Have you seen the Brooklyn Museum’s collection called “The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ (La Vie de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ)” by French painter J. James Tissot (1836-1902)?
Tissot combined the stories he read in the Biblical Gospels with the contours of the land and the experiences of people he observed while traveling in Israel in the late 1800s (before cars, elevators, and other mechanizations began to change the landscape).
By studying the context of land and customs, Tissot desired to present the scenes with increased historical authenticity. Tissot’s 350 paintings provide a vista of Jesus’ experience.
I share Tissot’s impulse — to provide the contours of experience. To explore the physical and social setting of Jesus’ life impacts his story.
At a glance, it’s easy to paint Jesus as kind or patient while teaching attentive crowds on a quiet hillside. It’s even easier when — in extreme cases — he bends the rules and walks on water.
But is Jesus as kind and patient when stuck in holiday traffic? Or when walking through water on the way to Jerusalem?
What happened to the arrest warrant issued by the religious authorities during the Feast of Huts? After the feast, Jesus left Jerusalem. The guards did not stop him.
There are several reasons, political in nature, why the religious authorities would assume a wait-and-see posture toward Jesus.
First, the gentle balance of power with the Roman governor moderated action. While Rome delegated authority particularly within the temple courtyards, the rulers were still subject to Roman rule.
Second, the guards had to own the arrest. As they listened to Jesus, they were unconvinced that he was a threat (Jn 7:46). Arrest might upset the zealous among the feast crowds — a constant threat.
Third, members of the ruling court encouraged caution (Jn 7:51). The gentle balance of power necessitated time to assess whether Jesus’ threat-level would grow or fade.
Finally, Jesus himself said that he was going somewhere that they could not follow (Jn 7:33-34). That statement alone could have diffused the situation as the rulers waited for Jesus to leave the country.
Conflict looms over Jesus’ experience, yet in Jesus’ actions we do not observe the hesitancy of someone looking over his shoulder. Instead, we observe calm resolution (Proverbs 28:1).
Piecing together Jesus’ experience in the SpendaYearwithJesus timeline is a challenge — getting to know the characters, grappling with the setting and producing a set of plot options true-to-life.
Major principles like no shortcuts, religious conflict, and friendship frame Jesus’ experience. Cues from the Gospel stories help fill in the gaps.
There are two important dynamics shaping the winter story-line.
The first dynamic is the development of Jesus’ friendship with Lazarus. However we tell the story it needs to account for the development of friendship between two first-century men.
The second is the aborted arrest order of the Jerusalem religious rulers at the Fall Feast. The winter tension in John 10 resumes the explosive fall tension recorded in John 7-9.
Jesus’ pattern was to engage and withdrawal, so withdrawal in between the tensions and after is logical based on the cues.
To be sure, the winter story-line is one of tension to the end.
Connect with Jesus’ experience.
Can we get closer to the reality that Jesus lived by telling Jesus’ story in space and time?
Let’s take the events recorded in John 9, for example. Jesus put mud on a blind man’s eyes and told him to wash at a pool, on Sabbath. The man washed his eyes and regained his sight right there at the pool (9:11, 14). Conflict followed.
Here are some observations from the scene.
- Space: The south-city pool was some distance from the place where the man met and left Jesus (9:7). The man only heard Jesus’ voice. He never saw Jesus. This was not a “seen” healing, so to speak.
- Time: The man’s neighbors brought him to the Pharisees (9:13). An inquisition on Sabbath? Most likely no, since the Pharisees would be working and thus breaking the law. At least a day passed between 9:12 and 9:13.
- Back Story: The blind man’s parents knew that the religious leaders had already decided to reject Jesus’ followers (9:22). While the leaders’ conversation and decision is not recorded, the account assumes it happened.
- Back Story Time: Enough time had passed since the leaders’ decision to reject Jesus that a random couple in Jerusalem had learned of the ruling.
In twenty-first century time (or perception), decisions are made and communicated in the time it takes breaking news to interrupt regular broadcasting. At first glance, the action in John 9 takes place continuously and many readers presume over a single day.
The SpendaYearwithJesus experience aligns with Jesus’ experience at first-century speed, to unpack space and time as a part of the experience of getting to know Jesus more deeply.
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Jesus’ experience is like ours. Some days pass quickly without much notice, but other days are filled with pivotal experiences.
Today’s events in the withJesus storyline are from the first part of John 9 and from Genesis 1. The yearly Torah-reading schedule reboots today and begins anew in Genesis 1.
Today (in the storyline) we encounter three great themes in Jesus’ story:
- Torah (aka Moses’ Law)
- Healing activity
- Sabbath
Torah regulated Jesus’ thought and action. And today, the yearly reading of the Torah begins anew. “In the beginning…”
The focus of John’s Gospel, the healing event, passes quite quickly in the course of the day. The reading from the Hebrew Scriptures may actually have been much more profound for Jesus’ disciples since healing happened more frequently during the year than the annual reading of the creation account.
The final theme, Sabbath, establishes boundaries in Jesus’ and the nation’s schedule. Appropriate Sabbath activity is at the center of the controversy surrounding Jesus’ healing activity.
While today’s activities are pivotal, the story continues tomorrow. Jesus’ experience like ours does not have built-in study guide questions or reflection periods. We live the events and move on, only later realizing their significance.