Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment

Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill? But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from." Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me." Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come." Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

- John 7:14-36

In yesterday's reading, we learned that Jesus' brothers have challenged Him to go and to show Himself at the temple in Jerusalem. It is the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus declined to go openly, but has gone in secret to the festival, where He is the subject of debate - and there are those who would like to be rid of Him.

Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him." My study bible notes here: " Jesus identifies the source of spiritual blindness: unwillingness to do the will of God. St. John Chrysostom paraphrases the words of Christ: 'Rid yourselves of wickedness: the anger, and the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts--entirely without provocation--against Me, and you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God. For, as it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort the sound judgment that shines there, while, if you remove these passions, you will no longer be thus afflicted' (Homily 49)." In other readings, Jesus' lack of formal schooling means one thing of great importance, and that is that His authority is not bestowed by other people. Jesus is claiming that the authority with which He speaks comes from the Father, and His relationship to the Father. Here, Jesus refines this understanding a little more deeply, when He says that He is not seeking His own personal glory, but rather to glorify the Father. This makes Jesus true - not just "true" in the sense that what He is teaching is correct, but "true" in the sense that He is an honest and trustworthy person. He has no guile, but rather is a just man, with no unrighteousness in Him. He has one aim, and is true to that aim without seeking anything for Himself but the joy of this fulfillment.

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." My study bible notes that "Jesus implies that healing the paralytic on the Sabbath is a greater obedience to the will of God than circumcising on the Sabbath." Jesus is referring here to the healing of the paralytic which took place near the temple at the Bethesda pool. (See Do you want to be made well?) On that occasion, Jesus' third sign in John's Gospel, he told the paralytic to take up his bed on the Sabbath. The authorities consider themselves the guardians of the law; the anger with which they respond to this act is in defense of rabbinical regulations. But Jesus is asking for something deeper here, and it is related to the previous statement about how they judge Him and His teachings. He is asking them to judge with "righteous judgment" - that is with just judgment. In this case, righteousness is linked with the pure desire to seek God's will, and not one's own glory. "Appearance" and the "praise that comes from men" are linked in Christ's teachings; His greatest criticism is of "hypocrites" - which is literally translated as "actors."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill? But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from." My study bible calls this "an ignorant claim filled with irony: they know Jesus' human origin, but not His divine origin."

Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me." Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?" A note on verse 30 reads: "His hour is the time of His suffering and death. Jesus Christ shows Himself to be Lord of time, a prerogative possessed by God alone. he comes to the Cross of His own free will and in His time, not as a result of the political machinations of the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Romans." A pivotal point in Jesus' narrative occurs here. We see the crux of faith: who will believe, and why and how do they believe? He asserts His identity, that He is of the Father, Who is also true, and this becomes a stumbling block, a point of outrage - as well as a source of faith for those who will believe.

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come." A note here reads, "Jesus speaks of His death, Resurrection, and Ascension. His hearers, as is so often the case, do not understand Him." Once again, Jesus is speaking of His origin, where He is from. He will return to the Father. They have Him with them a little while longer - it is not yet His time.

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?" My study bible says that "among the Greeks means among the Gentiles. In those days, there were communities of Jews scattered throughout the Mediterranean world, especially in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Egypt. Their question bears a tinge of irony. By the time this Gospel was written, the Christian faith had spread throughout much of the Gentile world." And, we note that Jesus has also introduced a new Mystery to this crowd at the temple: that of His death, Resurrection and Ascension. It is hard enough for this crowd to take in the statements about His identity which prove a great stumbling block; they cannot fathom at all what He is referring to here.

Some things of interest here in John's Gospel; we see events unfolding very quickly. It is already time for the authorities to take objection to Jesus, to seek to do away with Him. And yet the Gospel is just unfolding; we are in chapter 7 of 21. Already Jesus has made Himself known to the crowds in His full identity and is hinting of death, Resurrection, Ascension. The emphasis here is on those great keys of Mystery to the faith, and how we respond to them. We will see and learn much more as the Gospel continues with its message. There is an emphasis on depth, and understanding, and the heart. What is the inner life of a person? What makes someone true? How does identity and our choices, our judgments, reflect our relationship to Creator? How do we perceive others based upon this state of our inner soul or self? There are so many questions to answer, and John invites us to ponder every one of them as we explore the life of Jesus - and the nature of faith - in his eyes, through this witness.