It is four stories put together. The disciples and other Jewish leaders are trying to figure out who Jesus is. In John, the writer gives a lot of words to Jesus. Jesus is an extroverted talker, willing to push his disciples, and confronting the leadership of the Temple and the Empire.
Jesus is trying to tell people that he is the Son of God. He talks about his Father. He says he is going away somewhere. They asked, ” is he going to kill himself ?” Jesus questions the Jewishness of some of the people. There is a sense that these things that Jesus says are serious enough for his life to be threatened.
Sometimes, because we know the end of the story, we miss these serious events. The disciples must have been scared. These events take place right in front of the center of religious power, the Temple. Some people follow Jesus, while others want him dead. Jesus must have been afraid. As readers of the Bible, I think we miss the emotion and danger in the text. We read and hear a sanitized version.
There are places in the world where it is life threatening to be a follower of Jesus. Maybe those readers might get the seriousness of the text. They might be living that fear of death and torture every day.
How can we get back to the real Bible ? Can we live and breathe it today? I think it is hard, but it will transform as a community, if we can somehow feel, smell, taste and touch the texts of Jesus of Nazareth, the human part of God. Can we feel Jesus’ fears ? Grace and peace of Christ be with you all.
Fred
Chaos in the winds Scattering my troubled thoughts to land on soft clouds Monica Pieper Landoni 2022
