John 7

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

John 7

⁴⁹ This rabble knows nothing about the Law -- they are damned.'

I - I...wow, let's hear that one again with a bit of context.  Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for the festival when the Pharisees are already plotting to kill him and publicly teaches, shutting them down at every turn.  They send guards to arrest him, and they come back empty handed, impressed by Jesus's teaching and speaking.

The response of the Pharisees is that since none of THEM believe Jesus, and no one else counts, it cannot be true!

⁴⁹ This rabble knows nothing about the Law -- they are damned.'

Doesn't it just...feel like every political discussion you've ever had with a member of the tea party?  Doesn't it just feel like how liberals talk about Republicans?  Doesn't it just sound like...

Every religion who thinks that most of God's creatures are damned?  For not being like them?

Doesn't it just hurt your heart?

Earlier in the chapter they are amazed and demanding to know who taught Jesus to read.  And I am thanking the Lord God for the inspiration of Guttenberg and his printing press because the vast majority of human history is just - why?  Why restrict knowledge, particularly if you think it is necessary for salvation?

I mean, I know why.  I know why political parties snipe.  I'm not actually confused by how the world works.

It just seems to indefensible.  It just seems to impossible.  It just seems like something we should have invented a way to live without before we threw all our energy into smart phones.