(Gospel of Mark 2:23 - 3:13)
On the Sabbath Jesus happened to be passing through a field of grain. As his disciples walked along with him, they began to pick some of the heads of grain.
The Pharisees challenged him. “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
Jesus replied to them, "Haven't you ever read what King David did when he and his companions were hungry and needy? In the days of Abiathar, high priest, he entered the Tabernacle and ate the sacred showbread, which was lawful only for the priests to eat. He even gave some to the companions who were with him.”
He also said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is master of the Sabbath as well.”
On another occasion Jesus entered the synagogue and noticed a man there with a withered hand. Those who were looking for a pretext to bring a charge against him watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath.
Jesus told the man with the withered hand, "Come and stand up in front of us all.” He asked the people, "What is lawful on the Sabbath, to do good, or to do evil, to save a life, or to take one?" But the congregation was silent.
Jesus glared at them in anger, appalled by the hardness of their hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." He held out his hand, and, lo, it was restored!
As soon as the Pharisees left the synagogue, they conferred with those supporters of Herod Antipas who were opposed to Jesus and conspired with them how they might destroy Jesus.
Jesus retreated with his disciples to the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, people not only from Galilee, but from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, the trans-Jordan, and the area around Tyre and Sidon. Having heard of the great things he was doing, vast numbers of people were coming to see him. Concerned that the crowds might crush him, Jesus ordered his disciples to make ready a boat. He had healed so many on that day that those who were diseased surged forward through the crowd that they might touch him. Whenever those possessed by unholy spirits recognized him, they would prostrate themselves before him and exclaim, "You are the Son of God!" But Jesus sternly commanded them not to reveal his identity.
Notes
1. By picking heads of grain as they passed through the fields, the disciples were engaged in a forbidden activity, harvesting on the Sabbath, so judged the knit-picking Pharisees. Presumably the disciples were picking the heads of grain to eat the kernels. Gee, most folks wait until the kernels are made into flour or bread! We are referring to wheat here, not to what we call corn, which is maize, a strictly New World cereal that would have been unknown to those living in the ancient Middle East. (The word corn was traditionally used to refer to any grain or cereal crop.) Was Jesus so poor at providing for his disciples that they must scavenge for food? This behavior, though, was sanctioned by Deuteronomy. We must ask, though, how the Pharisees knew of this. Were the Pharisees, who seem to dog Jesus' footsteps, really trailing the disciples through the grain field, spying on them and scrutinizing their every move? The Pharisees do give the impression that they will go to any length to try to catch Jesus in a blasphemy or in some violation of religious law, however minor or harmless in order to find an excuse for getting rid of him, a troublemaker and a threat to their authority. Yet, this seems excessively petty -- which is perhaps the very reason this trivial incident was included by the author, to discredit the good sense of the Pharisees who opposed Jesus.
2. Jesus' response to the Pharisees' charge concerning the disciples' questionable conduct, plucking heads of grain on a Sabbath, is somewhat evasive. He compares it to an act of David and his hungry companions when they ate food meant for the priests. The circumstances are not really comparable at all. David was a future king in flight, not a follower of an evangelist. David secured the approval of the priests for what he did. And David and his companions were in distress and genuinely hungry. Were the disciples really that hungry? Did that compel their indiscreet plucking? And if David had acted improperly, how does that excuse the actions of Jesus' disciples? One instance of wrong behavior is not justified by citing another instance of wrong behavior, especially when the latter act is motivated by extenuating circumstances and the former is not. Jesus is very much like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He excuses himself by claiming his older brother filched an extra brownie the week before. He never directly addresses the morality of his own conduct, or rather that of his disciples, he only diverts attention from it by pointing to the conduct of another. This behavior, this response to an accusation, this debating tactic, is as puerile as it common. One would think it beneath someone who claims to be the Son of God.
3. The incident concerning David is mentioned in Samuel. David, feeing from Saul, was alone when he asked the Jehovan priests to feed him with the sacred showbread. But he did bring back 5 loaves for his companions. The high priest at that time was actually Ahimelech, the father of Abiathar, who later succeeded his father when he was murdered by Saul. The presumed mistake is explained away variously by biblical commentators -- Abimelech was also called Abiathar or the phrase is not “in the days when Abiathar was high priest,” but “in the days of Abiathar, the high priest,” not referring to the time when he held the office, but merely when he was active. Reasoning that neither Jesus nor the author of Mark would make so egregious an error, I have accepted the latter rendering and assumed meaning.
4. Jesus, though, presents another alibi for his disciples' conduct. But in saying that the Sabbath was made for man and not vice versa, Jesus is arguably throwing out the whole concept of strict Sabbath observance. One might interpret his remarks as sanctioning any Sabbath violation that serves not only necessity, but practicality and convenience. Moreover, he, as the Son of Man, claims the right to make of the Sabbath whatever he wishes. By advocating that the Sabbath serves the purposes of man (and not God?), Jesus seems to say that he is free to make any rules about it he deems fit and not be bound by the laws concerning it set down in the Mosaic texts. This is surely a repudiation of Judaism, at least traditional Judaism. Indeed the Pharisees thought so and were so outraged by it that they resolved to kill Jesus. (Forgetting, of course, the commandment against murder.)
5. That Jesus chooses to heal the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath in the synagogue is intentionally provocative. The man was not suffering and in need of immediate succor. Jesus could have seen the man the next day and healed him in the privacy of his home. He didn't need to do it on the Sabbath. He didn't need to do it in front of a congregation that might be offended by healing on the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus chose to make the man the object of a spectacle and a means of showing up the congregation -- who were probably less hard-hearted than sheep-like, believing what they were told by the Pharisees.
6. The Pharisees conferred with supporters of Herod Antipas who were opposed to Jesus: in other words, they were seeking the approval of the political establishment and plotting with it to destroy Jesus. Jesus, although he hasn't done or said a great deal at this point in the narrative, has already acquired national, if not international notoriety. A preacher, a healer of populist appeal, he is a threat to the powers that be. The political and religious establishments, no doubt oft at odds, thus form an alliance against Jesus.
7. Jesus is constantly running into people possessed by unholy, or impure spirits. There seems to have been an epidemic at that time of what we would term demonic possession. While there is certainly compelling, contemporary evidence that demonic possession does exist, it must be regarded as rare. Here, it is common. The spirits or demons immediately recognize Jesus and, for whatever reason, wish to expose him as the Son of God. Jesus, at this point, doesn't wish to reveal his true identity. He wants to stay in the closet, so he silences the spirits, who apparently obey his commands and acknowledge his mastery over them. He does not on this occasion exorcise the spirits. Jesus, after healing so many, is now more intent upon getting away from the crowd that want a piece of him.
8. Sidon and Tyre were major cities of Phoenicia, to the north of Galilee. Idumea was the Roman name for Edom or the Negev, south of Judea.
Showing posts with label Pharisees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pharisees. Show all posts
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Questions About Fasting
(Gospel of Mark 2:18 - 2:22)
When the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came up to Jesus and asked him, "Why is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, and your disciples are not?"
Jesus answered, "Can the wedding party fast when the groom is still celebrating with them. Of course not, so long as the groom is still among them. But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will fast.
"No one sews a patch of new cloth on an old garment. For the patch would shrink and the new material would pull away from the old, making the tear worse. Nor does anyone put new wine in old wineskins, for the wine would burst the skins and so both the wine and the wineskins would be lost. New wine demands new wineskins."
Notes
1. The Pharisees and the disciples of John were known to have regularly fasted two days a week, but this was not something demanded by religious law. In his reply, Jesus suggests that whatever the merits of the practice, it is superseded by his presence: he is more important than any possible cause for fasting. It is interesting what Jesus does not say in response, e.g., "I see no purpose in my disciples fasting. But if John's disciples or those of the Pharisees wish to do so, that's fine." In the answer Jesus gives, he asserts his independence of not only the Pharisees, but of the Baptist's followers.
2. As he is wont, Jesus, when he is not dodging the queries addressed to him, uses a inquiry to make an unrelated point. Here, the analogy of patching an old garment with new, unshrunk material and putting new wine into old wineskins would seem to have nothing to do with whether his disciples should fast or not. Several interpretations of the analogies suggest themselves. One presumes, though, he is not dispensing practical advise on the mending of one's wardrobe or the storage of alcoholic beverages. It is most likely the analogies refer to himself and his message. He is the new piece of material, he is the new wine. He cannot be contained within the current religious establishment; his message cannot be grafted upon the Pharisaical teachings of the time. He is bringing something new into the world, something that will not fit into old parameters. One might even surmise that Jesus is suggesting his followers found a new religion and discard Judaism, an old wineskin.
3. Woolen garments tend to shrink a great deal when washed. A new piece of woolen, if sewn onto an old, already well-shrunk garment would shrink upon washing. The stitches of the patch would likely pull apart, enlarging the rip or hole in the old garment.
4. New wine is wine that has not yet thoroughly fermented. The fermenting process would put a strain upon wineskins that are old and brittle, perhaps rupturing them. Therefore, it would be foolish to put new wine into old wineskins.
When the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came up to Jesus and asked him, "Why is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, and your disciples are not?"
Jesus answered, "Can the wedding party fast when the groom is still celebrating with them. Of course not, so long as the groom is still among them. But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will fast.
"No one sews a patch of new cloth on an old garment. For the patch would shrink and the new material would pull away from the old, making the tear worse. Nor does anyone put new wine in old wineskins, for the wine would burst the skins and so both the wine and the wineskins would be lost. New wine demands new wineskins."
Notes
1. The Pharisees and the disciples of John were known to have regularly fasted two days a week, but this was not something demanded by religious law. In his reply, Jesus suggests that whatever the merits of the practice, it is superseded by his presence: he is more important than any possible cause for fasting. It is interesting what Jesus does not say in response, e.g., "I see no purpose in my disciples fasting. But if John's disciples or those of the Pharisees wish to do so, that's fine." In the answer Jesus gives, he asserts his independence of not only the Pharisees, but of the Baptist's followers.
2. As he is wont, Jesus, when he is not dodging the queries addressed to him, uses a inquiry to make an unrelated point. Here, the analogy of patching an old garment with new, unshrunk material and putting new wine into old wineskins would seem to have nothing to do with whether his disciples should fast or not. Several interpretations of the analogies suggest themselves. One presumes, though, he is not dispensing practical advise on the mending of one's wardrobe or the storage of alcoholic beverages. It is most likely the analogies refer to himself and his message. He is the new piece of material, he is the new wine. He cannot be contained within the current religious establishment; his message cannot be grafted upon the Pharisaical teachings of the time. He is bringing something new into the world, something that will not fit into old parameters. One might even surmise that Jesus is suggesting his followers found a new religion and discard Judaism, an old wineskin.
3. Woolen garments tend to shrink a great deal when washed. A new piece of woolen, if sewn onto an old, already well-shrunk garment would shrink upon washing. The stitches of the patch would likely pull apart, enlarging the rip or hole in the old garment.
4. New wine is wine that has not yet thoroughly fermented. The fermenting process would put a strain upon wineskins that are old and brittle, perhaps rupturing them. Therefore, it would be foolish to put new wine into old wineskins.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Jesus Cures a Blind Man
(Gospel of John 9:1 - 9:41)
When Jesus was out walking, he came upon a blind man, one who had been blind since birth. The disciples asked Jesus, "Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Was is it due to his sins or the sins of his parents?"
"It is due neither to his own sins nor to the sins of his parents. He was born blind so that the power of God might be revealed in him. --- I must accomplish the tasks commanded by the one who sent me while it is yet daylight, for when it is dark no one can work. As long as I am on earth, I am the light of the world!"
With that Jesus spat on the ground and formed some mud with his saliva. He spread the mud over the eyes of the blind man and then told him, "Go wash it away in the pool of Siloam." (Siloam means "sent")
The blind man went and washed his eyes and when he returned home -- he was able to see! Soon his neighbors and those who had seen him begging were inquiring, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some declared, "Yes, it certainly is," but others said, "No, it just looks like him." But the man himself insisted, "I am that man!"
"How, then were you cured of your blindness?" they asked him.
"The man called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. I went there and washed and I could then see!"
"Where is this man?" they asked, but he told them he didn't know.
The man who had once been blind was brought before the Pharisees, because the act of healing had taken place on the Sabbath. The Pharisees interrogated the man, who could only respond, "He put the mud on my eyes and when I washed it away, I could see!"
A number of the Pharisees concluded, "This man Jesus cannot be from God, for he violates the Sabbath," but others argued, "How could some cheap fraud perform such a miracle?" There was a sharp division of opinion among the Pharisees on this matter, and so they asked the formerly blind man what he thought, for he was the one who had been cured.
"He is a prophet!" was the man's reply.
The authorities would not believe that he had been blind and then cured of his blindness until they had summoned his parents. "Is this your son?" they asked them. "You say he was born blind, how is it that he can now see?"
The parents replied, "We know for sure that this is our son and that he was born blind, but how he was cured of his blindness and who cured him, we do not know. You must ask him. He is of age and can speak for himself." (The parents were cowed by the religious authorities, for they had already ruled that anyone who believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. That's why they said only, "You must ask him. He is of age and can speak for himself.")
The formerly blind man was summoned to appear before the Pharisees a second time. They told him, "The truth is that credit for this miracle belongs to God alone. This man Jesus we know to be a charlatan."
"I don't know whether he's a charlatan or not. All I know is, I used to be blind, but now I can see," the man replied.
They persisted in interrogated him. "What did he do to you? How did he cure your blindness?"
He answered, "I've told you that before! Weren't you listening? What do you want to hear it again for? Are you interested in becoming his disciples?"
At that the Pharisees mocked him and rejoined sharply, "You are his disciple, we are the disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't even know where he came from."
The man answered them. "Well, that's funny. Here's a man who cured my blindness and you don't even know where he came from. We know that God doesn't hear the prayers of charlatans, but does listen to those who worship and obey him. Since the beginning of the world, no one has ever heard of someone being born blind and then cured of that blindness. Surely this man couldn't have done such a thing unless he was sent by God."
The religious authorities retorted, "You were born steeped in sin and yet you have the gall to lecture us!" And they booted him out of the synagogue.
When Jesus heard that the man had been expelled, he sought him out, and finding him, he asked of the man, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
"Who may he be?" the man asked. "Please tell me, sir, so I may believe in him."
"You have seen him," Jesus told him. “He is speaking to you now!"
"Yes, Master, I do believe," said the man, bowing in adoration.
Jesus told him, "I came into this world to make clear the distinction between those who are blind but will be made to see and those who see, but will be made blind."
There were some Pharisees standing nearby who overheard this conversation. They challenged Jesus, "So you think we are blind?"
Jesus answered them "If you were truly blind, there would be no sin in that, but because you falsely claim that you can see, you remain guilty of sin."
Notes
1. The correlation between physical sight and spiritual understanding is brought out in this incident. The man is physically blind, but by giving him his sight Jesus has also given him spiritual insight which the sighted Pharisees lack. The spiritual blindness of the Pharisees is not a result of honest ignorance, which is forgivable, but of willful error, their rejection of Jesus. Here, spiritual sight, understanding, is judged solely upon one's acceptance or rejection of Jesus as the divine Messiah sent by God. No one who disbelieves in Jesus can possibly possess spirituality.
2. One imagines that Jesus made the mud with his saliva rather than with water, because his essence must have been necessary to endow the mud with some magical property. Whether the water at the pool was Shiloam was also necessary for the miracle is an open question. So is why he choose to accomplish the miracle in this particular way.
3. The cured blind man becomes, with his acquired sight, pretty feisty, admirably so, for he bravely tells off the Pharisees. As a result he is kicked out of the synagogue, but later he finds Jesus, or vice versa. It seems that the man had never seen his healer before. His was, of course, blind when Jesus put the mud on his eyes and apparently after he washed off the mud and could see, he did not go back to find Jesus, or was unsuccessful in locating him. Jesus, though, looked him up, concerned about the trouble had gotten into with the Pharisees.
4. Jesus’ explanation to the formerly blind man why he came into the world is often mistranslated. He did not come to pass judgment, but to use judgment to make the distinction between two types of people, those who are spiritually ignorant but will be enlightened (by him) and those who falsely believe they are already enlightened, but will be left in ignorance.
5. It seems strange that Jesus is always performing his miracles on the Sabbath. Is he going out of his way to antagonize the Pharisees and challenge their overly strict doctrines? Doesn't he ever get the urge to work a wonder on a lazy Monday or some odd Thursday?
When Jesus was out walking, he came upon a blind man, one who had been blind since birth. The disciples asked Jesus, "Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Was is it due to his sins or the sins of his parents?"
"It is due neither to his own sins nor to the sins of his parents. He was born blind so that the power of God might be revealed in him. --- I must accomplish the tasks commanded by the one who sent me while it is yet daylight, for when it is dark no one can work. As long as I am on earth, I am the light of the world!"
With that Jesus spat on the ground and formed some mud with his saliva. He spread the mud over the eyes of the blind man and then told him, "Go wash it away in the pool of Siloam." (Siloam means "sent")
The blind man went and washed his eyes and when he returned home -- he was able to see! Soon his neighbors and those who had seen him begging were inquiring, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some declared, "Yes, it certainly is," but others said, "No, it just looks like him." But the man himself insisted, "I am that man!"
"How, then were you cured of your blindness?" they asked him.
"The man called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. I went there and washed and I could then see!"
"Where is this man?" they asked, but he told them he didn't know.
The man who had once been blind was brought before the Pharisees, because the act of healing had taken place on the Sabbath. The Pharisees interrogated the man, who could only respond, "He put the mud on my eyes and when I washed it away, I could see!"
A number of the Pharisees concluded, "This man Jesus cannot be from God, for he violates the Sabbath," but others argued, "How could some cheap fraud perform such a miracle?" There was a sharp division of opinion among the Pharisees on this matter, and so they asked the formerly blind man what he thought, for he was the one who had been cured.
"He is a prophet!" was the man's reply.
The authorities would not believe that he had been blind and then cured of his blindness until they had summoned his parents. "Is this your son?" they asked them. "You say he was born blind, how is it that he can now see?"
The parents replied, "We know for sure that this is our son and that he was born blind, but how he was cured of his blindness and who cured him, we do not know. You must ask him. He is of age and can speak for himself." (The parents were cowed by the religious authorities, for they had already ruled that anyone who believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. That's why they said only, "You must ask him. He is of age and can speak for himself.")
The formerly blind man was summoned to appear before the Pharisees a second time. They told him, "The truth is that credit for this miracle belongs to God alone. This man Jesus we know to be a charlatan."
"I don't know whether he's a charlatan or not. All I know is, I used to be blind, but now I can see," the man replied.
They persisted in interrogated him. "What did he do to you? How did he cure your blindness?"
He answered, "I've told you that before! Weren't you listening? What do you want to hear it again for? Are you interested in becoming his disciples?"
At that the Pharisees mocked him and rejoined sharply, "You are his disciple, we are the disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't even know where he came from."
The man answered them. "Well, that's funny. Here's a man who cured my blindness and you don't even know where he came from. We know that God doesn't hear the prayers of charlatans, but does listen to those who worship and obey him. Since the beginning of the world, no one has ever heard of someone being born blind and then cured of that blindness. Surely this man couldn't have done such a thing unless he was sent by God."
The religious authorities retorted, "You were born steeped in sin and yet you have the gall to lecture us!" And they booted him out of the synagogue.
When Jesus heard that the man had been expelled, he sought him out, and finding him, he asked of the man, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
"Who may he be?" the man asked. "Please tell me, sir, so I may believe in him."
"You have seen him," Jesus told him. “He is speaking to you now!"
"Yes, Master, I do believe," said the man, bowing in adoration.
Jesus told him, "I came into this world to make clear the distinction between those who are blind but will be made to see and those who see, but will be made blind."
There were some Pharisees standing nearby who overheard this conversation. They challenged Jesus, "So you think we are blind?"
Jesus answered them "If you were truly blind, there would be no sin in that, but because you falsely claim that you can see, you remain guilty of sin."
Notes
1. The correlation between physical sight and spiritual understanding is brought out in this incident. The man is physically blind, but by giving him his sight Jesus has also given him spiritual insight which the sighted Pharisees lack. The spiritual blindness of the Pharisees is not a result of honest ignorance, which is forgivable, but of willful error, their rejection of Jesus. Here, spiritual sight, understanding, is judged solely upon one's acceptance or rejection of Jesus as the divine Messiah sent by God. No one who disbelieves in Jesus can possibly possess spirituality.
2. One imagines that Jesus made the mud with his saliva rather than with water, because his essence must have been necessary to endow the mud with some magical property. Whether the water at the pool was Shiloam was also necessary for the miracle is an open question. So is why he choose to accomplish the miracle in this particular way.
3. The cured blind man becomes, with his acquired sight, pretty feisty, admirably so, for he bravely tells off the Pharisees. As a result he is kicked out of the synagogue, but later he finds Jesus, or vice versa. It seems that the man had never seen his healer before. His was, of course, blind when Jesus put the mud on his eyes and apparently after he washed off the mud and could see, he did not go back to find Jesus, or was unsuccessful in locating him. Jesus, though, looked him up, concerned about the trouble had gotten into with the Pharisees.
4. Jesus’ explanation to the formerly blind man why he came into the world is often mistranslated. He did not come to pass judgment, but to use judgment to make the distinction between two types of people, those who are spiritually ignorant but will be enlightened (by him) and those who falsely believe they are already enlightened, but will be left in ignorance.
5. It seems strange that Jesus is always performing his miracles on the Sabbath. Is he going out of his way to antagonize the Pharisees and challenge their overly strict doctrines? Doesn't he ever get the urge to work a wonder on a lazy Monday or some odd Thursday?
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Jesus at the Festival of Sukkot
(Gospel of John 7:01 - 7:52)
After this, Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, but did not wish to do so in Judea, where the religious establishment was desirous of having him put to death. However, when the Hebrew Festival of Sukkot drew near, Jesus' brothers urged him, "Why don't you leave Galilee and go to Judea so that your disciples there may witness your miracles. No one who wishes to build a public reputation can act privately. If you are able to perform these wonders, you must show yourself to the world!" (You see, even his brothers did not believe in him.)
Jesus answered them, "No, it's not the right time for me to go. But you can go anytime. The world can't hate you. It hates me, because I am testimony that the ways of the world are evil. You go to the festival. But I'm not going, for my time has not quite come yet." After this pronouncement, Jesus remained in Galilee.
However, after his brothers had departed for the festival, Jesus went, too, but secretly, not publicly. The religious authorities were on the lookout for him at the festival and kept inquiring whether anyone had seen him. There was a great deal of buzz about Jesus among the public there. Some declared that he was a good man, while others believed he was duping the masses. But no one talked about him openly for fear of offending the Judean authorities.
Not until the festival was half over did Jesus go to the Temple courtyard and begin teaching there. When they heard him, the Judeans were amazed that a man who had never been properly trained had so much knowledge of Scripture.
“What I teach does not come from me, but from God who sent me," Jesus told them. "Anyone dedicated to the will of God will know if the teaching comes from God or if I am merely speaking on my own behalf. He who speaks on his own seeks glory for himself, while he who seeks glory for the one who sent him is a man of true teachings; there is nothing false about him. Did not Moses give you the law? And yet, none of you obeys it. Why are you seeking to kill me?"
"You're possessed by a demon! Who's seeking to kill you?" questioned the crowd.
Jesus responded, "I perform one miracle on the Sabbath and all of you are dumbfounded. Don’t you perform circumcisions on male children on the eighth day, in accordance with the law given to you by Moses? (Actually our ancestors practiced circumcision long before Moses.) And so that the law be not broken, will you not perform the circumcision on a Sabbath and thus do work on that day? So why then are you so upset with me for healing a man's whole body on the Sabbath? Don't judge merely by appearances, judge fairly."
Many of the people of Jerusalem posed the question, "Isn't this the man the authorities want to put to death? Well, here he is, speaking publicly -- and they don't have a word to say to him! Have they concluded that he is the Messiah? We know, though, where this man is from. When the Messiah arrives, nobody'll know where he's from."
Jesus, who was still teaching in the Temple courtyard, replied to them, "Yes, you do know me and where I'm from, but I'm not here on my own authority. He who sent me is the true God -- but you don't know him. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.'
The authorities then tried to arrest him, but they did not succeed in laying a hand on him -- for his time had not yet come. Many, though, in the crowd believed him and declared, "If the Messiah does appear, could he perform more miracles than this man has?"
The Pharisees heard such opinions voiced by the crowd. Therefore, they had the chief priests order the Temple guards to seize Jesus.
Jesus told them, "I will be among you for a only little while longer, then I will be returning to him who sent me. You will then search for me, but you won't find me. Where I will be, you cannot come."
The religious authorities asked each other, "Where does this man intend to go where we can't find him? Will he go to the scattered communities of Hebrew expatriates who live among the Greeks and teach them? What does he mean when he says, 'You will then search for me, but you won't find me,' and 'Where I will be, you cannot come'?"
On the final day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted to the crowd, "Anyone who is thirsty, come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink. For the scriptures says, 'From the hearts of those who believe in me rivers of life-giving water will flow.' (When Jesus said "life-giving water" he was referring to the Spirit Divine that would be received by all who believe. But that spirit had not been given, for Jesus had not yet achieved his glory.)
When the crowd heard him say this, some of them declared, "This man must surely be the Prophet," while others declared, "He is the Messiah." But there were those who questioned, "How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Don't the Scriptures say the Messiah will come from among the descendants of David and from Bethlehem, a town of David?" Thus there was a divided opinion about Jesus among the people. Some wanted him to be arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.
When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the chief priests and the Pharisees demanded of them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"
"No one has ever spoke the way he does, " the guards explained.
"You mean he's taken you in, too?" the Pharisees rejoined. "Do any of the leaders, any of the Pharisees believe in him? No! A curse has fallen upon this mob because it's ignorant of the law."
Nicodemus, a member of the Pharisees who had earlier visited with Jesus, spoke up in protest, "Our law doesn't convict a man without a hearing to determine what he's done -- does it?"
The other Pharisees put him down, "Surely you're not from Galilee, too? Do some research and you'll find that the Prophet does not come from Galilee."
Notes
1. Sukkot, or the Festival of Tabernacles, or the Festival of Booths, or is one of three important holidays during which Hebrews were supposed to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Mentioned in Leviticus, it grew out of the Exodus-mandated Harvest Feast. It is seven days in length and is celebrated during the month of Tishri (from late September to late October), beginning the fifth day after Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. It is a joyous celebration that commemorates the 40 years during which the Israelites lived in the deserts of Sinai after the Exodus and before their settlement in Canaan. Palm-draped booths are erected to simulate the life-style of the wandering Israelites. Celebrants eat and even sleep inside them during the holiday.
2. Jesus' brothers are not only doubters, they want to goad him into going to Judea, where there is a reasonable expectation he will be killed. Interesting that those who presumably knew Jesus best did not believe in him and were apparently so contemptuous of his claim to divinity they didn't mind seeing him executed for it. Of course, it often happens that one's family is hard to impress; a family member who manifests greatness is usually viewed by others in the family with jealousy or resentment.
2. Jesus bears false witness and practices deception when he flat out tells his brothers he is not going to the Festival of Sukkot and then secretly does so. Then, he claims that he, the one sent by God, has nothing false about him. A contradiction here? One might justify the deception and lie he told his brothers, but one does not find in Jesus' message the desirability of convenient falsehoods.
3. Halfway through the festival Jesus starts to teach and preach at the Temple. Did anyone invite him to do so? Surely those administering the Temple were antagonistic to him at the very least. But he did draw a crowd and, at first, the religious establishment did nothing to stop him. Perhaps they wanted to give him enough rope to hang himself, that is, to discredit himself with his preposterous claim that he was the Son of God. The Pharisees probably thought the crowd would reject him totally and when it didn't, they blame its ignorance, and, although they don't say so here, its stupidity and gullibility.
4. Jesus was being discredited as the Prophet or the Messiah because he was from Galilee. for prophecy dictated that Bethlehem be the provenance of the Messiah. So we see the rationale behind the nativity story placing Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Whether Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem or if the nativity story was concocted to fulfill the prophecy cannot be known. The reader awaits Jesus' profession that he was born in Bethlehem and is a descendant of King David.
After this, Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, but did not wish to do so in Judea, where the religious establishment was desirous of having him put to death. However, when the Hebrew Festival of Sukkot drew near, Jesus' brothers urged him, "Why don't you leave Galilee and go to Judea so that your disciples there may witness your miracles. No one who wishes to build a public reputation can act privately. If you are able to perform these wonders, you must show yourself to the world!" (You see, even his brothers did not believe in him.)
Jesus answered them, "No, it's not the right time for me to go. But you can go anytime. The world can't hate you. It hates me, because I am testimony that the ways of the world are evil. You go to the festival. But I'm not going, for my time has not quite come yet." After this pronouncement, Jesus remained in Galilee.
However, after his brothers had departed for the festival, Jesus went, too, but secretly, not publicly. The religious authorities were on the lookout for him at the festival and kept inquiring whether anyone had seen him. There was a great deal of buzz about Jesus among the public there. Some declared that he was a good man, while others believed he was duping the masses. But no one talked about him openly for fear of offending the Judean authorities.
Not until the festival was half over did Jesus go to the Temple courtyard and begin teaching there. When they heard him, the Judeans were amazed that a man who had never been properly trained had so much knowledge of Scripture.
“What I teach does not come from me, but from God who sent me," Jesus told them. "Anyone dedicated to the will of God will know if the teaching comes from God or if I am merely speaking on my own behalf. He who speaks on his own seeks glory for himself, while he who seeks glory for the one who sent him is a man of true teachings; there is nothing false about him. Did not Moses give you the law? And yet, none of you obeys it. Why are you seeking to kill me?"
"You're possessed by a demon! Who's seeking to kill you?" questioned the crowd.
Jesus responded, "I perform one miracle on the Sabbath and all of you are dumbfounded. Don’t you perform circumcisions on male children on the eighth day, in accordance with the law given to you by Moses? (Actually our ancestors practiced circumcision long before Moses.) And so that the law be not broken, will you not perform the circumcision on a Sabbath and thus do work on that day? So why then are you so upset with me for healing a man's whole body on the Sabbath? Don't judge merely by appearances, judge fairly."
Many of the people of Jerusalem posed the question, "Isn't this the man the authorities want to put to death? Well, here he is, speaking publicly -- and they don't have a word to say to him! Have they concluded that he is the Messiah? We know, though, where this man is from. When the Messiah arrives, nobody'll know where he's from."
Jesus, who was still teaching in the Temple courtyard, replied to them, "Yes, you do know me and where I'm from, but I'm not here on my own authority. He who sent me is the true God -- but you don't know him. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.'
The authorities then tried to arrest him, but they did not succeed in laying a hand on him -- for his time had not yet come. Many, though, in the crowd believed him and declared, "If the Messiah does appear, could he perform more miracles than this man has?"
The Pharisees heard such opinions voiced by the crowd. Therefore, they had the chief priests order the Temple guards to seize Jesus.
Jesus told them, "I will be among you for a only little while longer, then I will be returning to him who sent me. You will then search for me, but you won't find me. Where I will be, you cannot come."
The religious authorities asked each other, "Where does this man intend to go where we can't find him? Will he go to the scattered communities of Hebrew expatriates who live among the Greeks and teach them? What does he mean when he says, 'You will then search for me, but you won't find me,' and 'Where I will be, you cannot come'?"
On the final day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted to the crowd, "Anyone who is thirsty, come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink. For the scriptures says, 'From the hearts of those who believe in me rivers of life-giving water will flow.' (When Jesus said "life-giving water" he was referring to the Spirit Divine that would be received by all who believe. But that spirit had not been given, for Jesus had not yet achieved his glory.)
When the crowd heard him say this, some of them declared, "This man must surely be the Prophet," while others declared, "He is the Messiah." But there were those who questioned, "How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Don't the Scriptures say the Messiah will come from among the descendants of David and from Bethlehem, a town of David?" Thus there was a divided opinion about Jesus among the people. Some wanted him to be arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.
When the Temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the chief priests and the Pharisees demanded of them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"
"No one has ever spoke the way he does, " the guards explained.
"You mean he's taken you in, too?" the Pharisees rejoined. "Do any of the leaders, any of the Pharisees believe in him? No! A curse has fallen upon this mob because it's ignorant of the law."
Nicodemus, a member of the Pharisees who had earlier visited with Jesus, spoke up in protest, "Our law doesn't convict a man without a hearing to determine what he's done -- does it?"
The other Pharisees put him down, "Surely you're not from Galilee, too? Do some research and you'll find that the Prophet does not come from Galilee."
Notes
1. Sukkot, or the Festival of Tabernacles, or the Festival of Booths, or is one of three important holidays during which Hebrews were supposed to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Mentioned in Leviticus, it grew out of the Exodus-mandated Harvest Feast. It is seven days in length and is celebrated during the month of Tishri (from late September to late October), beginning the fifth day after Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. It is a joyous celebration that commemorates the 40 years during which the Israelites lived in the deserts of Sinai after the Exodus and before their settlement in Canaan. Palm-draped booths are erected to simulate the life-style of the wandering Israelites. Celebrants eat and even sleep inside them during the holiday.
2. Jesus' brothers are not only doubters, they want to goad him into going to Judea, where there is a reasonable expectation he will be killed. Interesting that those who presumably knew Jesus best did not believe in him and were apparently so contemptuous of his claim to divinity they didn't mind seeing him executed for it. Of course, it often happens that one's family is hard to impress; a family member who manifests greatness is usually viewed by others in the family with jealousy or resentment.
2. Jesus bears false witness and practices deception when he flat out tells his brothers he is not going to the Festival of Sukkot and then secretly does so. Then, he claims that he, the one sent by God, has nothing false about him. A contradiction here? One might justify the deception and lie he told his brothers, but one does not find in Jesus' message the desirability of convenient falsehoods.
3. Halfway through the festival Jesus starts to teach and preach at the Temple. Did anyone invite him to do so? Surely those administering the Temple were antagonistic to him at the very least. But he did draw a crowd and, at first, the religious establishment did nothing to stop him. Perhaps they wanted to give him enough rope to hang himself, that is, to discredit himself with his preposterous claim that he was the Son of God. The Pharisees probably thought the crowd would reject him totally and when it didn't, they blame its ignorance, and, although they don't say so here, its stupidity and gullibility.
4. Jesus was being discredited as the Prophet or the Messiah because he was from Galilee. for prophecy dictated that Bethlehem be the provenance of the Messiah. So we see the rationale behind the nativity story placing Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Whether Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem or if the nativity story was concocted to fulfill the prophecy cannot be known. The reader awaits Jesus' profession that he was born in Bethlehem and is a descendant of King David.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Son of God
(Gospel of John 5:16 - 5:47)
Because Jesus was accomplishing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish religious authorities began to harass and persecute him. Jesus gave them his answer, "My Father ceases not in his labor, nor do I." But the authorities were all the more resolved to destroy him: he was not only guilty of violating the Sabbath, but of claiming that God was his own Father -- exalting himself to be an equal of God!
Jesus explained to them, "Truly I tell you, the Son may do nothing on his own, but only what he has seen his Father do, for whatever the Father does, the son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and teaches him all that he does. Indeed, he will teach him to perform greater wonders than this, such as will astonish you. As the Father raises the dead and restores them to life, so the Son may bring to life whomever he wishes. The Father passes judgment on no one, but has given the right to judge to his Son so all will honor the Son as they do the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son, is not honoring the Father who has sent him.
"Truly I say, those who believe in my message and in the God who sent me will achieve life everlasting. They will never be condemned for their sins, and they have already crossed over from death to life. And I can assure you that the time will come -- has, in fact, now come -- when the dead will be summoned by the voice of God, and, hearing it, will be restored to life. For the Father is the creator of life and has granted to his Son the power to instill life.
“Moreover, the Son has been granted the power to pass judgment, for he is the Son of Man. Do not be surprised at this, for the time is coming that all who are now in their graves will, when they hear his voice, rise out of them. Those who have done good will be resurrected to life, while those who have done evil will be resurrected to damnation.
"As for myself, I can do nothing on my own. I can only judge according to God's instructions. Therefore, my judgments will be fair and impartial, because I execute the will of him who sent me and not my own.
"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony will be seen as biased. But there is another who testifies in my favor, and I assure you what he says of me is true. You have, in fact, sent men to interrogate John, and he has told them the truth. I, of course, do not require human testimony, but I mention it for the sake of your salvation. John was a burning, shining lamp, and, for a time, you were content to bask in his light. But I present testimony more powerful than John's. The works that the Father has tasked me to accomplish, those that I labor on now, provide the proof that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has also testified on my behalf. You have not heard his voice or seen his face, and his message cannot be within you, for you do not believe in the one he has sent. You study the Scriptures meticulously in the conviction that you will find therein life everlasting. Those very Scriptures speak of me. Yet, you refuse to come to me to be granted that life.
“I crave not the approbation of men. I know you and I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, but you reject me. Others come in their own name, and you readily accept them. You lend credence to one another, but not to the one who alone comes from God. But it will not be I who will accuse you before Father; your accuser will be Moses, upon whom all your hopes are set. If you really believe in Moses, you will believe in me, for he wrote of me. But since you will not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
Notes
1. The author of John has Jesus clearly state his mission. Among the points made are these: 1. Jesus is the son of God. 2. He has been tutored by his Father, whom he emulates. 3. Everything he does is authorized by God. 4. God teaches his Son to perform miracles, including raising the dead 5. God the Father has delegated to him the authority to judge man. 6. Jesus, having no self interest, will be an impartial judge. 7. The dead will be resurrected and judged. 8. The evil will be damned, the good and those who believe in Jesus will be granted life everlasting. 9. Those who do not accept Jesus as the Son of God and believe in his message are not true followers of God. 10. Believers will be forgiven their sins and escape punishment for them. 11. The message of Jesus and the miracles he performs are the proofs that he is the Son of God. 12. The scriptures prophecy his coming.
2. Rather shockingly, Jesus more or less does away with the commandment to observe the Sabbath, at least strictly, as is demanded by Moses. He pooh-poohs the idea that God rests on the seventh day, but asserts that he works continuously without taking any sort of regular holiday. He, therefore, is free to follow his example.
3. Jesus here is presumably addressing the Pharisees who dominate the religious establishment. He rips and rebukes them on several grounds, primarily for not believing him to be the Son of God, but also for accepting other evangelical figures (including, for a time, John the Baptist), for not recognizing that their beloved Moses wrote of him, and for not being sincere in their faith.
4. Jesus insists that he is referred to by Moses, but does not specify where in the Torah he is mentioned and in what context. Prophecies that arguably refer to a Messiah come from Isaiah and other later Old Testament books. In Genesis only a vague blessing by a dying Jacob to his son Judah could be so interpreted.
5. Jesus' attitude would surely have been interpreted by those he addressed as insufferable and arrogant to the nth degree. (The term "chutzpah" would surely not be out of place.) Humility, tolerance, forgiveness are nowhere evident here. Jesus, whose feelings are obviously hurt by rejection, is angry and defensive and not very concerned about antagonizing his critics. He is dismissive, even belittling of the Pharisee's religious views, but expects and demands acceptance of his. They must all receive him as the Son of God, which means they must renounce any authority they might have assumed to interpret religious law. It's Jesus’ way or the highway -- Heaven or Hell. They must bow to Jesus not only as their master, but as their God. In spite of any miracles he might have performed, is it really surprising that they would not do so? From their standpoint, Jesus could only be a heretic, even a crazed fanatic, but at any rate, a challenge to their authority, a dangerous man who would have to be discredited or destroyed. One would think claiming to be the Son of God would, if untrue, be the ultimate blasphemy, and one so claiming could only be evil or insane.
6. Jesus tries to turn their own beliefs against the Pharisees by telling them that it will be Moses who will condemn them for not believing in him. He equates believing in him with believing in Moses, whom they regard as an absolute authority. (One feels that Jesus' attitude toward Moses is rather like a 21st Century politician's attitude toward Thomas Jefferson -- yes, a founding father, great man to be revered, but not an unimpeachable authority on contemporary politics and policy.)
7. Jesus makes a very attractive offer to his followers. You may live forever and never be punished for your sins. All you have to do is believe in Jesus and accept him as the Son of God. Nothing else seemed to be demanded. Of course, if you don't believe, you're going to be damned and won’t get in on that life everlasting, whatever it is to be.
Because Jesus was accomplishing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish religious authorities began to harass and persecute him. Jesus gave them his answer, "My Father ceases not in his labor, nor do I." But the authorities were all the more resolved to destroy him: he was not only guilty of violating the Sabbath, but of claiming that God was his own Father -- exalting himself to be an equal of God!
Jesus explained to them, "Truly I tell you, the Son may do nothing on his own, but only what he has seen his Father do, for whatever the Father does, the son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and teaches him all that he does. Indeed, he will teach him to perform greater wonders than this, such as will astonish you. As the Father raises the dead and restores them to life, so the Son may bring to life whomever he wishes. The Father passes judgment on no one, but has given the right to judge to his Son so all will honor the Son as they do the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son, is not honoring the Father who has sent him.
"Truly I say, those who believe in my message and in the God who sent me will achieve life everlasting. They will never be condemned for their sins, and they have already crossed over from death to life. And I can assure you that the time will come -- has, in fact, now come -- when the dead will be summoned by the voice of God, and, hearing it, will be restored to life. For the Father is the creator of life and has granted to his Son the power to instill life.
“Moreover, the Son has been granted the power to pass judgment, for he is the Son of Man. Do not be surprised at this, for the time is coming that all who are now in their graves will, when they hear his voice, rise out of them. Those who have done good will be resurrected to life, while those who have done evil will be resurrected to damnation.
"As for myself, I can do nothing on my own. I can only judge according to God's instructions. Therefore, my judgments will be fair and impartial, because I execute the will of him who sent me and not my own.
"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony will be seen as biased. But there is another who testifies in my favor, and I assure you what he says of me is true. You have, in fact, sent men to interrogate John, and he has told them the truth. I, of course, do not require human testimony, but I mention it for the sake of your salvation. John was a burning, shining lamp, and, for a time, you were content to bask in his light. But I present testimony more powerful than John's. The works that the Father has tasked me to accomplish, those that I labor on now, provide the proof that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has also testified on my behalf. You have not heard his voice or seen his face, and his message cannot be within you, for you do not believe in the one he has sent. You study the Scriptures meticulously in the conviction that you will find therein life everlasting. Those very Scriptures speak of me. Yet, you refuse to come to me to be granted that life.
“I crave not the approbation of men. I know you and I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, but you reject me. Others come in their own name, and you readily accept them. You lend credence to one another, but not to the one who alone comes from God. But it will not be I who will accuse you before Father; your accuser will be Moses, upon whom all your hopes are set. If you really believe in Moses, you will believe in me, for he wrote of me. But since you will not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
Notes
1. The author of John has Jesus clearly state his mission. Among the points made are these: 1. Jesus is the son of God. 2. He has been tutored by his Father, whom he emulates. 3. Everything he does is authorized by God. 4. God teaches his Son to perform miracles, including raising the dead 5. God the Father has delegated to him the authority to judge man. 6. Jesus, having no self interest, will be an impartial judge. 7. The dead will be resurrected and judged. 8. The evil will be damned, the good and those who believe in Jesus will be granted life everlasting. 9. Those who do not accept Jesus as the Son of God and believe in his message are not true followers of God. 10. Believers will be forgiven their sins and escape punishment for them. 11. The message of Jesus and the miracles he performs are the proofs that he is the Son of God. 12. The scriptures prophecy his coming.
2. Rather shockingly, Jesus more or less does away with the commandment to observe the Sabbath, at least strictly, as is demanded by Moses. He pooh-poohs the idea that God rests on the seventh day, but asserts that he works continuously without taking any sort of regular holiday. He, therefore, is free to follow his example.
3. Jesus here is presumably addressing the Pharisees who dominate the religious establishment. He rips and rebukes them on several grounds, primarily for not believing him to be the Son of God, but also for accepting other evangelical figures (including, for a time, John the Baptist), for not recognizing that their beloved Moses wrote of him, and for not being sincere in their faith.
4. Jesus insists that he is referred to by Moses, but does not specify where in the Torah he is mentioned and in what context. Prophecies that arguably refer to a Messiah come from Isaiah and other later Old Testament books. In Genesis only a vague blessing by a dying Jacob to his son Judah could be so interpreted.
5. Jesus' attitude would surely have been interpreted by those he addressed as insufferable and arrogant to the nth degree. (The term "chutzpah" would surely not be out of place.) Humility, tolerance, forgiveness are nowhere evident here. Jesus, whose feelings are obviously hurt by rejection, is angry and defensive and not very concerned about antagonizing his critics. He is dismissive, even belittling of the Pharisee's religious views, but expects and demands acceptance of his. They must all receive him as the Son of God, which means they must renounce any authority they might have assumed to interpret religious law. It's Jesus’ way or the highway -- Heaven or Hell. They must bow to Jesus not only as their master, but as their God. In spite of any miracles he might have performed, is it really surprising that they would not do so? From their standpoint, Jesus could only be a heretic, even a crazed fanatic, but at any rate, a challenge to their authority, a dangerous man who would have to be discredited or destroyed. One would think claiming to be the Son of God would, if untrue, be the ultimate blasphemy, and one so claiming could only be evil or insane.
6. Jesus tries to turn their own beliefs against the Pharisees by telling them that it will be Moses who will condemn them for not believing in him. He equates believing in him with believing in Moses, whom they regard as an absolute authority. (One feels that Jesus' attitude toward Moses is rather like a 21st Century politician's attitude toward Thomas Jefferson -- yes, a founding father, great man to be revered, but not an unimpeachable authority on contemporary politics and policy.)
7. Jesus makes a very attractive offer to his followers. You may live forever and never be punished for your sins. All you have to do is believe in Jesus and accept him as the Son of God. Nothing else seemed to be demanded. Of course, if you don't believe, you're going to be damned and won’t get in on that life everlasting, whatever it is to be.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Interrogation of John the Baptist
(Gospel of John 1:19 - 1:28 )
Here is the testimony of John given when he was summoned to appear before priests and scribes who were tasked by the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem to ascertain his identity:
John was direct and straightforward. "I am not the Messiah," he admitted.
"Well then, who do you claim to be? Are you Elijah?" they queried.
"I am not."
"Are you the long-awaited Prophet?"
"No," he answered.
"Who are you?" they insisted. "We are obliged to take back some sort of response to those who have sent us. What do you have to say for yourself?"
John replied, quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah, "I am a thundering voice proclaiming from the desert, 'Clear the way for the arrival of the Messiah!'"
Pharisees, who were among those in the delegation, demanded of him, "If you aren't Elijah or the Prophet, or the Messiah, by what right do you practice baptism?"
John replied, "I only baptize with water. But here, among you, there is one greater than I. You do not yet recognize him. But he is the one who will succeed me, though I am not worthy even to unlace the straps of his sandals."
(This encounter took place in Bethany, east of the Jordan River, where John was engaged in baptizing.)
Notes
1. We are introduced to John the Baptist in this Gospel, but minus his pedigree. He was what we would regard as an evangelist who did not have the sanction of the religious establishment, but he had apparently created enough of a stir among the populace that the Jewish religious authorities wanted to learn what he was about. (Religious authorities usually demand exclusive rights in dealing with the divine and resent competition.) John would have been regarded as a challenge to them, a rival and possibly a dangerous, seditious heretic. They were probably worried that he might claim to be the Prophet or an incarnation of Elijah, so much so that they sent this delegation to see the man himself and interrogate him. It is interesting to speculate by what means they thought John could have been Elijah -- by spirit possession or reincarnation? Did they believe in either? Or were they merely speaking figuratively?
2. The famous answer of John from the King James Version, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness," is, like most famous biblical quotes, misleading and misunderstood. Firstly, the wilderness referred to is the desert, not expanses of forest lands, streams, and mountains we generally think of as "wilderness.". And he did not claim to be what we mean by a voice crying in the wilderness, that is, a challenge to authority and the status quo, a moral conscience of society. No, he is merely presenting himself as a herald. He is simply saying one thing, "clear the way for the arrival of the Messiah." (A word-for-word translation is "straighten the path," but this is an idiom best rendered by one more common to us, "clear the way.") He is quoting or paraphrasing the prophet Isaiah.
3. The Pharisees belonged to a Jewish sect that strictly practiced the rituals laid out in the Old Testament. They were probably what we would term fundamentalists, although that is unfair to contemporary fundamentalists. The Pharisees were obsessed with ceremonial detail to the detriment of moral values. They were also seekers and persecutors of heresy -- witch hunters. And they were notorious for their hypocrisy.
4. John claims that he had a right to baptize with water, that is, to immerse in water, without church approval. Later, he will acknowledge that a more significant baptism, baptism with the holy spirit, is the prerogative of the Messiah.
Here is the testimony of John given when he was summoned to appear before priests and scribes who were tasked by the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem to ascertain his identity:
John was direct and straightforward. "I am not the Messiah," he admitted.
"Well then, who do you claim to be? Are you Elijah?" they queried.
"I am not."
"Are you the long-awaited Prophet?"
"No," he answered.
"Who are you?" they insisted. "We are obliged to take back some sort of response to those who have sent us. What do you have to say for yourself?"
John replied, quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah, "I am a thundering voice proclaiming from the desert, 'Clear the way for the arrival of the Messiah!'"
Pharisees, who were among those in the delegation, demanded of him, "If you aren't Elijah or the Prophet, or the Messiah, by what right do you practice baptism?"
John replied, "I only baptize with water. But here, among you, there is one greater than I. You do not yet recognize him. But he is the one who will succeed me, though I am not worthy even to unlace the straps of his sandals."
(This encounter took place in Bethany, east of the Jordan River, where John was engaged in baptizing.)
Notes
1. We are introduced to John the Baptist in this Gospel, but minus his pedigree. He was what we would regard as an evangelist who did not have the sanction of the religious establishment, but he had apparently created enough of a stir among the populace that the Jewish religious authorities wanted to learn what he was about. (Religious authorities usually demand exclusive rights in dealing with the divine and resent competition.) John would have been regarded as a challenge to them, a rival and possibly a dangerous, seditious heretic. They were probably worried that he might claim to be the Prophet or an incarnation of Elijah, so much so that they sent this delegation to see the man himself and interrogate him. It is interesting to speculate by what means they thought John could have been Elijah -- by spirit possession or reincarnation? Did they believe in either? Or were they merely speaking figuratively?
2. The famous answer of John from the King James Version, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness," is, like most famous biblical quotes, misleading and misunderstood. Firstly, the wilderness referred to is the desert, not expanses of forest lands, streams, and mountains we generally think of as "wilderness.". And he did not claim to be what we mean by a voice crying in the wilderness, that is, a challenge to authority and the status quo, a moral conscience of society. No, he is merely presenting himself as a herald. He is simply saying one thing, "clear the way for the arrival of the Messiah." (A word-for-word translation is "straighten the path," but this is an idiom best rendered by one more common to us, "clear the way.") He is quoting or paraphrasing the prophet Isaiah.
3. The Pharisees belonged to a Jewish sect that strictly practiced the rituals laid out in the Old Testament. They were probably what we would term fundamentalists, although that is unfair to contemporary fundamentalists. The Pharisees were obsessed with ceremonial detail to the detriment of moral values. They were also seekers and persecutors of heresy -- witch hunters. And they were notorious for their hypocrisy.
4. John claims that he had a right to baptize with water, that is, to immerse in water, without church approval. Later, he will acknowledge that a more significant baptism, baptism with the holy spirit, is the prerogative of the Messiah.
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