| Lectionary - Proper 16 | | Date Created: Aug 25, 2006, 10:22 PM |
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The Gospel reading for this coming Sunday is John 6:56-69.
Is there discouragement there in Jesus' voice? The old KJV renders verse 67 as "Will ye also go away?" But the Greek construction is respresented better by something like the round-about "You do not want to leave too, do you?" (TNIV) The phrasing is such that a "no, we wont" answer is obviously the requested/expected answer, but it's a matter of interpretation as to whether Jesus is expressing optimism that they'll say they're staying (or tell him why they observably are) or whether it's phrased in a way that's asking for reassurance.
And this is one of the mysteries of the Incarnation for me: the possibility of Jesus getting discouraged. We know that although Jesus could often tell what people were thinking without their expressing it, we also know that, while on earth, Jesus gave up divine attributes like omnipresence and omniscience (see Mark 13:32). Is discouragement one of those things that he felt as we do and came through? |
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