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Daily
Scripture |
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Wednesday
(February 8, 2012)* |
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Daily Office
Lectionary, The Book of Common Prayer, the Episcopal
Church in the U.S.A., 1979; cf. The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL),
Abingdon Press, 1992 |
Daily
Lectionary, Book of Common Worship, the Presbyterian Church in the |
Daily
Lectionary, Book of Worship Inter-Lutheran Commission on
Worship, c. 1978 (2002 printing) ‡ |
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http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2012/2/8/ YOU MAY NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THESE URLs
IN YOUR BROWSER |
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‡
Daily Lectionary, Evangelical Lutheran Worship,
ELCA, 2006. In the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book of 2006, the
Daily Lectionary (pp. 1121-1153) is revised to correlate with the Sunday
Lectionary (the Revised Common Lectionary) on the three year cycle: Year A,
Year B, Year C (now current). “The readings are chosen so that the days
leading up to Sunday (Thursday through Saturday) prepare for the Sunday
readings. The days flowing out from Sunday (Monday through Wednesday) reflect
upon the Sunday readings” (p. 1121). |
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Unless
otherwise indicated, the scripture texts quoted are from The New Revised
Standard Version ( |
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Wednesday AM Psalm 119:97-120 PM Psalm 81, 82 Gen. 27:1-29 John 8:12-20 Eucharistic
1 Kings 10:1-10 Psalm 37:1-7,
32-33, 41-42 Mark 7:14-23 |
Wednesday Morning: Psalm 89:1-18; 147:1-11 Gen. 27:1-29 John 8:12-20 Evening Pss.: 1; 33 |
Wednesday Morning: Psalm 89:1-18; 147:1-12 Gen. 27:1-29 John 8:12-20 Evening Pss.: 1; 33 |
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Year B Daily Psalm 102:12-28 Job 6:1-13 Mark 3:7-12 |
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*Wednesday in the
Week of the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two |
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Gen. 27:1-29
Isaac Blesses Jacob
27:1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am." 2 He said, "See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. 4 Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die."
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 'Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the LORD before I die.' 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. 9 Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes; 10 and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies." 11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, "Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing." 13 His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me." 14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob; 16 and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she handed the savory food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob.
18 So he went in to his father, and said, "My father"; and he said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me." 20 But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the LORD your God granted me success." 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. 24 He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answered, "I am." 25 Then he said, "Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you." So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son." 27 So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said,
"Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
28 May God give you of the dew of heaven,
and of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother's sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!" (Genesis 27:1-29, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from February 10, 2010 (Wednesday in the week of the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), when comments were based on those of February 8, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two).
Yesterday’s reading closed with Isaac settled in Beer-sheba
(Gen. 26:23-25, 33), at peace with Abimelech of Gerar (vv. 26-31), and news of
a good water well for his livestock (v. 32). In the interval, in a brief note,
we learn of Esau’s marriages that do not please his parents. “When Esau was
forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath
daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah”
(vv. 34-35). According to Rabbi J. H. Hertz, “It was against family tradition
to intermarry with these races; see XXIV, 3; XXVII, 46.The mention of Esau’s
wives is introduced here to show how faithless he was to the teachings and
example of Abraham and Isaac, and therefore unworthy to be regarded as their
spiritual heir and to receive his father’s blessing” (Pentateuch &
Haftorahs, 2nd ed., 24th printing, 1981, on Gen.
27:35). Ronald Hendel, who accepts the multiple source, “J-E-D-P” theory of the
origins of the Pentateuch held by many scholars, says, “This notice, from the P
source [i.e. the “late” Priestly source], continues in 27:46-28:5, with Isaac
and Rebekah’s insistence that Jacob return to the patriarchal homeland to take
a proper wife. These P texts form a frame around the J story [i.e. that of the
so-called Yahwist source] that follows and provide a parallel motive for his
journey to
Source critics attribute these verses to P and see them as the prologue to 27:46-28:9, the Priestly explanation for Jacob’s flight to his uncle’s homestead. In the genealogical notice in 36:2-4, Elon’s daughter is not Basemath but Adah; Basemath is the daughter of Ishmael, not Elon; and Judith is absent altogether. Esau’s intermarriages are a jarring contrast to Abraham’s strenuous effort to find a wife for Isaac from within the clan (ch. 24) and demonstrate Esau’s unworthiness to serve as the next figure in the patriarchal line. (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Gen. 26:34-35)
Today’s reading begins with the information that “When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, ‘My son’; and he answered, ‘Here I am (yn9n2&H9, hinn‘nî )’ ” (Gen. 27:1). The reference to Isaac’s dim eyes anticipates the later failure to recognize Jacob as Jacob (vv. 18-24). But now Isaac gives Esau instructions to prepare for receiving the blessing. Isaac “said, ‘See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you (ywip;n1 j~k;r,bAT4, t ev~rek ek~, lit. ‘my soul may bless thee,’ as in AV/KJV, JPS 1917) before I die’ ” (vv. 2-4). Of “my soul may bless thee,” Rabbi Hertz says it is “only an emphatic form of ‘I may bless thee’; . . . The dying utterance was deemed prophetic” (op. cit. on 27:4). Levenson says,
Gen. 25:28 has already established Isaac’s preference for Esau, who, as the first-born son (27:19), should receive his father’s prime blessing anyway. Isaac’s instruction to hunt him some game recalls the rather shallow reason for his favoring the uncouth Esau. There may also be a notion here that eating will fortify his innermost self, that is, his life-force (‘nefesh,’ v. 4) so that he may impart a more powerful blessing to his son. (ibid. on 27:1-4)
Rebekah overhears Isaac’s instructions to Esau (v. 5a), but she has a different plan. “So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, ‘I heard your father say to your brother Esau, “'Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the LORD before I die” ’ ” (vv. 5b-7). She gives Jacob instructions to thwart Isaac’s intentions and gain the blessing for himself. “Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes; and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies” (vv. 8-10). Jacob, however, has misgivings. “But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, ‘Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking (f1T27f4tam4K9, kim eta‘t‘ a‘ ) him, and bring a curse (hlAlAq;, qelālāh) on myself and not a blessing (hkA%rAB;, berākāh)’ ” (vv. 10-12). But his mother responds, “Let your curse (j~t4lAl;qi, qillāthekā) be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me” (v. 13). “To understand Rebekah’s action,” says Rabbi Hertz,
It is necessary to bear in mind what had been stated in XXV, 23. When she had inquired of the LORD about her unborn children, she had been told, ‘the elder shall serve the younger.’ This prophecy appeared on the point of being falsified by Isaac’s intention to bestow his chief blessing upon Esau. Knowing how attached Isaac was to the elder son, she must have felt that it would be useless to try and dissuade her husband from his intention. She, therefore, in desperation, decided to circumvent him. (op. cit. on Gen. 27:5)
Levenson also refers to the previous oracle, but notes that, “Once again it is the mother who arranges the fulfillment of the divine plan, to the benefit of the second-born son, and in a manner that is morally offensive to a high degree (cf. 21:9-13 [the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael])” (op. cit. on Gen. 27:5-13). “Rebekah never mentions the prenatal oracle that announced the LORD’s preference for the younger twin (25:23)” (ibid.).
Jacob acts upon his mother’s advice. “So he went and got them [i.e. the ‘two choice kids,’ v. 9] and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved” (v. 14). And Rebekah’s preparations continue. “Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob; and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck (vv. 15, 16). The point, of course, was to make seem—to feel, that is—like Esau to Isaac whose “eyes were dim” (v. 1). In this way, Isaac’s misgivings would be swept aside. “Then,” we are told, “she handed the savory food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob.
When these preparations were completed, we are told, “So he went in to his father, and said, ‘My father’; and he said, ‘Here I am (yn09n0,hi, hinnennî); who are you, my son?’ ” (v. 18). In response, Jacob lies. “Jacoab said to his father, ‘I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me’ ” (v. 19). “These words misled Isaac,” says Rabbi Hertz, “and were spoken with the intention of inducing his father to believe that it was Esau who stood before him. Jacob, having ben persuaded to adopt his mother’s plan, is forced to play his part to the end (Ibn Ezra)” (op. cit. on v. 19). But Isaac has reason to be suspicious. “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” he asks (v. 20a). “This was not an oversight of Rebekah’s,” says the Rabbi. “She was obliged to hurry lest Esau should return and upset the plot” (ibid. on v. 20). Jacob responds, “Because the LORD your God granted me success” (v. 20b). “Then,” says the narrator, “Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not” (v. 21). This was the test which Rabbi Hertz calls “the very test which Jacob dreaded in v. 12” (ibid.). But, in a manner of speaking, Jacob passed this test, that is, he passed the tactile portion but fell short in the audio portion. “So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau’ ” (v. 22). In the circumstances, that was apparently enough. “He [i.e. Isaac] did not recognize him,” says the narrator, “because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him” (v. 23). Still with misgivings, Isaac asks, “Are you really my son Esau?” and Jacob lies again, “I am” (v. 24). So Isaac proceeds to fulfill Rebekah’s plan. “Then he said, ‘Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you’ ” (v. 25a). “So he [i.e. Jacob] brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank” (v. 25b. And Isaac continues with the blessing. “Then his father Isaac said to him, ‘Come near and kiss me, my son’ ” (v. 26). “So he [Jacob] came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said,
‘Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
May God give you of the dew of heaven,
and of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and wine.
Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother's sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!’ ” (vv. 27-29, NRSV)
Of“the dew of heaven,” Rabbi Hertz says, “In those countries where the days are hot and the nights are cold, the dew is very abundant and drenches the ground. It is essential to vegetation during the rainless summer, and was therefore regarded as a divine blessing” (ibid. on v. 28). Of the last two lines, he says, “Jacob was thus to inherit the Divine promise made to Abraham in XII, 3” (ibid. on v. 29).
Levenson sees the report of the encounter of Jacob with Isaac as “full of suspense and high drama, as Isaac uses his senses of touch, hearing, taste, and smell to ascertain that it is Esau rather than an impersonator who is serving him the tasty game” (op. cit. on vv. 18-27). Levenson finds it a bit humorous (ironic?) that blind Isaac trusts his sense of touch more than his hearing, and wonders how hairy Esau’s hands were “that the skin of a goat could be mistaken for his hands.” Of Jacob, he adds, “On the one hand, he is lying to his father. On the other, he is expressing, perhaps unwittingly, the fact that it is God’s preference, not his father’s, that has arranged his unlikely success” (ibid.).
The New Life in Christ
12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. (Romans 12:1-8, NRSV)
The following comments are based on relevant comments from
those on Romans 12:1-23 of May 24, 2011 (Tuesday in the Fifth Week of Easter,
Year One), on those on Romans 12:1-8 of July 15, 2010 (Thursday in the week of the
Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), when comments were based on those of
March 21, 2010 (the Fifth Sunday of Easter Year One), when comments were based on those of May 12, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year One), and earlier, as noted there.
It is generally agreed that
chapter 12 of Romans introduces a major turning point in the flow of Paul=s discussion. The conjunction Atherefore@ (ou\n, oun) links
all that precedes, which is mainly theoretical, that is, theological, with what
follows: practical advice on Christian living. Because Paul has not yet been to
Paul begins today’s reading with
advice that, given its position at this critical juncture, we should regard as
very important. “I appeal to you therefore (ou\n, oun, see above), brothers and
sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (logikhv
latreiva, logik‘ latreia)” (Rom.
12:1).
For “spiritual worship,” the
Authorized (King James) Version has “reasonable service” (so also the NKJV).
Other translations include “spiritual act of worship” (NIV), “true worship”
(Today=s NIV [TNIV]), and “spiritual service of worship” (NASB).
The term latreiva (latreia) means
“in cultic [religious] usage service/worship of God”
(Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [= BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., 2000, s.v. latreiva, latreia). The term logikhv (logik‘), the feminine form of logikovV (logikos), modifying the feminine noun latreiva (latreia), Apertains to being carefully thought through, thoughtful [and] logikh; latreiva (logik‘ latreia) [means] a
thoughtful service (in a dedicated spiritual sense)
Paul describes the transformation
enabled by God=s grace, redemption in Christ, and the gift of the Spirit
to Christian believers. “Do not be conformed (suschmativzesqe, syschēmatizesthe) to this world,” he says, “but (ajllav, alla, ‘but rather!’) be transformed
(metamorfou:sqe, metamorphousthe) by the renewing (ajnakaivnwsiV, anakainōsis) of your minds, so that you may discern (dokimavzein, dokimazein) what is the will of God—what is good (to; ajgaqon, to agathon) and acceptable (eujavreston, euareston)
and perfect (tevlion, talion)” (v. 2). The Greek
language of these two verses is loaded with meaning, it seems. No translation
is fully adequate. Frederick William Danker says that the word translated “be
conformed,” which occurs in the New Testament only here and in 1 Peter 1:14,
means to “give a distinctive form or style to something, conform,” and in the
passive voice “in the sense of permitting oneself to be modeled by influences
alien to Christian identity” (The Concise
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. suschmativzw, syschēmatizō). In contrast, the verb translated “be
transformed” is defined in the passive voice as “undergo complete alteration,”
that is, “be changed,” that is, “with focus on character and personhood
(‘transformed’),” as in Rom. 12:2
and 2 Cor. 3:18 (ibid. s.v. metamorfovw, metamorphoō). The two other occurrences of this word in the
New Testament have a “focus on alteration of appearance (‘transfigured’),” and
are used of the transfiguration of Christ (Mt. 7:2; Mk. 9:2) (ibid.). This
transformation is accomplished by the “renewal = makeover of the mind,” a sense of the word as used in Romans 12:2
and Titus 3:5 (Danker, ibid. s.v. ajnakaivnwsiV, anakainōsis). With this renewal, we are prepared to discern
what is best, what is “good and acceptable and perfect.”
One is to
have a realistic understanding of himself or herself. “For by the grace given
to me,” says Paul, “I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more
highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each
according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Rom. 12:3). Gentile
Christians should not look down on Jewish Christians as outsiders, nor should the
reverse be the case. There should be mutual respect of others and a “sober
judgement” of one’s own value, “each according to the measure of faith that God
has assigned” (v. 3). According
to Neil Elliott, “I say, direct
speech echoes 11:1, 11, 13” (The New
Oxford Annotated Bible [NOAB],
3rd. edition, augmented 2007, on Rom. 12:3; so also in the later edition, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 4th ed.,
2010, on Rom. 12:3). Of “not to
think . . . more highly,” Elliott says, “similar Gk. phrases
are translated ‘do not become proud’ in 11:20, and ‘do not be haughty’ in v.
16” (ibid. both eds.). Thinking of himself or herself in this way, “with sober
judgment” (v. 3), one is to exercise and appreciate the spiritual gifts. “For
as in one body we have many members,” says Paul, “and not all the members have
the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and
individually we are members one of another” (vv. 4-5). Paul emphasizes the unity of Christian believers who, though
many, “are one body in Christ and members one of another. His list of gifts of
grace may be compared with the lists in 1 Corinthians 15 (cf. Eph. 4:11-13d).
While the different gifts are valuedBprophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading
and compassionBthere is a definite emphasis on the unity and the equality
of members of the Christian community that runs against the grain of the status
and honor-conscious culture and society of the Greco-Roman world.
“We have gifts that differ,” says
Paul, “according to the grace given to us” (v. 6a). As consecrated Christians
we are to realize both the value of differing gifts, and of the common unity in
the life of grace and Christian commitment. Paul provides here a list of seven
gifts of grace: “prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering;
the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in
generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness” (vv.
6b-8). This list can be compared with lists in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4.
See the Table of Gifts of the Spirit in a separate file Gifts. All of
the lists mention Aprophecy” or Aprophets@ (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28, 29; Eph. 4:11). ATeaching” or Ateachers” is mentioned in three of the lists (Rom. 6:7; 1
Cor. 12:28, 29; Eph. 4:11), and can be compared to “utterance of knowledge,”
and perhaps also to “utterance of wisdom” in 1 Corinthians 12:8). The list in
Romans includes “the leader, in diligence” (Rom. 12:8), to which we may compare
“forms of leadership” (1 Cor. 12:28), “ministry (diakoniva, diakonia), in ministering” (Rom. 12:7), to which,
in a general way, various gifts and offices may be compared. Both lists in 1
Corinthians 12 include “gifts of healing” (1 Cor. 12:9, 28, 30, which one might
compare with “giv[ing aid]” or “acts of mercy” (Rom. 12:8). But there is enough
variation in the lists to suggest, not a standardized and uniform list, but
representative and somewhat open-ended lists. The references to “exhortation”
and “liberality” (
John 8:12-20
Jesus the Light of the World
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." 13 Then the Pharisees said to him, "You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid." 14 Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf." 19 Then they said to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." 20 He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 8:12-20, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here with some editing from August 21, 2011 (the Sunday closest to August 24, Year One), when comments were repeated from March 30, 2011 (Wednesday in the week of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year One), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from comments on John 8:12-19 of February 13, 2011 (the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), when comments were repeated with some editing from December 31, 2010 (Friday, the First Sunday after Christmas, Year One), and earlier, as noted there.
In John's Gospel, the occasion of Succoth (the Feast of Tabernacles), which featured the drawing and pouring out of water, provides a setting for Jesus’ claim, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water’ ” (Jn. 7:37-38). As discussion and debate with Pharisees continues, the emphasis upon light, “I am the light of the world” (8:12), leads to the healing of the blind man (chap. 9), with its question about who was really blind, the blind man whom Jesus healed, or the unbelieving Pharisees (9:40-41). And the Feast of Dedication (10:22), which we know as Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, continues the reference to “light.” The Feeding of the 5000 in John, chapter six, followed by Jesus' claim, “I am the bread of life” (6:35) and comparison with the “manna in the wilderness” (6:49) reminds some of the Christian Eucharist and associations with the Passover. But the reference to Moses (6:32) suggests an association with Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks, remembered by Christians as Pentecost), at which Jews celebrate the giving of Torah:
Shavuot is the holiday Jews
universally accept as the day when G-d gave the Jewish people the Torah
following Moses’ descent from
John's Gospel seems to progress through the Jewish calendar: Passover and/or Shavuot (chap. 6), Sukkoth (chap. 7), discussion of light and blindness (chaps. 8, 9), Hanukkah (chap. 10), and Passover again, in relation to the Christian Holy Week. Jesus uses these connections to present himself as the one sent by the Father (8:16). “If you knew me, you would know my Father also” (8:19).
According to Rabbinic tradition, a part of the celebration of bet hashshoebah was a ceremony of lights–torches carried in an evening procession to the temple–which would light up the city. Jesus thus claims to be the true light, the fulfilment of that aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles. This is one aspect of the presentation of his divinity in John’s Gospel, and the point of contention in the “testimony” which the Pharisees claim “is not valid” (8:13). Jesus says that his claims have the testimony of two witnesses (v. 17; cf. Deut. 19:15). Moreover, merely human testimony would be invalid; Jesus comes from above (v. 14; cf. 3:31-33). According to Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., “He alone knows who he is (NOAB, 3rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Jn. 8:13-18). So the testimony that counts is his own and that of “the Father who sent me” (vv. 16, 18).
The Mishnah’s description of celebration at the Festival of
Tabernacles continues with the playing of instruments (harps, lyres, cymbals,
trumpets, and other musical instruments) by Levites standing on the steps which
go down from the Israelites’ court to the women’s court, singing the “fifteen
Songs of Ascents which are in the Book of Psalms,” followed by sustained shofar
blasts. (People of
5:1 A. Flute playing is for five or six days;
B. This refers to the flute playing on bet hashshoebah.
C. which overrides the restrictions of neither the Sabbath nor of a festival day.
D. They said: Anyone who has not seen the rejoicing of bet hashshoebah in his life has never seen rejoicing.
5:2 A. At the end of the first festival day of the Festival [the priests and Levites] went down to the women’s courtyard.
B. And they made a major enactment [by putting men below and women above],
C. And there were golden candleholders there, with four gold bowls on their tops, and four ladders for each candlestick.
D. And four young priests with jars of oil containing a hundred and twenty logs [i.e. about 40 liters], [would climb up the ladders and] pour [the oil] into each bowl.
5:3 A. Out of the worn-out undergarments and girdles of the priests they made wicks,
B. and with them they lit the candlesticks.
C. And there was
not a courtyard in
5:4 A. The pious men and wonder workers would dance before them with flaming torches in their hand.
B. and they would sing before them songs and praises. (Mishnah, Sukkah 5:1-4, trans. Jacob Neusner, 1988, pp. 288-289)
The Gospel of John continues in 8:12 within the context of the Festival of Tabernacles (following the story of the Woman taken in Adultery [7:53-8:11]). If the people of Jerusalem celebrated in the manner described in the passage from the Mishnah cited above, lighting up every “courtyard in Jerusalem,” that is, lighting up their “world,” then it was very bold of Jesus to make the claim that he does. “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). But it fits with earlier claims made for Jesus, and by Jesus, in the Gospel of John. As before, Jesus’ claim is disputed by the Pharisees: “Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid’ ” (v. 13). The objection here was anticipated already by Jesus in 5:31-47. Here “Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going’ ” (8:14). “The trial is resumed,” says Jerome H. Neyrey: Jesus’ testimony is declared invalid; but because Jesus knows his origin and destination, i.e. his authorization, it is valid” (The New Oxford Annotated Bible [NOAB], 4th ed., 2010, on Jn. 8:13-14). “You judge by human standards,” he tells his opponents; “I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me” (vv. 15-16). According to Neyrey, “They judge by appearances (7:24). Jesus does not but does judge because God stands with him (5:22, 27)” (ibid. on vv. 15-16). According to Hendricks, “Jesus does not need the approval of his self-witness from the religious authorities because (a) in that he comes from the world above, he alone knows who he is” (op. cit. on vv. 13-18). But Jesus appeals to their law (the Mosaic Law). “In your law it is written,” he says, “that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf” (vv. 17-18). Hendricks continues, “(b) [cf. (a) above] the joint witness of the Father and the Son fulfills the requirement of two witnesses (Deut. 19:15)” (ibid.). The Pharisees challenge him with respect to his “Father”: “Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also’ ” (v. 19). The Pharisees apparently aren’t aware of it, but they were in over their heads in this debate. Jesus “spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come” (v. 20).
The lighting up of
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.