LECTURE 11
Hansie Wolmarans
To understand any piece of literature it is important to read it in context: who wrote it, for whom, for what reasons, and how is it presented? It is helpful to distinguish two types of context: the immediate context, as well as the larger socio-historical context. We are going to look at three miracle stories (Jesus on the sea; Jesus feeds the multitude; and Jesus gives sight to the blind) as well as to the meaning of a saying of Jesus, ‘I am the way’.
Jesus on the Sea
In Mark 6:45-52, and Mt. 14:22-23, as well as John 6:15-21 it is told that Jesus walked on the surface of the sea. He is not in the boat as the disciples row across the Sea of Galilee. A strong wind comes up, the sea gets rough, and they cannot progress. Panicking, they see Jesus walking on the sea. They are frightened. Jesus says, ‘It is I. Do not be afraid!’ He calms the sea and the wind. They are safe. Matthew adds the detail that Peter also walked on the water, but went down under the waves and was rescued by Jesus.
A similar story is told in Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 8:23-27 and Luke 8:22-25. Now Jesus is in the boat but asleep. A storm comes up, and the boat is in danger of sinking. They call out to Jesus, ‘Do you not care that we are perishing?’ Jesus stills the storm.
In its immediate context, the stories may mean something like ‘Without Jesus, the storms of life will destroy you’ or ‘Without Jesus you won’t reach your destination’ or ‘Following Jesus will put you in difficult situations.’ ‘Jesus stills the storms of life.’ The story of Peter walking on the water is not meant for us to try and duplicate what Peter did. It may mean something like, ‘Without faith in Jesus, life will pull you down’ or ‘With Jesus, life is like walking on water.’
In its larger context, some extra layers of meaning are found. In the Hebrew Bible the sea represents the forces of chaos in opposition to God. God’s power is indicated by controlling or setting a limit to these forces (Ps. 89:9; 95:5; Job 38:8, 11). It is theorised that the story has its origin in Psalm 107:25-29, where it is told how the wind caused huge waves, that the people in the boat lost courage, that they called out to God, and that God stilled the storm with the result that they arrived safely. What is said of God in Psalms is said of Jesus in the gospels. The boat was also viewed as a symbol of the Christian community which supplies a safe environment to its passengers amidst the storms of life.
Jesus Feeds the Multitude
In our second story, Jesus feeds more than five thousand people with five loaves and two fish (Jn. 6.1– 14; Mk. 6.30– 44 = Mt. 14.13– 21 = Lk. 9.10– 17). Mark and Matthew also have a second bread miracle: Jesus feeding four thousand people (Mk. 8.1– 10; Mt. 15.32– 39).
The story is that Jesus and his disciples find themselves with a crowd in an isolated place in the country. There is nothing to eat and Jesus tells his disciples to supply them with food. They ask a mocking question, ‘Shall we find 200 denarii (wages of 200 days) and buy bread?’ Five loaves and two fish are found (John adds that a boy supplied them). Jesus prays and either he himself (Jn.) or his disciples (Mk) distribute the food to crowd. There is enough for all to eat, and there are twelve baskets of leftovers.
In the synoptics, the story may mean that without Jesus you go hungry, or with Jesus there is more than enough if we share resources. The church has the task to feed the hungry in a fair and equitable way.
Within the larger context, we need to remember that God fed the Israelites with manna from heaven during their wanderings in the wilderness. In the second exodus from the bondage and deprivation of the Roman Empire, Jesus is the second Moses. He provides bread (i.e. a way of living) in dire circumstance.
John has a slightly different explanation of the story (see Jn. 6:35, 48, 33). Jesus says of himself, ‘I am the bread of life’; ‘I am the bread of God’; that comes down from heaven to give life to the world.’ The meaning is clearly symbolic (Jn. 6:53, 55). People are assured that Jesus fulfils humankind’s deepest spiritual hunger and thirst. (See also Jn. 4:1-42; Jn. 6:56).
In the larger context, we find In Proverbs 9:5 a reference to the banquet of Wisdom (Sophia). The reader invited to eat of the bread and drink of wine she has mixed. In the Gospel story, Jesus is viewed as the incarnated word or wisdom. John also contrasts this story with the exodus motif (Jn. 6:49, 32 cf. 6:58): manna did not give life, because ancestors died in desert. Jesus gives the life to the world and is the bread of life. Whoever eats of it (Jn. 6:32, 51) will live forever, find something not provided during the exodus.
Jesus Gives Sight to the Blind
In John 9 Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. He makes a paste of clay and spittle and put it on the man’s eyes. The Pharisees and Jews interrogate the man and his family. They are afraid to be excommunicated from the synagogue. The man is interrogated again, affirms that Jesus is from God, and driven out of synagogue (Jn. 9:22, 34-35).
In its immediate context, the story illustrates the saying of Jesus, ‘I am the light of the world’. The man healed of blindness says ‘Once I was blind but now I see.’ (Jn. 9:5, 25, 30).
Jesus brings enlightenment (cf. Jn. 8:12) through wisdom. In John, the movement is from death to life; from below to above, to be born again / from above (Nicodemus, Jn. 3:1-10, he comes to Jesus in the ‘night.’)
In the larger context, we find references to darkness and light. Isaiah 9:2 says, ‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light...’ Ps. 119:105 states, ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Isa 29:18 promises, ‘The eyes of the blind shall see.’ Being blind is a symbol of the human condition and Enlightenment is deliverance from it.
We should also read the story against the context of the late first century. Christians were banned from the synagogues (places where Jews met, taught, and worshipped). This is why John is hostile to the Jews and calls them children of Satan (Jn. 8:31-59). We should be careful not to use John’s language to fuel anti-Semitism.
Jesus as ‘The Way’
In John 14:6 Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.’ This text is used as a proof by many Christians to argue that salvation is only possible through Jesus and therefore through Christianity. Christianity is viewed as the only true religion. This is not what the text meant originally. In its immediate context, the ‘Way’ is not a set of creedal statements or doctrines; it is a way of life, a path, a journey.
In the Synoptics, the way of Jesus is from Galilee to Jerusalem, a way of suffering, death, resurrection and ascension. In John 12:24, Jesus says, ‘Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.’ It stands for the path of dying an old way of being, and being born into a new way of being.
This is universal metaphor of most religions and philosophies. Jesus is not only the way, but also the truth and the life. This is not about a set of beliefs, but in how Jesus embodied the way, the truth, and the life.
In their broader context, we need to understand that these words do not go back to Jesus himself (they don’t occur in the Synoptics) but were created by the author of the Gospel. They should be understood against the background of being banned from the synagogues.
Some Christians may have felt the temptation to return to their community of origin. John had in mind, not other religions, but Christianity as opposed to Judaism. We should not use these words to imply that God rejected Judaism, but understand them in their original context.
Conclusion
The stories about Jesus is to claim that: Jesus shares the power and authority of God; Jesus is the revelation of God; Jesus is the embodiment of ‘The Way’ the truth and the life; Jesus satisfies our deepest hunger and thirst; following Jesus is to be enlightened, to die, and being resurrected; Jesus is the word of wisdom and the embodiment of justice. This is who Jesus is for us, without claiming that other religions are ‘wrong.’
Briefly, religion helps us to cope with life in the context of a larger group, kept together by the values of charity, support, justice, and equity.
