Jeremiah 26:1-16 (17-24)

Jeremiah’s Prophecies in the Temple (Cp Jer 7.1-15)

26:1 At the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came from the LORD: 2 Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the LORD; speak to them all the words that I command you; do not hold back a word. 3 It may be that they will listen, all of them, and will turn from their evil way, that I may change my mind about the disaster that I intend to bring on them because of their evil doings. 4 You shall say to them: Thus says the LORD: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 and to heed the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently-though you have not heeded- 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.

7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.

10 When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the LORD and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the LORD. 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “It is the LORD who sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13 Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, and the LORD will change his mind about the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14 But as for me, here I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will be bringing innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the LORD sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” (Jeremiah 26:1-16, NRSV)

17 And some of the elders of the land arose and said to all the assembled people, 18 “Micah of Moresheth, who prophesied during the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,

Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’

19 Did King Hezekiah of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and did not the LORD change his mind about the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster on ourselves!”

20 There was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words exactly like those of Jeremiah. 21 And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor and men with him to Egypt, 23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and threw his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

24 But the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over into the hands of the people to be put to death. (Jeremiah 26:17-24, NRSV)

On (March 29, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One), comments were repeated from March 17, 2005 (Thursday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One). The Jeremiah comments are from lecture notes of Dr. Charles A. Pitts, Houston Graduate School of Theology, now posted on his web site at http://www.hgst.edu/Faculty_Staff_Pictures/Pitts/website/Lecture%20Notes--Jer%20Ez%20Jer%207,%2026,%2023.htm. (accessed April 1, 2009; you may need to copy and paste the URL address in your browser). The web site includes lecture notes on Jeremiah 7:1-8:3, a similar passage. He quotes the text from the New International Version (NIV).

--Jer. 26:1-6 is a briefer version (or possibly a different event) of the sermon found in Jer. 7. Similarities between the two texts are several: the sermons are delivered at the temple, they are calls to repent, former prophets are mentioned, and the coming destruction is compared to Shiloh. There are differences as well. Most importantly, perhaps, is that Jer. 7 includes details of the sermon omitted in Jer. 26, while the latter chapter reports the reaction to the sermon.

--The LORD sends a “word” to Jeremiah and then commands the prophet to speak, and not to “omit a word.” The word is a simple, straightforward word of judgment, especially when compared to Jer. 7, delivered with the hope that the people might repent and avoid the disaster.

--The call is simply to “follow my law, which I have set before you.” There is no elaboration of particular areas in need of reform, or condemnations of particular sins. The prophet, and God, expects the people of Judah to know the Law and its expectations. Since the LORD had “set before” them this law, He could reasonably expect them to know it, and to obey it.

--The coming judgment is also obtuse, simply “I will make this house like Shiloh,” and “(I will make) this city an object of cursing.” Shiloh, the location of the tent and the priesthood of Eli at the end of the period of the judges, was destroyed by the Philistines over 400 years earlier. The hearers clearly understood the reference to Shiloh and to becoming an object of cursing as a threat of destruction. Their response was swift and sharp.

JER 26:7 The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD. 8 But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, "You must die! 9 Why do you prophesy in the LORD's name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?" And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.

--“The priests, the prophets and all the people” who heard “these words” immediately seized Jeremiah and proclaimed his condemnation. Jerusalem would not be cursed, Jeremiah would! They understood Jeremiah’s words as a prediction of Jerusalem becoming “desolate and deserted,” like Shiloh.

JER 26:10 When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the LORD and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD's house. 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!"

--Those who heard Jeremiah’s message took him before the “officials.” This is an example of “justice in the gate,” or better “injustice in the gate.” The city officials met in the rooms that were formed by the recessed in the gate house.

JER 26:12 Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. 13 Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. 15 Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."

--Jeremiah speaks in defense of his message only by referring to his calling from the LORD. He claims his place as a true prophet sent by God, then he repeats the words of impending judgment, offering an opportunity to avoid the judgment by repenting and becoming obedient to the LORD.

--Jeremiah also warns them of the consequences of killing him. His death at their hands would bring “the guilt of innocent blood” on them, this city, and its inhabitants. They are reminded of the wide-ranging effect their actions had on the people of Judah. If they rejected “all these words,” everyone in Judah would suffer the consequences.

--These types of messages are common in the prophets, and they remind today’s leaders that with the privilege of leadership comes great responsibility and that the failure of the leadership affects all of the ones they lead.

--26:16-19—Defense of Jeremiah by Some Elders

--Some of the elders came to the defense of Jeremiah based upon the earlier prophecy of Micah. They called upon the king and leaders to follow the example of Hezekiah, who recognized that Micah spoke from the Lord and did him no harm. They warn of impending judgment if they harm Jeremiah.

--26:20-24—Uriah, the prophet

--These verses are a sort of parenthetical statement concerning Jehoiakim’s murder of a prophet named Uriah, even sending to Egypt to extradite him for execution. Jeremiah is protected from such an end by the intervention of a person named, Ahikam, son of Shaphan.

Romans 11:1-12

Israel’s Rejection Is Not Final (Cp Ps 69.22-23; Isa 29.10)

11:1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what is the divine reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,

“God gave them a sluggish spirit,

eyes that would not see

and ears that would not hear,

down to this very day.”

9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and keep their backs forever bent.”

The Salvation of the Gentiles

11 So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their stumbling means riches for the world, and if their defeat means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! (Romans 11:1-12, NRSV)

On July 14, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), comments were repeated from March 29, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One), when comments were combined with some revision from July 12, 2004, in an email sent July 12, 2004 for July 12-18, from March 17, 2005 (Thursday of the week of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year One), and from July 17, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated here with some editing and supplement:

Paul ended Romans chapter ten by pointing out that though Israel has had every opportunity to hear and understand the “good news” (eujaggevlion, euaggelion = “gospel,” Rom. 10:16, based on the participial form of eujaggelizomai, euaggelizomai, “have the gospel preached to one,” v. 15, citing Isa. 52:7), they have refused. “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people” (Rom. 10:21, citing Isa. 65:1-2). He continues in chapter eleven with a rhetorical question. “I ask, then, has God rejected his people?” And the answer? “By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin” (Rom. 11:1). “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew,” says Paul (v. 2a). And for good measure, he cites the example of Elijah’s complaint to God : “Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone left [as faithful in Israel, and not worshiping Baal], and they are seeking my life’ ” (Rom. 11:2b, 3, citing 1 Kgs. 19:14). “But what is the divine reply to him?” asks Paul. “I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal” (Rom. 11:4, citing 1 Kgs. 19:18). Paul applies this historical example to his own time: “there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Rom. 11:5b, 6).

So there is a remnant (v. 5), whose existence, says T. W. Manson, “is a demonstration of divine grace rather than human merit” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprinted 1972, sec. 824 j, p. 948, on Rom. 11:6). Paul finds something positive even in their rejection of Christ. “So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling [paravptwma, paraptōma, ‘transgression’ NRSV note b] salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their stumbling means riches for the world, and if their defeat means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!” (vv. 11-12)

There is a series of related words in this passage, a kind of play on words, noted in part by C. K. Barrett (The Epistle to the Romans, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries, 1957, p. 208, on Rom. 11:3, 5). “I alone am left” (uJpeleifqhn, hypeleiphthēn, Rom. 11:3), citing 1 Kings 19:14 (Engl.)/10 (Heb.), rt2U!x9v!, wa’ iwwāthēr (Heb.), uJpoleleimmai, hypoleleimmai (LXX). “I have kept for myself” (Katevlipon, Katelipon. Rom. 11:4), citing 1 Kings 19:18, yT9r4x1w4h9v4, w^ehish’ artî (Heb.), kai; kataleipseiV, kai kataleipseis (LXX). “So too at the present time there is a remnant (leimma, leimma), chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:5), compare a “favorite word of Isaiah” (Holladay, Lexicon), rx1w4, sh ^e’ ā r, “remainder, remnant,” translated as katavleimma, kataleimma (Isa. 10:22 LXX).

Barrett points out:

As the last clause [of v. 6] shows, Paul is here defining his terms rather than offering a constructive argument. If you confuse such opposites as faith and works, then words will simply lose their meaning. Paul does not, of course, deny that the remnant had performed ‘works of law’–he had performed many himself (Gal. I. 14; Phil. iii. 6)–but insists that the election was not dependent upon them, since God’s choices are eternal as he is eternal, and the election is therefore antecedent to all works. That is why it is by grace. (op. cit., p. 209. on Rom. 11:6):

What Israel “was seeking,” but failed to obtain (Rom. 11:7) was “righteousness, the proper relation between man and God (or, people and God), in which alone are life and salvation” (ibid., 210, based on Rom. 9:30-33; 10:3). The further biblical quotations (vv. 7-10) emphasize the fact that Israel (much of Israel) was “hardened” (v. 7). But the case is not hopeless, as Paul hastens to add.

The “immediate result” was that “through their [i.e. the Jews’] stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous”:

This was the immediate result of the Jewish apostasy; it had, however, a further purpose. The inclusion of the Gentiles would provoke the Jews to envy. . . . Israel, seeking righteousness by works, did not believe; the Gospel was accordingly sent to the Gentiles, who accepted righteousness by faith. So far Paul can use past tenses; the next stages must be expressed in terms of purpose and hope. Israel will be provoked to envy by the Gentile attainment of righteousness, and so fly to God’s mercy, so that God may in the end bestow righteousness upon her too. (ibid., p. 213, on Rom 11:11)

Again, I should say, we each need to respond to God’s grace for ourselves. God is in the business of rescuing people, not rejecting them. “The Lord . . . is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

John 10:19-42

19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Jesus Is Rejected by the Jews

22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

31 The Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’-and the scripture cannot be annulled- 36 can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.

40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. 41 Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there. (John 10:19-42, NRSV)

On September 8 and 9, 2008 (Monday and Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 7, Year Two), Comments on John 10:19-30 and on John 10:31-42 were selected and repeated with editing and supplement from earlier as noted there. The comments are repeated here with some further editing and supplement:

It was noted yesterday in comments on Jesus’ parable of the Good Shepherd, that the reference to the “hired hand” who “sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and runs away” (v. 12), is “another attack on the leadership of Israel” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jn. 10:12-13). On Tuesday of this week (March 31, 2009) it was noted that modern translations include John 9:41 through 10:5 within quotation marks as a single speech of Jesus. This implies; that the “thief” and “bandit” of 10:1 refer to the Pharisees of 9:40. Jesus’ speech on that occasion resumes in 10:7 and continues through 10:18, thus including the “thieves” and “bandits” of 10:8, the “thief” of verse 10, and the “hired hand” (vv. 12, 13) as reference to the Pharisees.

The beginning of today’s reading follows the portion in quotation marks, but refers to “these [i.e., Jesus’] words”: “Again,” says John, the Jews were divided because of these words” (v. 19; cf. 7:12). “Many of them were saying, ‘He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?’ ” (v. 20; cf. 7:20; Mk. 3:22; Mt. 12:24; Lk. 11:16). However, “others were saying, ‘These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’ ” (Jn. 10:21; cf. 9:1-41).

At verse 22, John’s narrative suggests a new departure. “At that time,” he says, “the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem” (v. 22a). We know this festival as Hanukkah, described as follows at the Internet site, “This Month in Smart History”:

Hanukkah is the annual Jewish festival celebrated on eight successive days beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, the third month of the Jewish calendar, corresponding, approximately, to December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights, Feast of Dedication, and Feast of the Maccabees, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC after the Temple had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of Syria and overlord of Palestine. (http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=1061, accessed again April 1, 2009; you man need to copy and paste the URL address in your browser).

On our calendar, “the Gregorian calendar,” Hanukkah falls within our so-called Christmas season (late November to late December). As John’s report of the continued discussion continues, the location is different. “It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon” (vv. 22b, 23). When we are told that Jesus found the healed blind man (9:35) after “they [i.e., the Pharisees, 9:13, the Jews, l9:18] drove him out”–presumably “out of the synagogue” (v. 23)–it was not likely in the Temple. So, with a new time reference and a new location we have a new beginning.

But the discussion continues with a certain level of acrimony. Jesus is addressed by the Jews in the temple, who “gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (v. 24). Much of the Gospel of John centers on the issue of his identity. Who is this? We are told at the outset that “the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1) and “the Word became flesh” (1:14), but Nicodemus and the others had not read the Prologue. So Jesus’ identity is still an issue for the characters in the narrative. “I have told you, and you do not believe,” says Jesus. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep” (vv. 25-26). The parable of the Good Shepherd, presented earlier in this chapter, is still in view. “My sheep hear my voice,” says Jesus. “I know them, and they follow me” (v 27). According to Obery M. Hendricks, “The religious authorities do not accept Jesus’ oneness with God because their elitism makes them unable to hear him (cf. 7:15)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jn. 10:24-30). “I give them eternal life,” says Jesus, referring to his “sheep,” that is, those who believe in him, “and they will never perish” (v. 28a; cf. 3:16, 36; 6:68, etc.). “No one,” he says, “will snatch them out of my hand” (v. 28b). And Jesus adds, “What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand” (v. 29; cf. 6:35-40).

Jesus’ next claim infuriates the Jews who attempt to stone him (v. 31). “The Father,” he says, “and I are one” (v. 30). This is more than a claim to fellowship with the Father (cf. 1 Jn. 1:3); it’s a claim that he himself is divine, a claim made in several forms throughout John’s Gospel. While noting similar claims in John (e.g. Jn. 10:38; 1:1; 14:10), Harold W. Attridge adds that, “on the other hand, 14:28; 20:17 suggest the Father’s superiority to Jesus” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Jn. 10:30). In the latter text, “the Father’s superiority” is hardly evident. Jesus addresses Mary Magdalene saying “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’ ” (Jn. 20:17). In the other text, the plain statement, “because the Father is greater than I” (14:28), does suggest the Father’s superiority, but it may be understood within the context of the incarnation (cf. Phil. 2:6-11), and the crucifixion he was facing, not in absolute terms in relation to our understanding of the Trinity. John Marsh takes note of this text:

Understandably this sentence [i.e. ‘the Father is greater than I’] was much debated in the doctrinal development of the Church, particularly between the Arians and their opponents. But the evangelist is not here concerned with the problems of the relationships of the ‘persons’ of the Godhead, still less with the metaphysical problems about possible distinctions between the ‘essences’ of Father and Son. Innocent of all that, the evangelist is simply making it plain that the departure of Jesus is his resumption of the omnipotence rightly exercised by the Father, instead of his continuing in the impotence rightly exercised by the omnipotent but incarnate Word. (Saint John, Westminster Pelican Commentaries, 1968, p. 516, on Jn. 20:28)

As noted earlier, there is a connection between the account of the Pharisees’ reaction to Jesus’ healing of the blind man (John, chap. 9), and Jesus’ Parable of the Good Shepherd in which he, in effect, indicts the religious leaders as “thieves” and “bandits” (10:1), as “hired hands” who flee when they see the wolf coming (v. 12; cf. Obery M. Hendricks, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jn. 10:12-13). The debate, or rather heated confrontation, between Jesus and the Jewish leaders comes to the point where Jesus’ claim, “the Father and I are one” (v. 30), evokes a murderous response. “The Jews took up stones again to stone him” (v. 31, cf. 5:18; 7:19-20, 25; 8:37, 40, 59). Hendricks points out that “stoning was the penalty for blasphemy (Lev. 29:16; Sanhedrin [Mishna] 7:4)” (ibid., on v. 31). In the face of the current attempt to stone Jesus, says John, “Jesus replied, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?’ ” (v. 32). The “Jews” (i.e. the Jewish leadership) do not respond to Jesus with faith, but challenge his claims. “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God” (v. 33). Jesus responds with a scripture quotation, “I said, you are gods” (v. 34, citing Ps. 82:6). The psalm uses the term “gods” (Myh9lox$, ’ ^elōhîm) ironically, addressing the “subordinate deities” of foreign nations, enemies of Israel” (cf. John S. Kselman, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Ps. 82). Jesus perhaps turns the irony against his opponents. He uses this Psalm text as the basis for an a fortiori, that is, “all the more,” argument.. “If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’–and the scripture cannot be annulled–can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?” (vv. 35-36). But he places the emphasis upon his works. “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (vv. 37-38). According to Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger, “Jesus’ works authenticate him, for they are the kind which God does” (Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2nd ed., 1994, on Jn. 10:31-39). But there is no such response from the Jews, who instead “tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands” (v. 39).

At that, Jesus finds it prudent to withdraw from Jerusalem. “He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there” (v. 40, cf. 3:23). There he finds many who are receptive to his message, due, no doubt, to John’s earlier ministry there. “Many came to him, and they were saying, John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true. And many believed in him there” (vv. 41-42).

According to Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green and Marianne Meye Thompson, “much of the Gospel [of John] focuses on the question of Jesus’ identity and how he is to be understood” and the related “themes of recognition and response to Jesus” (Introducing the New Testament, 2001, p. 189). These authors point out that, at the feeding of the five thousand, the people exclaim, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is coming into the world!’ (6:14).”

Later they debate whether Jesus is “the Prophet” (7:40) or the Messiah (7:41).

And yet while both “Prophet” and “Messiah” capture some aspect of Jesus’ mission, neither fully or adequately portrays him. In ch. 4., the Samaritan woman’s tentative suggestions that Jesus is both prophet and Messiah are clearly surpassed by the confession that he is the “Savior of the world” (4:42). And whereas the blind man initially declares Jesus to be a prophet, he comes to the recognition of Jesus as the Son of man and as Lord (9:38). (ibid., p. 185)

I trust that we can all join with Thomas in recognizing and confessing the risen Jesus as “my Lord and my God” (20:28).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net