Wrestling with the Word, episode 100: Christ the King Sunday, Year C (November 21, 2010) November 16, 2010
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christ the King, Christianity, Colossians 1:11-20, fostermccurley, Jeremiah 23:1-6, lectionary, Luke 23:33-43, preaching, Psalm 46, Revised Common Lectionary, WrestlingWithTheWord
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Christ the King Sunday
As the season of Pentecost comes to an end, the entire church year concludes as well. How fitting that every church year ends with Christ the King Sunday. While the title for Jesus is not well attested in the New Testament, the announcement that the Reign of God has dawned in Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection jumps out at us paragraph after paragraph. Further, while Christ is seldom called “King,” he has what kings possess: a kingdom. Our challenge as the church in every generation is to ask what it means that by God’s grace we belong to the kingdom that belongs to the Crucified Christ. Perhaps we will identify ourselves with one of the men crucified beside him: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 100: Christ the King Sunday, Year C.
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Psalm 46
The song of trust expresses confidence that God will defend the city of Jerusalem in the midst of an attack—real or mythical. The tradition that the Lord will protect Jerusalem from chaos seems to have been rooted firmly for many centuries, perhaps even prior to David himself (see 2 Sam. 5:6). The tradition appears again in Psalm 48 and became a key element in the preaching of Isaiah when the Assyrians were besieging the city. Since the enemy is portrayed as watery chaos, the primordial enemy, God’s victory will not only make the city secure but also end future wars. In true mythic tradition, the victory exalts YHWH among the nations of the earth. The grateful recognition of YHWH in the midst of the people concludes the psalm.
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Jeremiah 23:1-6
In contrast to the chaos brought upon the people of Israel by their leaders, God promises to provide faithful shepherds and to restore the people to pasture and posterity, all within the coming Reign of God and under the just and righteous rule of a Davidic king.
Context
In 597 B.C. the Babylonians carried off to exile King Jehoiachin (Coniah in 22:24-30) and placed on the throne his uncle Mattaniah whom the Babylonians renamed Zedekiah (Hebrew tsidqiyyāhû = “Yahweh is my righteousness”). At the conclusion of the exile, under Persian rule, the prophets Zechariah and Haggai pinned the hopes of Judah on Zerubbabel, the governor, who was a grandson of Jehoiachin (see Zech. 4:1-9a; note that the entire Book of Haggai is said to be the word of the Lord through Haggai to Zerubbabel). If this historical period is the setting for our pericope, then we are studying a witness not from the beginning of the exile, the time of Jeremiah, but after the exile, about 520 B.C.
Key Words
V. 3. ûpārû werābû = “and the people shall be fruitful and multiply”: This promise was an emphasis in priestly writings during the exilic period: Gen. 1:28; Exod. 1:7; Jer. 29:6; Ezek. 36:11. The “creation” blessing appears to provide a sermon to exiles who need to be encouraged to procreate, even in a foreign land, so that there will survive a people to be delivered in due course.
V. 5. ledāwid tsemach tsaddîq = “for David a righteous Branch”: The same words occur at Jer. 33:15; see also Zech. 3:8 (used for Zerubbabel, Jehoiachin’s grandson); a different Hebrew word (nētser) appears at Isa. 11:1 for the future ruler of Davidic descent.
V. 5. mišpāt ûtsedāqâ bā’’ārets = “justice and righteousness in the land”: This pair is the foundation of the reign of God (Ps. 97:2; 99:4), extended to the Davidic ruler in Jerusalem (Isa. 9:7; Ps. 72:1-2) and here to the Davidic ruler to come. Similarly, see Isa. 11:3b-5.
V. 5. ûmālak melek wehaskîl = “and he will reign as king and act wisely”: For wisdom as a required royal attribute, see the acclaim of Solomon’s wisdom (1 Kings 3:9-28; 4:29-34), as well as the qualities of the one to come: “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord” (Isa. 11:2).
V. 6. YHWH tsidqēnû = “Yahweh is our righteousness”: The title might be playing on the name given to Uncle Mattaniah: “Yahweh is my righteousness.” In any case, the connection of “righteousness” with the kingdom of God is expected, because “righteousness,” along with “justice,” are the foundations of God’s throne (Psalm 97:2).
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Colossians 1:11-20
On the basis of the identity of Christ as God’s image and his role in creation and redemption, God delivers us from darkness to the reign of his beloved Son and reconciles to himself all things.
Context
The congregation at Colossae, a city in Asia Minor, was founded by Epaphras (1:7) who was a native of the city (4:12). The purpose of the letter is to address the influence of heresies and to encourage the church to remain faithful to the traditions that they had learned from the beginning. Prior to our pericope is the author’s salutation (vv. 1-2), the thanksgiving for the community’s faith (vv. 3-8), and the first part of the prayer for the community’s steadfastness (vv. 9-10). While some scholars defend Pauline authorship, the style and content might point to someone else as the author of the epistle.
Structure of verses 15-20: a hymn of two stanzas
Stanza one: vss. 15-17 Stanza two: vss. 18-20
the image of the invisible God the head of the body, the church
the first-born of all creation the first-born from the dead
for in him all things for in him all the fullness of God
through him all things were and through him to reconcile to
created through him and for him himself all things
Key Words
V. 19. eudokēsan pan to plērōma katoikēsai = “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”: God is pleased with his Son (Matt.3:17 and parallels; 17:5). God is pleased to “give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). God is pleased to “save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). God “was pleased to reveal his Son to” Paul (Gal. 1:15).
V. 20. kai di’ autou apokatallaxai ta panta eis auton = “and through him to reconcile all things to himself”: The universality of the word “all” provides a breadth and Hebrew words as “peace” (šālōm = wholeness) and “justice” (mišpāt = harmony) convey. Recall the result of the servant’s suffering at Isaiah 53:11 (“many” probably means “all”). Recall also Jesus’ words of institution at Matthew 26:28: “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” But the “all things” in our passage removes any doubt about inclusivity by its following words: “whether on earth or in heaven.”
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Luke 23:33-43
In response to the criminal’s plea and acknowledgement of Jesus’ kingship, Jesus promises him a share in the saving event of the kingdom.
Context
Jesus had been led with two criminals to the place called the Skull where the three were crucified. From the cross Jesus called on his Father to forgive his executioners while they played a game to win his clothes.
Key Words and Expressions
The taunters
V. 35. the leaders
V. 37. the soldiers
V. 39. the one criminal
The taunt terms
V. 35. exemyktērizon = “scoffed”
V. 36. enepaixan = “mocked”
V. 39. eblasphēmei = “blasphemed”
The taunts
V. 35. “if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One”
V. 37. “If you are the King of the Jews”
V. 39. “Are you not the Christ?”
The challenge
V. 35. “He saved others; let him save himself”
V. 37. “save yourself”
V. 39. “Save yourself and us”
V. 42. mnēsthēti mou = “remember me”: The expression resembles the plea in a lament; cf. Gen. 40:14; Ps. 74:2, 18, 22; 89:47, 50; 106:4.
V. 43. sēmeron = “today”: The word has a profound eschatological thrust in Luke: see 2:10; 4:20; 5:26; 19:9.
V. 43. en tō paradeisō = “in Paradise”: See 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7. In OT the word describes Eden at Gen. 2:8; cf. 3:10; Ezek. 31:8-9. Later the word takes on eschatological meaning in intertestamental literature (see, e.g., Ps. Sol. 14:3).
Wrestling with the Word, episode 97: Reformation Sunday, Year C (October 31, 2010) October 27, 2010
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 8:31-36, lectionary, preaching, Psalm 46, Reformation Sunday, Revised Common Lectionary, Romans 3:19-28, WrestlingWithTheWord
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Reformation Sunday
We celebrate the day because on this date, the Eve of All Saint’s Day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. But what stands out for us, and what makes this day worth celebrating, is not the hammer and the nail in Luther’s hands that day, but his rediscovery of the meaning of the nails that pinned Jesus to the cross somewhere about A.D. 30.
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 97: Reformation Sunday, Year C.
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Psalm 46
The hymn about God’s defense of Jerusalem in the midst of chaos calls for a confident faith in the Lord. As Psalm 91 (last week) was a powerful expression of trust from an individual, this psalm demonstrates the same within the community. The imagery of a river in Jerusalem is quite unreal (like the sea battle in Psalm 48), but the divine protection of Jerusalem from attack assures the people and magnifies the Lord’s glory.
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Jeremiah 31:31-34
In spite of all appearances to the contrary, God promises that in the New Day to come, God will reconcile the people to himself, even giving them new hearts so that they will not again rebel.
Context
The prophet Jeremiah was called to “pluck up and break down” but also to “build and to plant” (1:10). While much of the prophecies speak of God’s judgment, there are many from the same prophet which promise God’s restoration and forgiveness. Jer. 30:1–31:22 contain poems about the restoration to come, while 31:23 through chap 33 deal with the same theme in prose.
Key Words
V. 31. hinnē yāmîm bā’îm = “behold, (the) days are coming”: One of the characteristic expressions to introduce a prophecy about the coming Day of the lord when the Reign of God would be established over all.
V. 31. wekārattî … berît chadāšâ = “and I will cut … a new covenant”: The former covenant was the one made by God through Moses at Mount Sinai. Interestingly, the “cutting of the covenant” actually occurred with the slaughtering of an animal, the sprinkling of blood on an altar and on the people, as the people themselves committed themselves to do what the Lord had spoken (Exod. 24:3-8). That commitment was not long lasting.
V. 32. hēpērû ’et-berîtî = “they broke my covenant”: See most directly 11:10; 33:20; cf. also 14:21. We can understand the power and passion of the words from the perspective that the covenant was a marriage and a parent-child relationship, spelled out most clearly by Jeremiah and Hosea.
V. 32. we’ānōkî bā‘altî bām = “and I was husband/owner/ba`al over them”: The word ba`al can carry all the above meanings, presumably on the basis that ba`al was the one who fertilizes (the land, thus its owner; a wife, thus her husband). The same words appear at 3:14 (translated “master”) because of the reference to Israel as “children”). YHWH is portrayed in Jer. as husband on other occasions; cf. 2:2; 3:20.
V. 33. nātattî ’et-tôrātî beqirbām we‘al-libbām ’ektabennâ = “I will put my instruction/law within them, and upon their heart I will write it”: See. 32:38-41 where the human heart is also God’s tablet and an “everlasting covenant” is mentioned, that is, one which cannot be broken. There also appears the promise of God “with all my heart and soul.” Ezekiel also uses the theme of a new heart so that God’s commandments might be kept (see Ezek. 36:26-27). That same prophet also writes of God’s promise of an “everlasting covenant” which will be “a covenant of peace” (Ezek. 37:26).
V. 34. kî-kûllām yēde‘û ’ôtî = “for all of them shall know me”: The Hebrew for “know” here is not intellectual but relational, as at Gen. 4:1; 19:8; Amos 3:2. “Knowledge of God” and “steadfast love” are God’s desires (Hos. 6:6).
V. 34. ’eslach la‘avônām = “I will forgive their iniquity”: Forgiveness is a common theme in Jeremiah; see 5:1, 7; 33:8; 36:3; 50:20. Recall also Isa. 53:11.
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Romans 3:19-28
In the new time begun with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God freely declares and makes us and all people innocent and free through faith.
Context
Beginning at 1:18 Paul set forth the sinfulness of humanity, both Gentiles who live apart from the law and Jews who have the law. All are included because “God shows no partiality” (2:11). Based on the universal experience, it would appear that humankind is in a hopeless state, especially based on 2:5-6.
Key Words
V. 21. nuni de = “but now”: the word “now” occurs in an eschatological sense throughout this epistle: 5:9, 10, 11; 6:19, 21, 22; 7:6; 8:1, 22; 11:30, 31; 13:11; 16:26. Paul’s understanding of time is divided into two periods: the time before Christ came, and the time since Christ. See also 2 Cor. 5:16–6:2; Gal. 3:23-26.
Vv. 21, 22. dikaiosynē theou = “the righteousness of God”: Also see 25b. At 1:17 “the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith” in the gospel of Jesus Christ. “God’s word of righteousness” is what brings the world from chaos to order (Isa. 45:18-19), responds to cries for help under injustice (Psalm 7:17), saves the exiles from their bondage (Isa. 46:13), and much more. In the OT “righteousness” (tsedeq or tsedāqâ) is the activity that fulfills the obligations of a relationship, and so the Hebrew tsedāqâ is sometimes translated “saving acts” (1 Sam. 12:7) or “victory.”
V. 23. pantes gar hēmarton kai hysterountai tēs doxēs tou theou = “all have sinned and keep falling short (pres. ptc.) of the glory of God”: The expression “glory of God” appears also at 5:2 and 15:17; humanity, all of it, has from the very beginning failed to attain the glory of God (see 11:32). The consequences for the “day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom. 2:5-6) are obvious (see Psalm 62:12).
V. 24. dikaioumenoi dōrean tē autou chariti = “they are justified/made righteous as a gift by his grace”: That “justified” is a key to the Epistle to the Romans see its use also at 2:13; 3:4, 20; 4:2; 5:1, 9; 8:30; 10:4, 10. As a law court term it means to be declared innocent and thus made innocent and free, and in the OT the suffering of the Servant of the Lord “makes many to be righteous” (Isa. 53:11). The God of justice who declares the righteous innocent and the wicked guilty (1 Kings 8:32; Exod 23:7; Psalm 82:3; Isa. 5:23; cf. Prov. 17:15) “now” acts out of character.
V. 24. dia tēs apolytrōseōs en Christō ‘Iēsou = “through the redemption in Christ Jesus”: The term appears in documents concerning the release of slaves to belong to another (even to a god). In the NT the term appears frequently: as Jesus’ promise for his return (Luke 21:28; for the coming “glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18-23); as the content of the “new covenant” begun with the death of Jesus (Heb. 9:15); as a parallel expression for “the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph. 1:7; also Col. 1:14); as the promised gift through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30).
V. 25. hilasterion = “expiation” (RSV) or “a sacrifice of atonement”: The term derives from Lev. 16:2, 13-15 where it is used for the “mercy seat” on the ark of the covenant on which sacrificial blood was spilled for making atonement for the holy place.
V. 27. pou oun hē kauchēsis = “Where then is boasting?”: For proper and improper boasting see the references at 2:17, 23; 4:2; 11:18. Faith is the opposite of faith that accepts God’s unconditional and unmerited grace. Recall Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).
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John 8:31-36
Against all the forces of sin and evil that would constrain us, Jesus Christ, the Truth, came to set us free.
Context
According to 7:2 Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. There he was challenged by some and lauded by others. Some believed, while others, especially the chief priests and the Pharisees, tried to arrest him. In chapter 8 Jesus speaks of himself as “the light of the world” (8:12) and as the “I AM” (8:24).
Key Words
V. 31. elegen oun ho ’Iēsous pros tous pepisteukotas autō ‘Ioudaious = “Then Jesus said to those who had come to believe in him”: The perfect tense of pisteuō appears here as it does elsewhere in John’s Gospel at 3:18; 6:69; 11:27; and 16:27. Only in this verse is the Greek verb translated “had believed,” giving the impression they once did believe but believe no longer. At 3:18 the verb is “have (not) believed.” At 6:69; 11:27; and 16:27 the word indicates present faith and is translated not with “had” believed but with “believe” or “have believed.” Therefore, Peter said to Jesus, “we have believed and have come to know … (6:69). Martha said, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,…” (11:27). Jesus said to the disciples, “because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father … (16:27). In all those passages, the verb is in the perfect tense.
The verb tense at 8:31, therefore, does not imply that the listeners once did believe but believe no longer or that they once believed but now doubt their belief. The real problem lies not in the tense of the verb but in the context. The statement about “the Jews who believed in him” is a logical follow up to verse 30: “As he spoke thus, many believed (aorist) in him.” The problem is that immediately following verses 31-32, the responders seem to be not those who have come to believe in him but those who did not come to believe in the first place and in fact who were prepared to kill him. It is that group’s reaction and action that culminates in their attempt to stone him in verse 59.
V. 32. kai gnōsesthe tēn alētheian kai hē alētheia eleutherōsei hymas = “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”: One must allow the possibility that “knowing” here has the same intimate sense as in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Further, in John’s Gospel “the truth” and Jesus seem to be identified as one and the same (1:14; 14:6; 18:37-38; cf. v. 36.
V. 36. ean oun ho huios eleutherōsē, ontōs eleutheroi esesthe = “if the son makes you free, you will be free indeed”: When one considers Galatians 5:1, one wonders whether Paul might not have had an effect on the author of this Gospel, since “freedom” is not a major theme in the synoptics.
Wrestling with the Word, episode 44: Reformation Sunday, Year B (October 25, 2009) October 11, 2009
Posted by fostermccurley in Wrestling With The Word podcast.Tags: Bible studies, Christianity, fostermccurley, Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 8:31-36, lectionary, preaching, Psalm 46, Reformation Sunday, Revised Common Lectionary, Romans 3:19-28, WrestlingWithTheWord
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Reformation Sunday
Boasting is not included in the list of appropriate behaviors, especially in church. In fact, all the lessons assigned for Reformation Sunday eliminate “boasting” from the Christian vocabulary, simply because God is accomplishing all the work. The biblical passages that make that point are innumerable, but the readings for today deliver a particularly powerful punch. The gospel of Jesus Christ is free! It sets us free! We are free to boast only about God!
Download or listen to Wrestling with the Word, episode 44: Reformation Sunday, Year B.
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Psalm 46
The hymn about God’s defense of Jerusalem in the midst of chaos calls for a confident faith in the Lord. As Psalm 91 (last week) was a powerful expression of trust from an individual, this psalm demonstrates the same within the community. The imagery of a river in Jerusalem is quite unreal (like the sea battle in Psalm 48), but the divine protection of Jerusalem from attack assures the people and magnifies the Lord’s glory.
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Jeremiah 31:31-34
In spite of all appearances to the contrary, God promises that in the New Day to come, God will reconcile the people to himself, even giving them new hearts so that they will not again rebel.
Context
The prophet Jeremiah was called to “pluck up and break down” but also to “build and to plant” (1:10). While much of the prophecies speak of God’s judgment, there are many from the same prophet which promise God’s restoration and forgiveness. Jer. 30:1–31:22 contain poems about the restoration to come, while 31:23 through chap 33 deal with the same theme in prose.
Key Words
V. 31. hinnē yāmîm bā’îm = “behold, (the) days are coming”: One of the characteristic expressions to introduce a prophecy about the coming Day of the lord when the Reign of God would be established over all.
V. 31. wekārattî … berît chadāšâ = “and I will cut … a new covenant”: The former covenant was the one made by God through Moses at Mount Sinai. Interestingly, the “cutting of the covenant” actually occurred with the slaughtering of an animal, the sprinkling of blood on an altar and on the people, as the people themselves committed themselves to do what the Lord had spoken (Exod. 24:3-8). That commitment was not long lasting.
V. 32. hēpērû ’et-berîtî = “they broke my covenant”: See most directly 11:10; 33:20; cf. also 14:21. We can understand the power and passion of the words from the perspective that the covenant was a marriage and a parent-child relationship, spelled out most clearly by Jeremiah and Hosea.
V. 32. we’ānōkî bā‘altî bām = “and I was husband/owner/ba`al over them”: The word ba`al can carry all the above meanings, presumably on the basis that ba`al was the one who fertilizes (the land, thus its owner; a wife, thus her husband). The same words appear at 3:14 (translated “master”) because of the reference to Israel as “children”). YHWH is portrayed in Jer. as husband on other occasions; cf. 2:2; 3:20.
V. 33. nātattî ’et-tôrātî beqirbām we‘al-libbām ’ektabennâ = “I will put my instruction/law within them, and upon their heart I will write it”: See. 32:38-41 where the human heart is also God’s tablet and an “everlasting covenant” is mentioned, that is, one which cannot be broken. There also appears the promise of God “with all my heart and soul.” Ezekiel also uses the theme of a new heart so that God’s commandments might be kept (see Ezek. 36:26-27). That same prophet also writes of God’s promise of an “everlasting covenant” which will be “a covenant of peace” (Ezek. 37:26).
V. 34. kî-kûllām yēde‘û ’ôtî = “for all of them shall know me”: The Hebrew for “know” here is not intellectual but relational, as at Gen. 4:1; 19:8; Amos 3:2. “Knowledge of God” and “steadfast love” are God’s desires (Hos. 6:6).
V. 34. ’eslach la‘avônām = “I will forgive their iniquity”: Forgiveness is a common theme in Jeremiah; see 5:1, 7; 33:8; 36:3; 50:20. Recall also Isa. 53:11.
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Romans 3:19-28
In the new time begun with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God freely declares and makes us and all people innocent and free through faith.
Context
Beginning at 1:18 Paul set forth the sinfulness of humanity, both Gentiles who live apart from the law and Jews who have the law. All are included because “God shows no partiality” (2:11). Based on the universal experience, it would appear that humankind is in a hopeless state, especially based on 2:5-6.
Key Words
V. 21. nuni de = “but now”: the word “now” occurs in an eschatological sense throughout this epistle: 5:9, 10, 11; 6:19, 21, 22; 7:6; 8:1, 22; 11:30, 31; 13:11; 16:26. Paul’s understanding of time is divided into two periods: the time before Christ came, and the time since Christ. See also 2 Cor. 5:16–6:2; Gal. 3:23-26.
Vv. 21, 22. dikaiosynē theou = “the righteousness of God”: Also see 25b. At 1:17 “the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith” in the gospel of Jesus Christ. “God’s word of righteousness” is what brings the world from chaos to order (Isa. 45:18-19), responds to cries for help under injustice (Psalm 7:17), saves the exiles from their bondage (Isa. 46:13), and much more. In the OT “righteousness” (tsedeq or tsedāqâ) is the activity that fulfills the obligations of a relationship, and so the Hebrew tsedāqâ is sometimes translated “saving acts” (1 Sam. 12:7) or “victory.”
V. 23. pantes gar hēmarton kai hysterountai tēs doxēs tou theou = “all have sinned and keep falling short (pres. ptc.) of the glory of God”: The expression “glory of God” appears also at 5:2 and 15:17; humanity, all of it, has from the very beginning failed to attain the glory of God (see 11:32). The consequences for the “day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom. 2:5-6) are obvious (see Psalm 62:12).
V. 24. dikaioumenoi dōrean tē autou chariti = “they are justified/made righteous as a gift by his grace”: That “justified” is a key to the Epistle to the Romans see its use also at 2:13; 3:4, 20; 4:2; 5:1, 9; 8:30; 10:4, 10. As a law court term it means to be declared innocent and thus made innocent and free, and in the OT the suffering of the Servant of the Lord “makes many to be righteous” (Isa. 53:11). The God of justice who declares the righteous innocent and the wicked guilty (1 Kings 8:32; Exod 23:7; Psalm 82:3; Isa. 5:23; cf. Prov. 17:15) “now” acts out of character.
V. 24. dia tēs apolytrōseōs en Christō ‘Iēsou = “through the redemption in Christ Jesus”: The term appears in documents concerning the release of slaves to belong to another (even to a god). In the NT the term appears frequently: as Jesus’ promise for his return (Luke 21:28; for the coming “glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18-23); as the content of the “new covenant” begun with the death of Jesus (Heb. 9:15); as a parallel expression for “the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph. 1:7; also Col. 1:14); as the promised gift through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30).
V. 25. hilasterion = “expiation” (RSV) or “a sacrifice of atonement”: The term derives from Lev. 16:2, 13-15 where it is used for the “mercy seat” on the ark of the covenant on which sacrificial blood was spilled for making atonement for the holy place.
V. 27. pou oun hē kauchēsis = “Where then is boasting?”: For proper and improper boasting see the references at 2:17, 23; 4:2; 11:18. Faith is the opposite of faith that accepts God’s unconditional and unmerited grace. Recall Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14).
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John 8:31-36
Against all the forces of sin and evil that would constrain us, Jesus Christ, the Truth, came to set us free.
Context
According to 7:2 Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. There he was challenged by some and lauded by others. Some believed, while others, especially the chief priests and the Pharisees, tried to arrest him. In chapter 8 Jesus speaks of himself as “the light of the world” (8:12) and as the “I AM” (8:24).
Key Words
V. 31. elegen oun ho ’Iēsous pros tous pepisteukotas autō ‘Ioudaious = “Then Jesus said to those who had come to believe in him”: The perfect tense of pisteuō appears here as it does elsewhere in John’s Gospel at 3:18; 6:69; 11:27; and 16:27. Only in this verse is the Greek verb translated “had believed,” giving the impression they once did believe but believe no longer. At 3:18 the verb is “have (not) believed.” At 6:69; 11:27; and 16:27 the word indicates present faith and is translated not with “had” believed but with “believe” or “have believed.” Therefore, Peter said to Jesus, “we have believed and have come to know … (6:69). Martha said, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,…” (11:27). Jesus said to the disciples, “because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father … (16:27). In all those passages, the verb is in the perfect tense.
The verb tense at 8:31, therefore, does not imply that the listeners once did believe but believe no longer or that they once believed but now doubt their belief. The real problem lies not in the tense of the verb but in the context. The statement about “the Jews who believed in him” is a logical follow up to verse 30: “As he spoke thus, many believed (aorist) in him.” The problem is that immediately following verses 31-32, the responders seem to be not those who have come to believe in him but those who did not come to believe in the first place and in fact who were prepared to kill him. It is that group’s reaction and action that culminates in their attempt to stone him in verse 59.
V. 32. kai gnōsesthe tēn alētheian kai hē alētheia eleutherōsei hymas = “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”: One must allow the possibility that “knowing” here has the same intimate sense as in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Further, in John’s Gospel “the truth” and Jesus seem to be identified as one and the same (1:14; 14:6; 18:37-38; cf. v. 36.
V. 36. ean oun ho huios eleutherōsē, ontōs eleutheroi esesthe = “if the son makes you free, you will be free indeed”: When one considers Galatians 5:1, one wonders whether Paul might not have had an effect on the author of this Gospel, since “freedom” is not a major theme in the synoptics.
Wrestling with the Word 