Wake up call

Morsels of food are delicious because of the little things, the subtle seasonings, the dash of salt, the sprinkle of garlic, the garnish of parsley, the touch of glaze, or the hint of lemon.  Ahhhh - so delicious!

The trip to Caesarea Philippi had been worth it.  It's recorded in Matthew 16.  Jesus had probed his 12 followers about his identity.  Simon spoke the acknowledgment he had wanted to hear.  Soon after, Jesus thought he should more specifically prepare his closest followers. So he did, but when he did, Simon had a rather telling outburst in reaction to Jesus' words (verse 22).

Was Simon just unaware of what was happening around him?  Maybe he was blind to the social setting Jesus moved in.  Simon was from Galilee, not Jerusalem, so he wasn't so plugged in to the Judean power structure or as sensitive to the Judean penchant for knowing the Talmud and practicing its rules to a T.  I'm sure he had heard about the nature of those Jerusalem Jews, but to walk among them and catch all the innuendos swirling around about Jesus and his band of 12 might have been just out of the awareness IQ of Simon.

The conversation started because Jesus thought that he was close to the time the Jews would act on their distaste for him.  His words are found in verse 21.

Ἀπὸ τότε ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς δεικνύειν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἀπελθεῖν καὶ πολλὰ παθεῖν ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ ἀρχιερέων καὶ γραμματέων καὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐγερθῆναι

(From that point forward, Jesus began making his close followers aware that he had go to Jerusalem for his departure, that he must come into all kinds of ill treatment by the councilmen on the Sanhedrin, the important priests, and the scholars of the law, that he must be killed, and that he must be awakened on the third day.)

These connected pieces of information should not have been news to Simon.  But his reaction to them makes us think it was.  Either it was news to Simon because he was naive and unaware of the Judean power brokers' whispers, or he was not ready for Jesus to "give in" to the power brokers because his teachings against their way of interpreting and practicing the Talmud were having a great effect on everyday, normal Jews.  No matter, his reaction showed total unpreparedness for Jesus' information.

Part of the reason Simon was taken by surprise was the wording Jesus used in speaking of leaving them.  Very curiously, and deliberately, Jesus had used the phrasing for departure from one place to go to another place,  Examples from secular Greek texts are abundant in their use of the phrase δεῖ αὐτὸν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἀπελθεῖν (he had to go to Jerusalem to depart [for somewhere].  The Greeks often said they would have to go to a town to depart for a specific destination.  Jesus plainly used the departure phrase to tell the Twelve he would be going to Jerusalem to depart, but he implied or didn't speak the second part, the destination.  For certain, Thomas didn't catch the implication since later he tells Jesus he didn't know where Jesus was going (John 14.5).  But Jesus  had spoken of being from God and returning to God during his whole time of public teaching.  The Twelve were not always swift in catching on to implied information.

Another part of the reason Simon took Jesus to task about leaving them was the way Jesus said that he would meet his end.  Jesus was very specific about the three groups of people by name who disliked his message enough to kill him.  Perhaps Matthew named them on reflection if Jesus had only said that the Judean establishment would kill him, but likely Jesus knew of the collaboration shaping up.  Evidently Simon couldn't handle the part of Jesus falling into ill treatment at the hands of the Judean establishment.

Of all people, though, Simon should have heard what Jesus was really saying.  Luke records a significant event (8.40-56).  Jairus' daughter was stone cold dead when Simon walked into her room that day with Jesus.  Yet Jesus said she was only asleep.  Only six people were in the room with the girl that day, and Simon was one of them.  Jesus had taken the girl's hand and used the same word that he was using on this occasion now to discuss his "death."  Jesus had taken the girl's hand and said, "wake up."

Of all people, Simon should have deciphered what Jesus was really saying.  Luke records a previous event  of Jesus to that of Jairus' daughter in Luke 7.11-16.  Jesus had stopped a large crowd of people outside the town of Nain who were mourning a young man's death, the son of a widow.  Jesus asked for the coffin lid to be removed and he spoke to the young man lying lifeless in the coffin.  All he had said was, "Wake up."  Simon had seen it for himself.

But Simon's mind got stuck on the wrong phrases.  He heard Jesus say, "I'm leaving you," and "I'll be treated badly and killed."  I think he missed the phrase, "I'll be awakened on the third day."  If Jesus would awaken, then Simon should have been comforted.  But no, Simon's mind ignored the scene he witnessed at Jairus' house and failed to remember Jesus telling the girl, "Wake up."  He ignored the overwhelming tears of the widow at Nain after Jesus had stopped a funeral procession, looked into the  coffin of this widow's son's and said, "Wake up."

Simon had reacted so vociferously and had missed the point of Jesus' warning so badly that Jesus felt the need to tell Simon that he was in all reality speaking about life not death.  He ends his speech to Simon in verses 25 and 26 with a really tasty morsel to ponder.  The word play is with ψυχὴν,  usually translated soul.

ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν

(Whoever wants to save his life will lose it.  Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.)

τί γὰρ ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ; ἢ τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ

(What is the advantage to a person if he or she gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his or her life?  Would a person give that in exchange for his or her life?)

Another word, ζωὴ, was the usual word for life.  That prompts one to ask if  ψυχὴ was used as an exact synonym of ζωὴ?  As with virtually all synonyms, exactness is not the case.  Synonyms share properties or features, but exactness would exclude the need for one of the two words in the language.  In that way language uses natural selection to weed out words from a language over time.  ζωὴ was used to indicate that something was alive as opposed to dead, that a person was breathing air and the heart was beating.  ψυχὴ on the other hand, was the essence of what makes a person, that person, personality and all.  It was the sentient features of a person.  ψυχὴ would include how a person thought.  In fact, mind has sometimes been used as a translation for the word, and the derivative of the word into English, psyche, means the capacity to think, understand, and shape ideas for oneself.

Jesus on many occasions loved using double meanings for his words.  This occasion was no different.  One way Jesus meant the words was to say that if a person wanted to keep his own way of thinking and shaping ideas, he would lose that at his death.  But if he wanted to change his thinking and shaping of ideas to Jesus' way of thinking, he would find a fulfilling life.  Jesus also meant the more literal way of taking his words too.  If a person lived his own lifestyle he would die, if he adopted Jesus' lifestyle, he would never die.  

Jesus' second statement contained two questions.  The literal consideration of the first question was that a person didn't have any advantage if he or she had reached a zenith in some way, but died after reaching the top.  There would be no enjoyment.  The enjoyment is not in the struggle to the top, but at the top reaping the benefits of hard work.  The second meaning was, What advantage is there to shaping a "good" way of thinking to take one to the loftiest heights if the journey there would change or contaminate the original way of thinking?  If one's "good" way of thinking was important in the first place, all the way through, and at the end, was it worth risking a change to it?

I love the way Jesus thought and spoke... such simplicity, yet such depth.  As I reflect on such a passage, I find that I am on a journey too that will end.  Preparedness has no substitute.  Unlike Simon, I want to hear Jesus' words and face them head on and glean their meaning.  Jesus clearly spoke of his departure for another place, the one he went to prepare for us.  By all means, I want to go there.  I don't want to miss it.  To be there with him evidently means not shaping ideas to advance my agenda but shaping ideas that advance Jesus' way of thinking.  By doing that I wake up while I live and again in a prepared place after I fall asleep here.

It's amazing what sleeping will do for a person.   When we awake, there are benefits.  Jesus was very consistent in referring to death as sleep.  Yes, he wanted his closest followers to know about the restorative nature of sleep. He wanted them to enjoy waking up to life after lying down to sleep, finally, here on the planet.  

But Saturday rules say...

Morsels of food are delicious because of the little things, the subtle seasonings, the dash of salt, the sprinkle of garlic, the garnish of parsley, the touch of glaze, or the hint of lemon.  Ahhhh - so delicious!

Some of Jesus' most disturbing words for the Jews came on the occasion found in John 5.1-29.  It was just a typical Saturday at the colonnade in Solomon's temple.  The courtyard was buzzing with people.  They were crossing the open area next to the refreshing pool to get where they were going, mingling with each other or meeting someone there.  It was a typical Saturday at the beautiful, historic Sheep's Gate Courtyard and Pool.

Also at this place were a number of invalids.  They were blind, crippled, and paralyzed.  I'm sure they liked being around the daily buzz, but they also had a chance to be healed there.  Some of the later manuscripts of John added that people helped the invalids to get into the pool when the pool water bubbled.  It was thought that an angel was stirring the water, and whoever got into it first would be healed.

Jesus made it a point to be at the courtyard that day.  The reason was not stated.  Perhaps it was a hot day, and this was a good place to rest and cool down because of the 5 ornate colonnades around the pool for people to stand under.  Maybe Jesus was meeting someone there.  Or, he could have gone there just to observe people.  It was a great place for that.

But, while he was there, he decided to go over and talk to the invalid everybody knew because he had been sitting around the pool for 38 years - most of his life.  The man had been young and had grown old there.  As they talked, Jesus wanted to show the man what faith could do, so he healed him and disappeared into the crowd.  The Jews around the pool saw the newly healed man.  Their thoughts revealed the incredulous attitude they had toward things out of the ordinary for them.  Instead of sharing his ecstasy of being able to walk in the first time for at least 38 years, they found fault with him being healed because he was carrying his old invalid mat with him.  Saturday rules said he couldn't.  Well, at least some of the Jews' interpretation of the Saturday rules had been construed to mean he couldn't carry his mat.  38 years of bondage to being crippled and some of the Jews were worried about him carrying his mat because of Saturday rules!  You can't be serious.

It is this attitude that Jesus absolutely abhorred because it was the attitude that kept people from having life.  People were so condescending and for no good reason.  Eventually, the word spread that Jesus had healed the man on Saturday with all of its special rules and "the Jews," presumably the ones that read the Talmud with all of its oral traditions, who were in the colonnade that day, confronted Jesus with his faux pas.  Jesus was not in the least bothered or embarrassed by what he did and shared his affrontive remarks with those Jews.  His comments boiled down to this (verse 24):

Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ὁ τὸν λόγον μου ἀκούων καὶ πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται, ἀλλὰ μεταβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν

(Most assuredly you should believe me when I tell you that the person hearing my message and believing him who sent me has life for the ages.  That person does not come under judgment but has made a transition from death to life).

The whole point of healing this man was to give him a second lease on life, a literal, physical second life.  But after the Jewish rule-keepers approached Jesus with their offensive, condescending attitudes, Jesus decided to take his teaching of second lease on life to the level they couldn't see, the non-physical, spiritual plane.  Already Jesus knew they couldn't handle him putting himself equal with God, even coming from God (his father) [verse 18].  So, he drew a clear line in the sand.  "Believe my message and receive a life for the ages," which is a moral life, not a second lease on physical life.  The moral life is not a rule-keeper's life.  It is a life of accepting others,  treating others decently, and watching out for each other.  A rule-keeper's life is all about himself/herself.  A moral life is all about not putting others under your judgment of them.  There was a huge difference.

And, Jesus wanted to address straightforwardly the main concern of this Jewish audience of condescending, pious onlookers: he absolutely was equal to God.  John says that the Jews were already talking about killing him for this (verse 18).  So, Jesus had nothing at all to lose by continuing to talk about who he was with the group he knew he couldn't convince.  In verse 27 he called himself the Son of Man, which was his term for the messiah, making it clear that he claimed to be God's chosen one in Jewish history. But in the same breath, he didn't want to leave any doubt that the messiah was also God's son.  So, he says it plainly (verse 25).

ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν ὅτε οἱ νεκροὶ ἀκούσουσιν τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ οἱ ἀκούσαντες ζήσουσιν

(Most assuredly you should believe me when I tell you that an hour is coming, actually here now when the dead will hear the voice of God's son and, having heard, will live.)

Jesus is clear.  If one believes his message that he is the promised chosen one and God's son, then he or she will live.  But the life is not the physical life now, nor is it the life to come.  It is a moral life that "is here now."  It is not life according to the Jewish way of thinking that one should keep rules to please God or the more minor theme of keeping rules to enter the next life.  It is deliverance from the death people give themselves by feeling pious enough to condescend and judge others by their own rules.  It is the life of accepting and helping others on their journey in the same way people desire acceptance and help that they themselves.  It is a spiritual rather than physical life.

A tasty little morsel is found in verse 29.

καὶ ἐκπορεύσονται οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς, οἱ δὲ τὰ φαῦλα πράξαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν κρίσεως

(And they will come out.  Those who have done good things will experience a resurrection of life.  Those who have carried on with careless, thoughtless, and indifferent attitudes and actions will experience a resurrection of judgment.)

The verse was a direct quotation from Daniel 12.2.  Jesus decided to quote from a book of the Old Testament that would attest to the truth of what he was saying.  If the Jews wouldn't believe him, maybe they would believe something they did trust.  However, he chose a rather recent addition to the Old Testament, an enigmatic one at that, and one that didn't have a lot of oral tradition built around it.  It's almost a choice to see if the Jews would repudiate something considered sacred ground.  

Daniel spoke of a time that would come when people would be dead and rise to life - the same transition Jesus used earlier (verse 24 above)in explaining to the Jews that they should not be so worried about him "working" on a Saturday but celebrating the man's second lease on life and showing that their own morality embraced life not the sterility  of judgment (or death) which is the same as supporting death. Their ideas about what constituted work and not rest were a misguided application of the Old Testament principle of holding the Sabbath sacred.  Thus, Jesus applied Daniel's words of death and life to moral death and moral life.  Jesus used the scripture to illustrate that Daniel's coming time was "now here" and that the death spoken of was moral death leading to his judgment of them, one and the same with God's judgment of them.  Jesus accomplished both objectives with one quotation.  That was pretty strong medicine.  Then again, what other kind of medicine is there when people can't believe you are God's son.

Whenever I read John, I can't help but notice the emphasis he gives to the idea of life.  The idea fills his book.  He also helps me with a standard that I have to work on for myself.    All of us find ourselves in the human condition, imperfect and flawed.  We need each other.  We need to watch out for each other and treat each other decently.  I want others to see me as a person who will accept them and their station in life.  I want people to count on me for making it to the end of our journey here on Earth with them - one with the other, not one without the other.


[I realize that not everyone agrees on the dating of the book of Daniel.  I accept the late dating of Daniel in the time of the Macabbees, and thus make my comments accordingly.]