Scoring an own goal
Who is Jesus? part 5 – John 4:25-26
I skipped over this one; it would break the chain of thought I was on. This is another example of the evangelist John’s sense of humour.
25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
John 4:25-26
There is a structure to chapters 2 to 4. They are one big chiasmus. Chiasm, meaning crossing over, is a poetic form used in nearly all Psalms and is a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence. Where there is a central section, here marked X, that is usually the focus of the poem.
A. John 2:1-11 Miracle at Cana – Water into wine.
B. 2:12-22 Temple cleansed – new Temple of his body.
C. 2:23-3:13 We must be born from above.
X. 3:14-21 God so loved the world that He gave His Son.
C’. 3:22-4:3 Christ comes from above.
B’. 4:4-46 Temple to be replaced by a new place of worship.
A’. 4:46-54 Miracle at Cana – healing of a nobleman’s son.
Does the Bible have jokes? Some people take it so seriously that they say no. I wonder how they’d react in Heaven when they ask Saint Paul about their beliefs, only to hear, “I was joking.” Yes, Paul used sarcasm, but do we recognise all those instances?
We are focusing on the Gospel of John, not Paul. I will quote a theologian and New Testament scholar known for his expertise on Paul. In his commentary on John Chapter 4, Bishop N. T. Wright states:
“‘One day the Messiah will come,’ she says brightly. ‘Why don’t we wait till then? He’ll make it all clear.’ That is, of course, the equivalent of a football player kicking the ball enthusiastically towards his own net, without realising that the goalkeeper isn’t there. ‘That’s me,’ says Jesus.
The answer to a question we find it impossible to answer, Jesus pops up and says, ‘That’s me.'”
This is the second time she has changed the subject, and each time it’s a mistake. (I depicted her as a footballer because of the picture above, and to celebrate England being the European Ladies’ Champions.)
Like this woman, we should expect humour in our encounters with Jesus. In our personal problems, he pops up in the most unlikely places.
I’m approaching 20 years of being disabled. After the accident, I faced victim-blaming in church. People would say things like, “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” without realising the harm they caused. Another comment was, “When you feel far from God, guess who has moved?” But it wasn’t sin; it was depression, and I needed help. Only one person in the congregation showed me kindness. I felt trapped in dark times, but then I discovered that Jesus was with me, even in the places no one had thought to suggest.
I’m still disabled, but Jesus is with me in the pain. He pops up in places you would not expect.
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Making an ass of myself 