Crucify Him!

 

 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.

 

- Mark 15:12–21 

 

Yesterday we read that immediately, in the morning following Jesus' night trial at the home of the high priest, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.  Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  

 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.  Pilate turns to the crowd, hoping to release Jesus (whom he knows to be innocent) in spite of the chief priests, but the crowd senselessly follows wherever they are stirred up to go.  My study Bible comments here that Pilate's sin was less than that of the Jewish leaders who delivered Christ to him (John 19:11), because the Jews had the Law and the prophets to instruct them, and Pilate did not.  Pilate was not without sin, however, for in his own desire to gratify the crowd, he knowingly sent an innocent Man to death.  

 

 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.  My study Bible notes here that every king is proclaimed by his soldiers.  Although the intention here is to mock Christ, it is prophetic that Jesus should be crowned and hailed as King by soldiers of the governor.  In this understanding, see also John 11:49-51, in which Caiaphas unwittingly prophesies of Christ redemptive work.  My study Bible comments that this mockery shows Jesus as the One despised and rejected by human beings who bears the iniquity of all of us (see Isaiah 53:3-9).  Jesus is clothed with purple, a kind of deep purple-red called porphyra/πορφύρα in Greek, which represents both His royalty and the sins of humankind which He has taken upon Himself.

 

 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.  My study Bible notes here that Mark mentions Simon as the father of Alexander and Rufus.  It notes that this is likely so because they were still living, and therefore possibly known to Mark's hearers.  It says that the spiritual message here is that we, like Simon (whose name means "obedience"), are not simply called to carry the cross which Christ sets on us.  But we are also to see Christ in others, so we are called to bear each others burdens as well (Galatians 6:2). 

Possibly the most striking thing in today's reading is the way this crowd responds so easily to being "stirred up" by the chief priests, to demand to  put Jesus to death by crucifixion.  The crowd first demands, as is the custom, that a prisoner be released to them because of the Passover feast.  But it's as if they were simply waiting for a prompt, primed by their own mood to demand and to shout.  The crowd turns into a mob, not asking for clemency for a prisoner, but now demanding the blood of Christ in the most gruesome form of punishment reserved for the worst of criminals.  "Crucify Him!" they shout.  It is as if the worst in human nature is something the chief priests know well, and use to their advantage.  For this crowd would seek not just to release someone to freedom, but to demand that another be crucified, to demand the worst punishment for someone else.  It's not clear if this crowd knows Jesus.  It's not clear if they were present on the day of the Triumphal Entry, when Christ was welcomed into Jerusalem as Messiah.  As Jesus Himself said at His arrest at night in the garden of Gethsemane, "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 were these people in the temple, listening to Jesus dispute with the religious leaders?  Are they pilgrims to Jerusalem for the feast?  It is hard to know, but it is easy to see what their motivations are, for as Jesus has said, "by their fruits you will know them."  We can see what they demand in the end.  This crowd is a good example of why the Church has historically taught that we ought not to be driven by our passions.  It's not that we are to be depleted of passions, but that they can so often lead us astray.  Rather, our passions, in the historical view of the Church, ought to be tempered by faith, put to use given to us by God.  St. Paul writes, "And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24).   The bloodlust of the crowd is a primary example of what it is we don't want to be led by in life, of just why we seek to "crucify the flesh with its passions and desires."  The crowd essentially is led by being stirred up by these corrupt leaders who in turn are led by their own passion of envy against Christ.  While we're never told we won't feel any of these things, we're constantly counseled to cultivate a dispassion.  That is, not to be led by our passions, but to submit them to our faith, and to the cultivation of our own mastery of ourselves in service to faith, so that we won't be slaves to them.  Does this crowd know what it is doing?  Do these people understand they are demanding the Christ be crucified?  How can they understand the magnitude of the sin when they don't see the magnitude of the light of Christ's holiness and goodness for the world?  This brings us to yet another aspect of the danger of being led by passion -- they blind us to the full reality of what we do, of the things in which we engage ourselves.  We're blinded to holiness and subject only to being led by that which does not want us to be fully aware of what we're doing, and of the holiness of God who is always present to us.  For this reason the Church has throughout history (as well as Jewish spiritual tradition before us) given us ways to cultivate our own good discipline, with practices of worship and prayer, and fasting so that we learn we are capable of mastering our own passions.  We also seek to fast from sin, and the things that lead us astray.  Let us consider, especially at this time when so many passions seem to be stirring all over the world for so many reasons, how important it is to remember what we are to be about, to follow Christ's words regarding our own watchfulness (Mark 13:33, 14:38), especially in times of tribulation and fearful sights.  Our passions are that much more likely to be stirred, and we do not wish to be misled with a crowd that only follows the crowd.  Our Lord has taught us to be aware, discerning, alert -- and to be good disciples.  Let us especially remember this today, even when so many forget to do so.

Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction

 

 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  

 

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  

 

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "You daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them al outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

 

- Mark 5:21–43 

 

 Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples, having crossed a frighteningly stormy Sea of Galilee, came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me."  For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"  Then He asked him, "What is your name?"  And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."  Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.  Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.  So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."  And at once Jesus gave them permission.  Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.  So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.  And they went out to see what it was that had happened.  Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.  Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-posssessed begged Him that he might be with Him.  However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."  And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

 

  Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Here Jesus is back in His ministry "headquarters" of Capernaum.  This is the place, contrary to the country of the Gadarenes visited in yesterday's reading (see above), where He is well-known, and by now a great multitude gathered to Him, even thronged Him.  Here, even one of the rulers of the synagogue comes to Him in his family's time of deep need.  

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."   My study Bible suggests that the healing of this woman is a demonstration of Christ's power to cleanse and to heal (see Matthew 8:1-4).  In the Old Testament, it explains, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, imposing religious and social restrictions, for contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  This suffering woman accounts herself to be unclean, but nonetheless, she approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.  Jesus calls her Daughter, and tells her to go in peace, because her faith has made her well.  Plus, He corrects her thinking; she could neither hide her touch from Him, nor is she excluded from Him because of her illness.  Moreover, He even draws her out and exhibits her faith to everyone as an example, so they might imitate her. 

 

 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "You daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them al outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.  My study Bible comments on Christ here showing power over life and death.  It notes that such authority is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).  As Jesus is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).   It also tells us that this is one of three resurrections performed by Christ as recorded in the Gospels (see also Luke 7:11-17; John 11:1-44).  They confirm the promise given to the prophet Ezekiel that God will one day open the graves and raise all the dead (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  There are many who have exercised authority over the living; only the Son of God "has power over both the living and the dead" (Orthodox funeral service).  Note that here, similarly to Christ's healing of Peter's mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31), Jesus took her by the hand. 

Jesus tells the woman after healing her flow of blood, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  I'm drawn by His phrase to her, "Go in peace."  The kind of peace Christ offers isn't the kind of peace that we normally think about when we hear the word peace.  He doesn't mean to tell her that she can go forward without being molested or harassed.  Perhaps this is indeed a part of His message to her, because she approached Him in fear, as it was forbidden to have contact with blood.  Most commentary focuses on the idea that she should have been separated from the community because of her hemorrhage, according to the law.  As the Gospels are abundantly clear to us that this jostling, thronging crowd presses so close that the disciples cannot possibly tell Jesus who touched Him, we can assume that an issue of blood within such a scene becomes important in the context of the law.  So yes, her secretly approaching Christ is an issue here, as well as the notion of the response of religious authorities.  Note here also how Christ did not hide her, but rather drew her out and praised her.  Was He exposing her to condemnation or ridicule or harassment?  It does not seem so at all from the text.  And yet, "Go in peace," must have something more to it than simply to quell her fears of persecution or condemnation.  She is no longer in danger of defiling anyone as her hemorrhage is gone.  But peace is simply too big a word coming from the mouth of Christ to leave it at that.  Peace must mean something more as we find it throughout Scripture, and particularly significantly from Jesus and also from St. Paul.  At the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27); and, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  These things indicate a peace that is much more than a lack of harassment or antagonism.  Jesus makes it very clear that "the world" offers something quite different from this peace of His.  He contrasts the tribulation in the world with the peace found in Him.  And this is a much greater claim than I think we can imagine and know.  What He seems to be talking about when Jesus speaks of peace is the kind of peace that is also called righteousness.  It is the peace that comes through reconciliation to Him, and through Him to one another.  This is a different type of understanding of peace altogether than what we understand of peace in the world.  The ancient world had the Pax Romana at the time of Christ, which meant essentially that through tremendously brutal warfare Rome imposed its own peace and stability of its empire.  Christ's is not that type of peace.  His is the type of peace we can find only in Him, even if we have tribulation in the world -- something of which He also assures the disciples!  In His peace, He has already overcome the world, and so He has given us something that transcends the tribulation we will experience.  At His first risen appearances to His followers, Jesus comes with the greeting, "Peace be with you!" (see John 20:19-26).  This is the kind of peace that comes with the righteousness in Him and through Him, and is the presence of His Kingdom within us and among us.  This is a kind of reconciliation within that Kingdom that we carry with us and within us.  St. Paul signs off on his Letter to the Romans:  "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen" (Romans 16:20).  Indeed, St. Paul's repeated refrain is, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (see 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3).  St. Peter and St. John do likewise in their letters (see 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:2; 2 John 1:3).  This peace means far more than simply being let alone and undisturbed; it is a gift that comes from Christ.  It is the power of true peace, of a reconciliation in righteousness, and as we can see from the letters of the saints, it is closely connected to grace.  Let us consider for ourselves what it means to be gifted with Christ's peace, and what this gift can bring to the world and to our lives, even when in the world we will have tribulation. 

 

 

 

 

Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go

 

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

 

- Luke 23:13–25 

 

Yesterday we read that the whole multitude of them arose and Jesus Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

 

  Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.  On today's passage, my study Bible remarks that three times Pilate attempts to release Jesus ("I will therefore chastise Him and release Him"; Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them; Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go" -- verses 16, 20, 22).   Three times the chief priest and the rulers incite the people to demand that Jesus be put to death.  In the end, my study Bible says, they demand the release of a rebel like themselves.  Barabbas means "son of the father" and indicates to which father these rulers belong -- the devil (John 8:44).  

In the perspective of my study Bible, we observe the juxtaposition between the Man of God, Jesus, and the man of warfare and rebellion, Barabbas.  The religious leaders and the crowd they've stirred up want a "rebel like themselves" in the words of my study Bible.  Even though Pilate, whose main concern is simply quelling rebellion and strife and keeping the Roman peace, sees that Jesus is innocent, and seeks to have Him given a lesser punishment and released, the crowd prefers Jesus to be crucified.  Let us note that throughout these verses we're given today Jesus does not say a word.  He is silent, in the hands of the crowd and the Roman state and against the machinations of the religious leaders who seek to put Him to death, even through lies and false accusations.  Pilate can see what is happening.  Matthew's Gospel tells us that he knew they had handed Him over because of envy (Matthew 27:18).  Pilate no doubt would have been a rather shrewd political man, a part of the elite bureaucracy of the Roman Empire.  His time in this position lasted rather longer than most of his counterparts.  According to the Gospels, he was married to a woman of enough insight also to have a sense of Christ's innocence.  Matthew's Gospel tells us that "while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, 'Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him'" (Matthew 27:19).  Even among the pagan Romans, there is a sense of innocence wronged, and what kind of moral implications -- and perhaps spiritual results -- would be involved in harming a "just Man."  In some Orthodox traditions, it is held that Pilate's wife, Claudia, later became a Christian, and possibly even Pilate himself.  What we do know of Pilate through direct historical sources is that he was eager to quell rebellions, and acted harshly upon the Samaritans in connection with an event at Mt. Gerizim, for which he was reported to Rome and summoned to answer charges.  But the emperor who appointed him died before he reached Rome.  He seems also to have on various occasions offended the religious sensibilities of the Jews, such as by hanging banners to the emperor which caused yet a different uprising.  At another time he was ordered by the emperor to take down gilt shields he had publicly displayed in Jerusalem, for he had done so despite the fact that they were considered extremely offensive among the Jews.   So when we look at this history, we see violence of all kinds surrounding the Person of Jesus.  There is the empire of Rome seeking to quell those whom it rules, we see the religious leaders seeking to protect their own positions and manipulate the emperor, rebellious and outraged Jewish subjects seeking a political deliverer, and a governor whose job it is to secure what is called peace by any means necessary.  Perhaps "expedience" is the word that defines Pilate's position, for despite his efforts to save Jesus, he gives in to the unruly crowd, possibly to avoid yet another upheaval and thus another stain on his record.  Pilate is also surrounded by forces of violence and power, while his own power seems at times ineffective.  Ironically he lived at Caesarea, but had also come to Jerusalem at the time of the feast, along with thousands of  Roman troops due to the increased danger of disturbances as so many strangers filled the city.  But Christ's silence speaks more loudly than all of these.  Pilate apparently wielded more power than most in his position, as he also had supreme judicial power in addition to the ordinary duty of financial administration.  Perhaps Pilate is a type of worldly man even for us today, as we live in a world in which the expediency of the state and its bureaucracies is sometimes posited over and against religion.  In a modern perspective, religion and its demands may be viewed by administrators as one more competing interest among those of others.  Pilate's highest duty in his appointed position was unquestionably to the emperor, and the emperor was also the object of worship.  We might even say that today for many in positions of power, the highest duty is to position, to institution and party or employer, and to one's own status.  In a modern world, we may easily view Pilate as image of authority or rank in a secular world, but with all kinds of technology and material power to use, and faced with the challenge of Christ midst a sea of competing interests, ideologies, and values.  In an environment of competing demands, noisy competition, great bureaucracies, and ever-growing networks within which we must engage with the world, where does our loyalty come down?  Our small sense of family or friends?  Our group of colleagues?  Our employer or state?  Our fear of frightening and disturbing violence?  Or maybe some new ideology clamoring for our allegiance?  All the loud voices around us seem to be filled with demands for our time, energy, and attention.  Which will prevail?  We might consider the idea that the great call of Christ requires us to stand up to crowds, expediency, and everything else.  After all, it is Jesus who asked, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26).  It's all too easy for Christ's voice to be drowned and silent, or possibly even not to enter into consideration at all.  This remains most poignantly true where there is none who will listen.  And yet He is there, a part of design by God, for even His silence tells us something about ourselves and our world we should know.

 

 

Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me

 

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 

 

 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  

 

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, and took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 

- Luke 8:40-56 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.   

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  My study Bible explains that, for the Jews, contact with blood caused defilement and led to religious and social isolation (Leviticus 15:19-27).  This woman, it says, displays bold faith by approaching both Jesus and a ruler of the synagogue in a crowd -- thus, potentially defiling all of them and subjecting herself to ridicule. 

 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  My study Bible comments that "Who touched Me?" does not simply mean a physical touch.  Instead, Jesus might be better understood as asking, "Who touched Me in faith?"  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says that "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), and so also matter is sanctified by Christ's Incarnation, and the power of Christ, my study Bible says, works even through His garment.  To touch Christ's garment in faith is to touch Him.  In the Church, Christ is touched through icons, oil, water, bread, wine, etc.  When this is done in faith, the power of Christ is received.  My study Bible adds here that Jesus calls this healed woman forth both to take away her fear and trembling, and also to strengthen Jairus for the forthcoming news of his daughter's death.

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, and took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.  Again we note the importance of faith to healing.  Jesus makes every effort to separate Jairus and his family from those who ridicule, as the text tells us that He put them all outside.  Moreover, Jesus brought only those disciples of His "inner circle;" that is, those with the deepest faith, with Him:  Peter, James, and John.  

Today's reading underscores the importance of women in Christ's gracious expression of the kingdom of God.   The woman with the bloodflow would have been considered to be ritually unclean, as my study Bible notes.  But Jesus does not fault her for being in the crowd, nor for touching Him.  On the contrary, her faith is praised by Jesus, for it is her faith that has made the connection to Christ's power, and that is the secret to the kingdom of God.  She is praised by Jesus as one whose faith has made her well.  Jairus' daughter is but twelve years old, but nonetheless becomes one more important example of Christ's spectacular power of resurrection.  Even a "little girl," in this kingdom, becomes one singularly cared for and saved.  It seems that the issue of the bloodflow itself is important, because it affirms powerfully the gender of one with such faith, and for whom it would seem a great exception in the law is made by God, and in order to heal.  Where her affliction would have been added to by the "unclean" nature of her illness (and specifically seems to be a uterine haemorrhage), it becomes instead a stunning example of faith, healing, and the power of Christ.  In fact, it seems to be the only occasion on which Christ declares that He understood power going out of Himself.  Therefore, in this healing, what is specifically a woman's problem becomes not simply noticed, but proclaimed, when Jesus draws her out and separates her from the crowd in order to praise her, and her action done in faith.  What we find from the two examples of this older woman, who has had this twelve-years-long issue of bloodflow, and Jairus' daughter who has lived only about twelve years herself, is a a very strong affirmation of the place of women in Christ's economy of salvation, for both become precious signs of the Kingdom, of God among us, and occasions for the glorification of God.  Anyone faulting the woman for touching the clothing of Christ while she had her bloodflow, or even faulting Christ for taking the little girl by the hand in a private part of the home, would only be subject to censure in light of the bountiful abundance of God's grace evidenced in both healings.  Given that we are speaking of Christ Himself and the chosen acts of His ministry, one would have to acknowledge that this is not simply an affirmation of equality, but one that specifically proclaims the necessity of the place of women in the grand scheme of salvation.   It is often said that Luke's Gospel is distinctive in the ways that it shows us Christ's genuine sympathy for women, going against the predominant grain of His time and place.  But this Gospel also teaches us about the specific need for women, which includes Tuesday's reading in which we were told that there were several women who formed a part of His ministry (And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance).  These healed women -- of whatever infirmity or spiritual illness -- are like the "gold sanctified by the altar" (Matthew 23:17) which my study Bible references in a note, as reported above.  They all have been made clean, holy, healed by their proximity to Christ, and set apart as part of His ministry also.  Mary Magdalene was the first to bring the news of the risen Christ to the rest of the disciples.  John's Gospel tells us that Jesus spoke to her at the tomb:  "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God'" (John 20:17).   His words give us a sense of His caring treatment of women, a kind of tender sympathy uncharacteristic of His time.  Of course, John's Gospel also tells us of Jesus' great love for Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha and Mary (that is, Mary of Bethany, not to be confused with Mary Magdalene), and Jesus' personal conversations with the women (John 11).  Luke's 10th chapter will also give us another very personal interaction between Jesus and the two sisters (Luke 10:38-42).  Let us consider the stories we're given today in this light, of the necessity of women to Christ's ministry, and therefore to the whole sense of God's economy of salvation.  The vulnerability of each -- the woman who has lost her entire livelihood to doctors and has only grown more ill, together with the young girl whose parents must intervene for her -- teach us something about how God works even through the meek and infirm.  Note that Luke's Gospel says that each of these women who supports Christ has been healed by Him in one way or another.  It reminds us of the power of grace, working through infirmity or weakness, as testified to by St. Paul:  "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Let us be always grateful!

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

 

 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"  Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."  Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?"  And he said, "From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it:  "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.    And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

 

- Mark 9:14–29 

 

Yesterday we read that, after six days following Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.   Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.  Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."   

 

  And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"  Let us remember that Jesus has just come down from the high mountain to which He had taken Peter, James, and John, and where they experienced the Transfiguration (see yesterday's reading, above).  Jesus' first impulse is to intervene on behalf of His disciples, who are being questioned by the scribes in some sort of dispute which has drawn a crowd.  Jesus intervenes by asking the scribes directly, "What are you discussing with them?"

 

Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."  Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?"  And he said, "From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it:  "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.    And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."  There seem to be several things going on in this reading, and several elements we should notice.  First of all, Christ has just returned from the Mount of Transfiguration.  So when He encounters the man and the crowd, He remains some ways away -- thus they brought him [the man's son] to Him.  Again, as in so many recent readings, the real substance of today's passage is about faith.  Jesus stays somewhat separate from the crowd for this reason, we may assume, as has been a pattern established in other readings.  This is a way of shoring up the faith of those seeking healing, and protecting it.  Note that Christ's command rebuking the spirit to "come out of him and enter him no more!" comes just as the people came running together.  But the substance of the story is all about faith.  When Jesus says, ""O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?" He is essentially rebuking this father for blaming the disciples, when, according to my study Bible, it was his greater lack of faith that prevented the boy's healing.  But, in effect, Jesus also teaches the disciples to build up their faith as well, through prayer and fasting.  In effect, my study Bible notes, Jesus defends His disciples in front of the multitudes but later rebukes them privately, "teaching us that we ought first to correct people in private" (see Matthew 18:15-17). 

 

 It's interesting to think about faith in the context of Jesus' teaching to the disciples.  Jesus has indicated many times the central importance of faith, and particularly so in the context of various healings.  See, for example, the experience of Jairus and his family in this reading.  In today's passage, it is noteworthy that Jesus gives instructions to the disciples regarding building up their own faith, when He teaches them that "this kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."  It would seem from this important teaching that we are to understand that faith is something like a muscle:  we can strengthen it by exercising it.  We can help to make it grow by exercising it.  Clearly these practices, "prayer and fasting," have always been important tools for the practice and shoring up of faith, for the living of our faith, for exercising our faith.  Let us consider, then, in what powerful ways we can work when we are willing to use the historic disciplines and expressions of faith we find in the Church.  It seems that we might strengthen our faith most importantly through this kind of discipline, and calling upon God.  Prayer is a way of affirming the relationship that we have with God.  Fasting is a form of showing discipline in remembering God, and enforcing our capacity for choice, especially to say "no" to what doesn't help our faith.  We might intentionally fast from certain foods for a season or a day, and for a particular purpose, but the effort of fasting is to help us to say "no" to what harms faith, like committing certain sins and abstaining from practices that harm us spiritually.  In a recent reading, Jesus taught something about the real nature of fasting, when He said, "Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."   The historical Christian practice of fasting really has to do with abstention from the things Christ says "defile a man," and that asks us for a discipline of faith, an exercise of our faith.  We need our faith to be strengthened in order to meet the challenges of life, and to secure ourselves in a good place -- that spiritual house built on a rock Jesus spoke of when He taught, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock" (see Matthew 7:24-27).  In the sense of exercising our faith, it would seem that simply "hearing these words of Mine" and doing them is another way to exercise our faith, and thereby make it stronger.  For we should remember that He also told us in John's Gospel, "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).   Therefore, in keeping His word, we keep close to us both spirit and life, also abiding in us to help our faith.  It would seem that, going by this Gospel and our recent string of readings, magnifying our faith, making it stronger, is the best thing we can do.  It is what He repeatedly asks of the people in the Gospel, and by inference what He asks of us.  For we should all be thinking like this father, when He tells Jesus, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  As we move toward the beginning of Lent, let us keep in mind that it is a traditional time of deepening our faith, and the practices that help our "unbelief."

 

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

- John 7:37–52 

 

In our current readings, the events take place in what is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  Jesus has gone to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (see Wednesday's reading).  Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  This last day, the great day of the feast is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  On this day was the ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam.  This was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water which flowed from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  This commemoration is the backdrop for Christ's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."   This living water of which Christ speaks is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."   The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.   Bethlehem was the town from which the Christ was expected to come (see the prophecy of Micah 5:2).   The people know Jesus as one whose family is from Nazareth in Galilee; what they don't know is that He was born in Bethlehem, and, in worldly terms, of the lineage of David (see Luke 2:1-7).  

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  The chief priests had earlier sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  But by this time, it is the last day of the Feast, and no arrest has been made.  My study Bible comments that the reason for this is these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching ("No one ever spoke like this Man!").  The Pharisees and the scribes, according to St. John Chrysostom, as quoted by my study Bible, who had "witnessed and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  The officers, on the other hand, even though they could not claim any of the learning of the religious leaders, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  Nicodemus had spoken with Jesus, as reported earlier in the Gospel (John 3:1-21), and had increased in faith since that time.  But, my study Bible notes, his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).   According to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  The Pharisees who dispute with Nicodemus (who is also a Pharisee) declare that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  But my study Bible says that in so doing, they show their blind hatred and also ignorance of the Scriptures, for the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

The temple officers declare to the religious leaders, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" and indeed this is true.  No one ever spoke like Jesus.  We recall that it is the words of Christ which also keep His core disciples with Him, while many went away because of the "difficult" saying in the teaching regarding His flesh and blood.  At that time, Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  St. Peter replied to Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  Moreover, Jesus taught Himself, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  Therefore we see in action in today's reading these words of spirit and life, and their impact on the temple officers, who are unable to resist their truth, and unable to arrest Him.  So what is the impact of these words which are "spirit and life"?  How are we to understand the power within the "words of eternal life"?  A similar experience will be had by the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who did not understand that it was Christ in their midst, but later recalled, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  (See Luke 24:13-35.)   In today's reading, Jesus speaks of the "living water," meaning the Holy Spirit, teaching the people, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  So today, let us ask ourselves, for what do we truly thirst?  What is the deep need we have for something powerful, meaningful, filled with light, and giving us direction and substance?  In the race we lead in life, what are we chasing after?  Do all the things we can accumulate and accomplish leave us still with a thirst for something more?  Do we need direction and meaning?  It is Jesus Christ and His words which bring us this light, and we can be stirred by His words as were the apostles on the road to Emmaus in our own hearts, and we can seek this living water that quenches a thirst we will always have.  For it is God's love that compels us forward and that answers the deepest needs we have, which will lead us forward to shape our lives in meaning and purpose, and teach us what the power of that love holds.  The words are spirit and life and they draw us forward into life more abundantly.  Let us consider what we miss when all we have is a race without the struggle for God, and without the living water which quenches a deeper thirst. 

 

 

Crucify Him, crucify Him!

 

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them,  "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will. 

 

- Luke 23:13–25 

 

Yesterday we read that the whole multitude of those who had arrested Jesus arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with one another.   

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them,  "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.  My study Bible notes on today's passage that three times Pilate attempts to release Jesus (verses 16, 20, 22), and three times the chief priests and the rulers incite the people to demand that Christ be put to death.  Finally, my study Bible says, they demand the release of a rebel like themselves.  Barabbas means "son of the father."  My study Bible comments that this indicates to which father these rulers belong -- the devil, as Jesus stated in John 8:44.

Time and again throughout history, humankind is witness to the actions of crowds.  We pay special attention to crowds which have been stirred up by leaders and their servants with ulterior motives.  That is, those who vie for political power, or some sort of immediate goal of an upper hand in a matter, possibly for vengeance, or to deflect guilt from themselves.  Almost always the tool at work among the crowd is some form of hatred, and instigated at least in part through deliberate lies to instigate the crowds.  All over the world, and throughout time, we are witnesses to this kind of behavior and the injustices that result.  But in this particular scene involving Jesus Christ as victim we are given the exemplary picture of manipulation and injustice, and the ease with which crowds can be stirred to support such acts.  If there is anything that should teach us about the ease with which an injustice can happen -- and in particular at the hands of a crowd -- this scene should show us that truth.  If we look at the large political movements of the 20th century, we can see the reliance on motivation of crowds, and those skilled in manipulating hysteria, fear, and outrage.  In the Gospels, the crowds are seldom if ever correct, at best they are fickle.  St. Ambrose writes, "What kind of people crucified the Lord of glory! Those that violently demand the death of an innocent man fittingly seek the release of a murderer. Wickedness has such laws as to hate innocence and love guilt. The interpretation of the name gives the likeness of the image, because Barabbas means 'son of the father.' He belongs to those to whom it is said, 'You are of your father the devil.' They were about to choose the Antichrist as son of their father, rather than the Son of God."  This scene of Christ being condemned by the crowds, in favor of Barabbas, should be forever seared in our minds as emblematic of what it means that we live in a world plagued by evil.  When we pray the prayer to Our Father, we ask to be delivered from evil.  In the original Greek, the word translated "from evil" is πονηρου/ponerou.  The base of this word is πονηρος/poneros, which gives a closer translation as "from the evil one."  The root is πονος/ponos, a word that means "evil" and its cognates such as "bad," or "wicked."   But this word also means "pain" (and is still used this way in modern Greek) or "laborious trouble, toil."  It therefore emphasizes the agony that comes with evil.  What we see in the crowd emphasizes all of these manifestations of what evil is and means:  they call for the destruction of the good, the crucifixion and pain of the innocent, and rant for injustice, the persecution of the One who has done only good.  They rally in service to lies, where even Pilate, Herod, the thief on the cross, and the centurion all recognize Christ as innocent.   Exodus 23:2 teaches, "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice."   Here in the crowds in today's reading, we see the full manifestation of such evil. There's another word we could look at in the Greek of the Gospel reading, and that is the word translated as "crowd."  There are different words in Greek to describe crowds, and this one would be more accurately translated as "mob," or "throng."  There is no order here, no discipline of justice (even for the period).  Let us remember what this looks like when the rage of crowds is manipulated to make scapegoats of the innocent among us.

Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"

 

 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with one another. 

 

- Luke 23:1-12 

 

Yesterday we read that the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.  As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  And they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

 

  Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  My study Bible tells us that the religious accusations against Jesus (Luke 22:66-71, in yesterday's reading, above) wouldn't be adequate to justify a death sentence under Roman occupation.  So therefore, the chief priests need to invent false, politically charged accusations ("We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King"), so that Pilate can be persuaded that Jesus is deserving of a death sentence.  See also Luke 20:20-26.  Pilate's question ("Are You the King of the Jews?") is, according to my study Bible, more a mockery of the accusation itself than of Jesus -- as he clearly does not take the political charges seriously.  Christ's response, "It is as you say," can also be translated into the more ambiguous, "You say so."

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with one another.   My study Bible explains that Herod sees Jesus as a novelty.   Christ's silence, it says, is an act of compassion -- for to reveal divine mysteries in the face of such blasphemy would have brought Herod even greater condemnation.  St. Ambrose sees Herod as a figure representing all unrighteous people who, if they don't recognize Jesus as the Christ, won't ever understand His words nor recognize His miracles.

Jesus' defiance of Pilate and Herod takes on strange tones, things we're not necessarily familiar with in One who is subject to injustice and false charges.  Instead of fighting what are obviously lies -- even, apparently to both Pilate and Herod -- Jesus stands more or less completely silent.  Even to the question asked by Pilate, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus offers a meek blurb of a reply we could translate as "You say so."   The chief priests and scribes respond ever more vociferously, and seeking to stir up the crowd against Him.  But Jesus remains silent.  He won't protest and He won't prove anything.  Not to Pilate, and not to Herod, who would be all too glad to witness some miracle or other marvel from Jesus.  He is not there to prove He's innocent.  He's put on trial by a world that cannot and does not understand Him, for that is only possible through the work of faith, and the eyes of those in the future which will hold and build and expand His Church upon the pillars of faith among His present apostles.  Pilate and Herod, like the religious leaders in the temple, represent in some sense a world that is passing away.  They might be the ones who hold power today, the worldly mighty in positions of support for Rome, the ruling empire.  But even Rome is passing away, just as sooner or later -- forty years from this time, to be precise -- Rome will overrun Jerusalem and destroy the temple which remains destroyed today.  All things are passing, but those who represent the power of the world in this scene work for regimes and entities which do not hold the future.  It is, ironically in light of what is happening in today's reading, the One who stands accused and mute before them who will be responsible for the demise of these empires.  It is the abuse of power and lack of faith which will ultimately condemn those regimes that are passing away and whose people will have to change and adapt to survive what is coming.  The world that they know is going to be upended and transformed through the ministry of Christ, in just one generation away from this time of this trial.  The very way that our years are numbered in the world will shift our consciousness away from what was before Christ, and dividing it from the years and centuries -- even millennia -- after Christ.  This mute and meek Man, unjustly accused, is the lever, the fulcrum, upon which all else hangs and divides.  And that is simply in a worldly sense!  We say nothing of the heavenly power that is at work, and which waits to make itself understood, and to change a cosmos and its order.  But the power in this Man who does not speak, does not protest, does not make a defense against injustice and brutality in the treatment He's given, is absolute, and it is all there whether or not these figures of worldly power understand it.  What we might take from the impact of this realization is simply that with God, all bets are off.  Anything is possible, and nothing is impossible.  There may be great power in the meek and silent, while those who become more fierce, and who vehemently accused Him in response, are ultimately powerless to protect and defend themselves from the change that is being implemented -- with God's grace -- through the effort they make to kill Him.  This is why we are to understand our dependence upon God for victories in ways we cannot predict and cannot comprehend.  This is the history we're told throughout the Bible, of a small people, dependent upon God, who go astray when they forget and seek to be like the other nations, and in this One who "will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street" at His trial (Isaiah 42:2).  For He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, even if lords and kings of the world cannot comprehend it.