The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2009
Year B
RCL
Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 22:24-30
1 John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8
The Collect
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Lesson
Acts 8:26-40
An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
"Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth."
The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
The Psalm
Psalm 22:24-30 Page 611, BCP
Deus, Deus meus
24
My praise is of him in the great assembly;
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
25
The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your heart live for ever!"
26
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.
27
For kingship belongs to the LORD;
he rules over the nations.
28
To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship;
all who go down to the dust fall before him.
29
My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him;
they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever.
30
They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn
the saving deeds that he has done.
1 John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
The Gospel
John 15:1-8
Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
EXEGESIS:
13:31 –– 14:31: THE CONTEXT
These verses serve as the foundation for chapter 15, and introduce several themes on which Jesus expands in chapter 15:
• The commandment to love (13:31-35; 15:12).
• The possibility of denying or not abiding in Jesus (13:36-38; 15:6).
• The use of the word meno in its various forms (vv. 4-7; see also 14:2, 23; 15:4 ff).
• The vital nature of the disciple's connection to Jesus (14:6; 15:5-6).
• The promise of fulfilled prayer (14:14; 15:7).
• The importance of keeping Jesus' commandments and bearing fruit (14:15; 15:8).
"One new theme is introduced: the world's hatred (15:18-25; 16:1-4a)" (Williamson, 194).
VERSES 1-8: OVERVIEW
These verses are an allegory (a work in which the characters represent other things and symbolically express a deeper meaning). There are four actors in this little drama.
• The Father is the vinegrower (v. 1).
• Christ is the vine (v. 5).
• The disciples are branches (v. 5).
• Those who do not abide in Christ are useless branches (v. 6).
Where is the church here? The fruitful church is the branch that the vinegrower prunes, but the unfruitful church is the branch that the vinegrower removes and throws into the fire.
The vine imagery is familiar. The Old Testament frequently pictures Israel as a vine or vineyard, but typically these references are negative:
"My beloved has a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes" (Isaiah 5:1b-2).
"For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice, but saw bloodshed;
righteousness, but heard a cry!" (Isaiah 5:7)
"Yet I planted you as a choice vine, from the purest stock.
How then did you turn degenerate and become a wild vine?" (Jeremiah 2:21).
"Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest,
which I have given to the fire for fuel,
so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Ezekiel 15:6).
"Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard transplanted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches from abundant water….
But it was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried it up; its fruit was stripped off,
its strong stem was withered; the fire consumed it" (Ezekiel 19:10, 12).
But there is something new here. "The Father is still portrayed as the gardener, but Jesus is the Vine, not Israel, and the disciples...are pictured as branches. (This) insertion into the old image...changes it radically. The 'vine' (here) is hardly in any danger of judgment as in the Old Testament texts. That possible scenario is ascribed only to the branches. Jesus, the Vine, appears to stand between the vineyard keeper/gardener and the branches as a kind of 'mediator' of life and sustenance" (Borchert, 139).
Vineyards are familiar. People pass vineyards as they walk from place to place. Some own their own vineyard or work in a vineyard. They are able to discern fruitful branches from those that will drain the vine's energy. They trim unfruitful branches, all the while feeling good about the surgical purpose of their work. The pruning might seem cruel, but it renews the vine's vitality. Useless vines drain the plant's strength. To leave them in place serves no purpose and reduces the value of the vineyard. The vinegrower cuts away unfruitful branches and, finding them unusable, burns them.
VERSES 1-3: I AM THE TRUE VINE
1"I am (Greek: ego eimi) the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2He removes (Greek: airei) every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes (Greek: kathairei) to make it bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed (Greek: kathairoi) by the word that I have spoken to you.
"I am (ego eimi) the true vine" (v. 1a). In this Gospel, Jesus uses "I am" (Greek: ego eimi) on a number of occasions:
• "I am the bread of life" (6:35).
• "I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (6:51).
• "I am the light of the world" (8:12).
• "I am the gate for the sheep" (10:7).
• "I am the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "I am the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (14:6).
This "I am" language hearkens back to Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush when God identified himself to Moses as "I AM WHO I AM," telling Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). In other words, "I AM" is God, and these "I am" metaphors identify Jesus as God. This is in keeping with the opening statement of this Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (1:1).
This is the last of the "I am" metaphors in this Gospel. Like the other "I am" metaphors (bread, light, gate, shepherd, etc.), the vine metaphor is reassuring –– comforting. "For a nomadic people, a vineyard is a natural symbol of settling down, calling a place home" (Howard-Brook, 330).
When Jesus identifies himself as the true vine, he implies that there is a false vine. The Old Testament passages cited above make it clear that Israel has been a false vine.
"and my Father is the vinegrower" (v. 1b). This suggests that the Father is the superior, but it also suggests great mutuality. The vine is dependent on the vinegrower for its care and feeding, but the vinegrower is also dependent on the vine for its produce. Each gives life to the other and takes life from the other. While this might press the metaphor overly far, we cannot overstate the mutuality that exists between the Father and the Son. Jesus says, "The Father and I are one" (10:30).
The Father/vinegrower performs two services to enhance the productivity of the vine. First, "He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit" (v. 2a). Second, "every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit" (v. 2b). It is important to note that, whether the branch is productive or not, the vinegrower wields a sharp knife. If the branch is not productive, the vinegrower removes it, but if the vine is productive, the vinegrower nevertheless prunes it to enhance its future productivity.
This should be instructive to us. We would like to believe that the Father will remove the unproductive branch but will spare the productive branch. However, the Father's loving care means being subject to the vinegrower's sharp knife. This means that we, as faithful disciples, can expect pain as a normal part of our lives. This can be difficult to accept. "Is it not the case that pruning (severing of debilitating relationships, loss of burdensome things, cessation of meaningless pursuits) is often understood by those suffering the pain as being cut away from God, leaving believers hurt, confused and angry?" (Craddock, 260).
The author of Hebrews explains it this way: "The Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts" (Hebrews 12:6). He goes on to say that "discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11). The parent's discipline and the vinegrower's pruning are painful but beneficial. That is important to remember, because life involves pain, and this text assures us that our pain is not necessarily a sign of God's displeasure. On the contrary, pain may well be a sign that God is still working to mold us –– to shape our lives –– to help us to become the best that we can be.
Jesus further reassures the disciples, "You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you" (v. 3). At the Passover footwashing, he told them, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you" (13:10), the exception being Judas, the one who would betray him (13:11). Now, once again, he pronounces them clean. "The disciples have heard, believed, and obeyed Jesus' word, although they may not even yet have comprehended it fully" (Smith, 283). Jesus' word has cleansing power when we believe it and obey it. This, too, is instructive. The closer our relationship to Christ, the more "cleansed" we are and the less pruning/cleansing we will require (the Greek, katharoi, means both pruned and cleansed).
There is a word play in verses 2-3 that is apparent only in the Greek. The vinegrower "removes (airei) every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes (kathairei) to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed (katharoi) by the word that I have spoken to you." It seems clear that the author chose these words with their literary value in mind.
VERSES 4-8: ABIDE IN ME AS I ABIDE IN YOU
4Abide (Greek: meinate –– from meno) in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
"Abide (meinate –– from meno) in me as I abide in you" (v. 4a). This verb, meno, in its various forms (including the equivalent noun form), occurs in a number of passages in this Gospel. In most cases, they describe an important relationship or spiritual condition:
• John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained (emainen) on him" (1:32).
• Jesus rebukes the Jewish religious leaders, saying, "You do not have his word abiding (menonta) in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent" (5:38).
• Jesus says, "I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain (meine) in the darkness" (12:46).
• Jesus says, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places (monai). If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?" (14:2).
• Jesus says, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home (monen) with them" (14:23).
15:1-8, with its emphasis on abiding in Jesus, "is the Johannine counterpart of the Pauline view of the church as the body of Christ and of believers as 'in' Christ. Both are ways of bringing out the vital connection that exists between Christ and his own…. (However,) Jesus does not say that the church is the vine but that he is. The church is no more than the branches that are 'in' the vine" (Morris, 593)
In 15:4-7, Jesus makes it clear that our relationship with him –– our abiding in him –– is the key both to our fruitfulness and to our destiny. The Christian finds strength and purpose through relationship with Christ. The weak person becomes strong when grafted onto the Christ-vine, and the strong person becomes vulnerable when detached from it.
Furthermore, Jesus has promised his disciples that the Father "will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned" (14:16b-18a).
C.J. Jung says that Christ "adds a new rung to the ladder of evolution, producing a new creature who lives in a new way to which the natural man can no more attain than a crawling thing can fly…. And… this daring claim cannot be laughed out of court. For (Christ) has done it. And we meet such new creatures every day upon the streets. And we are meant to be one of them; are intended so to live that others, meeting us, will look at us, and look again, and then from us to Jesus Christ…. And that perhaps is the most signal way in which we can help Christ" (quoted in Gossip, 717).
"Abide in me as I abide in you" (v. 4a). These words are also addressed to the church, "whose communal life and ministries of social justice are no more than branches to be tossed into the fire, apart from the indwelling Christ" (Cousar, 315). "Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me" (v. 4b). The church is always tempted to look elsewhere –– to politics or wealthy donors –– for strength, but Jesus tells us that fruitfulness starts in a very different place. As long as we are in his presence, his strength becomes ours. As soon as we turn our back on him, our strength begins to drain away.
We are tempted to believe otherwise. Our prayer life gets swallowed up in busyness. Our true values are revealed in the way that we set priorities –– or allow priorities to set themselves. For clergy, many things are Priority One. We must conduct worship, weddings, and funerals –– console the grieving –– visit hospital patients –– attend board meetings –– supervise staff –– counsel –– teach catechetical classes –– answer the phone –– prepare the bulletin –– attend civic activities. We know that we must also pray, but prayer too easily gets lost in the rush. We hope that a quick cry for help is enough, but Jesus says, "Abide in me."
We are also tempted by other loyalties. We know that abiding in Jesus is central to our ministry, but we also know that loyalties to denomination, bishop, and theological heritage help us to get ahead. It is all too easy to make these our abiding places, but Jesus says, "Abide in me."
"Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me" (v. 4b). Abiding in Jesus enables the branch to bear fruit. What fruit?
• Jesus commands us to love one another (13:34; 15:12), so love must be one of the fruits.
• Jesus calls us to obey his commandments (v. 10), so obedience must be one of the fruits.
• Jesus promises joy (v. 11), so joy must be one of the fruits.
• But perhaps the fruit involves more than is revealed in this chapter. Paul mentions the fruits of the Spirit –– love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). Surely abiding in Jesus must produce each of these in some measure.
When asked to measure our fruitfulness, we look to baptisms –– attendance at worship –– funds raised for a new building –– or other statistics. True fruitfulness, however, flows from our abiding relationship with Jesus and the Spirit whom Jesus promises (v. 26). It follows, then, that our fruit will be that which we are given, and will be specific to each disciple. Bultmann says, "The nature of the fruit-bearing is not expressly stated; it is every demonstration of vitality of faith, to which, according to vv. 9-17, reciprocal love above all belongs" (quoted in Smith, 283).
I am reminded of a young woman of limited circumstances whose ministry consisted of reading the daily newspaper and praying for newborn babies, newly married couples, bereaved families, and others in need of God's help. I believe that she had a fruitful ministry. The fruit need not be things that fit neatly on charts and graphs. The acid test is whether it gives glory to God (v. 8).
But we are faced with the practical question of how to go about the business of abiding in Jesus. What must we do? There are at least three disciplines to which we need to attend.
• Service to God through public worship and support of the church.
• Service to others, in particular service to the needy.
• Service to self through personal prayer, devotions, and scripture study.
"I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing" (v. 5). Jesus does not say, "I am the tree and you are the branches." The branch of a tree might have some value as firewood even if detached from the tree. The branch of a vine, however, "is suitable only for one of two things, either the vine or the fire" (Augustine).
Rather than becoming simply mediocre when not connected to Jesus, we become absolutely powerless. Rather than the value of our work and witness being just diminished, it becomes completely worthless. We can no more function spiritually when unconnected to Jesus than we can function physically when cut off from the air that we breathe. Being unconnected to Jesus is being cut off from the source of life. Without our connection to Jesus, we are completely dependent on our own resources, resulting "either in total unfruitfulness or lapsing into the wild growth that is no longer shaped by his word, into activism or idealism that is neither derived from nor directed to him" (Ridderbos, 517).
"Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned" (v. 6). This echoes the tone of judgment in Jesus' metaphor of the sheep and the goats. We would prefer that Jesus affirm our goodness and assure us of life. Instead we learn that, apart from Christ, there is no goodness or life.
"If you abide in me, and my words (Greek: rhemata) abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (v. 7). "The 'words' (plural) here are rhemata; the 'word' (singular) of verse 3 is logos. The logos is (Jesus') teaching in its entirety; the rhemata are the individual utterances which make it up. He himself is the living embodiment of all his teaching" (Bruce, 309).
"If...my words abide in you" (v. 7a). "Mutual indwelling involves more than just obedience...; it also entails a growing absorption of Jesus' teaching in one's understanding and life practice that issues in the bearing of much fruit" (Kostenberger, 455).
Verse 7 sounds very much like the "Ask and you will receive" passage in the Sermon on the Mount, but verse 7 establishes an important condition. It is only the person who abides in Christ who can expect to receive whatever he or she asks. We have great power, but only as we are connected to the source of power. Such connectedness shapes our asking. If we abide in Christ and his words abide in us, our asking will be in accord with his will. Jesus says, "Ask whatever you wish," but the person who abides in Christ will not wish for frivolous or evil things. As we abide in Christ, our hearts will be focused on Christ's concerns and our prayers will sound more and more like his prayers.
"My Father is glorified by this" (v. 8a). The word "glory" is used in the Bible to speak of various wonderful things –– but it is used especially to speak of God's glory –– an aura associated with God's appearance that reveals God's majesty to humans.
Christ shares God's glory. The glory of the Lord was revealed at his birth (Luke 2:9; John 1:14). His disciples, Peter, James and John, were privileged to see Christ's glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (9:28-36). Christ's cross was necessary so that he might "enter into his glory" (Luke 24:26; see also Philippians 2:5-11). The Gospel of John in particular speaks of the cross as Christ's glorification (John 12:23; 13:31-32). Jesus spoke of returning "with power and great glory" (Luke 21:27).
This verse tells us that we, too, can glorify God by our actions and fruitbearing.
"that you bear much fruit and become my disciples" (v. 8b). This is puzzling. Jesus is speaking to people who are already disciples. Why does he speak of their "becoming" his disciples? Perhaps the answer is that our discipleship is always imperfect and we are always learning (the word "disciple" means one who learns). Our fruit bearing helps us to grow as disciples. Growth in saintliness brings glory to God.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
"The branch severed from the vine means paralysis and death.
But it means also an impoverished vine.
The healthy branch is a vehicle for the expression of the vine.
Paul said, 'I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.'"
John Henry Jowett
* * * * * * * * * *
The big end of the branch is always toward the vine.
The fruit comes on the little end.
When we daily direct the big end of our lives toward Christ and his Word,
an amazing thing takes place.
The fruit comes on the little end.
It will come in a way that will let us know
that it was because of him and in spite of us.
Lane Adams
* * * * * * * * * *
We ask the leaf, "Are you complete in yourself?"
And the leaf answers, "No, my life is in the branches."
We ask the branch,
and the branch answers, "No, my life is in the root."
We ask the root,
and it answers, "No, my life is in the trunk
and the branches and the leaves.
Keep the branches stripped of leaves, and I shall die!"
So it is with the great tree of being.
Nothing is completely and merely individual.
Harry Emerson Fosdick
* * * * * * * * * *
In Christian service
the branches that bear the most fruit
hang the lowest.
Anonymous
* * * * * * * * * *
Living with...handicapped people, I realize how success oriented I am. Living with men and women who cannot compete in the worlds of business, industry, sports, or academics, but for whom dressing, walking, speaking, eating, drinking, and playing are the main "accomplishments," is extremely frustrating for me. I may have come to the theoretical insight that being is more important than doing, but when asked to just be with people who can do very little I realize how far I am from the realization of that insight.... Some of us might be productive and others not, but we are all called to bear fruit: fruitfulness is a true quality of love.
Henri J. M. Nouwen in Lifesigns
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Beasley-Murray, George R., Word Biblical Commentary: John (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 12-21, Vol. 25B (Nashville: Broadman Press, 2002)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI (Garden City: Doubleday, 1970)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Cousar, Charles B., in Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Palmer, Earl F., The Book That John Wrote (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1975)
Pazdan, Mary Margaret, in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Williamson, Lamar, Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John: Proclaiming the Living Word (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
May 3, 2009, The 4th Sunday of Easter
SCRIPTURE STUDY
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B
MAY 3, 2009
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
The Collect
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Lesson
Acts 4:5-12
The day after they had arrested Peter and John for teaching about Jesus and the resurrection, the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is
`the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.'
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."
The Psalm
Psalm 23 Page 612, BCP
Dominus regit me
1
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not be in want.
2
He makes me lie down in green pastures
and leads me beside still waters.
3
He revives my soul
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5
You spread a table before me in the presence of those
who trouble me;
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6
Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
1 John 3:16-24
We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
The Gospel
John 10:11-18
Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 9-10: THE CONTEXT
The "I am the good shepherd" passage has as its background the story of the man born blind (9:1-34). Jesus healed the blind man, precipitating a controversy with the Pharisees, who refused to believe that Jesus had performed a miracle and who tried to discredit Jesus. That story ended with the formerly blind man bearing testimony to Jesus and the Pharisees driving him out –– an ironic twist in which the formerly blind man is blessed with spiritual insight as well as physical sight while the spiritual leaders of Israel refuse to see –– a fact that Jesus lifts up in his discourse on spiritual blindness (9:35-41).
Jesus then uses various pastoral metaphors about sheep, gatekeepers, and the gate of the sheepfold (10:1-10), identifying himself first as the gate of the sheepfold (v. 7) and then as the good shepherd (v. 11). He contrasts himself with thieves, bandits who do not enter by the gate (v. 1) and strangers whom the sheep refuse to follow (v. 5). Then he contrasts himself with the hired hand who is supposed to take care of the sheep but who really cares only for his own personal welfare (vv. 12-13).
These negative images (those who refuse to see, thieves, bandits, strangers, and hired hands) are thinly veiled metaphors for the Pharisees who, in their encounter with the formerly blind man, reveal themselves to be uncaring about the blind man and heedless of the truth. Their actions are selfish, and have nothing to do with love of God or man. The formerly blind man not only refuses to follow them but also courageously opposes them. Even though he was blind, now he sees clearly –– and he sees that Jesus, not the Pharisees, is the good shepherd –– that Jesus deserves his trust.
An interesting nuance occurs in that story when the Pharisees question the blind man's parents, asking how he can see (9:19). The parents answer, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself" (9:20-21). The narrator explains, "His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him'" (9:22-23). In other words, these parents are acting like a hired hand who "sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away" (10:12). Finding themselves in danger, they abandon their son.
Evidence that these various metaphors are really one continuous story is also found in vv. 19-21, which repeat two of the themes stated earlier, the division of the Jews regarding Jesus (9:16 and 10:19) and the significance of the healing as testimony to Jesus' Godly power (9:33 and 10:21).
One unresolved problem is that 7:2 says that the festival of Booths was near, and 10:22 says, "At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem." These festivals are roughly three months apart, and it is not clear where the story shifts from the earlier to the later time.
VERSES 11-13: I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
11"I am (Greek: ego eimi) the good (Greek: kalos) shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep 12The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away –– and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
"I am (ego eimi) the good shepherd" (v. 11a). Ego eimi is an important phrase in this Gospel, which includes a number of "I am" sayings:
• "Ego eimi he" (4:26)
• "Ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35).
• "Ego eimi the living bread" (6:51).
• "Ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12; 9:5).
• "Before Abraham was, Ego eimi" (8:58).
• "Ego eimi the door of the sheep" (10:7).
• "Ego eimi the door" (10:9).
• "Ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "Ego eimi the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "Ego eimi the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).
• "Ego eimi the true vine" (15:1).
Ego eimi can be understood as coded language that refers back to Moses' encounter with God many centuries earlier. On that occasion, when Moses asked God's name, God replied, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). In that verse, "I AM" is "ego eimi" in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament). Also, in Isaiah 40-55, God uses this phrase, "I am," over and over to refer to himself. In other words, ego eimi can be construed as God's name. When Jesus applies ego eimi to himself, he is subtly identifying himself with God –– as God.
"The 'I am' sayings form the distinctive core of Jesus' language of self-revelation in the Fourth Gospel.... Through these common symbols, Jesus declares that people's religious needs and human longings are met in him" (O'Day, 601).
"I am the good (kalos) shepherd" (v. 11a). The Old Testament uses shepherd as a metaphor for God (Genesis 48:15; 49:24; Psalm 23:1; 28:9; 80:1; Isaiah 40:11). God also appointed leaders to be shepherds for Israel (Numbers 27:16-17; 2 Samuel 5:2; 7:7; 1 Chronicles 11:2; 17:6; Isaiah 44:28).
Barclay notes that there are two Greek words for good. The first is agathos, which "simply describes the moral quality of a thing." The second is kalos (used in this verse), "which means that a thing or a person is not only good; but in the goodness there is a quality of winsomeness, loveliness, attractiveness which makes it a lovely thing." Barclay then likens the phrase "the good shepherd" to the phrase "the good doctor." When people speak of the good doctor, "they are not thinking only of the doctor's efficiency and skill as a physician; they are thinking of the sympathy and the kindness and the graciousness which he brought with him, and which made him the friend of all. In the picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd there is loveliness as well as strength and power" (Barclay, 71). Brown suggests that "noble" would be a good translation for kalos in verse 11, noting that "kalos means 'beautiful' in the sense of an ideal or model of perfection; we saw it used in the 'choice wine' of ii 10" (the story of the wedding at Cana) (Brown, 386).
"The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (v. 11b). This brings to mind David, the shepherd boy who slew a lion and a bear in defense of his sheep (1 Samuel 17:35-36). Surely some shepherds lose their lives trying to protect their sheep from wild animals or thieves. Others lose their footing as they search for lost sheep at night, suffering injury or even death. Being a shepherd is not for the fainthearted.
But Jesus goes beyond that. A good shepherd will risk his life to protect the sheep, but that is different from laying down one's life. The shepherd who risks his life for the sheep does not expect to die, but expects to live. Occasionally, a shepherd will die in an encounter with animals or thieves, but most will not. People who engage in risky occupations typically believe that it will be the other person who will die. They don't plan to lay down their own lives, but rather to make their foe to lay down his/her life.
Also, a shepherd who dies leaves the sheep defenseless, so the only good shepherd is a live shepherd –– or so it would seem. Jesus says otherwise. "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (v. 11b). While a good shepherd does not go to the field intending to die, Jesus will do exactly that in obedience to the Father (v. 18). Jesus came into the world to die on the cross, and it is the death of the Lamb of God that saves us from death (1:29; Revelation 7:17) –– or perhaps we should say that it is the Lamb's resurrection –– his victory over death –– that insures our victory over death. His resurrection will bring him back to his disciples. When he finally leaves them, he will not leave them comfortless but instead will give them the gift of the Comforter (14:25) and will return to take them to a place that he has prepared for them (14:2). This is no "dead and gone" shepherd –– no absentee Lord.
Lincoln notes that the Greeks have a concept of dying nobly (kalos). "To be praiseworthy or honourable, (such death) should be voluntary and for the sake of others." He then talks about the Maccabean martyrs, who in 164 B.C. overthrew the Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, who had profaned the Jerusalem temple and tried to suppress the Jewish faith. "The Maccabean martyrs are said to have died nobly because their deaths were suffered on behalf of their kindred or the nation and in order to save them" (Lincoln, 297).
"The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away –– and the wolf snatches them and scatters them" (v. 12). Exodus 22:1-14 includes laws of restitution. For instance, a thief would be required to repay twofold, fourfold, or fivefold, depending on the circumstances. If unable to pay, he could be sold into servitude (Exodus 22:1-4). However, if an animal "was mangled by beasts, let it be brought as evidence; restitution shall not be made for the mangled remains" (Exodus 22:13). However, the Mishnah (commentary on Jewish law) required a hireling to protect the sheep from one wolf, but relieved him of responsibility if more than one wolf was involved (Kosenberger, 305-6).
If there is such a thing as a good shepherd, there must also be such a thing as a bad shepherd. Jesus contrasts the good shepherd, not with a thief, but with a hired hand –– a mercenary who cares only for his paycheck –– who has no affection for the sheep and who feels no great responsibility for them –– who sees shepherding, not as a calling, but only as a job –– who runs away from danger, allowing the wolf to snatch and scatter the sheep. Such a hired hand will tend the sheep only until he receives a better offer. If a sheep wanders off at night, he can easily justify staying with the flock rather than seeking the one who was lost. If a lion stalks the sheep, the hired hand can easily justify sacrificing a lamb or two to save the flock –– and himself.
"The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep" (v. 13). In a sense, having a hired hand as a shepherd is worse than having no shepherd at all. The hired hand gives the illusion of protection without protecting. If the owner has no shepherd, he will work to find one. If he has a hired hand, the owner will relax, thinking that the sheep are safe.
On a morality scale of one to ten, the hired hand is somewhere in the middle. He intends to be neither a hero nor a villain, but becomes a villain because of what happens to the sheep in his care. He fails to recognize (or perhaps to care) that his work is important –– literally a matter of life or death for the sheep. His indifference is likely to result in the death of the sheep in his care. His attitude is important, because lives are at stake.
There is a lesson here for us. It is not enough to go through the motions as a Christian. Christ wants more than lip service –– he wants our hearts. In the letters to the seven churches, Jesus warns the church at Laodicea: "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16). The reason is simple. Christ calls us, in ways great or small, to proclaim the Good News of the salvation available through him. Indifference is a serious evil, because lives are at stake.
Jesus takes the metaphor of good and bad shepherds from Ezekiel 34, which speaks of the shepherds of Israel –– religious leaders –– "who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep" (34:2-3). It contrasts these bad shepherds with God, the true shepherd (34:11-31). The passage concludes with God promising Israel, "You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord God" (34:31).
There are good and bad shepherds today, both clergy and laypeople. The difference is in the shepherd's heart. The good shepherd cares about the people in his/her care, whether they are a diocese, a congregation, or just a few children in a Sunday school class. The good shepherd seeks ways to lead faithfully, and stands for what is right –– even in the face of opposition or danger. Bad shepherds care only about their own welfare. A bad shepherd might preach false doctrine –– or care more for programs or building campaigns than for people –– or become embroiled in a sexual scandal –– but it is bad enough for a shepherd simply not to care about the sheep. Fortunately, Christ has many more good shepherds than bad.
VERSES 14-16: I KNOW MY OWN AND MY OWN KNOW ME
14I am the good shepherd. I know (Greek: ginosko) my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold (Greek: aules). I must (Greek: dei –– it is necessary –– a divine necessity) bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock (Greek: poimne), one shepherd (Greek: poimen).
"I am the good shepherd. I know (ginosko) my own and my own know me" (v. 14). In verse 11, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. In verse 14, the good shepherd knows (ginosko) the sheep and the sheep know him. Ginosko is more than superficial knowledge –– it involves experience –– relationship. The Old Testament talks of a man knowing his wife in the sense of sexual intimacy, a relationship that has significance beyond the physical act. When Jesus says that the good shepherd knows the sheep, he is not implying anything sexual, but is nevertheless talking about a very significant relationship.
The shepherd (Jesus) knows the sheep (people) because he "became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). "Though he was in the form of God, (he) did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death –– even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus knows his own, because he has lived in our skin and has experienced our joys and sorrows.
Jesus says that he knows his own and his own know him "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father" (v. 15a). The unity of Father and Son is a major theme of this Gospel:
• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (1:1).
• Jesus tells the Jewish leaders, "The Father and I are one" (10:30).
• When the Jews reject Jesus, he challenges them, "even though you do not believe me, believe (my) works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father" (10:38).
• In his high priestly prayer, Jesus prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21).
In verses 14-15a, Jesus gives us the sense of an all-encompassing intimacy that begins in his relationship with the Father and extends to those whom the Father has given to him (17:6) and to all "who will believe in me through their word" (17:20). What Jesus is describing, then, is a grand extended family that begins with the loving Father and, through the love of the Son, embraces all believers.
I experienced something like that many years ago in a little country church when I was a student-pastor. A wonderful member of that congregation, a woman named Matie, had grown sons and daughters who lived nearby. They were a close-knit family who gathered regularly for Sunday lunch at Matie's house. Matie had a big table that would seat twenty people, and I seldom saw an empty seat. I was unmarried at the time, and Matie adopted me into her family. I often stayed at her house on Saturday nights and ate lunch at her table on Sunday afternoons. It was a wonderful experience that was possible only because of Matie –– the fine person that she was. That large but intimate fellowship grew out of her large and loving heart. So it is with the church, the extended family that grows out of the loving hearts of the Father and the Son.
"And I lay down my life for the sheep" (v. 15b). Jesus reminds us once again that he lays down his life for the sheep, a theme that he will pick up again in verse 17.
"I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold (aules). I must (dei) bring them also" (v. 16a). A sheepfold is an enclosure or a corral where the sheep live when they are not grazing for food. It provides security and fosters a sense of community. Jesus says that he will bring these other sheep also, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Who are these other sheep? Some scholars have speculated that they are other Jewish-Christian communities, but "this view is both needlessly anachronistic and hopelessly speculative" (Carson, 390). Most scholars believe that Jesus is referring to Gentiles. When Jesus says, "I have," he implies that these sheep already belong to him, but he has yet to bring them to the fold. He must do so (Greek: dei –– it is necessary for him to do so).
"and they will listen to my voice" (v. 16b). Earlier Jesus said, "the sheep follow (the shepherd) because they know his voice" (v. 4). Borchert, who lived for a time in Israel, recounts two incidents that reflect this truth. In the first, a shepherd led his sheep through the busy traffic in Jerusalem, singing and whistling to keep the sheep together. In the second, four shepherds shared a sheepfold. In the morning, each shepherd in turn would sing and call his sheep, who "dutifully separated from the larger flock and began to follow him to the hills for their daylight feeding" (Borchert, 330).
Jesus concludes, "So there will be one flock (poimne), one shepherd" (poimen) (v. 16c). Brown suggests that we translate this "one sheep herd, one shepherd" as a way of preserving the similar sound of poimne and poimen in the original (Brown, 387). Today the barriers that separate us are likely to be denominational, national, racial, educational, vocational, or financial. Such barriers are inappropriate among Christians. Christ calls us to be "one flock" (v. 16).
Some earlier translations translated verse 16b "one fold, one shepherd," but that is not correct. The Greek clearly says poimne (flock or herd) instead of aules (fold). Jesus is speaking here of the church, the people of God. We might not all be corralled in one enclosure, but we are all one flock.
VERSES 17-18: I HAVE OTHER SHEEP NOT OF THIS FOLD
17For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."
"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again" (v. 17). This is difficult to understand –– doesn't the Father love the Son because he is his Son? "For the fourth gospel, neither God's love for the Son nor Jesus' love for his disciples is unconditional. It is expressly and clearly grounded in the willingness of the beloved to witness to their faith by laying down their lives and trusting that they will be received again" (Howard-Brook, 241).
The Son lays down his life "in order to take it up again" (v. 17). John's Gospel views the cross and resurrection differently from the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and Acts (also written by Luke):
• In the Synoptics, it is God who acts. In John, the Son acts in obedience to the Father but of his own accord.
• In the Synoptics, Jesus prays, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want" (Mark 14:36). In John's Gospel he lays down his life himself –– but only so that he might take it up again. In John's Gospel, Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension together constitute a single salvation action. Jesus is not a reluctant martyr but a willing savior carrying out the purpose for which he came. We should not see his death "as an accident of fate or…as a tragedy perpetrated by misguided men, but as the Father's plan" (Carson, 389). "The mutual love of the Father and Son thus was seen in a deed of love for the world, in which the Father in love willed to save all and the Son in love freely gave his all" (Beasley-Murray, 171).
• In the Synoptics and Acts, the emphasis is on God raising Jesus from the dead (Matthew 28:6-7; Mark 16:6; Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15, etc.), but in John's Gospel, Jesus takes his life up again (v. 17). Not only does he take up his own life again, but he also makes our resurrection possible –– "No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day" (6:44).
"No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father" (v. 18). "While Peter accuses the Sanhedrin of putting Jesus to death (Acts 4:10) and, with Paul and the other apostles, affirms that God raised him from the dead (Acts 2:32; 4:10b), John's Jesus insists that he lays down his life of his own accord, and in his own power takes it up again" (Williamson, 121).
"In the convention about a noble death not only is such a death voluntary but those who suffer it can also be said to be unconquered and to triumph.... Jesus in his death is not the vanquished but the vanquisher and so, contrary to normal evaluation, his crucifixion is not a matter of shame or disgrace but a noble or honourable death" (Lincoln, 299).
TRUE STORY:
In her book, All Is Calm, All Is Bright, Cheryl Kirking tells the story of Brenda Nixon, whose Christmas was made stressful by the possibility that her husband would be laid off from his job. How would they cope?
Brenda was a Sunday school teacher –– teaching the three-year old class. When she picked up her teacher's manual, she saw that the lesson was about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. "What does that have to do with Christmas?" she wondered.
After the children had finished gluing cotton balls to sheep pictures, she gathered them in a circle. She asked, "What is a good shepherd?" –– hardly expecting that the three-year-olds would have any idea.
But one of the children replied, "He (the Good Shepherd) picks up his sheep when they fall down." That child reminded Brenda that, even when we fall down, Jesus is there to pick us up.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
There are three theories of power and therefore of authority, to wit:
the robber theory that all power is for mastery;
the hireling theory that all power is for wealth;
the good shepherd theory that all power is for service.
Vincent McNabb
* * * * * * * * * *
The wolf will hire himself out very cheaply as a shepherd.
Russian proverb
* * * * * * * * * *
Back when the sacred authors used the imagery of the shepherd to depict Jesus, they had a clear understanding of the job description. A shepherd is needed only when there are no fences. He is someone who stays with his sheep at all cost, guiding, protecting, and walking with them through the fields. He's not just a person who raises sheep.
Though our bishops consider themselves "tenders of the flock," most are nothing more than mutton farmers. They build fence after fence, keeping the flock within sight so they don't have to dirty their feet plodding through the open fields. After all, the landowner frowns upon dirty feet.
Lena Wolterin
* * * * * * * * * *
God's main purpose with us is not to get us somewhere but to make something of us on the way…. When your way is rough and lonely, when you are beaten by failure and chilled with disappointment, remember that God is seeking to develop your soul by those experiences…. It is not getting somewhere or finding something on which we have set our hearts that matters. It is what we become on the way that counts.
John Bishop, A Word in Season
* * * * * * * * * *
In the Holy Land poisonous plants abound. Each spring the shepherd must be alert. When he finds the plants he takes his mattock and grubs out every stock and root he can see. He lays them on little stone pyres, some built by shepherds in Old Testament days, and by the morrow they are dry enough to burn....the sheep eat in peace in the presence of their enemies.
James K. Wallace, The Basque Sheepherder and the Shepherd's Psalm
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Beasley-Murray, George R., Word Biblical Commentary: John (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Johnston, Scott Black, in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Palmer, Earl F., The Book That John Wrote (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1975)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Williamson, Lamar, Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John: Proclaiming the Living Word (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Copyright 2009, Richard Niell Donovan
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B
MAY 3, 2009
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
The Collect
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Lesson
Acts 4:5-12
The day after they had arrested Peter and John for teaching about Jesus and the resurrection, the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is
`the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.'
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."
The Psalm
Psalm 23 Page 612, BCP
Dominus regit me
1
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not be in want.
2
He makes me lie down in green pastures
and leads me beside still waters.
3
He revives my soul
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5
You spread a table before me in the presence of those
who trouble me;
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6
Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
1 John 3:16-24
We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
The Gospel
John 10:11-18
Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTERS 9-10: THE CONTEXT
The "I am the good shepherd" passage has as its background the story of the man born blind (9:1-34). Jesus healed the blind man, precipitating a controversy with the Pharisees, who refused to believe that Jesus had performed a miracle and who tried to discredit Jesus. That story ended with the formerly blind man bearing testimony to Jesus and the Pharisees driving him out –– an ironic twist in which the formerly blind man is blessed with spiritual insight as well as physical sight while the spiritual leaders of Israel refuse to see –– a fact that Jesus lifts up in his discourse on spiritual blindness (9:35-41).
Jesus then uses various pastoral metaphors about sheep, gatekeepers, and the gate of the sheepfold (10:1-10), identifying himself first as the gate of the sheepfold (v. 7) and then as the good shepherd (v. 11). He contrasts himself with thieves, bandits who do not enter by the gate (v. 1) and strangers whom the sheep refuse to follow (v. 5). Then he contrasts himself with the hired hand who is supposed to take care of the sheep but who really cares only for his own personal welfare (vv. 12-13).
These negative images (those who refuse to see, thieves, bandits, strangers, and hired hands) are thinly veiled metaphors for the Pharisees who, in their encounter with the formerly blind man, reveal themselves to be uncaring about the blind man and heedless of the truth. Their actions are selfish, and have nothing to do with love of God or man. The formerly blind man not only refuses to follow them but also courageously opposes them. Even though he was blind, now he sees clearly –– and he sees that Jesus, not the Pharisees, is the good shepherd –– that Jesus deserves his trust.
An interesting nuance occurs in that story when the Pharisees question the blind man's parents, asking how he can see (9:19). The parents answer, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself" (9:20-21). The narrator explains, "His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him'" (9:22-23). In other words, these parents are acting like a hired hand who "sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away" (10:12). Finding themselves in danger, they abandon their son.
Evidence that these various metaphors are really one continuous story is also found in vv. 19-21, which repeat two of the themes stated earlier, the division of the Jews regarding Jesus (9:16 and 10:19) and the significance of the healing as testimony to Jesus' Godly power (9:33 and 10:21).
One unresolved problem is that 7:2 says that the festival of Booths was near, and 10:22 says, "At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem." These festivals are roughly three months apart, and it is not clear where the story shifts from the earlier to the later time.
VERSES 11-13: I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
11"I am (Greek: ego eimi) the good (Greek: kalos) shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep 12The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away –– and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
"I am (ego eimi) the good shepherd" (v. 11a). Ego eimi is an important phrase in this Gospel, which includes a number of "I am" sayings:
• "Ego eimi he" (4:26)
• "Ego eimi the bread of life" (6:35).
• "Ego eimi the living bread" (6:51).
• "Ego eimi the light of the world" (8:12; 9:5).
• "Before Abraham was, Ego eimi" (8:58).
• "Ego eimi the door of the sheep" (10:7).
• "Ego eimi the door" (10:9).
• "Ego eimi the good shepherd" (10:11).
• "Ego eimi the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
• "Ego eimi the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).
• "Ego eimi the true vine" (15:1).
Ego eimi can be understood as coded language that refers back to Moses' encounter with God many centuries earlier. On that occasion, when Moses asked God's name, God replied, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you' " (Exodus 3:14). In that verse, "I AM" is "ego eimi" in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament). Also, in Isaiah 40-55, God uses this phrase, "I am," over and over to refer to himself. In other words, ego eimi can be construed as God's name. When Jesus applies ego eimi to himself, he is subtly identifying himself with God –– as God.
"The 'I am' sayings form the distinctive core of Jesus' language of self-revelation in the Fourth Gospel.... Through these common symbols, Jesus declares that people's religious needs and human longings are met in him" (O'Day, 601).
"I am the good (kalos) shepherd" (v. 11a). The Old Testament uses shepherd as a metaphor for God (Genesis 48:15; 49:24; Psalm 23:1; 28:9; 80:1; Isaiah 40:11). God also appointed leaders to be shepherds for Israel (Numbers 27:16-17; 2 Samuel 5:2; 7:7; 1 Chronicles 11:2; 17:6; Isaiah 44:28).
Barclay notes that there are two Greek words for good. The first is agathos, which "simply describes the moral quality of a thing." The second is kalos (used in this verse), "which means that a thing or a person is not only good; but in the goodness there is a quality of winsomeness, loveliness, attractiveness which makes it a lovely thing." Barclay then likens the phrase "the good shepherd" to the phrase "the good doctor." When people speak of the good doctor, "they are not thinking only of the doctor's efficiency and skill as a physician; they are thinking of the sympathy and the kindness and the graciousness which he brought with him, and which made him the friend of all. In the picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd there is loveliness as well as strength and power" (Barclay, 71). Brown suggests that "noble" would be a good translation for kalos in verse 11, noting that "kalos means 'beautiful' in the sense of an ideal or model of perfection; we saw it used in the 'choice wine' of ii 10" (the story of the wedding at Cana) (Brown, 386).
"The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (v. 11b). This brings to mind David, the shepherd boy who slew a lion and a bear in defense of his sheep (1 Samuel 17:35-36). Surely some shepherds lose their lives trying to protect their sheep from wild animals or thieves. Others lose their footing as they search for lost sheep at night, suffering injury or even death. Being a shepherd is not for the fainthearted.
But Jesus goes beyond that. A good shepherd will risk his life to protect the sheep, but that is different from laying down one's life. The shepherd who risks his life for the sheep does not expect to die, but expects to live. Occasionally, a shepherd will die in an encounter with animals or thieves, but most will not. People who engage in risky occupations typically believe that it will be the other person who will die. They don't plan to lay down their own lives, but rather to make their foe to lay down his/her life.
Also, a shepherd who dies leaves the sheep defenseless, so the only good shepherd is a live shepherd –– or so it would seem. Jesus says otherwise. "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (v. 11b). While a good shepherd does not go to the field intending to die, Jesus will do exactly that in obedience to the Father (v. 18). Jesus came into the world to die on the cross, and it is the death of the Lamb of God that saves us from death (1:29; Revelation 7:17) –– or perhaps we should say that it is the Lamb's resurrection –– his victory over death –– that insures our victory over death. His resurrection will bring him back to his disciples. When he finally leaves them, he will not leave them comfortless but instead will give them the gift of the Comforter (14:25) and will return to take them to a place that he has prepared for them (14:2). This is no "dead and gone" shepherd –– no absentee Lord.
Lincoln notes that the Greeks have a concept of dying nobly (kalos). "To be praiseworthy or honourable, (such death) should be voluntary and for the sake of others." He then talks about the Maccabean martyrs, who in 164 B.C. overthrew the Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, who had profaned the Jerusalem temple and tried to suppress the Jewish faith. "The Maccabean martyrs are said to have died nobly because their deaths were suffered on behalf of their kindred or the nation and in order to save them" (Lincoln, 297).
"The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away –– and the wolf snatches them and scatters them" (v. 12). Exodus 22:1-14 includes laws of restitution. For instance, a thief would be required to repay twofold, fourfold, or fivefold, depending on the circumstances. If unable to pay, he could be sold into servitude (Exodus 22:1-4). However, if an animal "was mangled by beasts, let it be brought as evidence; restitution shall not be made for the mangled remains" (Exodus 22:13). However, the Mishnah (commentary on Jewish law) required a hireling to protect the sheep from one wolf, but relieved him of responsibility if more than one wolf was involved (Kosenberger, 305-6).
If there is such a thing as a good shepherd, there must also be such a thing as a bad shepherd. Jesus contrasts the good shepherd, not with a thief, but with a hired hand –– a mercenary who cares only for his paycheck –– who has no affection for the sheep and who feels no great responsibility for them –– who sees shepherding, not as a calling, but only as a job –– who runs away from danger, allowing the wolf to snatch and scatter the sheep. Such a hired hand will tend the sheep only until he receives a better offer. If a sheep wanders off at night, he can easily justify staying with the flock rather than seeking the one who was lost. If a lion stalks the sheep, the hired hand can easily justify sacrificing a lamb or two to save the flock –– and himself.
"The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep" (v. 13). In a sense, having a hired hand as a shepherd is worse than having no shepherd at all. The hired hand gives the illusion of protection without protecting. If the owner has no shepherd, he will work to find one. If he has a hired hand, the owner will relax, thinking that the sheep are safe.
On a morality scale of one to ten, the hired hand is somewhere in the middle. He intends to be neither a hero nor a villain, but becomes a villain because of what happens to the sheep in his care. He fails to recognize (or perhaps to care) that his work is important –– literally a matter of life or death for the sheep. His indifference is likely to result in the death of the sheep in his care. His attitude is important, because lives are at stake.
There is a lesson here for us. It is not enough to go through the motions as a Christian. Christ wants more than lip service –– he wants our hearts. In the letters to the seven churches, Jesus warns the church at Laodicea: "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16). The reason is simple. Christ calls us, in ways great or small, to proclaim the Good News of the salvation available through him. Indifference is a serious evil, because lives are at stake.
Jesus takes the metaphor of good and bad shepherds from Ezekiel 34, which speaks of the shepherds of Israel –– religious leaders –– "who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep" (34:2-3). It contrasts these bad shepherds with God, the true shepherd (34:11-31). The passage concludes with God promising Israel, "You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord God" (34:31).
There are good and bad shepherds today, both clergy and laypeople. The difference is in the shepherd's heart. The good shepherd cares about the people in his/her care, whether they are a diocese, a congregation, or just a few children in a Sunday school class. The good shepherd seeks ways to lead faithfully, and stands for what is right –– even in the face of opposition or danger. Bad shepherds care only about their own welfare. A bad shepherd might preach false doctrine –– or care more for programs or building campaigns than for people –– or become embroiled in a sexual scandal –– but it is bad enough for a shepherd simply not to care about the sheep. Fortunately, Christ has many more good shepherds than bad.
VERSES 14-16: I KNOW MY OWN AND MY OWN KNOW ME
14I am the good shepherd. I know (Greek: ginosko) my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold (Greek: aules). I must (Greek: dei –– it is necessary –– a divine necessity) bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock (Greek: poimne), one shepherd (Greek: poimen).
"I am the good shepherd. I know (ginosko) my own and my own know me" (v. 14). In verse 11, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. In verse 14, the good shepherd knows (ginosko) the sheep and the sheep know him. Ginosko is more than superficial knowledge –– it involves experience –– relationship. The Old Testament talks of a man knowing his wife in the sense of sexual intimacy, a relationship that has significance beyond the physical act. When Jesus says that the good shepherd knows the sheep, he is not implying anything sexual, but is nevertheless talking about a very significant relationship.
The shepherd (Jesus) knows the sheep (people) because he "became flesh and lived among us" (1:14). "Though he was in the form of God, (he) did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death –– even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus knows his own, because he has lived in our skin and has experienced our joys and sorrows.
Jesus says that he knows his own and his own know him "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father" (v. 15a). The unity of Father and Son is a major theme of this Gospel:
• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (1:1).
• Jesus tells the Jewish leaders, "The Father and I are one" (10:30).
• When the Jews reject Jesus, he challenges them, "even though you do not believe me, believe (my) works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father" (10:38).
• In his high priestly prayer, Jesus prays for the disciples, "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (17:21).
In verses 14-15a, Jesus gives us the sense of an all-encompassing intimacy that begins in his relationship with the Father and extends to those whom the Father has given to him (17:6) and to all "who will believe in me through their word" (17:20). What Jesus is describing, then, is a grand extended family that begins with the loving Father and, through the love of the Son, embraces all believers.
I experienced something like that many years ago in a little country church when I was a student-pastor. A wonderful member of that congregation, a woman named Matie, had grown sons and daughters who lived nearby. They were a close-knit family who gathered regularly for Sunday lunch at Matie's house. Matie had a big table that would seat twenty people, and I seldom saw an empty seat. I was unmarried at the time, and Matie adopted me into her family. I often stayed at her house on Saturday nights and ate lunch at her table on Sunday afternoons. It was a wonderful experience that was possible only because of Matie –– the fine person that she was. That large but intimate fellowship grew out of her large and loving heart. So it is with the church, the extended family that grows out of the loving hearts of the Father and the Son.
"And I lay down my life for the sheep" (v. 15b). Jesus reminds us once again that he lays down his life for the sheep, a theme that he will pick up again in verse 17.
"I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold (aules). I must (dei) bring them also" (v. 16a). A sheepfold is an enclosure or a corral where the sheep live when they are not grazing for food. It provides security and fosters a sense of community. Jesus says that he will bring these other sheep also, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Who are these other sheep? Some scholars have speculated that they are other Jewish-Christian communities, but "this view is both needlessly anachronistic and hopelessly speculative" (Carson, 390). Most scholars believe that Jesus is referring to Gentiles. When Jesus says, "I have," he implies that these sheep already belong to him, but he has yet to bring them to the fold. He must do so (Greek: dei –– it is necessary for him to do so).
"and they will listen to my voice" (v. 16b). Earlier Jesus said, "the sheep follow (the shepherd) because they know his voice" (v. 4). Borchert, who lived for a time in Israel, recounts two incidents that reflect this truth. In the first, a shepherd led his sheep through the busy traffic in Jerusalem, singing and whistling to keep the sheep together. In the second, four shepherds shared a sheepfold. In the morning, each shepherd in turn would sing and call his sheep, who "dutifully separated from the larger flock and began to follow him to the hills for their daylight feeding" (Borchert, 330).
Jesus concludes, "So there will be one flock (poimne), one shepherd" (poimen) (v. 16c). Brown suggests that we translate this "one sheep herd, one shepherd" as a way of preserving the similar sound of poimne and poimen in the original (Brown, 387). Today the barriers that separate us are likely to be denominational, national, racial, educational, vocational, or financial. Such barriers are inappropriate among Christians. Christ calls us to be "one flock" (v. 16).
Some earlier translations translated verse 16b "one fold, one shepherd," but that is not correct. The Greek clearly says poimne (flock or herd) instead of aules (fold). Jesus is speaking here of the church, the people of God. We might not all be corralled in one enclosure, but we are all one flock.
VERSES 17-18: I HAVE OTHER SHEEP NOT OF THIS FOLD
17For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."
"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again" (v. 17). This is difficult to understand –– doesn't the Father love the Son because he is his Son? "For the fourth gospel, neither God's love for the Son nor Jesus' love for his disciples is unconditional. It is expressly and clearly grounded in the willingness of the beloved to witness to their faith by laying down their lives and trusting that they will be received again" (Howard-Brook, 241).
The Son lays down his life "in order to take it up again" (v. 17). John's Gospel views the cross and resurrection differently from the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and Acts (also written by Luke):
• In the Synoptics, it is God who acts. In John, the Son acts in obedience to the Father but of his own accord.
• In the Synoptics, Jesus prays, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want" (Mark 14:36). In John's Gospel he lays down his life himself –– but only so that he might take it up again. In John's Gospel, Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension together constitute a single salvation action. Jesus is not a reluctant martyr but a willing savior carrying out the purpose for which he came. We should not see his death "as an accident of fate or…as a tragedy perpetrated by misguided men, but as the Father's plan" (Carson, 389). "The mutual love of the Father and Son thus was seen in a deed of love for the world, in which the Father in love willed to save all and the Son in love freely gave his all" (Beasley-Murray, 171).
• In the Synoptics and Acts, the emphasis is on God raising Jesus from the dead (Matthew 28:6-7; Mark 16:6; Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15, etc.), but in John's Gospel, Jesus takes his life up again (v. 17). Not only does he take up his own life again, but he also makes our resurrection possible –– "No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day" (6:44).
"No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father" (v. 18). "While Peter accuses the Sanhedrin of putting Jesus to death (Acts 4:10) and, with Paul and the other apostles, affirms that God raised him from the dead (Acts 2:32; 4:10b), John's Jesus insists that he lays down his life of his own accord, and in his own power takes it up again" (Williamson, 121).
"In the convention about a noble death not only is such a death voluntary but those who suffer it can also be said to be unconquered and to triumph.... Jesus in his death is not the vanquished but the vanquisher and so, contrary to normal evaluation, his crucifixion is not a matter of shame or disgrace but a noble or honourable death" (Lincoln, 299).
TRUE STORY:
In her book, All Is Calm, All Is Bright, Cheryl Kirking tells the story of Brenda Nixon, whose Christmas was made stressful by the possibility that her husband would be laid off from his job. How would they cope?
Brenda was a Sunday school teacher –– teaching the three-year old class. When she picked up her teacher's manual, she saw that the lesson was about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. "What does that have to do with Christmas?" she wondered.
After the children had finished gluing cotton balls to sheep pictures, she gathered them in a circle. She asked, "What is a good shepherd?" –– hardly expecting that the three-year-olds would have any idea.
But one of the children replied, "He (the Good Shepherd) picks up his sheep when they fall down." That child reminded Brenda that, even when we fall down, Jesus is there to pick us up.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS:
There are three theories of power and therefore of authority, to wit:
the robber theory that all power is for mastery;
the hireling theory that all power is for wealth;
the good shepherd theory that all power is for service.
Vincent McNabb
* * * * * * * * * *
The wolf will hire himself out very cheaply as a shepherd.
Russian proverb
* * * * * * * * * *
Back when the sacred authors used the imagery of the shepherd to depict Jesus, they had a clear understanding of the job description. A shepherd is needed only when there are no fences. He is someone who stays with his sheep at all cost, guiding, protecting, and walking with them through the fields. He's not just a person who raises sheep.
Though our bishops consider themselves "tenders of the flock," most are nothing more than mutton farmers. They build fence after fence, keeping the flock within sight so they don't have to dirty their feet plodding through the open fields. After all, the landowner frowns upon dirty feet.
Lena Wolterin
* * * * * * * * * *
God's main purpose with us is not to get us somewhere but to make something of us on the way…. When your way is rough and lonely, when you are beaten by failure and chilled with disappointment, remember that God is seeking to develop your soul by those experiences…. It is not getting somewhere or finding something on which we have set our hearts that matters. It is what we become on the way that counts.
John Bishop, A Word in Season
* * * * * * * * * *
In the Holy Land poisonous plants abound. Each spring the shepherd must be alert. When he finds the plants he takes his mattock and grubs out every stock and root he can see. He lays them on little stone pyres, some built by shepherds in Old Testament days, and by the morrow they are dry enough to burn....the sheep eat in peace in the presence of their enemies.
James K. Wallace, The Basque Sheepherder and the Shepherd's Psalm
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Beasley-Murray, George R., Word Biblical Commentary: John (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 1-11, Vol. 25A (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1996)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John I-XII (Garden City: Doubleday, 1966)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Johnston, Scott Black, in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Palmer, Earl F., The Book That John Wrote (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1975)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Williamson, Lamar, Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John: Proclaiming the Living Word (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Copyright 2009, Richard Niell Donovan
April 26, The 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B
SCRIPTURE STUDY
THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B
APRIL 26, 2009
Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
The Collect
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Acts 3:12-19
When Peter saw the astonishment of those who had seen the lame man healed, he addressed the people, "You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
"And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out."
The Psalm
Psalm 4 Page 587, BCP
Cum invocarem
1
Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause;
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2
"You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory;
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?"
3
Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful;
when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.
4
Tremble, then, and do not sin;
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.
5
Offer the appointed sacrifices
and put your trust in the LORD.
6
Many are saying, "Oh, that we might see better times!"
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.
7
You have put gladness in my heart,
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
8
I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep;
for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.
1 John 3:1-7
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Luke 24:36b-48
While the disciples were telling how they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 24: RESURRECTION APPEARANCES
Jesus' appearance to the "eleven and their companions" takes place in Jerusalem where the two men who encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus find "the eleven and their companions gathered together (v. 33). Luke has told us that the encounter with the two men on the Emmaus road took place "on that same day" (v. 13) –– meaning the day of Christ's resurrection. He then tells us that, after recognizing Jesus as he broke bread with them, "that same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem (v. 33), where they met with "the eleven and their companions gathered together" (v. 33). This encounter, then, almost certainly takes place on Easter evening. The place is almost certainly the room where the disciples gathered behind locked doors as related in the Gospel of John (John 20:19-23) –– although Luke doesn't specify the place.
This is Jesus' third resurrection appearance in Luke's Gospel. The women find the empty tomb, but do not see Jesus (vv. 1-12). Jesus' first resurrection appearance is to Peter, but Luke only mentions that encounter, giving no details (v. 34). Jesus' second resurrection appearance is to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, an incident that Luke records in considerable detail (vv. 13-35).
The Emmaus Road appearance (vv. 13-35) lays the foundation for Jesus' appearance to his gathered disciples (vv. 36-49). There are a number of parallels between the two appearances:
• Jesus appears to disciples who do not recognize him (v. 16) or who believe that they are seeing a ghost (v. 37).
• Jesus rebukes the disciples for their failure to believe (vv. 25, 38).
• Jesus breaks bread for the disciples (v. 30) or eats in their presence (v. 43).
• Jesus interprets scripture for the edification of the disciples (vv. 27, 44-47).
• The disciples hearts burn with them as Jesus teaches them (v. 32) or they respond with joy (v. 41).
"The only element that is added, which was not present in the Emmaus episode, is the commission that Christ gives to his disciples" (see vv. 46-49 for the commission) (Fitzmyer, 1573).
VERSES 36-43: A GHOST DOES NOT HAVE FLESH AND BONES
36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost (Greek: pneuma –– spirit). 38He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate in their presence.
"While they were talking about this" (v. 36a). Who are "they"? They include the two disciples from the Emmaus road encounter, the eleven, and companions of the eleven (v. 32-35). The topic of discussion just prior to this appearance of Jesus was his earlier appearance on the Emmaus road. The two disciples who saw Jesus on that occasion were telling "how (Jesus) had been made known to them in the breaking of bread" (v. 35). The apostles were ready to listen to this report, because Peter had also reported seeing the risen Christ (24:34).
"Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you'" (v. 36b). Luke doesn't tell us where the disciples were when Jesus appears to them. Mark says "they were sitting at the table" (Mark 16:14). In the Fourth Gospel, they were inside a locked room (John 20:19). Nor do any of the Gospels tell us how Jesus entered the room. It is clear from the next verse that Jesus' visit is a great surprise to the disciples.
"They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost" (v. 37). Given the presence and testimony of the Emmaus road disciples, we would think that the gathered disciples would be well prepared for Jesus to appear in their midst but, rather than gladdening them, Jesus' sudden appearance startles and terrifies them. They assume that they are seeing a pneuma –– a disembodied spirit or ghost.
"Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have" (vv. 38-39). Jesus presents two forms of evidence that he is not a ghost but, instead, has a resurrected body. First, he shows them his hands and feet and invites them to touch him. Second, he asks for food and eats it in their presence (vv. 41-43). Neither would be possible if Jesus were a disembodied spirit.
In relating this story, Luke has an apologetic purpose –– to establish that Jesus has been raised from the dead with a physical body, a fact to which this rather large group of disciples can bear eyewitness testimony. Jesus will call these disciples to be "witnesses of these things" (v. 48), and the effectiveness of their witness will depend on their personal experience of the risen Lord.
This emphasis on Jesus' physical body requires us to consider two popular Greek beliefs –– dualism and immortality.
• Dualism divides the world into the physical and the spiritual, saying that the physical world is bad but the spiritual world is good.
• The concept of immortality, growing out of this dualistic understanding, says that, at death, the good spirit or soul separates from the bad body and continues to live independently of the body.
We should note that many Christians today have a very fuzzy understanding of the difference between resurrection (future oriented –– God raises a person from the dead after a period of time) and immortality ("now" oriented –– life continues after death with no lapse of time). At a funeral, it isn't uncommon to hear Christians say, "That isn't Joe. Joe is somewhere else" –– acting as if the body were like a skin shed at death –– something no longer important to the deceased person. However, Jesus presents himself to the disciples after the resurrection, not as a disembodied spirit, but as a person in bodily form –– a body recognizable by sight and touch –– a body capable of eating food. The scriptures teach us that we too shall be resurrected from the dead in bodily form. The body is not some sort of useless debris that we leave behind, but is an integral part of our identity.
However, we also need to acknowledge that while resurrection is the central teaching of the New Testament, there are also New Testament scriptures that hint at immortality.
• In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3) –– thus giving a "now" dimension to eternal life, which we usually consider to be something that we can experience only in the future.
• In his classic resurrection chapter that is almost totally future-oriented, Paul speaks of immortality: "For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory'" (1 Corinthians 15:53-54).
• Jesus incorporates both the "now" and the "future" dimensions in a single sentence when he says, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life (now), and I will raise them up on the last day" (future) (John 6:54).
There are also sensitive pastoral issues here:
• For one thing, we need to be careful about correcting grieving people. It is good to preach resurrection, but not so good to take a grieving person to task for saying, "That isn't Joe."
• Also, the doctrine of resurrection raises questions about people whose bodies were destroyed in an explosion, fire, or other disaster. What becomes of them? The answer is that the God who gave them life (and bodies) originally is quite capable of restoring life (and bodies) in the resurrection.
• Then there is the issue of cremation –– is cremation an obstacle to resurrection? It is hard to imagine that the God who can resurrect bodies lost at sea or torn apart in an explosion cannot also resurrect cremated bodies. There are other issues to consider, such as the respect with which we treat the dead body. In my opinion, cremation seems as respectful as embalming.
• What about donated organs? If, after a person dies, physicians use various parts of that person's organs to give life or functionality to a dozen people, how can God get all the right parts together in the resurrection? Once again, the God who gave us bodies in the beginning is surely capable of restoring our bodies in the resurrection.
Understanding that Luke has an apologetic purpose here (to establish that Jesus has been raised from the dead with a physical body), we might be inclined to doubt the truth of this story. Perhaps Luke has just fabricated the story to make Jesus' resurrection believable. However, the story is credible because of the changed lives of these disciples. Before this appearance, they were defeated and afraid. After this appearance, they will find courage to preach publicly on a street corner in Jerusalem at Pentecost –– to bring thousands of Jews into the Christian faith in a very public baptism (Acts 2). They will go on to change the world.
We should also note that, while Jesus' resurrected body is a physical body, it is apparently different from his pre-resurrection body. He makes surprising appearances from out of nowhere (v. 36). In John's Gospel, he enters a room without regard for a locked door (John 20:19). The Emmaus disciples did not recognize him for the longest time, and the gathered disciples require reassurance that he is not a ghost.
Paul talks about the resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15:35-57, contrasting the physical body and the spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). However, Paul "sought to emphasize the difference between Jesus of Nazareth before the resurrection and the Lord Jesus after the resurrection, (but) Luke sought here to emphasize the similarity" (Stein, 618).
The disciples respond to Jesus with joy, disbelief, and wonderment (v. 41). Jesus' sudden appearance overloads their ability to process what is happening. A lifetime's experience tells them that death is the end, but Jesus' sudden presence tells them otherwise. We should not be surprised that they are befuddled. Just imagine how you would respond if you were to bury a loved one only to find that person standing in your midst again, fully alive, a few days later. Joy, disbelief, wonder! Yes! Confusion! Absolutely!
VERSES 44-48: HE OPENED THEIR MINDS
44Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you––that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be (Greek: dei –– it is necessary –– a divine necessity) fulfilled." 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations (Greek: ethne), beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses (Greek: martures –– from maruria –– this is where we get our word "martyr") of these things.
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you –– that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be (dei) fulfilled" (v. 44). Jesus first demonstrated the physical reality of his resurrected by body by inviting the disciples to look at him and to touch him and also by eating food in their presence. We have the sense that they watch in stunned silence. Now Jesus takes the next step in the revelatory process, first reminding the disciples of what he said to them earlier –– and then helping them to understand the scriptures –– scriptures that speak of the Messiah suffering and rising from the dead on the third day (v. 46) –– scriptures that speak of "repentance and forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (v. 47).
Luke does not specify which of the earlier words of Jesus he now brings to the disciples attention, but they must surely include his passion predictions (9:22; 18:31-33). Both of these predict his suffering and death at the hands of the Jewish leaders as well as his resurrection on the third day. 18:31 specifies that this will happen in Jerusalem and that it is in accord with the writings of the prophets.
"Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures" (v. 45). Neither does Luke specify which scriptures Jesus opens their minds to understand. There is no single Old Testament scripture that incorporates all the three major themes of vv. 46-47 –– three themes that will form the core of the church's kerygma: (1) the suffering and death of the Messiah, (2) his resurrection on the third day, and (3) the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness to all nations. There are, however, a number of Old Testament scriptures that address particular elements. Luke alludes to or quotes a number of these in Luke-Acts (see Bock, 387-389 and Evans, 358-360):
• Isaiah 53:7-8 says, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people." Luke tells us that it was these verses that the Ethiopian eunuch was reading. Philip will use these verses to proclaim the good news about Jesus to him (Acts 8:32-35).
• Psalm 16:10 says, "For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit." Peter will allude to this verse in Acts 2:27 and Paul will allude to it in Acts 13:35 (in both cases recorded by Luke).
• Hosea 6:2 says, "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." This may be the verse to which Jesus refers in Luke 24:46.
• In Luke 11:29-32, Jesus referred to the sign of Jonah. In Matthew's version Jesus said, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).
• Isaiah 49:6 says "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Luke alludes to this verse in Luke 2:32; Acts 1:8; 13:47.
• Joel 2:32 says, "Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved," which Peter (recorded by Luke) quotes in Acts 2:21.
• Other Old Testament scriptures that Jesus might have used to open the disciples' minds include Psalms 22; 31:5; 69; 110:1; 118:22-26 and Isaiah 11:10.
Green notes the unusual reference to the psalms in verse 44 (the usual phrase would be "the law and the prophets," but Jesus adds the psalms). Green calls this "a consequence of the important role of the psalms in Luke's interpretation of Jesus' passion" and concludes, "Not only Isaiah…, then, but all of the Scriptures speak of Jesus and have their consummation in him" (Green, 856). As one of my professors used to say, all of the Old Testament points forward to Jesus and all of the New Testament points back to Jesus. Jesus is the focal point of all scripture.
"repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in (the Messiah's) name" (v. 47a). While this is not in the imperative mood (Jesus does not say, "You shall proclaim") it nevertheless constitutes Jesus' mission statement for the disciples. They are to proclaim two things –– repentance and forgiveness of sins. They are to do so in the name of the Messiah, who is the one who makes forgiveness possible.
"to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (v. 47b). The disciples are to proclaim repentance and forgiveness "to all nations" (eis panta ta ethne). The word ethne can mean nations or Gentiles, and these words suggest an opening of the door to Gentile Christians. Luke will spell out in the Acts of the Apostles how the disciples come to grips with understanding the Jewish Messiah to be everyone's Messiah (see especially Acts 10).
This proclamation is to begin from Jerusalem, but it will not be limited to Jerusalem. The disciples are to be Jesus' witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8 –– also written by Luke). Prior to Jesus, the Jews had assumed a centripetal model, with the world being drawn toward a central point, Jerusalem. After Jesus, the model reverses, spinning outward from Jerusalem.
In Mark and Matthew Jesus issues even more explicit commissioning statements –– "in each case (tailored) to suit a major theme of each Gospel" (Fitzmyer, 1578). Whereas Luke emphasizes repentance and forgiveness of sins (v. 47), Mark emphasizes preaching the Gospel (Mark 16:15) and Matthew emphasizes making disciples and teaching (Matthew 28:19-20a).
The initial proclamation will take place on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem with Peter's sermon (Acts 2), which will emphasize the three great themes of vv. 46-47:
• The suffering and death of the Messiah (Acts 2:23, 36)
• His resurrection on the third day (Acts 2:24, 31-36)
• The proclamation of repentance and forgiveness to all nations (Acts 2:17, 21, 38-39).
"You are witnesses (martures –– from marturia –– a witness, one who bears testimony) of these things" (v. 48). "The concept of 'witness' develops in the course of the NT writings from the role of an eyewitness, to one who can testify to the gospel, to one who dies for the sake of the gospel (a martyr)" (Culpepper, 488).
These disciples to whom Jesus speaks in our Gospel lesson, opening their minds to understand the scriptures (v. 45), are witnesses of the risen Christ. They have seen him with their eyes and experienced him with their lives. Now they will testify to what they have seen, and some will be killed as a consequence. They were "to tell the story. To tell it not as hearsay, but as of their own knowledge (I John 1:1). And to tell it at cost. There was no other plan" (Scherer, 433).
There still is no other plan. We have not seen the risen Christ with our own eyes, but we have experienced him in our lives. Our responsibility is "to tell the story. To tell it not as hearsay, but as (our) own knowledge…. And to tell it at cost. There (is) no other plan."
VERSES 49-53: THE ASCENSION
49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
These verses are not included in the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) reading, presumably because the RCL deals with verses 44-53 for Ascension, Years ABC. However, Fitzmyer rightly notes that verses 36-53 form "a literary unit, for they recount but one appearance of the risen Christ" (Fitzmyer, 1572, cf. 1578).
The failure of the lectionary to include verse 49 in this reading seems particularly puzzling. In that verse, Jesus is still with the disciples in Jerusalem and gives them their orders. They are to remain in Jerusalem until they have received "what my Father promised" –– until they "have been clothed with power from on high" –– until they have received the Holy Spirit. They "are not to proceed on their own; Christ's commission to them clearly involves a grace, but it is also an authorized commission, one invested with dynamis (power), which they will need to carry it out" (Fitzmyer, 1580).
TRUE STORY: See http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1539249
Lots of people would like to have the assurance that Christians have already –– the assurance of the resurrection –– and that leads them to do bizarre things.
David and Trudy Pizer have arranged with Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona to freeze their bodies when they die. They hope that, during the next century, someone will figure out a way to bring a frozen body back to life –– and that the someone will remember to bring them back to life. To make sure that they have plenty of money when they come back to life, they are trying to set up a "personal revival trust" with $10 million that they will receive when they come back to life.
It costs $150,000 to have your body frozen and stored at Alcor, but some people opt to have just their heads frozen for $80,000. They hope that they will be able to attach their heads to someone else's body when they come back to life. I'm not sure where they expect to find a spare body.
The question is: Who do you trust? Do you trust whoever happens to be running Alcor a century from now –– or do you trust Jesus? Personally, I'm happy to trust Jesus!
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
What reason have atheists for saying that we cannot rise again?
Which is the more difficult, to be born, or to rise again?
That what has never been, should be,
of that what has been, should be again?
Is it more difficult to come into being than to return to it?
Blaise Pascal
* * * * * * * * * *
Earth to earth, ashes to ashes,
dust to dust,
in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection
unto eternal life.
Book of Common Prayer
* * * * * * * * * *
The Gospels do not explain the resurrection;
the resurrection explains the Gospels.
Belief in the resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith;
it is the Christian faith.
J.S. Whale
* * * * * * * * * *
Christ has turned all our sunsets into dawns.
Clement of Alexandria
* * * * * * * * * *
Jesus was born twice.
The birth at Bethlehem was a birth into a life of weakness.
The second time he was born from the grave ––
"the first-born from the dead" ––
into the glory of heaven and the throne of God.
Andrew Murray
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Atkins, Martyn D., in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001)
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of Luke (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1953)
Bock, Darrell L., The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Luke (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994)
Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; McCann, J. Clinton; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV–Year C (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994)
Craddock, Fred B., "Luke," Interpretation (Louisville: John Knox Press,(1990)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holliday, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, C (Valley Forge: Trinity Press, 1994)
Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Evans, Craig A., New International Biblical Commentary: Luke (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990)
Fitzmyer, Joseph A., S.J., The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to Luke X-XXIV (New York: Doubleday, 1985)
Gilmour, S. MacLean & Scherer, Paul, The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8. (Nashville: Abingdon , 1952)
Green, Joel B., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Hendriksen, William, New Testament Commentary: Luke (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978)
Johnson, Luke Timothy, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991)
Nickle, Keith F., Preaching the Gospel of Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000)
Nolland, John, Word Biblical Commentary: Luke 18:35 - 24:53 (Dallas: Word Books, 1993)
Ringe, Sharon H., Westminster Bible Companion, Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995)
Stein, Robert H., The New American Commentary: Luke (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992)
Tannehill, Robert C., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: Luke (Nashville: Abingdon, 1996)
Thayer, Joseph Henry, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (NY: American Book Company, 1889)
Copyright 2009, Richard Niell Donovan
THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B
APRIL 26, 2009
Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
The Collect
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Acts 3:12-19
When Peter saw the astonishment of those who had seen the lame man healed, he addressed the people, "You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
"And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out."
The Psalm
Psalm 4 Page 587, BCP
Cum invocarem
1
Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause;
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2
"You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory;
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?"
3
Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful;
when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.
4
Tremble, then, and do not sin;
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.
5
Offer the appointed sacrifices
and put your trust in the LORD.
6
Many are saying, "Oh, that we might see better times!"
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.
7
You have put gladness in my heart,
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
8
I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep;
for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.
1 John 3:1-7
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Luke 24:36b-48
While the disciples were telling how they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."
EXEGESIS:
CHAPTER 24: RESURRECTION APPEARANCES
Jesus' appearance to the "eleven and their companions" takes place in Jerusalem where the two men who encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus find "the eleven and their companions gathered together (v. 33). Luke has told us that the encounter with the two men on the Emmaus road took place "on that same day" (v. 13) –– meaning the day of Christ's resurrection. He then tells us that, after recognizing Jesus as he broke bread with them, "that same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem (v. 33), where they met with "the eleven and their companions gathered together" (v. 33). This encounter, then, almost certainly takes place on Easter evening. The place is almost certainly the room where the disciples gathered behind locked doors as related in the Gospel of John (John 20:19-23) –– although Luke doesn't specify the place.
This is Jesus' third resurrection appearance in Luke's Gospel. The women find the empty tomb, but do not see Jesus (vv. 1-12). Jesus' first resurrection appearance is to Peter, but Luke only mentions that encounter, giving no details (v. 34). Jesus' second resurrection appearance is to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, an incident that Luke records in considerable detail (vv. 13-35).
The Emmaus Road appearance (vv. 13-35) lays the foundation for Jesus' appearance to his gathered disciples (vv. 36-49). There are a number of parallels between the two appearances:
• Jesus appears to disciples who do not recognize him (v. 16) or who believe that they are seeing a ghost (v. 37).
• Jesus rebukes the disciples for their failure to believe (vv. 25, 38).
• Jesus breaks bread for the disciples (v. 30) or eats in their presence (v. 43).
• Jesus interprets scripture for the edification of the disciples (vv. 27, 44-47).
• The disciples hearts burn with them as Jesus teaches them (v. 32) or they respond with joy (v. 41).
"The only element that is added, which was not present in the Emmaus episode, is the commission that Christ gives to his disciples" (see vv. 46-49 for the commission) (Fitzmyer, 1573).
VERSES 36-43: A GHOST DOES NOT HAVE FLESH AND BONES
36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost (Greek: pneuma –– spirit). 38He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate in their presence.
"While they were talking about this" (v. 36a). Who are "they"? They include the two disciples from the Emmaus road encounter, the eleven, and companions of the eleven (v. 32-35). The topic of discussion just prior to this appearance of Jesus was his earlier appearance on the Emmaus road. The two disciples who saw Jesus on that occasion were telling "how (Jesus) had been made known to them in the breaking of bread" (v. 35). The apostles were ready to listen to this report, because Peter had also reported seeing the risen Christ (24:34).
"Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you'" (v. 36b). Luke doesn't tell us where the disciples were when Jesus appears to them. Mark says "they were sitting at the table" (Mark 16:14). In the Fourth Gospel, they were inside a locked room (John 20:19). Nor do any of the Gospels tell us how Jesus entered the room. It is clear from the next verse that Jesus' visit is a great surprise to the disciples.
"They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost" (v. 37). Given the presence and testimony of the Emmaus road disciples, we would think that the gathered disciples would be well prepared for Jesus to appear in their midst but, rather than gladdening them, Jesus' sudden appearance startles and terrifies them. They assume that they are seeing a pneuma –– a disembodied spirit or ghost.
"Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have" (vv. 38-39). Jesus presents two forms of evidence that he is not a ghost but, instead, has a resurrected body. First, he shows them his hands and feet and invites them to touch him. Second, he asks for food and eats it in their presence (vv. 41-43). Neither would be possible if Jesus were a disembodied spirit.
In relating this story, Luke has an apologetic purpose –– to establish that Jesus has been raised from the dead with a physical body, a fact to which this rather large group of disciples can bear eyewitness testimony. Jesus will call these disciples to be "witnesses of these things" (v. 48), and the effectiveness of their witness will depend on their personal experience of the risen Lord.
This emphasis on Jesus' physical body requires us to consider two popular Greek beliefs –– dualism and immortality.
• Dualism divides the world into the physical and the spiritual, saying that the physical world is bad but the spiritual world is good.
• The concept of immortality, growing out of this dualistic understanding, says that, at death, the good spirit or soul separates from the bad body and continues to live independently of the body.
We should note that many Christians today have a very fuzzy understanding of the difference between resurrection (future oriented –– God raises a person from the dead after a period of time) and immortality ("now" oriented –– life continues after death with no lapse of time). At a funeral, it isn't uncommon to hear Christians say, "That isn't Joe. Joe is somewhere else" –– acting as if the body were like a skin shed at death –– something no longer important to the deceased person. However, Jesus presents himself to the disciples after the resurrection, not as a disembodied spirit, but as a person in bodily form –– a body recognizable by sight and touch –– a body capable of eating food. The scriptures teach us that we too shall be resurrected from the dead in bodily form. The body is not some sort of useless debris that we leave behind, but is an integral part of our identity.
However, we also need to acknowledge that while resurrection is the central teaching of the New Testament, there are also New Testament scriptures that hint at immortality.
• In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3) –– thus giving a "now" dimension to eternal life, which we usually consider to be something that we can experience only in the future.
• In his classic resurrection chapter that is almost totally future-oriented, Paul speaks of immortality: "For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory'" (1 Corinthians 15:53-54).
• Jesus incorporates both the "now" and the "future" dimensions in a single sentence when he says, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life (now), and I will raise them up on the last day" (future) (John 6:54).
There are also sensitive pastoral issues here:
• For one thing, we need to be careful about correcting grieving people. It is good to preach resurrection, but not so good to take a grieving person to task for saying, "That isn't Joe."
• Also, the doctrine of resurrection raises questions about people whose bodies were destroyed in an explosion, fire, or other disaster. What becomes of them? The answer is that the God who gave them life (and bodies) originally is quite capable of restoring life (and bodies) in the resurrection.
• Then there is the issue of cremation –– is cremation an obstacle to resurrection? It is hard to imagine that the God who can resurrect bodies lost at sea or torn apart in an explosion cannot also resurrect cremated bodies. There are other issues to consider, such as the respect with which we treat the dead body. In my opinion, cremation seems as respectful as embalming.
• What about donated organs? If, after a person dies, physicians use various parts of that person's organs to give life or functionality to a dozen people, how can God get all the right parts together in the resurrection? Once again, the God who gave us bodies in the beginning is surely capable of restoring our bodies in the resurrection.
Understanding that Luke has an apologetic purpose here (to establish that Jesus has been raised from the dead with a physical body), we might be inclined to doubt the truth of this story. Perhaps Luke has just fabricated the story to make Jesus' resurrection believable. However, the story is credible because of the changed lives of these disciples. Before this appearance, they were defeated and afraid. After this appearance, they will find courage to preach publicly on a street corner in Jerusalem at Pentecost –– to bring thousands of Jews into the Christian faith in a very public baptism (Acts 2). They will go on to change the world.
We should also note that, while Jesus' resurrected body is a physical body, it is apparently different from his pre-resurrection body. He makes surprising appearances from out of nowhere (v. 36). In John's Gospel, he enters a room without regard for a locked door (John 20:19). The Emmaus disciples did not recognize him for the longest time, and the gathered disciples require reassurance that he is not a ghost.
Paul talks about the resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15:35-57, contrasting the physical body and the spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). However, Paul "sought to emphasize the difference between Jesus of Nazareth before the resurrection and the Lord Jesus after the resurrection, (but) Luke sought here to emphasize the similarity" (Stein, 618).
The disciples respond to Jesus with joy, disbelief, and wonderment (v. 41). Jesus' sudden appearance overloads their ability to process what is happening. A lifetime's experience tells them that death is the end, but Jesus' sudden presence tells them otherwise. We should not be surprised that they are befuddled. Just imagine how you would respond if you were to bury a loved one only to find that person standing in your midst again, fully alive, a few days later. Joy, disbelief, wonder! Yes! Confusion! Absolutely!
VERSES 44-48: HE OPENED THEIR MINDS
44Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you––that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be (Greek: dei –– it is necessary –– a divine necessity) fulfilled." 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations (Greek: ethne), beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses (Greek: martures –– from maruria –– this is where we get our word "martyr") of these things.
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you –– that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be (dei) fulfilled" (v. 44). Jesus first demonstrated the physical reality of his resurrected by body by inviting the disciples to look at him and to touch him and also by eating food in their presence. We have the sense that they watch in stunned silence. Now Jesus takes the next step in the revelatory process, first reminding the disciples of what he said to them earlier –– and then helping them to understand the scriptures –– scriptures that speak of the Messiah suffering and rising from the dead on the third day (v. 46) –– scriptures that speak of "repentance and forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (v. 47).
Luke does not specify which of the earlier words of Jesus he now brings to the disciples attention, but they must surely include his passion predictions (9:22; 18:31-33). Both of these predict his suffering and death at the hands of the Jewish leaders as well as his resurrection on the third day. 18:31 specifies that this will happen in Jerusalem and that it is in accord with the writings of the prophets.
"Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures" (v. 45). Neither does Luke specify which scriptures Jesus opens their minds to understand. There is no single Old Testament scripture that incorporates all the three major themes of vv. 46-47 –– three themes that will form the core of the church's kerygma: (1) the suffering and death of the Messiah, (2) his resurrection on the third day, and (3) the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness to all nations. There are, however, a number of Old Testament scriptures that address particular elements. Luke alludes to or quotes a number of these in Luke-Acts (see Bock, 387-389 and Evans, 358-360):
• Isaiah 53:7-8 says, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people." Luke tells us that it was these verses that the Ethiopian eunuch was reading. Philip will use these verses to proclaim the good news about Jesus to him (Acts 8:32-35).
• Psalm 16:10 says, "For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit." Peter will allude to this verse in Acts 2:27 and Paul will allude to it in Acts 13:35 (in both cases recorded by Luke).
• Hosea 6:2 says, "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." This may be the verse to which Jesus refers in Luke 24:46.
• In Luke 11:29-32, Jesus referred to the sign of Jonah. In Matthew's version Jesus said, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).
• Isaiah 49:6 says "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Luke alludes to this verse in Luke 2:32; Acts 1:8; 13:47.
• Joel 2:32 says, "Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved," which Peter (recorded by Luke) quotes in Acts 2:21.
• Other Old Testament scriptures that Jesus might have used to open the disciples' minds include Psalms 22; 31:5; 69; 110:1; 118:22-26 and Isaiah 11:10.
Green notes the unusual reference to the psalms in verse 44 (the usual phrase would be "the law and the prophets," but Jesus adds the psalms). Green calls this "a consequence of the important role of the psalms in Luke's interpretation of Jesus' passion" and concludes, "Not only Isaiah…, then, but all of the Scriptures speak of Jesus and have their consummation in him" (Green, 856). As one of my professors used to say, all of the Old Testament points forward to Jesus and all of the New Testament points back to Jesus. Jesus is the focal point of all scripture.
"repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in (the Messiah's) name" (v. 47a). While this is not in the imperative mood (Jesus does not say, "You shall proclaim") it nevertheless constitutes Jesus' mission statement for the disciples. They are to proclaim two things –– repentance and forgiveness of sins. They are to do so in the name of the Messiah, who is the one who makes forgiveness possible.
"to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (v. 47b). The disciples are to proclaim repentance and forgiveness "to all nations" (eis panta ta ethne). The word ethne can mean nations or Gentiles, and these words suggest an opening of the door to Gentile Christians. Luke will spell out in the Acts of the Apostles how the disciples come to grips with understanding the Jewish Messiah to be everyone's Messiah (see especially Acts 10).
This proclamation is to begin from Jerusalem, but it will not be limited to Jerusalem. The disciples are to be Jesus' witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8 –– also written by Luke). Prior to Jesus, the Jews had assumed a centripetal model, with the world being drawn toward a central point, Jerusalem. After Jesus, the model reverses, spinning outward from Jerusalem.
In Mark and Matthew Jesus issues even more explicit commissioning statements –– "in each case (tailored) to suit a major theme of each Gospel" (Fitzmyer, 1578). Whereas Luke emphasizes repentance and forgiveness of sins (v. 47), Mark emphasizes preaching the Gospel (Mark 16:15) and Matthew emphasizes making disciples and teaching (Matthew 28:19-20a).
The initial proclamation will take place on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem with Peter's sermon (Acts 2), which will emphasize the three great themes of vv. 46-47:
• The suffering and death of the Messiah (Acts 2:23, 36)
• His resurrection on the third day (Acts 2:24, 31-36)
• The proclamation of repentance and forgiveness to all nations (Acts 2:17, 21, 38-39).
"You are witnesses (martures –– from marturia –– a witness, one who bears testimony) of these things" (v. 48). "The concept of 'witness' develops in the course of the NT writings from the role of an eyewitness, to one who can testify to the gospel, to one who dies for the sake of the gospel (a martyr)" (Culpepper, 488).
These disciples to whom Jesus speaks in our Gospel lesson, opening their minds to understand the scriptures (v. 45), are witnesses of the risen Christ. They have seen him with their eyes and experienced him with their lives. Now they will testify to what they have seen, and some will be killed as a consequence. They were "to tell the story. To tell it not as hearsay, but as of their own knowledge (I John 1:1). And to tell it at cost. There was no other plan" (Scherer, 433).
There still is no other plan. We have not seen the risen Christ with our own eyes, but we have experienced him in our lives. Our responsibility is "to tell the story. To tell it not as hearsay, but as (our) own knowledge…. And to tell it at cost. There (is) no other plan."
VERSES 49-53: THE ASCENSION
49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
These verses are not included in the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) reading, presumably because the RCL deals with verses 44-53 for Ascension, Years ABC. However, Fitzmyer rightly notes that verses 36-53 form "a literary unit, for they recount but one appearance of the risen Christ" (Fitzmyer, 1572, cf. 1578).
The failure of the lectionary to include verse 49 in this reading seems particularly puzzling. In that verse, Jesus is still with the disciples in Jerusalem and gives them their orders. They are to remain in Jerusalem until they have received "what my Father promised" –– until they "have been clothed with power from on high" –– until they have received the Holy Spirit. They "are not to proceed on their own; Christ's commission to them clearly involves a grace, but it is also an authorized commission, one invested with dynamis (power), which they will need to carry it out" (Fitzmyer, 1580).
TRUE STORY: See http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1539249
Lots of people would like to have the assurance that Christians have already –– the assurance of the resurrection –– and that leads them to do bizarre things.
David and Trudy Pizer have arranged with Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona to freeze their bodies when they die. They hope that, during the next century, someone will figure out a way to bring a frozen body back to life –– and that the someone will remember to bring them back to life. To make sure that they have plenty of money when they come back to life, they are trying to set up a "personal revival trust" with $10 million that they will receive when they come back to life.
It costs $150,000 to have your body frozen and stored at Alcor, but some people opt to have just their heads frozen for $80,000. They hope that they will be able to attach their heads to someone else's body when they come back to life. I'm not sure where they expect to find a spare body.
The question is: Who do you trust? Do you trust whoever happens to be running Alcor a century from now –– or do you trust Jesus? Personally, I'm happy to trust Jesus!
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
What reason have atheists for saying that we cannot rise again?
Which is the more difficult, to be born, or to rise again?
That what has never been, should be,
of that what has been, should be again?
Is it more difficult to come into being than to return to it?
Blaise Pascal
* * * * * * * * * *
Earth to earth, ashes to ashes,
dust to dust,
in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection
unto eternal life.
Book of Common Prayer
* * * * * * * * * *
The Gospels do not explain the resurrection;
the resurrection explains the Gospels.
Belief in the resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith;
it is the Christian faith.
J.S. Whale
* * * * * * * * * *
Christ has turned all our sunsets into dawns.
Clement of Alexandria
* * * * * * * * * *
Jesus was born twice.
The birth at Bethlehem was a birth into a life of weakness.
The second time he was born from the grave ––
"the first-born from the dead" ––
into the glory of heaven and the throne of God.
Andrew Murray
* * * * * * * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Atkins, Martyn D., in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001)
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of Luke (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1953)
Bock, Darrell L., The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Luke (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994)
Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; McCann, J. Clinton; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV–Year C (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994)
Craddock, Fred B., "Luke," Interpretation (Louisville: John Knox Press,(1990)
Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holliday, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, C (Valley Forge: Trinity Press, 1994)
Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Evans, Craig A., New International Biblical Commentary: Luke (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990)
Fitzmyer, Joseph A., S.J., The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to Luke X-XXIV (New York: Doubleday, 1985)
Gilmour, S. MacLean & Scherer, Paul, The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8. (Nashville: Abingdon , 1952)
Green, Joel B., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Hendriksen, William, New Testament Commentary: Luke (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978)
Johnson, Luke Timothy, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Luke (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991)
Nickle, Keith F., Preaching the Gospel of Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000)
Nolland, John, Word Biblical Commentary: Luke 18:35 - 24:53 (Dallas: Word Books, 1993)
Ringe, Sharon H., Westminster Bible Companion, Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995)
Stein, Robert H., The New American Commentary: Luke (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992)
Tannehill, Robert C., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: Luke (Nashville: Abingdon, 1996)
Thayer, Joseph Henry, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (NY: American Book Company, 1889)
Copyright 2009, Richard Niell Donovan
Friday, April 17, 2009
April 19, 2009 - The 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B
SCRIPTURE STUDY
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B
APRIL 19, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 1-21: THE CONTEXT
This Gospel is a richly woven tapestry that derives its richness from inter-related threads. For example:
• In the Prologue, the Evangelist declared, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being" (1:1-3a). Now Thomas addresses Jesus as "My Lord and my God" (v. 28), reaffirming Jesus' deity. Many scholars believe that chapter 21 was added later. If that is true, then this Gospel is framed by these beginning and ending statements about the deity of Jesus.
• Jesus promised the disciples, "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you" (14:18). Now he returns after his resurrection to those who feel orphaned by the crucifixion.
• In that same discourse he said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid" (14:27). Now coming into the presence of the disciples, his first words to them are, "Peace be with you!" (v. 19). He repeats this giving of peace a week later when he meets again with the disciples and Thomas (v. 26).
• In his prayer shortly before his death, Jesus prayed, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you" (17:1). Now Jesus has been glorified on the cross and appears as the risen Savior to the disciples.
• Earlier, the Evangelist said, "...as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (7:39). Now that Jesus has been glorified, he gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples (v. 22).
There are surely other examples, but these serve to illustrate how this week's Gospel lesson relates to themes expressed throughout the Gospel.
VERSES 19-31: JESUS APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES
"John gives a simple, straightforward account of this resurrection appearance, revealing his confidence in it. If he had been less certain, he would have embellished the account" (Lindberg, 61). The two appearances of Jesus take place a week apart, the first being on Easter evening and the second being after eight days (meth hemeras okto) –– often translated "a week later".
Jesus speaks to the disciples three times. "Each time his words give power to the disciples who hear them" (Althouse, 107):
• "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (vv. 19, 21).
• "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (vv. 22-23).
• "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe" (v. 27).
This Gospel tells us that disciples are gathered, but not which disciples. In Luke's parallel telling of this story (Luke 24:36-49), it is the Eleven "and their companions" (24:33). In this Gospel, given Thomas' absence, it is really the Ten and their companions.
This Gospel shows us that there are different kinds of faith, and that faith comes in different ways and with differing intensities to different people. The beloved disciple believes upon seeing the empty tomb (v. 8). Mary believes when the Lord calls her name (v. 16). The disciples must see the risen Lord (v. 20). Thomas says that he must touch Jesus' wounds (v. 25) –– although that need seems to evaporate once he sees the risen Christ (v. 28). People have differing needs and find various routes to faith.
It is instructive to note that Thomas believed, lost faith, and then returned to even greater faith.
VERSES 19-23: THE FIRST APPEARANCE
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked (Greek: kekleismenon –– from kleio –– closed or locked) for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
"When it was evening on that day" (v. 19a). This is Easter evening, the same day that the disciples saw the empty tomb and Mary saw Jesus. This is consistent with Luke's account, where Jesus encountered two disciples on the Emmaus road "that same day" (Luke 24:13), which was "the first day of the week" (Luke 24:1). Once the disciples recognized Jesus, "he vanished from their sight" (Luke 24:31). "That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you'" (Luke 24:33, 36).
The disciples meet in a room in Jerusalem "locked for fear of the Jews" (v. 19b). The locked doors reflect the fear of the disciples, but will also demonstrate the power of the risen Christ, who can be contained neither by a rock tomb nor a locked door.
It is surprising that the disciples are afraid, because Peter and "the other disciple" have seen the empty tomb (vv. 6-8) and "the other disciple" has seen and believed (v. 8). Mary Magdalene has spoken with the risen Christ and has told the disciples of her experience (v. 14-18). However, even after "the other disciple" has seen and believed, it is not clear what he believes, "for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead" (v. 9). Furthermore, the disciples are still traumatized by the crucifixion, and are frightened concerning what might happen next.
Their fear disappoints us, because they are acting like disciples whose leader is dead. Their fear "puts them, of course, in the same camp as the parents of the healed blind one and secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea (9:22; 19:38).... Apparently, even the formerly 'Beloved' Disciple has been reduced to this sorry state of fear" (Howard-Brook, 456). However, after they see the risen Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, they will be transformed and emboldened.
"If the first disciples had reasons to fear, John's audience probably has similar reasons to fear the successors of the Judean authorities in their own day and therefore will learn from the model of assurance Jesus provides in this passage" (Keener, 1200-1201).
"Peace be with you" (v. 19c). To these frightened disciples, Jesus gives his peace, even as he has promised (14:27). The disciples will have peace in spite of persecution by a world that will hate them even as it hates Jesus (15:18-25). While this text uses the Greek word for peace, eirene, the concept is the Jewish shalom –– more than the absence of conflict –– a wholeness that is the gift of God. "In Jewish thought peace and joy were marks of the eschatological period when God's intervention would have brought about harmony in human life and in the world. John sees this period realized as Jesus returns to pour forth his Spirit upon men" (Brown, 1035).
"After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side" (v. 20a). On one hand, Jesus enters through a closed door, suggesting that his body has assumed a different quality. On the other hand, his wounds confirm his bodily resurrection, and his body is clearly recognizable by the disciples. Luke tells of Jesus eating a meal with the disciples (Luke 24:43). There is mystery here –– Jesus' resurrected body is, at the same time, like ours and not like ours. Paul speaks of the resurrection body as imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). However, we must not press the word "spiritual" too far, because Jesus' body is also clearly physical. "The significant point, of course, is that the very person who was crucified is risen" (Sloyan, 224).
In the day in which this Gospel was written, the church was having a serious problem with Docetists and Gnostics, both of whom believed that physical matter was evil and that therefore Jesus could not have been truly human. The mention of Jesus' wounded hands and side refutes that kind of dualism.
"The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord" (v. 20b). Earlier, Jesus warned the disciples that they would weep and mourn and experience pain, but then he promised, "your pain will turn into joy" (16:20) –– a joy so profound that they would forget their former pain, even as a woman forgets the anguish of labor pains "because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world" (16:21). This visit of Jesus to the disciples, then, is the fulfillment (or at least the beginning of the fulfillment) of that promise. The disciples did, indeed, weep and mourn and experience pain when Jesus was arrested and crucified. But now their pain has turned into joy at seeing Jesus alive once again.
This is also a turning point for the disciples. Never again will they be fearful and unbelieving.
Jesus gives the disciples his peace a second time and then says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (v. 21). Earlier, in his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed, "As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (17:18). Now he makes explicit to the disciples what he had spoken of in that prayer.
This is the Johannine equivalent of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). It reflects the principle that the authority of the one who is sent is the same as the authority of the one who sent him –– the king's emissary speaks with the authority of the king. God is present in the work of Jesus; Jesus will be present in the work of the disciples. It is a passing of the baton –– the designation of succession. "Jesus succeeds the Baptist and is followed by both the Spirit and the Twelve (minus Judas)" (Kostenberger, 574).
"When he had said this, he breathed on them" (v. 22a). However, to send these disciples into the world alone would be futile, so Jesus prepares them by breathing on them –– or breathing into them (Greek: enephusesen). Just as God breathed into man the breath of life (Genesis 2:7 –– LXX), Jesus breathes into the disciples the Spirit of life. This gift of the Spirit renews the life of these disciples just as Godly breath gave new life to the bones of the dead (Ezekiel 37:9). They have been afraid and confused –– hidden in a locked room to escape danger. Now they find strength to stand up, unlock the door, go outside, and begin their proclamation.
"Receive the Holy Spirit" (v. 22b). As far back as the first chapter of this Gospel, John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as "the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (1:33) –– and Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of the necessity of being "born of the Spirit" (3:8).
How can we reconcile this giving of the Spirit with the account of Pentecost in Acts 2?
• Some scholars say that the two accounts are irreconcilable and that verse 22 is the Johannine Pentecost.
• Others, noting the lack of a definite article –– Jesus says, "Receive Holy Spirit" rather than "Receive the Holy Spirit" –– believe that the disciples received something less than the full gift of the Spirit on this occasion.
• Others say that John knows of Pentecost, but writes the story this way "because of his peculiar theological vision that tightly ties the descent of the Spirit to Jesus' death/ exaltation.... John's account, in other words, is theological but not chronological" (Carson, 651).
• Still others say, "It is false alike to the New Testament and to Christian experience to maintain that there is but one gift of the Spirit. Rather the Spirit continually manifests himself in new ways.... John tells of one gift of the Spirit and Luke of another" (Morris, 748).
"If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (v. 23), This is reminiscent of Matthew 16:19 in which Jesus tells Peter, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 18:18 gives the same authority to the disciples in a context having to do with the resolution of church conflict.
Rabbis have the authority to "bind" and "loose" in the sense that they interpret the law to determine what is and is not allowed, but they do not forgive sins. Jesus breaks new ground here. "This mode of speech plainly shows that originally the formula 'loose and bind' describes the ...judge's declaration of the guilt or innocence of persons brought before him, who are 'bound' to or 'loosed' from the charges made against them" (Schlatter, quoted in Beasley-Murray, 383).
"In John, sin is a theological failing, not a moral or behavioral transgression (in contrast to Matt 18:18)" (O'Day, 847). Sin is a failure to see the truth –– a refusal to accept the risen Christ. Jesus is sending the disciples into the world, empowered by the Spirit, to proclaim the risen Christ. Some people will accept their testimony, and others will reject it. Their response will determine whether they will find themselves among those whose sins are forgiven or among those whose sins are retained.
Verse 23 raises two questions: First, does Jesus give power to forgive or to retain sins –– or only power to discern the will of God in particular cases and to make God's judgment known? Second, does Jesus give this power to individual Christians or to the church? While there may be some room for debate, one thing is clear –– only as we act under the leadership of the Spirit do we have any God-given power at all.
Williamson raises an interesting possibility. "This word of the risen Lord...can...be read as descriptive: if members of the community forgive one another their sins, those sins are forgiven and the community is living from and in the Spirit of Jesus; but if members of the community harbor grudges and resentment toward other members who have sinned against them, then those sins remain to spoil the bond of unity, and the Spirit of Jesus is no longer resident in the community" (Williamson, 283).
VERSES 24-25: UNLESS I SEE, I WILL NOT BELIEVE
24But Thomas (who was called the Twin [Greek: didymos]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
"But Thomas (who was called the Twin [didymos]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came" (v. 24). Didymos is the Greek word for twin. We don't know why Thomas was absent, but we do know that he earlier thought that going to Bethany with Jesus would mean death for the disciples as well as Jesus (11:16).
"So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord' " (v. 25a). The first person to whom the disciples witness is one of their own, Thomas, who was not present when Jesus first appeared to them. Their words to Thomas ("We have seen the Lord") are essentially the same words ("I have seen the Lord") that Mary used to tell the disciples of her encounter with Jesus.
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe" (v. 25b). "Thomas' unwillingness to believe without seeing reflects a thread that runs throughout the Gospel; many respond to signs with faith (1:50; 10:38; 11:15, 40; 14:11) and refuse faith without signs (4:48; 6:30), but unless this faith matures into discipleship, it must prove inadequate in the end" (Keener, 1208).
Thomas does not believe the disciples, but neither did the disciples believe Mary. They were a despondent, defeated people until they saw Jesus with their own eyes.
Thomas's reaction "is undoubtedly not intended to lay down a serious condition for belief but to expose the absurdity of what they tell him: 'before I would believe that, I would first...'" (Ridderbos, 646-647).
"From the evangelist's perspective, Thomas's objection becomes a welcome foil for forestalling the incipient Gnostic notion that Jesus only appeared to be human" (Kostenberger, 578).
Thomas was not the sole doubter and will not remain a doubter. He doubts the witness of the other disciples and so cannot believe the resurrection. Once he sees what they have seen, he will manifest great faith.
A Preaching Point: "Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus made his first appearance to them. As a result, he refused to believe. This should serve as a lesson for us. It is difficult to believe when we do not strengthen ourselves with the fellowship of other believers" (Gossip, 798).
Thomas' demand to see the mark of the nails and to put his hand in Jesus' side is outrageous. Earlier, Jesus condemned those who demanded signs and wonders before they would believe (4:48). Thomas goes even further. "He is only prepared to lay aside his unfaith if the risen Jesus meets his criteria.... Thomas demands that Jesus be 'touchable.' ...He insists that the risen body of Jesus fulfill his requirements" (Moloney, 537).
However, Borchert provides an interesting perspective: "Although this statement of Thomas may seem to be quite obstinate, there is a sense in which contemporary believers ought to thank God that someone like Thomas was there to do the reality check for us" (Borchert, 312-313).
Perhaps we can understand Thomas' reluctance if we remember his words as Jesus prepared to go to Jerusalem –– "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (11:16). Thomas has been zealous for Jesus, but has seen his worst fears realized. The crucifixion has broken his heart. The phrase, "Once burned, twice shy!" comes to mind. Thomas believed, but his belief was betrayed. We can understand why he would be slow to believe again. Perhaps this is the reason for the great compassion and sensitivity with which Jesus reaches out to Thomas in the verses below.
VERSES 26-29: THE SECOND APPEARANCE
26A week later (Greek: meth hemeras okto –– after eight days) his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
"A week later (meth hemeras okto –– after eight days) his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them" (v. 26a). The eight days are to be counted inclusively –– Sunday through Sunday –– it is once again the first day of the week. Jesus appears to them once again.
"Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them" (v. 26b). Once again the doors are shut, but no longer is there any mention of fear. All is the same as it was the previous Sunday except for this lack of fear. Jesus' appearance to the disciples the week before has transformed their fear to faith.
"Peace be with you" (v. 26c). Once again Jesus gives them his peace. The scene is very much parallel to that of a week earlier.
"Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side" (v. 27a). Jesus does not condemn Thomas for his failure to believe, but gives him that which enables him to believe (v. 27). Thomas has demanded to see and touch the risen Lord, and Jesus allows him to do that. There is no indication that Thomas actually touches Jesus' wounds. Seeing the wounded, resurrected Christ is enough.
"Do not doubt but believe" (v. 27b). Jesus says, "kai me ginou (and do not be) apistos (unbelieving) alla pistos (but believing)." We think of this as the Doubting Thomas story, but the word doubt does not appear unless we translate apistos that way.
"My Lord and my God!" (v. 28). In response, Thomas makes "the supreme christological pronouncement of the Fourth Gospel" (Brown, 1047). His confession goes far beyond any titles or confessions found elsewhere in this Gospel. "So it comes about that the most outrageous doubter of the resurrection of Jesus utters the greatest confession of the Lord who rose from the dead" (Beasley-Murray, 385).
Jesus responds by offering a blessing to "those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29). In biblical times, a blessing had great meaning. "Of particular significance...was the blessing of a son by his father whereby a man passed on his property and authority to the next generation" (Myers, 162-163). "God...blesses people by giving life, riches, fruitfulness, or plenty (Gen. 1:22, 28). His greatest blessing is turning us from evil (Acts 3:25-26) and forgiving our sins (Rom. 4:7-8)" (Lockyer, 185).
"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29). This is Jesus' final beatitude or blessing. These words will encourage early Christians who will feel cheated, having missed seeing Jesus by only a few months or years. They also encourage us, who are among those who have not seen but who have believed. The few first-generation Christians who saw Jesus in person have no advantage over the many later-generations of Christians who have not. Note that Jesus does not say that these later Christians will be more blessed than the "seeing" disciples, but only that they will be blessed.
VERSES 30-31: THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YOU MIGHT BELIEVE
30Now (Greek: men oun –– therefore) Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
In verse 29, Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who will believe. Now the narrator says, "Therefore (men oun)... these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God." The purpose of this Gospel is that we, the readers of this Gospel, may enjoy the promised blessing.
In this Gospel, Jesus' miracles are called signs. These signs give people reason to believe, but many who witness them do not believe (6:36). The choice is ours.
"and that through believing you may have life in his name" (v. 31b). Faith rather than works determines salvation (Romans 1:6; 4:1-3; 9:31-32; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 1:21; Galatians 3:1-12; Ephesians 2:8).
Most scholars agree that these verses conclude this Gospel in its original form. The Evangelist states the purpose of his writing –– that we might believe. He achieved this goal. Millions of Christians have been strengthened in their faith by reading this Gospel, and millions of others have been brought to faith, at least in part, by its witness to Christ.
TRUE STORY:
In her book, The Irrational Season, Madeleine L'Engle talks about doubt as a "virulent virus" that strikes us now and then.
She talks about the time that the doubt virus struck her. She had received a phone call about a friend –– a young woman living in a small Midwestern town –– who was kidnapped, raped, and brutally murdered. Then she encountered another friend –– a young woman who was grieving terribly over an abortion that she had the day before. They embraced each other and stood there weeping together.
And then, a few nights later, the doubt virus struck. She was lying in bed with the words of the Jesus Prayer wending through her consciousness. And then "I thought bitterly, why on earth am I saying these meaningless and empty words. They mean nothing. Lord Jesus Christ is only an illusion. There is nothing. Nada. Nada. Nada."
"And then I flung myself onto the words of the prayer like a drowning person clutching at a rope thrown into the dark sea. I held onto it with all my strength and I was slowly pulled from the waters which had been sucking me under, pulled out of the dark and into the light, and the Lord Jesus Christ did indeed have mercy on me. I know that I am not immune from further attacks. But I also know now that the darkness can never put out the light."
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
Doubt is not the opposite faith;
it is one element of faith.
Paul Tillich
* * * * * * * * * *
There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.
Alfred, 1st Lord Tennyson
* * * * * * * * * *
Once I heard a man say: "I spent twenty years trying to come to terms with my doubts. Then one day it dawned on me that I had better come to terms with my faith. Now I have passed from the agony of the questions I cannot answer into the agony of answers I cannot escape. And it's a great relief."
David E. Roberts
* * * * * * * * * *
Never doubt in the dark
what God told you in the light.
V. Raymond Edman
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Your doubt can become a good quality if you train it. It must become knowing, it must become criticism. Ask it, whenever it wants to spoil something for you, why something is ugly, demand proofs from it, test it, and you will find it perhaps bewildered and embarrassed, perhaps also protesting. But don't give in , insist on arguments, and act in this way, attentive and persistent, every single time, and the day will come when, instead of being a destroyer, it will become one of your best workers—-perhaps the most intelligent of all the ones that are building your life.
Rainer Maria Rilke
* * * * * * * * * *
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Used by permission
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Althouse, LaVonne, "Words of Power," Clergy Journal (May-June, 1996)
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Beasley-Murray, George R., Word Biblical Commentary: John (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 12-21, Vol. 25B (Nashville: Broadman Press, 2002)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI (Garden City: Doubleday, 1970)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Hultgren, Arland J. in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Keener, Craig S., The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Volume II (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Krenz, Edgar and Vogel, Arthur A., Proclamation 2, Easter, Series C
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Lindberg, Paul H., Lectionary Bible Studies: The Year of Luke: Lent/Easter, Study Book (Minneapolis/Philadelphia: Augsburg Publishing House/Fortress Press, 1976)
Lockyer, Herbert, Sr. (ed.), Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
Myers, Allen C. (ed.), The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987)
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Palmer, Earl F., The Book That John Wrote (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1975)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Williamson, Lamar, Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B
APRIL 19, 2009
SCRIPTURE: John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
EXEGESIS:
VERSES 1-21: THE CONTEXT
This Gospel is a richly woven tapestry that derives its richness from inter-related threads. For example:
• In the Prologue, the Evangelist declared, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being" (1:1-3a). Now Thomas addresses Jesus as "My Lord and my God" (v. 28), reaffirming Jesus' deity. Many scholars believe that chapter 21 was added later. If that is true, then this Gospel is framed by these beginning and ending statements about the deity of Jesus.
• Jesus promised the disciples, "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you" (14:18). Now he returns after his resurrection to those who feel orphaned by the crucifixion.
• In that same discourse he said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid" (14:27). Now coming into the presence of the disciples, his first words to them are, "Peace be with you!" (v. 19). He repeats this giving of peace a week later when he meets again with the disciples and Thomas (v. 26).
• In his prayer shortly before his death, Jesus prayed, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you" (17:1). Now Jesus has been glorified on the cross and appears as the risen Savior to the disciples.
• Earlier, the Evangelist said, "...as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (7:39). Now that Jesus has been glorified, he gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples (v. 22).
There are surely other examples, but these serve to illustrate how this week's Gospel lesson relates to themes expressed throughout the Gospel.
VERSES 19-31: JESUS APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES
"John gives a simple, straightforward account of this resurrection appearance, revealing his confidence in it. If he had been less certain, he would have embellished the account" (Lindberg, 61). The two appearances of Jesus take place a week apart, the first being on Easter evening and the second being after eight days (meth hemeras okto) –– often translated "a week later".
Jesus speaks to the disciples three times. "Each time his words give power to the disciples who hear them" (Althouse, 107):
• "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (vv. 19, 21).
• "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (vv. 22-23).
• "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe" (v. 27).
This Gospel tells us that disciples are gathered, but not which disciples. In Luke's parallel telling of this story (Luke 24:36-49), it is the Eleven "and their companions" (24:33). In this Gospel, given Thomas' absence, it is really the Ten and their companions.
This Gospel shows us that there are different kinds of faith, and that faith comes in different ways and with differing intensities to different people. The beloved disciple believes upon seeing the empty tomb (v. 8). Mary believes when the Lord calls her name (v. 16). The disciples must see the risen Lord (v. 20). Thomas says that he must touch Jesus' wounds (v. 25) –– although that need seems to evaporate once he sees the risen Christ (v. 28). People have differing needs and find various routes to faith.
It is instructive to note that Thomas believed, lost faith, and then returned to even greater faith.
VERSES 19-23: THE FIRST APPEARANCE
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked (Greek: kekleismenon –– from kleio –– closed or locked) for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
"When it was evening on that day" (v. 19a). This is Easter evening, the same day that the disciples saw the empty tomb and Mary saw Jesus. This is consistent with Luke's account, where Jesus encountered two disciples on the Emmaus road "that same day" (Luke 24:13), which was "the first day of the week" (Luke 24:1). Once the disciples recognized Jesus, "he vanished from their sight" (Luke 24:31). "That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you'" (Luke 24:33, 36).
The disciples meet in a room in Jerusalem "locked for fear of the Jews" (v. 19b). The locked doors reflect the fear of the disciples, but will also demonstrate the power of the risen Christ, who can be contained neither by a rock tomb nor a locked door.
It is surprising that the disciples are afraid, because Peter and "the other disciple" have seen the empty tomb (vv. 6-8) and "the other disciple" has seen and believed (v. 8). Mary Magdalene has spoken with the risen Christ and has told the disciples of her experience (v. 14-18). However, even after "the other disciple" has seen and believed, it is not clear what he believes, "for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead" (v. 9). Furthermore, the disciples are still traumatized by the crucifixion, and are frightened concerning what might happen next.
Their fear disappoints us, because they are acting like disciples whose leader is dead. Their fear "puts them, of course, in the same camp as the parents of the healed blind one and secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea (9:22; 19:38).... Apparently, even the formerly 'Beloved' Disciple has been reduced to this sorry state of fear" (Howard-Brook, 456). However, after they see the risen Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, they will be transformed and emboldened.
"If the first disciples had reasons to fear, John's audience probably has similar reasons to fear the successors of the Judean authorities in their own day and therefore will learn from the model of assurance Jesus provides in this passage" (Keener, 1200-1201).
"Peace be with you" (v. 19c). To these frightened disciples, Jesus gives his peace, even as he has promised (14:27). The disciples will have peace in spite of persecution by a world that will hate them even as it hates Jesus (15:18-25). While this text uses the Greek word for peace, eirene, the concept is the Jewish shalom –– more than the absence of conflict –– a wholeness that is the gift of God. "In Jewish thought peace and joy were marks of the eschatological period when God's intervention would have brought about harmony in human life and in the world. John sees this period realized as Jesus returns to pour forth his Spirit upon men" (Brown, 1035).
"After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side" (v. 20a). On one hand, Jesus enters through a closed door, suggesting that his body has assumed a different quality. On the other hand, his wounds confirm his bodily resurrection, and his body is clearly recognizable by the disciples. Luke tells of Jesus eating a meal with the disciples (Luke 24:43). There is mystery here –– Jesus' resurrected body is, at the same time, like ours and not like ours. Paul speaks of the resurrection body as imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). However, we must not press the word "spiritual" too far, because Jesus' body is also clearly physical. "The significant point, of course, is that the very person who was crucified is risen" (Sloyan, 224).
In the day in which this Gospel was written, the church was having a serious problem with Docetists and Gnostics, both of whom believed that physical matter was evil and that therefore Jesus could not have been truly human. The mention of Jesus' wounded hands and side refutes that kind of dualism.
"The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord" (v. 20b). Earlier, Jesus warned the disciples that they would weep and mourn and experience pain, but then he promised, "your pain will turn into joy" (16:20) –– a joy so profound that they would forget their former pain, even as a woman forgets the anguish of labor pains "because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world" (16:21). This visit of Jesus to the disciples, then, is the fulfillment (or at least the beginning of the fulfillment) of that promise. The disciples did, indeed, weep and mourn and experience pain when Jesus was arrested and crucified. But now their pain has turned into joy at seeing Jesus alive once again.
This is also a turning point for the disciples. Never again will they be fearful and unbelieving.
Jesus gives the disciples his peace a second time and then says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (v. 21). Earlier, in his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed, "As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (17:18). Now he makes explicit to the disciples what he had spoken of in that prayer.
This is the Johannine equivalent of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). It reflects the principle that the authority of the one who is sent is the same as the authority of the one who sent him –– the king's emissary speaks with the authority of the king. God is present in the work of Jesus; Jesus will be present in the work of the disciples. It is a passing of the baton –– the designation of succession. "Jesus succeeds the Baptist and is followed by both the Spirit and the Twelve (minus Judas)" (Kostenberger, 574).
"When he had said this, he breathed on them" (v. 22a). However, to send these disciples into the world alone would be futile, so Jesus prepares them by breathing on them –– or breathing into them (Greek: enephusesen). Just as God breathed into man the breath of life (Genesis 2:7 –– LXX), Jesus breathes into the disciples the Spirit of life. This gift of the Spirit renews the life of these disciples just as Godly breath gave new life to the bones of the dead (Ezekiel 37:9). They have been afraid and confused –– hidden in a locked room to escape danger. Now they find strength to stand up, unlock the door, go outside, and begin their proclamation.
"Receive the Holy Spirit" (v. 22b). As far back as the first chapter of this Gospel, John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as "the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (1:33) –– and Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of the necessity of being "born of the Spirit" (3:8).
How can we reconcile this giving of the Spirit with the account of Pentecost in Acts 2?
• Some scholars say that the two accounts are irreconcilable and that verse 22 is the Johannine Pentecost.
• Others, noting the lack of a definite article –– Jesus says, "Receive Holy Spirit" rather than "Receive the Holy Spirit" –– believe that the disciples received something less than the full gift of the Spirit on this occasion.
• Others say that John knows of Pentecost, but writes the story this way "because of his peculiar theological vision that tightly ties the descent of the Spirit to Jesus' death/ exaltation.... John's account, in other words, is theological but not chronological" (Carson, 651).
• Still others say, "It is false alike to the New Testament and to Christian experience to maintain that there is but one gift of the Spirit. Rather the Spirit continually manifests himself in new ways.... John tells of one gift of the Spirit and Luke of another" (Morris, 748).
"If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (v. 23), This is reminiscent of Matthew 16:19 in which Jesus tells Peter, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 18:18 gives the same authority to the disciples in a context having to do with the resolution of church conflict.
Rabbis have the authority to "bind" and "loose" in the sense that they interpret the law to determine what is and is not allowed, but they do not forgive sins. Jesus breaks new ground here. "This mode of speech plainly shows that originally the formula 'loose and bind' describes the ...judge's declaration of the guilt or innocence of persons brought before him, who are 'bound' to or 'loosed' from the charges made against them" (Schlatter, quoted in Beasley-Murray, 383).
"In John, sin is a theological failing, not a moral or behavioral transgression (in contrast to Matt 18:18)" (O'Day, 847). Sin is a failure to see the truth –– a refusal to accept the risen Christ. Jesus is sending the disciples into the world, empowered by the Spirit, to proclaim the risen Christ. Some people will accept their testimony, and others will reject it. Their response will determine whether they will find themselves among those whose sins are forgiven or among those whose sins are retained.
Verse 23 raises two questions: First, does Jesus give power to forgive or to retain sins –– or only power to discern the will of God in particular cases and to make God's judgment known? Second, does Jesus give this power to individual Christians or to the church? While there may be some room for debate, one thing is clear –– only as we act under the leadership of the Spirit do we have any God-given power at all.
Williamson raises an interesting possibility. "This word of the risen Lord...can...be read as descriptive: if members of the community forgive one another their sins, those sins are forgiven and the community is living from and in the Spirit of Jesus; but if members of the community harbor grudges and resentment toward other members who have sinned against them, then those sins remain to spoil the bond of unity, and the Spirit of Jesus is no longer resident in the community" (Williamson, 283).
VERSES 24-25: UNLESS I SEE, I WILL NOT BELIEVE
24But Thomas (who was called the Twin [Greek: didymos]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
"But Thomas (who was called the Twin [didymos]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came" (v. 24). Didymos is the Greek word for twin. We don't know why Thomas was absent, but we do know that he earlier thought that going to Bethany with Jesus would mean death for the disciples as well as Jesus (11:16).
"So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord' " (v. 25a). The first person to whom the disciples witness is one of their own, Thomas, who was not present when Jesus first appeared to them. Their words to Thomas ("We have seen the Lord") are essentially the same words ("I have seen the Lord") that Mary used to tell the disciples of her encounter with Jesus.
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe" (v. 25b). "Thomas' unwillingness to believe without seeing reflects a thread that runs throughout the Gospel; many respond to signs with faith (1:50; 10:38; 11:15, 40; 14:11) and refuse faith without signs (4:48; 6:30), but unless this faith matures into discipleship, it must prove inadequate in the end" (Keener, 1208).
Thomas does not believe the disciples, but neither did the disciples believe Mary. They were a despondent, defeated people until they saw Jesus with their own eyes.
Thomas's reaction "is undoubtedly not intended to lay down a serious condition for belief but to expose the absurdity of what they tell him: 'before I would believe that, I would first...'" (Ridderbos, 646-647).
"From the evangelist's perspective, Thomas's objection becomes a welcome foil for forestalling the incipient Gnostic notion that Jesus only appeared to be human" (Kostenberger, 578).
Thomas was not the sole doubter and will not remain a doubter. He doubts the witness of the other disciples and so cannot believe the resurrection. Once he sees what they have seen, he will manifest great faith.
A Preaching Point: "Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus made his first appearance to them. As a result, he refused to believe. This should serve as a lesson for us. It is difficult to believe when we do not strengthen ourselves with the fellowship of other believers" (Gossip, 798).
Thomas' demand to see the mark of the nails and to put his hand in Jesus' side is outrageous. Earlier, Jesus condemned those who demanded signs and wonders before they would believe (4:48). Thomas goes even further. "He is only prepared to lay aside his unfaith if the risen Jesus meets his criteria.... Thomas demands that Jesus be 'touchable.' ...He insists that the risen body of Jesus fulfill his requirements" (Moloney, 537).
However, Borchert provides an interesting perspective: "Although this statement of Thomas may seem to be quite obstinate, there is a sense in which contemporary believers ought to thank God that someone like Thomas was there to do the reality check for us" (Borchert, 312-313).
Perhaps we can understand Thomas' reluctance if we remember his words as Jesus prepared to go to Jerusalem –– "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (11:16). Thomas has been zealous for Jesus, but has seen his worst fears realized. The crucifixion has broken his heart. The phrase, "Once burned, twice shy!" comes to mind. Thomas believed, but his belief was betrayed. We can understand why he would be slow to believe again. Perhaps this is the reason for the great compassion and sensitivity with which Jesus reaches out to Thomas in the verses below.
VERSES 26-29: THE SECOND APPEARANCE
26A week later (Greek: meth hemeras okto –– after eight days) his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
"A week later (meth hemeras okto –– after eight days) his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them" (v. 26a). The eight days are to be counted inclusively –– Sunday through Sunday –– it is once again the first day of the week. Jesus appears to them once again.
"Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them" (v. 26b). Once again the doors are shut, but no longer is there any mention of fear. All is the same as it was the previous Sunday except for this lack of fear. Jesus' appearance to the disciples the week before has transformed their fear to faith.
"Peace be with you" (v. 26c). Once again Jesus gives them his peace. The scene is very much parallel to that of a week earlier.
"Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side" (v. 27a). Jesus does not condemn Thomas for his failure to believe, but gives him that which enables him to believe (v. 27). Thomas has demanded to see and touch the risen Lord, and Jesus allows him to do that. There is no indication that Thomas actually touches Jesus' wounds. Seeing the wounded, resurrected Christ is enough.
"Do not doubt but believe" (v. 27b). Jesus says, "kai me ginou (and do not be) apistos (unbelieving) alla pistos (but believing)." We think of this as the Doubting Thomas story, but the word doubt does not appear unless we translate apistos that way.
"My Lord and my God!" (v. 28). In response, Thomas makes "the supreme christological pronouncement of the Fourth Gospel" (Brown, 1047). His confession goes far beyond any titles or confessions found elsewhere in this Gospel. "So it comes about that the most outrageous doubter of the resurrection of Jesus utters the greatest confession of the Lord who rose from the dead" (Beasley-Murray, 385).
Jesus responds by offering a blessing to "those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29). In biblical times, a blessing had great meaning. "Of particular significance...was the blessing of a son by his father whereby a man passed on his property and authority to the next generation" (Myers, 162-163). "God...blesses people by giving life, riches, fruitfulness, or plenty (Gen. 1:22, 28). His greatest blessing is turning us from evil (Acts 3:25-26) and forgiving our sins (Rom. 4:7-8)" (Lockyer, 185).
"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29). This is Jesus' final beatitude or blessing. These words will encourage early Christians who will feel cheated, having missed seeing Jesus by only a few months or years. They also encourage us, who are among those who have not seen but who have believed. The few first-generation Christians who saw Jesus in person have no advantage over the many later-generations of Christians who have not. Note that Jesus does not say that these later Christians will be more blessed than the "seeing" disciples, but only that they will be blessed.
VERSES 30-31: THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YOU MIGHT BELIEVE
30Now (Greek: men oun –– therefore) Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
In verse 29, Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who will believe. Now the narrator says, "Therefore (men oun)... these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God." The purpose of this Gospel is that we, the readers of this Gospel, may enjoy the promised blessing.
In this Gospel, Jesus' miracles are called signs. These signs give people reason to believe, but many who witness them do not believe (6:36). The choice is ours.
"and that through believing you may have life in his name" (v. 31b). Faith rather than works determines salvation (Romans 1:6; 4:1-3; 9:31-32; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 1:21; Galatians 3:1-12; Ephesians 2:8).
Most scholars agree that these verses conclude this Gospel in its original form. The Evangelist states the purpose of his writing –– that we might believe. He achieved this goal. Millions of Christians have been strengthened in their faith by reading this Gospel, and millions of others have been brought to faith, at least in part, by its witness to Christ.
TRUE STORY:
In her book, The Irrational Season, Madeleine L'Engle talks about doubt as a "virulent virus" that strikes us now and then.
She talks about the time that the doubt virus struck her. She had received a phone call about a friend –– a young woman living in a small Midwestern town –– who was kidnapped, raped, and brutally murdered. Then she encountered another friend –– a young woman who was grieving terribly over an abortion that she had the day before. They embraced each other and stood there weeping together.
And then, a few nights later, the doubt virus struck. She was lying in bed with the words of the Jesus Prayer wending through her consciousness. And then "I thought bitterly, why on earth am I saying these meaningless and empty words. They mean nothing. Lord Jesus Christ is only an illusion. There is nothing. Nada. Nada. Nada."
"And then I flung myself onto the words of the prayer like a drowning person clutching at a rope thrown into the dark sea. I held onto it with all my strength and I was slowly pulled from the waters which had been sucking me under, pulled out of the dark and into the light, and the Lord Jesus Christ did indeed have mercy on me. I know that I am not immune from further attacks. But I also know now that the darkness can never put out the light."
THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)
Doubt is not the opposite faith;
it is one element of faith.
Paul Tillich
* * * * * * * * * *
There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.
Alfred, 1st Lord Tennyson
* * * * * * * * * *
Once I heard a man say: "I spent twenty years trying to come to terms with my doubts. Then one day it dawned on me that I had better come to terms with my faith. Now I have passed from the agony of the questions I cannot answer into the agony of answers I cannot escape. And it's a great relief."
David E. Roberts
* * * * * * * * * *
Never doubt in the dark
what God told you in the light.
V. Raymond Edman
* * * * * * * * * *
Your doubt can become a good quality if you train it. It must become knowing, it must become criticism. Ask it, whenever it wants to spoil something for you, why something is ugly, demand proofs from it, test it, and you will find it perhaps bewildered and embarrassed, perhaps also protesting. But don't give in , insist on arguments, and act in this way, attentive and persistent, every single time, and the day will come when, instead of being a destroyer, it will become one of your best workers—-perhaps the most intelligent of all the ones that are building your life.
Rainer Maria Rilke
* * * * * * * * * *
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Used by permission
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Althouse, LaVonne, "Words of Power," Clergy Journal (May-June, 1996)
Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, "The Gospel of John," Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1955)
Beasley-Murray, George R., Word Biblical Commentary: John (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999)
Borchert, Gerald L., New American Commentary: John 12-21, Vol. 25B (Nashville: Broadman Press, 2002)
Brown, Raymond, The Anchor Bible: The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI (Garden City: Doubleday, 1970)
Bruce, F. F., The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1983).
Brueggemann, Walter; Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R. and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV––Year B (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
Carson, D. A., The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991).
Craddock, Fred R.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year B (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993)
Gossip, Arthur John and Howard, Wilbert F., The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952)
Howard-Brook, Wes, Becoming the Children of God: John's Gospel and Radical Discipleship (New York: Maryknoll, 1994).
Hultgren, Arland J. in Van Harn, Roger (ed.), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday's Text. The Third Readings: The Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001)
Keener, Craig S., The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Volume II (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003)
Kostenberger, Andreas J., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)
Krenz, Edgar and Vogel, Arthur A., Proclamation 2, Easter, Series C
Lincoln, Andrew T., Black's New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (London: Continuum, 2005)
Lindberg, Paul H., Lectionary Bible Studies: The Year of Luke: Lent/Easter, Study Book (Minneapolis/Philadelphia: Augsburg Publishing House/Fortress Press, 1976)
Lockyer, Herbert, Sr. (ed.), Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986)
Moloney, Francis J., Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998)
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995).
Myers, Allen C. (ed.), The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987)
O'Day, Gail R., The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995)
Palmer, Earl F., The Book That John Wrote (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1975)
Ridderbos, Herman (translated by John Vriend), The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997)
Sloyan, Gerald, "John," Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988)
Smith, D. Moody, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: John (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999)
Williamson, Lamar, Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)
Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com
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About Me
- Calvin Girvin
- Southern Methodist University... (Perkins School of Theology)... Dallas, TX ... Degree: D.Min. (cum laude)... Major: Pastoral Care... Minor: Church History... 1984 - 1987.......... Nashotah House Theological Seminary... Nashotah, WI ... Degree: Master's Degree... Major: Parish Ministry... Minor: Liturgy... 1972 - 1975.......... The University Of Texas At Arlington... Arlington, TX ... Degree: Master's Degree... Major: Medieval Literature... Minor: Shakespeare... Greek: Sigma Tau Delta... 1970 - 1971.......... The University Of Texas At Arlington ... Arlington, TX ... Degree: Bachelor's Degree... Major: English... Minor: History... Greek: Sigma Tau Delta... 1965 - 1969