History’s argument about icons flew through my mind the other day. It came at a strange time for me because I was reading some of things that Tom Wright was saying in his commentary on John. I do not think that Wright was going where my mind went, but he touched on something that sparked my thoughts.

I remember in one portion of John, at the beginning of the book he discusses how the Word (Jesus words, the words of prophets etc.) and flesh (all the things they saw him do), though in reality they are united in Jesus, are still being separated in the minds’ of His friends, relatives, and enemies. They are watching him and wanting to follow him, but not based on the reality before them. Rather, based on his miracles, words of wisdom, healings, etc; they were never looking through all those very visible things to a deeper and greater truth. Jesus did signs (icons) and people followed him because of them. He did wonders but people marched behind him for the wrong reasons. Palm Sunday and Good Friday are evidence of the fact. You have the same folk hailing him as king one day and yelling crucify him the next.

He comes with signs and wonders and he is the Image. The incarnation itself probably could have been, to some Jews, a breaking of the second commandment. It seems that Jesus own Incarnation presence poses a danger to idolatry. And like most icons we are lead away from the truth, away from the direction they are pointing because we are bent, because we see them pointing out something we want in it. These Jews in Jesus day fashioned a different Jesus. The Jesus that would give them want they thought they wanted there and then. They fashioned him using the same material (that same Jesus). Seeing the truth is not even about seeing past the icon (or sign) in a sense of subtracting out the physical bad, but rather, holding up the two and letting the flesh lead you to the Word. In the old covenant the Torah (word) lead men to Christ (flesh). In the New Covenant the Church is united with the Torah (word) and we flesh out what it means to be Christ for the world. We become the portable places where Incarnation unite and forgiveness keeps its physical resting place on earth.

So was God not being careful enough about the second commandment? I mean, people made an idol out of Jesus, and he was not. Isn’t it more important for God to be careful about these things?