Seems like a lot of reading about very important events for the day. Maybe because these are the events we are more familiar with. However John puts a little different twist on these stories. Jesus is in control in every scene. He came to die, and he knows it is going to happen.
I have never noticed before "the other disciple" mentioned in 18:16. Is this the intriguing "beloved" disciple? There is interesting parallelism between this scene of Peter's denial and then the scene in Chapter 21 of the Peter's confession (tomorrow's reading).
Have you ever noticed that the story of the trial before Pilate is in 7 scenes like the story of the blind man was earlier.
Scene 1: Outside the praetorium where Pilate lived. The Jewish leaders cannot enter the Gentile Praetorium or they will be defiled and won't be able to eat the upcoming Passover meal.
Scene 2: Pilate goes in to talk to Jesus. This is where "the ultimate question" comes in. Are you the King of the Jews?
Scene 3: Pilate goes out to the Jewish leaders once more.
Scene 4: Central scene. Jesus is flogged and robed in purple. His coronation has begun.
Scene 5: Pilate goes back out to the Jewish leaders and announces he finds nothing wrong with Jesus.
Scene 6: Back into the praetorium. Jesus is in charge. He is choosing His own death. His refusal to answer is used in all the gospels and is a reflection of Isaiah 53:7.
Scene 7: Back outside. The Jewish leaders make a statement that is TRULY blasphemous. "We have no king but Caesar". "Their sin is complete; they have ended up renouncing their God" (The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible, Vol. 10, pg. 151).
Why would these 7 scenes go along with 7 scenes about the blind man? These Jews cannot see either. In a moment of crisis - How would you respond? Would you follow the crowd?
I cried for three days straight when I first faced this question. It was before I entered the ministry. There is a beautiful church in Rouen dedicated to Joan of Arc. She too died because of her faith. The picture of the statue dedicated to her that is inside the church is the picture at the beginning of this post.
I would deny I was a disciple for the following reasons: 1) It was prophesized that I would ;), and 2) seriously, I can't testify as to what I have witnessed if I am dead. The only statement which can be made at this point is that Jesus is the Messiah and the only one who can prove that Jesus is the Messiah is Jesus, by dying.
ReplyDeleteRe: I have never noticed before "the other disciple" mentioned in 18:16. Is this the intriguing "beloved" disciple?
ReplyDeleteThe term is explicitly tied to the author when he combines them -- i.e., the "other disicple, whom Jesus loved" -- when he reports what he did on the morning that he went to the tomb.
TheDiscipleWhomJesusLoved.com has a free eBook that only compares scripture with scripture in order to highlight the facts in the plain text of scripture that are usually overlooked about the “other disciple, whom Jesus loved”. You may want to weigh the testimony of scripture that the study cites regarding this "other disicple" and may find it helpful as it encourages bible students to take seriously the admonition “prove all things”.
Thee eBook at TheDiscipleWhomJesusLoved.com said this disciple is the author or John, Lazarus (as Marilyn suspected).
ReplyDelete