let us admire the Beatitudes from a distance; it presses them into the ordinary daily places where faith is either real or only spoken. The King is not seeking admirers who keep their faith on display, but a people whose obedience runs deepest precisely where no one is watching but God Himself.

Haki Isiyo ya KujionyeshaRighteousness Not for Show

Yesu anaonya, "Angalieni msifanye wema wenu mbele ya watu, ili kutazamwa na wao" (Mathayo 6:1). Anachukua matendo matatu makuu ya ibada ya Kiyahudi — kuwapa wahitaji, kuomba, na kufunga — na katika kila moja anachora tofauti ileile. Wanafiki huyafanya ili waonekane, na makofi wanayopokea ndiyo thawabu pekee watakayowahi kupata. Lakini mwanafunzi hutoa, huomba, na hufunga mbele ya Baba aonaye sirini, na Baba aonaye sirini atamlipa. Kwa hiyo Yesu anasema, utoapo sadaka usipige panda; usalipo ingia chumbani mwako ufunge mlango; ufungapo usionekane mwenye huzuni ili usifiwe. Swali analolisisitiza ni swali la hadhira: je, tunaishi mbele ya wanadamu, kwa ajili ya macho yao na sifa zao, au mbele za Mungu, tukiridhika kwamba Yeye peke yake aone? (Fundisho lake juu ya maombi hapa linafunguka kuwa Sala ya Bwana, ambayo tunaishughulikia katika somo lake lenyewe.)Jesus warns, "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them" (Matthew 6:1). He takes the three great acts of Jewish devotion — giving to the needy, praying, and fasting — and in each He draws the same contrast. The hypocrites do them to be seen, and the applause they receive is the only reward they will ever get. But the disciple gives, prays, and fasts before the Father who sees in secret, and the Father who sees in secret will reward him. So Jesus says, when you give, do not sound a trumpet; when you pray, go into your room and shut the door; when you fast, do not look gloomy to be admired. The question He presses is the question of the audience: are we living before men, for their eyes and their praise, or before God, content that He alone should see? (His teaching on prayer here opens into the Lord's Prayer, which we take up in its own lesson.)

Hazina na MoyoTreasure and the Heart

Kutoka kwa hadhira ya haki yetu Yesu anageukia hazina ya mioyo yetu. "Msijiwekee hazina duniani, nondo na kutu huharibu, na wevi huvunja na kuiba; bali jiwekeeni hazina mbinguni" (Mathayo 6:19-20). Kisha anatoa sababu inayotuchunguza: "Kwa kuwa hazina yako ilipo, ndipo utakapokuwapo na moyo wako." Mioyo yetu hufuata hazina yetu, si kinyume chake, kwa hiyo kile tunachokithamini kweli kitakiteka kimya kimya kile tunachokipenda kweli. Anasema juu ya jicho kama taa ya mwili, ili jicho jema lililo safi la nia moja liyajaze maisha yote nuru, ilhali jicho ovu huyajaza giza. Na anasema waziwazi: "Hakuna mtu awezaye kutumikia mabwana wawili... Hamwezi kumtumikia Mungu na mali" (Mathayo 6:24). Fedha ni mtumishi wa manufaa lakini ni bwana mharibifu, na moyo unaojaribu kumtawaza Mungu na utajiri pamoja utaishia kumdharau mmoja wao. Kwa hiyo Yesu haulaani umiliki wa mali bali anaufichua utawala mpinzani, naye anamwita mwanafunzi kuvishika vitu vya dunia kwa ulegevu na kuuelekeza moyo wake kwenye kile kisichoweza kupotea.From the audience of our righteousness Jesus turns to the treasure of our hearts. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-20). Then He gives the reason that searches us: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Our hearts follow our treasure, not the reverse, so what we truly value will quietly capture what we truly love. He speaks of the eye as the lamp of the body, so that a good and single eye fills the whole life with light while a bad eye fills it with darkness. And He states it plainly: "No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24). Money is a useful servant but a ruinous lord, and the heart that tries to enthrone both God and wealth will end by despising one of them. So Jesus is not condemning possessions but exposing a rival lordship, and He calls the disciple to hold earthly things loosely and to fix his heart on what cannot be lost.

Msisumbuke — Utafuteni Kwanza UfalmeDo Not Worry — Seek First the Kingdom

Kwa sababu hazina ya mwanafunzi iko mbinguni na Bwana wake ni Mungu, yeye ameachiliwa huru kutoka katika wasiwasi unaoendesha ulimwengu. "Msisumbukie maisha yenu," Yesu anasema, naye anawaonyesha ndege wa angani ambao hawapandi wala hawavuni, lakini Baba wa mbinguni huwalisha, na maua ya mashamba ambayo hayafanyi kazi, lakini hata Sulemani katika fahari yake yote hakuvikwa kama mojawapo ya hayo. Ikiwa Mungu huyavika hivi majani ya kondeni, je, hatawavika zaidi sana watoto wake mwenyewe? Wasiwasi hauongezi hata saa moja katika maisha yetu; unaiba tu tumaini la wakati uliopo. Mataifa hukimbilia chakula na mavazi kana kwamba hakuna Baba mbinguni, lakini Yesu anasema, "Baba yenu wa mbinguni anajua ya kuwa mnahitaji hayo yote." Kwa hiyo anatoa amri kuu ya sura hii: "Bali utafuteni kwanza ufalme wake, na haki yake; na hayo yote mtazidishiwa" (Mathayo 6:33). Wasiwasi haujibiwi kwa kupata zaidi bali kwa kutanguliza mambo ya kwanza na kumwachia Baba yaliyobaki, tukiipokea kila siku kama inavyokuja.Because the disciple's treasure is in heaven and his Master is God, he is freed from the anxiety that drives the world. "Do not worry about your life," Jesus says, and He points to the birds of the air that neither sow nor reap, yet the heavenly Father feeds them, and to the lilies of the field that do not labor, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass, will He not much more clothe His own children? Worry adds not a single hour to our lives; it only robs the present of trust. The Gentiles run after food and clothing as if there were no Father in heaven, but Jesus says, "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." Therefore He gives the great command of the chapter: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). Anxiety is answered not by getting more but by putting first things first and trusting the Father with the rest, taking each day as it comes.

Kuhukumu na KupambanuaJudging and Discernment

Akigeukia jinsi mwanafunzi anavyowatendea wengine, Yesu anasema, "Msihukumu, msije mkahukumiwa. Kwa maana hukumu ile mhukumuyo ndiyo mtakayohukumiwa" (Mathayo 7:1-2). Anachora picha ya mtu mwenye boriti katika jicho lake mwenyewe akijaribu kutoa kibanzi katika jicho la ndugu yake, naye anamwambia aitoe kwanza boriti katika jicho lake mwenyewe; ndipo atakapoona vema kumsaidia ndugu yake. Huku si kukataza kila aina ya kupambanua, kwa maana mara moja baadaye anasema msiwape mbwa kilicho kitakatifu wala msiwatupie nguruwe lulu zenu, jambo linalotuhitaji tutambue tofauti. Anachokikataza ni roho ya unafiki na ya kuhukumu kwa ukali, iliyo kali kwa wengine na kipofu kwa nafsi yake. Mwanafunzi hujihukumu mwenyewe kwanza na kwa ukali zaidi, naye huja kwa ndugu yake si kama hakimu juu yake bali kama mwombaji mmoja anayemwonyesha mwombaji mwingine mahali mkate unapopatikana.Turning to how the disciple treats others, Jesus says, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged" (Matthew 7:1-2). He paints the picture of a man with a plank in his own eye trying to remove a speck from his brother's eye, and tells him to take the plank out of his own eye first; then he will see clearly to help his brother. This is not a ban on all discernment, for in the very next breath He says not to give what is holy to dogs or to cast pearls before swine, which requires us to tell the difference. What He forbids is the hypocritical, condemning spirit that is harsh toward others and blind toward itself. The disciple judges himself first and most severely, and comes to his brother not as a judge over him but as one beggar showing another where bread is found.

Ombeni, Tafuteni, BisheniAsk, Seek, Knock

Mtu yeyote anawezaje kuishi hivi? Ni kwa Baba anayetoa tu. "Ombeni, nanyi mtapewa; tafuteni, nanyi mtaona; bisheni, nanyi mtafunguliwa" (Mathayo 7:7). Yesu anahoji kutoka kwa dogo hadi kwa kubwa: mwana akiomba mkate, hakuna baba mwema atakayempa jiwe, na ikiwa ninyi mlio waovu mnajua kuwapa watoto wenu vipawa vyema, je, si zaidi sana Baba yenu aliye mbinguni atawapa mema wao wamwombao? Maombi si kuufungua kwa nguvu mkono wa Mungu asiyetaka kutoa, bali ni kumjia Baba anayefurahia kutoa. Na kutoka katika ujasiri huo inatiririka kanuni inayojumlisha sheria yote ya upendo kwa wengine: "Basi yo yote mtakayo mtendewe na watu, nanyi watendeeni vivyo hivyo; maana hiyo ndiyo torati na manabii" (Mathayo 7:12). Kanuni ya Dhahabu si msemo wa werevu tu bali ni torati na manabii vilivyokamuliwa ndani ya sentensi moja tunayoweza kuibeba katika kila tunapokutana na mtu.How can anyone live this way? Only by a Father who gives. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). Jesus reasons from the lesser to the greater: if a son asks for bread, no decent father gives him a stone, and if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him. Prayer is not prying open the hand of a reluctant God but coming to a Father who delights to give. And out of that confidence flows the rule that sums up the whole law of love toward others: "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12). The Golden Rule is not a clever maxim but the Law and the Prophets pressed into a single sentence we can carry into every encounter.

Njia Mbili na Madai MawiliThe Two Ways and the Two Claims

Mahubiri yanapokaribia mwisho wake, Yesu anaweka mbele ya wasikilizaji wake mfululizo wa machaguo makali. Kuna milango miwili na njia mbili: "Ingieni kwa mlango ulio mwembamba... mlango ni mwembamba, na njia imesonga iendayo uzimani, nao waionao ni wachache" (Mathayo 7:13-14), ilhali mlango mpana na njia pana huelekea upotevuni, na umati ukipita humo. Kuna aina mbili za walimu: anaonya kujihadhari na manabii wa uongo wanaokuja wamevaa mavazi ya kondoo lakini ndani ni mbwa-mwitu wakali, naye anatoa kipimo, "Mtawatambua kwa matunda yao." Na kuna aina mbili za madai juu yake: "Si kila mtu aniambiaye, Bwana, Bwana, atakayeingia katika ufalme wa mbinguni; bali ni yeye afanyaye mapenzi ya Baba yangu aliye mbinguni" (Mathayo 7:21). Wengine wataonyesha matendo makuu yaliyofanywa kwa jina lake, naye atasema, "Sikuwajua ninyi kamwe; ondokeni kwangu." Maneno juu ya Kristo, hata maneno na matendo ya kidini, si sawa na kumjua Yeye na kufanya mapenzi ya Baba.As the sermon draws toward its end, Jesus sets before His hearers a series of sharp choices. There are two gates and two roads: "Enter by the narrow gate... narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14), while the wide gate and broad way lead to destruction with a crowd going through them. There are two kinds of teachers: He warns to beware of false prophets who come in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves, and gives the test, "You will know them by their fruits." And there are two kinds of claim upon Him: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). Some will point to mighty works done in His name, and He will say, "I never knew you; depart from Me." Words about Christ, even religious words and works, are not the same as knowing Him and doing the Father's will.

Wajenzi WawiliThe Two Builders

Mahubiri yote yanatua juu ya picha moja ya wajenzi wawili. "Basi kila asikiaye hayo maneno yangu, na kuyatenda, atafananishwa na mtu mwenye akili, aliyejenga nyumba yake juu ya mwamba" (Mathayo 7:24); lakini yule asikiaye na asiyetenda ni kama mtu mpumbavu aliyejenga juu ya mchanga. Watu wote wawili walijenga nyumba, na kwa nje huenda nyumba hizo zilionekana sawa; tofauti ilikuwa imefichwa katika msingi mpaka dhoruba ilipokuja. Mvua iliponyesha, mafuriko yalipokuja, na pepo zilipovuma na kuzipiga nyumba zote mbili, nyumba iliyo juu ya mwamba ilisimama na nyumba iliyo juu ya mchanga ikaanguka, na anguko lake likawa kubwa. Mstari unaogawanya si kusikia bali kutenda: haitoshi kuyastaajabia mahubiri, kuhudhuria mahubiri, au hata kuipigia makofi kweli; wenye akili hujenga maisha yao juu ya utii kwa maneno ya Mfalme. Yesu alipomaliza, makutano walishangaa, "kwa maana alikuwa akiwafundisha kama mtu mwenye amri, wala si kama waandishi wao" (Mathayo 7:28-29). Mshangao wao ulikuwa sahihi, kwa maana hakuna mwalimu wa kawaida aliyewahi kunena hivi; huyu alikuwa Mfalme Mwenyewe akiweka sheria ya ufalme wake. Mahubiri ya Mlimani si ushauri wa kufikiriwa bali ni neno la Mfalme la kutiiwa, na mahali pekee salama pa kusimama dhoruba inapokuja ni juu ya mwamba wa kufanya anachosema.The whole sermon comes to rest on a single image of two builders. "Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matthew 7:24); but the one who hears and does not do is like a foolish man who built on the sand. Both men built houses, and from the outside the houses may have looked the same; the difference was hidden in the foundation until the storm came. When the rain fell, the floods rose, and the winds beat against both houses, the house on the rock stood and the house on the sand fell with a great crash. The dividing line is not hearing but doing: it is not enough to admire the sermon, attend the preaching, or even applaud the truth; the wise build their lives on obedience to the King's words. When Jesus finished, the people were astonished, "for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matthew 7:28-29). Their amazement was right, for no mere teacher had ever spoken this way; here was the King Himself laying down the law of His kingdom. The Sermon on the Mount is not advice to consider but the word of the King to obey, and the only safe place to stand when the storm comes is on the rock of doing what He says.

Wasilisha Mtihani & Angalia KufauluSubmit Exam & Check Pass Anza Sehemu UpyaReset Unit