Thursday 27 December 2018

Psalm: Psalm 117

Background

Scholars believe this to be the second ending to John’s Gospel, and this particular passage starts in a strange place: “after this” … after what? Looking back in the chapter we see how Jesus has just explained to Peter that in order to glorify God, Peter – just like Jesus – would have to die. Peter appears to look around, see John (referred to as the disciple that Jesus loved) and ask: “Will he die in a similar way?” Jesus seems to cause some confusion by not answering the question directly. His response: “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” probably needs some clarification. Here Jesus is saying “That’s not what we are talking about here. Your call is to decide whether or not you will follow me.”

However, the people had misheard and believed that John would live until Jesus returned, so in this passage the writer seeks to tidy up the confusion. Indeed, he seems to be trying to tidy up a number of loose ends, probably an indication that he was coming to the end of his writing life: “There’s a lot more Jesus said or did that’s not written here – you are only seeing a partial glimpse of the picture, look to the bigger picture and don’t just focus on the things you may have misheard.”

How do we bring glory to God? The writer is trying to make it clear – both John and Peter first had to decide to follow. In time, Peter died to glorify God, John lived so that he might glorify God by tell the Jesus story. Luke, in his final addendum, reminds us of his gospel motif ­– the reader need to first make a choice to follow. It will then become clear how God might use each one of us.

To Ponder:

• What are the things that are missing for you from the Jesus story?
• What would you love to ask God about?
• What do you need to hear in order to respond to the call “follow me”?