Love one another! The Holy Week message

We are in the midst of what Christians call Holy Week. It begins with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and concludes with his resurrection from the dead. All four gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, give major space to the activities of that week. About half of the John gospel is given to that one week.

The John gospel was the last written of the gospels and is quite different from the other three. It was written at least three generations after the death of Jesus. It carries almost none of the material that is found in the three other gospel stories. Most scholars agree that very little of historical value is found in the John gospel. They accept the John gospel as creative fiction. If the serious reader wants to know what happened to Jesus during that last fateful week, she/he should read Matthew, Mark and Luke, not John.

The John gospel gives us a thoughtful look into what Christian Faith had become in the early second century C.E. Tradition says that this special piece of writing was authored by John, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus. In fact, by the time the John gospel was written, John the disciple was dead and the author remains unknown. The John gospel may well have been written by someone named John since John was a very common name, as it is yet today. Whoever the author, he certainly was a brilliant writer who could tell compelling stories and put profound words into the mouth of Jesus.

In chapter 15, Jesus is reported as teaching his disciples with a knowledge that his death was close at hand. Jesus is quoted as saying, “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” What was the author of John saying about the death of Jesus?

In theological circles, there is currently a great deal that is being said about the meaning of the death of Jesus. Rob Bell’s recent book “Love Wins” has brought the subject to a sharp focus. According to traditional Christian theology, Jesus died as a sacrifice for sin. His sacrificial death was somehow required by a just God in order that the sins of the world could be forgiven. For many people, this understanding of the death of Jesus presents a stern, demanding God rather than a loving heavenly father who embraces all of humankind out of boundless love. In his book, Bell argues that the two images of God (demanding tyrant God and a loving God) are so incompatible, that a choice must be made. Bell argues that there can be only one conclusion: “Love Wins!”

In fact, among early Christians, there was no commonly accepted meaning and understanding of the death of Jesus. In the Old Testament, priests lay out a sacrificial system in which animals were sacrificed for the sins of the people. Solomon built a great temple in which the sacrificial system was carried out. In Latinized Christianity, following the Old Testament sacrificial system, the cross became an altar on which Jesus became a sacrificial lamb. Old Testament prophets protested the system. So also did Jesus. And now many thoughtful Christians, led by Rob Bell, are protesting an unacceptable understanding of the cross.

The crucifixion of Jesus took place because he was charged with insurrection. His call for the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth was interpreted as calling for the overthrow of the Roman rulers. This is history with good support research. It was centuries later that the Latin interpretation took over the church’s understanding of what happened on that first “good Friday.” According to the Latinized version, Jesus died for the sins of the world to appease an upset God. John’s interpretation was different and was a commonly held interpretation in the early second century C.E. Stated simply, according to the John writer, Jesus died a martyr’s death on behalf of his friends in protest against a corrupt political and religious system. Jesus willingly died because he loved his friends.

There is another notable insight found in John 15. Jesus is quoted as saying, “No longer will I call you servants, but rather I call you friends.” In a bold move, the John writer wipes out the master/servant relationship between Jesus and his disciples and makes it into a friendship so close that Jesus would gladly die for them. In the passage, Jesus is prompted to call his disciples “friends” four times. No other place in the four gospels are the disciples called “friends” of Jesus.

This passage found in John’s gospel gives us a whole new insight into the meaning of Holy Week and its celebrations. Holy Week does not find its most profound meaning in a sacrificial system that is demanded by an upset God. Holy Week is a time to celebrate a friendship with Jesus, special son of a loving God, that is so profound that Jesus is willing to die for the just causes of his friends.

May we all be blessed by the special friendship of Jesus. That is what makes the week holy.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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