Returning to the issue at hand, we hear Martha speaking to Jesus and saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will grant you” (John 11:21-22). In calling Jesus “Lord,” and doing so in the context of this “parousia” of Jesus, Martha has conferred upon Him one of the titles then accorded to Caesar. Much like that which would have been experienced by the emperor, the one that has come out to greet Jesus makes it a point to honor the King and to make comment upon His power. After a brief exchange between Jesus and Martha that serves to outline the basic Jewish hope concerning the resurrection of the dead, “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in Me will never die’.” (11:25-26a) How does Martha respond? Again, making use of imperial titles, “She replied, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God Who comes into the world’.” (11:27)
Now, even though both “Christ” (Messiah) and “Son of God” are both titles for the Jewish king, and are not necessarily meant to connote divinity (as opposed to the appellation of the term “son of god” to the Roman emperor as part of the Caesar cult), we can clearly discover in this yet another appropriation of emperor related language, further reinforcing the fact of the supremacy of the eternal kingdom of God that is being established in Jesus (Son of God), as opposed to the temporal kingdom of Rome that has been established and perpetuated by the Caesar (son of god).
Shortly thereafter, Mary, repeating Martha’s actions, “got up quickly and went to Him (Jesus)” (11:29b). What follows is where we learn that Jesus has not, in fact, entered into Bethany, as we read “Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet Him” (11:30). This information is inserted parenthetically, here in the middle of the story, rather than at the beginning, which is a subtle placement which partially masks the politically subversive nature of the language that is being used surrounding this event that leads up to Jesus’ grand parousia, which is His “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem, which will have all of the explicit earmarks of what would be well-understood as a royal visit (depending on one’s viewpoint) by a Caesar or by Israel’s King. As would be expected from one going out of their city to greet their “Lord Caesar,” upon reaching Jesus, “Mary fell at His feet and said to Him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died’.” (11:32b) Here, Mary echoes Martha, and once again, use is made of an imperial title, as Mary calls Jesus “Lord.”
It was at this point, having been greeted outside the city, having had people fall at His feet, refer to Him as Lord and Son of God and Messiah, and make note of His great power, that Jesus now enters into the village. It seems that the tomb is in the village, or at least adjacent to the village, which would account for the author’s comment that Jesus “had not yet” made His way to the village. We make note of the fact that Mary did not go to Jesus by herself (11:31,33,36), so when Jesus does make His way to the tomb, presumably, it is with a group of people. Since we hear Martha’s voice again when Jesus asks for the stone over the cave to be rolled away, we can also presume that Martha, as one that has bowed at the feet of Jesus and called Him Lord, was one of the people in the procession that made its way to the tomb with Jesus.
With many witnesses, Jesus calls Lazarus forth from the tomb. As a result of this display of life-giving power, many people came to believe in Jesus. We can imagine that many joined with Mary and Martha in calling Him “Lord,” “Christ,” and “Son of God.” This verbal elevation of Jesus to the position reserved for the king of Israel, without approval by Rome, among other things, sparks the Pharisees and chief priests and council to declare “If we allow Him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary and our nation” (11:48). The author wants us to see, along with these men, that Jesus’ actions are intensely political, pointing to the fact and the ways of the coming kingdom of God in which Jesus rules over all kings.
So Jesus was acclaimed by the people for His miraculous work. Most likely, He gained the honor and respect and worship of all in Bethany upon the event of this visit. Figuratively, the whole of the community, upon Lazarus’ return to life, would have bowed at the feet of Jesus. Had Caesar visited Bethany, the response would have been the same. All would have bowed at his feet. The main difference is that when Jesus came, He brought life, and it was the bringing of life that would have induced the authentic worship. While it is true that Caesar would have received worship, in the end, in spite of all the good that he might very well have done or have been able to do for the people, ultimately, men and women would only fall at Caesar’s feet because he demanded it, carrying with him the threat and power of death.
No comments:
Post a Comment