Thanx to perseusomega9 for pointing me to an examination of text. He is correct about the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with our NT Main Character.Charles Wilson wrote: ↑Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:58 amWhich is what you see when you read the "Foot Washing Episode". Someone is obsessed with (Bloody) feet from something that happened some time ago and is intent on "Institutionalizing" the cleaning of feet.
One or two steps beyond PTSD.
I went back and reviewed the "Foot Washing" episode and found another one of those "Odd Statements" that crop up from time to time, especially when I look at the text
. As an example, I believe that in Matthew and Luke are found 2 statements that are part of the same Story but have been separated for effect. "Are there only a few who are saved?...Enter through the narrow door" may be paired with "You must TURN as a child...". The highlighted word "TURN" may be rendered as "Change" and that choice of meaning makes all the difference in understanding the Story as a Jewish Story of a Temple Slaughter to a Transvalued story of a savior/god.John 13: 1 - 10 (RSV):
[1] Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
[2] And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,
[3] Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God,
[4] rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel.
[5] Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded.
[6] He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?"
[7] Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand."
[8] Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me."
[9] Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"
[10] Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you."
I am beginning to believe that John, chapters 11 - 13 are the most important of the "Corrective" Sections of John. John corrects the Synoptics. Ch.11 lays out the Checklist for the coming Transvaluation. The corrupt, jaded high Priest suddenly has the Gift of Prophecy to lay out the events that are to happen.
In order to follow this particular trail, you have to understand a bit of what I see. Not many are willing to go down that Path and that's OK. At the end of this Post, there's a high probability of everyone saying, "Naaahh. Wrong again." What I see is that there were 2 Stories that were telescoped into one. A Priest of the Mishmarot Service Group Immer escapes the Atrocity at the Passover of 4 BCE at the death of Herod by a "Miracle" when he is saved by a child named "Peter". The Priests were convinced that by making Perfect Sacrifices, God would stand by them as Promised in the last Chapter of Leviticus. They would then overthrow the Herodians and the Romans and re-establish the Reign of God. 3000 die at this Passover when the Coup is stopped in its tracks. The Priests were certain. All they find is death.
The second Story finds Jairus convincing this Priest to try one more time to overthrow the Romans and Herodians at a "Duplicate Passover" 12 years later. I believe that verse 1 shows that at least part of what follows is from this second Story. It reads as both introduction and rewrite.
***
[3] Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God
More Transvaluation, more rewrite. The Priestly Character knows that he is to die. The entire Story after the Priest leaving his Settlement (Probably Jabnit, next to Meiron) is the foreshadowing of his death. One place to start that Story would be found in Luke 9. "Uhhh...I'd love to help 'ya but I have a root canal surgery scheduled and I can't miss it...". "Thanks a pile, everybody." This all becomes NT Metaphysics with the rewrite.
***
[4] rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel.
There's a Thread here somewhere, between "Clothing one's self" (Genesis, nakedness and the "Priestly Clothes") and maybe even "Secret Mark". I dunno. The former plays a role here.
[5] Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded.
The towel - seen as "Priestly clothes" - performs a service here. The explanation of "Being Clean" will be given and it reflects the utility of the Mosaic use of Priestly Garments quite nicely. The Priestly Garments cover the nakedness of the Priests as they represent the Nation in front of God. There is something very deep here and it has been hidden in the Transvaluation.
#####
***
[6] He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?"
***The purpose of this Post***
Who is the Main Character of this verse? Is "Simon Peter" the same person as "Peter"?
It is possible to see, in the RSV, that "Simon Peter" and "Peter" are 2 different people:
"He came to Simon Peter...": One person, a Simon Peter.
" and Peter said to him...": Another, different person named Peter
There are many other translations that have, "He came to Simon Peter and HE said to him..."
Paul Younan's Peshitta has, "He came to Simon Peter and Simon said to him..."
Which is it and why?
[8] Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me."
[9] Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"
My own view is that "Simon Peter" and "Peter" are 2 different people. In this Passage, Peter, who was a child in the earlier Story, is an adult here (It also provides me a comforting Clue that Peter made it out alive but that's for another day.). Verse 9 shows me that Simon Peter is a child in this Story 12 years later.
Luke 9: 54 - 55 (RSV):
[54] And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?"
[55] But he turned and rebuked them.
These are children speaking. They speak with the naive certainty of children who have an idea of what's happening but have absolutely no knowledge of subtlety and complexity of what is happening.
John11: 26 (RSV):
[16] Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
Children. They have an indispensable Role in what is to happen in the replay of the Duplicate Passover. "Peter" was a child in the original event in 4 BCE and the children MUST perform in the "Perfect Manner" 12 years later if the Romans are to be thrown out, being at some point sent out as if angels to rescue the Select.
As in the Fragments "Turn as a child" and "Enter through the narrow door", echoes of the Original haven't been completely replaced. It's not the purpose of John to hide completely, only to correct. Here, the Correction seems to be hiding, perhaps of a different Type.
Which is it?
CW