A brief thought about reading the Bible

Far too often I assume that I already know what the Bible is going to say. After all, I’ve known these stories since I was a kid, I’ve read them and studied them as an adult, I’ve taught these passages to others. This is particularly true of the gospels.

So imagine my surprise at being surprised on reading John 18:15-16 and seeing that John “was known to the high priest.”

MIND BLOWN!

How was this a detail I had never noticed before?! It’s part of one of the most famous passages in the Bible! I am frequently too confident in my own abilities as a Bible student to actually see what is in the text. Shame on me that I still have this attitude. But also praise God who is still able to surprise me with the glories of his word and his plan!

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For those of you who are interested in this detail I discovered for myself: let’s do a little bit of unpacking.

• The unnamed disciple is probably John who tends to obscure his involvement in the story (See John 19:26) and also turn up with Peter before all the other disciples (See John 20:3).

• How was this disciple known to the high priest? Well it’s not 100% clear if the high priest refferred to here is Caiaphas, who was currently serving in the role, or Annas, ex-high-priest and current father-in-law-to-the-high-priest. Either way it’s likely that he’d be known to both, whichever is particularly intended here. It’s unlikely that their lives crossed at work - I can’t see either Annas or Caiaphas buying their own fish - ad they probably weren’t chummy not least because Jesus and John are besties and the high priest is has been trying for a while to kill Jesus. They could be related; there is at least one John in the family (Acts 4:6) and names tended to be passed down. But that would make it strange that Luke doesn’t mention this while John and Peter (together again) are on trial in that chapter. Although it would make it super awkward if they were!

• Why does it matter? It’s not a big deal in the story but it does shed light on why John would include different details in his account. For instance it is only John who knows that Peter cuts off Malchus’ ear, no-one else knows his name but they do know that he’s a servant of the high priest. It also might explain why no-one challenges John as being a disciple of Jesus in the way that they do Peter. He’s known to them in a different context and might even enjoy some privilege there - after all they let a stranger in on his word.

I love the little details in the Bible, and I’m so glad that the Spirit included them. They humble me, allow me to see the reality of te events and people in the Bible and they glorify the God who pays attention to every little detail of our world.

Thoughts on bridging the gaps

It is a weird and unusual time at the moment…

First, there was the global pandemic and lockdown. Churches shut their doors, we couldn’t visit friends or family, going outside was discouraged. For me personally this hit in a strange place - we’d moved to a new country only a couple of months before (and had only briefly visited home from a different continent) so talking to family and friends solely by video call was not a new experience. I’m also an introvert who doesn’t like people touching me, so a limited social calendar and a reason not to hug made it seem like the world had been recreated to my own personal preferences. However, we’d only been here for two months and were just starting to feel like people from our church, our building and our language course were becoming friends rather than ‘people we knew’ and that was tough to navigate as our opportunities for bumping into people or getting to know them better vanished.

Then there is the belated and necessary uptake of interest in the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s meant that many of us are finally questioning the systems in which we live, how they need changing and what we can do to help, particularly in regards to race. It has probably made us all way more aware of our bubbles, our tendency to listen to people who are closer to us on any spectrum: racial, policitcal, age, even denominational.

There’s nothing new in what I’ve said here: any thoughtful commentary on our times is expressing the same things, and often doing that better.

But I was uploading a Sunday School lesson today that spoke to me particularly at this moment. John 4:1-42, Jesus talks to a Samaritan Woman at the Well.

It struck me anew how far out of his way Jesus goes to reach past the barriers that separate them from each other. He didn’t even need to be in Samaria in the first place! If I’m becoming more like Jesus, as I want to, I have to do all that I can to understand and to reach out to those who are different from me.

One of the ways I’ve looked at changing how I think, especially in seeking to understand, is by consuming content from people who are not like me. I’ve deliberately begun to seek out youtube channels, books, blogs and music from POC’s and not just those in the West. Not just on the topic of race or age or ability but on things I enjoy and have in common with them. I’ve also been educating myself on how systemic racism manifests in Britain in particular as that’s where I’m from. And thinking about where the money we donate goes in terms of supporting worldwide mission and aid agencies but also looking out for a tendancy to white saviourism.

I’m not going to make specific recommendations here as what you and I enjoy and are interested in will not be the same. But do check out my previous blog posts 5 Black Christians You Should Know and 5 Organisations Every Christian Should Know if you would like a place to start.