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

 

 Then many of Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.  But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.  Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do?  For this Man works many signs.  If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."  And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "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."  Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.  Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.  Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

 

- John 11:45-54 

 

In yesterday's reading we read of the completion of Christ's seventh and final sign in the Gospel of John, the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  At this point in the story, Jesus had not yet come into the town of Bethany where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

 Then many of Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.  But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.  Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do?  For this Man works many signs.  If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."  And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "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."  Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.  Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.  Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.   Once again we note that the term the Jews in John's Gospel usually indicates the religious leadership.  In this case, it indicates those from families in Jerusalem, likely connected to the Jewish ruling classes (such as the Pharisees mentioned here), who come to mourn Lazarus' death with Martha and Mary (see yesterday's reading, above).  On today's entire reading, my study Bible has a single note.  It explains to us that Caiaphas, being high priest, is given the authority to speak prophetically.  It notes that the failings or even wickedness of the officeholder do not diminish the grace of the office itself.  Here, Caiaphas means only that the death of Jesus Christ will spare the Jews from Roman intervention.  But God's meaning is something entirely different, that all people will be saved through the death of the Son. 

 

The "unwittingly prophetic" plays a significant role in the Gospels, in the story of Jesus Christ, particularly at these moments of high tension or crisis.  Here in today's reading is perhaps the most important example, when Caiaphas, acting as high priest, makes this statement in which he intends one meaning but God speaks through him with another.    In saying that "it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish," the Christian perspective recognizes the clear message of Jesus Christ as Savior.  He will die for all, as He has said.  In John's chapter 3, Jesus told Nicodemus, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:14-17).  This has been the clear message of Christ's teaching about Himself, and will become more explicit as the story of Christ's Passion, death, and Resurrection unfolds, and in the whole history of the Church.  There are other examples of what we can call unwitting prophecies, such as in our recent reading when Christ's disciple Thomas said of Jesus' going to Lazarus who was dying, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him" (see this reading).  Thomas meant this statement with one understanding which was his at the time, but it is a prophecy of the lives of martyrdom that the disciples would go on to lead.  There is yet another profound example to come in the events of Christ's Passion, found in Matthew's Gospel, and that is when the people shout at Christ's Crucifixion.  That happens as Pilate washes his hands before the crowd demanding Jesus' death and declares, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it."  We're told that all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children."  Whatever way this can be read or intended (or twisted to justify the sinful persecution of Jewish people), it is seen in the eyes of the Church as not a curse but an unwitting blessing, for it is the blood of Christ that is our means of salvation, as shown when so many in Jerusalem would come to repentance and faith as on the day of Pentecost when thousands were baptized (Acts 2:41).  The story of Jesus is filled with paradox; perhaps the greatest paradox of all is the one we continue to ponder:  why does the means of our salvation happen through the events of Christ's Passion and Holy Week?  But through these events, which are effectively begun through the raising of Lazarus and the meeting of the Sanhedrin in today's reading, God will work to bring salvation to the world and the power of redemption to humanity -- and this is indeed a great paradox.  At such a point of crisis we find God intervenes in the most extraordinary ways, and this is what we should take with us from today's reading.  For even in the midst of this darkest of plotting against Christ the Savior, prophesy is at work, and grace is at work, and we must say that God is in this sense present.  Let us accept this profound paradox as we move ahead into the story to come through John's Gospel.  

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 After these things 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.  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.

 

- John 7:1-13 

 

Yesterday, we read that many of Christ's disciples, after they heard Him teach, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you," said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.   And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. 

 After these things 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.  Let us remember that in John's Gospel, the term the Jews most often refers to the religious leaders who reject Him; it is used as something like a political label.  Christ Himself, His family, His disciples, and the author of the Gospel were all Jews.  My study Bible comments that the following section of John's Gospel (John 7:1-10:21) tells of Christ's visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  This entire section covers eight days.  We are now reading about events that took place during the last year of Christ's earthly life; at this festival He taught in the temple and attracted a great deal of public attention.  As we will read, the reactions to Christ varied:  some people thought He was mad, others believed Him to be the Messiah, and still others such as the Sadducees and Pharisees considered Him to be a threat.  The Jews who sought to kill Him are the religious leaders, and not the people in general.  Regarding the Feast of Tabernacles (in Hebrew, Succoth or Sukkot), my study Bible explains that it is an eight-day autumn harvest festival which commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, and the people lived in tents (or "tabernacles").   Along with Passover and Pentecost, this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews; it included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, my study Bible tells us, the final day of this feast also included drawing water from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as a purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).   Moreover it include the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple, which will also play a role in the imagery Christ uses in this chapter.

 

 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.  In Jewish usage (and as used today around the Middle East), "brother" can mean a variety of relations.  My study Bible points out that Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  Christ Himself did not have blood brothers, for Mary had only one Son, Jesus.  The brothers that are mentioned here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by an earlier marriage), or cousins.  We note that Jesus will commit the care of His mother to John at the Cross (John 19:25-27), something which would have been unthinkable had Mary other children to care for her.  

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.  Christ will repeatedly refers to His time, or more specifically, His hour, in John's Gospel (see also John 2:4, 12:27).  When He speaks this way of the world, it illuminates an understanding of spiritual battle, that He has come to claim a spiritual kingdom.

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.  My study Bible explains that not openly means not with a grand, public entrance as on Palm Sunday (John 12:12-16), the day when He openly proclaims His kingdom on His entrance into Jerusalem.  At this stage, John's Gospel clearly expresses the hostility of the religious leaders who seek Jesus, and the confusion of the people, along with their fear of speaking openly.

As the final year of Christ earthly life, and of His ministry, begins, we see conflict brewing.  We also get a taste of the clear understanding that Jesus has come into the world to claim His kingdom, as Son.  When Jesus says that He testifies that the works of this world are evil, He is referring to the "ruler of this world" (see John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).  There is also a clear understanding that to claim this Kingdom is to also implement judgment, and His testimony that the works of the world and its ruler are evil is a part of that process of judgment that begins with the age His Incarnation inaugurates, in which we still live.  Let us remember that He refers to "works" and not to the creation of this world nor its ontological state, its being.   In the creation story of Genesis, we are told that God said the creation was good, and very good (Genesis 1:31).  For Orthodox Christians, that sin and even spiritual rebellion entered the world does not take away from the essential goodness of life and of creation, but this condition and the result of sin is the unfortunate inheritance into which we were born.  What Christ begins to imply is that He has come into the world to claim it as rightful heir and ruler, to set it aright, and the story of the Cross and of His hour is part and parcel of that reality that He brings.  As John quotes Christ, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).  This is a saving mission.  But as Jesus begins to encounter active hostility to His mission, and those who plot against Him for all kinds of reasons, we are to understand the nature of that mission.  It is not easy and obviously not without risks; ultimately, even the evil of this world will be used to God's purposes of salvation.  But let us begin with this understanding that even when we do good, the world will not necessarily line up to appreciate who we are and what we do.  Christ's brothers and extended family also do not understand Him, and challenge Him to go openly to Jerusalem.  He will come to teach a different kind of relatedness, in which those who seek to live and do the will of His Father constitute brother, sister, mother (Matthew 12:49-50).   The Feast of Tabernacles is also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, as it commemorated Israel's trek toward the promised land.  Christ comes to lay claim more directly to this Kingdom and its rule in this world, to define it for us more broadly and powerfully, to make it immediate, to overthrow the "ruler of this world."   As we head toward Palm Sunday, it is a good time to think about what that means, about the kind of spiritual struggle He came into the world to initiate, and the power of the Cross and the meaning of His sacrifice, and how that Kingdom dwells within us (Luke 17:20-21).  There will always be those who deny His love, but He asks of us to take up our own crosses in this "good fight."

What is truth?

Icon of Christ the Bridegroom, by Theologic (found here).  Title reads "Behold the Man" (John 19:5)

 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.

Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."

- John 18:28-38

 Yesterday we read that, after Jesus' arrest, Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple.  Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside.  Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.  Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?"  He said, "I am not."  Now the servants and officers who made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves.  And Peter stood with them and warmed himself. . . . Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.  Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?"  He denied it and said, "I am not!"  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.

 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.   The religious leaders take Jesus to the governor, Pilate.  My study bible cites commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who notes the irony that Christ's accusers do not fear being defiled by condemning an innocent Man to death -- but they would not set foot into a court of justice.

 Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," . . .    My study bible explains that, since the chief priests of the Jews had no actual crime with which they could accuse Jesus to the Roman state, Pilate refused to pass judgment.   When the chief priests say, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," they are not referring to the Law of Moses, but rather to the laws of Roman occupation.  The Romans reserved the right for themselves only to execute people.  Therefore, the chief priests were relying on Pilate to sentence Jesus to death.

. . . that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.   Under Jewish law, stoning was the prescribed usual means of execution.  But Christ has prophesied that He would be killed by being lifted up on the Cross (3:14; 8:28; 12:32-33), expressing the foreknowledge that He would die, not at the hands of the Jews, but by the Roman state method of crucifixion. 

 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"   My study bible comments that it is unheard of that the accused would have to name charges against himself in any court, since it is the captors who would be the ones to name the crime.  That Pilate has to ask Jesus what the charges are shows that the chief priests could name no crime that He might have committed (see the previous verses above).   Moreover, it shows that Jesus was Lord over the events of His death (see also verses 4, 8 which take place at the time of His arrest).  Even the governor has to come to Him in order for the trial to proceed.

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."  My study bible says that although Pilate knows Jesus is innocent of any crime, he attempts to strike a compromise with the Jews by declaring Christ to be guilty, but will seek to free Him on account of Passover (verses 39-40).   He seeks to placate the chief priests with an official declaration of guilt, but avoid the unjust punishment of Christ through the traditional clemency practiced on the Passover.

Jesus says to Pilate: "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  And Pilate responds:  "What is truth?"  These important statements in some sense can be understood to sum up the whole of the Gospel of John.  Jesus speaks of bearing witness to the truth.  Moreover, He declares that those who are of the truth hear His voice.   It is in John's Gospel that Jesus declares, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" to His disciples at the Last Supper (14:6).  Pilate is right to ask, "What is truth?" as this is a truth that is more than simply facts on the ground, an article in an encyclopedia, a newspaper story, or some kind of report on a subject we seek to know more about.  Truth, in Jesus' sense, is inclusive of, but much more than ascertaining the guilt or innocence of a person on trial, and obtaining witness statements.  This truth is an entire field of reality, and it is connected to a Person.  Or, if we want to take it as Jesus has pronounced it, truth is a Person.  This is a special kind of a person, not one exactly like you or like me, but a Person who is divine, a creator of our world.  And thus, Jesus is the truth, and also bears witness to the truth.  This is the reality behind all that is, and it is that field of existence, the one that truly gives us life, of which Jesus is sent in order to bear witness, to testify for us about all that truly is.  He seeks to reconnect us with our Source, our origins in that truth.  And when He speaks of bearing witness to the truth -- even revealing this boldly and plainly to Pilate -- we must understand that it is all of this to which He refers, and so much more that we cannot know, that remains for us to discover in our journey of faith which lasts a lifetime and beyond a lifetime.  When Pilate asks then, "What is truth?" we should not scoff and we should not simply remark upon some kind of flaw of character in him, for at least Pilate knows that he does not know what Jesus is talking about.  Pilate's question gives over to the perspective that he is, in fact, outside of this truth and has no exposure to it.  And so, he asks, "What is truth?"  While we may speculate that perhaps, as Pilate is presumably a well-educated man, educated in the Greek and Roman system of his time and prepared for public service to the Roman Empire, he may be asking a philosophical question.  Whatever is behind it, Pilate shows that he is in some sense outside of the "system" or "field" of the capacity to perceive this truth.  Pilate reflects very much a modern mindset of a particular kind, in which truth is only what lies in formal education, popular understanding, or a certain kind of zeitgeist -- the "energy" of the time.  But the truth of which Christ speaks is always there and it is also eternal.  It is precisely because the truth Christ refers to is personal -- that it is, in fact, a Person -- that we may commune and participate in it.  We may have relatedness and relationship in it and with it.  This is where the recognition comes in that Christ tries to speak of before Pilate.  This truth, the Person who is truth, is also the Person who is love, for God is love.  And love makes possible the interrelation between persons who are "of" the truth to hear His voice.  St. John writes, "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  It is this field of love, which is God, in which we find Christ's truth.  It is there where the gate or door is opened to the sheep who hear His voice (10:9).  It is this field of love where we find truth, the truth that makes us free, indeed, of all the misleading missteps that would teach us half- or partial truths about what love is and isn't; it is this field of love that defines our reality and lights our way on the path that opens up a deeper understanding, gives us the discipline we need, teaches us how to participate and know a greater love than we know from our less-than-perfect lives.  That is the truth into which we are invited in communion and relationship, in which we have a home and a way that we may go forward.  Pilate asks rightly, "What is truth?" because this is the question of the world.  And the One who stands in front of Pilate, awaiting judgment, is the answer.

The image above is an icon called "Christ the Bridegroom."  It is also considered to be an icon of marriage.   As our Bridegroom, He humbles Himself for us before Pilate, as a prisoner.  The Bridegroom is the judge of all, and yet He submits to be judged by one who must ask, "What is truth?"  As our Bridegroom, He sacrifices all out of love for us.  Christ the Bridegroom is an image of the mutual devotion and love in marriage, the two becoming one flesh (Mark 10:7-8), as Christ becomes one flesh with us in His humanity, and suffers voluntary for us.