Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Thursday, April 17, 2014 Read John 19:23-30 Today is Maundy Thursday. Typically, we find ourselves reading John 13 as we gather for worship on this day and we are reminded of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and giving them the commandment that they should love one another – that they should do as he has done. We have already looked at the story of the foot washing. In many ways that story is about creating a new community in the aftermath of the death/resurrection/ascension of Jesus. Our story for today also centers on the creating of a new community – the community of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the disciple who Jesus loved. This is a story that only John tells us. It is a story filled with tenderness and passion and reflects John’s great concern for the church. In this way it also reflects Jesus’ great concern for the church after he has returned to his father. That was the major concern of Jesus in the words attached to the meal scene in John’s gospel. As we listen to the story today, we observe that it is closely connected with the story told in the synoptic gospels. All four stories tell of the dividing of Jesus’ clothing by the soldiers. John provides a bit more detail than the others commenting upon the tunic without seam. Some have sought symbolic meaning in this seamless tunic. Perhaps there is something to be found in that but that may also be stretching John’s story a bit. But aside from the story of the dividing of Jesus’ clothing John and the synoptic writers go in very different directions. The synoptic gospels will now tell about the mocking of Jesus as he hangs dying upon the cross. Jesus is surrounded by his enemies – none of his friends are near. As I mentioned, only John tells the story of the encounter at the foot of the cross between Jesus, Mary, and the disciple who Jesus loved. Mark has made it abundantly clear that all of the disciples had abandoned Jesus and fled following his arrest in the garden. The best Mark can do is tell his readers that some women looked on from a distance (Mark 15:40). Matthew follows Mark very closely. Luke provides a little more leeway by telling his readers that once the people around the cross saw that Jesus had died they left beating their breasts in agony and that Jesus’ acquaintances and the women stood at a distance and watched what had happened (Luke 23:49). Luke gives the impression that some of the men may have also been looking on from a distance. John is very different. We remember that John does not tell his readers that the disciples abandoned Jesus and fled when he was arrested. Instead, Jesus had asked that they be released and let go since it was he that they were after. Apparently that is what happened in John’s gospel. Now some very important people show up at the foot of the cross. Their encounter is filled with tenderness and concern. The women who are at the foot of the cross are identified by John as “his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” Most likely John is referring to four women, though one could decide that there are only three – his mother whose name is Mary, his mother’s sister who was also named Mary who was the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. That would make for the unusual situation that there were two Marys in the same family. It is better if we understand Mary’s sister as unnamed making four women. There is also someone else who is very important to John’s gospel present – the disciple whom Jesus loved. We have met this disciple before in John’s gospel. He is specifically referred to during the meal scene as a disciple who was next to Jesus and who asked Jesus who was to betray him and was told that the one who Jesus gave the bread he had dipped in the dish was the one. The beloved disciple will play a greater role as John’s gospel comes to a close. We wish we could identify this beloved disciple – but John never reveals his identity to us. Perhaps it would be good to review where and when we have encountered this beloved disciple in John’s gospel. If we take the most expansive references, it is likely that the unnamed disciple at the very beginning of John’s gospel is the first reference to this disciple (John 1:35-42). Only Andrew is identified as one of the two who first followed Jesus. The reference to Lazarus as the disciple who Jesus loved adds confusion to the story (John 11). We likely should not include Lazarus in the references to the beloved disciple given the information in the rest of the gospel. The next reference to the disciple who Jesus loved comes at the meal (John 13:23). This time he is referred to specifically as the “beloved disciple.” The next time we meet an unnamed disciple is after the arrest of Jesus when Peter is given passage into the courtyard of the high priest by an unnamed disciple who is known to the high priest (John 18:15). It is mostly this reference that eliminated Lazarus. Our passage for today is the next reference to the beloved disciple – he is with Mary at the cross. At the time when Jesus dies and his body is pierced and blood and water flow forth it is the beloved disciple whose testimony makes certain the fact that this happened. Later in Galilee Jesus will encounter seven disciples, two of whom are not named. It is likely that the beloved disciple was one of those two unnamed disciple since the story ends with a reference to the beloved disciple who people mistakenly thought would not die before Jesus’ coming yet who has apparently died. It is this beloved disciple whose testimony is the foundation of John’s gospel (John 21). I wish we could nail down a name – but that seems impossible. At best we can eliminate some candidates – Lazarus as stated above and likely John the son of Zebedee, even though tradition has identified him as John, can likely be eliminated. In fact, none of the disciples we meet in the synoptic gospels are very good candidates – none would be known to the high priest! So we are stuck without an answer. But that is okay! It may add to the mystery of John’s gospel but we can deal with mystery. The encounter between the beloved disciple and Mary the mother of Jesus is what is really most important in this story. The story reveals the deep concern of Jesus for both his mother and for his followers. And they are given to one another. A new community is born. Like in the foot washing scene, a new community of love is what is at stake in the encounter. Jesus is caring for his own! And the beloved disciple and Mary do what Jesus asks. They care for one another. We may have noticed that Mary is somewhat absent from the synoptic gospel stories. She likely was a part of the community from which the gospel of John comes to us. We cannot fully define the relationship between the community that produced John’s gospel and the communities that produced Mark, Matthew, and Luke. It is most likely that the communities of Mark, Matthew, and Luke were more closely connected with one another than any of them were with the community of John. It’s likely that there was little hostility between all these communities and that all eventually merged into the community of the church as we know it from later history. But to think of an early time when there were varieties of communities is fascinating and hopeful. As we return to the story, we notice a couple of other connections. All four gospel writers tell of the wine offered to Jesus. Mark tells us that wine was offered at the beginning of the crucifixion and then later when Jesus cried out near the end. The first offer was likely an anesthetic potion meant to make the crucifixion less painful. The second was really an attempt to keep Jesus alive a while longer to see if Elijah would come since the hearer mistakenly thought Jesus was calling for Elijah when he cried out in despair – “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” In John’s gospel it is Jesus who asks for the wine in order to fulfill the scripture. The reference is to Psalm 69. For those who seek symbolic meaning in John’s gospel the thirsting of Jesus is a great reference to the thirsting of God for his people. That image is a powerful one. The actual death of Jesus is told in significantly different ways in the gospels. In Mark and Matthew, the death of Jesus is one of abandonment. Jesus is abandoned and cries out in despair. The power of the crucified Messiah is most dramatically portrayed in their scene. Luke has softened the scene somewhat with Jesus dying in peace surrendering his spirit to God. In John, the death of Jesus is a powerful expression of victory. In John, Jesus dies with the words “It is finished!” ringing from his lips. Mission accomplished! In John, Jesus remains in control from beginning to end – he lays down his life and he will take it up again. Jesus’ death in John’s gospel is no tragedy – he is not a victim but the victor! This has been John’s theme throughout his gospel. Jesus crucifixion is his glorification! We might wonder why the story is told in these different ways. We may wonder what “really happened.” But that is the wrong question. All of these accounts are true and they speak truth powerfully to those who hear. We need the witness of each to fully comprehend the meaning of the death of Jesus.