Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan

 

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. 

 

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

 

- Matthew 4:18-25 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, / And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death / Light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  

 

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  It's important to note that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist (John 1:29-42), and so were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  Although illiterate and unlearned in religion, my study Bible comments, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all. 

 

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  My study Bible asks us to note that the crowds do not swarm Jesus when He commands repentance (see verse 17, the final verse in yesterday's reading, above), but only when He begins to heal and work miracles.  This fact, it says, shows that the people misunderstand the true nature of Christ's Kingdom.  It also shows His concession made, in the words of Theophylact, "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the fickle multitudes.

 

 It's interesting that my study Bible points out the draw of the crowds with Jesus.  First of all, we recall that John the Baptist was a very powerful preacher in his own time, and drew crowds to himself.  He was widely considered a holy man.  He performed no miracle, but taught the people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, for "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (see Matthew 3:1-6).  In that passage, we read, "Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins."  What would make people do that?  It seems that clearly it is the anticipation of the Messiah, and the promise of receiving the Messiah through repentance, which is something that draws the people in their anticipation of the good things a messianic age would bring to Israel.  Around the time of Jesus, we know that there were several people who claimed to be the Messiah. Three of them, Theudas, Judas of Galilee, and another known as Simon Magus are mentioned in the Book of Acts (Acts 5:34-42; 8:9-10).  Because of the particular place in history in which Israel found itself at this time, the desired expectations of the Messiah ran very high; this included the overthrow of the Romans and the establishment of a political Israel, restored to its fortunes under a king like David.  But there were other prophesies about the Messiah and his time that included the establishment of justice, a prophetic identity, and miraculous occurrences and spiritual signs, such as the restoration of sight to the blind (see Isaiah 35:4-6).  So, while miraculous occurrences will still draw people's interest in our time, we can easily imagine how the cherished desire for the appearance of the Messiah would create such a draw in Jesus' healings.  Indeed, in all of their contests and challenges to Jesus, one consistent thing demanded by the religious authorities will be for proofs of His identity through spectacular signs that would convince them.  If we just put ourselves in the place of the people of that time and place, we might also begin to understand Jesus and His ministry a little bit better.  He comes as He would come into the world, even as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, but as an answer to people's prayers, expectations and anticipations, as a Redeemer come for all, and One who would need to establish the understanding of a Kingdom that is not of this world, and all that means in the Christian context.  That's not an easy task, and yet Jesus is on a path to "fulfill all righteousness," and to fulfill the Scriptures.  But because of the kind of expectations He's up against, His ministry will have to engage the people in a particular way, including keeping the messianic secret until it's time to be revealed.  Let us learn to follow Him, as will His first disciples.

 

 

 

 

Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things

 

 Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  

 

- Mark 11:27–33 

 

Yesterday we read of Jesus' second day in Jerusalem, after His Triumphal Entry:  In the morning when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.  So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And he would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'?  But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city.  Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter remembering, said to Him,  "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  so Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

 

  Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."   The setting of our reading is now what we know as Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life.  This is the third day He is in Jerusalem.  He has cleansed the temple the day before (see yesterday's reading above), and so these religious leaders demand to know, "By what authority are You doing these things?"  Christ is not a Levitical priest, and so the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders challenge His authority to do so.  My study Bible comments that, as Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He confounds them with a different question about John the Baptist (Mark 1:1-8).  Both the elders' question and Christ's question demand the same answer, my study Bible explains, and so would lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  By not answering them directly, it notes, Christ teaches us not to answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent.  

 

What I always admire about Christ's style of engagement here is His vigor.  So often in popular culture He is portrayed as a very meek character; in the secular mind which does not correctly interpret "meekness" in the Christian sense, this may be seen as weak or ineffectual.  But when He verbally spars with the religious authorities, we come to understand quite the opposite.  Jesus' vigor shows here, and He doesn't give an inch.  These religious leaders, although nominally in authority in the temple, do not intimidate Him and they do not persuade Him away from His mission and what He needs to do.  On the contrary, He answers their question with a question -- and thoroughly gives them back the argument they wish to avoid.  He turns the tables on them both in the sense that they cannot answer, and that He reveals that it is they who are afraid of the people.  On the contrary, for the past three years, Jesus has courageously preached, taught, and healed all over the territories of the Jewish communities that constitute greater Israel.  Here, perhaps, He shows the greatest courage of all, for He knows that these men wish to have Him put to death (and they will).  See this reading in which He predicted for the third time what would happen to Him in Jerusalem, and in detail, for His apostles, including the suffering He will endure.  Christ's defense of His cousin and saint, John the Baptist, also tells us about Jesus' character.  Like a heroic warrior as portrayed in any kind of traditional story of what it means to be valiant and loyal, Jesus will always step in to defend His own.  He intervenes for His disciples in this reading, and here in today's reading He defends John as sent by God, although the religious leaders did not treat John as such.  What we may observe of Jesus' character then is what truly defines meekness or gentleness in the Christian sense.  That is, strength under control.  He knows what He is to be about, He is thoroughly loyal to God the Father in living His mission in the world as the Incarnate Jesus, and He stands up for that which is His, in the provenance of His Kingdom -- be it the truth and light He is here to teach, or for those who bear that light and truth into the world and belong to Him.  One thing He is not -- He is not going quietly, so to speak.  Until it is time to do so, He continues His mission, and that includes here in this confrontation with the religious leaders over His conduct in the temple.  In St. John's Gospel, we're told that in one of His confrontations with the religious leaders, prior to Holy Week, they asked Him, "Who are You?"  Jesus replied, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him." They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father (John 8:25-26).  The One who sent Him is true, Christ is loyal to Him in all ways, speaking those things which He hears to speak.  In the Revelation, we read that Christ Himself is like His Father, He is "Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war" (Revelation 19:11).  This is the reality of Christ, a spiritual reality we are to follow and live ourselves in the world.  He is faithful and true to the One who is true, and so we are meant to be as well.  He defends His own, and is obedient in freedom and out of love.  In the Orthodox tradition, this is understood more fully as "the love of the beautiful" -- and in that beauty is goodness, and truth, and righteousness.  Let us pay attention and learn from Him.

 

 

 

You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

 

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may it, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

  Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  This is the third time Christ predicts His Passion to the disciples.  Now they are clearly going to Jerusalem, already in Judea and on the road going up to the Holy City.  The disciples are amazed because they know the hostility of the religious leaders in Jerusalem which Jesus has so far avoided, and they are afraid.  These repeated predictions of Christ's Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they will face there, my study Bible says.  It adds that it also confirms that Christ was going to His death of His own will and choosing.  We must remark upon the detail that Jesus gives them; they are prepared for all the humiliation and rejection He will face. 

 

 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may it, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  My study Bible calls this quest for temporal power and glory unfitting for a disciple, and it shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  It seems quite likely that James and John (and their mother, as reported in St. Matthew's Gospel) expect that this travel to Jerusalem will culminate in Jesus the Messiah establishing a worldly kingdom for Himself.  Thus they ask for the highest places in that kingdom they imagine, on His right and on His left, and speak of a worldly glory.  My study Bible notes that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  It explains that the Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is a baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in this same cup and baptism is a prediction of the life of persecution of martyrdom they would lead after Pentecost.  St. James will become the first to be martyred among the apostles (Acts 12:1-2), and St. John will go on to a long life of persecution and exile in the early Church, giving us one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  My study Bible also explains that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give does not mean that He lacks authority.  It means, instead, that they are not His to give arbitrarily.  Instead, He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  Moreover, according to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, no one could possibly occupy such a position.  Regarding the highest places of honor that can be given to human beings, the icons of the Church universally show the Virgin Mary (the most blessed among women; Luke 1:28) and St. John the Baptist (the greatest born of women; Matthew 11:11) holding these places.  

 

  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  This is another repeated emphasis by Christ on what constitutes greatness in His Church and the Kingdom, and in particular the use of worldly power for those who will become responsible for His flock.  See also the readings from Monday and Tuesday.  For many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

 

The transformation (or perhaps we should say transfiguration/metamorphosis) of Sts. James and John Zebedee is a remarkable illustration of the power of the Holy Spirit and the effects of Pentecost that will manifest in the Church after Christ's Ascension.  They will go from the two who request Christ's highest places in what they imagine will be a popularly-expected worldly kingdom presided over by the Messiah, to the two great apostles who will suffer and sacrifice so much for the Church.  St. Mark tells us that Christ gave them the name "Sons of Thunder"  (Mark 3:17), and the truth of this name is borne out in their subsequent histories in the early Church.  Thunder would be the apt description of the effects of their own voices for Christ and evangelization.  St. James was a powerful (and perhaps even "fiery") orator for the Church, hence the first target of the wrath of Herod Agrippa against the early Christian movement.  St. John, of course, became a prolific spokesman in that he produced so much of the word we are given in the New Testament.  His Gospel, Epistles, and the Revelation remain for us among the most powerful inspired Scripture in existence, to this day studied, read, debated, and treasured in the Church among the faithful.  So much of St. John's writing determines what we understands about Jesus, and in particular his Gospel is the Gospel of love, and it is his words that teach us that God is love (1 John 4:8).  These men would truly go on to the cup and baptism of Christ, and lives of great sacrifice as well as great service.  We can understand the fulfillment of the name given to them by Christ in their subsequent histories in the Church, the "thunder" of their advocacy of the gospel reaching far and wide and even into today's world through the widespread dissemination of the New Testament through the internet and the world.  So we are given two great examples in today's reading, both of the power of the Spirit and Christ's ministry, and the transformational power we find in the Church, and which continues to create saints -- great and small -- today.  It is this power evident in these men that works to help all of us today to manifest the fruits of the Spirit, and to rely upon the power of God even to work through our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).

 

 

 

 

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 

 

Yesterday we read that, after the controversy regarding His teachings on His Body and Blood, Jesus walked 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.  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?"  My study Bible comments here that 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 God's authority.  According to St. John Chrysostom, whom my study Bible quotes here, Christ's message to the religious leaders (the Jews, as rulers of the city in Judea) can be paraphrased as follows:  "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."

 

 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."  Jesus is referring here to the healing that took place during what is understood to be the Feast of Weeks (known as the Old Testament Pentecost), in chapter 5.  This was the healing of the paralytic, which is the third of seven signs performed by Christ in St. John's Gospel.  At that time Jesus was accused of violating the Sabbath by performing this healing.  In Matthew 12:3-5, Jesus provided various examples of "blameless" violations of the Sabbath, demonstrating that the law is not absolute over human need or service to 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."  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."  When the people from Jerusalem say we know where this Man is from, they are mistaken -- both in an earthly sense as well as a divine sense.  Humanly speaking, my study Bible points out, they think of Jesus as being from Nazareth of Galilee.  But Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem of Judea (John 7:42; see Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they can't understand that Christ has come from the Father in heaven -- eternally begotten before all ages -- and so, therefore, His heavenly origin also remains unknown to them.  

 

 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?"  Christ's hour is the time of His Passion, His suffering and death.  He is the Lord over time, my study Bible says, which is an authority possessed only by God.  He comes to His Cross of His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings (see John 8:20; 10:39).  

 

 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."  My study Bible explains that this statement refers to Christ's death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.

 

 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?"  To go among the Greeks means to go among the Gentiles, the Greek-speakers (as Greek was the international language and lingua franca of Christ's time).  My study Bible notes that this unwitting prophecy points to the time after Christ's Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles. 

 

 In today's reading, Jesus says, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."   Those of us who have had the unfortunate experience of being falsely judged by appearance can all sympathize and agree with Christ's statement.  In St. Mark's Gospel, Jesus asks, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" (Mark 3:4), framing this question in terms of saving life.  Here He asks, ". . . are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?"  Sometimes good intent isn't always seen that way by others.  In this case, the envy and jealousy of the rulers in the temple, particularly the Pharisees, functions as a way to facilitate criticism and accusation.  They're looking for a way to eliminate Jesus as a figure of authority (in the eyes of the people) that would somehow compete with their own positions as rulers.  Christ's healing of the paralytic was indeed one of the seven signs of St. John's Gospel, a sign of God being near, the presence of the kingdom of heaven.  But these men instead want to condemn and are quick to do so.  But this is judgment by appearance; He appears to have violated the Sabbath rest.  Again, in St. Mark's Gospel, Jesus teaches that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).  The people who believe in Him ask, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  It's not simply for His miraculous healing on the Sabbath that the religious leaders seek to persecute Him, but they also claim that He commits blasphemy -- an offense worthy of death according to a strict interpretation of the Law.  Indeed, for this He will be convicted at the Sanhedrin, and it will be the excuse they use to drag Him to Pilate and claim a charge of treason against Caesar.  How often is language heard and twisted to attribute false claims to a person?  How often is language misunderstood?  So often throughout John's Gospel, Jesus tells truths that are offensive, things others can't accept and don't want to hear.  He tells the truth; the words He speaks are given by the One who sent Him, the only One He seeks to please; that is God the Father.  And, as Jesus says, the One who sent Him is true.  But they don't know Him, so they can't bear to hear His words.  All of John's Gospel in some sense focuses on the truth, and on our reception or rejection of it.  St. John declares, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).  So how do we judge with righteous judgment, and not according to appearance?  We have extensive legal systems that aim to give every chance for the fullness of motivation, facts, character, intent, and proof of one who is accused in order to secure good judgment.  But even so, worldly justice fails, despite the best intentions.  It is only God's judgment that is perfect, and so in all things, that's where our first loyalty must come, just as it is Christ's.  He is the one who teaches about true righteousness, and He is the one to whom God the Father has committed all judgment.  Let us seek to find His truth in all things, for He is the heart-knower, the only one who can teach us righteous judgment.  I have heard it said that it's only at the final judgment that true healing from all trauma and injustice can take place; for it is there where the One who has been misjudged (although He is the one true Innocent) will be with us -- and we will know that wherever we have been, whatever scars we carry, He has been there with us, voluntarily, to take on our own griefs.  Let us consider the depth of love that would do so much for our healing and full salvation.  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready

 

 After these things Jesus walked 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.

 

- John 7:1-13 

 

Yesterday we read that after Christ's preaching regarding the eating of His Body and His Blood, many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

 

  After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.   As we begin chapter 7, we open up a section of the Gospel of John which includes chapters 7, 8, 9 and part of 10 (John 7 - 10:21).  This is a section that covers Christ's visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  The entire section covers an eight-day period.  At this festival, taking place during the final year of Christ's earthly life, Jesus taught in the temple and He attracted a great deal of public attention.  (This is already understood as something Jesus is aware of and wary about, as we're told He did not want to walk in Judea, for He's aware the religious leaders now seek to kill Him.)  Some of the people thought Jesus was mad (verse 20), some believed He is the Messiah (verses 31, 40) -- and others, such as the Sadducees and the Pharisees considered Him a threat (verses 32, 45-52).  The Jews who sought to kill Him refers to the religious leaders, and not the people in general.  At the approximate time of the writing of this Gospel, followers of Jesus had begun to be persecuted in the synagogues (and by the Romans), and the term "Christian" is first used.  The author of the Gospel, Jesus and His followers, and all the others in the stories of this section are Jews.

 

 Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Sukkot, is an eight-day autumn harvest festival.  It commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  During that time, the people lived in tents, or "tabernacles."  Together with Passover and Pentecost, my study Bible explains, this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews.  It included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, the final day included drawing water from the pool of Siloam, to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7), and we will read this significance in Christ's acts and preaching.  Moreover the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple provide a backdrop for Christ's discourses and images of light invoked.  See also 2 Maccabees 10:5-9.

 

 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.  Christ's brothers are either stepbrothers from an earlier marriage of His earthly guardian Joseph, or they are other extended family such as cousins.  In Middle Eastern usage, then and now, the term "brother" can mean all of these.  As we can see, His relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission (see also, for example, Matthew 12:46-50).  For examples of the use of the word brother to indicate any number of relations, see Genesis 14:14 in which Abram's nephew Lot is referred to as his "brother"; Ruth 4:3, in which Boaz speaks of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother"; and 2 Samuel 20:9 in which Joab calls his cousin Amasa "brother."  Christ had no blood brothers, as Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  This is the witness of the Church and the Gospels.  My study Bible mentions that Christ commits His mother to the care of John (the author of this Gospel) at the Cross (John 19:25-27), which indeed would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her. 

 

  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.  My study Bible explains that not openly means not with a grand, public entrance, such as on Palm Sunday.   That will initiate the events of "His time" to which He refers above (verses 6, 8).

 

 In all things, we seem to read about Christ's discernment.  We might think that, in His identity as Son of the Living God (see St. Peter's confession from yesterday's reading, above, John 6:69) Jesus can simply do anything He wants.  While He speaks truths quite valiantly (again, as in our recent readings in which He speaks of eating His Body and Blood), and accepts the consequences -- such as many of His followers leaving Him, Jesus is also always discerning.  He does not simply come out and conquer.  Neither does He force.  Rather, in the words of St. Athanasius we quoted in yesterday's commentary, Christ speaks and acts in ways not to compel, but to persuade.  So it is in today's reading when He chooses not to go up to this festival "openly"; that is, not in the way He will enter Jerusalem to initiate His final week on earth, His Passion, and Holy Week.  Notice the attention paid to time, and to the proper time.  Each moment has its own importance.  At this time it's important for Christ not to go to Jerusalem openly, but "in secret."  At the time of the next Passover Feast, He will go with a very public awareness of His travel to and entrance into Jerusalem.  So we should learn from Christ about discernment, about a prayerful life.  What God has prepared us for is one thing, but to confuse what may be proper at one time with what is proper at another is a mistake that may lead to an unfortunate conclusion.  Christ lives a prayerful life, always in obedience to God the Father, always seeking the correct way to live His ministry at each juncture and development.  Now it is not the proper time for an open or flagrant conflict with the religious authorities.  But there will come a time when it is proper to go to His Passion.  Let us learn from Him and from His discernment.  As we observed earlier (and in commentary on yesterday's passage), Christ seeks to persuade, not to compel.  Both His words (as in yesterday's reading) and His actions (as in today's) speak of this need in His ministry for a conduct that indeed fulfills all righteousness (Matthew 3:15).  In His loyalty and love of the Father, Christ's ministry unfolds as it is fitting and right, with prayer and discernment, always seeking the Father's will.  So it should be in our own lives, as imperfectly as we might be discerning in comparison to Christ.  But this is the image He gives us of the way to serve, and to live our faith.  So let us be faithful to it as He is. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rise, take up your bed and walk

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  

 

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool  when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 

 

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.   

 

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."   Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

 

- John 5:1–18 

 

Yesterday we read that after spending two extra days with the Samaritans, Jesus departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  According to my study Bible, Church Fathers teach that this feast is the Old Testament Pentecost (also referred to as the "Feast of Weeks").  It is the celebration of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter seem to confirm this interpretation. 

 

   Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  This double-basin pool, which was believed to have curative powers, has been discovered about a hundred yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  My study Bible explains that the water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs and it was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  So this pool functions as a type of Christian baptism.  (A biblical "type" is an Old Testament event, person, or institution which foreshadows a greater reality revealed the New Testament.)  Under the old covenant, my study Bible notes, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  The waters were special in that they were a way to indirectly participate in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed with the same water.  But its grace was limited to the first person to enter.  Under the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6) without the mediation of angels.  So, therefore, baptism grants healing of the soul and the promise of the eternal resurrection of the body, and its grace is inexhaustible.  

 

 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  According to St. John Chrysostom, Jesus singles out this man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us perseverance, and also as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a shorter time.  

 

 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool  when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.   Christ's question is relevant for many reasons, according to my study Bible. First, it made public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in a situation which was seemingly hopeless, for how could a paralytic ever be first into the water?  Second, Christ draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This need is fulfilled in Christ, who became a Man to heal all. Finally, my study Bible notes that not everyone who is ill actually desires healing.  Sadly, some may prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue to elicit the pity of others.  The healing of this man is the third sign of seven given in St. John's Gospel.

 

 And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  My study Bible comments that although the Law itself doesn't specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22 and is explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear here both by His commands and also the man's obedience (see also Matthew 12:1-8).  As is often the case in John's Gospel, my study Bible reminds us, the term Jews is used here to refer to the leaders and not to the people in general (for all the people in the story are Jews, including Jesus and the author of this Gospel).  It asks us to notice the malice of these leaders, because they focus solely on the Sabbath violation, asking the man, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but ignoring completely the miraculous healing.

 

 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  That this man was found in the temple shows his great faith, my study Bible notes, for he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure rather than going to someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells him, "Sin no more."  My study Bible comments on this that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), this connection is not always one-to-one, for the innocent frequently suffer, and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).  However, sometimes our sins do lead directly to our own suffering. According to St. Chrysostom, this was the case with the paralytic.  But Christ's warning here is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  My study Bible comments that the only hope is to flee from sin altogether.  The man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders  of the Jews in a way that is malicious, but rather as a witness to the goodness of Christ.  Although these leaders are only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, this healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing about carrying his bed.  

 

 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."   Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.  When Jesus declares God to be My Father, my study Bible explains, the Jews (the religious leaders) clearly understand that it implies total equality.  In the following reading, Jesus will continue expressing the truth of the nature of the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

Sometimes, we might observe, telling the truth doesn't solve all of our problems in a difficult situation.  Like the case is with Jesus, the truth about something is often jarring or disconcerting, particularly among an audience that cannot and does not want to accept its ramifications and meanings.  The implication of Christ's words here is perfectly clear to these religious leaders, who know the Scriptures and understand what Jesus language is telling them, but they cannot accept the conclusions that so disagree with their assumptions and what they think they know.  How can this Man, Jesus, possibly make Himself equal with the Father without blaspheming?  Moreover, their exclusive focus on the Sabbath violation -- that is, the violation they perceive this healing to be -- already sets them into their trajectory of hostility toward Jesus.  The Gospel has told us already that these religious leaders have before now become aware that Jesus baptizes more than John, and this was already enough cause for concern and alarm that Jesus departed for Galilee (which meant going through Samaria) to avoid them (see John 4:1-4).  In this case, the truth of who Christ is reveals something which is beyond what they can accept, and they are outraged as a result.  Envy, fear of losing their positions and authority, and a host of other passions play a driving role in the hostility of these men, and the eventual death of Jesus via their machinations.  But for now, Jerusalem, and this time of Christ's third sign of seven given in John's Gospel, the healing of this man, is the place Christ has chosen to reveal these truths about Himself.  The healing as a sign reveals the divine power to restore a person to wholeness, my study Bible says, and we have no reason to doubt that this is also not lost on the religious leaders, and it is something they wish to reject.  Certainly they fear the people should they choose to embrace Jesus as Messiah, preferring His authority to theirs.  For all kinds of reasons, it's often assumed that simply telling or revealing the truth about something will solve problems, take away anger and dissension, resolve arguments.  But Christ's story teaches us that this is not at all necessarily the case.  Far from it, Christ's truth instead, as He has told us Himself, works as a sword (Matthew 10:34-39).  Human beings accept the reality of Christ and His mission of salvation and deliverance, or they don't.  This is the real power of truth on this level, that it bears no compromise.  We can't say that He was "sort of" divine, or that His relationship to the Father was partial, or that the revelations in the Gospels don't really impact spiritual history the way that they do.  Often, the truth in any situation has a similar impact, where the reach of its implications clashes with things people don't want to accept or acknowledge as real.  So it is with the story of Christ, and remains so for us today.  But we should notice that Christ's own mission is gradual.  He does not immediately declare Himself in the fullness of His identity from the beginning, nor does He perform His marvelous signs all at once and on the first day of public ministry.  We should look to this for ourselves in our own lives, for Jesus teaches us discernment in what we do and how we live, in whom we approach and why, and in those whom we do not.  It's a very important and essential lesson to learn for all of us.  As human beings, our truths are always partial; we don't know God in the fullness of who God is.  But Jesus has come into the world to reveal God to us (John 14:9), as we can accept and understand it.  He is here to minister to us, to bring the gospel of grace and love, to save and not to condemn (John 12:47).  But our rejection of what He offers will also have its effect.  Let us look to Him and learn from Him. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up

 

 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  

 

So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

 

- John 2:13–22 

 

Yesterday we read that, on the sixth day given of Christ's newly-beginning public ministry, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. 

 

  Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."   Here in today's reading is another distinctive element of St. John's Gospel.  In the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) this cleansing of the temple occurs at the end of Christ's ministry.  But John places it here right at the beginning.  There are certain patristic commentaries which teach that Christ performed this act twice.  This is the first of three Passover feasts included in St. John's Gospel; it's one way that we know His public ministry lasted three years.  In this incident, those who sold oxen and sheep and doves were trading live animals to be used for sacrifices.  Sacrifices were a true function of the temple, meant to be part of communal meals "setting right" the people with their God and community, a part of the amelioration of the effects of sin, and the understanding of righteousness.  The money changers traded Roman coins for Jewish coins, since Roman coins bore the image of Caesar (worshiped as a god) and were considered defiling in the temple.  Christ's cleansing of the temple is about the corruption which had become endemic and penalized the poor, the greed and hypocrisy of the religious leaders.  My study Bible comments that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered a temple of God, it notes (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), it is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.  The disciples remember "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up" as written in Psalm 69:9.

 

 So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  My study Bible explains that, since Jesus is not a Levitical priest, His authority to cleanse the temple is challenged.  In St. John's Gospel, the term Jews is meant most often to refer specifically to the religious leaders.  In this case, it refers to the chief priests and the elders (see Matthew 21:23).  It's important to remember that all the people in this story are devout Jews, including Jesus, His disciples, and the author of this Gospel.  As Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, my study Bible says, He answers in a hidden way.  The ultimate sign will be His death and Resurrection.

 

The Gospel presents us today with an interesting contrast between what is hidden and what is not.  Here Jesus performs a very open and public act, one which would clearly garner much attention, as it is openly done against the system of the temple and its leadership.  The first question that opens itself up in this circumstance is one of authority, and it is there where the religious authorities zero in and begin to ask Jesus questions.  He needs to prove He has the authority to do this, and show them a sign to do so, as some sort of extraordinary proof of God's presence.  Well, Jesus is not going to do that, and He openly tells them so.  He's not going to give signs and proofs because unfaithful people demand it of Him.  Christ's signs and miracles come to the faithful.  Importantly, as our reading today deals with sacrifices, Christ's signs come in fulfillment of righteousness and communion between God and the faithful, God's people, and through the power and will of God -- not on demand by scoffers or hypocrites whose minds are already made up against Him.  And yet, we've just read (in yesterday's reading, above) about the first sign of St. John's Gospel, the turning of water to wine at the wedding in Cana.  Here was, in a sense, a "quiet" miracle, a sign given through the prompting (or intercession) of Christ's mother.  They had run out of wine at the wedding, and so this first sign of God's extraordinary presence occurred in the 30 gallon stone waterpots filled with water for cleansing, and it was transformed into the best wine.  Note the contrast between that almost private community affair of the wedding (and those who knew and understood about the wine) and this busy Passover festival, with all the noise and hustle and bustle of pilgrims purchasing sacrifices, and the money changers exchanging coins.  It must have presented quite an extraordinary and even cacophonous scene.  There can be no doubt of the attention which Christ's action would have brought upon Himself from both religious leadership and the people.  Now the power of human religious authority will focus its attention in Him, the One who has now challenged that authority with this act of cleansing the temple, and we already know where it will all lead (as Jesus forewarned His mother in quoting the widow Zarephath's question to Elijah in response to Mary's prompting about the wine -- see yesterday's reading and commentary; also 1 Kings 17:17-18).  Here is another riddle, another mystery of our faith?  How is a "sign" hidden?  How is the Christ hidden in plain sight?  How are the religious leaders blind, while the disciples and John the Baptist see?  How is Christ a temple, and so are we?  These are all questions we must begin to ponder and to consider as the Gospel unfolds.  Like the three days He was hidden in the tomb, so we understand the power of God at work, even though we may be completely unaware.

 

 

 

 

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the LORD"

 

 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said:  "I am 

 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

"Make straight the way of the LORD," '

as the prophet Isaiah said."

 

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

 

- John 1:19–28 

 

Yesterday we read what is known as the Prologue of the Gospel according to St. John:   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.   This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came into His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"  And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. 

 

 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  Here the theological Prologue to John's Gospel has finished with the previous verse (see above), and now the focus of the Gospel turns to the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry.  This begins with the witness of St. John the Baptist (John 1:19-34).  We will in turn read of the calling of the first apostles, the first "sign" (of seven) at Cana, and Christ's rest at Capaernaum (John 1:35-51; 2:1-11; 2:12).  Just as the Gospel began by echoing the words of Genesis, with "In the beginning," so we are given seven days in the beginning of Christ's public ministry.  Today's reading includes the events of the "first day," John the Baptist bears witness to the Light -- that is, the Christ -- in the presence of the Jews.  This parallels the creation of light on the first day, my study Bible says, in Genesis 1:3-5.  

 

And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said:  "I am  'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD," ' as the prophet Isaiah said."  John is a prophet (indeed, he is considered in the Church to be the last and greatest of Old Testament style prophets).  But he is not the Prophet, the Messiah, whose coming was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  Describing himself in response to the questioning of the priests and Levites from Jerusalem, John quotes from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3).

 

 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.  John baptizes for repentance (a traditional call of the prophets), but he does so in preparation for the "One among you whom you do not know."  He points to the Christ, in preparation for Him, but moreover in distinguishing himself from Christ, "whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  While John baptizes for repentance, Christ's baptism will grant remission of sins; John is preparing the people for this future Christian baptism (see Romans 6:3-11).  My study Bible says that John is a figure of the Law in that, like the Law, he denounced sin but could not remit ("put away") sin.  Both John and the Law point to the One who can remit sin.

 

It's very important that John distinguishes himself from the Christ, for this teaches us both about the roles of saints in the whole of the salvation plan of God, and the singular importance of Christ Himself and His own mission and ministry in the world.  John speaks of himself in relation to the Christ, not simply about himself alone, for in all ways we also are to understand ourselves in relation to Christ.  John is called the Forerunner in the traditions of the various Orthodox Churches, because he plays this distinct and important role in preparing people for the Christ.  Indeed, in the theology of the Eastern Church, John the Baptist is understood to have preceded Christ into Hades, preparing the souls there for Christ as well.  John thus knows both who he is (and the role he is to play), and who Christ is, and clarifies this for all the people.  In his own time, John the Baptist was widely revered and recognized by the people as a holy man, yet he will point his disciples to the Christ, as we will read.  As He says of Christ, His "sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  For all who will come to believe in Christ, including us of the present day, John significantly teaches humility before Christ, our proper relationship to Christ as servants.  In this way John has served perpetually as a model for monastics, inspiring the earliest forms of monastic life to those of the present time.  He teaches all believers that our identity, our own place in the salvation history of the world, comes in relation to our place in serving Christ, the particular role we might fulfill in this respect in our own lives, in living our faith and thus finding ultimate purpose through Him.  John the Baptist serves as a model for us in this sense as well, in that this is how we both know who we are, and who the Christ is.  There is also a very distinguishing sense of continuity in the story and role of John the Baptist, in that he is the one figure who fulfills the "handover" from the Old Testament to the New, the one who prepares the people for Christ, the Messiah.  John quotes from Isaiah, in a prophesy regarding himself and his role, and reminds us also that for all the Old Testament prophets, the mission was to prepare the people for the Christ, to turn them back to God.  So we today must also be aware of this continuity, for they all have labored for us to know Christ, and to find ourselves in Him as well.  Let us, in our own hearts and lives, "Make straight the way of the LORD," even if at times we may feel ours is also the voice of one crying in the wilderness.