Many of us in our fellowship community have been reading the Bible daily in a two-year plan. In this blog post, I will take the time to investigate an intriguing character encountered in John, Nicodemus, a Pharisee and “member of the Jewish ruling council” (New International Version Bible, 2011, John 3:1). Jesus himself called Nicodemus “Israel’s teacher” (John 3:10). A question about Nicodemus that Bible scholars have explored and that interests me is, did Nicodemus ever truly commit to following Jesus? What does the text say? Let’s go back to the Gospel of John, take a look at the three times that Nicodemus is mentioned there, and see what answers may be found there.

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我們團契中，許多人正依照一個為期兩年的讀經計畫每天讀《聖經》。這篇文章中，我想花點時間來探究《約翰福音》一位耐人尋味的人物尼哥底母，他是法利賽人，也是「猶太人的官」(《約翰福音》3:1，和合本) 或「猶太公會的成員」(a member of the Jewish ruling council) (NIV）。耶穌甚至稱尼哥底母為「以色列人的先生 (或教師)」（《約翰福音》3:10）。聖經學者長期討論的一個問題，也是我所關心的：尼哥底母究竟有沒有真心委身跟隨耶穌？經文怎麼說？讓我們看看《約翰福音》提到尼哥底母的三次記載，尋找可能的答案。

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上次的文章我著墨復活節，這是我們慶祝耶穌從死裡復活的日子。雖然對於一個節日或慶典的意義可能會被過度解讀（《歌羅西書》2:16-17），發表這篇文章的日子卻剛巧碰上另一節日，推動我去研讀《聖經》，去了解兩千年前 —— 具體而言，是耶穌復活七週後 —— 的那個五旬節（《使徒行傳》2:1）。使徒們在那天的變革性事件發生之前，對五旬節已經有怎樣的理解？讓我們探索舊約中五旬節的意義，以增進我們對《使徒行傳》第2章背景的理解。

小麥初熟時

「五旬節」字面意思是「第五十天」（Ferguson，1993年），基本上是「七七節」或「收割節」（Ferguson，1993年）這舊約猶太節日的希臘名稱，而對應的猶太名稱是「沙瓦烏特」（Shavuot）（Moore，2013年）。或許不足為奇的是，何時慶祝這七七節，也曾存著爭議（Ferguson，1993年）。

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On the last occasion, I wrote about Easter, when we celebrate Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. While too much can be made of a holiday or feast day (New International Version Bible, 2011, Col 2:16-17), the timing of this particular blog post has encouraged me to study the Bible to derive meaning from another event that occurred two thousand years ago and specifically, seven weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1). What did the apostles already understand about Pentecost, even before the transformational events of that day occurred? Let’s explore the significance of Pentecost as depicted in the Old Testament, seeking to enrich our understanding of the context of Acts 2.

The Firstfruits of Wheat

The name Pentecost literally means “the fiftieth day” (Ferguson, 1993). It is basically the Greek term for the Old Testament Jewish festival referred to as the Feast of Weeks or Feast of Harvest (Ferguson, 1993). Its comparable Jewish term is Shavuot (Moore, 2013). Perhaps not surprisingly, debate existed about when to observe this Feast of Weeks (Ferguson, 1993).

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每年春季，大約在3月22日至4月25日之間的某個星期日，也就是該年春分之後的第一個星期日（T. R. F., 1999），我們會慶祝復活節。在我們的城市，每年的復活節公眾假期（由星期五至星期一）為壓力繁重的香港人提供了一個年度「自製長假」的機會 —— 只需請四天年假，就有可能換來連續十天的休息時間（假設星期六不上班）。以今年為例，若4月14日至17日請假，便可享有4月12日至21日的假期；若4月22日至25日請假，則可享受4月18日至27日的一個歇息之旅。

傳統的復活節週末慶祝活動千變萬化，從日出崇拜與燭光守夜，到適合小朋友參加的戶外活動，如海灘上的復活蛋尋寶遊戲（Sassy Mama, 2025）。然而，復活節為何會變成今天這個樣子呢？本篇文章會探討復活節歷史發展的來龍去脈。除了給你一些冷知識，讓你可以在假期遠足時與朋友分享外，本文將聚焦復活的意義，藉著探討《路加福音》24章1-12節，汲取我們當今靈命成長的啟示。

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^{This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND}

Each spring, sometime between March 22 and April 25, on the Sunday following the vernal equinox of that year (T. R. F., 1999), we observe Easter. Each year in our city, the Easter public holidays (Friday through Monday) provide stressed-out Hong Kongers an annual exercise in stretching four annual leave days into potentially ten consecutive days away (assuming no work on Saturdays). For us this year, taking April 14-17 as annual leave creates an April 12-21 holiday, while taking April 22-25 creates an April 18-27 getaway period of time. Traditional Easter weekend celebrations vary greatly, ranging from sunrise worship services and candlelit vigils to kid-friendly outdoor activities such as Easter egg hunts on a local beach (Sassy Mama, 2025). How did Easter get to be this way today? This blog article will fill in some facts about how Easter has developed over history. Beyond providing facts that you can share with friends while on a holiday hike, this blog article will highlight the importance of the resurrection and examine one account, in Luke 24:1-12, drawing lessons for our spiritual lives today.

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基督徒常在一月份反思神在過去一年的作為，並為未來制定計劃和目標。我們會為身體健康或財務穩健訂立目標。我們會檢視自己的事業、人際關係和屬靈生活，並在新的一年調整方針。社交媒體上，釋經學者們每每在此時分享《聖經》關於「新開始」的教導，有些經文經常粉墨登場，如《哥林多後書》5:17：「若有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了！」（Bible Study Tools，2024；Christianity.com）。這篇文章將探討另一段常在新年被引用的《聖經》經文的背景，出自《舊約》的《以賽亞書》43:14-21。文章接著闡述神如何展望新的開始，及藉著經文的教訓，指導我們如何為2025年定下目標和宏願。

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Christians often use the month of January to reflect on how God has worked over the past year and to set plans and goals going forward. We establish objectives for physical or financial health. We review our careers, relationships, and spiritual lives, and make course corrections for the new year. Commentators fill social media with what the Bible teaches about a new start, and some verses, such as 2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version Bible, 2011) frequently come to mind: “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (Bible Study Tools, 2024; Christianity.com, n.d.). This blog post will examine the context of another popular New Year’s Bible verse, taken from a passage in the Old Testament, Isaiah 43:14-21. This post will then elaborate on how God envisions a new beginning and draw lessons that can inform us as we set goals and make resolutions for 2025.

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