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 stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

 

 "Hear another parable:  There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedresers, that they might receive its fruit.  And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.  Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'  So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"  They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."  

 

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

'The stone which the builders rejected 

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the LORD's doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes'?

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given  to a nation bearing the fruits of it.  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.  But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

 

- Matthew 21:33-46 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, referring to the cleansing of the temple, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- where was it from?  From heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."  And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.  But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'  He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise.  And he answered and said, I go, sir,' but he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?"  They said to Him, "The first."  Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."  

 

"Hear another parable:  There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedresers, that they might receive its fruit.  And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.  Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'  So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"  My study Bible explains that in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews (to whom Jesus tells the parable), who are entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant who is sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet coming to call the people back to God, while the beloved son is Christ Himself.  When the Son is cast out of the vineyard and killed, it's understood on two levels, according to my study Bible.  First, that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem (Golgotha at that time was outside of the city walls); and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own "vineyard."  

 

They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."   Note how these religious leaders once again convict themselves, as in yesterday's reading in their answer to the parable of the "two sons" (see above).  They are correct in naming the other vinedressers, who are the faithful among the Gentiles.

 

 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?  Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given  to a nation bearing the fruits of it.  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.  But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.  Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23.  My study Bible comments that this stone is Christ.  According to St. John Chrysostom, it adds, this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  Those who fall on the stone are people who suffer the consequences of their sins while still in this life, but those upon whom the stone falls are the unrepentant who suffer utter destruction in the final judgment. 

 

 In the letters of both St. Paul and St. Peter there is reference to Christ as this stone mentioned in today's reading.  Perhaps of particular importance is the fact that in each case, the saints refer to Christ as both stumbling block and rock of offense.  Both saints quote from Old Testament Scripture to teach this lesson also noted in the commentary by St. John Chrysostom cited above.  St. Paul quotes, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."  St. Peter writes, "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."  See Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:6-8; Isaiah 8:14-15, 28:16.  So the "two ways" cited by St. John Chrysostom are found in the earliest years of the Church, and directly from the apostles.  How are we to understand this in a modern context, in which the weight of the words of Christ fails to impact many people?  Let us understand the prophetic reality of what He is saying here.  These religious leaders (if we pay careful attention to the parable) are the inheritors of the spiritual history of Israel.  They are the last in a very long line of leaders of Israel who reject the word of the prophets that are sent to them.  We may read, for instance about the prophet Amos, who lived in the 8th century before Christ.  According to my study Bible, his were the first prophecies to be written down, and he was the first prophet to proclaim the end of God's covenant with Israel because of stubborn unrepentance, oppression of the poor, and other sins of passion.  Israel had grown wealthy at this time from control of trade routes.  He preached repentance in warning the king and the people.  But the priests, tired of his prophecies, clubbed him to death.  So the setting here is important, as is Christ's parable; it tells us of things these men know very well as the religious leaders and stewards of the people. In fact, in chapter 23, Jesus will speak to the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers'guilt" (Matthew 23:29-32).  Adding to this, He further prophesies their future persecution of the Christian "prophets, wise men, and scribes."  It tells us of a whole history, a pattern, a "filling up," in Jesus' language, of the fullness of intentions and behaviors borne out by a refusal to honor and fulfill covenant. So let us consider this in a current setting, in which there is no state religion within modern democracies.  It seems that, first of all, we who call ourselves Christians do indeed have a responsibility to uphold, nevertheless, not simply the tenets of our declared faith, but also the courage of what it means to bear covenant and particularly to pay attention to the promptings of God in our spiritual lives.  It means that when we preach Christ crucified we bear witness to something more powerful than mere words and theories, for we carry with us the Spirit promised by Christ, and we owe an allegiance to God's calling for us.  It means that those of us who live among any society in which we hold ourselves to a particular faith bear responsibility for living that faith, and being a light even to those who may reject it for themselves (Matthew 5:16).  But let us not doubt the power of that stone, for this is embedded in the words of Christ in today's reading, and there can be no doubt about His intent and the serious nature of His warnings.  He remains for all the world both a stumbling block and an offense, and a stone that some reject.  But He is for us the chief cornerstone, and His truth we cannot deny, for it is a wisdom to be cherished. 

     

 

 

 

You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve

 

 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

 

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over you,'

and, 

 'In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" 

Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

 

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.   And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. 

 

- Matthew 4:1-11

 

 On Saturday, we read about the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. My study Bible explains that to be tempted is to be tested in fundamental areas of faith.  As in St. Mark's Gospel, here the Spirit leads, or "throws," Jesus into the wilderness after His Baptism to be tested by a struggle with the devil.  We who are baptized in Christ, it says, need not be defeated by temptations because we are also aided by the Holy Spirit.  Here the wilderness is a battleground, an image of the world.  That is, it is both the dwelling place of demons and a source of divine tranquility and victory. 

 

 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  My study Bible reminds us that the Israelites were tested forty years in the wilderness and proved disobedient and disloyal.  God humbled them by first letting them go hungry and then feeding them with manna to help them learn to be dependent upon God (Deuteronomy 8:2-5).  In today's reading, my study Bible says, Jesus is tested with hunger for forty days, but He does not sin.  In reading the passage, let us keep in mind that all of Christ's answers to Satan are from Deuteronomy, and they are all calling for loyalty to God.  My study Bible adds that Jesus fasted in order to overcome temptation, which gives us an example of our own power and limitations in the face of temptation.  The hunger of Christ's flesh doesn't control Him.  Instead, He controls His flesh.  Christ's fast of forty days is the foundation of the Church's traditional practice of a Lenten fast before Holy Week, and also before Christmas.

 

 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  It's important to note that the bedrock of all things is our love of God who loves us.  Here, the devil begins with a challenge of Christ's relationship to the Father.  He says, "If You are the Son of God" in order to call into question the Father's declaration at Jesus' Baptism (see Saturday's reading, above, in which the voice of the Father declares, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased").  My study Bible says that the devil wants Jesus to act independently and to detach Himself from the will of the Father.  In Christ's divine nature, He shares one will with the Father and the Holy Spirit; He can do nothing of Himself (John 5:30), apart from God the Father.  But in Christ's humanity, He has free will, and at all times must choose to remain obedient to the divine will of the Father. 

 

  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  In rejecting this first temptation, Jesus is rejecting a purely worldly perspective and shows us not to pursue earthly comfort in the "food which perishes" (John 6:27).  In the poetry of the Bible, we see that Adam disregarded the divine word in order to pursue the passions of the Body (Genesis 3), and here the New Adam -- Jesus Christ -- conquers all temptation by the divine word, giving human nature the power to conquer Satan.  

 

 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and,  'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"   The holy city is Jerusalem.  Here the devil tries a trick; as Jesus was able to defeat him through the power of Scripture in the first temptation above, now the devil tries to use Scripture to put God's power of protection to the test.  See also 2 Peter 1:19-21.  

 

 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Jesus responds by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16.  My study Bible comments that trials and temptations come on their own; we should never intentionally expose ourselves to danger in order to test or prove God's protection.  To do so is to tempt the LORD. 

 

 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.   And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.   My study Bible reminds us here that God's Kingdom is not one of earthly power and possessions.  In the devil's test, Jesus was being asked to choose worldly power over the Kingdom of God.  The devil is the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31), "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), because the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).  Here Jesus refuses this road of earthly glory, which would lead Him away from His suffering and death for the redemption of the world.  

 

Let us note that the last verse in today's reading tells us that then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.   It illustrates this nature of the wilderness in which we find ourselves.  There is tremendous beauty of God, there is the defeat in the temptations of the devil, high and low, exalted and debased.  We have saints and angels with us, we have the devil and the fallen demons who tempt us.  We are in the middle of a battleground, as my study Bible puts it, and when we forget that this is where we are, we forget what we are meant to be about.  Fasting is a practice in which we meet our temptations, as does Jesus here.  For each person, the temptations will vary, but if you ask a priest listening to confession, they are so often the same old things, just varying in pattern and details of a person's particular life experience.  We should say, to begin with, that fasting in the Christian context is not about going on a diet, not about willpower, not just about self-discipline in some athletic or stoic sense.  Neither is it about morality.  Fasting is something we do with God and for God; it is a way of both showing love and commitment to God (to Christ), and at the same time struggling against our own temptations to take shortcuts, to think it doesn't matter, to think of ourselves simply as thinking machines with bodies irrelevant to faith and to love of Christ and separated from our minds and hearts.  Fasting reminds us that we are all of a whole:  body, soul, and spirit, for it involves all.  When we fast we do it to shore up and rely upon that relationship to God, to understand that our dependency upon God gives us strength to rise above the worldly exigencies that press in upon us and to meet them the way God would ask us to, not imply to be controlled by them.  Fasting in this sense helps us to say "no" to the rest of things we need to discern and reject, and to say "yes" to what we need for our true strength and growth and development.  In that sense, all the disciplines in the Church are meant to help us to grow in our own identity as human beings, to come to know what it is to be formed and shaped by Christ to become more like Him, and to meet the challenges of bearing our own crosses in the world.  Let us note first of all that it is the Holy Spirit who leads Christ up into the wilderness to face these temptations.  This is preparation for His ministry to come.  When Jesus resists temptation in today's reading, He's doing several things we can observe.  First of all, He's setting limits on the devil, on what the devil can tempt Him to do, and on the devil's presumption to ensnare Him in his power, like a slave.  He defeats the devil by saying no to the temptations presented.  And Jesus does more than that.  He sets down the rules by which He needs to live His life, and carry out His ministry in the world.  When we say no to temptation, we are doing the same.  We are setting up our own protective boundaries, a fence that lines the road we intend to follow for not just our own good but for the life of the world, in following Christ.  We have the power to resist temptation and choose the path of Christ instead.  Faith practices such as fasting help us to mark that clear delineation and to know, as my study Bible says, that we have the power to do so, exercising and developing that strength in Christ through faith.  When we go through periods of testing and temptation, when we feel sorely pressed and without resource, let us remember what we read here, that Christ is with us, and angels minister to us, and that through our faith we have the power to say no to what is not good for us, the things that lead us away from God, the phony temptations that sound good but are a snare.  Let us remember that sin easily leads to our own slavery; as anyone struggling with addiction of any kind -- including to material wealth, power, or anything else we make into an idol.  Every false consolation leads us to a degraded and weak condition, and takes away from our humanity, what we can be as human beings created in the image of God.  Let us take heart and be like Christ, and follow Him.   He puts His relationship with God the Father first; let's remember where our love belongs and the One who will teach us more of love.

 

 

 

 

 

I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me

 

 "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

 

- John 5:30–47 

 

In our current reading, Jesus is at the Feast of Weeks, known as the Old Testament Pentecost, in Jerusalem.  He has healed a paralytic on the Sabbath, and so the religious authorities engaged in a dispute with Him.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.   Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." 

 "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  My study Bible comments on this verse that the divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- for all fully share in the same divine nature.  As Christ says the Son obeys the Father, this is a reference to His human will, which He assumed at His Incarnation.  My study Bible says that Christ freely aligned His human will in every aspect with the divine will of the Father -- and we are called to do the same. 

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"  My study Bible asks the question regarding this passage, how could Christ's witness ever be untrue?  It cannot (see John 8:14).  But here, Jesus anticipates the argument, and so speaks the thoughts of the Jewish leaders (He also does the same thing in Luke 4:23).  In Jewish tradition, according to my study Bible, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  Here, Christ doubles that and offers four witnesses to confirm His identity a Messiah and as Son of God.  First, He mentions God the Father; then John the Baptist; then He gives His own works as bearing witness to His identity as Son; and finally the Old Testament Scriptures, through which Moses and others gave testimony.  

Jesus says, "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  My study Bible tells us that we are meant to do as Christ does, to seek the will of God and do it.  Since Christ Himself explains that He is loyal to the will of the Father, we can assume that the things that He teaches us are also things that express the will of God the Father.  In chapter 14, Jesus says to the apostle Philip, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (John 14:9).  So through these words, we understand that Christ represents to us the Father in this world, so that we come to know God, even God the Father, through Jesus.  Therefore what He has taught us is clearly in the will of God the Father.  So, if we keep Christ's commandments, then we also seek the will of the Father who sent Christ.  Oftentimes, we'll find ourselves in a dilemma, and we're not sure exactly what is the righteous response, or what is the righteous way of Christ through a particular circumstance.  But here is where prayer and seeking discernment matter.  Here is where the practices of the Church come in for us; in prayer and worship, and all the various practices of the Church, we find help.  We find sustenance through prayer for finding the right way, for seeking strength, and for perseverance in seeking the good and the righteous way of life.  We can but ask in prayer.  There are times when we doubt ourselves, or even doubt our prayer.  But the most important thing is our effort in so doing, and the love in our hearts seeking to please God.  Jesus does not ask us to be omniscient; He asks us to be loyal, faithful, to find the love of God and to seek to love God in return.  This is trust, and it is the real root of faith.  So let us begin to understand that Jesus asks us to do as He does, to live as He lived.  For He has come into the world in a divine/human form, in the Incarnation, in order to show us the way.  As He lived, He shows us the Father, and He shows us how to live in such a way to also seek God's way in all that we do.  As we are also sent the gift of the Holy Spirit through Christ and His Incarnation, death, and Resurrection, we should remember that the Holy Spirit "will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."  Therefore, Father, Son, and Spirit share one will, and we are given help -- a Helper -- to know that will and participate in it as well.  Let us see the righteousness that Christ teaches us, and remember that it is rooted in love, as He teaches us in turn to love God who loves us.  This discourse was begun because Christ healed the paralytic, and is now being challenged for doing so.  But all that we are given is done so that we may heal; in seeking Christ's righteousness we seek the grace that heals us as well.  Christ has the humility to admit His dependence upon the Father.  Let us remember the One upon whom we need to rely as well.

You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God

 

 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they nether marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 

 

- Matthew 22:23–33 

 

In our current readings, it is Holy Week in Jerusalem, the final week of Christ's earthly life.  On Saturday we read that the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Jesus in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the tax money."  so they brought Him a denarius.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

 

  The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they nether marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.   My study Bible explains that, in telling the Sadducees, "You are mistaken," Jesus confirms that there will be a resurrection -- but it will be nothing like what they are imagining.  These Sadducees consider the concept of resurrection to mean a simple continuation of earthly life (including earthly marriage) and so they mock the doctrine they imagine with an absurd scenario.  However, as Jesus asserts, they are ignorant of the Scriptures, for in them is a revelation of complete transformation of resurrectional life.  Thus, with an understanding of the Scriptures, their question becomes irrelevant.  Moreover, my study Bible says, they fail to understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God, even when they are physically dead.  My study Bible tells us, "It is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection."

It's important to understand that the perspective and religious outlook of the Sadducees is itself rather earthly in emphasis, in the sense that they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (that is, the Pentateuch, or Torah), and were quite literal in their interpretation of the Law.  They were major landowners around the city of Jerusalem, and so were a type of aristocratic class.  They were also from the priestly class and controlled many functions in temple.  In terms of the Council they were the party that formed the chief rivals to the Pharisees, and rejected many of the Pharisees interpretations of the Law.  They neither believed in the existence of angels or the resurrection of the dead (both of which were accepted by the Pharisees).  So, in terms of their very "earthly" orientation -- which we might say contrasts to a more spiritual or mystical outlook of Judaism -- their question essentially makes sense.  Given their orientation, it is little wonder they form a question that must be answered in terms of property and even inheritance.  Their very anti-mystical orientation perhaps forms the framework for this question, as well as Jesus' response that they do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.  In fact, Christ's answer affirms for us the essential importance of the understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit, and the role the Holy Spirit plays in our faith.  For without the "power of God" how would we have Scriptures?  How would we have the work of the prophets?  (For the Creed confesses that the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets.)  How would we truly have proper interpretation or understanding of the Scriptures?  And clearly, we would not understand the power of God to transform life in the Resurrection --  and like the Sadducees, we could not understand the salvific role of angels in the entire economy of the cosmos and as part of Creation.  So, as far as Christ's response is concerned, because the Sadducees' perspective is so "earthly" in this sense, their understanding and respect for Scripture is lacking, and therefore their knowledge of spiritual truth is also lacking.  They do not understand the nature of the Resurrection for this reason.  It brings us back to the important mystical component of our faith.  Without it we cannot understand the meaning and power of sacrament, nor that Scripture is a kind of literature that is not just "literal," but must be understood with a prayerful perspective, and one hopefully guided by the holy prayerful figures who came before us, especially the holy Fathers and Mothers who guided the Church in her early centuries and those who followed in their footsteps.  We have an incredible treasury of beauty, knowledge, wisdom, and truth -- but none of it is properly understood except with this spiritual, mystical perspective to set us in the right place for our own receptivity to it.  Let us consider the beauty and mystery especially of this Nativity season as we enter into it, and the roles played by angels, holy men and women, people of wisdom who seek the Child they know will be born, and all the roles played by those wise and aged to the young shepherds, to the angels who proclaim to them the glory of God.  For without all of that our faith would be much poorer indeed.

 

It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God"

 

 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you,'

"and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

- Luke 4:1-13 

 

In yesterday's reading, the Gospel tells us that as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison. When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

 

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness . . .   Luke opens chapter 4 with the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.  The lectionary has skipped over the genealogy of Jesus, given in Luke 3:23-38, in which we're told that Jesus began His ministry "at about thirty years of age."  This account of Christ's time in the wilderness, therefore, happens at the beginning of ministry.  Note that it is the Spirit who led Christ into the wilderness.  My study Bible comments that this exodus of Jesus into the wilderness following His baptism has a dual symbolism.  First, it fulfills the Old Testament type, in which Israel journeyed in the wilderness for forty years after its "baptism" in the Red Sea (Exodus 14); and second, it prefigures out own journey through the fallen world after baptism as we struggle towards the Kingdom ourselves.  

. . . being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  My study Bible remarks that to be tempted is to be tested in fundamental areas of faith.  Christ is tested by a struggle with the devil.  Just as it is the Spirit who leads Christ to this place of testing, we who are baptized in Christ need not be defeated by temptations as we also have the Holy Spirit to help.  My study Bible says that the wilderness is a battleground, an image of the world, both the dwelling place of demons and also a source of divine tranquility and victory.  Christ fasted in order to overcome temptation.  My study Bible says that this gives us an example of our own power and limitations in the face of temptation.  The hunger of His flesh doesn't control Him -- instead, He controls His flesh.  His fast of forty days is the foundation of the Church's forty-day Lenten fast before Holy Week, and a lesser known but also traditional fast before Christmas. 

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  Here is the fundamental area of testing for Christ:  the devil begins his challenge with, "If You are the Son of God."  It calls into question the Father's declaration at Christ's Baptism (see yesterday's reading, above).  Everything about Christ's ministry, His signs, His preaching, His word, His authority, His identity, is bound up in His relationship to the Father.  This was particularly emphasized in the readings in John's Gospel, which was our more recent material in the lectionary.  My study Bible comments that in His divine nature, Christ shares one will with the Father and the Holy Spirit; He can do nothing of Himself (John 5:30), apart from the Father.  But in Christ's humanity, He has free will and at all times must make the choice to remain obedient to the divine will of the Father. 

But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" Jesus rebukes the devil with the truth and power of Scripture, each time He's tempted.  My study Bible comments that it teaches us, the faithful, to become immersed in Scripture in order to resist and drive away every temptation (see Psalm 119:11).  Here Christ rejects an earthly kingdom, showing us not to pursue earthly comfort in the "food which perishes" (John 6:27).  My study Bible comments that while Adam disregarded the divine word in order to pursue the passions of the body (Genesis 3), the New Adam -- Christ -- conquers all temptation by the divine word, giving human nature the power to conquer Satan.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3.  My study Bible reminds us that the Israelites were tempted for forty years in the wilderness and proved disobedient and disloyal.  God humbled them first by letting them go hungry and then feeding them with manna to help them learn to be dependent upon Him (Deuteronomy 8:2-5).  Here Jesus is tested with hunger for forty days, but does not sin.  Each rebuke from Christ to the devil comes from the book of Deuteronomy.

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"   Here the devil seeks to tempt Christ away from the authority given in His relationship to the Father with the devil's worldly authority and glory.  The devil is called "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31), and the "god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), as the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).  He seeks to turn Christ away from the Father and toward himself.  Each time Christ is tempted, He rebukes the devil with Scripture.  This is the same phrase He will use to rebuke Peter when He is tempted not to go to His Passion (and therefore the glory given by the Father; see John 12:16, 23, 28).   My study Bible comments that Christ refuses the road of earthly glory, which would lead Him away from His suffering and death for the redemption of the world.  Here Christ quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13.

  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Here the devil tries to win Christ over by quoting Scripture himself (Psalm 91:11-12).  In so doing, he tries vainly to use the Scriptures in order to put God's power of protection to the test (see also 2 Peter 1:19-21).  My study Bible comments that trials and temptations will come on their own.  We should never intentionally expose ourselves to danger in order to test or prove God's protection.  To do so is to tempt the LORD.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16.

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.  See Luke 22:40-46; 23:35; Matthew 16:21-23.

What does temptation mean to you?  For some people, life is about sticking to their goals, like staying on a diet, for example.  For others, goal-setting becomes something more than a simple desire to have a particular job or a particular appearance to the rest of the world.  Sobriety, for example, is a long-term goal for those who struggle with addiction of all kinds.   To truly struggle with the difficulties that life can put before us becomes a kind of reckoning that addiction-related behavior covers up.  It dulls the pain to some extent, but then creates huge problems of its own.  To try to hide from this struggle often brings more pain and intolerable circumstances.  Ask those who've gone from the frying pain of trauma or difficulty into the fire of addiction and a life that is out of control.  It seems that avoiding the conflict that asks us to separate ourselves from the evil we know only gets us further into problems, for the thing we avoid is still there under the surface, and still remains for us to confront.  Christ's temptation in the wilderness is an example to us all in the sense that it teaches us to face our temptations and make the tough choices.  It teaches us to make the sacrifices in the light of the real end goal, which is the kingdom of God.  Our true stumbling block lies right there:  in the choice to make between serving God and serving something that might sound good but is in truth deceptive in its seductive appeal to our worldly senses.  Let's take a look at the temptations that confront Jesus.  As one who is clearly capable of great leadership, great authority, and the use of power, He's tempted by the devil first of all to use His power to make Himself food, as He's been fasting in preparation for His ministry.  Jesus counters with the understanding that it is only the commands of God that are worth following, and if His commitment to this fast is really His commitment to following the Father's will -- especially for His ministry which is just at its inception -- then His hunger has to come second.  He won't use His power for a lesser or a contradictory goal, even if it sounds good or somehow appropriate.  The next temptation is about authority.  Jesus' authority is not worldly, but is from God the Father for what He is to do in His life.  But the devil's sense of authority is worldly:  if Jesus would only switch His allegiance, love, loyalty, and worship to him (as opposed to God the Father), then Jesus could have all the compelling, dictating, authoritative worldly power He wanted.  We have to think in this context of the worldly power of Caesar, who ruled absolutely and which included worship by his subjects.  But Jesus wields an authority that comes from God, not this worldly sense of the ability to force or to compel.  God's authority must work differently, and it calls people to their own response of loyalty, love, worship, that must be freely given.  Jesus' rejection of the devil's promise of easy ways to find followers and subjects becomes an assertion of the right to worship and the need to serve God alone, nothing less.  Finally the devil offers a temptation to test the power of God, and God's protection and loyalty to Christ Himself.  We know that the Cross will come to Christ, and the way the Father will desire for Him to come to His glory.  But Jesus affirms absolutely His choice of allegiance to the Father.  One should not tempt or test the Lord; there is only communion and relationship -- and that means trust.  For faith, above all in Christ's example, means trust:  Trust to the Father, trust to the Holy Spirit, trust in choosing His disciples and evolving His ministry, trust even in drinking the cup of Crucifixion (John 18:11).  In the end, Jesus remains loyal, facing and meeting every temptation with an affirmation of His first priority, which is to God the Father.  Although none of us has Christ's role as Savior, He sets the example nonetheless for each of us.  For while He will make sacrifices for these choices, so He calls upon us each to take up our own crosses.  He does not promise a simple life full of worldly benefits, but one in which our choices matter -- and in which we are to understand that the hard choices are there to help us grow in His light, to become stronger human beings, to understand that sacrifice will not kill us, but will instead bring us something better for us than the temptation we refuse.  He asks us to feed our souls with the good bread that sustains more deeply than temporal nourishment, and all else will be added (Matthew 6:33).  In modern psychology, it is understood that the avoidance of such choices -- especially through addiction to substances such as alcohol or drugs -- actually becomes an avoidance of growth and maturity.  What we don't seek to cope with in a healthy way, which may always involve a sacrifice of one kind or another, becomes our loss.  We miss out on what is actually better for us.  I would suggest that faith is the best way of coping, of finding compassion for our pain, One who listens and hears prayers, and the support one finds through a great cloud of witnesses.  Like Christ, we may seem to be alone at times by worldly standards, but the truth is that we are never alone (John 16:32).  Some people believe, falsely, that faith can be a crutch or a drug of some sort.  But faith becomes strength.  The truth is that the faith of Christ asks us to face the world and see it as it truly is, to make our choices, and to find the best way to grow and to cope, even in an imperfect world full of temptations and tests.  Let us learn from Him and follow His example.  Don't be fooled by false promises; Christ is the real deal.   For He is here for the life of the world (John 6:33)

 

I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled

 

 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.  Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely."  As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.  And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me.  But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  Then they all forsook Him and fled.

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body.  And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

 

- Mark 14:43–52 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to the disciples at the conclusion of the Last Supper, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise.  Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."  Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

  And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.  Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely."  As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.  The phrase one of the twelve once again indicates (as in verse 20 of this chapter) the depth of betrayal involved here, that this was done by a friend and one of Christ's closest disciples.  The fact that a kiss is needed to signal the mob, my study Bible points out, is a commentary on those who comprised the mob!  The Jewish leaders and even the most common people would have recognized Jesus, as we have observed from the times of debate in the temple (see, for example, Mark 12:37).  It shows that these particular soldiers were mercenaries, dispatched by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, a group with included Roman soldiers according to John's Gospel (John 18:3).    My study Bible notes that Orthodox Christians pray at every Liturgy for the strength not to kiss Jesus in betrayal as did Judas, but to be like the thief who confessed at the Cross (Luke 23:42).

 

And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me.  But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  Then they all forsook Him and fled.  In John 18:10, we learn that it is Peter who has used the sword.   In Matthew 26:52-54, Jesus rebukes him for using the sword, as he still does not understand that Christ is going to His death willingly.  But here Jesus affirms that salvation for mankind, as indicated in the Scriptures, will be fulfilled through the Cross, and He goes to His death willingly.  It is at this point that they must give up ideas of defending and protecting Him from arrest, and they all forsook Him and fled.  That His death was foretold in the Scriptures, my study Bible says, served to strengthen the disciples at their hour of greatest test.

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body.  And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.  My study Bible explains that to flee naked is a great shame and humiliation (Ezekiel 16:39, Amos 2:16).  Some teach that this young man was James, the brother of the Lord (Galatians 1:19), while others say it is the apostle John, who was the youngest of the twelve.  But most others believe that this was Mark, the author of the Gospel, as it was a common literary device for a writer not to give his own name (see Luke 24:13, John 21:24).  Also, my study Bible adds, the other evangelists do not report this incident.  They would not have been inclined to humiliate Mark, but Mark would have been more likely to relate such an event concerning himself.  To my mind, it is a testimony to the humility of the disciples, and of Mark in particular.

Again, in today's reading (as in yesterday's, above), Jesus shows His great strength.  He has a most difficult, almost impossible, mission to complete.  It is a mission solely for the Son, for the Christ, as He indicates when He says, "But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  It's important to understand the notion of prophecy and the fulfillment of the Scriptures, as my study Bible indicated in a note on a passage in Thursday's reading.  In Mark 14:20-21, Jesus prophesies to the disciples the one who will betray Him is "one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish."  He then adds, "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."  In a note on this passage regarding prophecy, my study Bible states that divine foreknowledge of the betrayal doesn't take away Judas' moral freedom, nor does it take away his accountability.  For God, all things are a present reality:  God foresees all human actions, but does not cause them.  So it applies also in today's passage, when Jesus speaks of the fulfillment of the Scriptures.  It is in this context that we can almost hear Jesus marveling that they did not manage to take Him as He openly taught daily in the temple.  He asks, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?"  And as my study bible notes, clearly the people they've brought with them are mercenaries, and include Romans as well, for even the temple police were unable to arrest Him as they listened to Him preach.  They came back empty-handed, telling the chief priests and the Pharisees, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" (John 7:45-46).  The added statement, that the Scriptures must be fulfilled, is a testimony to the vision of God, that although this event seemed so unlikely given Jesus' ministry, openness, and popularity among the people, God's vision is supreme.   The prophecy is written in Scripture because a future event is revealed in a divine way by God -- the event does not happen because it is in Scripture.  When Jesus makes this remark, we can only conclude that He is affirming God's supremacy and omniscience regarding the life of the Christ, such as God revealed to Isaiah who wrote of the Messiah as the Suffering Servant.  It's in some sense an affirmation that no matter how things look to us as human beings, we can trust to God's vision and word.  Moreover, it is an affirmation to His disciples that this is so, and that He goes voluntarily to His death, even after having prayed for God to take the cup of death from Him in yesterday's reading:  "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."  In all ways, we can rest assured, Jesus does not go to His death as One who seeks death, nor who simply wishes to emulate something because it has been written.  There are several times that Jesus flees persecution in the Gospels, and evades those who wish to kill Him, or travels even to Gentile areas to avoid the scrutinizing and increasingly hostile eyes of the leadership, especially after an open conflict with them.  Right to the end, Jesus prays that, if possible, God can make another way for the salvation plan of the world to be fulfilled.  He is here, now, in this circumstance because it is absolutely certain that this is the way that God the Father allows to happen, and He will acquiesce to that will simply because He is assured that this is the hour and the way the Father allows and wishes for Jesus to accept.  It is impossible for us to know the mind of God; it is only by revelation that this can happen, and even then what a person such as a prophet or saint is given is just a glimpse of that reality.  It isn't until Christ goes to the Cross that anyone could know how the Scriptures would be fulfilled, or what the complete picture of the plan for salvation would unfold, or what the life of the Messiah would be like.  It isn't until the Passion that we can understand what the notion of the Kingdom means, or that the Scriptures would be fulfilled in a way that the faith of human beings becomes an essential part of its fulfillment and the ongoing plan of God after the time of the Messiah.  It isn't until these events unfold that the Scriptures regarding Christ's divinity could be manifested and understood.  The signs of the Incarnation may fill the prophetic writings in the Old Testament, but the fulfillment of such could only be fully understood after the life of Christ in this world.  And so it is in today's reading:  the Scriptures must be fulfilled, even if the leaders have gone so far as to hire mercenaries to bring Him in, including Roman soldiers (in other words, paid Gentiles), to do it.  It is, if we but take a closer look, a testimony to the shocking and surprising depth to which evil will go; but nonetheless despite the depravity -- which includes Judas, one of the Twelve, betraying Him with a kiss -- even this evil was foreseen by God and becomes part of a plan through which the salvation of the world will be achieved.  These are complex paradoxical concepts, but they are nevertheless testimony to the nature of God.  For human beings, paradox becomes the one way in which we can approach God whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts.  For despite the evil that continues in this world, we are assured that our faith in God is not misplaced, and that, as great saints of the Church have taught, with God infinitely more good can come of evil than the sum of the evil alone.  That, in a nutshell, characterizes the salvation of this world, and although seemingly paradoxical to our minds, we must understand that this is the way of God for us.  God does not come into the world as a "conquering hero" and fixes everything, eradicating all evil permanently so that we can live in a kind of perfect peace and prosperity and infinite health.  Instead, we human beings are invited to the Cross, to take up our own crosses, and to participate in this struggle with the Son, who is the suffering Messiah.  It is paradox that invites us into the ways of God, into faith and prayer, and to participation in the life of Christ who loves us and asks us to follow Him.  The risen Christ stands at the door and knocks and desires for us to invite Him into our hearts, where He will dwell to show us all things to do so (Revelation 3:20).

 

 

 

If You are the Son of God

 

Temptation of Christ, mosaic, 1100-1150.  Barrel vault detail, Basilica di San Marco, Venice

 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  

 

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you,'

"and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up, 

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 

 

- Luke 4:1-13 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John the Baptist, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

 

 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.   My study bible tells us that this exodus of Jesus into the wilderness following His baptism has a dual symbolism.  First, it fulfills the Old Testament "type," in which Israel journeyed in the wilderness for forty years after its "baptism" in the Red Sea.   Second, it is a prefiguration of our own journey through the fallen world after baptism, as we struggle towards the Kingdom.  Let us note once more the powerful role of the Holy Spirit, right from the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.   First the text tells us that Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit after His Baptism in the Jordan.  And also, Jesus was then led by the Spirit into the wilderness, for His forty days of temptation by the devil.  

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"    My study bible asks us to note that each time Christ rebukes the devil, it is with the truth and power of Scripture.  It says that this teaches us, the faithful, to become immersed in Scripture in order to resist and drive away every temptation (see Psalm 119:11).  All of Jesus' quotations from Scripture come from Deuteronomy, the recounting of the time of the temptation of Israel during the forty years of struggle toward the Promised Land.  Here He quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3.  Jesus' struggle with the devil and the temptations put before Him is marked by the temptation for an earthly kingdom.  Here specifically the temptation is for earthly comfort in the "food which perishes" (John 6:27).  My study bible notes that while Adam disregarded the divine word in order to pursue the passions of the body (Genesis 3), the New Adam, Christ, conquers all temptation by the divine word, giving human nature the power to conquer Satan. 

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  It's very interesting that the text tells us something "marvelous" -- that the devil showed Christ all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.   In John's Gospel, Jesus calls the devil "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).   He's also called "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), because the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).  But God's Kingdom is not one of earthly power and possessions, my study bible tells us.  In the devil's test, Jesus is being asked to choose worldly power over the Kingdom of God.   But He refuses a road suggested by anything contrary to His mission; that includes the road of earthly glory, which would lead Him away from His suffering and death for the redemption of the world.  As in the Scripture He quotes, Jesus serves only God.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:13.

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"   Here the devil attempts to quote from Scripture (Psalm 91:11-12).  But, my study bible says, he does so vainly (as do the Pharisees in John 7:52), but understands neither their truth nor their power.  To know and quote Scripture without true understanding, my study bible tells us, is worthless at best and ultimately condemnable.  Without true understanding through the Holy Tradition of the Church, the Scriptures are robbed of their authority.  That is, without the experience of all those whom St. Peter calls the holy people of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit  (see 2 Peter 1:19-21).   Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16.

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.   For those "opportune times" see Luke 22:40-46, 23:35; Matthew 16:21-23.

Let us note that even Jesus is not free from temptation in this world.  In Hebrews 4:15, St. Paul writes, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."   So clearly, if Jesus had to face temptation (and indeed, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be so tempted), why do we, as "moderns," tend not to take temptation very seriously?  It seems there might be some who feel that to be a faithful Christian is such a profound thing that it confers freedom from temptation.  We are taught to pray by Jesus that we are not led into temptation, but at the same time delivered from the evil one (Matthew 6:13, Luke 11:4).  There is really nothing in Scripture that says we won't be tempted, and so we need to consider very carefully Jesus' acts and response here.  Why does He go into the wilderness for forty days?  Why is it that we model our period of Lent prior to Easter along the same lines?  The traditional role of fasting is really one that addresses temptation, teaches us that we are capable of being disciplined, of saying "No" to something, and ignoring our own bodily or personal comfort in order to do so.   For this reason, fasting, in acceptable periods and norms, is a good practice so that we learn discipline in a spiritual sense.  We're not slaves to passions and temptations, to things that merely sound good but might not really be so.  We bind ourselves in loyalty first to God, as does Jesus in all the Scriptural quotations He uses here.   The Church has historically practiced fasting in imitation of Christ in the wilderness, and it gives us particular determination and reminder of where our top priorities are, and what we choose to serve in life.  It also teaches us that we are quite capable of sacrificing temporarily for something bigger, higher, more important.  We are not slaves.  In John chapter 8, Jesus says quite solemnly to those among the religious leaders, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (see John 8:31-36).  And so, our awareness of temptations, and our own commitment to discipleship, to discipline, becomes even more important to our own well-being when thought of in this light.  Almsgiving, fasting, and prayer all fall into this category of practice and strengthening discipleship, for each one involves some element of sacrifice for a greater good, a higher goal than is immediately before us in material or earthly terms.  In popular culture, it seems that we are constantly told that we need to be disciplined for reasons of personal appearance to others.  Quite often, this is put into terms of physical health, but truly that frequently comes second to our physical appearance and also our social appearance before others.  Advertising frequently appeals to our vanity:  foods to help us to slim down compete with hair care products, or pitches to our need to get on a bandwagon of some sort and take up a slogan are promoted by those who'll profit with power and wealth if we do so.  Temptations to give up our own sovereignty under the love and protection of Christ abound.  But it is our own practice of spiritual discipline and discernment which becomes the one thing necessary, especially in a world quite beset with a dizzying array of temptations, of things that sound great which hide ulterior motive, and seek to make us pawns of others -- just as the devil does in today's reading.  The devil begins two of his temptations with, "If You are the Son of God," seeking to strike a blow against Jesus' true identity and loyalty to God.  The other temptation seeks to take the place of God, tempting Jesus with worldly glory and authority, if only "You will worship before me."  But Jesus asserts His own power and authority, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!"  In teaching us about discipline and temptation, Jesus asks us to do the same, in a very particular sense.  He is here in this world, as is the gift of the Holy Spirit, in order to elevate human beings to sonship, to adoption by grace.  He teaches us that we also have the power to assert this authority, to pray in His name (and in the name of the Holy Trinity -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), and to resist and discern temptation.  By His truth He has come to set us free, to be our Deliverer and Savior, so that we are not slaves of sin, and not slaves to the ruler of this world.  Let us deeply consider the power on offer in all this, and keep in mind that even Jesus Himself was tempted.  Therefore let us not fool ourselves into thinking that we don't need to take spiritual discipline seriously.  He set the example -- and by way of the leading of the Holy Spirit -- for all of us, so that we might be free and resist the false allure of what sounds good, but seeks to make us less than we are:  children (sons) of God.