Reading the Gospels Together The Storyline of John’s Gospel – Part 9 John now tells his readers that it is six days before the Passover. Jesus is staying at the house of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha in Bethany at the summit of the Mount of Olives. John tells his readers that Mary anointed Jesus feet with expensive perfume and dried them with her hair. All four gospel writers tell a story that is very similar to this one. Luke places the story earlier in his storyline as a woman comes into the house of a Pharisee who had invited Jesus to dine with him. Mark and Matthew place the story just a bit later, after Jesus had made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. John tells this story just before the entry. Likely they all have the same story in mind. John now reminds his readers of the decision to kill Jesus and adds to it their decision to kill Lazarus too since his rising from the dead had brought so much attention to Jesus. They must dispose of any evidence that Jesus might really be the Messiah. John now joins with the storyline of the other gospel writers as he tells the story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem in a triumphant procession. Of course John’s telling of the story has far less punch than it did for Mark and the others since Jesus had already spent a good deal of time in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, the story is important in John’s storyline as once again Jesus is identified as the King. At this point in John’s gospel he tells his readers that some Greeks come and want to see Jesus. Are we to understand these Greeks as Gentile or as just Greek speaking Jews? Most likely we should see them as Gentiles. And their coming to Jesus functions as a trigger in John’s gospel. Jesus now announces that his “hour” has come. And it is an hour in which he will lose his life in order to gain it and in the process to gain a great harvest. John now tells his readers that Jesus speaks about his death. John tells us that Jesus is greatly troubled as this “hour” approaches. Jesus asks if he should say, “Father, save me from this hour?” and answers, “No, it is for this very reason that he has come from the Father.” The whole scene sounds a lot like the struggle that Mark, Matthew, and Luke will tell about at Gethsemane. John will tell of no struggle when he talks about Jesus in the garden there. But the struggle is here. And Jesus meets the need of humanity offering up his very life. And when he is “lifted up” he will draw all to himself. In Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels Jesus had lamented over Jerusalem. Here in John there is something of a lament too and Jesus quotes the words from Isaiah regarding how God has blinded the eyes of his people so that they might not see. Mark had used those words as his explanation for the parables that Jesus told. These words function for John as a summary of the frustration of God and the God-man over humanity that will not receive what God wants to give. We have now reached a crucial point in John’s gospel. The public ministry of Jesus is now over and John will move on to what has been called the Passion Narrative. As we look back over the story that John has been telling us we recall that John has told his readers that Jesus traveled back and forth between Judea and Galilee several times. In fact, Galilee has not figured greatly in John’s story. Most of the action in Galilee that John tells about happened in a town called Cana which is a town none of the other gospel writers even mention. The one event that happens near the Sea of Galilee is the multiplication of the loaves by Jesus to feed the 5000 followed by Jesus walking on the sea. John mentions Capernaum which was the center of the action in Mark, Matthew and Luke, but tells nothing about what happened there. So the geographic settings for John’s gospel are radically different from the others. We also recall that John has told his readers of three Passovers. The first one happened early in the ministry of Jesus as Jesus visited Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple. The second happened in Galilee in connection with the multiplication of the loaves and is followed by Jesus’ lengthy interpretation of the meaning of the multiplication of loaves and has deep allusions to Holy Communion and its bread/body and wine/blood symbolism. The third Passover is about to happen. So the chronological time frame for John’s gospel is also radically different from the others. John has also told the story of John the baptist in quite a different way than the others. John has a larger role in John’s gospel and does not function as the Elijah figure which is clearly his role in the others. Yet, we discover that John’s story often connects with elements in the others and clearly they are all reflecting upon the very same historical event. Now that we have reached the Passion Narrative we will discover that John is more closely connected with the other gospel writers. All four Passion Narratives follow the same basic chronology and tell most of the same stories. So let’s continue and trace John’s story of the death and resurrection of Jesus.