Red Letters/Black Letters: Day 106: The Gospel of Commentary

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." John 12:32

Part of me would like to just go ahead and focus on the truth of this statement. Part of me would like to just talk about how when Jesus is lifted high people from every tribe and tongue and color and persuasion will recognize the savior of their souls. Unfortunately I find that I can not, because this time, unlike a lot of times, I decided to read a little more of the surrounding passage and found something a tad peculiar, something that in the words of the great Dr. Walter Frouse pricked me. What pricked me was the very next verse.

"This He said, signifying by what death He would die." John 12:33

I have mentioned that I have a less high view of the Gospel of John as opposed to the synoptic gospels, I think of it as a Bible approved super sermon, and this verse is one reason I feel that way. While the other gospels contain clarifying statements they are usually inputted for the original audience's benefit, i.e. explaining Jewish customs to non-Jewish hearers. Here, though, we find commentary, the author of the Gospel of John wants to explain what Jesus means by something he says. 

I feel the author feels the need comment this way because of his need to show a Jesus that is aware of every step along the path. Of course then the question becomes did Jesus know every step along the path? Did Jesus know he was going to die upon a cross? For the latter question, at the very least I think that Jesus would have a pretty good guess how the Roman Empire executed people, and being the great judge of human responses could have probably surmised that the Sanhedrin wouldn't want to kill him themselves. Add those two things together and it is quite possible that Jesus would have had a pretty good guess on how he would go out. 

The former question, the one about foreknowledge... I don't think that Jesus did know every step. Why? 1) Paul in Philippians 2:7 suggests that Jesus let go of some of the power he had before he became human. 2) If Jesus knows every step why does he go to the garden and pray for the cup to pass him by? Because if it was a done deal from the manger, Jesus is just playing to the crowd hundreds and thousands of years later. 3) In Matthew 24 Jesus talks about the fact that he does not know when he will return.

+ How do you view passages like this? Do they drive you crazy? Or do you think I'm crazy for fixating on them?

+ Do you believe that human Jesus was all knowing?