Plymothian

Some people have challenged the Passion account in John because of its difference to the other gospel accounts.  We should note, though, that Jesus follows the same core narrative in each gospel.  The core is:

1. Jesus and the disciples depart from the city for a location on the West side of the Mount of Olives.
2. Judas arrives with a crowd to take Jesus into custody.
3. Jesus is examined by the Roman Pontius Pilate
4. Pilate infers Jesus’ innocence and offers to release one of his prisoners
5. the crowd calls for Barabbas’s release
6. Pilate gives the order of death for Jesus
7. Jesus is crucified with two mean
8. the soldiers divide Jesus’ clothes among themselves
9. Jesus is offered wine
10. Jesus dies
11. Joseph of Arimathea requests Jesus’ body for burial (Burge)

So what does John leave out?

1. the betrayal with a kiss
2. Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
3. the sleepiness of the disciples
4. the healing of the servant’s ear
5. Simon of Cyrene
6. the mocking crowds
7. Jesus’ cry from the cross (Burge)

However, John adds his own details:

1. Roman soldiers falling to the ground in the arrest scene when Jesus identifies himself
2. Jesus’ conversation with Annas
3. Jesus’ conversation with Pilate
4. John’s emphasis on the inscription on the cross
5. a full description of Jesus’ garments
6. Mary given to the Beloved Disciple at the cross
7. Jesus’ body threatened with the breaking of his legs
8. Jesus pierced with a slodier’s lance
9. Nicodemus’s joining Joseph at Jesus’ burial (Burge)

John 18:1-19:16a

¹When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

 ² Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

 ⁴Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

 ⁵“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

   “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

 ⁷Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”

   “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

 ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹ This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”^[a]

 ¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

 ¹¹Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

 ¹² Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him ¹³ and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.

Peter’s First Denial

 ¹⁵ Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, ¹⁶but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

 ¹⁷“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.

   He replied, “I am not.”

 ¹⁸It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

 ¹⁹Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

   ²⁰ “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. ²¹Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

 ²²When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

   ²³ “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” ²⁴Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

 ²⁵Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”

   He denied it, saying, “I am not.”

 ²⁶ One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” ²⁷Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

Jesus Before Pilate

 ²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

 ³⁰“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

 ³¹Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

   “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³²This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

 ³³Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

   ³⁴“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

 ³⁵“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

 ³⁶Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

 ³⁷“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

   Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

 ³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ³⁹But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

 ⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

¹ Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ² The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

 ⁴ Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁵When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

 ⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

   But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

 ⁷The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

 ⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

 ¹¹Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

 ¹²From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

 ¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.

   “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

 ¹⁵But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

   “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

   “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

 ¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

Questions

1. Look and see if you can see how John alternates the scenes from inside to outside.  Why do you think he would do that?
2. Why do you think Peter denied Jesus?
3. What does Pilate as Jesus to define?  How are Pilate and Jesus coming at truth from different angles?
4. How could you think of the truth from God’s perspective more often?
5. How do you act concerning God when you are under pressure?

Going Deeper

Watch Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.  Which elements are taken from the book of John?  How does Mel’s interpretation help?  How does it hinder?

John 17 gives us a glimpse into the heart of Jesus unlike any other chapter in the four Gospels.  For many readers of this “beloved Gospel” it is the “beloved chapter,” expressing so much of what Jesus aimed to express in his life and work.  It is the longest prayer that we have from Jesus.  Luke often mentions Jesus at prayer (Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28-29; 11:1; 22:41-45; 23:46); perhaps the Lord’s prayer is comparable, but not even it provides the depth and range of ideas offered here.  Listening to the prayer of someone often provides a glimpse into the deeper recesses of that person’s consciousness of God.  Such is certainly true in this prayer.  Over a hundred years ago one commentator wrote: “No attempt to describe the prayer can give a just idea of its sublimity, its pathos, its touching yet exalted character, its tone at once of tenderness and triumphant expectation.” (Burge)

John 17:1-26

¹After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

   “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

    ⁶ “I have revealed you^[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of^[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by^[c]that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

   ¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by^[d] the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

    ²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

   ²⁴“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

   ²⁵ “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have made you^[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Questions

1. What three different subjects does Jesus pray for?
2. What does he ask for these three?
3. How does a prayer for people 2,000 years ago carry over to us?
4. What does this prayer reveal about the heart of Jesus?
5. How could your heart be more like Jesus’ heart?

In the story of Jesus told by John a great reversal takes place.  It looks like the Jewish leaders will triumph as Jesus is going to die.  Jesus is explaining, though, that he has foreseen all of these things and that everything is going according to plan.  In fact everything has always been going to plan.  Jesus can speak openly about how those who think they are judging and condemning him will be condemned.  Jesus can talk openly about how the seeming defeat of the cross is in fact the time when Jesus is glorified.

This great reversal has long been the component of great story telling.  In some story writing guides it is called the ‘all hope is lost’ point.  However, in this story the hero predicts that the most desperate time is just the darkness before the dawn.  His followers begin to have an ‘aha’ moment.  Surely this is not just an ordinary human being.

John 16: 1-33

 ¹ “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. ³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, ⁵ but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. ⁷ But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

   ¹² “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy

 ¹⁶Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

 ¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

 ¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

   ²⁵ “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

 ²⁹ Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. ³⁰Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

   ³¹ “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. ³²“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

   ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Questions

1. Why has Jesus revealed to the disciples the calamity that is about to happen?
2. How does Jesus’ entering into his trial and death shape our understanding of him?
3. Why should Jesus’ disciples have peace?
4. When do you lack peace?
5. How could this passage bring peace and perseverance?

I have been reading a book which talks about the sacrament of the Present.   It says that we are not given the future and we do not exist in the past, the place where God has given us to dwell is in the present.  This present moment is a gift from God.  It is where God dwells with us.  Dwelling on the past often leads to problems of guilt.  Worrying about the future leads to anxiety.  God calls us to trust him for now.

This concept is delivered throughout the Bible.  We are forgiven for our past and guilt is equivalent to unbelief.  To be anxious about the future is forbidden by Jesus who calls us to look at the present glory of the lilies and the birds.  In John 15 Jesus brings us to where we should dwell.  We should abide in the Vine.

The vine was a powerful national symbol in Israel.  A golden vine hung in the temple and people would donate precious metals and jewels to adorn it as acts of devotion to God.  It is said that one of the clusters of grapes was as big as a human.  Jesus may have been near this vine when he spoke.  He is replacing the Jewish security in national identity with a security that comes from identifying with him.  Our identity comes from our attachment to Jesus.  How do we know that we are attached to the Vine?  There will be fruit.  In some sense there will be spiritual growth which will be observable in this life.  Those who seem attached to jesus but who are not will not bear fruit.  Those people will be cut off of the vine and thrown on the bonfire.  They are not realising their purpose in life.

The sacrament of the Present is the same as abiding in the Vine.  The question we should ask is not about the past or the future.  The constant question we ask is, ‘Can I abide in Christ right now?’  Can I spend each moment mindfully attached to the Vine?  If we desire to do so, God will clean up the distractions that pull us away.

John 15:1-27

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

   ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

   ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other.

The World Hates the Disciples

    ¹⁸ “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’^[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. ²² 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. ²³ Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’^[c]

The Work of the Holy Spirit

    ²⁶ “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. ²⁷ And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

Questions

1. What has made Jesus’ listeners clean?
2. Why will the world hate Jesus’ listeners?
3. Who enables the disciples to testify?
4. Do you abide in the Vine in the present continuous tense?  Why?  How?
5. Does your abiding in the Vine lead to fruit like testifying and suffering?

Jesus is about to be crucified, which would lead to great termoil and tribulation among his friends.  In this context he tells them not to be troubled.  He is telling them that his death is for a purpose and the purpose concerns them.  He also tells them of his return.

These verses are often used at funerals because of the mention of ‘many mansions’ and not being troubled.  We take the verses to mean that we shouldn’t worry because when we die there is a comfortable mansion someone has prepared.  In context the verse don’t mean that at all.  In context the verses mean, Jesus’ death had purpose and the resurrection brings hope in the face of death.  The hope Jesus brought the disciples was not for the next life but for this life.  Jesus’ presence with the disciples will continue in their present life and into the next.

Eternal life is not some experience that occurs at the point of death, it is a quality of fellowship with Jesus that he has purchased through his blood.  Heaven is not an empty luxury house with all the toys we couldn’t afford in this life, it is an eternal dwelling in the company of Jesus.  The disciples would not have their Jesus taken away for ever – they should not be troubled.

John 14:1-31

 ¹ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God^[a]; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

 ⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

 ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know^[b]my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

 ⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

 ⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

    ¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be^[c] in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

 ²²Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

 ²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

   ²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

   ²⁸ “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. ³⁰ I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, ³¹ but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

Questions

1. What does Jesus say about the way to the Father?
2. What is the relationship in the passage between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
3. What is the result of love?
4. Which do you put first, love or obedience?  How can you cultivate love that results in obedience?
5. What difference does the relationship of the Trinity make to you?

The Last Supper is a story that many of us are familiar with at some level.  In the book of John, the Bible reveals that Jesus begins to reveal fully what love means.  To a modern reader love is a very confused and confusing subject.  We tend to think of love emotionally.  The happy feelings that I have when someone handsome, charming, or thoughtful gives attention to me is love.  Of course, these happy feelings are not love.  Love endures when the happy feelings won’t come.  The focus on gaining personal happiness and the increase in divorce in western culture might be related.  The happy feelings are best labeled ‘infatuation’ and are more commonly linked with poor self image and narcissism.  The language that we use in these situations betrays that the focus is on what we receive rather than what we give.  The challenge is whether we could still ‘love’ if we received no words of affirmation, kind smiles, or thoughtful acts from the ‘object’ of our love.

Jesus’ love is entirely giving.  He takes on the actions of a slave, even though he is a respected teacher.  He washes the feet of one person who will betray him to death and another person who will deny him.  He also reveals more clearly what he will endure.  His endurance, though, is love.  Because of Jesus’ self-sacrificing love his disciples will be transformed.

Does your love exist for the sake of others in spite of themselves?  Does your love exist for you?  The truth is that we have lost ourselves in trying to love ourselves.  It is in loving others that we most truly learn who we were created to be.  It is in increasingly loving the ‘hard to love’ that we deepen our spiritual maturity.  Jesus shows that ultimate love knowingly enters into suffering for the sake of the unknowing and the ungrateful.

John 13:1-38

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

 ¹It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

 ² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

 ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

 ⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

 ⁸“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

   Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

 ⁹“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

 ¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

 ¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

    ¹⁸ “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned^[a] against me.’^[b]

   ¹⁹ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. ²⁰Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

 ²¹After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

 ²² His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. ²³ One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

 ²⁵Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

 ²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

   So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸ But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. ³⁰As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

 ³¹ When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him,^[c]God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

   ³³“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

   ³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

 ³⁶Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

   Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

 ³⁷Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

 ³⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

Questions

1. How does Jesus reveal the nature of his love?
2. Describe Jesus’ love in your own words.
3. Describe the love of Jesus’ disciples in your own words.
4. How has Jesus shown love to you?
5. How does Jesus’ love affect you?

It is impossible to understand the dramatic forces at work in John 12 if someone has not watched the story of Jesus unfold for the past 11 chapters.  John 12 is a turning pointy, a critical juncture in the story – the close of the Book of Signs.  It cannot be studied in isolation as if these episodes stand independently of John’s longer story.  The struggle between light and darkness, described in the prologue (1:1-18), now reaches fever pitch.  the light is shining with  brilliance in the world, calling people to join its ranks.  At the same time, the forces of darkness are working to extinguish it.  Men and women are being forced to choose which side is theirs, and Jesus is passionately urging them to join with God.  “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may join the sons of light” (12:36).  (Burge)

John 12:1-50

 ¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint^[a]of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

 ⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.^[b]” ⁶He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

   ⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you,^[c]but you will not always have me.”

 ⁹ Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

 ¹² The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

   “Hosanna!^[d]”

   “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[e]

   “Blessed is the king of Israel!”

 ¹⁴Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

 ¹⁵ “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
   see, your king is coming,
   seated on a donkey’s colt.”^[f]

 ¹⁶At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

 ¹⁷ Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. ¹⁸ Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. ¹⁹So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Jesus Predicts His Death

 ²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²²Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

 ²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

   ²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name!”

   Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

 ³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up^[g] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

 ³⁴The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

 ³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews

 ³⁷ Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ³⁸This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

   “Lord, who has believed our message
   and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”^[h]

 ³⁹For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

 ⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes
   and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
   nor understand with their hearts,
   nor turn—and I would heal them.”^[i]

 ⁴¹Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

 ⁴² Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

 ⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. ⁴⁶I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

   ⁴⁷ “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. ⁵⁰ I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

Questions

1. Who believes in Jesus in this passage?
2. How is their belief shown?
3. How do those who oppose Jesus show their opposition?
4. How would you react if someone used a $30,000 bottle of perfume in 5 minutes?
5. How could you develop that kind of devotion?

Going Deeper

Spiritual Formation

Vision:  Take time to vizualise the kind of life you want to live with God at work, at home, at play?

Implement:  Think of what you would need to do to get to that point.

Means:  Assess whether God wis providing the means for you to carry out your actions.

Pray that God will create in you the person he wants you to be.

Prayerfully consider three things that you are thankful for.

When I was a teen death bothered me so I became a Goth.  I was then able to hang around with other people who thought about death.  It seems that as we grow older we have less time to think about the end of the game.  100% of people die, it has been said.  Enoch and Elijah in the Bible would be 2 exceptions, but 100% is a good approximation.

In light of this Jesus performs a serious miracle.  He resurrects someone who has been in the grave for more than three days.  Jewish thought at the time was that a spirit might hang around a corpse for three days trying to get back in, after four days the spirit left the body for sure.  Corruption had already crept in.  Jesus doesn’t just reanimate an old life.  I am no physician, but I think four days of decay would have done enough damage to throw a shadow over the new life of Lazarus the Zombie.  I think that Jesus resurrected a life.  He is Lord of the Dead.  What comfort does that bring to you?

John 11:1-57

¹ Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

 ⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

 ⁸“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

 ⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. ¹⁰It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

 ¹¹After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

 ¹² His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” ¹³Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

 ¹⁴ So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

 ¹⁶ Then Thomas (also known as Didymus^[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus

 ¹⁷ On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was less than two miles^[b] from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

 ²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

 ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

 ²⁴Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

 ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

 ²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

 ²⁸ After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” ²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

 ³²When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

 ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you laid him?” he asked.

   “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

 ³⁵Jesus wept.

 ³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

 ³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

 ³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said.

   “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

 ⁴⁰Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

 ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

 ⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

   Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

 ⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

   “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. ⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

 ⁴⁹ Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

 ⁵¹ He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵² and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. ⁵³So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

 ⁵⁴Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

 ⁵⁵ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” ⁵⁷ But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

Questions

1. Who died?
2. Why did they die?
3. What did Jesus’ actions foreshadow?
4. What are your thoughts on death?
5. How does Jesus affect your thoughts on death?

When Jesus talks of shepherds and gates he is using images that are familiar to the people.  Leaders are shepherds and can be a gateway to the people.  If a leadership is inept or currupt the people suffer.  If the gateway to the people is wide open, the people are vulnerable.

To fully understand the strength of Jesus’ illustration it would be good to understand Middle Eastern shepherds, the Judean wildernes, and Hannukah.  Hannuakah contained lots of teaching relating to shepherds because in the intertestemental time, the Greek shepherds who ran Israel were religiously and politically corrupt.  Hannukah in some ways celebrates their overthrow.  When Jesus was talking about shepherds he was talking at this festival.  The imagery he was using was of shepherds in a barren and hostile desert stretching from the Mount of Olives into Arabia.  These shepherds are loved by their sheep who follow them everywhere and are protected by them.

Looking at your pastor (shepherd), your political leaders, and your boss should cause you to desire a better shepherd.  The better shepherd is Jesus.  Looking at the hostility of the world to te gospel should cause you to want to be in a safe place.  The entry to that safe place is Jesus.  When we are focused on the Good Shepherd, our shepherding becomes more like his.

John 10:1-42

¹ “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

   ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

   ¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

¹⁹ The Jews who heard these words were again divided. ²⁰Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

²¹But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims

²² Then came the Festival of Dedication^[b] at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one.”

³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³²but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’^[d]? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— ³⁶ what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, ⁴¹ and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And in that place many believed in Jesus.

Questions

1. What image binds these verses together?
2. Why did the Jewish leaders want to ‘surround’ (literally ‘annoy’) him?
3. What does Jesus want for the Jewish people?
4. How do you feel about the leaders in your life?
5. How does Jesus as shepherd affect you?

The darkess of The Blind Man is both phtsical and spiritual. He will be cured of both by the ‘sent’ one.  The darkness of those around him is merely spiritual, but it will have far deeper consequences.  Although the Jewish leaders and the disciples lack the understanding in one domain, the Bible points out that the spiritual blindness is much more serious than the physical blindness in the chapter.

The blind assumption of the disciples is that the man they encounter can not see because of sin.  If he was born blind the sin can not be his, he hadn’t done anything.  The sin must have been his parents’ sin.  Jesus sees what they can not.  He points out that the man’s blindness will bring glory to God.

The Jewish leaders’ vision is obscured by the fact that the miracle of restoring sight was done on a Sabbath.  They condemn everyone involved (except themselves).  The result is that the formerly blind man is left seeing their blindnes and the true nature of the ‘sent’ one and his redemption.

Is it possible something precious to you is making you blind?  Sometimes love for a child can make you blind to their very real faults, fear of loneliness can make you blind to a fiancee’s incompatibility, familiarity with a way of doing things can make us blind to new ways.  Alternatively, do you see a fresh work of God for what it is?

John 9:1-41

¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

   ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

⁸ His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹Some claimed that he was.

   Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

   But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

¹⁰“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

¹¹He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

¹²“Where is this man?” they asked him.

   “I don’t know,” he said.

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

   But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.

¹⁷Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

   The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸ They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹“Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

²⁰ “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

²⁵He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

²⁶Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³² Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

³⁴To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

³⁷Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

³⁹ Jesus said,^[a]“For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

⁴⁰Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

Questions

1. How do blindness and sight play out through the passage?
2. How is ‘sent’ used?
3. How is persistence in sin condemned?
4. When have you seen someone persistently blind to their own issues?
5. How can you show gratitude for what you are able to see about God?

Going Deeper

The State of Illinois has given government agencies permission to cease funding agencies that do not place children with homosexual families.  Is there a blindness on the part of the agencies, the government, or no-one?  Explain your answer.

Here is a Catholic report:

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x919541271/Illinois-judge-rules-against-Catholics-on-foster-care

Here is a liberal perspective:

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/08/19/299470/illinois-catholic-charities-lose-right-to-discriminate-against-same-sex-couples/