John 8 - Truth That Sets Free

John 8:21-32 (NRSV)

Again he said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’ Then the Jews said, ‘Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ He said to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.’ They said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Why do I speak to you at all? I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.’ They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.’ As he was saying these things, many believed in him. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’

I woke up this morning realizing that I needed a good dose of Bible Study this week. So I opened the daily lectionary and found that the Gospel reading for today is taken from the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John which is not the easiest of texts to interpret or understand. In this chapter and the one that precedes it, Jesus speaks with sharp words towards those who are in authority in Jerusalem. He truly holds nothing back in his renunciation of the establishment. This is not the Jesus that many of us would prefer. Is it not true that for most of us the more appealing Jesus is the one who sits at table with the outcasts, welcomes all he meets in gracious hospitality, and who cares for the lost sheep?

In addition, this portion of the Fourth Gospel has become over the centuries a pivotal text for Christian anti-Semitism. “The Jews”, a phrase that has been taken out of context and used in horrific ways to support the abuse of a people, must be challenged and rethought if we Christians are ever to be in right relationship with our Jewish brothers and sisters. This text demands the very best of the reader in asking the tough questions about what it is saying and what it is not saying. What is most unfortunate is that far too often these particular texts, Chapters 7 and 8, have been taken out of context, misinterpreted, and allowed to be used as ammunition against others. Can these words be reclaimed? Appreciated? Set in their context and provide the seeker with new understanding and learning?

We must remember that the Johannine community in the waning years of the first century was Jewish through and through. They were a minority sect of Judaism and the relationship between the two groups is one of the important keys to unlocking these texts. The antagonists who pepper Jesus with questions and eventually plot his demise in the Fourth Gospel are constantly referred to as “the Jews”. But what does that mean? Is the writer referring to a people? A nation? Individuals? The Temple establishment?

Scholars much wiser than I have assisted seekers in understanding the nature of this complicated relationship between the Johannine Jewish Christian and Judaism (J. Louis Martyn or Luke T, Johnson come to mind). While the exact details of the friction between the two groups cannot be charted with complete authenticity, the big event occurred in the year 70 CE with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. This is an event that Christians will probably never fully understand or appreciate. With no Temple for God to dwell in and for pilgrims to gather at, Judaism, at the end of the first century was forced to reclaim its center by the use of synagogues and the scriptures.

Now, this set-up would be most advantageous towards the minority group who believed that the Scriptures foretold the coming of the Messiah and that the ministry and life of Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise. So a conflict arose between the two groups as to who could lay the rightful claim to the scriptures. We see these conflicts coming to a head in Matthew 23 or John 9, 12 and 16 for example as men and women are “cast out” of the synagogue. The Johannine Christians obviously felt that they were the outcasts, forcibly removed from their religious roots. If we do not read these texts with that reality in mind we do the Gospel a tremendous disservice. The aggressive and sharp language of this passage must be set in context of a minority group, excluded from the religious center, speaking in protest to the establishment majority.

What I still get energized about every time I read this Gospel is that the themes which are clearly presented in the prologue (John 1:1-18) seem to come alive in almost every section of the text. In this particular passage there is reference to light and darkness (this world/not of this world); Jesus’ relationship with the Father (“I am he”); the misunderstanding of the leaders; many persons coming to believe. Looking at the text, simply from its construction, this narrative is brilliant in its composition striking the main themes of the author over and over again in vivid detail.

From a theological point of view, I am struck by the last lines of the text attributed to Jesus: ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ Here again in this short verse, many Johannine themes are playing themselves out. “If you continue in….” – a variation on the Greek ‘meno’ which means ‘to abide’; or better, means a ‘permanent relationship’. Here the relationship is between Jesus’ listener and the word. The Master’s promise depends on our abiding in the word.

How are you and I abiding in the word these days? How much time do we spend every day reading the scriptures? Meditating on God’s word? Abiding in the comfort, and sometimes discomfort, of the Scriptures? What have been the blessings that have come from this time of learning and understanding? How have you and I grown in our relationship with Jesus by the nurturing of the word?

I have found, especially over this past year and the trials in my life, that if it had not been for the Scriptures, I would find myself in utter darkness. The words of the Fourth Gospel sustain me like no other. Set in their proper historical and social context, these texts still speak volumes to our own time and day. Grace and light shine in these texts when we engage them on a daily basis opening us to the truth and, in the process, setting us free.

Love One Another - Brian