You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!

 

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.  

 

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out!

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

The King of Israel!"

 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion;

Behold, your King is coming,

Sitting on a donkey's colt."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

 

- John 12:9–19 

 

Yesterday we read that the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think -- that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should  report it, that they might seize Him.  Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who  had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."

 

  Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.  Again, we must explain that most often the term the Jews, as used in St. John's Gospel, denotes those of the religious leadership in Jerusalem and others close to them.  (Literally translated, it is read as "Judeans" by some.)  It's important to remember that Jesus, His disciples, and those who believe in Him (including the one who gave his name to this Gospel) are Jews.  So here in this particular instance St. John is using the term to refer to people from Jerusalem who had come to mourn with Martha and Mary when their brother Lazarus died.  Thus, they became witnesses to Jesus' seventh of seven signs in this Gospel, the raising of Lazarus (as explained in this reading).  It's notable here that the chief priests now plot not only how to put Jesus to death, but also Lazarus, because so many among their prominent community in Jerusalem now believe in Jesus. 

 

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out!  "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  The cry of the great multitude, welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem (in what is called the Triumphal Entry) is from Psalm 118:25-26.  It is associated with messianic expectation, for it was recited daily for six days at the Feast of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved. We remember the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot in Hebrew) commemorates the time Israel followed Moses through the wilderness toward the Promised Land.  It is also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"  So it is appropriately addressed to the Lord, Savior and Deliverer.

 

 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  This quotation is from the prophecy of Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9).  This event, in which Jesus openly enters the Holy City welcomed by a great multitude of followers, is known as the Triumphal Entry.  In other words, He openly comes in the manner of a king.  Except Jesus is not a conqueror nor king in the traditional sense (John 18:36).  A conquering king or general would display material power, riding with horses, cavalry, weapons.  But Jesus rides on a young donkey, which is a sign of humility and peace.  My study Bible comments that this entrance into Jerusalem declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It is moreover a promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  

 

 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. A sign of the working of the Holy Spirit, illuminating the disciples as to the fulfillment of Scripture.  

 

 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"  Again, the Gospel reiterates the witnesses from Jerusalem to the raising of Lazarus, and their impact on the community surrounding the temple, the center of Jewish life.  And at the same time, we see the growing resistance, resentment, and fear of Jesus from the Pharisees, a powerful group among the leadership in the temple.  Whatever they see is deepening their determination to put Him to death.  

 

The last few verses in today's reading give us a picture of the multiple paths of spiritual movement that are at work among this community into which Jesus now enters, welcomed by a "great multitude" as Messiah.  The Messiah represented hope for many things:  the people look for a deliverer from subjection to other ruling powers like the Romans (and they have been a colony of other big powers as well).   Many carried expectations that the Messiah would be a Deliverer in the traditional sense of one who came to right wrongs, to create justice in human terms, to conquer all foreign and hostile powers, to make Israel a land of plenty forever.  (See chapter 6, in which after Jesus fed a multitude in the wilderness, they sought to make Him king by force; specifically John 6:15.)  At the same time, we see multiple trajectories given here regarding the state of faith of different groups of people.  Christ's disciples will grow into greater understanding after Christ's Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  For now, events are understandably overwhelming, and even among themselves they no doubt cherish hopes that are widespread among the people regarding what Christ's kingdom would look like.  So, the Gospel teaches us what path they are on, in the light of what is coming, the understanding that would produce this Gospel and the others.  Secondly we're given the joyous welcome in the eyes of those witnesses from Jerusalem and the others in the community who have heard the story of the raising of Lazarus.  They welcome Him as Messiah.  But this event -- the Triumphal Entry -- is what we know as Palm Sunday.  It is the beginning of the events we commemorate as Holy Week, and in a few days perhaps many of them will be among the crowds, stirred up by the chief priests and shouting for His Crucifixion (Mark 15:11-15).  In St. John's Gospel, the crowd is presented as fickle.  My study Bible uses the expression, "the crowd follows the crowd."  Finally there are the Pharisees, who sense their authority and influence is threatened, and grow exasperated and desperate, for their efforts fail in their own eyes when they see the people welcoming Jesus.  They grow even more determined that the solution is to put Him to death as a criminal, for their own accusations of blasphemy or other criticisms will now fall on deaf ears among the people.  They will be unable to do this on their own, as they are ruled by Rome, which alone had the authority to punish a capital crime.  They will have to find another way.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS

 

 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  Him they compelled to bear His cross.  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of the Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.  But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

"They divided My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots."

Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one of the right and another on the left.  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads, and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. 

 

- Matthew 27:32-44 

 

Yesterday we read that when Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

 

Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  Him they compelled to bear His cross.  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of the Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.  But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, / And for My clothing they cast lots."  Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:  THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one of the right and another on the left.  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads, and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.  My study Bible comments on today's passage that Jesus accepts mockery and endures the weakness of our body in His own to take upon Himself our sufferings.  This He accomplishes, it says, by uniting His divine nature to our human nature.  His humanity is truly our humanity.  Although He has no sin, He was made to be sin for us, that through His flesh He might condemn sin itself (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:9).  Here St. Matthew teaches us about the two robbers who were crucified with Him:  my study Bible points out that although one would later repent (Luke 23:39-43), at first both criminals mock Jesus.  

It seems almost impossible in a world such as we moderns inhabit in the West to consider what it means that God Himself came into earthly life in human form, and was subjected not only to that diminution in stature, but even to the scourging, mocking, beating, and finally humiliation on the Cross that we read about in today's reading.  Even His clothes are taken from Him, stakes in a game of chance. Thinking solely of the pain that Christ endured -- for crucifixion was the most torturous of punishments in the Roman system, reserved for the worst criminals -- it should have been unthinkable for One so exalted to endure such treatment.  In the ancient world the emperors ruled; there was a great sense of hierarchy.  Even today we still have kings and queens and dignitaries, Presidents and Prime Ministers, those whom we consider to be privileged and important in particular ways.  This is not limited to formal society but certainly exists as well in criminal hierarchies.  But where would we find One like Christ who was willing to be humiliated and suffering, subject to the most abject shame before all including His disciples and His mother?  No, our story is unique and remains so, despite the fact that many of us -- so used to the promises and even entitlements of democracy and values of equality -- are subject to constant demands and complaints about lack of privilege.  How is Christ even comprehensible -- in an ancient world, or even today's world?  This is the powerful story that is "a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks" and still remains so, no matter which political theory one may espouse or hear or find in a social order in this world.  This is not simply a Man who suffers for others, who suffers for us, but God who has subjected Himself to this suffering in order to bring His divine healing to us and to our world.  Today we worship other idols than in Christ's time; often these are sports stars, or movie stars, or even for some politicians or political activists of many stripes.  And like Barabbas, there are those who murder for social change.  But Christ remains a staggering testimony to love above even the best, for His compassion, condescension, and willingness to suffer so that we might all be freed in the cosmic sense of salvation offered to all, which is the meaning of "for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).  The irony is present here in the name of the crime for which He is crucified, for it speaks the truth, and echoes the deeper, grander truth far greater than anyone can estimate on that universal and even cosmic scale.  He is the King who gives all for us, from love that calls us all.

 

 

 

 

THE KING OF THE JEWS

 

 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

 THE KING OF THE JEWS.

With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who  destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

 

- Mark 15:22–32 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the crowds, being stirred up by the chief priests, demanded Jesus' crucifixion and asked instead for Barabbas to be freed, Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!'  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of  the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

 

 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  It seems somehow strangely disjointed from the time to consider that at the Crucifixion of the Man who fulfilled so many prophesies, these soldiers would, in fact, cast lots for His garments, essentially gambling for them.  These are the garments which healed those who simply touched them in faith (see Mark 5:25-34; 6:56).   

 

 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:  THE KING OF THE JEWS.  The third hour corresponds to 9:00 in the morning.  Regarding the inscription, THE KING OF THE JEWS, my study Bible comments that this title, intended as an accusation and mockery, becomes instead a triumphant symbol.  Again, this is an unwitting act of prophecy connected with Christ's Crucifixion, this time on the part of Pilate.  According to my study Bible, it shows that the nation has risen against their own King, and that the cross was the means by which Christ established His Kingdom.  

 

 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who  destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.  My study Bible claims that Christ being crucified between two robbers not only fulfills the Scripture, as noted in this passage (see also Isaiah 53:12), but shows that He is completely identifying with sinful humanity.  

 

Once again, we experience the "upside down" quality of this time in which Jesus is led to the Crucifixion.  My study Bible explains the title on the insignia of the Cross, meant to humiliate, and yet it was unwittingly a prophesy, and inadvertently proclaimed the truth about Jesus Christ.   Even so, at the same time, it fulfilled the prophesy, "And He was numbered with the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12).  Again, the "upside down" quality is present in that Christ is the singular Innocent, free of sin as no one else is, and yet, He's numbered with the transgressors.  In this sense, He bears the sins of the world, although He comes in order to forgive and to redeem.  Notice also how the text tells us that Jesus is blasphemed, by those who wag their heads and tell Him,  "Aha!  You who  destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  This is the Man who performed many healing miracles, and yet here He's mocked for seemingly failing to save Himself.  The chief priests most notably jeer at Him regarding His incapacity to "save," once again demanding a sign from Him, "that we may see and believe."  It's like they've never heard Him before when He's told them He will not produce a sign on demand (Mark 8:11-12).  Moreover, there is a greater irony here, in that we know the truth -- that Jesus has purposefully gone to the Cross of His own volition and for His own purposes, which they cannot imagine nor understand.  The text also tells us that even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.  But we know that at least one of these men with Him will be saved, and possibly both (see Luke 23:39-43).  But Christ goes so that we will follow.  In His death on the Cross, He will defeat death through His Resurrection and Ascension, human nature taken up into Paradise with Him, and transfiguring human suffering such as is witnessed through such a cruel death.  Those who revile Him cannot see what is happening in front of them, and to the defeat of their purposes in putting Christ to death.  In Galatians 3, St. Paul tells us, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).  Those who were to uphold the Law inverted both its purpose and letter in putting Christ to death; yet through the use of the law, Christ removes its curse once and for all, and for all humankind.  One really couldn't imagine a more "upside down" vision than the one His detractors have of Him and what He does on the Cross, in His suffering, humiliation, and death.  All of this brutality, injustice, and ugliness is transfigured in Christ, so that He may in turn transfigure us and out suffering and sin -- even the curse of evil -- in our own lives.  All of it is done through faith, and that is where we must start, with Him, and where we must end also with Him.  

 

 

 

Hosanna! "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" The King of Israel

 

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. 

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

The King of Israel!"

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion; 

Behold, your King is coming,

Sitting on a donkey's colt."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  

 

Therefore the people who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!" 

 

- John 12:9–19 

 

Yesterday we read that the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.  (This marks the third Passover reported in John's Gospel, and gives us our understanding of Christ's three-year period of earthly ministry.)  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think -- that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.  Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."

 

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.   Once again, we note that the term the Jews is most often used in John's Gospel to indicate the religious leadership.   Some comment that it might be better translated as "Judeans," and indicating people from this region, as juxtaposed against Galilee, where Jesus is from.  But it seems quite possible that, given those who had come to grieve with Martha and Mary, and so witnessed the raising of Lazarus, this term here indicates people from Jerusalem and so those connected with the ruling classes of the temple.  All of the people in our reading are Jews, including Jesus and His disciples, which included the author of this Gospel.   Clearly what the Gospel describes here is a falling away to Christ of even those in Jerusalem and perhaps among the families connected to the ruling Council, in a very real sense rejecting the opposition of the religious leaders to Jesus.

 

 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  This day is known as Palm Sunday, for the branches of palm trees the people carried as went out to meet Him.  It is the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life.  The scenes in today's reading mark what is called Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  This cry of the people comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily during the Feast of Tabernacles, my study Bible tells us, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  The Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot in Hebrew) commemorates the time Israel wandered in the wilderness following Moses toward the promised land, and is also called the Feast of the Coming Kingdom.  Hosanna means "Save, we pray!"

 

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; 

Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  These verses, recognized later by the disciples as fulfilled in Christ's riding on a young donkey in His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, come from the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.  

Therefore the people who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"  The raising of Lazarus from the dead, the seventh and final sign performed by Christ in John's Gospel, becomes a sword which separates people.  Let us note the details mentioned here.  John speaks of "the people who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead," and it is to these details they bore witness.   On the one hand there are these faithful witnesses who testify to the truth of this event, and the people go to meet Jesus because of the testimony of these witnesses.  But on the other hand, the Pharisees can only think that Christ is in their opposition; they haven't vanquished Him, but the people follow Him.  Therefore they are "accomplishing nothing."

One thing is clear to see in today's text:  the people are waiting for a Savior, the Messiah.  That is, someone who will deliver them from Roman rule, and establish Israel as a sovereign and prosperous state.  The people's shout, "Hosannah!" sets the tone for this plea.  And so, as the people welcome Jesus into Jerusalem, it is clear that the raising of Lazarus -- spread through the testimony of the witnesses to this final sign of John's Gospel -- has had the effect of convincing people that Jesus has to be the one.  But expectations are tricky and possibly devious things.  While in our faith, we understand that Christ is indeed, the Messiah (this is what the word "Christ" means in Greek, the "Anointed One"), the expectations of just what the Messiah will do are not necessarily fitting to what He is and who He is.  He is a Deliverer, and a Savior, but what does that deliverance look like, and what is salvation?  All of these meanings, essential to Christianity, taught in His ministry, will have to be understood and apprehended by the faith and trust people put in Him, and through the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the evolution of the Church.  In the gospel of St. Matthew, when Jesus cleanses the temple, the children shout "Hosannah to the Son of David!" (Matthew 21:14-16).  This "Hosennah" again suggests the cry for a Savior, a Deliverer, and the title Son of David is a messianic title.  But we understand it as akin to the words of welcome to Jesus in today's reading, "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!"  The King of Israel would have to be the Son of David, as the true King and Messiah, one from the lineage of David, and that is Christ.  But what are the expectations of this king? What do the people want?  In commentary on the passage from Matthew, my study Bible notes that in the eyes of the Church, the children's praise is perfect (and we know Christ's own response to the criticism of the children by the chief priests and scribes: "Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?").  But by contrast, the expectations of the adults are different and earthly in nature; when these are left unfulfilled, my study Bible says, they would be led to rebel against Jesus just five days later.  In John's chapter 6, we read that, after feeding the multitudes with bread in the wilderness while still in Galilee, the people tried to take Him by force to make Him king (John 6:15).  But Jesus responded, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  And so, Jesus' ministry has been filled with His efforts to teach the people what His messiahship means, what kind of King He really is, and what sort of Kingdom He brings into the world.  He asks for faith, but what does this faith look like?  Is it the same as obedience to Caesar?  Is it different?  How do we worship Him; most importantly, how do we trust in Him?  The people's improper expectations of Him have been a concern expressed through Christ's ministry all along.  What do we expect from Him?  How do we trust Him?    At this time, lots of people seem to be searching for a Deliverer or a Savior, as perhaps people always have.  What does He teach us about that?  How does He teach us to live our faith in Him even when we cry out to Him?  In whom or what do we place our trust?  The chief priests and scribes complain, "Look, the world has gone after Him!"  What does the world go after today? These matters are still with us, and we need to consider them carefully, and ponder how He answers to us all. 

 

 

 

 

 

If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross

 

 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  Him they compelled to bear His cross.  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.  But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

"They divided My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots."

Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS

Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

 

- Matthew 27:32-44 

 

Yesterday we read that when Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all as he tried to have Jesus released instead of Barabbas, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person.  You see to it."  And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.  And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.  And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.   

 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.  Him they compelled to bear His cross.  And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.  But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.  Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:  "They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."  This quotation is from Psalm 22:18.  If we read the entire psalm, we see it is a picture of the Crucifixion.

Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.  And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:  THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.  Of today's entire reading, my study Bible comments that Jesus accepts mockery and endures the weakness of our body in His own in order to take upon Himself our sufferings.  This He accomplishes by uniting His divine nature to our human nature.  His humanity is indeed our humanity.  Although He has no sin, He was made to be sin for us, that through His flesh He might condemn sin itself (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:9).  Of the two robbers, we know that one would later repent (Luke 23:39-43), but at first both criminals mock Jesus, as Matthew notes.

So why does Jesus endure all of this at the Cross?  Why has He gone through scourging and mocking and cursing and all the rest of it?  He has said Himself that He could pray to the Father and be given twelve legions of angels to stop what is happening to Him (Matthew 26:53).  In every way, the Gospels teach us that this is a voluntary place that Christ goes to, even this horrible miscarriage of justice, with intentional violations of the Mosaic law at every turn in His trial, from false witnesses to a night trial to all the rest of it.  Even to be "betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matthew 26:45) is part of what He voluntarily undergoes.  None of this takes away the sin of those who commit such acts (Matthew 26:24).  But the deliberate cruelty and injustice that Christ endures here tells us a story for all of us and for all time, about the power of God for transcendence and Resurrection, about divinity and goodness that are nonetheless not impaired through bad treatment, and especially about the power of God that goes first before us into a deeply sinful world and shows us the way through.  But even more powerfully, we are to understand holiness through Christ and through the gift of the Spirit.  Resurrection, for example, is a mystery far beyond some sort of rational explanation or moral aphorism.  It is the same with the Cross, and all of these aspects of Christ's Crucifixion.  Jesus as both God and Man enters into the territory of the worst of human sin and atrocities of injustice, unrighteousness.  As the Son of God He is blasphemed, tempted, mocked, scourged, derided, and treated to behavior meant to number Him among the lowest criminals, worthy only of cruelty and contempt.  But none of these actions change who Christ is.  There is no injustice or lie that can actually change the truth about Jesus Christ, that He is both divine in origin and sinless as human being.  This alone is a powerful lesson and inspiration to any of us who have experienced injustice in our lives, for we look to Him as the example of righteousness.  Rather, we look to Christ's faith as an example of how we ourselves should endure in a sinful world.  We hold fast to what is good.  It is the transforming power of the divine, of the very mission of Incarnate Christ, that turns the Cross into a way to redeem our lives and to fill even the worst of times with meaning and mission.  For what the divine has touched and endures through Christ sanctifies and heals our lives, even in the worst of what we do or what is done to us.  It is He who went to the Cross voluntarily who has the power to reach into our deepest places, and to teach us what needs to be changed and healed, to teach us what is properly love, to radically transform what needs transforming, and to teach us His love and redeem us through it.  Only through "becoming sin" -- this image of the worst of the worst, the One who was numbered among the transgressors, among the lowest criminals, who appears to the world as cursed (Galatians 3:13), and reviled, and all the rest of the things we see in today's reading -- can Christ's divinity touch us in all our most difficult and dark places.  For if He came to the world in the image of the all-powerful glorious majesty that is truly the Son of God, what would that have done to lift us up with Him?  What would that have done to make us come to Him and reveal our most shameful secrets so that they may be healed in His love?  The beloved disciple writes:  "We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19), and that is what this story truly tells us today.  This is the answer to those who taunt Him to come down from the Cross.

Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt

 

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. 

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

The King of Israel!"

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion;

Behold, your King is coming,

Sitting on a donkey's colt."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. 

 

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

 

- John 12:9-19 

 

Yesterday we read that the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think -- that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.  Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."

 

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.   The Gospel emphasizes for us the significance of the raising of Lazarus from death; many of those from Jerusalem have now begun to believe in Jesus.  This is the home ground of the chief priests and the religious rulers, where people begin to have faith in the authority of Jesus.  So great is the perceived threat that the chief priests plot to put Lazarus to death also.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  The people's cry is from Psalm 118:25-26.   These verses are associated with messianic expectation.  They were recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means "Save, we pray!"   It is a plea to the Messiah.  In this context, the pronouncement of Caiaphas that it is "expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" takes on heightened significance, as we can see the growing tension of the religious rulers as Jesus is greeted as Messiah and Deliverer. 

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."   His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.   My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  But Jesus does not come as conqueror with horses and chariots and army to establish and earthly kingdom.  He rides on a young donkey, a sign of humility and peace.  The quotation is from Zechariah 9:9, which the disciples only later come to understand as fulfilled by Jesus when He was glorified, and upon receipt of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"   Again, the text emphasizes for us this peak of tension with the religious rulers.  The people welcome Jesus as liberating Messiah, and are filled with expectation and hope, especially because of the testimony of those from Jerusalem who had been with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead.  This final and seventh sign of John's Gospel has sent the people to Christ, as the Pharisees say to one another, "Look, the world has gone after Him!"

John's Gospel builds up for us the political tension in Jerusalem and especially among the religious establishment toward Jesus.  Jesus is now hailed and received into Jerusalem as a Messiah, and we know that political tensions are high because of the Roman occupation.  The expectations of the people clamor for a political Messiah, one who will liberate them from occupation, and restore David's kingdom.  It is in this context that John seems to ask us to understand what is happening.  Jesus has come into Jerusalem riding on a young donkey, a "donkey's colt," as the quotation from Zechariah says.  He has come as the Messiah or Prince of Peace, and not to establish an earthly kingdom.  As He will say to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).  But the people expect something else, await something else, deeply desire a kingdom that is "of this world."  The religious leaders, who have positions of authority and are entrusted by the Roman rulers to keep the community in order, also fear the people's faith in Jesus, that "the world has gone after Him!" also for political reasons.  They want to guard their places, and they fear Roman response and repression because of the popularity of Jesus.  So what we seem to have in this story are false expectations all around about Jesus.  Neither those who welcome Him as conquering Messiah nor the religious rulers who fear loss of their own authority because of Jesus truly understand what He is about.  Let us also observe the disciples who follow Him in faith.  John's Gospel makes it clear that at the time when this event occurs (which we commemorate as Palm Sunday), the disciples really do not understand what is happening.  They don't understand the significance of the young donkey, for example.  It is only after Jesus is glorified, John tells us, that they begin to more fully understand Christ's gospel of the Kingdom.  But they show us a way through times of great tension and confusion, when all about us seem to be caught up into movements of the day, and especially times of conflict and violence.  In today's reading, we're given a picture of the mixed motivations that are all around in such times, and that would also include the story of Judas and the role He will play, even the betrayal that will come from among them.   But the way the disciples show us, when we are caught up in such times of confusion ourselves, is to follow Christ in faith, even if we do not have sufficient knowledge of the fullness of the time to understand what is happening.  For it is our God of peace whom we truly need; it is Christ who shows us the way to true order and true justice; it is His way and His love we need to seek for ourselves, for through Him we are also the children of God's house by adoption, and there is one Lord we serve and in whom we trust.  The people of Jerusalem greet Him as material Savior and Deliverer, but we have been shown the greater meaning of those titles.  There will be all kinds of people who present themselves to the world as liberators, but it is Christ who truly cares for our souls, and who has suffered for (and with) all of us.

 

 

Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him

 

 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"   Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

 

- Mark 15:22–32 

 

 Yesterday we read that Pilate answered and said to the crowd again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.  Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.  Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

 

And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Golgotha is the Place of a Skull, the place of death.  This is the full human experience of the Lord, the author of life.  He did not take anything that would blunt His pain in being crucified.  He has the full measure of unjust suffering that is possible for a human being.  They divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take:  see Psalm 22:18.   In tomorrow's reading, Mark reports Christ praying this psalm, giving us its first verse as His cry from the cross (Mark 15:34).  Regarding the inscription on the Cross, my study Bible comments that what was intended as an accusation and a mockery became instead a triumphant symbol.  Pilate's act of giving Jesus this title (see John 19:19-22) is prophetic, showing that the religious leaders had risen against their own King, and that the cross was the means by which Christ established His Kingdom.

 

 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"   Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.  That Christ was crucified between two robbers not only fulfills the Scripture, my study Bible says (see Isaiah 53:12), but also shows He is completely identifying with sinful humanity.  Those who passed by blasphemed Him and the chief priests and scribes are mocking Him.  He has fallen to such a low place in the social order that even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him, even as His Cross bears the title KING.

 

What are we to make of this scene?  Christ is reviled even by those who are crucified with Him, mocked, derided.  The words of prophecy regarding His Resurrection are misunderstood and thrown back in His face as sadistic ridicule (see John 2:18-22).  Those who say these things to Him are no doubt taking pleasure in His pain, and what seems to be an ignominious end and failure of His ministry.  It seems to me to tell us many important things.  First of all, there is the appearance of failure.  Christ's "failure" is not failure, but prelude to triumph.  Imagine this scene, and then the impossible, unheard-of news that will come at the tomb, and later on as He makes appearances to His disciples.  The rest of the 2,000 year history of the Church will follow, but for now let us consider how the gospel message will spread throughout the Roman Empire and across the known world of the time through the apostles.  So the appearance of failure cannot be trusted.  On the other hand, it also teaches us that the "success" of this scheme is no success at all.  The apparent successes we see in life are equally simply appearances.  The engineering of this evil and cruel end, despite the terror of His great suffering and punishment under a system reserved for the worst of criminals, will achieve nothing of the desired ends of those who want Jesus dead.  Rather, to the country, it will be used by God as triumph, as clear indication that God's power prevails over that of human beings -- but more importantly, over evil.  But there is something more that comes out of this horrible scene, and that is its meaning personally for us and in our own lives.  The fact that our Creator has apparently (that is, to human eyes) "failed" so spectacularly is a message to each of us.  And that is a message of hope that always exists as a seed in every circumstance.  The appearance of failure, even the apparent triumph of evil, should never stop a faithful Christian from pursuing our faith, and our lives as we are asked by God to live them.  We understand through this scene that our world is not perfect, nor does our Lord proclaim it to be "perfect."  Rather, He lives the injustice and pain of the world.  As the prophet says, "He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted" (see Isaiah 53:4-6).  We can be assured that whatever we go through, and whatever happens to us in life, our Savior has been there before us, and has assured us that no appearance of failure, no cruelty nor injustice can define who we are in God's sight.  This is because our Lord has shown us that nothing that He went through defined Him, except to teach us of His love for us, His willingness to suffer for love on our behalf.  So not only should we look at this scene, even when we want to recoil from it, and see its teaching that our real judgment does not come from this world, but also we must be able to see the immense, unfathomable love of our Creator for us.  Whatever happens in our lives, we can be upheld by these two things, and this is the gift of our enormously suffering Creator who loves us.  It really does not matter what comes along in life, who rejects us or reviles us, who mocks us and ridicules us, what failures in worldly terms we endure:  for the faithful person our Creator is truly the last word.  He is the Word Himself, and He will indeed have the last word as Judge.  Ultimately it is His judgment alone which we need to take about ourselves and all things; it is His judgment that will define reality and our worth, and His judgment that must lead us in our lives, even after a spectacular failure or setback, and no matter what are our afflictions.  This is what we must take from the Cross, the great gift of God to us, and especially the meaning of our Lord and Savior Jesus, who loves us so much He was willing to suffer and die for us.  He is left at this Place of a Skull, a garbage heap for human beings.  But what it means is that even when we might find ourselves in such a place, either figuratively or even literally, He is there out of love, with us.  We who follow Him are therefore those who always have hope.  We just have to seek and find His way for us through all things, even through a human garbage heap, with prayer -- and even in those times when, unlike Christ, our failure might be entirely our own.  He remains the answer to whatever it is we need.

THE KING OF THE JEWS

 And they brought Him to Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

- Mark 15:22-32

Yesterday we read that Pilate answered and said to crowds again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.  Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

And they brought Him to Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Once again, we find truth peeking out from what was intended to be an accusation and mockery.  My study bible calls this inscription a triumphant symbol.  John's Gospel teaches us that Pilate acted to place this title on the Cross (John 19:19-22).  My study bible says that Pilate's act is prophetic, showing that the Jews had risen against their own King, and that the cross was the means by which Christ has established His Kingdom.

With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.  My study bible comments here that Christ being crucified between two robbers not only fulfills the Scripture (v. 28; Isaiah 53:12), but also shows that He is completely identifying with sinful humanity.  Moreover the mocking continues by members of the leadership, and yet another demand for proof that He is the Christ.  The Gospel, in its details, wishes us to understand how lowly is His worldly state:  even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preaches, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake" (Matthew 5:11).  Here in today's reading, Jesus is living that teaching, first of all, before the rest of us.  He is the Master, and as He has taught also, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!" (Matthew 10:24-25).  Are we really prepared to follow in His footsteps?  The real question here is a deepening understanding of what exactly all of this means.  We understand that Christ goes to the Cross not simply "because it is written" (although true prophesy does teach us about things which will come to manifest; it does not cause those things to occur).  We understand that in all things, Christ is living faith.  That is, it is precisely as He prayed in the garden:  "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will" (see this reading).  There is a depth of reliance upon the Father and the Father's will that makes this death on the Cross bearable and possible.  In this sense, this is no ordinary crucifixion.  None of the others crucified on this or any other day transfigure the instrument of suffering to turn it into one of salvation and redemption.  There is only one Cross, and it is so precisely because of the way that Jesus lived His life and goes to His death:  His complete reliance and trust in the Father, and the subservience of His human will to God.  Fr. Stephen Freeman writes in a comment on his blog regarding our own acceptance of death and the Christian faith:  "It is not death that we desire, but union with Christ, including with His death. I think it is useful to make this distinction. Most of what the world encounters in death is precisely the enemy (death is the last enemy). It is ugly, brutal, frequently laced with meaninglessness, etc."  What we come to terms with in the death of Christ is how the Church will come to understand the death of its martyrs.  Death is transfigured through the Cross -- and most importantly, death as the final enemy, death as evil, is defeated.  This death on the Cross leads not only to Christ's Resurrection, but in that Resurrection so we are also lifted up with Him, and we may participate in this "cycle" in our own lives, wherever and whenever there is a kind of death, or encounter with evil.  When all things are given to God, even those which are nominally evil that we encounter in our lives, they are transfigured and given meaning.  We are to face them and live them through in faith and trust in God, as does Jesus.  Life is a journey.  Jesus tells us, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6),  and that word for way also means "road" in Greek.  Our road might pass through all kinds of things, but if it is the road we're given through our faith, it is the road that leads us somewhere, gives all things meaning as we pass through it, and brings us only that much closer to Him.   Even in this lowliest of states Jesus enters in today's reading, all things are given meaning, and in turn that meaning is offered to us through Christ.  Let us remember such a life is also one of witnessing, for an ultimate judgment.  In the end it means the defeat of that which seeks to harm and destroy, and it is for the life of the world.  Let us also understand that our own identity is not determined by our circumstances in the world, but rather through the faith which gives all things their meaning and value.

Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man

 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

- John 1:43-51

In yesterday's reading, which comprises the second and third day of the story of Jesus' ministry, we read that John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."   John gives us the following day in this beginning of his Gospel, making this the fourth day parallel to the creation week of Genesis.  In today's reading, Philip and Nathanael are called to discipleship, having been previously disciples of John the Baptist.  They see Christ as the true Light, the One who was revealed in the Old Testament, a lesser light.  It parallels the establishment of the lesser and greater lights governing the night and the day on the fourth day in Genesis 1:14-19.  Nathanael is also known as Bartholomew. 

And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"   Nazareth (and Galilee itself), we will read later on in scathing comments by the Pharisees, was not looked at as being at all distinguished in spiritual terms (see John 7:52).  Here, even Nathanael, who is also a Galilean (from Cana), speaks disparagingly of Nazareth.  But readers of the New Testament understand that Christ, although raised in Nazareth, was born in Bethlehem.  "No deceit," my study bible says, means both having a pure heart and being straightforward with others.  Nathanael is definitely not trying to use flattery or charm for any purpose!

Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  My study bible notes that what occurred under the fig tree is not precisely stated.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this was the meeting place of Philip and Nathanael, and Jesus was praising Nathanael for being so diligent and careful in His search for the Messiah.  Jesus' foreknowledge and ability to see into the heart of Nathanael stir him to this confession of faith.

And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."    Here the title Son of Man is introduced in this particular Gospel.  It is a title of the Messiah that had a level of mystery in its meaning, according to my study bible.  It indicated a man of heavenly origin who would usher in the Kingdom of God.  This title is originally found in the prophecy of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14).  In another Old Testament prophecy, Jacob dreamed of a ladder which connected earth to heaven, and upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:12-15).  By his own words, Jesus teaches us that He is in fact this "ladder" who unites earth to heaven; and therefore He is this Son of Man.

It is important right from "the beginning" (John 1:1, Genesis 1:1) that we understand who Jesus, the Son of Man, truly is.  John has established in the first verses of His Gospel, that Jesus is the Word, the Son, made incarnate as human being.  In yesterday's reading, this truth of His identity -- including His relationship as Son to both Father and Spirit -- was revealed to John the Baptist, who testifies of the vision he was given.  So, right from the start, John's Gospel establishes Christ as creator of the universe, that "all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."  But in the great and overarching poetry of the Gospel, nothing is lost in the facts of the Son of Man.  For even as our Creator, through Whom all things were made, Jesus' story, as Son of Man, is entirely one that is steeped in the humble, in the small and personal and particular.  One by one, His disciples are chosen.  It is approximately His thirtieth year of human life as Jesus, and now is the time He is revealed, only to John the Baptist, as the One upon whom sits the Holy Spirit (see yesterday's reading, above).  As Jesus is the ladder that unites earth to heaven, so the Gospel gives us a portrait of the Son of Man -- God condescending in human form to earth as the man Jesus, and we are given these intimate pictures of Jesus' life and beginning ministry.   When Jesus prepares His disciples for His Crucifixion, He gives us another image of the even tiny, small, intimate thing that manifests a tremendous -- seemingly impossible to quantify -- harvest, and compares Himself and His sacrifice on the Cross to a grain of wheat that falls to earth (John 12:24).    It was this paradox that turned the entire classical world to the mystery of Christ.  That is, the infinite contained in the small, the tiny, the finite -- God in humility descending to be one of us, and to suffer every injustice of the powerless in this world, even as One who never sins, compounding that injustice.  What we find in this tremendous story is the greatness of an entire and infinite universe contained in the personal and the finite.  Even in Nathanael's plainspokenness, we receive the wisdom of the Gospel.  As one of us, the Son of Man unites heaven with earth, making it possible for us to be like Him and with Him.  This remains the story behind the story, which we should never forget, because that story is made just for us -- each one of us, in our most intimate and humble times of our lives.  He is here for each one of us and so commands that we should remember at all times (see this reading).

An Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit

 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

- John 1:43-51

We have begun reading the Gospel of John this week.   First came its theological Prologue, and then we were introduced to John the Baptist, as the Gospel begins to tell of a foundational week in Jesus' ministry.  Yesterday, we read about its second and third days, in which John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."   And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending like a dove, and he remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"   He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where he was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.

 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"   Jesus and His first disciples are Galileans, and this is where His ministry will begin.  Nathanael disparages Nazareth as a place from where someone of such significance could come; this is not the place from which the Messiah was to originate, nor figured in any prophecy.  But Jesus sees right into Nathanael.  To have no deceit, says my study bible, means both having a pure heart and being straightforward with others.  That, indeed, is plainspoken Nathanael.  And what impresses Nathanael, who speaks directly what is in his heart, is that Jesus knows what is in his heart.  My study bible cites Chrysostom as saying that Jesus was praising Nathanael for being so diligent and careful in His search for the Messiah.  The text also indicates that Christ was aware of Nathanael before Philip called him, another clear indication that He is the "heart-knower." 

Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."  The title Son of Man is one from the Old Testament.  My study bible tells us that it had a level of mystery in its meaning, as it indicated a man of heavenly origin who would usher in the Kingdom of God (see Daniel 7:13).  In the Old Testament, Jacob dreamed of a ladder which connected earth to heaven, and upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:12-15).  This was a prophecy given to Jacob, of which Jesus is fulfillment.  He is the "ladder" who unites earth to heaven, and therefore He is the Son of Man.   This is the fourth day given in John's Gospel.  Paralleling the fourth Day of Creation, in which God established the greater and lesser lights governing day and night, Jesus reveals Himself to be the "greater light" as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

When Jesus claims that Nathanael is "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit," he's not merely speaking of something good in the national character of Israel.  He's getting down to the heart of what the name Israel means and conveys.  It was Jacob, whose memory Jesus suggests to Nathanael in the reference to the ladder, who was renamed "Israel" (Genesis 35:10).  It was Jacob who "struggled with God" in wrestling for a blessing (Genesis 32:22-31).  And this is an aspect of the word "Israel," meaning to struggle, contend, or prevail (with God).   Nathanael is one pure in heart, in the sense that there is no deceit, as Christ says.  Ironically, and importantly, this is in some contrast with the character of Jacob before his blessing and his name-change to Israel.  But Nathanael speaks his mind, he struggles with his faith, he contends and does not simply interpret prophecy in ways that would be convenient.  He asks questions, and he "comes and sees" for himself.  Of course none of this would be meaningful without the relationship to Christ.  It is Christ who recognizes the heart of Nathanael.  And Nathanael's full-hearted response to Christ also indicates something about him.  The character of Nathanael (who is also called Bartholomew) is not "lukewarm" (see Revelation 3:16).  He is not someone to take deep issues lightly, but with the seriousness they merit, and the struggle in the heart that entails.   He's not going to put his trust in something or someone without the struggle of discernment.  Ultimately, as with the example of Jacob, everything comes in the struggle for faith.  It will take faith for Nathanael to realize the promise in Jesus' description of Himself as the ladder in the vision given to Jacob.  It will take the struggle and journey of faith for Nathanael to come to more fully realize what "good" can come out of Nazareth.  Like Jacob, it will be in the long struggle for faith that the promise of the descendant of David of Bethlehem will be revealed.  Nathanael or Bartholomew himself will end his earthly struggle as disciple in martyrdom for Christ.  None of this can be truly realized in Nathanael's declaration of Christ as Son of God and King of Israel in this first meeting.  But the promise is there, and as with Jacob, it is in the long struggle of faith that grace fulfills what is promised to us.  It is grace that makes us who we might become.