耶穌的揀選 The Choosing of Jesus

文／Cathy Chen

經文

「耶穌上了山，把自己所要的人召來，他們就來到他那裡。於是他設立十二個人，又稱他們為使徒，要他們常和自己同在，也要差他們去傳道，並給他們權柄趕鬼。」
（馬可福音 3:13–15）

前言

回顧人類文明與思想史，我們很少去問一個根本卻關鍵的問題：學生是怎麼出現的？

我們慣於討論思想家的理論與學說，卻常忽略「人是如何成為他的學生」這件事，其實深刻地反映了該思想如何看待真理本身。這牽涉到一個更深層的命題：
是真理等待人去尋找，還是真理主動來尋找人？

人去找真理：人類思想的共同前提

以孔子為例，門生是慕名而來，「自行束脩以上」即可受教，也就是預備基本的見面禮，以示誠意，老師便願意教導。真理是在修身養性、倫理實踐中逐步體悟的道理。

佛陀亦然，他吸引的是尋求解脫之路的人；他的權威來自於自身的覺悟經驗，真理是一條可被學習、操練，甚至重複驗證的覺悟之路。

在西方，蘇格拉底在公共廣場與人辯證，真理存在於嚴密的論證與理性追問中；沒有人能獨佔真理，因此才有後世柏拉圖與亞里斯多德在師徒關係中持續爭鳴與發展。

在這些思想傳統中，有一個共同的前提：人去找真理。真理是可以被討論、被修正、被發展的。

我們雖然可以在許多偉大的傳統中，找到「師選徒」的影子，但那往往是基於學生已展現出潛力、誠意及所謂的慧根。而蘇格拉底在廣場上的詰問，誠然也帶有主動喚醒人的意味，但其核心仍是相信真理存在於人的理性中，等待被共同探尋。

正是在這樣「人不斷向上追尋真理」的歷史脈絡中，耶穌的出現，顯得格外不尋常。
耶穌揀選的顛覆性，完全在於祂自己；其起點和終點，都不是人的理性與德性，而是神那無法被預測、卻主動臨到的恩典。祂忽視了人所看重的眼光與資格。

真理來找人：耶穌顛覆性的呼召

耶穌反過來，主動走向那些在海邊打魚的漁夫、坐在稅關的稅吏，向平凡、甚至被輕視的人，直接對他們發出命令：「來 跟從我。」（馬太福音4:19；9:9；馬可福音1:17；2:14；路加福音5：27）這在當時是極其反常的行為。

耶穌沒有揀選有學識的文士、口才卓越的辯士，或具有政治影響力的人物；祂也不是要他們來研究一套「學說」、「理論」或「修行法門」，而是呼召他們來跟隨一個人。

「耶穌把自己所要的人召來。」這不是申請制、不是甄選制，也不是志願制，這是呼召。

在這裡，真理不再是抽象的思想或邏輯體系，真理就是那一位道成肉身的基督本身。耶穌不是說：「我教你真理。」祂說：「我就是道路、真理、生命；若不藉著我，沒有人能到父那裡去。」（約翰福音 14:6）這是一個前所未有的宣告。

真理不再只是內容，而是一位有位格、有權柄、會向人發聲，並主動呼召人的主。呼召出於恩典，而一個人聽見呼召，所需要的，是用信心接受它，用行動回應它。

不是因為人可靠，而是因為主信實

而祂所揀選的人，不是學者、修行者或哲學家。他們是漁夫、稅吏、激進分子；衝動的、膽怯的、常常聽不懂的；甚至有人在最關鍵的時刻否認主、逃跑、背叛。

耶穌揀選人，不是因為人有能力或可靠，而是因為祂自己信實。當耶穌揀選他們時，已經定義了他們將要「得人如得魚」，儘管門徒自己毫不知情。

他們成為門徒，不是因為理解得夠多，而是在聽見呼召時，單純地放下手中的網，跟隨主，與他常同在。

耶穌的教室，不在學堂或任何宗教機構，而是在街邊、漁村、某人的家中、病床旁、會堂裡、船上、海面上、山上、路上、客西馬尼園中、十字架上，以及空墳墓裡⋯⋯

雖然耶穌所到之處常擠滿圍觀的群眾，聖經卻說：「耶穌不將自己交託給他們，因為他認識所有的人，也用不著誰來證明人是怎麼樣的，因為他自己認識人的內心。」（約翰福音 2:24–25）
祂將許多關鍵的教導，只在私下向自己所揀選的門徒說明。

耶穌不是為了建立一個學派，也不是為了讓某套思想得以延續；祂是為了完成父神的救贖計畫，成就眾先知的預言，並差遣門徒成為祂的見證人。

於是，耶穌的所是（Being）與所行（Doing），深深地印刻在門徒心中。他們親眼見證了道成為肉身。即便曾因耶穌被捕而軟弱、分散、恐懼，卻在祂復活並升天之後重新聚集，並為同一個見證付上生命的代價。

仍在發出的呼召，教會守住的見證

之後門徒四處傳道，同樣也不是為了一套哲學，或是為了一條修行之路，更不是為了提升自己，只因為這是主給他們的託付，而門徒們確實遇見，也跟從了那位被釘十字架、又從死裡復活的主。而神透過門徒作為祂的見證人，持續向人發出呼召。

門徒所倚靠的，不是口才、知識或能力，而是他們親身的見證。
正如使徒彼得所宣告的：「我們所看見、所聽見的，不能不說。」（使徒行傳 4:20）

他們顛覆了當時的世界，建立教會，卻沒有把自己塑造成英雄，反而誠實地把自己的膽怯、否認與愚拙都寫進見證裡，讓後來的人得以根據他們真實的經歷，也同樣經歷這位又真又活的神。

「這門徒就是為這些事作見證，並且記載這些事的；我們也知道他的見證是真的。耶穌所行的事還有許多，若是一一都寫出來，我想，所寫的書就是世界也容不下了。」
（約翰福音 21:24–25）

使徒們生命的改變與能力，不在於他們自己，而在於差遣他們的主所賜下的呼召與權柄。使徒們用自己的生命見證，守住了不能被稀釋的真理，不讓人用思想與哲理拼湊出另一個耶穌。因為他們深知：
耶穌不是眾多老師之一，也不是眾多道路之一。祂就是救主。（「耶穌」之名，意即「神拯救」。）

如同當初祂揀選了漁夫與稅吏，今天神仍在呼召那些自認不配的人。在這個不斷強調自我提升與資格論的時代，人們很容易䧟入自我膨脹或焦慮。然而在耶穌面前，我們永遠不必焦慮自己是否不夠好，我們同時也不能膨脹自己。祂不是呼召人來變得完美、證明自己的資格與價值。他呼召人放下自我掌控的主權，領受祂要賜予的新生命，得著新的方向與能力，並在過程中經歷祂、見證祂。

這樣的揀選，使人戰兢，卻也使軟弱的人得以站立。

禱告：回應呼召

主耶穌，謝謝祢揀選了使徒，讓他們親眼看見祢、親手觸摸祢，並用生命保存了這份純正的信仰，使我能因著他們留下的見證，來認識祢，並聽見祢要對我說的話。

謝謝祢不看我的資格，在我仍模糊不清、自高自大時，祢就先愛了我。

主啊，我知道自己如同當年的門徒一樣軟弱，容易在壓力中驚恐，在平順時忘記恩典是白白得來，不需要證明自己。願我一生不求自己的榮耀，只求接續使徒所傳下來的見證，在軟弱中顯出祢的剛強，成為能被祢差遣、為祢所用的人。

奉主耶穌基督的名禱告，阿們。

The Choosing of Jesus

By Cathy Chen

Scripture

“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve—whom he also named apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.”
(Mark 3:13–15)

Introduction

When we look back over the history of human civilization and thought, we rarely ask a fundamental yet revealing question: How do disciples come into being?

We are accustomed to examining the theories and teachings of great thinkers, yet we often overlook the process by which people become their students. This, however, reveals something profound about how a tradition understands truth itself. Beneath this lies an even deeper question:

Does truth wait for human beings to seek it—or does truth come seeking us?

Humanity Seeking Truth: A Shared Assumption

In Confucian tradition, students came of their own initiative. One who brought the proper offering (shu xiu) and demonstrated sincerity would be received. Truth was something gradually grasped through moral cultivation and ethical practice.

The Buddha similarly drew those who sought liberation. His authority rested in his own awakening, and truth was understood as a path that could be learned, practiced, and repeatedly verified through discipline.

In the Western tradition, Socrates engaged passersby in the public square through rigorous questioning. Truth emerged through rational inquiry and dialectical reasoning. No one claimed exclusive possession of truth, which is why Plato and Aristotle continued to argue, refine, and develop thought within the teacher–disciple relationship.

Across these traditions, a common assumption persists: human beings seek truth. Truth is something to be discussed, revised, and developed.

Even when traces of teacher-initiated selection appear, they are typically grounded in a student’s perceived potential, sincerity, or intellectual capacity. Socrates’ probing questions may have awakened his listeners, but the core conviction remained that truth resides within human reason, waiting to be collectively uncovered.

It is precisely within this historical context—where humanity continually strives upward in search of truth—that the appearance of Jesus is profoundly unsettling.

The radical nature of Jesus’ choosing lies entirely in Himself. Its beginning and its end are not human reason or moral achievement, but the unpredictable, sovereign initiative of divine grace. He disregards human criteria and qualifications altogether.

Truth Seeking Humanity: The Radical Call of Jesus

Jesus does the unthinkable: He walks toward fishermen casting their nets, tax collectors sitting at their booths, and people regarded as ordinary—or even despised. To them He issues a direct command:
“Follow me.”

This was deeply abnormal in its time.

Jesus did not choose learned scribes, gifted rhetoricians, or influential political figures. Nor did He invite people to study a system of thought, master a doctrine, or adopt a spiritual technique. He called them to follow a person.

“Jesus called to him those he wanted.”

This was not an application process, a selection committee, or a volunteer opportunity. It was a call.

Here, truth is no longer an abstract concept or a logical framework. Truth is the incarnate Christ Himself. Jesus did not say, “I will teach you the truth.”
He declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

This was a declaration without precedent.

Truth is no longer merely content; it is a Person—one with authority, voice, and the power to summon. A call grounded in grace does not require credentials. It calls for faith to receive it and obedience to respond.

Not Because They Were Reliable—But Because He Is Faithful

Those whom Jesus chose were not scholars, spiritual elites, or philosophers. They were fishermen, tax collectors, and revolutionaries—impulsive, fearful, often confused. Some would deny Him, flee in fear, or betray Him at the most critical moment.

Jesus did not choose them because they were capable or dependable, but because He is faithful. At the moment of their calling, He had already defined their future—to become fishers of people—though they themselves had no understanding of it.

They became disciples not because they understood enough, but because, upon hearing the call, they laid down their nets and followed.

Jesus’ classroom was not a school or religious institution. It was found on roadsides and fishing villages, in homes and sickrooms, in synagogues and boats, on hillsides and at the sea, in Gethsemane, at the cross, and before an empty tomb.

Although crowds often surrounded Him, Scripture tells us, “Jesus did not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.” (John 2:24–25) His most essential teachings were given privately to those He had chosen.

Jesus did not come to establish a school of thought or ensure the survival of an ideology. He came to fulfill the Father’s redemptive plan, to accomplish what the prophets had foretold, and to send His disciples as witnesses.

Thus, who Jesus is and what He does became indelibly engraved upon the disciples’ lives. They witnessed the Word made flesh. Though they scattered in fear when He was arrested, they were regathered after His resurrection and ascension—and would ultimately give their lives for the same testimony.

A Call Still Being Issued, A Testimony Still Guarded

The apostles proclaimed the gospel not to advance a philosophy, offer a spiritual path, or elevate themselves, but because they had been entrusted with a commission from the Lord. They had truly encountered and followed the crucified and risen Christ.

Their confidence rested not in eloquence, knowledge, or strength, but in lived testimony. As Peter declared, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)

Though they turned the world upside down, they never portrayed themselves as heroes. Instead, they faithfully recorded their fear, failures, denials, and foolishness—so that future generations might encounter the same living God through their honest witness.

“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.”
(John 21:24–25)

The transformation and authority evident in the apostles’ lives did not originate from themselves, but from the call and authority of the One who sent them. They guarded these unalterable testimonies with their lives, refusing to allow anyone to reconstruct another version of Jesus through human philosophy or speculation.

For they knew this with certainty:

Jesus is not one teacher among many, nor one path among many.
He is the Savior.
(The name Jesus means “God saves.”)

In a world obsessed with self-improvement and qualification, we do not need to stand anxiously before Jesus, wondering if we are good enough. Just as He once chose fishermen and tax collectors, He continues to call those who consider themselves unworthy.

He does not call people to perfect themselves or prove their worth.
He calls them to lay down the illusion of self-mastery, to receive the new life He gives, to be granted new direction and strength—and along the way, to know Him, experience Him, and bear witness to Him.

Such choosing causes us to tremble—
yet it is precisely this choosing that allows us to stand firm.

Prayer: Responding to the Call

Lord Jesus,
Thank You for choosing the apostles—for allowing them to see You with their own eyes, to touch You with their own hands, and to preserve this pure faith with their lives. Through their testimony, I am able to know You and to hear what You are speaking to me today.

Thank You that You did not measure my worth by my qualifications. Even when I was confused and self-reliant, You loved me first.

Lord, I know that I am weak, just as the disciples were—easily frightened under pressure and quick to forget that grace is freely given and does not require proof.

May I seek not my own glory, but faithfully carry forward the testimony entrusted to the apostles. In my weakness, may Your strength be made visible. Make me one whom You can send, and one whom You can use.

I pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.