| Luke 1:26-44 |
路加福音1:26-44 |
| 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. 39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. |
26 到了第六个月，天使加百列奉 神差遣，往加利利的拿撒勒城去， 27 到了一个童贞女那里，她已经和大卫家一个名叫约瑟的人订了婚，童贞女的名字是马利亚。 28 天使进去，对她说：“恭喜！ 蒙大恩的女子，主与你同在！” 29 她却因这话惊慌起来，反覆思想这样祝贺是甚么意思。 30 天使说：“马利亚，不要怕！ 因你已从 神那里蒙了恩。 31 你将怀孕生子，要给他起名叫耶稣。 32 他将要被尊为大，称为至高者的儿子，主 神要把他祖大卫的王位赐给他， 33 他要作王统治雅各家，直到永远，他的国没有穷尽。” 34 马利亚对天使说：“我还没有出嫁，怎能有这事呢？” 35 天使回答：“圣灵要临到你，至高者的能力要覆庇你，因此那将要出生的圣者，必称为 神的儿子。 36 你看，你亲戚以利沙伯，被称为不生育的，在老年也怀了男胎，现在已是第六个月了， 37 因为在 神没有一件事是不可能的。” 38 马利亚说：“我是主的婢女，愿照你的话成就在我身上！” 天使就离开她去了。 39 后来，马利亚就起身，急忙向山地去，来到犹大的一座城， 40 进了撒迦利亚的家，向以利沙伯问安。 41 以利沙伯一听见马利亚的问安，腹中的胎儿就跳动，以利沙伯也被圣灵充满， 42 就高声说：“你在女子中是有福的！ 你腹中的胎儿也是有福的！ 43 我主的母亲竟然到我这里来。这事怎会临到我呢？ 44 你看，你问安的声音一进我的耳朵，我腹中的胎儿就欢喜跳跃。 |
| It gives me great pleasure to be with you today, and especially today, as we turn our attention to the sanctity of human life. |
今天我很高兴和大家在一起聚会，尤其高兴的是，我们一起来关注生命的尊严。 |
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| In the last 12 months, my co-workers and I have traveled to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, China, India, Romania, and Cuba. These countries suffer the highest rates of abortion, infanticide and gendercide in the world. In all these places, we see Christian leaders turning their attention to the sanctity of human life. They are asking 4 questions. |
在过去的12个月中，我的同事们和我一起走过哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、越南、中国、印度、罗马尼亚和古巴。这些国家遭受着世界上最严重的堕胎、杀婴和性别灭绝。在所有这些地方，我们看到基督徒领袖们把他们的关注点转向生命的尊严。他们在问四个问题： |
| 1. What does God say about human life, including life in the womb? |
1. 关于人类生命，包括子宫里的生命，神是怎么说的？ |
| 2. What does God say about the shedding of innocent blood, including abortion? |
2. 关于流无辜人的血，包括堕胎，神是怎么说的？ |
| 3. How do we bring the grace of the gospel to the guilt of abortion, so that people are forgiven and set free? |
3. 我们应该如何把福音的恩典带给有堕胎罪疚之人，让人得饶恕与释放？ |
| 4. What does God call us to do to stop the shedding of innocent blood and how have God’s people done so from the midwives in Egypt to today? |
4. 神呼召我们做什么来制止流无辜人血的罪，神的子民，从当年在埃及的接生婆到今天，已经做些了什么？ |
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| A few years ago, in China, the leader of the largest network of unregistered churches set out to train 1 million people in one month using these 4 questions. His desire was to see the God’s people… |
几年前，在中国，家庭教会最大网络组织的领导人开始在一个月内用这四个问题训练一百万人。他的愿望是看着神的子民： |
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| TREASURE human life, including life in the womb; |
珍爱人类生命，包括子宫中的生命； |
| REJECT abortion as the shedding of innocent blood. |
拒绝堕胎，认定其为流无辜人的血。 |
| PROCLAIM the cross as the shedding of innocent blood that can wash away even the guilt of shedding innocent blood. |
宣告十字架是流无辜人的血，但能洗净流无辜人血的罪。 |
| STOP the shedding of innocent blood by standing up as an army of Good Samaritans —ready to rescue mothers and babies, as neighbors loving neighbors. |
制止流无辜人的血，像好撒玛利亚人的军队一样站出来——随时准备营救母亲和孩子，实践爱邻如己。 |
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| In Siboney, Cuba, 5 women, one of which is a doctor, banded together to end abortion in their small town. They call themselves, Soplo de Vida (Breath of Life). They rush to every home where there is a pregnancy related crisis. Using a hand-held ultrasound and an iPad, they provide her whole family a window to the womb, and promise help. |
在古巴的锡伯尼，5位妇女，其中一位是医生，团结一致在她们的小镇里制止堕胎。她们称自己为“生命的气息”（Soplo de Vida）。她们奔赴每个因怀孕陷入危机的家中。她们使用手持超声仪和iPad，给孕妇的全家看到子宫里的孩子，并承诺给他们提供帮助。 |
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| In 2016, the local hospital recorded 52 abortions. This past year, they recorded 3. |
2016年，当地医院有52例堕胎记录。而去年一整年，他们只有3例。 |
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| These are just 2 examples that show that there are a few things so wondrously true, that you can’t help but want people to see it. You can’t help but want them to see how this truth radiates out and transforms our thinking and choices, which in turn, impacts our family and neighbors, produces good works of justice and mercy and eventually changes law and culture. The Christian view of human dignity, commonly called the sanctity of human life, is one of those truths. |
这只是两个案例，表明有些事情是如此奇妙地真实，你情不自禁地希望人们都能看见。你情不自禁地想让他们看到这真理是如何放散光芒，改变我们的思想和抉择，从而影响我们的家庭、邻舍，产生公义和怜悯的善行，最终改变国家法律和社会文化。基督教关于人类尊严的观点，通常被称为生命的尊严，就是这样的真理之一。 |
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| At the same time, there are some things so wrong, so horrible even to look at, that you quickly look away for your own emotional protection. Or, with fear and trembling, you draw nearer to it, despite the discomfort, take a good hard look, and consider what you might do to stop it. That is the preeminent challenge of abortion. |
同时，还有些事情是错得离谱，令人目不忍睹，你不忍多看一眼，以免自己情绪崩溃。或者，你恐惧战兢地靠近它，不顾自己的不适，仔细地查看，认定你必须做些什么来制止它。那就是堕胎的重大挑战。 |
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| My resolve to do something to stop it came in part through a phone call. My caller was only 16. Her emotions were so intense that she spoke haltingly, “If I don’t… get an abortion . . . I’m going to kill myself.” Before I could respond, she revealed her full anguish. “But I know… after my abortion… I…I just won’t be able to live with what I've done. . . I will need to kill myself.” |
我下定决心做些什么来制止它，部分原因是出于一通电话。当时打我电话的人只有16岁。她情绪高度紧张，说话结结巴巴：“如果我不……堕胎……我就得自杀。”在我还无言以对的时候，她倾吐了全部痛苦：“但我知道……在我堕胎之后……我……我要是做了这事以后也活不下去了……我非得杀了我自己。” |
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| At that moment, I could sense the war that is all around us, between God and Satan, life and death, temptation and salvation. |
在那一刻，我能感受到我们周遭的争战，就发生在上帝与撒但之间，在生命与死亡之间，在诱惑与拯救之间。 |
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| To her, having a baby spelled the end of her life. True, her pregnancy was not a fatal disease, but it did present a mortal threat to her life as she had projected it. Abortion at that moment feels justified as a life-saving act. |
对她而言，生下孩子就相当于宣告自己生命的终结。怀孕确实不是致命的疾病，但因着她的心理投射，怀孕对她是致命的威胁。堕胎在那一刻感觉就像是在救命。 |
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| The abortionist appears as the Savior qne mimics his words, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you...” (Mt 11:28-29). Only his yoke is guilt, regret, shame, death. |
堕胎主义者扮作救主的模样，模仿祂的口吻说：“所有劳苦担重担的人都到我这里来，我会给你们安息。负我的轭……”（马太福音11:28-29）只不过，他的轭是罪疚、悔恨、羞耻和死亡。 |
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| At the same time, she recognized the humanity of her unborn child. What she was about to do was contrary to her own self-image. Like most women, she saw herself as a loving and caring person—more likely to risk her own life to save a child than to harm one. She was aborting her own faith and values and so, contemplated killing herself. |
同时，她也认识到未出生孩子的人性。她要做的恰恰违背她的自我形像。正如多数妇女，她视自己为慈爱的人，宁愿自己冒险也要救孩子的命，而不是伤害孩子。她这是让自己的信念和价值观流产，因此想要自杀。 |
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| The battle before us then is to help people like my caller turn to the true Savior and to speak up for the unborn until their full humanity is acknowledged and the precious principle of equal rights for all justly includes them. |
当时摆在我们面前的争战是帮助像那个给我打电话的女孩转向真正的救主，为未出生的孩子发声，直到他们的人权被充分承认，被公正地包括在人人平等的宝贵原则之内。 |
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| In the fight for life, God has given us weapons of the Spirit. 2 Cor 10:4-5 says, “we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” |
在营救生命的战争中，神已经赐予我们圣灵的武器。哥林多后书10:4-5说：“因为我们作战所用的兵器，不是属於这世界的，而是在神面前有能力的，可以攻陷坚固的堡垒，攻破诡辩，和做来阻挡人认识神的一切高墙，并且把一切心意夺回来，顺服基督。” |
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| if the unborn are not human, then abortion is a matter of personal preference, like getting your hair cut or not. Conversely, if the unborn is a member of the human family, then killing him or her to benefit others is a grave moral injustice. |
假如未出生的孩子不是人，那么堕胎确实只是个人的偏好，好像你选择要不要理发一样。相反，要是未出生的孩子是人类大家庭的一分子，那么为其他人的利益而杀害他或她在道德上是严重的不义。 |
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| What then is the unborn? Today I want to answer this question according to the Bible. |
那么未出生的孩子是什么？今天我要根据圣经来回答这个问题。 |
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| You might say, “John, not many people are going to be persuaded simply because you point to the Bible.” |
你可能会说：“约翰，如果你只是简单地指着圣经，没多少人会被你说服的。” |
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| Perhaps, but if the Bible in any way affirmed that the unborn was not yet human, you would hear it quoted often. So, what the Bible says is important. |
也许吧。但假如圣经不管以何种方式赞成未出生的孩子还不是人，那你肯定会经常听到有人引用它。所以，圣经说什么还是很重要。 |
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| Besides, I simply do not know how to tear down strongholds and defeat arguments rooted in defiance of God, apart from starting with the Word of God and letting him take our thoughts captive to his will. |
而且，我若不从神的话语开始，让祂把我们的心意夺回归向祂的旨意，我也不知道如何攻陷坚固堡垒并攻破违抗神的诡辩。 |
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| So, what does the Bible say about the unborn? Does God see the unborn as human? |
那么，圣经关于未出生的孩子怎么说？神把未出生的孩子看作人类吗？ |
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| One passage that is especially helpful is Luke 1. Let’s begin with 1:26-38… |
路加福音1章有一处经文特别有帮助，让我们从1:26-38开始： |
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| 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” |
26 到了第六个月，天使加百列奉 神差遣，往加利利的拿撒勒城去， 27 到了一个童贞女那里，她已经和大卫家一个名叫约瑟的人订了婚，童贞女的名字是马利亚。 28 天使进去，对她说：“恭喜！ 蒙大恩的女子，主与你同在！” 29 她却因这话惊慌起来，反覆思想这样祝贺是甚么意思。 30 天使说：“马利亚，不要怕！ 因你已从 神那里蒙了恩。 31 你将怀孕生子，要给他起名叫耶稣。 32 他将要被尊为大，称为至高者的儿子，主 神要把他祖大卫的王位赐给他， 33 他要作王统治雅各家，直到永远，他的国没有穷尽。” |
| 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. |
34 马利亚对天使说：“我还没有出嫁，怎能有这事呢？” 35 天使回答：“圣灵要临到你，至高者的能力要覆庇你，因此那将要出生的圣者，必称为 神的儿子。 36 你看，你亲戚以利沙伯，被称为不生育的，在老年也怀了男胎，现在已是第六个月了， 37 因为在 神没有一件事是不可能的。” 38 马利亚说：“我是主的婢女，愿照你的话成就在我身上！” 天使就离开她去了。 |
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| Verse 26, begins with “In the sixth month.” This is an important time-stamp. What does it mean? In the preceding passage, we learn that the angel, Gabriel, also appeared to Zachariah, who served as a priest in the temple in Jerusalem.” |
26节从“到了第六个月”开始。这是一个重要的时间标记。那是什么意思？在前一段经文中，我们了解天使加百列也向撒迦利亚显现，当时他正在耶路撒冷的圣殿里执行祭司的职责。 |
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| Gabriel brought good news. His wife, Elizabeth, had long prayed for relief from the pain of infertility. Now, even though she was beyond her child-bearing years, God was granting her a son. Verse 24 says, “After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden.” |
加百列带来了好消息。他的妻子，以利沙伯，长时祷告祈求解除不孕之苦。现在，尽管已经过了生育年龄，神还是赐给她一个儿子。24节说：“过了几天，他妻子以利沙伯怀了孕，隐藏了五个月。” |
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| So, the meaning of, “in the 6th month” is “when Elizabeth, was in her sixth month of pregnancy, the following things happened…” |
因此，“到了第六个月”的意思就是，在以利沙伯怀孕第六个月的时候，发生了以下的事情。 |
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| If Elizabeth’s pregnancy is surprising because she was too old to have a child, Mary’s pregnancy is surprising because she is too young, too inexperienced. She was a virgin. Yet Gabriel tells her in verse 31, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son. “ |
如果说以利沙伯怀孕之所以惊喜是因她太老不能生子，那么马利亚怀孕之所以惊喜是因她太年轻太不谙世事。她还是个处女。而加百列在31节中告诉她：“你将怀孕生子。” |
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| What will she conceive? A son, a male human being. What will she give birth to? A son. |
她将怀的是什么？一个儿子，一个男性人类。她将生一个什么？一个儿子。 |
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| This is our first pointer that God sees conception as the beginning of human life. Jesus was not something that was conceived and only later became a son. He was from the moment of conception a son. |
这是我们要看的第一处经文表明神视受孕为人类生命的开始。耶稣在受孕的时候并不是别的什么东西，后来才变成一个儿子。祂从受孕的那一刻起就是一个儿子。 |
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| Last week, someone suggested to me that it may not work to take the language applied to Jesus and generalize. After all, he is special, the son of God. But the wonder of the incarnation is this: Jesus became like us in every way, only without sin. |
上周，有人建议我说把用于耶稣的语言普遍化可能行不通。毕竟祂是特殊的，是神的儿子。但道成肉身的奇妙之处就在于，耶稣在各方面都变成像我们一样，只是没有罪。 |
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| But it doesn’t matter. The language used to describe Mary’s pregnancy is equally applied to Elizabeth’s. Verse 36 says, “And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son…” |
但这并不重要。用于描写马利亚怀孕的语言也一样地用于以利沙伯。36节说：“你看，你亲戚以利沙伯，被称为不生育的，在老年也怀了男胎……” |
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| From God’s perspective, you are conceived as a child, born as a child, grow up as one and remain your parents’ child. It doesn’t matter if you are in the womb or in a bed. Inside, outside, upside down, you are human at every stage. |
从神的视角看，你受孕时是个孩子，出生时也是个孩子，长大后还是你父母的孩子。这和你是在子宫里还是在床上无关。无论你在里面、外面，还是头朝下，无论在哪个阶段你都是一个人。 |
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| Gen 4:1 uses the same language we find in Luke. “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain.” The person, Cain, was conceived, and later born. |
创世记4:1用了路加福音一样的语言。“亚当和他的妻子夏娃同房，夏娃就怀孕，生了该隐。”该隐这个人受孕，然后出生。 |
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| We meet Job in the midst of such debilitating suffering that he laments his very existence. In lamenting that he was ever born, he traces the beginning of his life to the moment he was conceived. In Job 3:3, he cries, “Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.’” |
我们看到约伯在他病弱的苦难中哀叹自己的存在。在哀歌中他追溯自己生命的起头直到受孕的那一刻。在约伯记3:3中他哭喊：“愿我生的那日泯灭，人说怀男胎的那夜灭没。” |
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| The biblical perspective is that you are human right from conception. |
圣经的视角就是你从受孕起就是人类。 |
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| Of course, science says the same thing. At conception you became a living, distinct and a whole human being. For example, the textbook, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, says. “Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete… unites with a female gamete… to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.” [Moore & Persaud, 1998, p. 2.] |
当然了，科学的说法和圣经一样。在受孕的那一瞬间，你就成了活生生的，有异于他人的，全然的人类。从教科书中举个例子，《发育中的人类：临床导向胚胎学》说：“人类发育从受精开始，就是一个男性配子（译注：即精子）与一个女性配子（译注：即卵子）结合，形成一个细胞，称为合子（译注：即受精卵）。高度特化的，全能的细胞标志着我们每一个独特个体生命的开始。” |
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| Good news likes to be shared. So, our story continues with Mary rushing off to visit Elizabeth where something truly wondrous occurs. Reading 1:39-44… |
好消息喜欢被分享。所以我们的故事接下来就是马利亚赶着去探望以利沙伯，于是神奇的事情发生了，请读1:39-44 |
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| In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. |
39 后来，马利亚就起身，急忙向山地去，来到犹大的一座城， 40 进了撒迦利亚的家，向以利沙伯问安。 41 以利沙伯一听见马利亚的问安，腹中的胎儿就跳动，以利沙伯也被圣灵充满， 42 就高声说：“你在女子中是有福的！ 你腹中的胎儿也是有福的！ 43 我主的母亲竟然到我这里来。这事怎会临到我呢？ 44 你看，你问安的声音一进我的耳朵，我腹中的胎儿就欢喜跳跃。 |
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| When Mary greets Elizabeth, the baby inside Elizabeth greets the baby inside Mary. A little womb to womb worship service breaks out, complete with “leaping for joy.” |
当马利亚向以利沙伯问安的时候，以利沙伯腹中的胎儿问候马利亚腹中的胎儿。母腹中的敬拜开始了，结果是“欢喜跳跃”。 |
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| Now who is this child leaping? We will know him as John the Baptist. |
现在，谁是这个跳跃的孩子？我们将知道他就是施洗约翰。 |
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| What is John’s calling in life? He was sent to proclaim the coming of the Lord and to call people to make themselves ready to receive him (see Luke 1:17). He begins this publicly 30 years later. But on this day, at this moment, he is carrying out his mission privately, with his mother. |
约翰的生命呼召是什么？他受差遣来宣告主的到来，呼召人们为接受祂而做好准备（见路加福音1:17）。他在30年后才开始这项公开的事奉。但当那一天，那一刻，他在隐秘处，同他的母亲一起，执行他的使命。 |
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| I find it breathtaking. Gabriel foretold that John was to be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb (1:15). It’s possible that John the Baptist is one of the few people in history that were born-again before they were born. While this is surely rare, it is not unique. The writer of Psalm 71:6 says, “Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.” |
我觉得这令人屏息。加百列预告说约翰未出母腹就被圣灵充满（1:15）。也许施洗约翰是历史上未出生就已经重生的少数几人之一。尽管少见，却不是仅有。诗篇71:6说：“我未出母胎就倚赖你，把我从母腹中领出来的就是你， 我要常常赞美你。” |
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| But let’s leave some things a mystery. What is revealed is John the Baptist, as an unborn baby, leaping for joy and proclaiming to his mother, “Mama, Mama, the Lord has come! He is right before you! Rejoice with me!” And his mother gets the message. She joins the worship service. Discerning that Mary is now pregnant she exclaims, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (1:42). |
让我们把一些事情归于奥秘，而向我们显明的是当时的施洗约翰，一个未出生的男孩，欢呼跳跃，向他母亲宣告：“妈妈妈妈，主已经来了！祂就在你面前！和我一起欢呼吧！”然后他母亲得到了这个信息，就和他一起敬拜。她觉察到马利亚已有身孕，就高声说：“你在女子中是有福的！ 你腹中的胎儿也是有福的！”（1:42） |
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| Verse 36 tells us John is 6 months old in the womb. How big is John at this point? Fetal science teaches us that he would be a little bigger than my hand. |
36节告诉我们约翰当时在腹中只有6个月。那时约翰的个头有多大？胚胎学告诉我们他只比我的手大一点点。 |
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| How old is Jesus at this point? |
那时耶稣有多大？ |
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| Mary was in the city of Nazareth when Gabriel came to her. She was not pregnant, but rather was told, “You will (future tense) conceive a son.” But by the time she arrives at Elizabeth’s home, she is pregnant. |
当加百列向马利亚显现时，她在拿撒勒。她那时还没怀孕，而是被告知：“你将（未来时）怀孕生子。”但在她到达以利沙伯家之前，她就怀孕了。 |
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| How much time passes between these two events? |
在这两个事件之间隔了多久？ |
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| Verse 38 says that Mary went “with haste” to see Elizabeth. I think that means she went right away, soon after Gabriel departed, not weeks later. This is where our timeline provides a helpful confirmation. Remember, Elizabeth is in her 6th month when our story begins. Luke 1:56-57 provides a second time-stamp. “And Mary remained with [Elizabeth] about three months and returned to her home. Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.” |
38节说马利亚“急忙”去见以利沙伯。我认为她是在加百列离开后立即动身，不是在数周之后。故事的时间线可以帮我们确认这一点。你还记得，以利沙伯怀孕第六个月的时候我们这个故事开始。路加福音1:56-57提供了第二个时间标记。“马利亚和以利沙伯同住约有三个月，就回家去了。以利沙伯的产期到了，生了一个儿子。” |
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| Mary is with Elizabeth for the last 3 months of her pregnancy, showing us that her arrival also was in the 6th month. |
马利亚在以利沙伯孕期的最后三个月陪她，说明她到以利沙伯家的时候也是在第六个月。 |
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| Mary traveled from Nazareth, to a town among the hills around Jerusalem. This represents a journey of approximately 115 KM or 70 miles and take 3-4 days. However, since Samaria lay between them (a land avoided by many Jews) let’s allow that she walked along the Jordan river road. In that case, her journey was more like a 5-6 day walk. |
马利亚从拿撒勒到耶路撒冷周边的山边小镇，这个旅程大概有115公里，或70英里，要走三到四天。然而，撒玛利亚横亘在两处之间（许多犹太人都要绕道走），让我们假设她沿着约旦河谷行走。那样算的话，大概要走五到六天。 |
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| Even if we allow for a week, the conclusion is the same. When Elizabeth greets Mary, and John greets Jesus, Jesus is in the earliest days of embryonic development and no bigger than a period at the end of a sentence. Yet he is being worshiped by an unborn child, as fully God and fully human. Ponder that. |
就算她花一周时间，我们的结论也一样。当以利沙伯向马利亚问安，约翰向耶稣问安的时候，耶稣还在胚胎发育的头几天，个头比一个句号还小。而祂未出生就受敬拜，既是全然的神，也是全然的人。请思考这一点。 |
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| What flows from this story, I share as part testimony and part admonition. |
从这个故事中我们得到什么启示。我想分享的部分是我的见证，部分是我的劝诫。 |
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| 1. Worship with wonder. |
1. 敬畏地敬拜 |
| My response to this womb to womb worship service is to join in. “Glory to God in the highest!” David ponders his creation and can’t help but praise his Creator. Psalm 139:13-14… |
我对这场母腹中的敬拜的回应是，让我们加入其中。“荣耀归于至高之处的神！”大卫惊叹他受造奇妙可畏，情不自禁地赞美他的创造者。诗篇139:13-14： |
| For you formed my inward parts; |
我的脏腑是你所造的 |
| you knitted me together in my mother's womb. |
在我母腹中你塑造了我 |
| I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. |
我要称谢你，因为我的受造奇妙可畏 |
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| Let all your prolife work begin here and return here for refueling. |
让你们所有保护生命的善行从这里启程，再回到这里加油。 |
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| 2. Weep over abortion. |
2. 为堕胎哭泣 |
| Some things are worth weeping over. Abortion is one of those things. It is cutting into pieces what God is knitting together. As such, it is not just one issue among many issues that are equally as important. Dr Bernard Nathanson personally aborted over 75,000 babies. It called it “a corruption raised to unimaginable powers of magnification.1 He wept over it. |
有些事情值得为之哭泣。堕胎是其中之一。那是把上帝编织在一起的切成碎片。因此，这不仅仅是同等重要的许多问题中的一个。伯纳德·内桑森医生一个人就做掉了七万五千个胎儿。这罪恶败坏超乎想像，无以复加。他为此而哭泣。 |
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| My day of lamentation came when a woman in my church said, “I had an abortion one year ago. I prayed and said, “God, if what I am doing is wrong, please send someone to stop me.” |
我哀哭的日子是有一天我教会的一位妇女说：“我一年前做了个流产。当时我祷告说：‘神啊，如果我做的是错的，请你派人来阻止我。’” |
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| These words stabbed me in the heart. I was her pastor one year earlier. God had sent someone to stop her—me. But my silence during those years left her vulnerable. We both had to weep and repent; she for shedding innocent blood and me for not speaking up. |
这些话像刀子一样扎进我心里。我在一年前就是她的牧师。神已经派人来阻止她——那就是我。但前些年我的沉默让她陷入软弱。我们两个都应该哭泣和忏悔，她是为流无辜人的血，我是为没有发声阻止。 |
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| 3. Speak up in defense of the innocent. |
3. 为保护无辜者发声 |
| Since the unborn is fully human, the call of Proverbs 31:9 applies. “Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” |
既然未出生的孩子也是全然的人，箴言31:9就此应用：“你要开口说话，秉公审判，为困苦和穷乏的人伸冤。” |
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| Defenders of elective abortion must either deny science or deny the principle of equal rights. Speak up and help people see this. |
为选择性堕胎辩护的人只能要么否认科学要么否认人人平等的原则。大家要发声让人们看到这一点。 |
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| Most people start out denying science. They reduce the unborn to a clump of cells or call it merely potential human life. There is no such thing. Scientifically, no one grows into being a human being. We only grow as a human being. |
多数人从否认科学开始。他们把未出生的孩子贬低为一团细胞或称之为仅仅是潜在的生命。没有这回事。科学上讲，没有人是长大才变成人，我们只是作为人类而长大。 |
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| But the moment you accept the science of human development, you must deny the principle of equal rights. You must adopt Orwellian thinking: all humans are equal, but some are more equal than others. |
但要是你接受科学关于人类发育的观点，你就得否认人人平等的原则。你只能采取奥威尔式的思维：所有人类一律平等，但有些人类比另一些人类更平等。（译注：此句改编自奥威尔小说《动物庄园》） |
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| For example, Mary Elizabeth Williams writes in defense of elective abortion, “Here’s the complicated reality in which we live: All life is not equal. That’s a difficult thing for [liberals like] me to talk about…A fetus can be a human life without having the same rights as the woman in whose body it resides…” |
例如，玛丽·伊丽莎白·威廉斯为选择性堕胎辩护，写道：“我们生活在一个复杂的现实当中：并不是所有的生命都平等。这对自由主义者如我而言是很难开口的……胚胎可以是人类的生命，但是没有与腹中怀它的妇女同等的权利……” |
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| Clearly, this woman senses the injustice. Her stronghold might crumble over pie and coffee with someone like you. |
显然，这个女人感受到了自己的不义。她的坚固堡垒可能在某人，比如你，的甜饼和咖啡攻势下就土崩瓦解了。 |
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| And finally, when you learn of someone, like my 16-year-old caller, who is in the grip of a pregnancy-related crisis, speak up. Just say 4 words, “Let me help you.” |
最后，当你获悉某人，如那个打我电话的16岁女孩，正陷入怀孕相关的危机中，你要发声。你只要说四个字：“我来帮你。” |
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| Don’t worry about what follows. You’ll figure it out. Neighborly love is its own teacher. That’s why it’s an extraordinary weapon against the powers of death. Unleash it! |
不要担心后续的事。你总能想出办法来。爱邻之爱就是自己的老师。那就是为什么说它是对付死亡权势的非凡武器。让它宝刀出鞘！ |
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| If you leave here today rejoicing in God your creator, grieving the reality of abortion and ready to boldly speak up in defense of the innocent, then I think you have done the first things well. Beyond this, God will lead. God bless. |
如果今天你离开这里的时候，为神你的创造者而欢喜，为堕胎的现实而悲伤，准备好要为保护无辜者而发声，那么我认为你已经很好地完成了第一件该做的事。过了这一步，神自会带领你。神会祝福你。 |
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