From: David L. Moore (dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Mon Jun 22 1998 - 12:02:10 EDT
At 10:08 AM 6/21/98 -0700, George Blaisdell wrote:
>Jeffrey B. Gibson wrote:
>>
>> We may have at hand a solution to the meaning of EDAKRUSEN hO IHSOUS in
>> Jn 11:35 if we take Mk 8:12 to be a formal and material parallel to Jn
>> 11:35. In Mk 8:12 Jesus also gives vent to strong emotion when put to
>> the test by those who seek from him an SHMEION APO TOU OURANOU. He
>> groans deeply in his spirit (ANASTENACAS TWi PNEUMATI AUTOU). As I
>> argued in an article in JTS, where I examined all of the pre- 100 CE
>> instances of the use of ANASTENAZW and cognates both with a verb of
>> speaking as well as absolutely, the significance of this action is to
>> express not idignation, but distress and dismay, ...
>
>Nice work, Jeff ~
>
>John has this habit of leaving things locked in enigma ~ Almost as if
>enigma itself is a part of his teaching, and perhaps is even an 'entry
>point' into Christ. Distress and dismay can indeed 'fit' this
>passage, and the other thing that occurs to me, that has not been
>mentioned, is that perhaps Jesus weeps for the loss of the 'old'
>Lazarus, and is in effect joining the other mourners, but with a
>profoundly different perspective, in that he sees and knows the 'new'
>Lazarus that will emerge... Who imo is the author of this work...
>
>Just another possible take on this one...
For those of us who take this incident as historically real, John may have
been simply reporting a detail of what took place that day. That it
remains something of an enigma should not surprise us. Jesus was often
enigmatic even to his closest disciples.
Having said that, let me venture a guess as to its meaning along with
others who have done so. Since Jesus' weeping follows the exchange, "Where
have you laid him?" and the mourners answered "come and see," I tend to
think His weeping had to do with an emotionally flooding experience of the
human condition in the face of death of a loved one -- a sudden experience
of how impotent mortals are against this powerful enemy whom Jesus had come
to conquer and finally to destroy.
David Moore
David L. Moore
Miami, Florida, USA
E-mail: dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com
Home Page: http://members.aol.com/dvdmoore
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