Monday 24 July 2023

Background

Today we pick up the continuous run of readings from John’s Gospel which started over a month ago and continues in most of these daily readings until the beginning of September. It’s taking us to some unfamiliar places. Even seasoned preachers might find themselves encountering material they're not sure they've ever read before. 

A large section of John’s Gospel – chapters 5 to 12 – describes conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees (a Jewish religious party). The conflict is provoked by Jesus' teaching and a number of miraculous signs. He faces many difficult confrontations, apparently alone; the disciples largely disappear from the story until we get to chapter 9.

John 8 begins with the story of a woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees test Jesus, saying that the law of Moses required her to be stoned (John 8:1-9). Jesus’s brilliant turning of the tables on his opponents who were trying to show that he was denying the Law of Moses infuriated them. In the rest of the chapter they try, time and again, to catch him out, and to find an excuse to charge him with some offence or another.

Today’s passage, verses 12-20, begins with one of Jesus’ “I am” sayings; he says “I am the light of the world”. This idea is developed in chapter 9 when he heals a blind man. Here in chapter 8, the Pharisees don’t engage with Jesus’s 'light of the world' claim, but try to undermine his teaching on legal grounds. At the time, the testimony of one person on his own behalf was not valid; two witnesses were required. But Jesus uses this argument to his own advantage, declaring that there is in fact a second witness, the Father (God), and he goes on to speak of the oneness between him and the Father.

It’s far from clear that Jesus’ opponents knew what he was talking about, but the argument seems to have ended in a sort of stalemate. The Pharisees were evidently looking for a reason to arrest Jesus but had yet to find one. John interprets this as “his hour had not yet come”, which is a theological version of the common argument that 'the time is not ripe'.

To Ponder:

• Winning an argument often leaves the loser embittered. How can this be avoided?
• Jesus and his opponents could be said to be arguing on different levels a lot of the time. How do you cope with situations like that? 

Prayer

Lord Christ, you and the Father are one. May your light shine in this dark world. Amen.