Placing myself at the scene . . .

    It’s been my tendency to read John 14 and look down on Thomas and Philip. Thomas, of course, already has the bad rap as “doubting Thomas.” The scene that led to that nickname had not happened yet when John 14 is told, yet my mind fills in the details of it and I’ve already stacked the deck against him. So he says, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Good grief, Thomas, haven’t you been paying attention? Jesus is about to die and is giving final, important words and you’re asking a question like that? And then Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.” Are you kidding? Jesus responds, “How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” and I’m like, “yeah, Philip, how can you?”

    When I do this I hold myself above Thomas and Philip and the other disciples who weren’t getting it. Oh, but I have the benefit of knowing how the story unfolds. I get to look back on it all with all the details filled in. But they did not enjoy that benefit. They didn’t even have the experience of being with Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration. Those three were there with Jesus and they still had questions.

    No, if I put myself at the scene as one like them (which is difficult to do given the details I already know, but it’s worth the try) I find I have a different experience. I am there in the upper room with them. I’m still thinking Jesus is going to free us from the oppressive Roman rule, although he’s been saying things recently that sound strange. Things like, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.”

 

    Now we’re together in this room and we’re eating and he gets up and washes our feet. Was he angry with us for not doing it. Was I supposed to do it? I’m not the low man on the totem pole. But he washed our feet and said it was an example and that we must wash each other’s feet. So much for the totem pole.


    He says one of us is going to betray him and then Judas left and that was confusing. He tells us to love each other. Jesus says where he is going we can’t follow but will follow later. And then he tells Peter he’s going to deny knowing him. He says he’s going to prepare a place for us and return and take us with him. And that’s what provoked Thomas’ question. I was just as confused as Thomas.


    Yeah, looking back on it, I do recall that he said various things about he and the Father being one, but I didn’t fault Philip for asking his question. The whole evening was confusing. 


    Maybe you can see why questions were asked that readers two thousand years later may look down on in disgust. But if we’d been there we would have been just as confused as they were.


    It’s often said that we should put ourselves in another’s place and consider what they may be going through before we criticize or react to them. It turns out that it can be helpful for understanding Scripture, too.

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