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.
Showing posts with label pisteuo eis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pisteuo eis. Show all posts
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.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
PARAKLETOS 3 (d) the convictor iv: the sin of unbelief
The ministry of the Spirit, then, is to convince the world of two unpleasant truths that it is reluctant to hear. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard, because his righteousness is absolute; and therefore all face God’s judgement, as delegated to Jesus, because his justice is inexorable. As John puts it, “God is light, and with him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1.5). The world, in fact, is “condemned already”, as Jesus (or John) starkly puts it (John 3. 18). This brings us to our last verse, verse 9: “he will convict the world of sin, because they do not put their trust in me”. This is the Greek verb ‘pisteuo’, to ‘believe’, followed by the preposition ‘eis’, meaning ‘into’. This combination is used 37 times in John, and implies not just ‘belief in’ but ‘commitment into’ Jesus with the whole of our lives: that is ‘faith’, and it is that faith alone which can save us from God’s righteous judgement. Two more verses from John’s gospel make this as clear as it could be: “the one who puts his or her faith in Jesus is not condemned; the one who does not have faith is condemned already. --- The one who puts his or her faith in the Son has eternal life, but the one who does not believe the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him (or her)” (John 3. 18, 36 - both 'pisteuo eis'). If Jesus is the world’s ultimate hope, then disbelief is the ultimate sin. Paul says, “there is no distinction: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3. 23). But there is a distinction, the crucial one, between those who put their trust in Jesus as their “atoning sacrifice”, and those who commit the ultimate sin of disbelief. It is here that the ministry of the Spirit, the ‘parakletos’, is so vital: it is his purpose to “glorify” Jesus (John 16.14) by so convicting unbelievers of their sin that they are “cut to the heart”, and cry out, “what must we do to be saved ?” This, of course, was the crowd’s response to Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the day when Jesus’ promise was fulfilled and the Spirit came in power. First, he filled all the disciples with an inexpressible joy – a joy that could only be expressed in languages which the Spirit himself gave them, joy that Jesus was with them once again in the person of his Spirit, and now would never leave them. Then he filled Peter with the courage to preach to the crowd, illuminating the scriptures for him as he spoke, so that his words were the word of God. Finally, he ‘convicted’ the crowd of sin, not to condemn them – they were “condemned already” – but to lead them to repentance and faith in Jesus, a faith which alone could save them from judgement.
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