Series: Lord of Lent
The Crucified King
John 12:12-27; 19:16b-22, NRSV
Reflections
And when the story does turn the world upside down, or the order of nature anyway, by telling us that Jesus lives again, it isn’t suggesting that he didn’t really die, or that we won’t really die. The happy ending makes a promise sized to the utmost extent of our darkest convictions. It says “Yes, and …” to tragedy. It promises, bizarrely enough, that love is stronger than death. But it does not promise that death is imaginary, that death is avoidable, that death is temporary. To have death, this once, be reversed is to let us feel the depth of our ordinary loss in it, not to pretend it away. Some people ask nowadays what kind of a religion it is that chooses an instrument of torture for its symbol, as if the cross on churches must represent some kind of endorsement. The answer is: one that takes the existence of suffering seriously.
— Francis Spufford
Unapologetic
- Language of Hanukkah being used:
- Symbols of Palm tree, Judah the Hammer, Hosanna (deliver, save in Hebrew)
- But it’s a bit bizarre since it is Passover, not Hanukkah
- Bringing Lazarus back from death created the buzz, that Jesus has power over death
- God is “For” you, lets your re-frame your life, your troubles, re-frame your future
- “All will be well”
- Enthronement – John’s writing focus on Jesus’ Enthronement, not the suffering, not like the movie Passion of Christ
- A Swiss Theologian Karl Barth: Conflict is between faithfulness of God and unfaithfulness of Man
- Jesus comes down to bring the two together
- v16 – disciples didn’t understand at first, but remember after
