耶穌，我們的替代者Jesus, Our Substitute
作者: R.C. Sproul 譯者: Maria Marta
代理（vicarious）一詞對我們理解基督的贖罪非常重要。已故瑞士神學家卡爾巴特（Karl
Barth）曾說過，按照他的判斷，整本希臘文新約聖經裏唯一、最重要的字是小寫字的「huper」。 此小單詞的英語翻譯是「代表」（in behalf of） 。巴特在發表這一陳述時顯然有點誇張，因為新約有許多字可以說與huper同等重要，甚至更重要，但他只是想提請人注意耶穌地上事工中替代性的一面。
耶穌清償和解了我們的罪債、罪咎、我們對上帝懷有的敵意。祂付上所需的贖金，把我們從罪的奴役釋放出來。 然而，還有另一個重要的字，常常用來描述贖罪：替代（substitution）。 當我們看到聖經將罪描述為違法行爲時，我們便看到耶穌充當替代者，代替我們承擔上帝公義的審判和刑罰。 因此，我們有時說耶穌在十字架上的工作是基督替代性的贖罪，這意思是指祂提供贖罪，不是為祂自己的罪，而是為他人的罪，滿足上帝的公義。祂代表祂的子民，擔當替代者的角色。祂非為自己舍命; 乃為祂的羊舍命。祂是我們的最終替身。
從取了人性，進入這世界的那一刻起，基督便將「為其他人作替代者，提供贖罪，以滿足上帝律法的要求」這一觀念理解為祂的使命。作為天父的恩賜，祂從天上下來，特意要作我們的替身，成就救贖，祂為我們做了我們不能為自己做的事。我們在耶穌地上事工的開始，即祂來到約旦河與施洗約翰會面，開始祂公開的工作時，就看到這一點。
想象一下那天約旦河的情景。約翰為天國的來臨作準備，正忙於給人施洗。他突然擡頭看見耶穌走近。他當時所說的話，成為後來教會偉大的讚美詩《羔羊頌》（Agnus Dei）的歌詞：「看哪！上帝的羔羊的！是除去世人的罪孽的！」（約一29b） 他宣告耶穌是來擔當祂的百姓的罪的那一位。祂會親自履行舊約獻祭系統所象征的一切，即借著一只羔羊被宰殺而後放在祭壇上焚燒，獻給上帝為祭物，代表為人贖罪。羔羊是一個替代物，所以当約翰稱呼耶穌為「上帝的羔羊」時，他斷言祂也將會是一個替代者，然而卻是真正實現贖罪的那一位。
耶穌來到約翰那裡，請求受洗，約翰感到萬分驚恐。聖經告訴我們約翰的反應：「約翰想要阻止他，說：『我應該受你的洗，你卻到我這裡來嗎？』」（太三13）。這句簡單的陳述掩飾了約翰的深深困惑。因為他剛剛宣告耶穌是上帝的羔羊，為獻上完美的祭，贖其子民的罪，上帝的羔羊必須沒有瑕疵。祂必須完全無罪。但約翰呼籲所有以色列人為準備彌賽亞的到來而施行的洗禮儀式却是象征罪得潔凈的儀式。約翰說，本質上「給你施洗對我來說是荒唐的，因為祢是上帝無罪的羔羊。」約翰提出另一個想法：耶穌應該給他施洗。這是約翰承認自己是一個需要洗去罪的人的方式。
耶穌推翻約翰的異議。耶穌回答：「暫且這樣作吧。我們理當這樣履行全部的義」（太三15a）。耶穌在這句聲明中選用的字非常有趣。首先祂說：「暫且這樣作吧。」耶穌用這些特別的字來命令約翰的事實表明，祂明白這涉及一些神學上的困難。耶穌仿佛在說，「約翰，我知道你不明白這裏發生什麽事，但你可以相信我。來，請為我施洗。」
但相反，耶穌接著解釋為什麽約翰應該給祂施洗。祂說：「為我們成全義是合宜的。」 這裏的「合宜」也可以被翻譯成「必要」。換句話說，耶穌說祂受洗是必要的。如何必要？施洗約翰是上帝差派的先知。耶穌後來說，「婦人所生的，沒有一個比約翰更大」（路七28a）。上帝藉著這位先知賜予祂的聖約子民一道新的命令：他們必須受洗。我們從來都不應該認為上帝在頒布十誡之後，便停止向祂的子民表達祂的旨意。基礎的十戒頒布後，又添加了許多律法。上帝的子民要為進入神國作準備，要履行這種潔凈儀式的命領，只不過是上帝的新法令而已。
在被釘十字架之前，在履行上帝羔羊的職責之前，在獻上自己為供物以滿足上帝公義的要求之前，耶穌必須服從上帝賜予這個民族的每一項律法的每一個細節。祂必須代表祂的子民承擔上帝在每一個細節上的審判。既然法律現在要求所有人都要受洗，耶穌也必需受洗。假若祂必須是無罪的，他就必須要履行上帝的一切命令。祂要求約翰給祂施洗，不是因為祂需要被潔凈；祂要求受洗，為的是在每一個細節上都能順服祂的父。
這一點是耶穌要約翰明白的，因為耶穌的使命是成為替身，獻給上帝的替代性的犧牲的祭。耶穌明白並這擁抱這項使命。打從祂事工一開始，祂就知道祂來，充當替身，替代祂的羊。明確肯定耶穌這樣做不是為祂自己，而是為我們------救贖我們，買贖我們，拯救我們，這是關於耶穌的教導的核心。
本譯文的聖經經文皆引自《聖經新譯本》。
本文摘錄自史鮑爾 (R.C. Sproul) 所著的《The Truth of the Cross》。
Jesus, Our Substitute
FROM
R.C. Sproul
The
word vicarious is extremely important to our understanding of the atonement of
Christ. The late Swiss theologian Karl Barth once said that, in his judgment,
the single most important word in all of the Greek New Testament is the minuscule
word huper. This little word is translated by the English phrase “in behalf
of.” Barth was clearly engaging in a bit of hyperbole in making this statement,
because many words in the New Testament are arguably as important or even more
important than huper, but he was simply seeking to call attention to the
importance of what is known in theology as the vicarious aspect of the ministry
of Jesus.
He
made satisfaction for our debt, our enmity with God, and our guilt. He
satisfied the ransom demand for our release from captivity to sin. However,
there is another significant word that is often used in descriptions of the
atonement: substitution. When we look at the biblical depiction of sin as a
crime, we see that Jesus acts as the Substitute, taking our place at the bar of
God’s justice. For this reason, we sometimes speak of Jesus’ work on the cross
as the substitutionary atonement of Christ, which means that when He offered an
atonement, it was not to satisfy God’s justice for His own sins, but for the sins
of others. He stepped into the role of the Substitute, representing His people.
He didn’t lay down His life for Himself; He laid it down for His sheep. He is
our ultimate Substitute.
The
idea of being the Substitute in offering an atonement to satisfy the demands of
God’s law for others was something Christ understood as His mission from the
moment He entered this world and took upon Himself a human nature. He came from
heaven as the gift of the Father for the express purpose of working out
redemption as our Substitute, doing for us what we could not possibly do for
ourselves. We see this at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when He
initiated His public work by coming to the Jordan River and meeting John the
Baptist.
Imagine
the scene at the Jordan that day. John was busy baptizing the people in
preparation for the coming of the kingdom. Suddenly he looked up and saw Jesus
approaching. He spoke the words that later became the lyrics for that great
hymn of the church, the Agnus Dei: “‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world!’” (John 1:29b). He announced that Jesus was the One Who had
come to bear the sin of His people. In His person, He would fulfill all of what
was symbolized in the Old Testament sacrificial system, by which a lamb was
slaughtered and burned on the altar as an offering before God to represent
atonement for sin. The lamb was a substitute, so in calling Jesus “the Lamb of
God,” John was asserting that He, too, would be a Substitute, but One Who would
make real atonement.
Jesus
came to John and, to John’s horror, asked to be baptized. Scripture gives us
John’s reaction to this request. “John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to
be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’” (Matt. 3:13). That simple
statement must have masked a deep confusion on John’s part. He had just
announced that Jesus was the Lamb of God, and in order to serve as the perfect
sacrifice to atone for the sins of His people, the Lamb of God had to be
without blemish. He had to be completely sinless. But the ritual of baptism
that John was calling all of Israel to undergo in preparation for the coming of
the Messiah was a rite that symbolized cleansing from sin. So John said, in
essence, “It would be absurd for me to baptize You, because You are the sinless
Lamb of God.” John then put forth an alternative idea: Jesus should baptize
him. This was John’s way of acknowledging that he was a sinner who needed
cleansing.
Jesus
overrode John’s protest. “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so
now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’” (Matt.
3:15a). Jesus’ choice of words in this statement is interesting. First He said,
“Permit it to be so now.” The fact that Jesus gave His command to John in these
particular words shows that He understood there was some theological difficulty
involved. It was as if Jesus was saying, “John, I know you don’t understand
what’s happening here, but you can trust Me. Go ahead and baptize Me.”
However,
Jesus went on to give an explanation as to why John should baptize Him. He
said, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” The word fitting
here can also be translated as “necessary.” In other words, Jesus said it was
necessary for Him to be baptized. How was it necessary? John the Baptist had
come as a prophet from God. Jesus would say later, “Among those born of women
there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist” (Luke 7:28a). Through
this prophet, God had given His covenant people a new command: they were to be
baptized. We should never think that God stopped expressing His will to His
people after He spoke the Tenth Commandment. A multitude of laws was added to
the basic Ten Commandments after they were given. The command that His people
undergo this cleansing rite to prepare for the breakthrough of the divine
kingdom was merely the latest edict from God.
Before
He could go to the cross, before He could fulfill the role of the Lamb of God,
before He could make Himself an oblation to satisfy the demands of God’s
justice, Jesus had to submit Himself to every detail of every law God had given
to the nation. He had to represent His people before the bar of God’s justice
in every detail. Since the law now required that all of the people be baptized,
Jesus, too, had to be baptized. He had to fulfill every single commandment of
God if He was to be sinless. He wasn’t asking John to baptize Him because He
needed to be cleansed; He wanted to be baptized so that He could be obedient to
His Father in every detail.
That’s
the point Jesus was making here to John, because Jesus’ mission was to be the
Substitute, the vicarious sacrifice offered to God. Jesus understood this and
embraced it. From the start of His ministry, He knew He had come to act as a
Substitute on behalf of His sheep. At the center of His teaching was the
assertion that He was doing this not for Himself but for us—to redeem us, to
ransom us, to save us.
This
excerpt is adapted from The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul.
