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John 11:3-4:
And speaking of creeping internationalism, in John 12:20-26 he preaches to Greeks. What he says is pretty generic for John, but what's notable is that it mentions Greeks at all. Pity there's no mention of which language he used, but the one that makes the most sense would be Greek. Alexander had already made it the lingua franca of the eastern Mediterranean, and tons of Jews spoke it as a second language. Evidence? All the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament are in Greek. Let's not forget the Septuagint, that ancient translation of the Old Testament into koine Greek, which rabbis deemed necessary because fluency in Greek was far more widespread than fluency in Hebrew.
One theme that John really hammers home more than the other Gospels is how much physical danger Jesus was frequently in. He almost went out of his way to get people mad at him. When Jesus almost got stoned, it wasn't the fun way. If he'd shut up about being the son of God, maybe he could have lived longer and done more good, curing the sick and feeding the poor. I wonder if that ever occurred to him.
John 10:20 finally says what I, a resident of a big city, probably would have said:
Oh: I read ahead a little in Acts hoping it might be a little less woo and over the top. Nope.
So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God's glory, so that the Son of Man may be glorified through it."Are you creeped out yet? I am. I mean, sure, Jesus regrets it when Lazarus dies and Jesus raises him from the dead even after he's all stinky, but that passage is still creepy.
And speaking of creeping internationalism, in John 12:20-26 he preaches to Greeks. What he says is pretty generic for John, but what's notable is that it mentions Greeks at all. Pity there's no mention of which language he used, but the one that makes the most sense would be Greek. Alexander had already made it the lingua franca of the eastern Mediterranean, and tons of Jews spoke it as a second language. Evidence? All the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament are in Greek. Let's not forget the Septuagint, that ancient translation of the Old Testament into koine Greek, which rabbis deemed necessary because fluency in Greek was far more widespread than fluency in Hebrew.
One theme that John really hammers home more than the other Gospels is how much physical danger Jesus was frequently in. He almost went out of his way to get people mad at him. When Jesus almost got stoned, it wasn't the fun way. If he'd shut up about being the son of God, maybe he could have lived longer and done more good, curing the sick and feeding the poor. I wonder if that ever occurred to him.
John 10:20 finally says what I, a resident of a big city, probably would have said:
Many of them said, "He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?"It's the only acknowledgement so far of just how wack Jesus must have seemed to most of his contemporaries.
Oh: I read ahead a little in Acts hoping it might be a little less woo and over the top. Nope.
