‘Mabaqothulwe AbangenaNkulunkulu!’
IZIXUKU zazimbheka njengongenaNkulunkulu, umuntu ofuna ukudambisa isasasa lokukhulekela nokubhubhisa onkulunkulu babo. Edelelwa futhi elulazwa, walethwa phambi kwazo zihlangene. Lapho umbusi ebuza, kwasondela indoda ehloniphekile eneminyaka engama-86 ubudala yase ivuma ukuthi inguye lowomuntu. Igama layo kwakunguPolycarp.
Umbusi wesifundazwe waseRoma uStatius Quadratus waqhubeka ngamazwi athi: “Funga ngonkulunkulu uKesari; shintsha ingqondo yakho uthi, ‘Mabaqothulwe abangakholelwa kuNkulunkulu!’” UPolycarp wabe esebheka isixuku esikhulu samaqaba angenamthetho ayegcwele inkundla. Ekhomba ngakuso, wabubula, wabheka ngasezulwini, wayesethi: “Mabaqothulwe abangakholelwa kuNkulunkulu!” Ngempela, ‘Mabaqothulwe abangenaNkulunkulu!’
Umbusi wabe esekhuluma ngokuphuthuma okwengeziwe, ethi: “Funga ngizokukhulula; methuke uKristu.” Kodwa uPolycarp waphendula: “Sengimkhonze iminyaka engamashumi ayisishiyagalombili nesithupha, futhi akazange angenze lutho olubi. Ngingayihlambalaza kanjani iNkosi yami engisindisile?”
Kwabe sekwenziwa amalungiselelo okubulawa kwalendoda egugile. Inyama yayo yayizoshiswa ngomlilo. Ngani? Wayengubani ngempela uPolycarp? Futhi yiziphi izenzakalo ezaholela ekufeni kwakhe?
Ukuphila KukaPolycarp Esemusha
UPolycarp wazalwa cishe ngo-69 C.E. eAsia Minor, eSmirna (idolobha lanamuhla laseTurkey i-Izmir). Kubikwa ukuthi wakhuliswa abazali abangamaKristu. Njengoba ayevuthwa eba insizwa edumile, uPolycarp waphawuleka ngokuphana, ukuzidela, ukuphatha abanye ngomusa, nangokutadisha imiBhalo ngenkuthalo. Ngemva kwesikhathi waba umbonisi ebandleni laseSmirna.
Kuye kwabikwa ukuthi eminyakeni yobusha bakhe, uPolycarp wasebenzisa kahle amathuba okufunda ngokuqondile kwabanye babaphostoli. Ngokusobala umphostoli uJohane wayengomunye wabafundisi bakhe. Eqinisweni, uIrenaeus ulandisa ukuthi uPolycarp “akafundiswanga nje kuphela abaphostoli, futhi wasebenzelana eduze nabaningi ababebone uKristu, kodwa futhi wamiswa abaphostoli eAsia, ukuba abe umbonisi ebandleni eliseSmirna.” Singayicabanga injabulo nokwaneliseka uPolycarp akuthola ebunganeni obunjalo nabanye obucebisayo. Kumelwe ukuba kwamsiza ekumhlomiseleni isabelo sakhe njengombonisi ebandleni.—IzEnzo 20:28; 1 Petru 5:1-4.
Usekela Amaqiniso Ayisisekelo
Ukwengamela kukaPolycarp ebandleni kwaqala ngeminyaka ebeka inselele yokuhlubuka okwakubikezelwe. (2 Thesalonika 2:1-3) Ngokusobala wayezimisele ukuzikhandla ngenxa yabanye. Kanjalo, lapho uIgnatius waseAntiyokiya, eSiriya, esendleleni eyobulawelwa ukholo eRoma, ecela abaseFilipi ukuba bathumele incwadi ethile ebandleni lakubo, uPolycarp waseSmirna waqikelela ukuthi iyafika lapho. Ngalesosikhathi wathumelela abaseFilipi incwadi evela kuye.
Encwadini kaPolycarp eya kwabaseFilipi, sithola ukugcizelelwa kwamaqiniso athile angokomBhalo. Uyabahlukanisa uNkulunkulu noKristu, uYise neNdodana, futhi uthi sithola ukusindiswa “ngentando kaNkulunkulu ngoJesu Kristu.” UPolycarp uxwayisa ngothando lwemali futhi ukhumbuza ababezofunda incwadi yakhe ukuthi izifebe namadoda alalanayo ngeke balidle ifa loMbuso kaNkulunkulu. (Qhathanisa neyoku-1 Thimothewu 6:10; 1 Korinte 6:9, 10.) Uhlanganisa futhi neseluleko sokuba abafazi bathande abayeni babo nesokuba abadala babe “nesihawu nomusa.” Bonke banxuswa ukuba “bashiseke ekuphishekeleni okuhle.” Ekugcineni, uPolycarp uyanxusa: “Sengathi uNkulunkulu noYise weNkosi yethu uJesu Kristu, noJesu Kristu uQobo lwakhe, oyiNdodana kaNkulunkulu, nomPristi wethu Omkhulu waphakade, anganakha okholweni naseqinisweni, nasekuthobekeni konke, emseni, ekubekezeleni, ekubhekeni kade, ekukhuthazeleni, nasebumsulweni.”
UPolycarp wacaphuna kakhulu emiBhalweni. Encwadini yakhe eyayiya kwabaseFilipi, wabhekisela kuMathewu, izEnzo, amaRoma, eyoku-1 Korinte, eyesi-2 Korinte, abaseGalathiya, abase-Efesu, eyesi-2 Thesalonika, eyoku-1 Thimothewu, eyoku-1 Petru, futhi cishe nakwezinye izingxenye zemiBhalo. Lokhu kusibonisa ukuthi okungenani abanye ababethi bangamaKristu babefuna ukunamathela ezimisweni ezingokomBhalo ngenkathi enzima ngemva kokufa kwabaphostoli.
Umsebenzi Wakhe ESmirna
ISmirna, idolobha lasendulo elalisogwini lwaseAsia Minor, yayiyisikhungo sokuhweba esimatasa nesichumayo. Futhi yayiyisikhungo sokukhulekelwa koMbuso. Ngokwesibonelo, ababusi baseRoma babevezwa ngokugqamile njengonkulunkulu ezinhlamvwini zemali nasemibhalweni eqoshiwe. Amafilosofi enkolo obuqaba ayethuthukiswa umbuso.
Ngokusobala, abaningi balabo ababehlanganyela ebandleni laseSmirna babempofu ngokwezinto ezibonakalayo. Kodwa ngesinye isikhathi, batuswa ngokuba ngabacebile ngokomoya. Yeka ukuthi kumelwe ukuba kwakukhuthaza kanjani kumaKristu aseSmirna ukuzwa amazwi kaJesu abhalwa umphostoli uJohane! UKristu washo lokhu ‘engelosini,’ noma kubabonisi abagcotshiwe, eSmirna: “Ngiyakwazi ukuhlupheka kwakho nobumpofu bakho—kanti ucebile—nenhlamba yabathi bangabaJuda bengesibo, kodwa beyisinagoge likaSathane. Ungesabi lokho ozakuhlupheka ngakho. Bheka, uSathane uzakuphonsa abanye kini etilongweni ukuba nilingwe, futhi niyakuhlupheka izinsuku eziyishumi. Thembeka kuze kube-sekufeni, ngokunika umqhele wokuphila.”—IsAmbulo 2:8-10.
Noma yikuphi ukuceba okungokomoya okungenzeka kwakulokhu kukhona phakathi kwalabo ababethi bangamaKristu eSmirna ngokungangabazeki kwakuhlobene ngokuqondile nokwengamela okuhle kwabadala bebandla. Leyonkathi kwakungeyomzabalazo wenkolo onesiyaluyalu, futhi amalungu ebandla ayekhonza phakathi kwezimfundiso nezinkolo eziphikisanayo. Insimu ababefakaza kuyo yayigcwele imikhuba yobudemoni, kuhlanganise nokubhula nokufunda izinkanyezi, ngakho isimo sendawo kwakungesokungabi naNkulunkulu.
Okwakwenezela ebutheni bamaqaba kwakuyinzondo enkulu eyayiboniswa amaJuda. Lapho uPolycarp ebulawelwa ukholo ngoFebruary 23, 155 C.E., kubikwa ukuthi amaJuda ashisekayo asiza ekuqoqeni izinkuni zokubasa. Lokhu akwenza ngisho noma ukubulala kwenziwa ngosuku olukhulu lweSabatha!
Obani AbangenaNkulunkulu?
UPolycarp wayehlose ukuhlala eSmirna futhi abhekane nengozi lapho izitha zakhe zimfuna. Kodwa ngokunxusa kwabanye, wabalekela epulazini elaliseduze. Lapho sekwaziwa ukuthi ukuphi, wenqaba ukuphinde ababalekele labo abamfunayo kodwa wamane wathi: “Mayenziwe intando kaNkulunkulu.”
Engena enkundleni, uPolycarp wama phambi kombusi naphambi kwesixuku esikhulu esasithukuthele sigane unwabu. Njengoba umbusi ayephikelela emnxusa ukuba abonise inhlonipho yokukhulekela uKesari, uPolycarp ngokucacile wathi: “NgingumKristu . . . Uma ufuna ukwazi incazelo yobuKristu, okufanele ukwenze nje ukuba umise usuku bese ungilalela.” Umbusi waphendula: “Watshele lesixuku lawomazwi akho.” Kodwa uPolycarp wathi: “Bengicabanga ukuthi kungaba okunenzuzo ukukhuluma nawe ngakho, ngoba sifundiswe ukuyihlonipha ngayo yonke inhlonipho imibuso neziphathi-mandla . . . uma nje kungasenzi ukuba siyekethise ezindinganisweni zethu.” Ngokushesha ngemva kwalokho uPolycarp washiswa waze wafa ngoba engenakumlahla uJesu Kristu.
UNkulunkulu kuphela onganquma ngesimo sikaPolycarp njengomKristu. Kuthiwani ngosuku lwanamuhla? Isixuku esikhulu samaKristu eqiniso naso ngeke simlahle uKristu. Kunalokho, simemezela ukuthi uyiNkosi kaNkulunkulu yobuMesiya ebekwe esihlalweni sobukhosi ezulwini. LaboFakazi BakaJehova baveza nokuthi sesizobona ukugcwaliseka kwamazwi kaJesu esiprofetho ngokuqondene ‘nosizi olukhulu,’ isehlakalo esiyinhlekele kunazo zonke izwe eliyoke lisibone. Nokho, lokhu akusho ukuphela kwesintu kodwa kusho ukuphela kobubi. Kungenzeka ukusindela emhlabeni omusha wokulunga wokuthula nenjabulo.—Mathewu 24:13, 21, 34; 2 Petru 3:13.
Obani abangakhetha ukulwa nezithunywa eziphethe izindaba ezijabulisa kangako? Yilabo abangenaNkulunkulu ngempela, ngisho noma ‘benesimo sokumesaba uNkulunkulu.’ (2 Thimothewu 3:5) Izimfundiso zenkolo ezingamanga ziphuphuthekise izingqondo zabanye, futhi abaningi ‘banaka omoya abadukisayo bezimfundiso zamademoni.’ (1 Thimothewu 4:1) AmaKristu osuku lwanamuhla aye ahlushwa abantu abangenaNkulunkulu, abanye babo kwaze kwaba seqophelweni lokufa. Kodwa izinceku zikaJehova ezithembekile azisoze zehluleka, ngoba isabelo sazo ekugcineni siyoba isipho sikaNkulunkulu sokuphila okuphakade. Okwamanje, labamemezeli abathembekile boMbuso kaNkulunkulu bahlala bengabasekeli abaqotho beqiniso elingokomBhalo.