📖 Injili ya Mathayo — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 9: Mfalme na Kanisa Lake📖 Matthew Intensive — Unit 9: The King and His Church

Andiko: Mathayo 16:16Text: Matthew 16:16

Mfalme Juu ya MajiThe King Over the Waters

Sura hizi tano zinamchukua Mfalme kutoka Galilaya kuelekea Yerusalemu, na katikati yake kuna ungamo ambalo juu yake Yeye anasema atalijenga kanisa lake. Zinaanza kwa ishara mbili kubwa juu ya bahari. Baada ya kuwalisha watu elfu tano kwa mikate mitano na samaki wawili, Yesu anawatanguliza wanafunzi katika mashua na kuwajia akitembea juu ya maji. Petro anaomba aje kwake, anatoka, na kwa muda mfupi anatembea juu ya mawimbi — mpaka anapoona upepo, anaogopa, na kuanza kuzama, akilia, "Bwana, niokoe!" Yesu anamshika: "Ewe mwenye imani haba, kwa nini uliona shaka?" (Mathayo 14:31). Anapopanda ndani ya mashua na upepo ukakoma, wanafunzi wanamsujudia, wakisema, "Hakika wewe ni Mwana wa Mungu" (Mathayo 14:33). Hapa swali la sehemu nzima linaanza tayari kujitokeza — huyu ni nani? — pamoja na jibu la kwanza, la kigugumizi, kutoka kwa watu walio karibu naye zaidi.These five chapters carry the King from Galilee toward Jerusalem, and at their center stands the confession on which He says He will build His church. They open with two great signs over the sea. After feeding five thousand from five loaves and two fish, Jesus sends the disciples ahead in the boat and comes to them walking on the water. Peter asks to come, steps out, and for a moment walks on the waves — until he sees the wind, is afraid, and begins to sink, crying, "Lord, save me!" Jesus catches him: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31). When He climbs into the boat and the wind ceases, the disciples worship Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God" (Matthew 14:33). Here is the question of the whole unit already taking shape — who is this? — and the first stammering answer from the men closest to Him.

Kinachomtia Mtu Unajisi, na Imani KubwaWhat Defiles, and a Great Faith

Katika sura ya 15 Mfalme anawasahihisha Mafarisayo kuhusu mapokeo yao. Walikwazika kwamba wanafunzi wake walikula kwa mikono isiyonawa, lakini Yesu analigeuza jambo hilo ndani nje: "Sicho kiingiacho kinywani kimtiacho mtu unajisi; bali kitokacho kinywani, hicho ndicho kimtiacho mtu unajisi" (Mathayo 15:11). Kwa maana "moyoni hutoka mawazo mabaya, uuaji, uzinzi" na mengineyo (Mathayo 15:19). Unajisi si jambo la kaida za ibada bali la moyo. Kisha anakuja mwanamke Mmataifa, Mkanaani, akimsihi amponye binti yake aliyeteswa na pepo. Mwanzoni Yesu anaonekana kukataa, akimjaribu, lakini yeye anaendelea kwa unyenyekevu na ustahimilivu, naye Yesu anastaajabu: "Ee mwanamke, imani yako ni kubwa; na iwe kwako kama utakavyo" (Mathayo 15:28). Kama ilivyokuwa kwa yule akida hapo awali, ni mtu wa nje anayeonyesha imani ambayo Mfalme anaitafuta — ishara nyingine kwamba kanisa lake litakusanya watu kutoka kila taifa.In chapter 15 the King corrects the Pharisees over their traditions. They were scandalized that His disciples ate with unwashed hands, but Jesus turns the matter inside out: "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man" (Matthew 15:11). For "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries" and the rest (Matthew 15:19). Defilement is not a matter of ceremony but of the heart. Then comes a Gentile woman of Canaan, begging Him to heal her demon-tormented daughter. Jesus seems at first to refuse, testing her, but she presses on with humble persistence, and He marvels: "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire" (Matthew 15:28). As with the centurion earlier, it is an outsider who shows the faith the King seeks, another sign that His church will gather people from every nation.

Ungamo KuuThe Great Confession

Huko Kaisaria Filipi Mfalme anauliza swali waziwazi. Kwanza, "Watu hunena Mwana wa Adamu kuwa ni nani?" Majibu ni ya kusifu lakini si sahihi — Yohana Mbatizaji, Eliya, Yeremia, au mmoja wa manabii. Kisha anawageukia wao: "Nanyi mwaniambia mimi ni nani?" Petro anajibu kwa niaba yao wote: "Wewe ndiwe Kristo, Mwana wa Mungu aliye hai" (Mathayo 16:16). Yesu anamwita heri, "kwa kuwa mwili na damu havikukufunulia hili, bali Baba yangu aliye mbinguni" (Mathayo 16:17). Huu ndio moyo wa Injili nzima. Hakuna mtu anayefikia ungamo hili kwa werevu wake mwenyewe wala kwa kusikia tu habari za watu; hutolewa na Mungu. Na juu ya ungamo hili Mfalme anatoa ahadi yake kuu: "Wewe ndiwe Petro, na juu ya mwamba huu nitalijenga kanisa langu; wala milango ya kuzimu haitalishinda" (Mathayo 16:18). Kuna mchezo wa maneno hapa — Petro (Petros) maana yake ni jiwe dogo, ilhali mwamba (petra) ambao juu yake kanisa linajengwa ni mwamba wa msingi wa kweli iliyotolewa na Roho ambayo Petro ameikiri hivi punde: kwamba Yesu ndiye Kristo, Mwana wa Mungu aliye hai. Kanisa halijengwi juu ya mwanadamu, bali juu ya Kristo anayekiriwa. Na milango ya kuzimu — kwa kuwa milango ni kitu cha kujihami — haitaweza kulistahimili; kanisa limekusudiwa kusonga mbele, na ngome za kuzimu hazitasimama. Kwa watu wake Mfalme anawapa funguo za ufalme, mamlaka ya kufungua milango yake kwa njia ya Injili.At Caesarea Philippi the King asks the question directly. First, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" The answers are flattering but wrong — John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Then He turns it on them: "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answers for them all: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Jesus calls him blessed, "for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17). This is the heart of the whole Gospel. No one comes to this confession by his own cleverness or by hearsay; it is given by God. And on this confession the King makes His great promise: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). There is a play on words here — Peter (Petros) means a small stone, while the rock (petra) on which the church is built is the bedrock of the Spirit-given truth Peter has just confessed: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The church is not built on a man, but on Christ confessed. And the gates of Hades — gates being a defensive thing — will not hold out against it; the church is meant to advance, and hell's defenses will not stand. To His people the King gives the keys of the kingdom, the authority to open its doors by the gospel.

Msalaba WatabiriwaThe Cross Foretold

Kutoka kilele hiki Mfalme anageuka mara moja kuelekea msalaba. "Tangu wakati huo Yesu alianza kuwaonya wanafunzi wake kwamba imempasa kwenda Yerusalemu, na kupata mateso mengi... na kuuawa, na siku ya tatu kufufuka" (Mathayo 16:21). Petro, aliyekuwa ametoka kukiri kwa usahihi namna hiyo, sasa anamkemea — hakika jambo hili lisitokee kamwe — na Yesu anajibu kwa ukali wa kushangaza, "Nenda nyuma yangu, Shetani; u kikwazo kwangu; kwa maana huyawazii yaliyo ya Mungu, bali ya wanadamu" (Mathayo 16:23). Petro yule yule anaweza kuwa sauti ya ufunuo dakika moja na sauti ya mjaribu dakika inayofuata. Kisha Mfalme anaweka tena sheria ya ufuasi: "Mtu akitaka kunifuata, na ajikane mwenyewe, ajitwike msalaba wake, anifuate. Kwa maana mtu atakaye kuisalimisha nafsi yake, ataiangamiza; na mtu atakayeiangamiza nafsi yake kwa ajili yangu, ataiona" (Mathayo 16:24-25). Kanisa limejengwa juu ya Kristo anayekiriwa ambaye anakwenda kufa, na kumfuata Yeye ni kujitwika msalaba pia.From this high point the King turns at once toward the cross. "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things... and be killed, and be raised the third day" (Matthew 16:21). Peter, who had just confessed so rightly, now rebukes Him — surely this must never happen — and Jesus answers with startling sharpness, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23). The same Peter can be the voice of revelation one moment and the voice of the tempter the next. Then the King lays down the law of discipleship once more: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:24-25). The church is founded on a confessed Christ who is going to die, and to follow Him is to take up a cross too.

Ufuasi wa Kweli: Jikane, Jitwike, FuataTrue Discipleship: Deny, Take Up, Follow

Mahubiri kutoka Mathayo 16:21-26 yanapanga mwito wa Yesu kwa vitenzi vitatu rahisi: mwanafunzi wa kweli anajikana mwenyewe, anajitwika msalaba wake, na anamfuata Kristo. Kujikana si kujiumiza mwili wala kuacha kitu ambacho hatukukitaka hapo mwanzo. Maana yake ni kukiacha kiti cha enzi cha nafsi ili Kristo awe wa kwanza. F. B. Meyer aliwahi kulinganisha kujisalimisha na kumpa Kristo funguo za kila chumba cha maisha; chumba kimoja kilichofungwa bado kilimaanisha nyumba isiyojisalimisha kikamilifu. Vivyo hivyo, kujitwika msalaba ni jambo mahususi zaidi kuliko kuvumilia shida za kawaida. Msalaba ni mateso yanayotokana na kufanya mapenzi ya Mungu. Mwisho, kumfuata Kristo maana yake ni kutembea katika nyayo zake badala ya kumwomba aidhinishe njia ambayo tumeshaichagua. Kupinga kwa Petro katika kifungu hiki kunaonyesha jinsi ilivyo rahisi kutaka Masihi asiye na msalaba na ufuasi usio na kujikana. Yesu hakubali utengano huo. Njia ya Mfalme na njia ya mwanafunzi wake hukutana mahali pamoja: "si mapenzi yangu," kujisalimisha kwa nafsi, na utii mwaminifu kwa Mungu.A sermon from Matthew 16:21-26 organizes Jesus' call with three plain verbs: a true disciple denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows Christ. Self-denial is not self-mutilation or giving up something we never wanted in the first place. It means renouncing the throne of the self so that Christ is first. F. B. Meyer once pictured surrender as giving Christ the keys to every room of life; one locked room still meant an unsurrendered house. Taking up the cross is likewise more specific than enduring ordinary trouble. A cross is suffering that comes from doing the will of God. Finally, following Christ means walking in His steps rather than asking Him to approve a path we have already chosen. Peter's protest in this passage shows how easy it is to want a Messiah without a cross and discipleship without self-denial. Jesus will not permit that separation. The road of the King and the road of His disciple meet at the same place: "not my will," the surrender of self, and faithful obedience to God.

Utukufu MlimaniGlory on the Mountain

Siku sita baadaye anawachukua Petro, Yakobo na Yohana juu ya mlima mrefu na kugeuka sura mbele yao, uso wake uking'aa kama jua. Musa na Eliya — torati na manabii — wanatokea na kuzungumza naye. Petro anataka kujenga vibanda vitatu, lakini wingu jeupe linawatia kivuli, na sauti ya Baba inarudia neno lililosemwa pale Yordani, sasa pamoja na amri iliyoongezwa: "Huyu ni Mwanangu, mpendwa wangu, ninayependezwa naye; msikieni yeye" (Mathayo 17:5). Utukufu unathibitisha ungamo: huyu kweli ni Mwana wa Mungu, na Yeye, si Musa wala Eliya, ndiye wa kusikilizwa. Wanaposhuka, wanashindwa kumponya kijana mwenye kifafa, na Yesu anafundisha kwamba hata imani ndogo kama punje ya haradali inaweza kuhamisha milima (Mathayo 17:20). Sura inamalizika kwa ishara nyingine tulivu ya utambulisho wake, fedha ya kulipia kodi ya hekalu inapopatikana kinywani mwa samaki.Six days later He takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and is transfigured before them, His face shining like the sun. Moses and Elijah — the law and the prophets — appear and talk with Him. Peter wants to build three tabernacles, but a bright cloud overshadows them, and the Father's voice repeats the word spoken at the Jordan, now with a command added: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (Matthew 17:5). The glory confirms the confession: this truly is the Son of God, and He, not Moses or Elijah, is the One to be heard. Coming down, they fail to heal an epileptic boy, and Jesus teaches that even faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). The chapter ends with another quiet sign of who He is, as a coin to pay the temple tax is found in the mouth of a fish.

Nani Aliye Mkubwa?Who Is Greatest?

Sura ya 18 ni hotuba kuu ya nne, nayo inahusu maisha katika familia ya Mfalme, yaani kanisa. Wanafunzi wanauliza ni nani aliye mkubwa katika ufalme, na Yesu anamweka mtoto mdogo katikati yao: "Msipoongoka, na kuwa kama vitoto, hamtaingia kamwe katika ufalme wa mbinguni" (Mathayo 18:3). Ukubwa katika kanisa si cheo bali unyenyekevu wa mtoto. Kisha anatoa onyo kali dhidi ya kumkosesha mmojawapo wa wadogo hawa — ni afadhali jiwe kubwa la kusagia shingoni na vilindi vya bahari (Mathayo 18:6). Na anaeleza habari ya mchungaji anayewaacha kondoo tisini na tisa ili kumtafuta yule mmoja aliyepotea, "vivyo hivyo haipendezi mbele za Baba yenu aliye mbinguni kwamba mmoja wa wadogo hawa apotee" (Mathayo 18:14). Kanisa linapaswa kuwalinda na kuwatafuta washiriki wake walio dhaifu zaidi kwa moyo wa Mungu mwenyewe.Chapter 18 is the fourth great discourse, and it is about life in the King's family, the church. The disciples ask who is greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus sets a little child among them: "Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Greatness in the church is not rank but the humility of a child. Then He gives a fierce warning against causing one of these little ones to stumble — better a millstone around the neck and the depths of the sea (Matthew 18:6). And He tells of the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one that wandered off, "for it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish" (Matthew 18:14). The church is to guard and seek its weakest members with the very heart of God.

Njia ya KanisaThe Way of the Church

Kisha Yesu anatoa utaratibu wa kushughulikia dhambi miongoni mwa watu wake. "Ndugu yako akikukosa, enenda ukamwonye, wewe na yeye peke yenu." Asipokusikia, chukua mtu mmoja au wawili zaidi; asipowasikiliza bado, "liambie kanisa" (Mathayo 18:15-17). Lengo katika kila hatua ni kumpata ndugu, si kumwaibisha. Kwa kanisa anatoa mamlaka halisi ya kufunga na kufungua — kutangaza masharti ya Injili na kutekeleza nidhamu ya upendo. Na katikati ya mafundisho haya kuhusu kanisa lililokusanyika inakuja moja ya ahadi za thamani kuu katika Injili: "Kwa kuwa walipo wawili watatu wamekusanyika kwa jina langu, nami nipo papo hapo katikati yao" (Mathayo 18:20). Kanisa halihitaji umati mkubwa ili Mfalme wake awepo; Yeye yupo popote hata wawili au watatu wanapokusanyika kwa jina lake.Jesus then gives the pattern for dealing with sin among His people. "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone." If he will not hear, take one or two others; if he still will not hear, "tell it to the church" (Matthew 18:15-17). The goal at every step is to win the brother, not to expose him. To the church He gives a real authority to bind and to loose — to declare the terms of the gospel and to exercise loving discipline. And in the middle of this teaching on the gathered church comes one of the most precious promises in the Gospel: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). The church does not need a great crowd to have its King present; He is there wherever even two or three gather in His name.

Msamaha Usio na KikomoForgiveness Without Limit

Petro anauliza ni mara ngapi lazima amsamehe ndugu — hata mara saba? Yesu anajibu, "Hata saba mara sabini" (Mathayo 18:22), yaani, bila kuhesabu. Kisha anasimulia mfano wa mtumwa asiyesamehe. Mtumwa mmoja aliyedaiwa na mfalme wake mali isiyolipika alisamehewa deni lote kwa rehema. Lakini mtumwa yule yule akatoka akamkamata mtumwa mwenzake aliyemdai kiasi kidogo sana, akimnyima rehema ile ile aliyokuwa ametoka kuipokea, akamtupa gerezani. Mfalme aliposikia, alimtia mtumwa yule mwovu mikononi mwa watesaji. Onyo liko wazi: "Kadhalika na Baba yangu wa mbinguni atawatenda ninyi, msipoachiana kila mtu na ndugu yake kwa mioyo yenu" (Mathayo 18:35). Kanisa ni jumuiya ya waliosamehewa, na wale ambao Mungu amewasamehe deni kubwa namna hiyo hawawezi kuyang'ang'ania madeni madogo ya wengine.Peter asks how often he must forgive a brother — up to seven times? Jesus answers, "Up to seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22), which is to say, without keeping count. Then He tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. A servant who owed his king an unpayable fortune was forgiven the whole debt out of mercy. But that same servant went out and seized a fellow servant who owed him a trifling sum, refusing him the very mercy he had just received, and had him thrown into prison. When the king heard, he delivered the wicked servant to the tormentors. The warning is plain: "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses" (Matthew 18:35). The church is a community of the forgiven, and those who have been forgiven so great a debt by God cannot clutch the small debts of others.

Mfalme na Kanisa LakeThe King and His Church

Tukiziweka pamoja, sura hizi zinatuonyesha Mfalme na kanisa analolijenga. Kanisa limesimama juu ya msingi mmoja: ungamo lililotolewa na Roho kwamba Yesu ndiye Kristo, Mwana wa Mungu aliye hai. Linajengwa na Yeye, si na sisi, na milango ya kuzimu haitaweza kulistahimili. Mfalme wake anakwenda msalabani, na kuwa wake ni kujikana na kumfuata. Na maisha yake ya pamoja yanapaswa kufanana na Mfalme wake: yakitambulikana kwa unyenyekevu wa kitoto badala ya ushindani, kwa kuwajali kwa upole walio dhaifu na waliopotea, kwa maonyo ya kweli na ya upendo dhambi inapotokea, na kwa msamaha usio na kikomo unaobubujika kutokana na kusamehewa deni lisilolipika. Popote wawili au watatu wanapokusanyika kuzunguka ungamo hilo kwa jina lake, Mfalme Mwenyewe yupo, na kanisa lake linasonga mbele dhidi ya milango yenyewe ya kuzimu.Put together, these chapters give us the King and the church He builds. The church rests on one foundation: the Spirit-given confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It is built by Him, not by us, and the gates of hell will not withstand it. Its King is going to the cross, and to belong to Him is to deny self and follow. And its common life is to look like its King: marked by childlike humility rather than rivalry, by tender care for the weak and straying, by honest and loving correction when sin appears, and by a forgiveness without limit that flows from having been forgiven an unpayable debt. Wherever two or three gather around that confession in His name, the King Himself is present, and His church goes forward against the very gates of hell.

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