第八週 • 週一
晨興餧養
太十六16 西門彼得回答說，你是基督，是活神的兒子。
二一5 要對錫安的女兒說，看哪，你的王來到你這裏，是溫柔的，騎着驢，騎着驢駒，就是負重牲口的崽子。
基督是照着主的職分和使命而有的稱呼。神的兒子是照着祂的身位而有的稱呼。祂的身位與神的生命有關，祂的使命與神的工作有關。祂是神的兒子，作了神的基督。
〔在馬太十六章十六節，〕基督，就是神的受膏者，指主的使命；而活神的兒子，就是三一神的第二者，指祂的身位。祂的使命是要藉着祂的釘死、復活、升天和再臨，完成神永遠的定旨；而祂的身位是具體的表現父，並終結於那靈，使三一神得着完滿的彰顯（新約總論第二冊，一○頁）。
信息選讀
馬太二十一章五節說，王『騎着驢，騎着驢駒，就是負重牲口的崽子』來了。這表徵天國的王所甘願留於其中，謙遜卑微的情形，以呈現祂自己。主沒有吩咐祂的門徒找一輛馬車，只要驢和驢駒。祂甚至沒有揀選騎馬，卻騎小驢。…驢可能是母的，驢駒可能是母驢生的。母驢和驢駒一同工作來背負王。
驢和驢駒在一起，給人溫柔謙卑的印象。主若只騎驢，溫柔的印象就不會這麼顯着。假定一個很小的姊妹抱着小嬰孩站在我們面前，會使我們對微小有深刻的印象，因為小嬰孩會加強微小的印象。主騎驢的意義不是微小，乃是溫柔。屬天的王不是高傲顯赫地來臨，乃是溫和、謙卑、溫柔地來臨。這溫柔的印象因驢駒伴着驢背負溫柔的王而得着加強。主沒有驕傲地騎着馬進耶路撒冷。…主似乎告訴門徒：『把驢和小驢駒牽來。我要騎負重的牲口，但驢駒也必須同行，以表明我的溫柔。這會幫助人看見屬天的王是何等溫柔。』
幼驢的出現證實主不願與任何人爭戰或爭競。反之，祂是謙卑溫柔的。我信這是主耶穌要向人傳達的印象。不錯，祂是屬天的王，但祂無意來作與人爭戰或競爭的偉大君王。反之，祂來作溫柔的王，不與任何人爭戰或爭競。
我們在七節看見門徒把自己的衣服搭在驢和驢駒上面，八節說，『羣眾多半把自己的衣服鋪在路上。』衣服象徵人行為的人性美德。門徒把自己的衣服搭在驢和驢駒上面，讓主騎上，藉以尊崇這位卑微的君王；群眾也把衣服鋪在路上，讓主通過，藉以尊崇祂。人用他們的衣服，就是用他們所有的尊崇主。不論人多貧窮，他至少有些用以遮蔽自己的衣服。我們需要用我們所是的，尊崇主這位溫柔的王。不論我們的光景如何，我們都有些東西用以尊崇祂。我不信搭在驢上、鋪在路上的衣服是榮美、華麗的。然而，人乃是使用他們所有的。儘管我們是有罪的、可憐的甚至是邪惡的，主卻喜歡我們用我們所是的尊崇祂。甚至罪人若有心尊崇主，他們也能用他們所是的尊崇祂（馬太福音生命讀經，七三四至七三六頁）。
參讀：新約總論，第二十一篇；馬太福音生命讀經，第五十六篇。
WEEK 8 — DAY 1
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
21:5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, meek and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, a foal of a beast of burden.”
Christ is the title of the Lord according to His office, His mission. The Son of God is His title according to His person. His person is a matter of God’s life, and His mission is a matter of God’s work. He is the Son of God to be the Christ of God.
In Matthew 16:16…”Christ,” the anointed One of God, refers to the Lord’s commission, whereas “the Son of the living God,” as the second of the Triune God, refers to His person. His commission is to accomplish God’s eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second advent, whereas His person embodies the Father and issues in the Spirit for a full expression of the Triune God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 230)
Todays Reading
Matthew 21:5 says that the King would come “mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, a foal of a beast of burden.” This signifies the meek and lowly state in which the Lord was willing to present Himself. The Lord did not tell His disciples to get a carriage or a wagon but a donkey and a colt. He did not even choose to ride on a horse but on a little donkey…The donkey was probably the mother, and the colt was probably her offspring. Both the mother and the offspring worked together to bear the King.
The donkey and the colt together give us an impression of meekness and humility. If the Lord had been mounted only upon a donkey, the impression of meekness would not have been so striking. Suppose a very small sister stands before us holding a tiny baby in her arms. This would give us a deep impression of smallness, for the tiny baby would strengthen the impression of smallness. The significance of the Lord’s riding on a donkey is not smallness but meekness. The heavenly King came not with haughty splendor but with gentle, humble meekness. This impression of meekness is strengthened by the colt accompanying a donkey to bear the meek King. The Lord Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem proudly on a horse…
The Lord Jesus seemed to be telling His disciples, “Take the donkey and the little colt. I will ride upon the beast of burden, but the colt must go along too in order to show My meekness. This will help the people see how meek the heavenly King is.” The presence of the baby donkey testified that the Lord did not care to fight or compete with anyone. Rather, He was humble and meek. I believe that this was the impression the Lord Jesus wanted to convey to the people. Yes, He was the heavenly King, but He had no intention to come as a great King fighting or competing with others. Instead, He came as a meek King who did not fight against anyone or compete with anyone.
In Matthew 21:7 we see that the disciples put their garments on the donkey and the colt, and verse 8 says, “Most of the crowd spread their own garments in the road.” Garments signify the human virtues of people’s conduct. The disciples honored the lowly King by putting their garments on the donkey and colt for Him to ride on, and the crowd honored Him by spreading their garments in the road for Him to pass through. The people honored the Lord with their clothing, that is, with whatever they had. No matter how poor a man is, he at least has some clothing with which to cover himself. We need to honor the Lord, the meek King, with whatever we are. No matter what our condition may be, we have something with which to honor Him. I do not believe that the garments put on the donkey and on the road were splendid or beautiful. Nevertheless, the people used what they had. Although we are sinful, pitiful, and even evil, the Lord likes to be honored with what we are. Even sinners can honor the Lord with what they are, if they have a heart to honor Him. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 630-632)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 21; Lifestudy of Matthew, msg. 56
