Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

 

 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.  But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  

 

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."

 

- Luke 11:37–52 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus spoke, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!  And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light." 

 

 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."  Here Jesus begins to give criticisms of the Pharisees similar to those found in Matthew 23.  His repeated message of woe to them is a message about judgment that is to come.  My study Bible explains woe as a term which indicates complete and devastating destruction (Luke 6:24-26; see Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).  Here, addressing the issue of the formal observance of the Law in ceremonial washing, Jesus emphasizes the inward part, making an allusion to the inward part of a human being.  This "inward part" is neglected by the legalism of the Pharisees.

 

 "But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  To observe formal practices of tithing, while remaining untouched by the love of God or the need for justice is to bypass the spirit of the Law while following its letter.

 

"Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  The emphasis on outward observance causes judgment by appearance, the pleasing of other people rather than God (John 12:43).  Jesus likens this inward state of neglect to death, emptiness, nothingness -- painting a forlorn picture of the unknown graves of the dead.  

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."  Here the lawyers or scribes, who are closely allied with the Pharisees, complain to Jesus.  Again, Jesus speaks of their hard-heartedness, similar to that of the Pharisees.  These men scrupulously and zealously study and give opinions in the Law; in this context they load men with burdens hard to bear, but never show mercy in so doing, nor the compassion to truly help others. 

"Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation."  Jesus now links the Pharisees and scribes to the same leaders who built the tombs of the prophets and killed them in the past.  He speaks of God's justice, in which all these things are known, and which will require a response.  Regarding Zechariah, my study Bible comments that some patristic teachers say this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22) while others say it's a reference to the father of St. John the Baptist.  According to tradition, Zechariah (or Zacharias), the father of the Baptist, was also murdered in the temple.  

"Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."  My study Bible comments here that, because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding God as well.  Therefore leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1). 

Today's list of "woes" given by Jesus encapsulate in some sense what it means to be a hypocrite.  Indeed, in Matthew 23, Christ's grand critique of the Pharisees and the scribes, His condemnation is punctuated multiple times with the accusation, "Hypocrites!" Today's reading gives us an idea of exactly what the problem with hypocrisy is:  it hides from ourselves our own interior disposition, and the problems with it that we need to correct.  Jesus says, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness."  Outward observance is possible without ever coming to terms with our own needs and problems and shortcoming we need to correct.  This kind of blindness to oneself also leads to projection, and false judgment of others.  In response to their criticism of His lack of ceremonial washing, Jesus advises them to be charitable with what they have, teaching them the consequences of such:  clean hands:  "But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."   But then He continues to explain the problem with tithing for outward appearance's sake, and the disconnect with the heart that results:  "But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  The point of charitable giving is serving God's justice, ameliorating the harsh conditions we know in the world, and so properly done out of the love of God and of justice.  Jesus continues, "Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  Their emphasis on worldly glory (the best seats in the synagogues . . . greetings in the marketplaces) hides their true reality:  emptiness without substance, empty of virtue, to be forgotten and passed over.  In Christ's criticism of the lawyers (scribes) He goes even further; these experts who know the law and render opinions have used it to obstruct the purposes of God.  They cover the fact that they inherit the ways of those who killed and persecuted the prophets before them, in their hypocrisy building their tombs and mourning over them.  They have inherited the ways of their spiritual fathers, doing the same to those prophets and apostles who will come (and to Christ the Son as well).  They not only obstruct the knowledge of God for themselves, but they hindered those who were entering in to such -- thus fully defeating and obstructing the whole purpose of the Law.  Hypocrisy, in short, allows us to hide from ourselves the true state of our souls, our inner part, and what we do -- so that it may cover up even a multitude of the worst kind of sins.  My study Bible has a note on the warnings given to these religious leaders in Matthew 23.  It says that these warnings about hypocritical practice of our faith are especially important to Orthodox Christians.  The Church, it says, has maintained the ancient practices of tithing, sacred vessels, holy rites, and following the tradition handed down from our own fathers (and mothers).  These practices, it continues, can be expressions of deep faith, lead a person to deeper commitment to God, and safeguard our life in Christ -- or they can be observed without ever taking them to heart and lead to condemnation.  Let us understand that these words of Jesus Christ are not just for people who would be religious leaders and teachers 2,000 years ago.  They are for us today, especially for all of us who would be disciples of Christ, and seek to follow as He teaches us.  Let us learn from His words and take them all to heart.  For the wisdom of God will send yet more to us, and this wisdom is Christ Himself.  

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leave the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of the fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.  

"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."

 

- John 10:1–18 

 

 In our current reading, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and attending the Feast of Tabernacles.  This is an autumn harvest festival commemorating the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, and dwelt in tents or "tabernacles."  It is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  The religious leaders have sought to arrest Him and even stone Him, but unsuccessfully.  We have just read the sixth of seven "signs" in John's Gospel, the miraculous healing of a man blind from birth.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His dialogue with them, and they have been grilling the formerly blind man.  We read that the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."

 

  "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."  Of today's entire passage, my study Bible explains that Christ's conversation with the Pharisees continues, as there is no break between the final verses of the last chapter (above) and today's reading.  All of this is taking place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles (readings since the beginning of chapter 7 cover this events of this festival).  Here Christ contrasts the religious leadership in Jerusalem with His own.  My study Bible comments that they have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" comes from the Latin word for "shepherd").  It notes that their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and has lacked compassion.  But Christ, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue.  My study Bible says that according to St. John Chrysostom, the door is God's Word, meaning both the Scriptures and Christ our Lord Himself (verses 7, 9), as the Scriptures reveal God the Word.  The one who tries to lead in a way that is neither in Christ nor according to the teaching of the Scriptures is a thief and a robber.  Instead of using this door so that all can see Christ's works openly, these false shepherds are using underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, ultimately destroying their souls (verse 10).  By contrast, those pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life (verse 9).  

"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. My study Bible explains that, as Christ has intimate knowledge of every person, so also true pastors in the Church seek to know their people by name; that is, personally.  These pastors, it says, seek to understand each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, and having Christ-like compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  In return, people will respond to a true leader, whom they trust to be a follower of Christ.  St. Ignatius of Antioch is quoted as saying, "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  My study Bible adds that the response of the faithful can be a better indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (John 7:47-49).  

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  My study Bible notes that the phrase all whoever came before Me doesn't refer to Moses or to genuine prophets, but to people who claimed to be the Messiah both before and after Christ, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (Acts 5:36-37).  The ultimate thief, it says, is Satan.  Satan spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, and lures away both leaders and people.  Life in this context means living in God's grace here on earth, and life more abundantly is that of the Kingdom to come.  

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leave the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."  Here Jesus reveals Himself as the good shepherd.  My study Bible lists those characteristics as follows:  He enters by the door; that is, He fulfills. the Scriptures concerning Himself.  Secondly, Christ knows and is known by the Father (verse 15).  He also knows His people personally, and therefore He is known by them (verses 3, 14).  Finally, He gives His life for the sake of His people (verse 11), which is a direct prophecy of His coming Passion. 

 

"And other sheep I have which are not of the fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."  Other sheep are the Gentiles, my study Bible says, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  So, for instance, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning centuries of the Church, it has been the Orthodox teaching that there be one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea), a principle which is affirmed in every generation.  In the early second century, St. Ignatius wrote to a Church which held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians; he taught:  "Be careful to observe a single Eucharist, for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup of His Blood that makes us one, and one altar, just as there i one bishop. . . . This is in line with God's will."

"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."  Jesus states clearly, I lay down My life.  His life-giving death will be voluntary, and He does nothing apart from the will of His Father.  As He laid down His life for us, my study Bible says, we lay down our lives for Him and for the sake of others.

Christ is the good shepherd; He is our good shepherd.  And in today's reading, He gives a number of reasons why He is that good shepherd.  Strongly, Jesus affirms that "My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again."  These words indicate, in the context of John's Epistle that declares to us that God is love (1 John 4:8), that the good shepherd is beloved of the Father because of the great love Christ shows for the sheep -- that He is willing to lay down His life for the sheep.  Within the embrace of Father and Son there is a union of love that includes the faithful, the sheep.  As Jesus' words seem to indicate the more that love is shared, the more love results; He is beloved because He loves -- and the Father loves in turn because the Son loves the sheep; so much so that the Son will even lay down His life out of love.  So, in this, Christ is the good shepherd.  He shows His love of and loyalty to the Father by loving the sheep to the greatest extent possible, making the greatest sacrifice because of that love.  This Jesus contrasts with the hireling, the one to whom the sheep do not truly belong, the one who presumably works simply for a wage, and not for love:  "But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leave the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep."   Moreover, here is the great characteristic of love, it is personal, it makes all things personal:  "To [the good shepherd] the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  We the faithful are these sheep; we are those who are called by name: called by name out of the love so great on the part of the shepherd that He would lay down His life for us.  It's in that love that we hear His voice; we know Him and He knows us.  So where do you hear this call of love?  Can we forget that this tremendous, exalted love begins with the Father, circles through us and is once again reciprocated by the Father?  It's a great kind of dance of limitless potential and unending process, and perhaps that is also part and parcel of what makes the kind of life Christ offers "everlasting."  Moreover we must consider that it is this great circulating love that gives us life, and even life more abundantly.  If there is ever any doubt about what and Whom we follow, let us look to the heart, to this love, to its deeply personal call and voice that comes to us.  The One who loves us so much He would lay down His life, because the Father asks it, for the purpose of our life, so that we may have life more abundantly.  The one thing we need to know most assuredly is that love and that it runs through us.  This is where we know and are known.  For this, He is the One in whom we trust.

 

 

 

 

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?" 

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

Yesterday we read that, after His eucharistic teachings on eating His Body and Blood (see John 6, or the blog posts immediately previous to this one), Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 

 

  Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  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."   We recall that Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, during the final year of His earthly life.  This is an eight-day autumn harvest festival, commemorating the time Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, living in tents (or tabernacles).  My study Bible comments on this passage that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness, it says, comes from an unwillingness to know God or to recognize God's authority.   It cites St. John Chrysostom, who paraphrases Christ as saying,  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted this way."  Jesus refers to making a man completely well on the Sabbath:  This refers to events in Jerusalem at a previous feast, the Old Testament Pentecost, known also as the Feast of Weeks (see this reading).  As we frequently note, in John's Gospel, here the phrase the Jews refers to the religious leadership, not the people.

 

 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?"   Some of the people from Jerusalem say, "We know where this Man is from."  My study Bible remarks that these crowds are mistaken, both in an earthly sense and also a divine sense.  Humanly speaking, they know Jesus as being from Nazareth in Galilee.  But they're not aware that He was actually born in Bethlehem (verse 42; see Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they can't understand that He's come from the Father in Heaven; He is eternally begotten before all ages, and thus His divine "origin" remains unknown to them also.  His hour refers to the time of His suffering and death.  Christ is the Lord over time, my study Bible says, which is an authority which is possessed by God alone.  He will go to the Cross of His own free will, and in His time, not according to the plots of human beings (see John 8:20; 10:39). 

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."   My study Bible says that Christ's statement here refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven. 

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  The Dispersion is literally in Greek the Diaspora; that is, the Jewish communities outside of Israel.  To go among the Greeks means to go among the Gentiles; that is, the Greek speakers, as Greek was the international language of Christ's time.  But this is an unwitting prophesy.  It points to the time after Christ's Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles; and the Gospels and Epistles and the Revelation of the New Testament will be written in the Greek language, for all the world.  

We can see the confusion in Jerusalem.  John's Gospel almost has the structure of an ancient play at this juncture, with the people acting as a chorus, voicing the varied opinions and responses to Jesus and His preaching and teaching.  Today's passage begins with the consternation and perplexity in the people, who can't understand where Christ gets His wisdom, having never studied.  Jesus begins, in today's passage, by reiterating His identity which is inseparable from the Father who sent Him, and He also claims His true authority comes only from the Father.  But then He speaks what He knows, that there are those who wish to kill Him, because He made a man well on the Sabbath.  The people respond that He has a demon.  Jesus says, "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."  When He asserts again that He has come from the Father, there are those who wish to kill Him -- but this time there are others of the crowd in Jerusalem who wonder if He could be the Messiah, who believe. They ask, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  Jesus adds yet more information about Himself, alluding to His Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection to come.  These all come as cryptic statements to the religious leaders, who can understand nothing about His words.  But their response becomes an inadvertent prophesy, that He will "go among the Greeks," among the Gentiles, as will the disciples bearing His word and gospel.  We have a picture, at this juncture of Christ's ministry, of a world that is stirring and being stirred by Him.  His truth is the sword that pierces through everything.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."  He goes on, quoting from the prophesy of Micah, "For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.'  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." (See Matthew 10:34-39; Micah 7:6).  In today's reading, the public forms a backdrop, like the Greek chorus of the ancient plays, so that we get all of the voices being stirred up by Christ, and a sense of the confusion around His Person and His preaching.  For when the truth appears to us and makes its mark, perhaps we should take this scene to heart and bear a philosophical perspective in accordance with it:  that truth has an impact depending upon where it strikes, and the ground it hits upon.  Just like the parable of the Sower which tells us of the seeds that illustrate the word of Christ, we should not be surprised when there is division, and even confusion, but rather see it as a time to hold fast to what we know, and to take root in our faith.  Jesus will tell us repeatedly that, especially when He is gone and we await His return, we are to "watch and pray," and Saints Peter and Paul also repeat these thoughts in their Epistles (see Matthew 26:41; Mark 13:33; Mark 14:38; Luke 21:36; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Peter 4:7).   This is especially true in times of uncertainty and confusion, and remains so today.   Contrary to many modern assumptions about truth-telling and the impact of reason, or assertions that there's always one right answer, perhaps the Gospels give us the assurance that confusion -- amidst a chorus of voices -- is something we should expect as the product of a world which both needs, and rejects, the truth.  Perhaps we're rather taught the humility to expect that, as human beings, we don't always have all the answers.   In such times, we take root in our faith, in what we've been taught, to watch and pray, to seek God's will as He says in today's reading, and God's glory.   For we are commanded, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."    In a world that always seems to be in a rush, let us take the time to find His way and His answers.  To watch and pray is sometimes the only way we can do that when things remain unclear, the best way to find righteous judgment.    For now let us watch the unfolding of the story of the Gospel.  

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

 

 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 answer1ed them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

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

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  My study Bible comments that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or recognize the authority of God.  It cites St. John Chrysostom as paraphrasing Christ in this way:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no  longer be afflicted in this way." 

 

 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."   In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gives various blameless Sabbath violations (Matthew 12:3-5) when accused of doing work on the Sabbath.  Here Jesus points out their own exception for circumcision on the Sabbath.  Therefore, if circumcision can be performed on a Sabbath, why not making a man completely well on the Sabbath?  My study Bible comments that this therefore demonstrates that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God.  

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  The crowds from Jerusalem say, "We know where this Man is from . . .."  But my study Bible comments that the crowds are mistaken, in both an earthly sense and in a divine sense.  In terms of Christ's humanity, they know Jesus as being from Nazareth in Galilee.  But they are not aware that in fact He was born in Bethlehem, a factor prophesied in terms of the identity of the Messiah.  More than that, they cannot understand His teaching that He has come from the Father in heaven, and that in His divine identity He is eternally begotten before all ages.  So, therefore, both in a human and a divine sense, His origin is unknown to them.  

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  Christ's hour, as discussed in yesterday's commentary, is the time of His suffering and death.  My study Bible comments that He is Lord over time, which is an authority possessed by God alone.  Jesus comes to the Cross of His own free will, and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings (see John 8:20; 10:39).  

 

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."   My study Bible explains suggests that this latter statement refers to Christ's death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven. 

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  To go among the Greeks means to go among the Gentiles.  My study Bible says that this unwitting prophecy points to the time after Christ's Ascension when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  

In today's reading, Jesus tells the religious leaders, "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."  This is a complicated statement, and quite interesting, because He posits directly to them that they don't recognize that His doctrine is from God, because they don't will to do God's will.  Essentially what He is saying is that those who truly desire to serve God will also recognize Him, and where He is coming from, so to speak.  What is important here is the consistency of authority that is at work when instead of seeking only to serve ourselves we seek to serve God.  Or, as Jesus has put it, the One who sent Him.  Jesus puts this in the framework of a mission, with Himself as Servant, loyally serving the One who has sent Him.  It puts us in mind of a good soldier, or a good loyal servant, or one who serves a higher ranking authority in government or any other institution or enterprise.  If one is loyal to the one who sent you, then the mission is carried out with loyalty, true to the plan of the person one serves.  But to seek one's own glory and own will is to be inconsistent with the mission, a poor servant.   With this kind of logic, Jesus clearly frames an argument challenging the religious leaders about their lack of comprehension of what He does and who He is, because they are not loyal to the One whom they are supposed to serve.  As the religious leaders of the people, they are entrusted with the care of the flock of Israel, the beloved people of God.  They are meant to serve God by caring for this flock, and leading the people back to God.  But they seek their own glory instead, vying for their own authority rather than that of the One whom they're meant to serve.  They seek their own ends for their own purposes.  In Matthew 23, Jesus gives His full speech in condemnation of the devices and practices of the religious leadership.  Here, as they begin to show their desire to attack and be rid of Jesus, He tackles the heart of the problem and their divided loyalties which keep them from serving God and recognizing that He does so Himself.   If we take these words at face value, we can see how they would also apply to ourselves, because Jesus invites us also to consider whose will we seek to serve.  How will we recognize Him for who He truly is?  If we love and seek to serve the Father, we will also recognize the aim of Jesus; we will mutually seek to serve the same will of the Father.  And this continues as a kind of testing pattern for all who come into the Church and call themselves Christians:  whose loyalty is commanded in us?  Whom do we seek to serve?  Whose will do we desire to do?  In a sense Jesus is teaching that in that will of God the Father all those who love God may converge to recognize one another.  If it sounds complex, it needn't do:  we're meant to pray to find the way to discern, and to look to our hearts for where our love and loyalty lie.  Let us consider the power of this faithful Servant and His mission, and that we are invited to share in and do our part serving the same.

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 vinedressers, 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, "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 if 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; 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 vinedressers, 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 vine-dressers 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."  My study Bible explains that in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard is a reference to God's people.  The vinedressers are the religious leaders who are entrusted to care for the people.  The servants who are sent by the owner each stand for an Old Testament prophet who comes to call people back to God, while the son is a reference to Christ Himself.  When the Son is taken and cast out of the vineyard and killed, it is understood on two levels.  First, that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem (the place of crucifixion, Golgotha, was outside the walls of the ancient city), and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own vineyard. 

 

 "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."  Once again, as in yesterday's reading (above; see Matthew 21:31), these religious leaders convict themselves according to their own response to Christ's question.

 

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.  This stone, upon which others fall, is Christ.  My study Bible refers us to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, this saying shows the two ways of destruction.  Those who fall on the stone are people who suffer the consequences of their sins while they are yet in this life.  But those upon whom the stone falls are the unrepentant who suffer destruction in the final judgment.  Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23; Isaiah 28:16.

 

Who is the Stone?  Jesus Christ.  It is interesting to think of stones in connection with Christ, and the various references to stones (or rock) we find in Scripture and in connection with the Church.  Here, first, Jesus refers to Himself as the chief cornerstone, the one rejected by the builders (the religious leaders who will seek to put Him to death).  A chief cornerstone functions in various ways to uphold the weight of a building and keep it together, also guiding the building of the rest of the structure.  Jesus has also given us a parable about building our house (our life) upon a rock in Matthew 7:24-29.  This is His illustration for one "who hears these sayings of Mine, and does them."  In other words, to build one's home upon a rock illustrates faithful living.  When St. Peter made his confession that Jesus was indeed "the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus told him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (see Matthew 16:13-20).  According to Luke's Gospel, when Jesus approaches Jerusalem at His Triumphal Entry, and His disciples shout as if welcoming a Savior King, some of the Pharisees tells Him to rebuke the disciples.  But Jesus replies, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke 19:28-40).  In St. Peter's First Epistle, he writes eloquently to the Church as "living stones":  "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.'"   Peter then goes on to cite Christ's quotation from Psalm 118 in today's reading, and adds another from Isaiah to make the point St. Chrysostom repeats in commentary:  "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" (1 Peter 2:4-10; Isaiah 8:14).  In each of these ways, we see the illustration used of a rock or stone to teach us about our faith, about the Church, about Christ, even about St. Peter and his confession, and to all those faithful who are in the world as "living stones."  In any way we view these statements, we should understand that this rock or this stone and its qualities are given to us as a gift.  But so much depends upon how we respond to it, and how we live -- faithfully or not.  We have the choice to build His life in this world. 

 

 

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.  

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  

 

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  

 

"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.  Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."

 

- John 10:1–18 

 

In our current reading, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, and it is the final year of His earthly life.  As we began chapter 9 of John's Gospel, Jesus healed a man blind from birth, something unprecedented in the Scriptures.  But the religious leaders did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.  And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?"  His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know.  He is of age; ask him.  He will speak for himself."  His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory!  We know that this Man is a sinner."  He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.  One thing I know:  that though I was blind, now I see."  Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?"  He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become His disciples?"  Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.  We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from."  The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!  Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?"  And they cast him out.  Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"  He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!"  And he worshiped Him.  And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains.

 

  "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."  Here, as we begin chapter 10 in John's Gospel, the conversation with the Pharisees continues; there is no break between the final verses of chapter 9, and this beginning of 10.  All of this takes place at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn festival commemorating the time Israel wandered in the wilderness, and the people lived in tabernacles (or tents).  My study Bible comments that here Jesus contrasts the leadership of the Pharisees with His own.  They have failed as pastors of God's people ("pastor" comes from the Latin word for "shepherd").  Their leadership has been marked by deceit and pride and lacks compassion.  Christ, on the other hand, fulfills all virtue.  My study Bible adds that, according to St. John Chrysostom, the door is God's Word, indicating both the Scriptures and Christ Himself (see verses 7, 9), as the Scriptures reveal God the Word.  One who tries to lead in a way that is neither in Christ nor according to the teaching of the Scriptures is a thief and a robber.  Rather than using this door so all can see His works openly, these false shepherds use underhanded means to control, steal, and manipulate people, which ultimately destroys their souls (verse 10).  In contrast, the pastors who lead according to Christ will find eternal life (verse 9).

"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.  My study Bible explains that, as Christ has intimate knowledge of each person, so also a true pastor in the Church will strive to know God's people by name, that is, personally.  Such pastors strive to know each person's situation and needs, from the greatest to the least, expressing Christlike compassion for each one (Hebrews 4:15).  In return people will respond to a true leader, trusting that such a leader is a follower of Christ.  St. Ignatius of Antioch writes, "Where the bishop is present, there the people shall gather."  My study Bible comments further that indeed, the response of the faithful can be a better indicator of who is a true shepherd than the claims of leaders (John 7:47-49).  

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."  The phrase all who ever came before Me does not refer to Moses or genuine prophets, my study Bible explains, but rather to people claiming to be the Messiah both before and after Christ, such as Judas of Galilee and Theudas (Acts 5:36-37). 

 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  My study Bible says that the ultimate thief is Satan, who spreads lies and heresies among the people of God, luring away both leaders and people.  Life means living in God's grace here on earth, and the more abundant life, my study Bible says, indicates the Kingdom to come.

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."  Here Christ reveals Himself as the good shepherd, and He teaches what that means.  He enters by the door (see verse 2, above), meaning that He fulfills the Scriptures concerning Himself.  He knows and is known by the Father.  He knows His people personally, and is known by them (verses 3, 14).  Finally, He gives His life for the sake of His people, a direct prophecy of His coming Passion.  

"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."  My study Bible says that the other sheep are the Gentiles, who will be brought into the one flock with the Jews under the one shepherd.  So, for example, the Church transcends ethnic and racial lines.  From the beginning, it adds, it has been the Orthodox teaching that there be one bishop serving a city (Canon 8 of I Nicea), a principle which is affirmed in each generation.  Writing in the early second century to a Church that held separate liturgies for Jewish and Gentile Christians, St. Ignatius taught, "Be careful to observe a single Eucharist, for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup of His Blood that makes us one, and one altar, just as there is one bishop. . . . This is in line with God's will."

"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."  Here, my study Bible says, Christ is clear that His life-giving death is voluntary.  He does nothing apart from the will of the Father.  As He laid down His life for us, we lay down our lives  for Him and for the sake of others.

In the final verses of today's reading, Jesus says, "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.  Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father."  It seems that these verses, coming together, indicate very clearly that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross will bring all together -- all the sheep should become one fold.  While we have many denominations of those who claim to follow Christ, and disagreements among them, it is clear that the Door is Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.  In writing this blog, I endeavor to address as many of that one flock as possible, because I believe that is important.  In the following chapter of John's Gospel, we will read that Caiaphas, as high priest that year, exhorts his fellow rulers to do away with Christ, saying, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" (John 11:49-50).  This is seen as an unwitting prophecy, made for one purpose by a man, but prophetic of Christ's "lifting up" on the Cross, from the chair of the high priest.  This is one profound part of the meaning of the Cross, as it becomes a part of the reality of the Door for the sheep, that door by which all of us must go to the abundant life Christ promises.  It is, for this reason, a symbol of salvation, and remains so.  It also symbolizes the defeat of the thief who does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  Under the Cross, the sheep are united in a mystical reality, that pervades all things, places, peoples, walks of life.  This is not to say that it is some magical formula in which all are made one; rather, those with faith, who perceive in His words "spirit and life" and who know they have found the Door, are of one flock.  Let us live as His sheep, hearing His voice and not that of strangers, in faith following His words, as we are known by Him and may be known by one another.  

 

Receive your sight; your faith has made you well

 

 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

 

- Luke 18:31–43 

 

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he heard this, he become very sorrowful, for he was very rich.  And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

 

 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.  My study Bible says that the saying was hidden not by God, but because the disciples could not comprehend its meaning until the events of the Passion had taken place.  We might pause to consider the unthinkable quality of the events that are to come, from the perspective of Christ's disciples.

 

 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  As Jesus comes to pass through Jericho, He is on the road to Jerusalem in earnest.  This blind man greets Jesus as Son of David, a title which my study Bible says was deeply associated with the Messiah.  It notes that although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  Note the repeated pleas, or prayers, of the blind man, indicating our own persistence in prayer.  My study Bible says that in patristic literature there is also a spiritual interpretation to the similar miracle reported in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 20:29-34), only differing in that two blind men are reported in Matthew.  It says that in this interpretation, the blind men symbolize future generations would will come to faith only by hearing, and without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who call for silence are persecutors and tyrants who, in every generation, try to silence the Church.  Nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

The spiritual interpretation given to this miracle is interesting, because today we might find that there are ways in which faith seems to be suppressed; or rather, we find fairly vocal calls for curbing the influence of faith in public life.  While the relative freedom in the West remains despite the politicizing calls for less influence, we can look to other areas of the world where Christian faith is quite violently suppressed and under threat, even by forcible conversion, and so give thought to this spiritual interpretation reported by my study Bible.  What does it mean for us?  How do we feel this sense of those who call for the faithful to "be quiet" about their faith?  During the previous century, under communist systems, religion also underwent a systematic kind of silence.  In Russia, and other countries of Eastern Europe, many priests were killed or persecuted at different times, put into prisons and what were called gulags, and often under great hardship and even systematic torture in some cases.  A famous Russian writer (and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970), Alexander Solzhenitsyn, wrote novels set within this prison system.  He is famous for an essay titled, "Live Not By Lies."   In it, he argues that violence always dissipates itself.  He writes, "To prop itself up, to appear decent, it will without fail call forth its ally—Lies."  He explains, "For violence has nothing to cover itself with but lies, and lies can only persist through violence. And it is not every day and not on every shoulder that violence brings down its heavy hand: It demands of us only a submission to lies, a daily participation in deceit—and this suffices as our fealty."  What he advocates is that, in circumstances where we feel we can do no more, we can at least not participate in lies.  We can agree not to advocate things we can't agree with; in this way one begins to break out of the social prison that locks people within ideas that are truly lies and suppress truth.  In our faith in Christ, we put our trust in the One whom we call Truth, who has said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  Christ came into this world as Savior and Liberator, and part of that liberating, freeing action is to free us from oppression of various kinds, especially that which is spiritual and which oppresses the mind and heart, but which often accompanies, as Solzhenitsyn indicates in his essay for his own time and place, violence and coercion of every kind.  So, in the service of Jesus, the Son of David, who is our Savior and Liberator, we also must always consider these words of this essay, and find and live our truth.  There may be things which we are unable to express in certain settings.  There may be ways in which we are somehow shouted and oppressed into silence.  But we can choose that we will not support lies, we won't participate in them, and we will retain the freedom we're given by God because we remain free in our hearts, our prayers, our mind, our soul.  When we live by His teachings, in whatever way we can, we are participating in Christ's truth.  We are declaring it for ourselves and for those around us, and this is most important, for we must understand Christ's teaching that the kingdom of God is within us and among us.  When He sent out the disciples on their first mission, and repeatedly at other times, Christ declares to the people, "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (Luke 10:9).  Over and over again in Luke's Gospel, Jesus preaches the kingdom of God, and how we may participate in that Kingdom.  There are over thirty times this phrase is used in Luke's reporting of Jesus' ministry.  He clearly did not come preaching a political kingdom, one that works only by violence and rebellion, but one that lives and dwells within us and among us, through our faith and participation in it, through living His commandments, and keeping ourselves alert to the life He teaches and offers, growing in that faith and strengthening it among ourselves and for ourselves.  Whatever our circumstances, this is what we are called to do, to endure in our faith.  For the earliest Christian martyrs, it was a question of not participating in the sacrifices to false gods.  For us today, let us not participate in whatever our modern sacrifices might be that we are called to participate in to false gods.   Christ said that we must make a choice and cannot serve two masters, we cannot serve both God and mammon.  In the world of vast material resources, of great coercive power -- be it violent or simply persuasive through lies and half-truths (which are also lies), political slogans, or just the power of the mob in new forms, let us consider how we may not participate in lies, but rejoice in the truth, and enduring in His truth, as He has asked of us.  We must be persistent in our prayers, like the blind man, and not let the coercive power of the crowd silence our faith, or the voice in the heart that stirs and becomes a flame through the love of Christ.  If we rely on God, God will provide ways for us to live that faith and to express it one way or another, even in a simple gesture of care or love that others don't consider (Matthew 25:40).  Sometimes the simplest action may be a bold way to participate in and declare our faith, even in the midst of coercive lies.  We must live our faith.  Let us pray that we, too, may receive our sight to do so, that He illuminates the way for us.