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 seen 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

Yesterday, we read that Jesus kept His ministry in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

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."   Here my study bible has a long note regarding Jesus' concept of authority:  "The simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize His authority.  St. John Chrysostom paraphrases Christ in this way:  'Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way.'" 

  "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 seen 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."   Jesus links good judgment with loyalty to God.  It's obviously not found in the minutiae of the law, twisted to fit the purposes of power and position, and the malice and envy provoked by a perceived threat to their own authority.  Where is their desire to please God?

 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 says that the crowds are mistaken -- in both an earthly sense and a divine sense.  They understand Jesus as a man from Nazareth of Galilee.  They're not aware that He was actually born in Bethlehem.  Beyond that, they can't understand that He's come from the Father in Heaven, eternally begotten before all ages, and thus His divine "origin" remains unknown to them as well.  But Jesus' word and teachings tell a great deal to a heart that hears; the day before yesterday we read Peter's confession of faith:  "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

  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?"   Jesus' hour is the time of suffering and death, His Passion and Crucifixion.  My study bibles says that Jesus Christ is the Lord over time, an authority that is possessed only by God.  Therefore He comes to the Cross of His own free will and in His time, not according to the plots of men.  But time - like everything else - is linked in to the relationship He has to the Father; the ultimate authority decides all. 

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."  Jesus is of course referring to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension to heaven.  As happens most effectively (and repeatedly) in John's Gospel, Jesus' words point to something beyond only an "earthly" meaning.

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'?"  Since Greek was the universal language of the time of Christ, what the leadership refers to here are Greek-speaking peoples; that is, among the Gentiles.  Ironically, their words certainly do have truth in them:  after His Ascension Christ's name will be preached to the Gentiles by the apostles.

Words hidden in words, hidden in plain sight -- but available to those who "have ears to hear."  Jesus' words having meanings to those of us who are His followers; that is, those who have been led to understand His mission and taught by the Church to find meanings in these words.  But Christ speaks plainly in some sense; the truth is there.  His words will also be twisted to accuse Him later on at His trial.  Repeatedly in Scripture, both in Old Testament and New, we are given the sense that it is important -- really, essential -- to our spiritual well-being that we "have ears to hear."  In other words, this quality is the ability to hear what is in the words from God is within the hearer, the receiver.  My study bible explains that "it is the simple desire to know and follow God's will" that brings out this capacity to receive within us.  It's not that we understand things all at once or all at the same time, but those who are drawn to Christ's "words of eternal life" (as St. Peter put it) understand the draw of a kind of loyalty, an allegiance.  It is the Father drawing through Christ those who come to Him.  And that begins with a "simple desire" within us.  In the end, Jesus' words about love and loyalty are the framework of the whole of the enterprise of spiritual ascendancy, being "with Him" into the age to come.  It boils down to a question of love and loyalty, that mysterious thing in our hearts that opens the door to greater faith, and personal transformation in His image.  We don't have to understand it all at once, we just need to know that "our hearts are aflame" when we hear His words (see Luke 24:32).  Over and over again, Scripture speaks of the heart as the center of what makes a human being, the importance of a "circumcised heart" and the hearing and sight of the heart.  Let us remember the love of God, and the loyalty of Christ expressed in today's words.  We are all encircled in that great ribbon of love, and its ties are rooted in our hearts.  Do we have ears to hear?  That is the beginning of true judgment.