A Ransom for Many - それは何を意味するのでしょうか？

今から約2000年前、ナザレのイエス、イエス・キリストは十字架にかけられました。死にました。苦しみながら。そして、翌々日の朝には死からよみがえりました。彼の肉体は消滅した。というより、その後の出来事を考えると、それは霊的なものに変化したようだ。それ自体、考えると面白いことですが、この記事の焦点ではありません）。

その代わり、ここでは、イエスがなぜ死んだのかについて、聖書で語られているいくつかの事柄に注目したいと思います。それについては、ほぼ2000年前の混乱があります。それを掘り下げてみましょう...。

で マルコによる福音書10:42-45 にも）。 マタイによる福音書20:25-28）には、イエスの宣教の後半に起こった、よく知られた教訓が記されています。ヤコブとヨハネは、まだ何が起こっているのかよく理解していなかったので、イエスが「王」になったときに、イエスの左と右に座ることを約束してほしいと陳情していました。もちろん、他の弟子たちは不愉快な思いをしました。イエスはこの状況を知っていたので、彼らを集めて、イエスの使命の本質と、彼らの使命のあり方を説明しようとしたのです。

これがその文章です。

"しかし、イエスは彼らを呼び寄せて言われた。「あなたがたは、異邦人を支配することになっている者たちが、彼らの上に主権を行使し、その偉大な者たちが彼らの上に権威を行使していることを知っている。しかし、あなた方の間ではそうではありません。あなた方の中で偉くなる者は誰でも、あなた方の大臣となります。あなたがたの中で偉くなる者は、あなたがたの大臣となり、あなたがたの中で最も偉くなる者は、すべての者のしもべとなる。人の子といえども、仕えられるためではなく、仕えるために来たのであり、また、自分の命を多くの人のための身代金として捧げるために来たのである。"

身代金です。ここで使われているギリシャ語は、λύτρον（ルトロン）といい、λύω（ルオ）の「緩める」「解く」「自由にする」という意味から、贖罪や身代金を意味しています。

神学者の中には、この文章を、十字架の物語の中で、イエスが苦悩と神の本質からの分離感を示す3つのことを言っている文章と組み合わせた人もいます。「わが神、わが神、なぜ私をお見捨てになったのですか」、「それにしても、私の意志ではなく、御心のままにしてください」、「父よ、彼らをお許しください。

これは確かに、イエスがある種のスケープゴートの役割を果たし、父を失望させた人類の代わりに自分の死を捧げた、一種の犠牲と解釈することができます。そのように解釈した神学者もいます。西暦1000年頃のカンタベリーのアンセルムは、そのような主張をする一派のリーダーの一人でした。しかし、私たちはそれが正しい道だとは思っていません。それどころか、間違った道であったために、かなりの損害を被ったと考えています。

新キリスト教の神学では、神が怒ったというのは意味がありません。神は愛そのものです。私たちが神の愛に応えないと、神はがっかりされますか？しかし、怒ることはありません。特に旧約聖書ではそのように見えることもありますが、神の本質は愛なのです。

さらに言えば、イエスの肉体が死んだからといって、父なる神の気分が良くなるわけではないことは、もっとはっきりしているはずです。二人は一人の人間であり、一心同体であることを忘れてはいけません。

むしろ、神の受肉、宣教、死、復活という一連のサイクルは、新しい真理が人類に到達するために行われたものなのです。

で 天界の秘義1419,

"主は、愛そのもの、あるいは天上のすべての愛の本質と命であり、人類に主のすべてのものを与えることを望んでおられます。" "このことは、人の子が自分の命を多くの人のための身代金として与えるために来たという主の言葉によって示されています。"

で アポカリプスの説明 328:15という説明がありました。

"身代金を取る』という言葉は、人々を偽りから解放し、真理によって改革することを意味します。これは『真理の神エホバよ，わたしを身代金に換えてください』という言葉に示されています」。詩編31:5)

イエス様が死なれた理由の一つは、地獄の力に打ち勝つためでした。イエスは生涯を通して悪霊と戦いました。最も明確に描写されているのは、洗礼を受けた直後、荒野で40日間を過ごされた時です。イエス様の十字架の苦しみは、悪に対する最後の戦いであり、イエス様の復活は、悪に対する最後の勝利でした。

すべての人にとって、悪を克服するためには、誘惑や悪との戦いがあります。私たちが個人的に悪と闘うように、キリストは宇宙規模で悪と闘われました。キリストの死はその闘いの結論でしたが、それは敗北ではなく、勝利でした。聖書によると、神が肉と血を受けたのは、「死によって、死の力を持つ者、すなわち悪魔を滅ぼすためであった」とあります。(ヘブライ人への手紙2:14,15)

聖書がイエスの死の理由として挙げているもう一つの理由は、イエスがご自分の人間としての性質と神としての性質を一つにして、「ご自分の中で、二人で一人の新しい人を造る」ことができるようにするためでした(エフェソの信徒への手紙2:14-16を参照してください。 ヨハネによる福音書17:11, 21; 10:30)。

他にも様々な理由が挙げられます。

父のもとに行く」ことができた(ヨハネによる福音書13:3; 14:2, 28; 16:10)。彼は「栄光」を得ることができました(ヨハネによる福音書17:1,5)や「主の栄光に入る」(ルカによる福音書24:26)。彼は「完成された」ことができた(ルカによる福音書13:32)、または「聖なるもの」(ヨハネによる福音書17:19)。

スウェーデンボルグのでは真のｷﾘｽﾄ教86と書かれています。

"エホバ神は、人々を救済する目的で、神の真理としてこの世に現れた。贖いとは、地獄を支配し、天界を再編し、そして教会を設立することだった。"

磔にされた時、悪の勢力は勝ったと思った。当時の宗教的、市民的な権力者たちが主導して彼を非難した。彼はあざけられた。群衆は彼に反発した。

イエス様の肉体の死は、このように「身代り」でした。あの拷問と死を受けることによって、イエス様は自分の霊的な力が自然の死を超えていることを示すことができたのです。イエスは、私たちを地獄の支配から解き放ち、新しい教会、私たちが従うことのできる新しい道を確立されたのです。

327. Saying, Worthy art Thou to open ¹ the book and to loose the seals thereof, signifies that the Lord from the Divine Human has omnipotence and omniscience. This is evident from all that precedes; for the subject treated of up to this point is that the Lord from the Divine Human has omnipotence and omniscience, and that judgment, therefore, belongs to Him. That this is meant by "worthy art Thou to open the book and to loose the seals thereof" is clear from the series of the things explained from the beginning of this chapter to the present verse, which I will here present in their order, as follows: "I saw in the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne," signifies the Lord in respect to omnipotence and omniscience n. 297; "a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals," signifies the states of the life of all in heaven and on earth altogether hidden (n. 299, 300); "I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?" signifies exploration whether there is anyone such that he may know and perceive the state of the life of all (n. 302, 303); "no one was able, in heaven nor upon the earth nor under the earth, to open the book," signifies that no one from himself can do this at all n. 304; "behold the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof," signifies the Lord [as able to do this] because from His own power He subjugated the hells and reduced all things in the heavens to order, and this by Divine good united to Divine truth in His Human (n. 309, 310); "I saw a Lamb standing, having seven horns and seven eyes," signifies the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, that from it He has omnipotence and omniscience (n. 314, 316, 317); "and He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne," signifies that these things are from His Divine Human (n. 319). From this it is now clear that here "worthy art Thou to take the book and to loose the seals thereof," signifies that the Lord from the Divine Human has omnipotence and omniscience.

Poznámky pod čarou:

10367. 'And on the seventh day there is the sabbath of rest' means the state of good that has been the end in view, thus the state when a person becomes an embodiment of the Church and enters heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the seventh day' as the state of good that has been the end in view; for since the six days which come before mean the person's state which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage, the seventh day means when that marriage actually exists within the person. That marriage is the joining together of the truth and good residing with the person, thus when the person becomes an embodiment of the Church and enters heaven. The reason why a person enters heaven and becomes an embodiment of the Church when governed by good is that the Lord flows into the good residing with a person, and through the good into his truth. He flows into the internal man, where heaven within that person exists, and through the internal into the external, where the world within that person exists. Therefore unless the person is governed by good his internal man is not opened but remains closed, no matter how many truths he knows on a doctrinal level. And since heaven exists within his internal man the person is in heaven when that internal man is opened; for heaven does not exist in some place but within a person's interiors. The human being has been created to conform to an image of heaven and of the world, his internal man to conform to the image of heaven and the external man to conform to the image of the world, see in the places referred to in 9279, [and what has been stated in] 9706.

[2] Anyone who stops to reflect on the matter may see that the essential nature of a person's good, not his truth without that good, makes him altogether what he is. For it is by means of his good and in accord with it that he collaborates with another, is in sympathy with another, links himself to another, and lets himself be led by another, and not by means of and in accord with his truth unless this is in agreement with his good. When the word 'good' is used here the person's delight, pleasure, or love should be understood, for everything that forms part of these constitutes his good; and so far as he is left to think for himself ideas favourable to that good are thought by him to be truths. From all this it becomes clear that a person is joined to the Lord by means of good, and not at all by means of truth without good.

[3] Being joined to the Lord by means of good has, it is true, been dealt with often before, wherever a person's regeneration has been the subject. But since people in the Church at the present day concentrate much on the truths belonging to faith and little on the good belonging to love, and are consequently ignorant of what good is, let a further statement be made about the joining together of goodness and truth, which is called the heavenly marriage. A person is born into evils of every kind and consequently into falsities of every kind, so that left to himself he is condemned to hell. Therefore to be delivered from hell he must be entirely born again, born of the Lord; and that rebirth is what is called regeneration. In order that he may therefore be reborn he must first learn truths; those who belong to the Church must learn them from the Word, or from teachings drawn from the Word. The Word and teachings drawn from the Word show what truth and good are, and truth and good show what evil and falsity are. Unless a person knows these things he cannot possibly be regenerated; for he remains immersed in his evils and consequent falsities, calling those evils forms of good and these falsities truths.

[4] This explains why cognitions or knowledge of truth and good must come first and enlighten a person's understanding. A person's understanding has been given to him in order that it may be enlightened with cognitions of goodness and truth, the end in view being that they may be received by his will and converted into good. For truths are converted into good when the person wills them, and in willing them does them. From this it is evident how the good present with a person is formed, and that unless good is present in a person he is not born anew or regenerated. When therefore a person's will consists of good his understanding consists of truths wedded to that good. The person's understanding truly acts in unison with his will; for what the person wills, that he thinks when left to himself. So this is what is called the joining together of truth and good or the heavenly marriage. Whether you say willing good or loving good it amounts to the same thing; for what a person loves, that he wills. At the same time, whether you say understanding truth wedded to good or believing it, this likewise amounts to the same thing. From this it follows that in the case of a person who has been regenerated love and faith act in unison. This joining together or marriage of them is what is called the Church and heaven, also the Lord's kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord as He exists with a person.

[5] But people who love their evils, whether those which they have acquired by heredity and since early childhood made stronger within themselves, or those which they have added for themselves and become the first to steep themselves in, can indeed grasp and have some understanding of truths obtained from the Word or from teachings drawn from the Word; nevertheless they cannot be regenerated. For every person's power of understanding is maintained by the Lord in a condition such as this, to the end that he may be regenerated. But when someone loves his evils the power of understanding in his internal man is not endowed with those truths, only the power of understanding in his external man; and this is no more than a knowledge of them. Such people do not know what good is; nor are they concerned to know what it is, only what truth is. As a result they think that the Church and heaven consist in truths, which are called matters of faith, and not in good deeds, which are matters of life. They also explain the Word in various ways in support of their own basic assumptions. Consequently with people such as these whose lives are not at the same time governed by the truths they know, no joining together of truth and good exists, nor therefore the Church and heaven. In the next life furthermore the truths which they have called matters of faith are separated from them; for evil in the will casts them out, and their place is taken by falsities in keeping with the evils they are steeped in.

[6] From all this it may now be recognized what the joining together of goodness and truth, meant by 'the sabbath', is. This joining together is called the sabbath on account of the rest it brings, for the sabbath consists in rest. During the first state, that is, while being led by truths towards good, a person is engaged in conflicts against the evils and falsities present with him. By means of these conflicts, which are temptations, evils and accompanying falsities are dispelled and separated, from which there is no rest until goodness and truth have been joined together. At this point the person has rest, and so does the Lord, for the person does not fight against the evils and falsities, but the Lord residing with Him.

[7] The reason why in the highest sense 'the sabbath' means the Lord's Divine Human is that when the Lord was in the world, from His Human He fought against and overcame all the hells, and at the same time restored the heavens to order, after which labours He united His Human to the Divine, making it Divine Good as well. Consequently at this point He had rest, for the hells cannot lift a finger against Divine Good. This now explains why in the highest sense 'the sabbath' serves to mean the Lord's Divine Human.

[8] But see what has been shown already on these matters,

When the Lord was in the world His Human was first made Divine Truth by Him, to the end that He might go into battle against the hells and overcome them; and afterwards His Human was glorified and made the Divine Good of Divine Love by Him, in the places referred to in 9199, 9315, and also what is stated in 9715, 9809. When in the world the Lord underwent the severest temptations, in the places referred to in 9528(end).

As a result He possesses the Divine Power to save a person, by removing the hells from him and in that way regenerating him, 10019, 10152.

Regarding the two states of a person who is being regenerated by the Lord, in the places referred to in 9274.

A person does not go into heaven until the joining together of truth and good has been accomplished with him, 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139, 9832.

A person's regeneration is an image of the Lord's glorification, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688.