John 13:18-30
Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.
“Notice what you notice.” When I put our reading list together late last year I was mostly following the NKJV Chronological Bible that we used a few years back. Their intent in putting their readings together was clearly chronological. So you’ll see that today we jump into the middle of John 13, having bypassed the first seventeen verses. However, strangely, John 13:1 says Now before the Feast of the Passover… So these authors have me really confused! For the past few days the Synoptics all have the meal being the Passover meal. I would have thought that John 13:1, ff. would have come before the Synoptics’ accounts of the Passover meal. So for the next iteration of these readings I will put John 13:1-30 (in two sections) before the Synoptics’ accounts. As we read it “out of order” in the next couple of days, you’ll see what I mean.
So, today’s reading… In verse 18 Jesus quotes Psalm 41:9, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ David is the author of this Psalm. While it sounds like David is moaning over Absalom, he refers to a “close friend” in that verse, not a son. So it could have been Amasa (the leader of Absalom’s army) or any of another dozen people who fled David to join with Absalom. Either way, Psalm 41:9 does not seem to me to be a messianic verse, as written, just a handy verse for Jesus to connect Himself to David. My thoughts on that verse…
I’m reading verse 20 with new eyes today: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. (NASB) I wonder if Jesus is linking Himself with the Holy Spirit (…whomever I send…). The NASB capitalizes deific pronouns, but does not do so in this verse (whomever). Or Jesus could be speaking of future missionaries (us!) that He will be sending. I wonder…
Finally, in verses 21-27 John is much more clear about the betrayer than the Synoptics. However, he shows the disciples to be more confused about the betrayal itself than the Synoptics (vv. 27b-29). Interesting…!
Enough for today!
Slava Bohu!
Good points as usual, Fred. I have always assumed that the disciple “that Jesus loved” was John, speaking of himself. Two thoughts, first, John seems to have had inside, more direct information since he was sitting next to Jesus and Peter motioned him to ask. But it never said that he told the others right then. Second, isn’t it wonderful that we too can say, I am the one that Jesus loved. Of course, He loves all of us, but to say it very personally is wonderful.
As for the chronology, the editors of the Chronological Study Bible are not simply ignoring John 13:1 and being scatterbrained about the sequencing. They are trying to reconcile what John says with what the Synoptic Gospels say, and the terminology is not as straightforward as you imagine. See, for example, this site.