Peeling Away the Onion – John 11:47-12:11

We have an idiom in English about peeling away the onion. If you peel away the many layers that make up an onion, you eventually arrive at the solid core. We use this idiom to describe the process of getting to the truth of something. The truth is the core while the lies and deceptions are the layers to be peeled away.

Jesus has been gradually peeling the onion in an attempt to teach people the truth about who he is and why he has come. But just like peeling a real onion, the more layers he peels away, the more annoying he becomes to those who refuse to believe him. Their increasing annoyance eventually leads to the decision to arrest and execute Jesus. Nonetheless, their actions do not change the truth. In fact, their actions prove the truth.