A look at the gaps in the lectionary.
This week: the gap between Easter 4 and 5
The text: John 10:11 – 13:38
As we discussed last week, the context for this week’s gospel isn’t the resurrection, but the condemnation of Jesus. Which is really not what we think of during Easter.
After last week’s passage at the beginning of John 10, the leadership condemns Jesus. Then he goes to Bethany, closer to the place where they want to kill him. Once there, he heals Lazarus, raising him from the dead. Which is an awesome thing, right?
But not so awesome to the people who want to kill Jesus and his message. Lazarus is becoming the poster child, not only for Jesus, but what he is about. So, if they want to kill the message, it seems like they’ll need to kill Lazarus, too.
Then, in chapter 12, we have the anointing and the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday and another confrontation. This time with the crowd as Jesus confuses them by predicting his death.
Side Note
There are a lot of ways that John tells a different story from the Synoptics. The most famous for those paying attention to Holy Week is that John doesn’t have a Cleansing of the Temple scene. Because he placed that at the beginning of the story, not here.
But perhaps the more significant difference is what we see in chapter 12.
In the Synoptics, Jesus is exceedingly popular with the crowds the whole time. He is popular when he arrives and is popular throughout the teaching in the Temple. He’s popular to the end.
John, however, has the crowd get confused and frustrated with Jesus.
This leads to a deep divide in the narrative that is borne out in our confusion about how to handle the crowds in the Passion story. And because we generally use John during Holy Week, it is unsurprising that we end up telling a story of the people’s rejection of Jesus on Good Friday.
In this telling, it is dramatic and fitting to a view of the scripture fulfillment that requires the messiah’s total rejection. But it also serves to undercut the brutality of Rome and the Temple leadership.
John 13
We then return with the familiar Maundy Thursday reading of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet and speaking to his coming betrayal (and revealing Judas as betrayer).
Then we get the teaching of “the new commandment,” which we discuss at a different part of the year. And Jesus telling Peter that he’ll deny him three times.
Heading into John 14
There are so many open storylines in the narrative at the end of John 13, we might forget how not conclusive these words are. We are too comfortable with the ideas Jesus is expressing in this section of the gospel because they all can fit neatly into an existing theological framework.
But the foot washing is transgressive. And Jesus seems to understand that evil is going to enter into one of his disciples! Then he pretty much outs Judas in front of everybody.
He tells them that they don’t just need to love, but that their love will define them. Not their wealth, effectiveness, numbers, the size or beauty of their church buildings. None of that.
And yet, it also doesn’t suggest that this love begets success. It begets understanding. He says that their love will reveal their following of Jesus. The messiah that the leaders are seeking to kill at that moment.
The he tells Peter that people will find him out and he will deny it. Multiple times.
This is what we have going into John 14. A time of confusion and stunning ignorance on the part of the disciples. But incredible compassion and courage by Jesus.