If the first problem is “who is Jesus?”, the second (the main subject of vv.44-59) is “what does he require of his disciples ?”; and it was the implications of this teaching that seem to have been the final stumbling-block that turned back many of them. Belief that Jesus is the Son of God is a necessary qualification for true discipleship, but not of itself sufficient: as James says (2.19), “even the demons believe – and tremble”. It is faith that makes a disciple. This distinction between belief and faith has already been subtly made by John in the first part of this long discourse, in vv.29-30, but the subtlety is more effective in Greek. Both ‘belief’ and ‘faith’ are expressed in Greek by the one word, ‘pistis’, and the verb-form of this noun is ‘pisteuo’ which can mean either ‘believe’ or ‘trust’; when followed by a simple dative it means ‘believe’, when followed by ‘en’ and the dative it means ‘believe in’, and when followed by ‘eis’ and the accusative it means ‘believe into’ or ‘put one’s faith in’ or ‘commit oneself to’. This third usage is particularly characteristic of John, who uses it 36 times in his gospel; it is only found twice in the synoptics, in parallel passages that we have already looked at, namely the warnings not to “scandalize one of these little ones who put their trust in me”. So in v.29, Jesus tells these disciples that to do the work of God is to ‘put your faith into’ the one he has sent. They reply (though having witnessed the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand) “what sign do you give us so that we may see and believe you?” ('pisteuo' + dative, v.30). They have, neither for the first or the last time, missed the point. This Jesus develops particularly in vv. 53-6 using the image of the ‘bread of life’, which has already been mentioned in v.35, and is the central theme of the whole chapter. To have eternal life, his disciples must eat the bread which is Jesus’ flesh, and also drink the drink which is his blood (not referred to here as wine).True faith is not just believing in Jesus, but believing into him, an act, and a continuing attitude, of self-giving commitment. This means allowing Jesus into our lives, initially and then daily, just as we absorb food and drink into our bodies. This teaching led to a renewed bout of ‘murmuring’ in v.66: “this word is too difficult for us”: they were ‘scandalized’, as Jesus says (v.61). And he goes on: “what if you see the Son of Man going up to where he was before ?” – that is, if they witnessed his ascension into heaven. This clearly refers to the cause of their first ‘murmuring’, his claim to have “come down from heaven” (v.41), and so supports the interpretation that this teaching, too, had been a stumbling-block for them. In fact, as we know, Jesus’ ascension was witnessed only by his true disciples; as in all his other resurrection appearances, his purpose was not to compel unbelievers to believe, but to confirm the faith of those who already believed.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
SKANDALON 4 (i): [ii] the stumbling-block of Jesus' demands
If the first problem is “who is Jesus?”, the second (the main subject of vv.44-59) is “what does he require of his disciples ?”; and it was the implications of this teaching that seem to have been the final stumbling-block that turned back many of them. Belief that Jesus is the Son of God is a necessary qualification for true discipleship, but not of itself sufficient: as James says (2.19), “even the demons believe – and tremble”. It is faith that makes a disciple. This distinction between belief and faith has already been subtly made by John in the first part of this long discourse, in vv.29-30, but the subtlety is more effective in Greek. Both ‘belief’ and ‘faith’ are expressed in Greek by the one word, ‘pistis’, and the verb-form of this noun is ‘pisteuo’ which can mean either ‘believe’ or ‘trust’; when followed by a simple dative it means ‘believe’, when followed by ‘en’ and the dative it means ‘believe in’, and when followed by ‘eis’ and the accusative it means ‘believe into’ or ‘put one’s faith in’ or ‘commit oneself to’. This third usage is particularly characteristic of John, who uses it 36 times in his gospel; it is only found twice in the synoptics, in parallel passages that we have already looked at, namely the warnings not to “scandalize one of these little ones who put their trust in me”. So in v.29, Jesus tells these disciples that to do the work of God is to ‘put your faith into’ the one he has sent. They reply (though having witnessed the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand) “what sign do you give us so that we may see and believe you?” ('pisteuo' + dative, v.30). They have, neither for the first or the last time, missed the point. This Jesus develops particularly in vv. 53-6 using the image of the ‘bread of life’, which has already been mentioned in v.35, and is the central theme of the whole chapter. To have eternal life, his disciples must eat the bread which is Jesus’ flesh, and also drink the drink which is his blood (not referred to here as wine).True faith is not just believing in Jesus, but believing into him, an act, and a continuing attitude, of self-giving commitment. This means allowing Jesus into our lives, initially and then daily, just as we absorb food and drink into our bodies. This teaching led to a renewed bout of ‘murmuring’ in v.66: “this word is too difficult for us”: they were ‘scandalized’, as Jesus says (v.61). And he goes on: “what if you see the Son of Man going up to where he was before ?” – that is, if they witnessed his ascension into heaven. This clearly refers to the cause of their first ‘murmuring’, his claim to have “come down from heaven” (v.41), and so supports the interpretation that this teaching, too, had been a stumbling-block for them. In fact, as we know, Jesus’ ascension was witnessed only by his true disciples; as in all his other resurrection appearances, his purpose was not to compel unbelievers to believe, but to confirm the faith of those who already believed.
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