Week 16 - John 7:53–8:20 - I am the Light of the World - Feast of Booths (Part 3)

This passage is bracketed in modern translations because it appears only in western manuscripts and not in the those of the eastern church.  

But it found in the early manuscript Codex Bezae (400AD) and is, referenced in the “Didascalia Apostolo-rum” ("Teaching of the Apostles") in Book II, Chapter 24, which was most likely written around 250 AD.  It was the “Book of Church Order” for the day, and the section encouraged elders to receive back the penitent.

Augustine of Hippo (4th-5th Century) concluded that it was removed because of its leniency by an overzealous scribe.  The majority of modern scholars argue it was a later addition of an oral tradition of an actual event.

Like the rest of John it contains one of his narrative asides:

John 8:6a
This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. 

And as we shall also see that the passage also contains one of his wonderful play on words.  But textual scholars point out the use several words found nowhere else in John, which would indicate this as a late addition and by either one of his first or second generation disciples.

The previous declaration by Jesus that offered “living water” (John 7:37-39) was on “the last day” of the festival during the jubilant Water Drawing Ceremony with the crowds present.  This would place this next event during the morning of the eighth day called Shemini Atzeret: a separate, more solemn assembly (Leviticus 23:36).

John 8:3-5

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 

Unable to catch Him out with what he taught, they presented Him a difficult case.  And they setup the situation to cause a mob scene placing her in the “midst” (mesos) of the crowd.

From a Jewish law perspective, the outcome was clear, but the Romans did not permit capital punishment in such cases and would have prevented it.

Siding with the Jewish leaders would have put Him at odds with the Romans.  Siding with the Romans would have diminished His standing with the people.  They had set the trap. 

John 8:6b

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

What was written was not recorded or nor whether it was even legible to those around Him.  It would only be speculation as to the contents. 

That said, He “wrote” as opposed to “drew”, so there could have been legible content.  He wrote, was interrupted, and done a second time.  And what He wrote and what He said convicted those present deeply.  

A plausible conjecture would be that Jesus wrote out some portion of both pertinent laws (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22) to remind them that to apply the law properly the man was to be accused as well.

Then he spoke the law pertinent to the required punishment from Deuteronomy 17:6-7, which not only required two witnesses but also that they would be the first to throw stones.  Jesus masterfully used it to confound them.  Slowly they left until Jesus was "alone" with the woman at which point He stood and addressed her (John 8:9-10) with respect as "Woman".  Judges sit.  Equals stand.

John 8:12 

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Now, because the Pharisees appear to have suddenly reassembled ("them"), the word “Again” would indicate a separate event and may support the prior section to have been an insertion.  But this is also a set of three recollections (John 8:2; 8:12; 8:21) that together fulfill the prophecy of the coming Day of the Lord (Zechariah 14:1-9).

These events occurred in the “Treasury” (the Court of Women) (See v. 20).  

Historians tell us that it was in the Treasury that on each night of the festival four 75-foot-tall lampstands, each with 4 golden bowls, each filled with 7 to 10 gallons of oil, each with wicks made from worn-out priestly garments were lit and burned till morning to illuminate the festivities.

But being after that last day of the festival (John 7:37) and with the lampstands now extinguished and possibly in the process of being removed, Jesus offers himself as the “light of the world”.

This is the second of the seven “I am” statements in John and continues the fulfillment of the Zechariah's prophecy which concludes now with a third conversation (John 8:21-30), where he declares Himself divine, with the phrase “I am he”, which is one of the seven "I AM HE" statements in John.

John 8:28

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

Week 15 - John 7:32-52 - Rivers of Living Water (Feast of Booths - Part 2)

As a reminder, Jesus initially stayed behind and let His family go on to the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem.  This pilgrimage feast was established to remind Jews of their time in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:33-43) and each family would camp outside in makeshift booths for seven days.  Jesus, Himself, we would later read camped on the Mount of Olives (John 8:1-2).

Jesus had arrived mid-week and declared Himself "true": a true prophet validated by signs.  John here records the first of two more declarations that occurred on the last day of the feast.

By the time of the Second Temple, the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) (Leviticus 23:33–43; Numbers 29) had grown to include the Water Drawing Ceremony or Simchat Beit HaShoavah.  

Each morning of the seven-day feast, a priest would go to the Pool of Siloam, draw a golden pitcher of water, return through the Water Gate, to the temple and pour water and wine over the altar (Mishnah Sukkah 4:9–10).  

This was a time of great rejoicing and the acknowledgement of God’s provision through rain with music, dance, torches, and celebration that lasted through the nights of the festivals. 

Prayers for the next year’s rain would begin with the Amidah prayer on Shemini Atzeret (the day after Sukkot).  For it would we inconvenient for it to rain while dwelling in booths!

It was during this final Water Drawing Ceremony that Jesus declares:

John 7:37-38

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

Like what was said to the Woman at the Well (John 4:10-11) Jesus declares that those that believe will not have to draw water.  Out of themselves, as scripture said, would come “rivers of living water”.  This comes from the Zechariah’s prophecy concerning the coming Day of the Lord (Zechariah 14:1-9).

John 7:39

Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John explains for us that the water is the Holy Spirit, the source of eternal life.  It is to this fountain that we are invited (Revelation 22:1,17).

Until Jesus was glorified, the effect of the Fall was still in place.  Once man’s sin was atoned for and we receive Christ’s righteousness in exchange, then and only then can we receive eternal life and re-enter the Garden.  For the combination of eternal life and unrighteousness are not permitted (Genesis 3:22-24).

Recall please the Woman at the Well (John 4:1-42) who had to draw the water from such a great depth.  This echoes the effort of the priest drawing the water from the distant Pool of Siloam, which was a 20-minute procession with about a 400-foot elevation change.

Jesus, in this way, continues to press the Gospel.  Faith, rather than misguided effort, would unleash God’s blessing of Spirit-filled and eternal life.

Read slowly the following.  It has three sections:

• The works of the flesh: things we should never do as part of the temple of God.
• The fruit of the Spirit: things that flow out of us over the thresholds of that temple.
• The footprints of the Spirt: cautions that keep the mortar tight between each brick that makes up the temple.

Galatians 5:16-26
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  

 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.  

 

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  

 

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Week 14 - John 7:1-31 - Feast of Booths (Part 1)

We have reached approximately the middle of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Yes, He confronted the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem during the first Passover (John 2:13-25), but after that His ministry epicenter was Galilee in the North. Out of their immediate gaze, He established His identity with five signs, and brought those that would follow Him to the decision point we discussed last week, when He spoke the first of the Seven “I am” Statements, a very hard saying indeed (John 6:60).  With this statement He established Himself as the new manna:

John 6:51

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

This week, Jesus initially stays behind and lets His family go on to the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem.  This pilgrimage feast was established to remind Jews of their time in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:33-43) and each family camped outside in makeshift booths for seven days.

He quietly arrives mid-feast and begins to teach in the temple.  While it was normal for Rabbis to teach in the various courts of the temple, what He said was not.

John 7:18

The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

John uses the word “true” (alēthēs) 23 of the 26 times in the New Testament.  Here Jesus declares that His teaching is a true prophetic statement, the very words of God.  The proof of that truth was the volume of signs (Deuteronomy18:20-22; Deuteronomy 13:1-5). Had they not occurred or had Jesus not pointed back to the Father, He would have been acting “presumptuously” (Deuteronomy 18:22), the sign of a false prophet.

John 7:28-29

So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”

The word “true” is not simply describing fact, but also something revealed (alpha "not" + lēlanthanō "hidden"). This passage is about the process by which Jesus was revealed as the true Christ.

The application for us is that we must be likewise “true”.

The simple opposite “false” (pseudēs) is the active presentation of something fake. To do this one deceives. Recall please the calling of Nathaniel (John 1:47), where he is without that active “gile” (dolos). 

We cannot portray the perfect facade.  Jesus tore down the one that the Pharisees had put up.

John 7:19

Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. 

So, to be without falsehood requires confession.  

Another word used in this passage is translated “falsehood” (adikia).  It is either one who violates the law or one who applies the law unjustly (alpha "not" + dikē “just”).  This Jesus also uses to confront the Jewish leaders:

John 7:24

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

To be true, then we must apply that same justice to ourselves and confess to God and to each other.  For only then can the relationship be true.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Week 13 - John 6:41-71 - A Hard Saying

It was common that during a worship service at the synagog that a Rabbi, such as Jesus, would be invited to teach after what is called the “Torah Service”.  According to v. 59, this teaching happened at Capernaum.

During the Torah Service on a triennial cycle a “parsha” would be read.  On this day they may have read Parashat Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16), which includes the manna account of Exodus 16, for that parsha would have been scheduled between Passover and the later festivals.  So, so during the period in which this event fell.

(Additionally, it is curious the during the three-year Jesus ministry the Torah cycle would have been read in its entirety.)

He begins by explaining that by teaching them that He was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 54:13.  That He was God the Teacher!

John 6:45

It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

And that, for some, His teaching would draw them.  But what He taught was truly a "hard saying" (v. 60).

John 6:48-51

I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

That to live eternally would require them to eat Him spiritually.  This is one of the seven “I am” Statements in John.

Then by switching to “feeds” (trōgō) at v. 54,  this passage (John 6:41-71) describes it as the on-going dependence on Jesus Christ.  It is not simply an initial taste (Psalm 34:8), nor just the periodic sacrament, but he is our daily sustenance.

When you read the Lord’s prayer, something stands out.  All the rest of the prayer concerns spiritual matters, except for its central petition “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).  

When a text like this rotates around a central phrase, the style is called chiasmus or a ring construction.  (The Psalmist also wrote in this style.  For example, “for you are with me” is central to Psalm 23).  

Many Early Church Fathers wrote of the chiastic centrality of this petition in not simply a physical sense but also spiritual (St. Cyprian of Carthage (c. 252 AD) in his Treatise on the Lord’s Prayer; Origen (c. 185–253 AD) in On Prayer (chapter 27); St. Augustine (354–430 AD) in his sermons on the Lord’s Prayer; and St. John Chrysostom).

Jesus Christ is the answer to this petition, or as Luke records Jesus when he taught the prayer a second time “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3).

The word translated “daily” (epiousios) is unique to these two verses.  They are not simply the only two places in all of scripture where this is used, the word is not used anywhere else in all of ancient Greek literature.  This word is important.

Luke’s account already has “each day” (kata hēmōn), which is already regularly translated 18 other times as “daily”.  So, epiousios must mean something more than simply “daily”.  Without a point of comparison, it is difficult, but many scholars think it means the sustenance necessary for the coming day and echoes a bookend verse from the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 6:34

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

There are multiple accounts from the Nazi concentration camps that key to survival was saving a portion of your ration for the next day (See for example the account of Eva (Gryka) Kohan and her sister at Auschwitz).  This petition then is for that portion.

But when manna, the original bread from heaven, was given, it was collected daily and used that day.  None could be saved for the next day or it would go bad (Exodus 16:19-20).

That is, except for the day before the Sabbath.

Exodus 16:22-25

On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.

Jesus Christ is that double-portion, our epiousios.  And not simply for today, but for the eternal Sabbath that we await and for which we need not be anxious.

Week 12 - John 6:15-40 - Sign 5 - Walking on the Water

This chapter includes a masterful play on words.  

John purposefully relates the great efforts the crowd went through to find Jesus a second time.  And Jesus knows their goal is not spiritual instruction but rather more food!  So, He rebukes and redirects them:

John 6:27
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Confused, they ask “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (v. 28).  In other words, where should they put their efforts to obtain such eternal life-giving food?  This is law-fulfilling language that borders on sorcery, which is making God do what you want.

But Jesus responds that there is only one “work of God” (v. 29).  

John 6:29

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

 

But in their mind, this would still have been something they would have to do, to believe.  So, Jesus had to explain further that, it was not about what did they need to do, it was about what God must do. 

John 6:37a
All that the Father gives me will come to me, . . . 

 In other words:

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Week 11 - John 6:1-14 - Sign 4 - Feeding of the Five Thousand

The distance between Jerusalem (John 5:1) to the “other side” (John 6:1) was about 70 or 80 miles, or about a 4 day journey.  Curiously, this was a desolate location near Bethsaida.  Yes, the same name of the fountain at which the previous events took place (See parallel account Luke 9:10-17).

The Sermon on the Mount is traditionally placed on the west side of the sea (Matthew 4:23-5:1), but the return of Jesus to “the mountain” following the resurrection (Matthew 28:16-20) indicates they may have had a favorite spot.

This is the second Passover of Jesus ministry.  During the first, He cleansed the temple (John 2:13-17) and, we shall see, at the third Passover (Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48) He also cleanses the temple.

This Passover, however, He leads people away from the temple to the receive mercy at a place appropriately named bēthsaida (unlike the pool), a true place of mercy.

The synoptic Gospels add the detail that Jesus taught them and healed them until late in the day (Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:10-17).

Then, they were directed to sit in large groups (Mark 6:40) that were easy to count and delineated by gender. They stopped counting after the men.  

Estimates set the crowd at 10-20 thousand total.  Using historic costs of bread, this correlates well with Phillips estimate (John 6:7) that 200 denarii, which they did not have, would only cover only small portion for each (Say, 1/10^th of a loaf per person or 1,600–2,400 loaves).

Thanksgiving dinners at Christ Covenant Church have sat a maximum of 750 people.  The well-skilled and well-organized team of volunteers could serve the dinner to that stream of people in about 30 minutes.  Simple extrapolation (10-20 thousand/750*30/60) is 6 to 10 hours if the food was expertly served centrally to a queue of people.

Instead, this was probably done organically, where a portion of food was given to each group to share, and it multiplied in their own hands as they shared it.  This is an excellent example of how the grace of God is administered in the church.

The synoptic gospels omit any response from those who ate (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17).  But John is uniquely focused on proving that Jesus is the Christ and so includes this testimony.

John 6:14

When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

Their response points to the promise of Deuteronomy 18:15,18, and their use of the definite article “the” indicates the replacement of Moses.

This is the fourth of the seven signs described by John.

Week 10 - John 5 - Healing at the Pool of Bethesda

In typical John-fashion, no irony is lost that this lame man was attempting to heal himself at a pool named Bethesda which means “House of Mercy” (bēthesda).  And that irony was amplified when upon Christ’s arrival, who is the source of mercy, offered only the awkward question “Do you want to be healed?”.  

The lesson that Jesus teaches from this experience strikes at the heart of the misinterpretation of the Law by the Pharisees.  

Jesus was once famously asked by a Pharisee, what is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36).  Jesus responds with a first and a second citing:

Deuteronomy 6:5

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Leviticus 19:18

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Listen now closely to Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees at this pool:

John 5:39-40

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Even the invalid knew enough to accept the offer of mercy.  But the Pharisees continued to attempt to heal themselves through the effort that they crafted from the Law.  But it was all to receive glory from one another:

John 5:44

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

First, the Pharisees limited forgiveness.  They read the following:

Leviticus 16:30

For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.

And they heard only that the sins “before the Lord” (those between them and God) were atoned.  Sins between one another were not atoned by the mercy of God’s scapegoat.  This they codified as:

Mishnah Yoma 8:9

Furthermore, for transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones; however, for transgressions between a person and another, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases the other person.

Then, while they practiced and encouraged forgiveness, they used the example of God Amos 1:3 to limit their forgiveness to proverbial three-strikes.  They took God’s place as judge.

To teach the true meaning of the second-greatest commandment, Jesus taught the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35) and famously told Peter a ridiculous number Matthew 18:21–22 instead.

Jesus further condemned them saying:

John 5:42

But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.

For, they had a second misunderstanding, again, over God’s mercy.  Recall please the commandment for which they condemned Jesus:

John 5:9-10

And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews[a] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”

The Sabbath was originally designed to be an act of mercy by God.  

It was first demonstrated when the Manna, itself a merciful provision, only had to be collected six days a week (Exodus 16).  The seventh day was declared a Sabbath, a day of rest.  This occurred a month or so prior to the events of Exodus 20 when it was then included in the Ten Commandments.  Later it was declared again to include those precious days of harvesting:

Exodus 34:21

 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.

And It was forcefully spoken a another time in Deuteronomy 5:12–15 to include one’s servants.  

God intentionally wanted those obedient to this law to feel His mercy one day a week.  He would provide when they obediently rested.  He would provide when they gave up the opportunity to earn yet one more day of income.

The Pharisees, however, listened differently.

Exodus 35:1-3

Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

The chapters that follow describe the building of the Tabernacle, which they understood as “work”, from those chapeters they codified 39 categories of prohibited labor (melachot) in Mishnah Shabbat 7:2, including carrying, of which the invalid was condemned.

Once again, God’s mercy was eclipsed by man’s effort.  But Jesus still stands by us asking “Do you want to be healed?”.