Much has been written, but not nearly enough has been widely disseminated to Christians the world over, about the Gospel of John’s pejorative references to “the Jews.” In a nutshell, it does us no good to think of John’s “Jews” as referring to any and all Jews. Some translations render it as “the Jewish authorities,” to make clear that John is referring to those in power. A broader view of the entire situation shows us that these particular Jewish authorities also represented a persecuted people under the Roman Empire, deeply fearful of losing their status as an acceptable minority group, constantly in danger that the next Caesar would say, “I’ve had enough of these Jews and their peculiar ways,” and resort to genocide to be rid of them.
When I read this passage, I find it helpful to think of “the Jews” as those who are in power in any situation. Those in power tend to want to stay in power. This includes us as Americans, and it also includes any individual who genuinely tries to use power for good causes. Does having power and privilege automatically make us wrong? No, but it should always keep us checking our motives.
—Josh Hosler
No comments:
Post a Comment