John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true

 

 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  

 

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), "do you say of Him who the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." 

 

Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

 

- John 10:19–42 

 

In our recent readings, events have been taking place at the Feast of Tabernacles, which is an autumn harvest festival (John 7:1-10:21).  Among other things, the last, great day of this eight-day feast features the lighting of the great lamps in one courtyard of the temple.  They were so brilliant, they illumined the city, and so, much of Christ's preaching and His great sign of healing a man blind from birth emphasize Christ as "light from Light" (the Creed) and as the fullness of all forms of light.  It is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  At this festival He has been disputing with the Pharisees and religious leaders, who have already unsuccessfully sought to have Him arrested.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "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."

 

 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  These verses take place at conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles.  My study Bible comments that those who respond in faith are not merely impressed by Christ's signs, but they perceive the holiness of His words (see John 7:45-46).  

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  The Feast of Dedication takes place approximately three months following the Feast of Tabernacles.  This feast is known as the "Festival of Lights" (or Hanukkah).  It commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Seleucid King Epiphanes desecrated it in 167 BC (see 1 Maccabees 1 - 4).  At this festival, my study Bible informs us, the leaders of Israel's past were commemorated, many of whom were themselves shepherds.  

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."  Jesus tells these men (the religious leadership), ". . . as I said to you."  My study Bible comments on this that it indicates these are the same Pharisees whom Christ addressed three months earlier (see yesterday's reading, above).  Note that both what Christ told them, and also the works He had done, have already answered the question they ask Him.  Only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind (see this reading) or perform the miracles which bear witness to Him.  In the same vein, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of people as Christ had.

 

 "I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have  shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus responds to their question ("If You are the Christ, tell us plainly") by revealing Himself to be fully God.  One means one in nature or essence, my study Bible explains.  Christ is God before all ages, and He remains God after the Incarnation and for all eternity.  The plural verb are, it says, indicates two distinct persons, while confirming a continuous unity.  The religious leaders clearly recognize Jesus has made a claim of divinity, and so they therefore accuse Him of blasphemy.

 

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), "do you say of Him who the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."   Jesus quotes from Scripture:  "You are gods" (Psalm 82:6).  My study Bible explains that people who receive God's grace in faith will partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and can rightly be called gods.  According to St. John Chrysostom, Christ is effectively saying, "If those who have received this honor by grace are not guilty for calling themselves gods, how can He who has this by nature deserve to be rebuked?"

 

Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.  My study Bible comments that, because Christ is going to His Passion voluntarily and according to His own will (verses 17-18), His accusers cannot arrest Him until He is ready (John 7:30; 8:20; see Luke 4:28-30).

 

 John's Gospel is the one that reports to us Pilate's question to Jesus:  "What is truth?" (see John 18:37-38).  Clearly we learn from today's passage, which begins at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, that the truth is not self-evident to everyone.  This is perhaps very clear when we speak about spiritual truth, but one would be a fool not to notice it seems to be also a phenomenon in our every day lives as well, whether we speak of things physical, metaphysical, emotional, or otherwise.  Witnessing a real-time physical worldly event is also fraught with contradictions from witness to witness regarding the same event.  Our "filters" (to put it one way) seem to be always at work.  Perhaps, indeed, the great work of God in us is to refine those filters, to take away the things that keep us blind, that block the light of God from getting in.  In terms of the truth of Christ, our "freedom" comes from the depth of truth we can accept.  Jesus tells us also in this Gospel, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (see John 8:31-32).  But in the context of that passage, it's important that it's prefaced with Christ's words, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."  In other words, the depth and dedication of our discipleship is directly linked to the truth we can receive.  Just as we've just read Jesus' sixth sign (of seven) in John's Gospel, the giving of sight to a man who was blind from birth, in chapter 9, so perhaps we are to extrapolate and to understand that it is Christ who truly gives us spiritual sight, and it is through discipleship to Him that any of us receives sight enough to receive the truth that He is talking about.  Hence, Pilate's question, and his perplexity in trying to understand what Jesus is talking about.  Moreover, in talking about events in today's reading, perhaps it's most important -- in the context of this discussion about truth -- that we notice that Christ's truth, even the tremendous news and evidence before them of the giving of sight to the man blind from birth -- creates division.  Not everyone can accept Christ's truth.  In those "filters" of which we speak there may be many obstacles that cause darkness, even inspire human beings to cling to their own darkness so as to avoid that light, that truth.  In terms of the religious leaders in our story, they certainly have reasons to reject that Jesus could be the Messiah; their authority is threatened if Jesus is the Christ.  Many say that He has a demon and is mad.  But others say the obvious, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  We know that at least some of the religious leaders, including Nicodemus the Pharisee, are well on their way to being full disciples of Christ.  But these divisions tell us something important about truth.  We so often make assumptions that truth -- on any level -- is obvious to everyone.  But this is not the case.  As we are still in the period of Lent, and heading toward Holy Week starting on Palm Sunday, let us keep well in mind that it is through abiding in His word that we may come to know the truth, for this is what He says to us.  Let us continue our efforts at discipleship, so that we may truly know what it is to be free.  For it is discipleship that works on the filters that keep us from the light.  Let us note also the great significance of the saintly and faithful in today's reading, and consider the long lineage of the work of God among us.  For where is it that many believed in Him?  It is among those who heard the word about Jesus from John the Baptist.  They say, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  Let us bear in mind that it is John's Gospel which also tells us clearly that many of Jesus' disciples were first disciples of John, and that John sent them to Jesus the Lamb of God (John 1:29).  Let us abide in His word.

 

 

 

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

 

 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  

 

Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

 

- John 8:21–32 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus is attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  He has been teaching in the temple, and has been confronted in a would-be trap by being presented with a with a woman taken in adultery.  After that, He continued in dialogue with the religious leaders.  Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

 

  Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.   My study Bible tells us that going away, in this first verse here, is a reference to Christ's death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.

Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  Jesus uses the term lift up, as He did with Nicodemus in John 3:14.  My study Bible explains that here, this phrase has a double meaning of being nailed to the Cross and also of being exalted by God the Father upon the completion of His work.  

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."  My study Bible comments that Jesus expects all who follow Him to be disciples; in other words, learners.  To abide in His word is the responsibility of all believers, not simply of the clergy or an elite class of zealots -- but all of us.

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  My study Bible tells us that the truth refers here both to the virtue of truth and, more importantly, to Christ Himself (John 14:6).  To be free means the freedom from darkness, confusion, and lies -- and also freedom from the bondage of sin and death.  

From what do you need to be free?  Jesus' freedom is inextricably tied up with the truth, for how can we ever be truly free from something unless we first understand what is true and what is false?  It is also tied in with any concept of justice or righteousness, because we cannot discern either justice or righteousness unless our understanding is based in the truth of what is and what isn't.  For an example of these things, let us look to the Crucifixion of Christ itself.  Of what was Jesus truly guilty to have received a sentence of crucifixion?  Certainly Pilate himself found no wrong according to Roman law.  In St. John's reporting of Christ's trial before Pilate, Pilate twice says, "I find no fault in Him," and later seeks to release Him to the crowd, asking, "Shall I crucify your King?" (John 19:4-16).  In our previous chapter, Nicodemus speaks up against the hasty action of his fellow members of the Council, saying, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"   But Christ's accusers can do nothing in response but  deliver a lie, saying, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee" (see John 7:50-52).  In these examples we can see immediately the question of truth and its importance for notions of justice and righteousness.  Jonah the prophet was from Galilee, something these Biblical scholars of their time are supposed to know; either their claim to expertise is not true, or they are deliberately obscuring the truth.  On the other hand, Nicodemus seeks to uphold a proper search for truth by reminding them that lawful judgment requires hearing from the accused first.  But if we look at the Crucifixion itself, we see a greater example of what truth has to do with being free.  For Christ's freedom is precisely in His own innocence, and His mission from the Father.  All along, He has been saying that His union is with the Father, His mission is from the Father, as He is taught by the Father, so He does -- and as the Father judges, so Jesus will judge, and not of Himself.  See yesterday's reading, above, in which Jesus tells the religious leaders, "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me."  His freedom in this sense is guaranteed by His loyalty to the Father and His unwillingness to compromise with what He knows to be false.  We can only imagine what shame crucifixion would bring to a family such as His, but we understand Christ's very state of freedom to rely on the truth, and not judgment by appearances, and in this He was free and remained so.  There is yet another example at the Crucifixion, close by the Jesus, and that is the thief who recognized his responsibility for his crime, and turned to Christ asking for forgiveness -- and was granted such.  He asked of Christ, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  Jesus replied, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (see Luke 23:39-43).  So, in that case, it was the truthful acknowledgment of his crime that set free the thief to be received by Christ in His Kingdom.  Both cases -- Christ's innocence and the thief's crime -- are true, and both are necessary to the freedom of each, as well as our freedom to understand and to seek the same discernment in our own lives, even the same truth in Christ which guides us.  We human beings experience many confusing layers of what may or may not be true in life. So much depends upon experience and perspective, even awareness itself, or education, or how complete or incomplete is our grasp of all the facts pertinent to whatever things we may consider.  And so, truth can be elusive and even seemingly changing.  But this is why we seek Christ for discernment of the truth that makes us free, because we don't have that divine perspective of Christ.  We are not "from above," as Christ so eloquently puts it.  We are not born with the discernment that Christ offers through participation in His life, and the subsequent growth He offers to us.  We may be trapped in cycles of guilt that are not based in truth, or of irresponsibility equally not based on truth.  We may find ourselves punishing ourselves for things we can't change, and looking in all the wrong directions to salvage our lives from something truly devastating.  Christ's freedom is the deepest one can go; it is what we would call ontological, even a state of being within us.  That is, a state of freedom at the depth of soul and identity.  Only Christ can offer this because on He has the perspective of the ultimate Healer, for -- as we are told by St. John -- in Him is life, and that life is the light we need (John 1:4).   His light is truth, and in that truth is our real freedom.