John 20
This might be the most baffling chapter I've read so far...
It definitely
creates
more questions in my mind than it
resolves.
For example:
Joh 20:1
The first of the sabbaths
Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb,
darkness still being on it,
and she saw the stone taken away from the tomb.
Joh 20:2
Then she ran and came to Simon Peter,
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved,
and said to them,
They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb,
and we do not know where they have laid Him.
The style of the writing seems odd (I'm no scholar),
but I didn't really catch the phrase "whom Jesus loved"
( also in John 13:23 )
but the commentaries available to me
seem pretty confident in stating
that the disciple who Jesus loved,
was John himself!
The author of this chapter!
Why would he use this third person voice
throughout the whole "tomb" story?
Joh 20:3 ... that other disciple went forth ...
Joh 20:4 ... the other disciple outran Peter ...
Joh 20:5 ... he saw the linens lying, yet he did not go in.
Joh 20:8 ... that other disciple also went in,
the one who came first to the tomb.
And he saw and believed.
Sheesh, is this frustrating to the new reader?
needlessly obtuse?
I'm in no position to criticize
because I don't know enough
to have any idea what it means,
but
wouldn't a First Person Account be more trustworthy?
Why wouldn't he see this as an opportunity
to offer a testimonial?
"I was there"
"I saw this with my own eyes"
Is he worried about his safety or something?
Is he purposely hiding his identity?
Maybe I'm overlooking the beauty of the moment
by focusing on the structure
like missing the forest for the trees
(I'm like that)
ok, I'll move on...
I'll leave the question
and pretend I'm there at the tomb
witnessing the scene
silent
solemn
alert.
-=-=-=-
Joh 20:14
... she turned backward and saw Jesus standing,
but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Joh 20:15
Jesus said to her, Woman, why do you weep?
Whom do you seek?
Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him,
Sir, if you have carried Him away from here,
tell me where you have laid Him
and I will take Him away.
This isn't the first time I've read that
she confused him with the gardener.
In my schoolboy mind
I supposed she didn't recognize him
because he looked so different resurrected
glowing in splendor
radiant in white
beaming goodness and peace
but now that I'm imagining being there
with my slightly more discerning mind,
I realize how foolish my mental picture has been.
I don't think much radiating and beaming was going on
Otherwise, she would have perceived him
as SOMETHING other than the plain old gardener.
This brings me to my second question about this chapter:
Was she grieving so much
that she had no perception of her surroundings?
or did Jesus' resurrection body
look so different that he was no longer recognizable?
I haven't attended too many funerals,
but I've been in a state where the world closes in
I've been overwhelmed enough
to not be keen to my surroundings
and I can imagine standing outside of a tomb
weeping,
and not recognizing ANYONE around me.
Is that what it was?
Or will we look so different in the next life
that our family and friends will have to be re-introduced???
dunno.
-=-=-=-
Third question:
compare
Joh 20:17
Jesus said to her,
Do not touch Me,
for I have not yet ascended to My Father.
with
Joh 20:27
Then He said to Thomas,
Reach your finger here and behold My hands;
and reach your hand here and thrust it into My side;
and do not be unbelieving, but believing.
Touch me? Don't Touch Me?
Did he ascend in-between there?
and come back?
Or is there something else going on there?
-=-=-=-
Bafflement the Fourth:
(relative of The Second)
Concerning Bodies
Joh 20:27
Then He said to Thomas,
Reach your finger here and behold My hands;
and reach your hand here and thrust it into My side;
and do not be unbelieving, but believing.
I try to teach my children,
that the physical world is a matrix
to support the development of a new soul.
That our bodies are temporary containers,
a womb for our selves to develop in
before entering the next life.
When the time comes we will cast off our suits of flesh
We will leave the structure behind.
I enjoy that thought, but question the accuracy of it.
Jesus has his wounds?
Did he HAVE to inhabit a body to be among the disciples?
(Maybe that is a requirement for being here.
No ghosts without some in-betweener kind of body.)
Did Jesus eventually leave that one behind too?
I don't think the scripture supports that.
Didn't witnesses see the whole thing ascending?
no leftovers?
I don't understand it.
Are we gonna have these scars for eternity?
-=-=-=-
Joh 20:31
But these are written so that you might believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that believing you might have life in His name.
This chapter is beautiful.
(and baffling)
Jesus is life.
(and questions arose from the dead)
.
It definitely
creates
more questions in my mind than it
resolves.
For example:
Joh 20:1
The first of the sabbaths
Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb,
darkness still being on it,
and she saw the stone taken away from the tomb.
Joh 20:2
Then she ran and came to Simon Peter,
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved,
and said to them,
They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb,
and we do not know where they have laid Him.
The style of the writing seems odd (I'm no scholar),
but I didn't really catch the phrase "whom Jesus loved"
( also in John 13:23 )
but the commentaries available to me
seem pretty confident in stating
that the disciple who Jesus loved,
was John himself!
The author of this chapter!
Why would he use this third person voice
throughout the whole "tomb" story?
Joh 20:3 ... that other disciple went forth ...
Joh 20:4 ... the other disciple outran Peter ...
Joh 20:5 ... he saw the linens lying, yet he did not go in.
Joh 20:8 ... that other disciple also went in,
the one who came first to the tomb.
And he saw and believed.
Sheesh, is this frustrating to the new reader?
needlessly obtuse?
I'm in no position to criticize
because I don't know enough
to have any idea what it means,
but
wouldn't a First Person Account be more trustworthy?
Why wouldn't he see this as an opportunity
to offer a testimonial?
"I was there"
"I saw this with my own eyes"
Is he worried about his safety or something?
Is he purposely hiding his identity?
Maybe I'm overlooking the beauty of the moment
by focusing on the structure
like missing the forest for the trees
(I'm like that)
ok, I'll move on...
I'll leave the question
and pretend I'm there at the tomb
witnessing the scene
silent
solemn
alert.
-=-=-=-
Joh 20:14
... she turned backward and saw Jesus standing,
but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Joh 20:15
Jesus said to her, Woman, why do you weep?
Whom do you seek?
Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him,
Sir, if you have carried Him away from here,
tell me where you have laid Him
and I will take Him away.
This isn't the first time I've read that
she confused him with the gardener.
In my schoolboy mind
I supposed she didn't recognize him
because he looked so different resurrected
glowing in splendor
radiant in white
beaming goodness and peace
but now that I'm imagining being there
with my slightly more discerning mind,
I realize how foolish my mental picture has been.
I don't think much radiating and beaming was going on
Otherwise, she would have perceived him
as SOMETHING other than the plain old gardener.
This brings me to my second question about this chapter:
Was she grieving so much
that she had no perception of her surroundings?
or did Jesus' resurrection body
look so different that he was no longer recognizable?
I haven't attended too many funerals,
but I've been in a state where the world closes in
I've been overwhelmed enough
to not be keen to my surroundings
and I can imagine standing outside of a tomb
weeping,
and not recognizing ANYONE around me.
Is that what it was?
Or will we look so different in the next life
that our family and friends will have to be re-introduced???
dunno.
-=-=-=-
Third question:
compare
Joh 20:17
Jesus said to her,
Do not touch Me,
for I have not yet ascended to My Father.
with
Joh 20:27
Then He said to Thomas,
Reach your finger here and behold My hands;
and reach your hand here and thrust it into My side;
and do not be unbelieving, but believing.
Touch me? Don't Touch Me?
Did he ascend in-between there?
and come back?
Or is there something else going on there?
-=-=-=-
Bafflement the Fourth:
(relative of The Second)
Concerning Bodies
Joh 20:27
Then He said to Thomas,
Reach your finger here and behold My hands;
and reach your hand here and thrust it into My side;
and do not be unbelieving, but believing.
I try to teach my children,
that the physical world is a matrix
to support the development of a new soul.
That our bodies are temporary containers,
a womb for our selves to develop in
before entering the next life.
When the time comes we will cast off our suits of flesh
We will leave the structure behind.
I enjoy that thought, but question the accuracy of it.
Jesus has his wounds?
Did he HAVE to inhabit a body to be among the disciples?
(Maybe that is a requirement for being here.
No ghosts without some in-betweener kind of body.)
Did Jesus eventually leave that one behind too?
I don't think the scripture supports that.
Didn't witnesses see the whole thing ascending?
no leftovers?
I don't understand it.
Are we gonna have these scars for eternity?
-=-=-=-
Joh 20:31
But these are written so that you might believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that believing you might have life in His name.
This chapter is beautiful.
(and baffling)
Jesus is life.
(and questions arose from the dead)
.