Jesus is resurrection and life.

John 11.17-27.

Lazarus’s sisters Martha and Mary come up elsewhere in the gospels. It’s in a story where Mary sits at Jesus’s feet during a lesson, which was not appropriate for women in their sexist culture, and Martha tells Jesus to shoo her away and make Mary help her. But Jesus tells Martha to leave her be; that’s exactly where Mary belongs. Lk 10.38-42 As a result Christians have preached many a sermon where Martha’s the bad example, and Mary’s the good.

Although they don’t always realize why Mary’s the good. Often these sermons only talk about Mary worshiping at Jesus’s feet—as if Mary was only fangirling over Jesus while he was at the serious business of training apostles. That’s not how rabbinic lessons worked. The rabbi makes a statement; the students challenge the statement based on their bible knowledge; the rabbi defends his statement based on his bible knowledge. Those at the rabbi’s feet actively participated in this. Meaning Mary was challenging Jesus, quoting bible, and showing an intellectual capacity that impressed Jesus so much he wanted her there. Valued her there.

Generally the lessons go: Martha frets about so many things which are ultimately irrelevant, but Mary sits at Jesus’s feet. Let’s all be like Mary. Martha bad, Mary good. But no, Martha wasn’t bad—she just didn’t realize she likewise had the right to sit at the Lord’s feet, same as Mary, and learn from Jesus, instead of doing busywork like her culture expected her to.

Anyway, by the time Lazarus died, Martha apparently had learned from Jesus, ’cause she makes some of the more profound faith statements in the bible. Her faith didn’t go heave-ho after her brother died, like we see in so many people; it was strong as ever. When she met with Jesus, she didn’t scream at him about not being there to save Lazarus, as some of the lousier Jesus movies depict her. She still trusts him. She knows the Father listens to him; she still believes he can do something. She still calls him Christ, God’s son.

John 11.17-27 KWL

17So, on arriving, Jesus finds Lazarus

is already four days in the sepulcher.

18Bethany is near Jerusalem;

like 15 stadia. [2⅓ km]

19Many of the Judeans came to Martha and Mary

so they might comfort them about their brother.

20So Martha, once she hears Jesus arrives, meets him.

Mary is sitting in the house.

21So Martha says to Jesus, “Master, if you were here,

my brother never would have died.

22[But] I now know whatever you¹ ask God,

God will give you.¹”

23Jesus tells her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24Martha tells him, “I know he’ll rise—

in the resurrection, on the last day.”

25Jesus tells her, “I’m the resurrection.

I’m life.

One who trusts in me, if they¹ die, will live.

26And everyone who lives and trusts in me

ought never, ever die in the age to come.

Do you¹ believe this?”

27Martha tells him, “Yes, Master.

I’ve believed you’re¹ the Christ,

God’s son coming into the world.”

Other Christians despair at their great losses, yet Martha still totally trusts Jesus. That’s huge. Let’s all be like Martha.

God is truth. So watch out for false gods.

1 John 5.18-21.

The way John’s first letter often wraps up—both in English translations, and some Greek New Testaments—is there’s a paragraph where John discusses the stuff οἴδαμεν/ídamen, “we knew,” “we have known,” or “we already know”; three verses, 18-20, which all start with ídamen. Then the last verse, 21, is a made a whole separate paragraph: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” 1Jn 5.21 KJV

Someone in my college Greek class pointed out this makes it sound like John was about to go into a whole new discussion, beginning with verse 21… and then he just stopped. Fell asleep while dictating, got interrupted by a young Christian with a question, had to duck out of the house because the Romans had come a-persecuting, or a page was torn off the original papyrus 1 John was written on. It looks like this was an unfinished letter.

True, it kinda does look unfinished. Most letters end with some form of farewell; usually “Everybody says hi; I look forward to seeing you again; God bless you; amen.” 1 John does not, and maybe it is an unfinished letter.

Then again, maybe John occasionally dropped things when he was done. Like he did in his gospel. It doesn’t end with “Then they preached the gospel everywhere, the Lord being with them; amen” like the Long Ending of Mark kinda does. It’s just, “Jesus did many other things, and if they were all written down the world couldn’t hold all the books.” Jn 21.25 And he’s done. There’s not even an Amen at the end, although later Christians added one, ’cause they figured it just doesn’t look right without an Amen. They did the very same thing to 1 John.

Anyway, I’m not sure John was beginning a new idea with verse 21. I think it fits just fine with the ideas in this paragraph. We already know this and that; God wants us to know the truth; now stay away from what’s false.

Or as John puts it:

1 John 5.18-21 KWL

18We already know everyone who was begotten by God

doesn’t sin.

Instead one who’s begotten by God

keeps one’s own,

and evil doesn’t touch them.¹

19We already know we’re from God,

and the whole world lies down for evil.

20We already know God’s son is present,

and gave us understanding

so we might know the truth,

and we’re in the truth,

in his son Christ Jesus.

This is the true God,

and life in the age to come.

21Children, guard yourselves²

from false gods. {Amen.}

Praying for capital and non-capital sins.

1 John 5.16-17.

In going through the Law of Moses, you’re going to notice a few of the sins listed in there are capital crimes; capital meaning “liable to the death penalty.” If an ancient Israeli committed any of those sins, the city’s judges were authorized to sentence them to death. Most of American society figures murder, rape, and treason are the only capital crimes, although way too many of us are pretty murdery and have no problem with killing people for simply being in the wrong neighborhood. Or being the wrong color.

Some years ago I read an English translation of the Septuagint. The bit which in the KJV is translated “that soul shall be cut off from his people,” Ge 17.14, Lv 7.20, Nu 15.30 which we usually interpret to mean ostracizing them from society or banishment, got translated, “that soul shall be utterly destroyed from among his people”—emphasis mine. That certainly doesn’t mean banishment; that means death. I checked the original languages, and yep, the Greek says ἀπολεῖται/apoleíti, “will be destroyed.” But the Hebrew has נִכְרְתָ֛ה/nikhrétha, “must be cut off,” which doesn’t necessarily mean death; it can mean, as we usually mean, banishment. Considering how excessive death appears to be for these crimes, you can see why most of us think it only means banishment.

But clearly the ancient Jews who translated the Septuagint disagreed. They regularly interpreted “cut off” to mean death—which means they saw far more sins as capital crimes. So… having sex with a woman on her period was a capital crime. Lv 20.18 Skipping Passover would be a capital crime. Nu 9.13 Yikes. Good thing the Romans didn’t let the Judeans practice the death penalty!

Because of injustice—like the obvious injustice of Christ Jesus getting sentenced to death and crucified—a number of Christians believe there shouldn’t be any death penalty; our governments clearly can’t be trusted to apply it fairly. Roman Catholics, Quakers, and Anabaptists are decidedly against it. Other sects of Christendom have no problem with it, and their members gleefully reflect the popular culture’s attitudes about executing criminals.

Me, I believe some crimes certainly merit the death penalty… but I also firmly believe in grace, and believe it’s wholly inappropriate to execute a repentant sinner who wants to try to make restitution for their crimes. And I likewise don’t trust the government to execute people fairly. Time and again, people have been found to be falsely accused, unjustly imprisoned, and sometimes unjustly executed. There should be fewer executions, not more. But because of the many bloodthirsty Christianists in this country, some states are most definitely pushing for more.

But enough about them. The apostle John lived in the Roman Empire, where the death penalty was regularly enacted by the Romans. Beheading for their citizens; crucifixion for everyone else. Hence Paul was beheaded and Simon Peter crucified during the Neronian persecution (64–68CE). John himself was exiled, which is how he ended up on Patmos, having visions of the End. Rv 1.9 Their crime, of course, was being Christian; the Romans considered “disturbing the peace” a capital crime, and anything could be labeled “disturbing the peace” if they so chose.

I bring up capital crimes because John brings up capital crimes in today’s passages. Or, as he puts it, an ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον/amartía pros thánaton, “sin unto death.” Roman Catholics have extrapolated this verse into their idea of deadly sins, but no, John is not talking about lechery, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy, and pride. He’s talking about sins where the legal consequence is the death penalty.

And, in context, he’s talking about boldness in prayer—in being able to come to our Father with our requests, and knowing our Father hears us. And in this passage, fellow Christians whom they can pray for. If they’re committing non-capital sins, go ahead and pray for them. If they’re committing capital sins… well, John’s not talking about that today. I’ll quote him, shall I?

1 John 5.16-17 KWL

16When anyone sees their¹ fellow Christian

sinning a non-capital sin,

one will ask

and God will give them¹ life—

to the one sinning a non-capital sin.

There is such a thing as capital sin;

I don’t say one should pray about that.

17Everything unjust is sin,

and sin which isn’t capital.

Boldness in prayer. ’Cause God’s listening.

1 John 5.13-15.

We Christians can get mighty bold when we approach God. As we should; we’re his kids, and our relationship with him is not a dysfunctional one, where every prayer request has some sort of quid-pro-quo God expects of us in return. True, it can definitely be dysfunctional on our part, where we’ll take God’s grace for granted. And some of us might think God does expect to make some deal with us before he’ll grant requests. But really, none of the dysfunction comes from God’s side. We’re encouraged to “come boldly unto the throne of grace,” He 4.16 and ask God for anything.

And one of the reasons John wrote his first letter was to remind his readers of this:

1 John 5.13-15 KWL

13I write you² these things

so you² might fully know

you² have life in the age to come,

granted to believers

in the name of God’s son.

14This is the boldness we have towards God:

When any of us ask according to his will,

he hears us.

15And when we know God hears us,

whatever we might ask him,

we fully know we have

the request which we asked of him.

The word παρρησία/parrisía in verse 14 is regularly translated “boldness,” and actually stems from the phrase πάς ῥῆσις/pas rhísis, “every [sort of] speech.” The sense is we Christians are able to say anything to God. Anything. Again, he’s our Father.

I used to shock people from time to time by talking to God as if I’m talking to anyone else; as if I’m talking to my dad. Which he is, after all; it shouldn’t shock people. Yet it does. Too many Christians are only comfortable with approaching God formally—with a built-in social distance between them and him, because he’s holy and they’re not. They don’t realize by adopting us as his kids, God’s made us holy too. We just have to act holy, for once—and stop mixing up solemnity or religiosity with holiness, ’cause that’s not what it means.

Anyway they think God should only be approached in a regal manner, with formal titles; he’s “thee,” not “you.” Lots of self-abasement, lots of special Christianese, lots of effort made to create a gap between us and our Father, and in so doing, undo everything Jesus came to earth to do. Jesus came to bring God near. But if you don’t understand what Jesus is all about, of course you’ll be happy to keep him far.

Witnesses to eternal life through God’s Son.

1 John 5.6-12.

Previously I wrote about the Johannine Comma, the textual variant found in the KJV and in the footnotes of current-day bibles, which inserts the trinity into verse 7. It kinda changes this passage substantially; it makes verses 7-8 read like so:

1 John 5.7-8 KWL

7For three are the witnesses {in heaven:

The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit.

These three are one.

8And three are the witnesses on the earth}:

The Spirit, the water, and the blood.

The three are in the one.

The part in brackets comes from the Textus Receptus, which includes the comma—a clause which wasn’t found in Greek New Testaments until the 1100s. Yep, it was added to the bible in medieval times; John didn’t write it. Doesn’t belong there. Even if it does support the doctrine of the trinity; just because God really is a trinity doesn’t mean the comma should be in our bibles. Especially since the comma interrupts what John’s trying to teach.

In verse 5, John stated, “Who’s the winner over the world, if not one who trusts that Jesus is God’s son?” 1Jn 5.5 KWL Then he states Jesus has come into the world:

1 John 5.6-8 KWL

6This Christ Jesus is the one who comes by water and blood.

Not only by water,

but by water and by blood,

and the Spirit is the witness,

for the Spirit is the truth.

7For three are the witnesses:

8The Spirit, the water, and the blood.

The three are in the one.

Jesus is the one who comes by water and blood; and three are witnesses of this—the water and blood, plus the Holy Spirit. And these three are in the one, i.e. Jesus.

Now, insert the Johannine Comma into the text, and suddenly “the one” in verse 8 doesn’t appear to be referring to Jesus anymore. Now it’s referring to the trinity—“the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one.” John’s trying to make a point about who Jesus is, but the Johannine Comma hijacks his point and makes it about the trinity—and says the Spirit, the water, and the blood testify to the trinity, not to Jesus.

What does water and blood have to do with the Father and the Holy Spirit? They don’t, ’cause neither of these persons of the trinity became human. Only the Word, the Son, the Second Person, became the man Jesus. Only he became incarnate. Only he “comes by water and blood,” which is an ancient euphemism describing childbirth. Jesus didn’t only appear to be human; he is human. Fully human. (And fully divine; I’m not denying that part, but John wants to emphasize Jesus’s humanity here.)

This is why the Johannine Comma doesn’t belong in 1 John. If you love that passage ’cause you can teach the trinity from one verse… well I can understand that; it’s handy. But it’s not what John wrote, and interferes with what John wrote. Teach the trinity from other, legitimate verses. (Jesus is God, Jn 1.1 Jesus’s Father is God, Jn 8.54 the Holy Spirit is God, Ac 5.3-4 and God is One. Dt 6.4) Don’t poke a hole in 1 John just because that verse is so convenient.

Historically, John’s whole water-’n-blood childbirth euphemism went right over Christians’ heads. Still does. So they either assume one of three things:

• It has something to do with the water of Jesus’s baptism and the blood of Jesus’s sacrificial death—the beginning and end of his earthly ministry.
• Or it has to do with the water and blood which poured out of Jesus’s side when the Roman soldier speared him. Jn 19.34
• Or the water refers to the sacrament of water baptism, and the blood refers to the sacrament of holy communion. How, it’s hard to say, but Martin Luther and Jean Calvin really, really liked this interpretation.

But properly, the water and blood testify to Jesus’s humanity. And so does the Holy Spirit, who indwelt Jesus same as he did the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament Christians; who empowered Jesus same as he can the rest of us Christians. These three are witnesses to Jesus’s humanity—the Spirit, the water, and the blood. ’Cause these three were in Jesus. “In the one,” as John put it.

And since the Holy Spirit is God, his witness isn’t a minor witness. It’s hugely important.

The Johannine Comma.

Today I’m gonna discuss a passage which looks very different in different bibles. And it’s not a minor, irrelevant passage; some Christians consider it an important proof text for how God is a trinity. Not that there aren’t other passages in the New Testament which reveal God’s a trinity, but this passage puts it all in one verse, and some Christians are enraged about how they find they can’t find this passage in every present-day translation.

I’ll start by comparing the King James Version with the American Standard Version and the New American Standard Bible. KJV first:

1 John 5.6-8 KJV

6This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

This matches what we find in the Textus Receptus, and the Geneva Bible. But once the Revised Version was produced—and its American edition, the ASV—in those bibles the passage now looked like this.

1 John 5.6-8 ASV

6This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. 7And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 8For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.

Shorter. Y’notice verse 7 in the KJV is gone. It got replaced by the second sentence of verse 6. Now, when the RV was updated by the Revised Standard Version, and the ASV was updated by the NASB, the verses were reshuffled again: Verse 6 was restored, verse 7 was shortened to “For there are three that testify,” verse 8 was shortened to “the Spirit, water, and blood,” etc.

1 John 5.6-8 NASB

6This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

So what’s going on here? Why’d the “Father, Word, and Holy Ghost” get dropped from verse 7? Simply put, John didn’t write it. It was added to the text in the 900s. It’s a textual variant which can’t be supported by serious scholarship.

John didn’t write it, but it’s nonetheless named after him: Scholars call it the Comma Johanneum, or Johannine Comma. No, “comma” doesn’t refer to our punctuation mark; the ancient Greek word κόμμα/kómma means a short clause in a rhetorical argument.

And as I’ve said, it has its fans. Fans who have embraced many foolish theories about why it’s been “edited out of the bible”—complete with conspiracy theories involving liberal theologians, anti-trinitarian textual critics, Satanists, Catholics, and every other boogeyman they fear. I come across such preachers from time to time, and I’d have a little more respect for them if they bothered to quote any of the bible in context. Scholarship just ain’t their thing.

Victory in Jesus… hidden in the Law.

1 John 5.2-5.

In the Council of Jerusalem, Simon Peter got up and rebuked the Pharisees among the Christians—those who insisted before gentiles become Christian, they gotta first become Pharisees, follow the Law of Moses, and undergo ritual circumcision if they’re male.

In his rebuke, he said something which is traditionally translated,

Acts 15.10 NASB

“Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?”

The assumption many Christians make is Peter was speaking of the Law: Yeah, you silly Pharisees, why are you making these gentiles follow the Law to be saved, when the Law never did save anyone?

But in context, that’s not what Peter meant. The “yoke” he meant was Pharisaism. The “traditions of the elders,” the interpretations of the Law which Pharisees upheld—and which Jesus regularly violated—were the yoke both Peter, his parents and grandparents and great-grandparents and a few more generations back, had been obliged to bear. But not too many generations back: Contrary what you might’ve been expecting, Pharisaism wasn’t that old. They claimed they went all the way back to Moses himself, but nah; more like 150BC or so.

Pharisaism is the yoke. Not the Law. Jesus upheld the Law. Y’know how we Christians say Jesus never sinned? He 4.15 Sin is when you transgress the Law. 1Jn 3.4 Jesus never did. He transgressed the heck out of Pharisee traditions, but never the Law. It is, he said, not passing away; not even after heaven and earth do. Mt 5.18 I should quote him more:

Matthew 5.19-20 NASB

19“Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20“For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Christians were always meant to uphold the Law, same as Jesus did. But upholding it before turning to Jesus, as if being Law-abiding facilitates our salvation, is putting the cart before the horse. We’re not saved by following Law, but by following Jesus. We don’t lose our salvation by Law-breaking, by sin. Yep, even great big deadly sins. God saves us by his grace. Nothing else.

But now that we’re saved, now what are we to do? Duh; follow Jesus. And part of following him is doing God’s will. And part of God’s will is obeying his commands. You know, the Law.

1 John 5.2-5 KWL

2This is how we know we love God’s children:

When the we love the Father,

we also do his commands.

3For this the love of God:

We should keep his commands.

His commands aren’t hard!

4Since everyone fathered by God

wins against the world,

this is the win which conquers the world:

Our trust in God.

5Who’s the winner over the world,

if not one who trusts

that Jesus is God’s son?

Obviously plenty of Christians don’t wanna follow the Law, and have come up with every excuse they can to ignore it. And teach others to do the same. Me, I’d recommend we not follow those people who are gonna be the very lowest in God’s kingdom. Stick to Jesus.