Narrative Lectionary for Maundy Thursday, 17 April 2013

Narrative Lectionary for Maundy Thursday, 17 April 2013

Lectionary Scriptures:

John 19: 23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24 Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says,

“They parted my garments among them.

    For my cloak they cast lots.”[a]

Therefore the soldiers did these things. 25 But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 Therefore when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.

28 After this, Jesus, seeing[b] that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” 29 Now a vessel full of vinegar was set there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop, and held it at his mouth. 30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.

Footnotes:

a. John 19:24 Psalm 22:18

b. John 19:28 NU, TR read “knowing” instead of “seeing”

Psalm 26:3 For your loving kindness is before my eyes.

    I have walked in your truth.

Commentary on John 19:23-30 by Thomas B. Slater

It was customary for Roman soldiers to keep the garments of persons they had just executed.

They divided Jesus’ garments as a prize among themselves. The tunic was so well made that they thought it better not to tear it but to gamble for it. Surely, gambling for the clothes of the condemned constituted the final indignity for the prisoner who sees this while he is slowly, helplessly, and painfully dying.

John sees this as a fulfillment of Psalm 22:18, the same psalm quoted in the Synoptic Gospels but at a different point: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me” (Psalm 22:1). Evidently, this psalm played a major role in the early church’s understanding of the mission and ministry of Jesus. Moreover, while the fulfillment of Scripture has been primarily associated with Matthew’s Gospel, this reference tells us that fulfillment of the Old Testament was important in early Christianity beyond Matthew’s church.

Reflections on John 19:25-27

In this section, Jesus shows concern for his mother. In first century Judaism, a woman was considered the ward (to put it politely) of her oldest, closest living male adult relative. This usually meant her husband, her father, or her oldest son. In some instances it could mean a grandfather, uncle, brother, or cousin. It was believed that women needed to be protected and have someone to provide for their needs. While there were numerous contradictions to this belief at every level of Roman society, cultural norms often outlive their applicability and/or relevance. This one is no different.

Note the manner in which Jesus addresses his mother, “Woman” (see also John 2:4). This would not have been seen as disrespectful then as it is today. As her oldest adult male relative, Jesus was both her protector and provider and could speak to her in this manner. This is a cultural norm and not a theological one.

John identifies four women at the cross as Jesus dies (slowly). Two are relatives and two are disciples. By being there, they have risked being identified with him and opening themselves to arrest. Their presence connoted their fidelity to, affection for, and piety toward Jesus. The only man mentioned, and presumably present, was the Beloved Disciple. His presence would have connoted the same manner and degree of fidelity, affection, and piety associated with the woman.

If this fact were unclear to any reader, it becomes clear when Jesus says to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” And he says to the Beloved Disciple, “Behold, your mother!” Jesus empowers the Beloved Disciple to take his place as the senior son, the provider and protector of his mother from that moment on. To the original readers this would have been a powerful sign that the Beloved Disciple was “the man,” the true successor to Jesus not only in Jesus’ biological family but also in the family of faith, Christianity.

The Beloved Disciple’s closeness to Jesus was probably in dispute in some early Christian circles because he was not a biological relative. Also, we should note that he was never called an apostle in the Gospel of John. This scene would have conveyed that even without those credentials he was Jesus’ most dear confident and colleague and, more importantly, that the Beloved Disciple has passed on to his group of early Christians a true, valid Jesus-tradition.

In turn, this would have been a tremendous boost to Johannine Christianity in succeeding generations. They could point to the closeness between Jesus and the Beloved Disciple as proof of their religious propriety. This would have been important as Johannine Christianity encountered other Christian traditions that were not exactly like their own, for example, law-abiding Matthean and Lukan Christian movements and law-free Pauline Christianity.

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not also mention the very human element in this scene: Jesus loved his mother so much that as he was dying he asked a worthy friend to take care of her for him.

Reflections on John 19:28-30

Again we note the fulfillment of Scripture identified by the fourth evangelist (Psalm 69:21). These fulfillment-references in this section are generally consistent with their original contexts, but they also indicate that the Crucifixion was not an expected event and the early church sought Scripture for explanations. (During the first Christian century, the collections considered Scripture by most Jewish Christians were probably the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.)

Jesus suffers another indignity: he asks for water and the soldiers give sour wine to a man dying a slow, painful, and dehydrating death. Compassion clearly was on vacation. The means of grace received no grace.

Jesus then announces that his mission has been completed and he breathes his last and dies. His hour has come. He accepts it. He moves on to the next stage. Jesus provides a good example for all sorts of transitions. We need to accept when it is time to move on and do so. All around us we see examples of people who need to retire or who need to step aside at church so that someone else might have the joy of serving. Or we see parents who still want to govern the affairs of their adult children or, worse, their adult grandchildren! Clearly, they need to recognize what time it is and govern themselves accordingly.

When Michael Jordan was voted into the NBA Hall of Fame, his comments were that now he knew that there could not be a comeback to play in the NBA. How sad that when one lives so completely in the past that one cannot enjoy the present. In turn, one cancels out the future. Without the death, there is no Easter and its glory. As with Jesus, unless our pasts die in some way, our futures cannot be born.

John Wesley’s Notes-Commentary for

John 19:23-30

Verse 23

[23] Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

The vesture — The upper garment.

Verse 24

[24] They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

They parted my garments among them — No circumstance of David's life bore any resemblance to this, or to several other passages in the 22d Psalm. So that in this scripture, as in some others, the prophet seems to have been thrown into a preternatural ecstacy, wherein, personating the Messiah, he spoke barely what the Spirit dictated, without any regard to himself. Psalms 22:18.

Verse 25

[25] Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

His mother's sister — But we do not read she had any brother. She was her father's heir, and as such transmitted the right of the kingdom of David to Jesus: Mary, the wife of Cleopas - Called likewise Alpheus, the father, as Mary was the mother of James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas.

Verse 27

[27] Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Behold thy mother — To whom thou art now to perform the part of a son in my place, a peculiar honour which Christ conferred on him.

From that hour — From the time of our Lord's death.

Verse 29

[29] Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.

A stalk of hyssop — Which in those countries grows exceeding large and strong. Psalms 69:21.

Verse 30

[30] When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

It is finished — My suffering: the purchase of man's redemption.

He delivered up his spirit — To God, Matthew 27:50.

Psalm 26:3

Verse 3

[3] For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

For — I dare appeal to thee, because thou knowest I have a deep sense of thy loving-kindness, by which I have been led to love and obey thee.

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