Day 33: Praying, Suffering, Dying

"For God So Loved the World...." says John 3:16, but in John 17, when Jesus prays, I really get the feeling not of Jesus' love for the world, but the separation between the disciples and the world.  Jesus isn't praying for the world, but only for the disciples; he's not asking on behalf of the world, but only on behalf of his disciples. 
I'll be honest, there's something jarring about this, something that sounds exclusive and protective.  Perhaps these words come out of the true expenience of persecution.  Jesus knows his disciples are going to be persecuted by (ahem) the world, so he's praying for his disciples to endure.

And, I'll be blunt, it sounds a little like Jesus doesn't mind if the rest of the world goes to hell, as long as his disciples are preserved all right.  But what about "God so loved the world?"   

Perhaps the word "world" has more than one meaing for John -- sometimes the world is the world God made, and loves, and sometimes "the world" is the place that is actively fighting against God's will in the world.  And sometimes "the world" might have even more meanings.....

After his prayer is done, Jesus goes to the Kidron Valley with his disciples, where he is arrested by a company of soldiers (did you notice?  600 of them?).  When they ask if he is Jesus the Nazarene, He says, "I AM", and they all fall over.  Wow.  Jesus literally saves the disciples' lives, by saying to the guards to "let the others go" (meaning his disciples).  He will die, but they will be spared.

I really like the way the scene shifts back and forth between Peter in the courtyard and Jesus on trial.  You get the feeling that Peter is very near to the action, hearing what is going on, and that Jesus can also hear Peter when he denies ever knowing his friend.

Pilate asks Jesus, "what is truth?"  Jesus does not answer.

When Jesus is crucified, John records three different words:  "woman, here is your son.  here is your mother."  (to his mother and the beloved disciples).  "I thirst."  and "It is finished."  What do you suppose the meaning of these three words could be?  Why these words andd not "Father, forgive them?" or "Why have you forsaken me?"

One of the mysteries of the gospel of John is:  Who is the beloved disciple?  There have been many attempted answers to this question:  some say it is John himself, some Lazarus, some even Judas.  What do you think?

Who is "the world?"  Who is "the beloved disciple"?  What is "truth"?