早餐后的对话

(关于 约翰福音21:15-25)

在本章的前半部分，七个门徒回到加利利家。他们去捕鱼，在岸上看见耶稣在岸上，按照他的指示在船的右边捕鱼，把满载着一百五十三条鱼的网子拖到岸上，然后...........当本章后半部分开始时，他们刚刚与耶稣断绝了禁食。现在，他们正在休息。

耶稣对彼得说："你爱我吗？"彼得也许对这个问题有些惊愕，认为答案很明显，就回答说："爱"，耶稣回答说："喂养我的羊羔"。这个顺序又重复了两次，但有一些变化。然后，在这不寻常的对话之后，主给他们都讲了一个小比喻，说的是年轻的时候是年轻的，以后是老的。然后，主叫彼得跟从他，彼得显然是吃醋了，就问约翰该怎么做。主温和地斥责彼得的嫉妒，说："这人若在我来之前不来，你又有什么事呢？"但主又告诉约翰也要跟从他。

最后，约翰的福音书，乃至四本福音书的合集，最后以约翰的解释结束，他是这本福音书的作者。

那么现在，我们再来看看这段对话、比喻，以及嫉妒心的爆发。

七个门徒中只有彼得和约翰两个人在这部分的故事中被提到。彼得代表的是信心，或者说是真理，是关于属灵的事情的真理，我们真正相信是来自神的。约翰代表的是善，或者说是对邻居的爱。前者住在心灵的理解部分，后者住在心灵的意志部分。

在告诉彼得喂养羊的时候，主说跟从他意味着要传扬现在所有门徒都知道的关于主，关于主的到来，关于一个人的生命应该如何领导的真理，以便在新教会中成为主的跟随者。在这段对话中，主是直接的、探究的。"约拿的儿子西门，你爱我比这些还多吗？"我想彼得是在问他爱主耶稣，是否比爱他的加利利人朋友更爱主，尽管这句话很含糊，可能是说 "你爱我比这六个人更爱我吗？当彼得第一次回答时，他说："主啊，你知道我爱你。"

主用这三个试探性的问题中的第一个问题，回答是 "喂养我的羊羔"，而之后的回答是 "喂养我的羊"。羊和羊羔都代表爱行善的人，但羊指的是爱行善的人，为邻舍行善的人，而羊指的是为主行善的人。前者是属灵的善，后者是更高的善，称为天道的善。但最初想行善的人，不知道什么是善，需要从道上学习，受人教导。这就是彼得要 "喂养他们 "的原因，也就是说，真理必须指明要如何行善。要行善的事，必须要有意志的愿意，和明白的知道如何去行，这两者必须连在一起。为了一个成功的基督徒生活，或者说在更大范围内的基督徒教会，"彼得 "和 "约翰 "必须和谐地工作。

然后是一个比喻。"当你年轻的时候，你把自己准备好了，自己做你想做的事情。但当你老了，你必须伸出援手，另一个人就会带你到你不想去的地方。"

这似乎不符合这里的意思，但当然符合，而且有两种方式。第一种方式是在《圣经》的经文中给出的；是关于主的死，所有的预言都是把祂引向祂钉在十字架上，正如所提到的。第二种方式是给我们所有人的教训。当我们年轻、自信、刚强的时候，我们觉得自己可以做自己想做的事，不需要任何帮助。做坏事的诱惑，我们自己可以应付。但当我们渐渐有了智慧后，我们就会意识到，我们所有的力量都来自于主，如果我们继续只依靠自己，来自地狱的试探就会过于强烈，我们就会被引导去做地狱要我们做的事，而不是我们想要的。我们必须从一开始就学会跟随主，依靠主。这句话他是在比喻的结尾处说的，在我们不明白这个比喻的意思之前，这句话似乎是不合适的。"他说这话的时候，他对他们说，你们要跟从我。"这也是我们需要做的。

彼得很乐意做这种传讲真理的工作，也许他觉得自己被挑出来了，但他也意识到，约翰也爱主，也是爱主，也是爱的回报。于是，他问："那这个人该怎么做呢？"看来，所需要的和谐还没有出现，彼得对这种关系的联结感到嫉妒，可能是希望自己是第一，希望能得到保证...........但这并没有实现。皮特只是告诉他，这并不重要，他需要做的是完成交给他的工作。

我想起了雅各和以扫的故事，在 创世记25以扫是长子，以扫是长子，他将继承以撒应得的出生权和祝福。雅各用他母亲的诡计欺骗了以撒，偷了以扫的东西。然后，他跑到帕丹亚兰，和他的叔叔一起住在那里，并变得富有。只有在他回来的路上，他与天使搏斗，改名为以扫，才再次遇到以扫。这个名字的改变意味着，现在雅各因着道的真理而富有了，再加上与以扫的友好会面，也是富有的，这两对双胞胎可以用比喻的方式，合并成一个人，叫作以色列，意思是在思想上把善和真理结合在一起。

以扫的意思与约翰相似，他们都代表良善或真正的慈善。雅各的意思与彼得相似，他们都代表从道里学到的真理。在他们之间任何看似敌意，认为哪一个更重要，都会使他们两个人都变得一无是处，而在一个正在成为天使的人身上（正如每个人都应该追求的那样），没有敌意。真理能使善，而善又能激发出真理，才能使人有成就感。虽然我们可以分别思考和谈论它们，但它们（在主里是完全的，在天使里就更不那么完美了）连成一体，以至于被看成是夫妻。主的神圣的善和神圣的真理的结合是一切创造的起源。是的，所有的创造都是如此。

这种善与真理的结合，以及两者在我们的生活中平衡、和谐地发挥作用的必要性，是新基督教的核心理念。

在《福音书》中，仅有一个故事发生在这个故事之后。在这个故事中，其余的门徒加入这里提到的七人，听主最后的命令。

9824. 'And an ephod' means Divine Truth there in an outward form, in which inner things terminate. This is clear from the meaning of 'an ephod' as Divine Truth in an outward form. The reason why 'an ephod' has this meaning is that Aaron's holy garments represented forms of Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom, in their proper order, see above in 9822, and the ephod was the outermost of the three garments, Aaron's holy garments being the ephod, the robe, and the checkered tunic. Not only does what is outermost contain inner things; but inner things also terminate in it. This applies to the human body, and therefore also applies to the heavens, to which aspects of the human body correspond. It applies similarly to truths and forms of good, for both these constitute the heavens.

[2] Since the ephod represented the most external part of the Lord's spiritual kingdom it was holier than all the other garments; and on it there was the breastplate containing the Urim and Thummim, by means of which answers from the Divine were given. The reason why the most external part is holier than the things within is that what is outermost contains all inner things in their proper order. It contains them in an outward form and in a connection which are so perfect that if what is outermost were taken away the things within would disintegrate; for the things within not only terminate there, but also exist together there. The truth of this may be recognized by people who know about the nature of things that succeed one another and those that exist together with one another, namely that those which succeed one another, that is, proceed and follow one another in their proper order, also stand together with one another at the last and lowest levels. Let end, cause, and effect exemplify this. The end is the first in order, the cause is the second, and the effect is the last and lowest, so that these too progress one after another. Yet within the effect, which is last, the cause at the same time manifests itself, as does the end within the cause. Consequently the effect is the completion of the inner or prior things, which have also been brought together in it and lodge there.

[3] The situation is similar with human will, thought, and action; will comes first, thought second, and action last. Action is also the effect that has the two prior or inner things existing together within it. For to the extent that action contains what the person thinks and what the person wills, inner things are contained in a form and in connection. This explains why the Word says that a person will be judged according to his deeds or works, which means that he will be judged according to his thought and will, for these are present within deeds as the soul is within its body. Now since inner things present themselves together in what is last and lowest, then if the order is perfect that which is last and lowest, as has been stated, is held to be holier than the inner things, because it is there that the holiness of the inner things exists in its fullness.

[4] Since inner things exist together in the last and lowest in the same way, as has been stated, as a person's thought and will - or, on a spiritual level, his faith and love - exist together in his deeds or works, John more than all the other disciples was loved by the Lord and leaned on His breast, John 13:23; 21:20, 22. This was because that disciple represented the works of charity, see Prefaces to Genesis 18, 22, and also 3934. This too shows why what is outermost or last within perfect order is holier than the things within if considered separately from it. For when the Lord is present in what is last and lowest He is at the same time present on all levels; and when He is present in it inner things are contained in their proper order, connection, and form, and are under His control and guidance, subject to His good will. This is the arcanum that was meant in 9360, as you may see.

[5] This then is the reason why the ephod, being representative of the last and lowest part of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, was held to be holier than the rest of the garments belonging to the priestly office. Therefore the ephod was the chief of the priestly vestments, being made from threads of gold in among the violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, Exodus 39:3, though the rest of the priests had ephods made of linen, 1 Samuel 2:18; 22:18. This goes to explain why the word 'ephod' stood for a priest's whole attire and why he was said 'to wear the ephod', meaning that he was a priest, 1 Samuel 2:28; 14:3. It also goes to explain why the breastplate was tied to the ephod and why answers were given through the Urim and Thummim there. That is to say, this vestment was a representative sign of the lowest part of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and answers from God present themselves in things last and lowest; for they pass through all the inner levels one after another, declaring themselves on the last and lowest because they terminate there. The fact that answers were given when they wore the ephod is clear from 1 Samuel 23:6-13; 30:7-8, and also in Hosea,

The children of Israel sat many days with no king, and no prince, and no sacrifice, and no pillar, and no ephod, and no teraphim ¹ . Hosea 3:4.

'Teraphim' means answers from God, for in former times answers were given through them, Zechariah 10:2. Furthermore the word 'ephod' in the original language is derived from the root 'to enclose all inner things', as is evident from the meaning of that word in Exodus 29:5; Leviticus 8:7.

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