John 14:
John 14 begins a four chapter section (14-17), commonly known as the “Farewell Discourse”. It is primarily composed of Jesus' utilizing his final moments with his disciples to teach them and assure that his ministry will not fail upon his impending crucifixion. John’s theology here becomes dense, as a lot of what Jesus addresses here would have been relevant to the Johannine community in particular. The Farewell Discourse follows a basic pattern, as it was a recognizable genre at this point in history. The formula follows as thus: recollection/review of past instruction moving forward look forward to a hopeful future. In addition, this chapter lives on in infamy for offering one of the most misunderstood concepts stemming from this gospel: the trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Helper are all present characters in this section, but we must allow ourselves to read the words undiluted from popular understanding.
14:1-14 …show more content…
In v.12, Jesus offers perhaps the most challenging comment found in all of the gospels: “You can do greater works than these”. Do we really believe that we can do greater works than Jesus? How is that even possible? If we are to pay attention to the flow of Jesus' communication, the answer lies in the reality that the disciples have the ability to love one another. They have community. They have the example set in Jesus. Jesus had no one to reciprocate his actions like the disciples now have an opportunity to experience. V.6 is a commonly misinterpreted verse – Jesus here is revealing to Thomas that Jesus' very own life is the way to get to the Father. This is something that Jesus believes his disciples can
John 14 begins a four chapter section (14-17), commonly known as the “Farewell Discourse”. It is primarily composed of Jesus' utilizing his final moments with his disciples to teach them and assure that his ministry will not fail upon his impending crucifixion. John’s theology here becomes dense, as a lot of what Jesus addresses here would have been relevant to the Johannine community in particular. The Farewell Discourse follows a basic pattern, as it was a recognizable genre at this point in history. The formula follows as thus: recollection/review of past instruction moving forward look forward to a hopeful future. In addition, this chapter lives on in infamy for offering one of the most misunderstood concepts stemming from this gospel: the trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Helper are all present characters in this section, but we must allow ourselves to read the words undiluted from popular understanding.
14:1-14 …show more content…
In v.12, Jesus offers perhaps the most challenging comment found in all of the gospels: “You can do greater works than these”. Do we really believe that we can do greater works than Jesus? How is that even possible? If we are to pay attention to the flow of Jesus' communication, the answer lies in the reality that the disciples have the ability to love one another. They have community. They have the example set in Jesus. Jesus had no one to reciprocate his actions like the disciples now have an opportunity to experience. V.6 is a commonly misinterpreted verse – Jesus here is revealing to Thomas that Jesus' very own life is the way to get to the Father. This is something that Jesus believes his disciples can