The process and credentials of hospitality (John 5 & 8)

Overview

Hospitality, in 1st century Jewish culture, was a social process by means of which the status of someone who was an outsider was changed from stranger to guest – and potentially to friend or enemy. The process had three stages:

1. Discernment– The testing of the stranger, prior to the invitation of welcome, to see whether incorporation of the stranger as guest was possible without undue threat to the values of the community.  Often, travelers carried with them letters of introduction vouchsafing their honorable conduct as stranger, written by known and respected individuals or authorities within the community, to ensure welcome.
2. Patronage – The extending of welcome and incorporation of the stranger as guest under the protection of the host in accordance with culturally specific codes of obligations (host and guest alike)
3. Evaluation – The final evaluation of the guest, as friend or foe, depending upon whether the guest's behavior truly honored or dishonored the host and welcoming community during his stay.

The role of the host was to welcome, protect, provision, and then patronize, i.e., further introduce the guest into communal life and networks of the community. The role of the guest was to receive, honor, and move along, after an appropriate number of days, as potential future host and friend of both the sponsoring host and community.

 

(1997). Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments. Ralph P. Martins & Peter H. Davids, Eds. Intervarsity Press.

John, Chapters 5 & 8

 

The central question in both John 5 and John 8 is: "Who is Jesus? Friend or Foe to the community?"

In John Chapter 5, Jesus heals an invalid of 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem.  This alone is an astounding miracle!  But, Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, thus the confusion.  (Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, confessed earlier to Jesus, in Chapter 3: "We know that you are teacher from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.")  How can a righteous man break God's law? (Cf. Exodus 20:8-11).  Is Jesus a lawbreaker?  Jesus argues that God, the Father, is constantly at work giving life -- even on the Sabbath.   In John Chapter 8, Jesus forgives a woman caught in adultery, which by law (Leviticus 20:10) required that both the adulterer and adulteress be put to death.  Lay aside, for the moment that the offending man is absent from the scene, and, that under the present occupation only Rome had the authority to put a person to death -- it was an obvious attempt at entrapment of Jesus, i.e., which law would he break, Moses' or Rome's?  Jesus chooses to forgive her sin and does not condemn her.  (Note that Jesus did not condone her action: "from now on go and sin no more.")  Who can forgive sins except God?!  Again, who is Jesus?  In chapter 5, Jesus teaches that the Father has given all judgment to the Son (5:22) and that the Son does nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing (5:19).

Is Jesus a lawbreaker and a blasphemer, or is he the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah?

 

To answer this question, Jesus appeals to five credentials:

1. John the Baptist (1:29-34; 5:32-35)
2. The Father (5:37-38)
3. The Works (5:36), i.e., the works that only God can accomplish
4. The Scriptures (5:39-40)
5. Moses (5:46-47) 

 If the Jews would accept the testimony of these five witnesses, they would gladly welcome Jesus as the Messiah -- but they don't.  Ironically, because they disregard the testimony of their prophets, the scriptures, and God himself, they prove themselves not to be children of God (8:39-59) and seek to kill God's Son, Jesus.  If they would only hear, they would know the truth and be set free (8:31), born again (3:5-6) by the Spirit, to see and enter the kingdom of God.  This theme will be further developed in subsequent chapters of the gospel of John.

 

 Action Point

 

How can we receive and host Jesus today?  After all, he has now ascended into heaven with the promise to come again.  The best answer is from Jesus himself in the gospel of Matthew.  We welcome and host Jesus when we welcome, in his name, the poor, hungry, homeless, oppressed, widowed, and orphaned (cf. Matt. 25:31-46) and protect, provision, and patronize them into the life and faith of our community – especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, in whom the Spirit dwells, the gift of the Father to all who believe in Jesus' name.

 

Personal Story

 

When I was 21 years old, I travelled to then West Germany, in 1981, as a foreign exchange student at a theological school in Neuendettelsau.  On my first day in Germany, I arrived by plane in Frankfurt, transferred by train to arrive in Wurzburg late at night.  I made the mistake of leaving my backpack unattended for a few moments in the train station, only to discover upon my return that my plane tickets and the rest of my money was stolen.  Fortunately, I had my passport and some money with me on my person.  I was devasted by being a victim of a crime and a fool for being so trusting. 

 

I didn't know what to do.  The next train to my destination would not depart until morning.  I was stuck in Wurzburg.  It was either spend the night in train station -- I did not feel safe at all, especially after the theft -- or look for a youth hostel.  I found one in one of my guide books that was nearby, so, I took my backpack and walked to the hostel, only to discover that it was closed for renovation.  It was about 11:00 p.m. 

 

As I stood there, praying, asking God for protection, courage, and guidance as to what to do next, an elderly couple walked by me, then stopped.  The man asked me if I needed a place to lodge for the night, and they welcomed me into their apartment.  I was so grateful.  We could barely communicate -- my German was very simplistic.  The next morning they fed me and made sure I was on the right train to Neuendettelsau.  Once, there, I was able to regroup and find my way home.

 

On my way home to the United States, I paid a visit to this couple who had welcomed me into their apartment and shared their food and lives with me.  I wanted to express my gratitude.  My German had greatly improved.  As we were remembering that night, I asked them why they took the risk to invite, a stranger, into their home? 

 

They said they saw my need.  I was wearing a backpack.  The hostel was closed.  I looked tired, like I had been traveling long, and, I looked scared.   They said they were Catholic and that they prayed in that moment, asking God what they should do.  They saw that I was praying.  I was wearing new clothes.  I looked safe enough (and lost enough) to take the risk.

 

I asked them what I could do to pay them back and express my deepest gratitude for that night of hospitality.  They replied that I should pay it forward and prayerfully practice hospitality to strangers in the future.  I have, since then, aspired to keep this promise.  Fortunately, my wife is as kind-hearted and even more hospitable than I.   We haven't welcomed everyone.  There are times, too, when we would prefer to be by ourselves.  But, you cannot control when God-ordained opportunities to welcome a stranger in his name arise.  You can only recognize them and with discernment welcome them.

 

I'm enjoying this journey in the Gospel of John, as we explore God's hospitality together!

 

- Pastor Jeff