1
Lu 2:1-7.
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英文原文
Lu 2:1-7.
BIRTH OF CHRIST.
1. Cæsar Augustus--the first of the Roman emperors.
all the world--so the vast Roman Empire was termed.
taxed--enrolled, or register themselves.
2
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2. 居里扭作敘利亞巡撫的時候等語——一節極為費解的經文，因為居里扭（即 Quirinus）似乎在基督降生後約十年才作敘利亞總督，而他任內所行的「報名上冊」正是引發
徒 5:37 所記那場叛亂的原因。然而，亞古士督治下確曾有一次涉及全羅馬帝國的報名上冊，如今已為學者所公認；即使是傾向懷疑的坦率批評家，也願意承認：我們這位福音書作者的記載，未必真有錯誤。許多卓越的學者將這話譯作：「這次登記是在居里扭作敘利亞總督之前」——「先」字在
約 1:15； 15:18 中也是如此翻譯的。若然，困難當然就消失了。但與其他人一樣，更妥當的假設也許是：這次登記可能是在主降生之時下令、為日後徵稅作準備，但報名上冊本身——這在巴勒斯坦是個惹人反感的措施——直到居里扭年間才付諸實行。
英文原文
2. first . . . when Cyrenius, &c.--a very perplexing verse, inasmuch as Cyrenius, or Quirinus, appears not to have been governor of Syria for about ten years after the birth of Christ, and the "taxing" under his administration was what led to the insurrection mentioned in
Ac 5:37.
That there was a taxing, however, of the whole Roman Empire under Augustus, is now admitted by all; and candid critics, even of skeptical tendency, are ready to allow that there is not likely to be any real inaccuracy in the statement of our Evangelist. Many superior scholars would render the words thus, "This registration was previous to Cyrenius being governor of Syria"--as the word "first" is rendered in
Joh 1:15; 15:18.
In this case, of course, the difficulty vanishes. But it is perhaps better to suppose, with others, that the registration may have been ordered with a view to the taxation, about the time of our Lord's birth, though the taxing itself--an obnoxious measure in Palestine--was not carried out till the time of Quirinus.
3
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3. 各歸各城——即他祖籍所在的城，這是猶太的慣例；而非他居住之地，那才是羅馬通常的作法。
英文原文
3. went . . . to his own city--the city of his extraction, according to the Jewish custom, not of his abode, which was the usual Roman method.
4
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4, 5. 不但屬王室血統的約瑟前往伯利恆
（撒上 16:1）， 馬利亞也是——以她的狀況而言，當然不是出於自願，而很可能是為了親自報名登記，因她本身就是產業繼承人。
英文原文
4, 5. Not only does Joseph, who was of the royal line, go to Bethlehem
(1Sa 16:1),
but Mary too--not from choice surely in her condition, but, probably, for personal enrollment, as herself an heiress.
5
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5. 所聘之妻——此時無疑已迎娶過門，如
太 1:18； 25:6 所載。
英文原文
5. espoused wife--now, without doubt, taken home to him, as related in
Mt 1:18; 25:6.
6
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6. 他們在那裏的時候，馬利亞的產期到了——馬利亞到此時為止，一直住在不對的地點——不合乎彌賽亞降生的預言之地。她若在拿撒勒多留片刻，預言便要落空了。然而看哪！她完全沒有要應驗預言的用意——該撒亞古士督更不消說——她卻從拿撒勒被帶到伯利恆；正在那關鍵的一刻，她的產期到了，嬰孩便降生了
（詩 118:23）。 「一切受造之物都蒙著眼行走；惟有住在光中的那一位知道他們往何處去」〔BISHOP HALL〕。
英文原文
6. while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered--Mary had up to this time been living at the wrong place for Messiah's birth. A little longer stay at Nazareth, and the prophecy would have failed. But lo! with no intention certainly on her part, much less of Cæsar Augustus, to fulfil the prophecy, she is brought from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and at that nick of time her period arrives, and her Babe is born
(Ps 118:23).
"Every creature walks blindfold; only He that dwells in light knows whether they go" [BISHOP HALL].
7
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7. 頭胎的——
Mt 1:25
亦如此；但律法論到頭胎時，不問其後是否還有別的出生，只問其前沒有別的出生[萊特富]。
包裹……放——是母親親手作的。那她竟沒有人幫助嗎？看來如此
(2Co 8:9)。
馬槽——指那個馬槽，即拴馬頭、可放置飼料的木槽[韋伯斯特與威爾金森]。
客店裡沒有地方——一座四方的建築，內部敞開，旅人投宿其中，後部用作馬廄。我們的主生於石窟或洞穴的古老傳統與此並不抵觸，因那地多岩石。以馬利亞的狀況，旅程必是緩慢的，未到他們已抵達之前，客店必已住滿——這動人地預示了他將要始終遭遇的接待
(Joh 1:11)。
裹在襁褓之中，
臥在馬槽之內，
萬邦的盼望與榮耀
已降世為要救助。
他的搖籃之上無平安之家微笑，
粗魯的客人往來於這位王嬰安睡之處。
凱布爾
但有些「客人往來」並非「粗魯」，而是恭敬。神差遣了他自己的訪客，向這位新生之王致敬。
英文原文
7. first-born--So
Mt 1:25;
yet the law, in speaking of the first-born, regardeth not whether any were born after or no, but only that none were born before [LIGHTFOOT].
wrapt him . . . laid him--The mother herself did so. Had she then none to help her? It would seem so
(2Co 8:9).
a manger--the manger, the bench to which the horses' heads were tied, on which their food could rest [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].
no room in the inn--a square erection, open inside, where travellers put up, and whose rear parts were used as stables. The ancient tradition, that our Lord was born in a grotto or cave, is quite consistent with this, the country being rocky. In Mary's condition the journey would be a slow one, and ere they arrived, the inn would be fully occupied--affecting anticipation of the reception He was throughout to meet with
(Joh 1:11).
Wrapt in His swaddling--bands,
And in His manger laid,
The hope and glory of all lands
Is come to the world's aid.
No peaceful home upon His cradle smiled,
Guests rudely went and came where slept the royal Child.
KEBLE
But some "guests went and came" not "rudely," but reverently. God sent visitors of His own to pay court to the new-born King.
8
Lu 2:8-20.
繁體中文
Lu 2:8-20.
天使向牧羊人報信——他們探訪新生嬰孩。
8. 在野地裡——住在那裡，大概在棚或帳篷中。
夜間……看守——或作夜更，輪流看守。從四月逾越節時起到秋季，羊群常在野外牧放，牧羊人整段時間都宿於該處。（由此看來，通常指定為我們主誕生的時節似乎太遲。）這些牧羊人蒙揀選首先看見那蒙福嬰孩，難道完全不顧他們自己內心的狀態嗎？至少這不是神的方法。「無疑，像西面一樣
(Lu 2:25)，
他們也是等候以色列的安慰者之人」[奧爾肖森]；若他們質樸的鄉村心性、安靜的職業、午夜時分的寂靜，以及他們頭上足以承載那天樂的深藍穹蒼，使他們成為適合首先領受嬰孩救主之消息的人；那麼我們可以設想，他們用來打發沉悶時辰的相稱的默想與交談，必成全了他們對這不期之訪的準備。拿但業就是這樣，獨自坐在無花果樹下，雖然無人看見，卻在不知不覺中預備了與耶穌的初次相遇。（見
Joh 1:48
的註釋。）
孤獨的先見在僻靜的磐石上「在主日被聖靈感動」，也是這樣，他絕未想到這就是他聽見人子之號筒聲音的準備
(Re 1:10
等)。但若他附近的牧羊人有最先的看見，那麼從遠方來的智者便有其次的看見——看見這位新生之王。直到如今仍是如此：先是質樸，其次是學問，得以尋到基督。
在寧靜中、在蔭下，
牧人與智者都可尋見他——
那些未受教育而順服自然之人，
以及那些沿著真理之星所鋪之路追隨之人。
凱布爾
英文原文
Lu 2:8-20.
ANGELIC ANNUNCIATION TO THE SHEPHERDS--THEIR VISIT TO THE NEWBORN BABE.
8. abiding in the fields--staying there, probably in huts or tents.
watch . . . by night--or, night watches, taking their turn of watching. From about passover time in April until autumn, the flocks pastured constantly in the open fields, the shepherds lodging there all that time. (From this it seems plain that the period of the year usually assigned to our Lord's birth is too late). Were these shepherds chosen to have the first sight of the blessed Babe without any respect of their own state of mind? That, at least, is not God's way. "No doubt, like Simeon
(Lu 2:25),
they were among the waiters for the Consolation of Israel" [OLSHAUSEN]; and, if the simplicity of their rustic minds, their quiet occupation, the stillness of the midnight hours, and the amplitude of the deep blue vault above them for the heavenly music which was to fill their ear, pointed them out as fit recipients for the first tidings of an Infant Saviour, the congenial meditations and conversations by which, we may suppose, they would beguile the tedious hours would perfect their preparation for the unexpected visit. Thus was Nathanael engaged, all alone but not unseen, under the fig tree, in unconscious preparation for his first interview with Jesus. (See on
Joh 1:48).
So was the rapt seer on his lonely rock "in the spirit on the Lord's Day," little thinking that this was his preparation for hearing behind him the trumpet voice of the Son of man
(Re 1:10,
&c.). But if the shepherds in His immediate neighborhood had the first, the sages from afar had the next sight of the new-born King. Even so still, simplicity first, science next, finds its way to Christ, whom
In quiet ever and in shade
Shepherds and Sage may find--
They, who have bowed untaught to Nature's sway,
And they, who follow Truth along her star-pav'd way.
KEBLE
9
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9. 主的榮光——「被描繪為環繞一切天上異象的光輝或榮耀」[奧爾肖森]。
甚懼怕——從來如此
(Da 10:7, 8；
Lu 1:12；
Re 1:17)。
人從未在不可見的世界忽然向他們開啟時感到安然。那原不是要常存的；它所要成就的不過是暫時的目的。
英文原文
9. glory of the Lord--"the brightness or glory which is represented as encompassing all heavenly visions" [OLSHAUSEN].
sore afraid--So it ever was
(Da 10:7, 8; Lu 1:12; Re 1:17).
Men have never felt easy with the invisible world laid suddenly open to their gaze. It was never meant to be permanent; a momentary purpose was all it was intended to serve.
10
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10. 萬民——「全體子民」，即以色列；要由他們此後傳給全世界。（見
Lu 2:14
的註釋。）
英文原文
10. to all people--"to the whole people," that is, of Israel; to be by them afterwards opened up to the whole world. (See on
Lu 2:14).
11
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11. 為你們生了——你們牧羊人、以色列、人類[本格爾]。比較
Isa 9:6
「因有一嬰孩為我們而生」。這是降生——「道成了肉身」
(Joh 1:14)。
何時？「今天」。何地？「在大衛的城裡」——正確的譜系與正確的「地點」；預言所囑我們尋找之處，信心所期待之處。我們信仰的這些歷史錨點對我們何其寶貴！一旦失去，一切實質的基督教便都失去。藉著這些，有多少人得免觸礁，並在他們尚未完全「看見他的榮耀」之前，就對他生出某種外在的仰慕。
救主——不是將來要作救主的那位，而是「生而為救主」的。
基督主——「宏壯的稱呼！」[本格爾]。「這兩個字並列，全聖經僅此一處；我看這裡的『主』除了對應於希伯來文的耶和華之外，別無他解」[阿爾福德]。
英文原文
11. unto you is born--you shepherds, Israel, mankind [BENGEL]. Compare
Isa 9:6,
"Unto us a Child is born." It is a birth--"The Word is made flesh"
(Joh 1:14).
When? "This day." Where? "In the city of David"--in the right line and at the right "spot"; where prophecy bade us look for Him, and faith accordingly expected Him. How dear to us should be these historic moorings of our faith! With the loss of them, all substantial Christianity is lost. By means of them how many have been kept from making shipwreck, and attained to a certain external admiration of Him, ere yet they have fully "beheld His glory."
a Saviour--not One who shall be a Saviour, but "born a Saviour."
Christ the Lord--"magnificent appellation!" [BENGEL]. "This is the only place where these words come together; and I see no way of understanding this "Lord" but as corresponding to the Hebrew JEHOVAH" [ALFORD].
12
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12. 記號——「那記號」。
嬰孩——「一個嬰孩」。
馬槽——「那個馬槽」。看來這記號全在於剛才所論他的一切，與他們將要尋見他的卑微境況之間，那壓倒性的對比：他的根源從亙古、從太初就有，而你們要看見「一個嬰孩」；天上的天也容不下的他，「裹在襁褓之中」；「救主基督主」竟臥在馬槽裡！他素所揀選的這種驚人對比，如此早就擺在眼前。（見
2Co 8:9。）
英文原文
12. a sign--"the sign."
the babe--"a Babe."
a manger--"the manger." The sign was to consist, it seems, solely in the overpowering contrast between the things just said of Him and the lowly condition in which they would find Him--Him whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, "ye shall find a Babe"; whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, "wrapt in swaddling bands"; the "Saviour, Christ the Lord," lying in a manger! Thus early were these amazing contrasts, which are His chosen style, held forth. (See
2Co 8:9.)
13
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13. 忽然——彷彿只等同伴說完。
與那天使——那天使並不退去，而是有別的加入他，來印證並頌讚他所帶來的消息。
天兵——或作「軍隊」，一支頌讚和平的軍隊！[本格爾]「把他們崇高地位的職事轉移到這可憐的地上，因這地極少響起對神純淨的讚美」[奧爾肖森]；為要叫人知道這事在天上如何被看待，在地上也當如何被看待。
英文原文
13. suddenly--as if only waiting till their fellow had done.
with the angel--who retires not, but is joined by others, come to seal and to celebrate the tidings he has brought.
heavenly host--or "army," an army celebrating peace! [BENGEL] "transferring the occupation of their exalted station to this poor earth, which so seldom resounds with the pure praise of God" [OLSHAUSEN]; to let it be known how this event is regarded in heaven and should be regarded on earth.
14
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14. 榮耀等——簡短卻令人狂喜的頌歌——不僅用人清晰的言語（為我們的緣故），更用可歌唱的節奏；採希伯來詩體的並行格式，由兩個完整的子句構成，第三個子句只擴展第二個，故沒有連接詞「和」。新生之「救主」所要帶來的「榮耀歸於神」，是這首崇高頌歌的第一音；與之呼應的，第二子句是他要作「王」所帶來的「地上平安
(Isa 9:6)」
——大概由天上的詩班以應答方式唱出；接著迅速傳來這音符的喜樂回聲，大概由天使歌詠團的第三組唱出——「喜悅歸於人」。「他們不說榮耀歸於天上的神（天使所在之處），而用一個少見的表達，說『至高之處』，天使也不敢攀及」
(Heb 1:3, 4)
[本格爾]。與神「相和」是墮落世界的首要需要。要帶來這個，以及隨之而來的一切平安，是救主降世的首要使命；與之俱來，天對人的整個「喜悅」——即在新基礎上的神聖喜悅——便降下停留在人身上，正如停留在子身上，神在他裡面「喜悅」
(Mt 3:17，
與此處同字）。
英文原文
14. Glory, &c.--brief but transporting hymn--not only in articulate human speech, for our benefit, but in tunable measure, in the form of a Hebrew parallelism of two complete clauses, and a third one only amplifying the second, and so without a connecting "and." The "glory to God," which the new-born "Saviour" was to bring, is the first note of this sublime hymn: to this answers, in the second clause, the "peace on earth," of which He was to be "the Prince"
(Isa 9:6)
--probably sung responsively by the celestial choir; while quickly follows the glad echo of this note, probably by a third detachment of the angelic choristers--"good will to men." "They say not, glory to God in heaven, where angels are, but, using a rare expression, "in the highest [heavens]," whither angels aspire not,"
(Heb 1:3, 4)
[BENGEL]. "Peace" with God is the grand necessity of a fallen world. To bring in this, and all other peace in its train, was the prime errand of the Saviour to this earth, and, along with it, Heaven's whole "good will to men"--the divine complacency on a new footing--descends to rest upon men, as upon the Son Himself, in whom God is "well-pleased."
(Mt 3:17,
the same word as here.)
15
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15. 我們去看看——這是何等可愛的敬虔與信心的單純！他們不被天使、環繞天使的榮耀、以及他們響徹空際的高亢旋律所吸引。他們也不說：我們去看看這事是否屬實——他們毫無疑慮。只說：「我們去看看這事——主所指示我們的這事。」這豈不印證了我們在
Lu 2:8
對這些謙卑人之心靈的見解？
英文原文
15. Let us go, &c.--lovely simplicity of devoutness and faith this! They are not taken up with the angels, the glory that invested them, and the lofty strains with which they filled the air. Nor do they say, Let us go and see if this be true--they have no misgivings. But "Let us go and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." Does not this confirm the view given on
Lu 2:8
of the spirit of these humble men?
16
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16. 急忙——比較
Lu 1:39；
Mt 28:8（「跑去」）；
Joh 4:28（「留下水罐子」，正如他們在狂喜中留下羊群）。
尋見馬利亞等——「在夜色朦朧中被聖靈奧秘地引導到正確之處」[奧爾肖森]。
馬槽——如前所述「那馬槽」。
英文原文
16. with haste--Compare
Lu 1:39; Mt 28:8
("did run");
Joh 4:28
("left her water-pot," as they do their flocks, in a transport).
found Mary, &c.--"mysteriously guided by the Spirit to the right place through the obscurity of the night" [OLSHAUSEN].
a manger--"the manger," as before.
17
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17. 傳開了——在他們回去之前就傳開了
(Lu 2:20)，
因此他們是最早的福音使者[BENGEL]。
英文原文
17. made known abroad--before their return
(Lu 2:20),
and thus were the first evangelists [BENGEL].
20
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20. 榮耀、讚美神等——後者這個字既用於天使的歌唱
(Lu 2:13)，
也見於
Lu 19:37，
和 Lu 24:53，
這使我們推測他們的讚美也是一首歌，可能是詩篇中的某首頌歌——適合承載他們單純的心因「所聽所看見」之事而澎湃的情感。
英文原文
20. glorifying and praising God, &c.--The latter word, used of the song of the angels
(Lu 2:13),
and in
Lu 19:37, and Lu 24:53,
leads us to suppose that theirs was a song too, probably some canticle from the Psalter--meet vehicle for the swelling emotions of their simple hearts at what "they had heard and seen."
21
Lu 2:21.
繁體中文
Lu 2:21.
基督的割禮。
僅在此處記載，甚至在此也只為了那時賜給這聖嬰的名字「耶穌」，即救主
(Mt 1:21; Ac 13:23)，
而一筆帶過。
然而在割禮這象徵性地以流血除去罪身的行動中，為祂命名為「救主」，暗中暗示他們「理當」——如約翰之於祂的洗禮所說——寧可被祂「以基督的割禮除去肉體[罪]的身體，就是那不是人手所行的割禮」所割
(Col 2:11)，
而祂不過「許可這事如此，因為這樣盡諸般的義於祂是合宜的」
(Mt 3:15)。
然而基督的割禮與祂自身的事工有著深刻的關聯——少有人正確領會。因為「受割禮的人，乃是欠著行全律法的債」
(Ga 5:3)，
耶穌便在祂自己的肉身中帶著自願遵行全律法的印記——自墮落以來在肉身中惟獨祂才可能如此。又因祂「生在律法之下」並非為自己的目的，乃是「為要贖出律法以下的人，叫我們得著兒子的名分」
(Ga 4:4, 5)，
所以祂的割禮所立定的順服，乃是救贖的順服——是「救主」的順服。最後，因為「基督既為我們受了咒詛」，就「贖出我們脫離律法的咒詛」
(Ga 3:13)，
我們必須看祂在割禮中，被置於一個明顯的誓約之下：「順服至死，且死在十字架上」
(Php 2:8)。
英文原文
Lu 2:21.
CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST.
Here only recorded, and even here merely alluded to, for the sake of the name then given to the holy Babe, "JESUS," or SAVIOUR
(Mt 1:21; Ac 13:23).
Yet in this naming of Him "Saviour," in the act of circumcising Him, which was a symbolical and bloody removal of the body of sin, we have a tacit intimation that they "had need"--as John said of His Baptism--rather to be circumcised by Him "with the circumcision made without hands, in the putting off of the body [of the sins] of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ"
(Col 2:11),
and that He only "suffered it to be so, because thus it became Him to fulfil all righteousness"
(Mt 3:15).
Still the circumcision of Christ had a profound bearing on His own work--by few rightly apprehended. For since "he that is circumcised is a debtor to do the whole law"
(Ga 5:3),
Jesus thus bore about with Him in His very flesh the seal of a voluntary obligation to do the whole law--by Him only possible in the flesh since the fall. And as He was "made under the law" for no ends of His own, but only "to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons"
(Ga 4:4, 5),
the obedience to which His circumcision pledged Him was a redeeming obedience--that of a "Saviour." And, finally, as "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law" by "being made a curse for us"
(Ga 3:13),
we must regard Him, in His circumcision, as brought under a palpable pledge to be "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"
(Php 2:8).
22
Lu 2:22-40.
繁體中文
Lu 2:22-40.
童貞女的潔淨禮——嬰孩在聖殿的奉獻——在那裡與西面、亞拿相會的場面。
22, 24. 潔淨的日子——雖然最多、最好的抄本讀作「他們的」，但需要從生產的法律不潔中得潔淨的，只是母親一人。男嬰的這潔淨「日子」共四十日
(Le 12:2, 4)，
期滿後母親須獻一隻羊羔為燔祭，一隻斑鳩或雛鴿為贖罪祭。若她買不起羊羔，便要再帶一隻斑鳩或雛鴿；若連這也力不能及，則要帶一份細麵，卻不可加上慣常的油與乳香等香料，因為它代表贖罪祭
(Le 12:6-8; 5:7-11)。
從「一對斑鳩或兩隻雛鴿」這折中的祭物可見，約瑟與童貞女家境清寒
(2Co 8:9)，
卻非赤貧。因是頭胎男嬰，他們「帶祂上耶路撒冷，獻給主」。所有這類嬰孩都被宣告「歸主為聖」，或分別為聖用，以記念以色列的長子藉灑血之恩免於埃及之滅
(Ex 13:2)。
然而利未全支派被悅納作為替代，分別出來從事專屬聖潔的事奉
(Nu 3:11-38)；
因頭次核算時利未人比以色列眾長子少二百七十三人，這些長子各人要付五舍客勒來贖回，卻仍須「獻給（或帶到）主」，作為祂對他們及其事奉之合法權利的表徵
(Nu 3:44-47; 18:15, 16)。
童貞女便是遵行這條「摩西的律法」，將嬰孩獻給主，「在稱為尼加諾爾門的院子的東門，在那裡她自己也要被祭司用她祭牲的血灑」[LIGHTFOOT]。到了時候，我們要因那嬰孩得贖，「不是用金銀等能壞之物，乃是用基督的寶血」
(1Pe 1:18, 19)；
而母親燔祭被焚、她被贖罪祭之血所灑，要在基督徒母親自己所獻的「活祭」中，在「心中從邪惡的良心被灑淨」、「用潔淨一切罪惡的血」的豐滿裡，找到其長久的應驗。
英文原文
Lu 2:22-40.
PURIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN--PRESENTATION OF THE BABE IN THE TEMPLE-SCENE THERE WITH SIMEON AND ANNA.
22, 24. her purification--Though the most and best copies read "their," it was the mother only who needed purifying from the legal uncleanness of childbearing. "The days" of this purification for a male child were forty in all
(Le 12:2, 4),
on the expiry of which the mother was required to offer a lamb for a burnt offering, and a turtle dove or a young pigeon for a sin offering. If she could not afford a lamb, the mother had to bring another turtle dove or young pigeon; and, if even this was beyond her means, then a portion of fine flour, but without the usual fragrant accompaniments of oil and frankincense, as it represented a sin offering
(Le 12:6-8; 5:7-11).
From the intermediate offering of "a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons," we gather that Joseph and the Virgin were in poor circumstances
(2Co 8:9),
though not in abject poverty. Being a first-born male, they "bring him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord." All such had been claimed as "holy to the Lord," or set apart to sacred uses, in memory of the deliverance of the first-born of Israel from destruction in Egypt, through the sprinkling of blood
(Ex 13:2).
In lieu of these, however, one whole tribe, that of Levi, was accepted, and set apart to occupations exclusively sacred
(Nu 3:11-38);
and whereas there were two hundred seventy-three fewer Levites than first-born of all Israel on the first reckoning, each of these first-born was to be redeemed by the payment of five shekels, yet not without being "presented (or brought) unto the Lord," in token of His rightful claim to them and their service
(Nu 3:44-47; 18:15, 16).
It was in obedience to this "law of Moses," that the Virgin presented her babe unto the Lord, "in the east gate of the court called Nicanor's Gate, where she herself would be sprinkled by the priest with the blood of her sacrifice" [LIGHTFOOT]. By that Babe, in due time, we were to be redeemed, "not with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ"
(1Pe 1:18, 19),
and the consuming of the mother's burnt offering, and the sprinkling of her with the blood of her sin offering, were to find their abiding realization in the "living sacrifice" of the Christian mother herself, in the fulness of a "heart sprinkled from an evil conscience," by "the blood which cleanseth from all sin."
25
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25. 公義——道德品格正直。
虔誠——具有宗教心志。
素常盼望以色列的安慰者來到——即將來之彌賽亞的美麗稱號。
聖靈——超自然地。
在他身上——如此，聖靈在幾乎四百年的荒涼缺席之後，回到教會，激發期望，為將臨之事預備。
英文原文
25. just--upright in his moral character.
devout--of a religious frame of spirit.
waiting for the consolation of Israel--a beautiful title of the coming Messiah, here intended.
the Holy Ghost was--supernaturally.
upon him--Thus was the Spirit, after a dreary absence of nearly four hundred years, returning to the Church, to quicken expectation, and prepare for coming events.
26
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26. 聖靈的啟示——毫無疑問地暗示聖靈的位格性。
未死以前，必看見——「甘美的對照！」[BENGEL]。那一次的看見，會為另一者的幽暗鍍上何等的金光！此時他大概已屆暮年。
英文原文
26. revealed by the Holy Ghost--implying, beyond all doubt, the personality of the Spirit.
should see not death till he had seen--"sweet antithesis!" [BENGEL]. How would the one sight gild the gloom of the other! He was, probably, by this time, advanced in years.
27
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27, 28. 聖靈引導他正於童貞女要將嬰孩獻給主的那一刻進入聖殿。
英文原文
27, 28. The Spirit guided him to the temple at the very moment when the Virgin was about to present Him to the Lord.
28
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28. 接過來——不需馬利亞將發生在自己身上的事告訴他，便以毫不遲疑的確信，立即在那嬰孩身上認出所應許的彌賽亞[OLSHAUSEN]。將嬰孩抱在懷裡這一非比尋常的舉動，不可忽略。那彷彿他在說：「這就是我的一切拯救、我的一切願望」
(2Sa 23:5)。
英文原文
28. took him up in his arms--immediately recognizing in the child, with unhesitating certainty, the promised Messiah, without needing Mary to inform him of what had happened to her. [OLSHAUSEN]. The remarkable act of taking the babe in his arms must not be overlooked. It was as if he said, "This is all my salvation and all my desire"
(2Sa 23:5).
29
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29. 主啊——即「主人」，是個新約中少用的字，在此格外貼切地被選用——這位年老的聖徒覺得自己願意活著的最後目的如今已經達成，只等候主人一聲「離去」的命令。
如今可以等——更清楚地說是「如今禰正在釋放禰的僕人」；這是既忍耐又虔敬地表達離世願望的方式。
英文原文
29. Lord--"Master," a word rarely used in the New Testament, and selected here with peculiar propriety, when the aged saint, feeling that his last object in wishing to live had now been attained, only awaited his Master's word of command to "depart."
now lettest, &c.--more clearly, "now Thou art releasing Thy servant"; a patient yet reverential mode of expressing a desire to depart.
30
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30. 看見禰的救恩——許多人看見了這孩子，甚至看見了長大後的「基督耶穌這人」，卻從未在祂裡面看見「神的救恩」。對一個可見的對象——一個無知無覺、無助的嬰孩——作出這樣的評估，完全是出於信心。他「見過祂的榮耀」
(Joh 1:14)。
從另一面看，這是先前的信心得到現在的看見為賞賜。
英文原文
30. seen thy salvation--Many saw this child, nay, the full-grown "man, Christ Jesus," who never saw in Him "God's Salvation." This estimate of an object of sight, an unconscious, helpless babe, was pure faith. He "beheld His glory"
(Joh 1:14).
In another view it was prior faith rewarded by present sight.
31
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31, 32. 萬民——即萬民、全人類。
照亮外邦人的光——他們當時仍陷於濃厚的黑暗之中。
禰民以色列的榮耀——他們已是禰的民，如今在其信之部分中，要較以往任何時候更加榮耀地成為禰的民。當注意這首「向塵世生命告別的永恆天鵝之歌」[OLSHAUSEN]，比撒迦利亞之歌對基督國度有更寬廣的視野，雖然兩人所歌頌的國度是同一個。
英文原文
31, 32. all people--all the peoples, mankind at large.
a light to the Gentiles--then in thick darkness.
glory of thy people Israel--already Thine, and now, in the believing portion of it, to be so more gloriously than ever. It will be observed that this "swan-like song, bidding an eternal farewell to this terrestrial life" [OLSHAUSEN], takes a more comprehensive view of the kingdom of Christ than that of Zacharias, though the kingdom they sing of is one.
34
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34, 35. 安置——即被指定。
以色列中許多人跌倒、興起，又作毀謗的話柄——也許前一句表達我們主地上事奉期間許多以色列人因不信而暫時「跌倒」、以及五旬節聖靈降臨後對整個主題投以新光之時同一批人隨後「興起」這兩個階段；而後句則描寫主耶穌頑梗的仇敵。這樣對基督截然相反的觀點，每個時代都有。
英文原文
34, 35. set--appointed.
fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against--Perhaps the former of these phrases expresses the two stages of temporary "fall of many in Israel" through unbelief, during our Lord's earthly career, and the subsequent "rising again" of the same persons after the effusion of the Spirit at pentecost threw a new light to them on the whole subject; while the latter clause describes the determined enemies of the Lord Jesus. Such opposite views of Christ are taken from age to age.
35
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35. 又——「你雖然在婦女中是有福的，卻要在這嬰孩所引起的掙扎與苦難中有你自己深沉的一份」——這不僅指她的這個孩子將持續受到的毀謗與拒絕、她將在十字架上親眼目睹的祂的痛苦、以及此後她孤寂的處境，更指她將必須經歷的、對祂時而信時而不信、時而盼望時而恐懼的可怕交替。
好叫許多人心裡的意念等——人對基督的看法與抉擇，是一面映照他們「心中的意念」的鏡子。
英文原文
35. Yea, &c.--"Blessed as thou art among women, thou shalt have thine own deep share of the struggles and sufferings which this Babe is to occasion"--pointing not only to the continued obloquy and rejection of this Child of hers, those agonies of His which she was to witness at the cross, and her desolate condition thereafter, but to dreadful alternations of faith and unbelief, of hope and fear regarding Him, which she would have to pass through.
that the thoughts, &c.--Men's views and decisions regarding Christ are a mirror in which the very "thoughts of their hearts" are seen.
36
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36. 亞拿——即哈拿。
女先知——神將要「把祂的靈澆灌凡有血氣的」「末後的日子」已近的另一個證據。
亞設支派——十支派之一。其中許多人沒有被擄去，也有不少人在從巴比倫歸回之後重新與猶大聯合。各支派的區別雖在擄掠中實際上已被破壞，但直到他們最終分散之前仍相當清楚
(Ro 11:1; Heb 7:14);
如今也並未全然失傳。
住了等——她曾與丈夫同住七年
(Lu 2:36),
並作了八十四年的寡婦；所以她若在最早的適婚年齡十二歲出嫁，此時她至少已一百零三歲。
英文原文
36. Anna--or, Hannah.
a prophetess--another evidence that "the last times" in which God was to "pour out His Spirit upon all flesh" were at hand.
of the tribe of Aser--one of the ten tribes, of whom many were not carried captive, and not a few reunited themselves to Judah after the return from Babylon. The distinction of tribes, though practically destroyed by the captivity, was well enough known up to their final dispersion
(Ro 11:1; Heb 7:14);
nor is it now entirely lost.
lived, &c.--she had lived seven years with her husband
(Lu 2:36),
and been a widow eighty-four years; so that if she married at the earliest marriageable age, twelve years, she could not at this time be less than a hundred three years old.
37
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37. 不離開聖殿——一日中一切規定的時辰，甚至在聖殿守衛夜間的事奉中
(Ps 134:1, 2),
都可看見她在那裡，「禁食祈求，晝夜事奉神」。（見
1Ti 5:5,
為本處所暗示。）
英文原文
37. departed not from the temple--was found there at all stated hours of the day, and even during the night services of the temple watchmen
(Ps 134:1, 2),
"serving God with fastings and prayer." (See
1Ti 5:5,
suggested by this.)
38
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38. 正當那時進前來——「將自己呈現出來」。她早已在那裡，但如今西面對那有福的嬰孩所作的見證漸漸止息時，被發現「站著旁邊」，預備「依次」接續（此處譯作「同樣」的字正是此意）。
對一切等——意思是「對耶路撒冷中一切盼望救贖的人」——實際上即是說，你們一切的期望都包裹在那嬰孩之中。這事若發生在禱告的時辰，即群眾湧往聖殿之時，便足以說明為何她的話語所暗示的那樣多的聽眾聚集在那裡[ALFORD]。
英文原文
38. coming in--"presenting herself." She had been there already but now is found "standing by," as Simeon's testimony to the blessed Babe died away, ready to take it up "in turn" (as the word rendered "likewise" here means).
to all them, &c.--the sense is, "to all them in Jerusalem that were looking for redemption"--saying in effect, In that Babe are wrapt up all your expectations. If this was at the hour of prayer, when numbers flocked to the temple, it would account for her having such an audience as the words imply [ALFORD].
39
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39. 要確定東方博士的造訪與逃往埃及並從埃及歸回
(Mt 2:13-23),
跟此處所記載的基督受割禮和在聖殿裡獻與主之間的確切次序，實在沒有比這更困難的事。或許最好的辦法是把這事留在它本來的模糊之中，視為兩個各自獨立——但若我們知道一切便容易調和——的記述的結果。
英文原文
39. Nothing is more difficult than to fix the precise order in which the visit of the Magi, with the flight into and return from Egypt
(Mt 2:13-23),
are to be taken, in relation to the circumcision and presentation of Christ in the temple, here recorded. It is perhaps best to leave this in the obscurity in which we find it, as the result of two independent, though if we knew all, easily reconcilable narratives.
40
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40. 祂心智的發展與身體的發展齊頭並進，而「神的恩典」——神的恩眷——顯然並且越發豐盛地停留在祂身上。見
Lu 2:52。
英文原文
40. His mental development kept pace with His bodily, and "the grace of God," the divine favor, rested manifestly and increasingly upon Him. See
Lu 2:52.
41
Lu 2:41-52.
繁體中文
Lu 2:41-52.
首次有意識地造訪耶路撒冷。
「從三十年那奇妙的封閉園子中獨自開出的花，恰好在那膨脹的花蕾於一個獨特的關頭（十二歲時）綻放之處被摘下。標出這一點，無疑正是這記述的用意與意義」[STIER]。
英文原文
Lu 2:41-52.
FIRST CONSCIOUS VISIT TO JERUSALEM.
"Solitary flowered out of the wonderful enclosed garden of the thirty years, plucked precisely there where the swollen bud, at a distinctive crisis (at twelve years of age), bursts into flower. To mark that is assuredly the design and the meaning of this record" [STIER].
42
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42. 上去——「素常上去」。雖然只有男子有義務在三個年節上耶路撒冷去
(Ex 23:14-17),
但敬虔的婦女在家庭責任允許時也去，如哈拿
(1Sa 1:7),
又如我們此處所見的耶穌的母親。
十二歲的時候——到了這年紀，每個猶太男孩都被稱為「律法之子」，接受一段教導的課程，受訓禁食並參加公眾敬拜，此外還被安排學一門手藝。於是，我們的主就在這年齡，在三個年節之首的逾越節期，第一次被帶上耶路撒冷。但哦，這少年是帶著何等的思想與感受上去的呢！在親眼看見那城之前，祂無疑「早已愛慕耶和華的殿宇，和禰榮耀居住之處」
(Ps 26:8),
這份愛，我們可以肯定，是被那「藏在心裡的道」所滋養的——而祂日後對那道顯出如此完全的熟悉。當祂首次造訪的時刻臨近，若有人能聽見祂年少之靈的呼吸，必會聽見祂低語：「神啊，我的心切慕禰，如鹿切慕溪水。耶和華愛錫安的門，勝於愛雅各一切的住處。人對我說：我們往耶和華的殿去——我就歡喜。耶路撒冷啊，我們的腳站在你的門內！」
(Ps 42:1; 87:2; 122:1, 2).
當祂第一眼看見「他們守嚴肅會的城」，並在其中看見那高於一切的「神安息之所」時，我們聽見祂對自己說：「大君王之城，在北面居高華美，為全地所喜樂：神從極美的錫安中發光」
(Ps 48:2; 50:2)。
節期那八天中祂的感受或行動，沒有一字記載。作為敬虔的孩子，祂與父母一同走過各樣禮儀，把心思留在心裡。但我似乎聽見祂在節期那些崇高禮儀之後對自己說：「祂帶我入筵宴所，以愛為旗在我以上。我歡歡喜喜坐在祂的蔭下，祂的果子在我的口中甘甜」\n (So 2:3, 4)。
英文原文
42. went up--"were wont to go." Though males only were required to go up to Jerusalem at the three annual festivals
(Ex 23:14-17),
devout women, when family duties permitted, went also, as did Hannah
(1Sa 1:7),
and, as we here see, the mother of Jesus.
when twelve years old--At this age every Jewish boy was styled "a son of the law," being put under a course of instruction and trained to fasting and attendance on public worship, besides being set to learn a trade. At this age accordingly our Lord is taken up for the first time to Jerusalem, at the passover season, the chief of the three annual festivals. But oh, with what thoughts and feelings must this Youth have gone up! Long ere He beheld it, He had doubtless "loved the habitation of God's house and the place where His honor dwelt"
(Ps 26:8),
a love nourished, we may be sure, by that "word hid in His heart," with which in afterlife He showed so perfect a familiarity. As the time for His first visit approached, could one's ear have caught the breathings of His young soul, he might have heard Him whispering, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem!"
(Ps 42:1; 87:2; 122:1, 2).
On catching the first view of "the city of their solemnities," and high above all in it, "the place of God's rest," we hear Him saying to Himself, "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God doth shine"
(Ps 48:2; 50:2).
Of His feelings or actions during all the eight days of the feast not a word is said. As a devout child, in company with its parents, He would go through the services, keeping His thoughts to Himself. But methinks I hear Him, after the sublime services of that feast, saying to Himself, "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste"
(So 2:3, 4).
43
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43. 回去的時候——若生活的本分必須讓位於敬拜，那麼敬拜也當輪到讓位於生活本分。耶路撒冷好，拿撒勒也好；那以顧到一邊為藉口而疏忽另一邊的人，當深思此景。
耶穌仍留在…約瑟和祂母親並不知道——他們既習慣了這孩子的明理與順服[OLSHAUSEN]，便可能放鬆了警惕。
英文原文
43. as they returned--If the duties of life must give place to worship, worship, in its turn, must give place to them. Jerusalem is good, but Nazareth is good, too; let him who neglects the one, on pretext of attending to the other, ponder this scene.
tarried behind . . . Joseph and his mother knew not--Accustomed to the discretion and obedience of the lad [OLSHAUSEN], they might be thrown off their guard.
44
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44. 在親族和熟識的人中找祂——在這些神聖的旅程中，整村整區的人結隊同行，部分為保護，部分為結伴；善意的人會用美好的談話來消解旅途的沉悶，孩童耶穌也決不會是沉默的聽者，所以他們指望在這樣的一群人裡找到祂。
英文原文
44. sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances--On these sacred journeys, whole villages and districts travelled in groups together, partly for protection, partly for company; and as the well-disposed would beguile the tediousness of the way by good discourse, to which the child Jesus would be no silent listener, they expect to find Him in such a group.
45
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45, 46. 悲傷了三天之後，他們發現祂仍在耶路撒冷；不是在觀賞它的建築，也不是在察看它繁忙生活的樣式，而是在殿裡——這裡不是指「聖所」（如
Lu 1:9
所指，惟有祭司才可進入），而是指聖殿周圍的某個院落，即拉比們（「教師」）教導門生之處。
英文原文
45, 46. After three sorrowing days, they find Him still in Jerusalem, not gazing on its architecture, or surveying its forms of busy life, but in the temple--not the "sanctuary" (as in
Lu 1:9),
to which only the priests had access, but in some one of the enclosures around it, where the rabbins, or "doctors," taught their scholars.
46
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46. 一面聽、一面問——問答之法是拉比教學的慣常形式；師生輪流作問者與答者，這可從他們現存的著作中看出。這便給「祂的聰明和應對」所叫他們驚奇的一切，留下了充分發揮的餘地。這並非說祂承擔了教導的職分——祂那「時候」還沒有到，祂為此的裝備也尚未齊全；因為祂在「身量」上還要照樣在「智慧」上「長進」
(Lu 2:52)。
事實上，基督榜樣之美，正是在於祂從未在生命的某一階段中越俎代庖地承擔另一階段的職責。一切都會按照學習者的樣式與態度——「開口喘氣」而求。「我時常切慕禰的典章，甚至心碎」
(Ps 119:20),
如今初次置身於父家之中，這切慕較以往更甚。然而祂的問題裡必遠比他們的回答裡有更多的內容；若把他們日後用來刁難祂的那些輕浮問題——關於有過七個丈夫的婦人之類——看作他們當前那些無聊問題的樣本，我們若推測祂如今「反問他們」的「問題」，正是日後使他們驚奇並啞口無言之那些深刻問題的雛形，大概也不致大錯：「論到基督，你們的意見如何？祂是誰的子孫？大衛既稱祂為主，祂怎麼又是大衛的子孫呢？」「誡命中哪是第一要緊的呢？」「誰是我的鄰舍呢？」
英文原文
46. hearing . . . asking--The method of question and answer was the customary form of rabbinical teaching; teacher and learner becoming by turns questioner and answerer, as may be seen from their extant works. This would give full scope for all that "astonished them in His understanding and answers." Not that He assumed the office of teaching--"His hour" for that "was not yet come," and His equipment for that was not complete; for He had yet to "increase in wisdom" as well as "stature"
(Lu 2:52).
In fact, the beauty of Christ's example lies very much in His never at one stage of His life anticipating the duties of another. All would be in the style and manner of a learner, "opening His mouth and panting." "His soul breaking for the longing that it had unto God's judgments at all times"
(Ps 119:20),
and now more than ever before, when finding Himself for the first time in His Father's house. Still there would be in His questions far more than in their answers; and if we may take the frivolous interrogatories with which they afterwards plied Him, about the woman that had seven husbands and such like, as a specimen of their present drivelling questions, perhaps we shall not greatly err, if we suppose that "the questions" which He now "asked them" in return were just the germs of those pregnant questions with which He astonished and silenced them in after years: "What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? If David call Him Lord, how is He then his Son?" "Which is the first and great commandment?" "Who is my neighbour?"
49
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49. 當以我父的事為念——字面是「在我父的裡面」或「在我父那裡」，即「以我父的事為念」，或「在我父的院宇裡」——就是祂居住、可尋見之處——可以說是在祂手邊。後一種含前者的色彩，或許才是真義。在這裡祂感到如在家中，呼吸著自己本有的空氣。祂的話語含著對他們遲鈍——竟要祂解釋這事——的溫和責備。「既來到這裡，你們以為我會這樣急著離去嗎？且讓普通的敬拜者守完節期就走罷；但你們對我所認識的，僅僅如此嗎？」我想我們在此得以一窺拿撒勒聖潔的隱私；因為祂說他們本應知道的，祂必給過他們根據去知道。她告訴祂，祂的父親與她自己如何憂心忍忡地找祂。祂說沒有別的父親，只有一位，實際上即是：我的父親並沒有在尋找我；我一直都與祂同在；「王帶我進入祂的內室…祂左手在我頭下，祂右手抱住我」
(So 1:4; 2:6)。
你們為什麼还不明白呢？
(Mr 8:21)。
英文原文
49. about my Father's business--literally, "in" or "at My Fathers," that is, either "about My Father's affairs," or "in My Father's courts"--where He dwells and is to be found--about His hand, so to speak. This latter shade of meaning, which includes the former, is perhaps the true one, Here He felt Himself at home, breathing His own proper air. His words convey a gentle rebuke of their obtuseness in requiring Him to explain this. "Once here, thought ye I should so readily hasten away? Let ordinary worshippers be content to keep the feast and be gone; but is this all ye have learnt of Me?" Methinks we are here let into the holy privacies of Nazareth; for what He says they should have known, He must have given them ground to know. She tells Him of the sorrow with which His father and she had sought Him. He speaks of no Father but one, saying, in effect, My Father has not been seeking Me; I have been with Him all this time; "the King hath brought me into His chambers . . . His left hand is under my head, and His right hand doth embrace me"
(So 1:4; 2:6).
How is it that ye do not understand?
(Mr 8:21).
50
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50, 51. 不明白——大概祂從未明確地說過這話，所以令他們困惑，雖然那不過是祂在家中所行所言許多事的真解。（見
Joh 14:4
的註釋。）
但為免人想祂如今甩下孝順的軛、從此自成主宰並也成為他們的主宰，特意補上「祂就同他們下去，順從他們」。這份屈尊之奇，在於它發生在如此場景、如此對祂較高之子身分的宣告之後；這些話顯然正是要傳達此意。「從此我們再無約瑟的記述。下一次我們聽見的是祂的『母親和弟兄』
(Joh 2:12);
由此推斷，在我們主公開生涯開始之前某時，約瑟去世了」[ALFORD]，他如今已達成雙重目的：作我們主童貞母親的保護者，並為祂自己提供一個向雙親順服的無可比擬的範例。
英文原文
50, 51. understood not--probably He had never expressly said as much, and so confounded them, though it was but the true interpretation of many things which they had seen and heard from Him at home. (See on
Joh 14:4.)
But lest it should be thought that now He threw off the filial yoke, and became His own Master henceforth, and theirs too, it is purposely added, "And He went down with them, and was subject unto them." The marvel of this condescension lies in its coming after such a scene, and such an assertion of His higher Sonship; and the words are evidently meant to convey this. "From this time we have no more mention of Joseph. The next we hear is of his "mother and brethren"
(Joh 2:12);
whence it is inferred, that between this time and the commencement of our Lord's public life, Joseph died" [ALFORD], having now served the double end of being the protector of our Lord's Virgin--mother, and affording Himself the opportunity of presenting a matchless pattern of subjection to both parents.
52
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52. 見
Lu 2:40
的註釋。
身量——或更佳，正如邊註所示，作「年歲」，含義包括另一個意思。這便是我們對那奇妙生命接下來十八年所有的全部記載。在活潑的聖言上安靜默想、與父聖潔相交的時刻何等多！一方面從上頭有光、愛、能力的流入，另一方面有兒子之懇求、自由、愛與喜樂的發出——這十八年該包含何等多！祂若如此度過，縱然祂何等渴望更直接地「以父的事為念」，這些年豈不也「如同幾日」嗎？
英文原文
52. See on
Lu 2:40.
stature--or better, perhaps, as in the Margin, "age," which implies the other. This is all the record we have of the next eighteen years of that wondrous life. What seasons of tranquil meditation over the lively oracles, and holy fellowship with His Father; what inlettings, on the one hand, of light, and love, and power from on high, and outgoings of filial supplication, freedom, love, and joy on the other, would these eighteen years contain! And would they not seem "but a few days" if they were so passed, however ardently He might long to be more directly "about His Father's business?"
路 2:1-7.
基督降生。
1. 該撒亞古士督——羅馬帝國的第一位皇帝。
天下人民——羅馬帝國這個龐大的帝國如此稱呼。
報名上冊——登記，即自行報名註冊。