Friday 24 July 2026

Psalm 84

Background
The conflict in chapter 8 of John's Gospel culminates with a direct confrontation between the Jews and Jesus. Harsh accusations are made. Jesus is called a Samaritan, a group seen as outcasts who worship other gods (2 Kings 17:29-41) and he is also called demon possessed. Jesus’ response is to say that he honours his father (God). At the end of the passage those listening to Jesus catch the meaning of his "I am" statement. (v. 58) Their response is to pick up stones to execute him.

The violence of the language in chapter 8 and elsewhere in John's Gospel must been seen in context. It was written around 75-80 AD, shortly after the Roman army destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. It is important to remember that these arguments are between Jews, and this is like a family dispute. In contrast to John’s Gospel, the gospels of Mathew, Mark and Luke (the synoptic gospels) almost always make clear that Jesus’ conflicts are with specific groups of people, eg the Chief Priests, Sadducees or Pharisees. However, in John's Gospel there is no distinction. The term 'the Jews' is used and it’s hard to know whether John is always referring to Jesus' conflicts with the Jewish leadership or to conflict at the time John’s Gospel was written, or both.

Before the destruction of the Temple, some Jewish Christians combined Christian and Jewish worship practices (Acts 2:46-47). After the Temple fell everything changed. The Sadducees who had led worship in the Temple lost their power and the Pharisees who were responsible for interpreting and teaching scripture became custodians of Jewish religious life, in particular through the synagogue. The conflicts in John's Gospel (and also Matthew 23) suggest an intensification of conflict between Jewish Christian and synagogue-based Judaism after the destruction of the Temple (see for example John 9:22).

Reading John's Gospel in the 21st century, it is very important not to remove Jesus’ words from the context of the inter-Jewish tumult of the first century AD and use them as a guide for another time. John’s references to ‘the Jews’ must be read critically and with full sensitivity to the danger of their misuse when taken out of their original context.

To Ponder:

• What is your approach to reading the Bible, especially the ‘difficult bits’?
• On what occasion(s) can you recall failing to recognise God at work?

Prayer
Forgive me God
When I pick up stones
When I throw stones
Teach me to lay the stones down
And seek peace. Amen

Bible notes author: Dr Tom Lunt
Dr Tom Lunt is a Methodist local preacher, prison chaplain and lecturer. He lives with his wife Liz in East Sussex.