“We Should Not Expect to Be Treated Any Different/Better Than Jesus Christ 我們理應不要預期受到與耶穌基督不同/比祂好一點的對待“（John 約翰福音15:20-22）
Remember what I told you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
你們要記住我對你們說過的話：‘僕人不能大過主人。’他們若迫害我，也必定迫害你們；他們若遵守我的話，也必定遵守你們的話。但他們因著我的名，要向你們行這一切，因為他們不認識那差我來的。如果我沒有來，也沒有對他們講過什麼，他們就沒有罪；但現在他們的罪是無可推諉的了。
Interestingly, John used the second half of what Matthew stated as ‘The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master’ (Luke used the first half instead) to remind us that Lord Jesus’ disciples should not expect to be treated any different/better than He was treated. He was mostly persecuted by the religious establishment, which mainly reflected the world’s values and goals in opposition to God. If people do not know God as He really is, they often attack and persecute those who represent God in some way. Because Christ did come and speak to the world through His works which no one else did among them, they knew something of God that they did not know before. This made them without excuse for hating and rejecting Jesus Christ and His Father in heaven.
有趣的是，約瀚用了馬太所陳述為「學生不能勝過老師，奴僕也不能勝過主人」的下半部（反而路加用了上半部）去提醒我們，主耶穌的門徒理應不要預期受到與祂不同/比祂好一點的對待。那大抵反映著敵對神的世界價值觀和目標的宗教建制軆系，大大迫害了主耶穌。人若不認識神如祂真的是誰，就往往攻擊逼迫那些在某方式上代表著神的人。因為基督確實來到世上，透過在世人中間行過別人未曾行的事對他們說話，他們知道了關於神的一些事，是他們以前不知道的，這就使他們沒有理由恨惡和拒絕耶穌基督和祂在天上的父了。
Prayer: Oh Lord Jesus, one may be both religious and very much part of the world. But by both your life and your words you rebuke human sin and condemn it. You uncover the inner corruption and hypocrisy of mankind. No wonder they react violently to the disclosure. Help us to have your compassion and sympathy for our persecutors since they do not know what they have been doing. Amen.
禱告: 主耶穌啊，人可以既有宗教情操，又仍屬於世界。然而，你以自己的生命和話語譴責並定人的罪。你揭露了人內心的腐敗和虛偽，難怪他們對這樣揭露反應激烈。求你幫助我們對迫害我們的人，有著你的憐憫和同情，因為他們不曉得自己一直在作甚麽。阿們。
