Is that testiness in Martha’s voice ( John 11:21)?īoy the Johannine Jesus sure seems to take his sweet time arriving at this tiny village on the southeastern slope on the Mount of Olives! Therefore, it would feel like being spit on. That the folk healer Jesus dawdles when his most attached disciples and sisters suffer greatly, and even miss the funeral, would seem like a slap of shame. Lazarus, likely an unmarried younger man (possibly a teenager? See video “How Healthy was Jesus?” below), likely their younger sibling, was probably their only male support. Check out the pattern below:įellow Dying Inmate / All rights reservedĪgain things are desperately bad for the two women who appear unmarried, Mary and Martha. It starts with a request ( John 11:1-3), then comes a mindboggling reluctance and dawdling from Jesus ( 11:4-6), and finally, he complies and helps ( 11:7-8). This leads to a repeated pattern in the Fourth Gospel. The Johannine Jesus tends to waste time while people get desperate.

Raising the Uncomfortable Topic-Johannine Jesus Dawdles! Consequently, any idea that this community would write out copies of “John” to hand out to strangers on the street is ludicrous.

Instead, like all the New Testament documents, this Gospel was written for insiders well-associated with the tradition. Clearly the document we call “John” was not written for outsiders who are unfamiliar with Jesus.

So many times “John” presupposes that his audience is quite familiar with the story of Jesus. As with every Gospel story, what we are getting here is an updated telling of what is already, by the time of the composition of “John,” an old familiar story. This indicates that the audience knows their stories already, and well. And notice how, just as with Mary, no introductions are provided for either her sister Martha or Lazarus (after God and Jesus, the most important character in this Gospel- John 1:35-40 11:3-5 13:23-25 18:15-16 19:25-27 20:2-10 21:7 21:20-24). See? It’s as if the audience would respond, “ O yeah! Mary of Bethany! But that’s just it: we haven’t yet reached the story where Mary shines ( John 12:1-7). Read carefully John 11:2- Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. It is interesting that the author we call “John” expected his audience to be familiar with this story. Apparently with no surviving parents, these Judaean sisters, with brother dead, just lost any voice they could have and their social security besides! Raising Up a Well Known Johannine Story Lazarus rotting in his tomb is shamed, dishonored-this Beloved Disciple (don’t think John son of Zebedee) is abandoned by Jesus and his fellow followers in his darkest hour? And he is not the only one needing salvation from the shame of death! His sisters Mary and Martha equally need salvation from the sanction of shame. Another example would be when your beloved friends don’t show up at your time of need, or afterward, at your burial-that’s awfully shameful. For instance, a Middle Eastern family is shamed when, throwing a wedding, their neighbors and friends fail to help provide more wine when it runs out (sound familiar, John 2:1-12). Shame in this negative sense happens when others refuse to acknowledge or deny someone’s honor claim. Life at all levels of civilized society disintegrates when people are shamed. To be dishonored (or shamed) is a deadly circumstance. It indicates your emotions are under control, you won’t blow your top and derail social relations into a blood feud (“game over” in the Middle East).īut in the cultural world of the Scriptures, being shamed is terrible. To have shame means to not be shameless-therefore, shame in this sense is positive. Therefore, cultural insights from John Pilch and other Context Group scholars are of great assistance here.ĭespite sounding strange to American ears, in the Mediterranean world of the Bible, having shame is good! Having a sense of shame (i.e., concern for group honor) signifies that you are civilized and that you are committed to your community and its needs. And they most definitely are at work in this Gospel story. Here again is a shorthand overview of the story and its significance:Īlthough unseen by many 21 st century Western Bible readers, concerns for honor and shame very much on display everywhere in Scripture. Consequently, the story granted to them an awareness about reversals, life springing from the grave, joy of reunification emerging from the separation death brings. This final sign spoke volumes to the Johannine Jesus group. So then, according to Johannine thought, the very last public thing Jesus did was restore life to a beloved friend. Raising Lazarus was the final public action of Jesus-at least according to the unknown, anonymous author we call “John” in his theologically constructed narrative.

Bible story raising of lazarus