英語で聖書のお話
2017年5月21日に、Robin White宣教師（Global Partners Missionary）をお招きして
「みんなで英語を楽しみましょう」という楽しいイベントを開催しました。そのイベントのなかでRobin宣教師が「英語で聖書のお話」をしてくださいました。
Robin宣教師は、カナダ生まれ。
神学校を卒業後、いろいろな働きを経て、今は、名古屋にあるインマヌエル名古屋キリスト教会を基点にEnglish Cafe活動やEH?会話教室をしておられます。
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また、新しいタイプの聖書MANGAで世界的に人気のKelly Kozumi Shinozawa マンガミニストリーの翻訳のお手伝いもしておられます。
とても楽しくて明るいRobin宣教師、最近では漢字も入ったおちゃめなメールのやりとりもOK!当日のメッセージを以下にまとめましたので、ぜひお読みください。
Bring it to Jesus!(Mark 2:1-12) メッセージ：Robin White宣教師（Global Partners Missionary）
2:1数日たって、イエスがカペナウムにまた来られると、家におられることが知れ渡った。 2:2それで多くの人が集まったため、戸口のところまですきまもないほどになった。この人たちに、イエスはみことばを話しておられた。 2:3そのとき、ひとりの中風の人が四人の人にかつがれて、みもとに連れて来られた。 2:4群衆のためにイエスに近づくことができなかったので、その人々はイエスのおられるあたりの屋根をはがし、穴をあけて、中風の人を寝かせたままその床をつり降ろした。 2:5イエスは彼らの信仰を見て、中風の人に、「子よ。あなたの罪は赦されました。」と言われた。 2:6ところが、その場に律法学者が数人すわっていて、心の中で理屈を言った。 2:7「この人は、なぜ、あんなことを言うのか。神をけがしているのだ。神おひとりのほか、だれが罪を赦すことができよう。」 2:8彼らが心の中でこのように理屈を言っているのを、イエスはすぐにご自分の霊で見抜いて、こう言われた。「なぜ、あなたがたは心の中でそんな理屈を言っているのか。 2:9中風の人に、『あなたの罪は赦された。』と言うのと、『起きて、寝床をたたんで歩け。』と言うのと、どちらがやさしいか。 2:10人の子が地上で罪を赦す権威を持っていることを、あなたがたに知らせるために。」こう言ってから、中風の人に、 2:11「あなたに言う。起きなさい。寝床をたたんで、家に帰りなさい。」と言われた。 2:12すると彼は起き上がり、すぐに床を取り上げて、みなの見ている前を出て行った。それでみなの者がすっかり驚いて、「こういうことは、かつて見たことがない。」と言って神をあがめた。（聖書箇所：マルコの福音書2章1〜12節）
I. Intro
I first came to Japan way back in 2002 on a one-year English teaching contract in Osaka. At that time, I couldn't speak Japanese. Sometimes, of course, this caused problems and stress.
One night I was walking around in Namba, a busy and crowded area in Osaka City. I was alone, so there was no one to help me if I couldn't communicate. And I had to go to the washroom (toilet). So I looked in my Japanese phrase book to learn how to ask for directions to the washroom.
I went into several different shops, one after another, asking the question I'd found in my phrase book. But one after another, the shop keepers turned me away with confused looks on their faces.
Finally I went into a pachinko parlour, and somehow made my myself understood. I don't remember what I said. Probably something like "Toilet! Toilet! Toilet!!" Whatever I said, by this time I'd been holding it for a long time, so they probably could see what I needed.
(That's the only time I've even been in a pachinko parlour, by the way.)
Later I realized what my mistake was. I was using the word for "bathroom" (ofuro) instead of "toilet" or "washroom" (toire/otearai). In Canada, in English, when we use the word "bathroom," that includes the toilet. But in Japanese, "bathroom" (ofuro) and "washroom" (otearai) are different things. I had looked up "Where is the bathroom?" in my phrasebook and used that phrase, not realizing the difference. Of course there's no "bath" at KFC or McDonald's! No wonder the staff were so confused.
If you're looking for something, you have to look in the right place.
This is true in our spiritual lives too. If you look in the wrong place, or in the wrong way, you're not going to find what you're looking for. You may be close, but still not find what you need.
But if you look for the right thing in the right place, and you don't give up, you'll find what you're looking for -- and more! The man in today's Bible story was like that. He couldn't walk, so his friends had to carry him. There was such a huge crowd at the house that they couldn't get in.
But they didn't let that stop them.
Houses in ancient Israel usually had flat roofs. Often there was a ladder or staircase leading to the roof. The roof was made of beams laid across from wall to wall, and covered with mud and thatch.
The men in the story climbed up on the roof and dug through it. Then they lowered him down into the house. It was a lot of trouble. But that's how badly they wanted to get to Jesus.
The paralyzed man came to the right place -- the right person. He found the healing he was looking for. And he received the forgiveness he needed.
My message for you today is simple: Jesus is the answer. Whatever you need. Whatever you think you need. Bring it to Jesus.
All it takes is faith. Faith is where our deep needs and His great authority meet.
Let's take a closer look at this passage, and together learn how our needs are met in Jesus.
II. Message
First of all, Jesus can meet our needs because...
1. Jesus Knows our Real Needs
In this story, a paralyzed man, with the help of some friends, came to see Jesus. Presumably, they came for healing. This man had heard about Jesus' power to heal, and wanted to walk again. As we saw, Jesus healed the man... both physically and spiritually. Jesus cares about both.
Verse 5 says this: "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'"
The man's physical needs were obvious. But Jesus knew the man's deeper needs. He knew what no one else could see. He knew the sins in the man's heart.
We all have various needs: physical, emotional, financial, relational... Jesus knows and cares about these needs. But He knows our deeper, spiritual needs too. In fact, He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we really need.
And no matter what else we may need, there is one thing that we all need: forgiveness. Just like the man in this story.
The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
And yes, that includes ME and YOU. Some of you may be thinking, "I've never stollen anything or killed anyone." But sin is not just those "big" things. It includes the lies we tell, the anger we hold onto, the bad attitudes we have.
And it's not just actions; it's the selfish, prideful thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. If we're honest with ourselves, we all know that we've sinned.
God loves us. We're made for a relationship with Him. He's good, and wants what's best for us. But sin keeps us from having a relationship with God. Sin keeps us from experiencing His best for us.
That's our problem. That's our deepest need. The good news is that Jesus knows this. He cares about it. And He came to offer a solution.

Jesus is the answer because, not only does he know our need, but He's able to meet it too. He has the authority.
2. Jesus Has the Authority to Meet our Needs
When Jesus offered forgiveness to the paralyzed man, some people in the room were not happy. Look at verses 6 and 7:
"Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 'Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?'"
These "teachers of the law" were Jewish religious leaders. They knew all about sin and the need for forgiveness. Their problem wasn't that Jesus acknowledged the man's sin. The problem was that He offered to forgive it.
It's not that the man did something specific against Jesus but then apologized. Jesus is offering forgiveness for all his sins in general. And the religious leaders were right -- Only God can do that!
To get an idea of how strange this sounded, imagine if I went to visit a prison. Imagine if I went from cell to cell, handing out pardons to anyone I wanted to. "You've got life in prison for murder, but here you go. You're pardoned. You're free." That would be strange, right? Why? Because I'm just some guy. I'm not a governor or prime minister or king. I don't have the authority to hand out pardons.
For the Jewish people, the Temple was the place where heaven and earth met. It was where people went to meet with God. It was where they went for forgiveness and cleansing of their sins. There were priests and sacrifices -- a whole religious system.
Jesus was offering forgiveness without any of this. This would be a bold and presumptuous statement for any mere human to make.

So of course people questioned it! And here's how Jesus responded. Look at verses 10-12. (By the way, when Jesus says "Son of Man" He's talking about Himself.)
Jesus says:
"'But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.' So he said to the man, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.' He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all."
Here Jesus proved His authority to forgive sins by healing the paralyzed man.
Later, Jesus went on to prove His authority by rising from the dead.
One of my favourite Bible verses says this: "He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God." (Romans 425)
This is good news! It means that forgiveness of sins is available through Jesus Christ Himself. Not a religious system. Not through ceremonies or rituals. Not through good deeds. But through a relationship with Jesus.
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus replaced the temple, sacrifice and priesthood. He's all of these and more for those who believe in Him.
This is what sets Christianity apart from other religions. It's not just another religion. In fact, rightly understood, it's a replacement for religion.
As I said, we're made for a relationship with God. Sin separates us from God. Think of it like a big canyon we have to get across. God's on one side, and we're on the other. Religious systems try to bridge that gap, but they fall short.
Even the Jewish system we see in the Bible was only meant to be a temporary bridge. Jesus is the reality the Temple system was pointing to. He's the permanent bridge between God and man. His death and resurrection bridge that gap between us and God.
Romans 6:23 says this: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Salvation is a gift. It's free. This is good news! The question is, how do we receive this gift?
This brings us to our third point...
3. Jesus Responds to our Faith
As I said, the good news of Christianity is that we don't have to earn our salvation. We'll never be good enough. But because of Jesus, we can be forgiven.
The Bible says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)
Grace means it's a gift; it's free! Faith means believing, trusting, and reaching out to receive that gift.
The paralyzed man and his friends went to a lot of trouble to get to Jesus. And I'm sure it made quite a mess. When they lowered the man into the room, I'm sure everyone was shocked. This wasn't a quiet, polite entrance. But they didn't care. That's how badly they wanted to get to Jesus. That's how much they believed that He could meet their needs.
I can imagine Jesus laughing them -- not making fun of them, but amazed and amused at their audacity; at the lengths they were willing to go to. It was such a great show of faith.
Mark 2:5 says this: "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'"
Jesus responded to their faith. And He responds to our faith, too.
As I said, we're not saved by good deeds, but by faith. But faith is not just intellectual.
It's not just mental. Real faith leads to action. Specifically, it leads to a decision.
It's making a decision to trust in Jesus.
Have you made that decision?
Do you trust in Jesus today?
Jesus Knows our Real Needs...
Jesus Has the Authority to Meet our Needs... and Jesus Responds to our Faith.
But how do we apply this to our lives today?
III. Application
For the Christians here today, this story is a great reminder of all that we have to be thankful for. And it's a reminder, too, to trust in Jesus daily. It's not just a one-time decision.
Even if we're already saved, we still have needs. And Jesus is the answer to those needs too. Whatever you need today, bring it to Jesus. And if you don't get an answer right away, don't give up.
The men in this story are a great example for us. The persevered until they got an answer. We should do the same. Keep praying. Keep asking. Keep seeking.
But there's another challenge here for Christians today. What are you doing to bring your friends and family to Jesus? The man in this story couldn't have gotten to Jesus alone. And look at verse 5 again: "When Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralyzed man, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'"
Not "his faith" but "their faith." I'm sure this man himself believed in Jesus. And of course, all of us have to make the decision to believe in Christ for ourselves. But our faith can have a huge impact on others.
What are you doing to bring people to Jesus?
There may be some of you here today who haven't yet put your faith in Jesus. You're not a Christian. Maybe this is your first time hearing about Him. Or maybe you've been learning for a long time but just haven't taken that step of faith.
God loves you. Jesus died for You. And He has the authority to forgive and save you. He rose from the dead to prove it.
The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Another verse says, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." (Rom. 10:9).
These are promises. Will you reach out in faith today?
IV. Conclusion
One of my favourite writers told this story:
A long time ago, when I had just learnt to drive, I ran out of petrol (gas) on a lonely country road. I gratefully accepted some fuel from a nearby farmer. What he didn’t tell me was that it was a mixture designed not for a car, but for a lawn mower. I got back home all right, but the next day the car behaved like a sick animal, coughing and spluttering.
I made it down to the local garage, where the mechanic explained what the wrong fuel does to the engine. There was thick, messy stuff in the carburettor where there should have been clear petrol.
He cleaned it out, and I felt –and it was as though the car felt –a huge sigh of relief. Even to hear the engine running smoothly was a delight.
Now I was free again, free not to have to worry about the car but to think, more positively, where I might want to go.
(NT Wright)
You see, having sin in our lives is like trying to drive a car with the wrong kind of fuel in the gas tank. Things may look OK on the outside, but inside things are a mess.
Confessing our sins to Jesus is like going to the mechanic to get your engine cleaned. It brings inner peace, freedom, joy and purpose to our lives. Don't you want that today?
As we close in prayer today, I want to encourage you to bring your needs to Jesus.
And I especially want to encourage those of you who don't know Jesus yet: Reach out to Him and accept Him into your life. Confess your sin, turn from it, and open your heart to Him.
Trust Him with your life, reach out in faith. And just like the man in today's story, your life will be changed.
Faith is where your deep needs and His great authority meet. Why not take a step of faith today?
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