In the Fourth Gospel St. John includes seemingly throw away lines which are actually commentary on the action. For example, when Judas leaves the Last Supper in the ultimate act of betrayal St. John says, “It was night” (John 13:30). That isn’t an observation about the time but the state of the soul of Judas. When reporting the controversy about the identity of Jesus among the Jewish leaders St. John reports that at the conclusion of the discussion, “Then each went to his own house.” If St. John had been a boxing aficionando he could have written: Then each retired to their own corner. The evangelist is pointing out that no one was listening to the other but each had their opinions which were unshakable. Kind of like: don’t confuse me with the facts, my minds made up. The way to truth is to truly take counsel, to genuinely hear what the other has to say and take it into account in forming your conclusions.
