This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you

 

 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer to I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another.

 

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out  of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.'  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.' 

 

"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning." 

 

- John 15:12–27 

 

 This week we are reading through what is known as Christ's Farewell Discourse given at the Last Supper.  Yesterday we read that Jesus said to His disciples, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

 

  "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."  This is the second time that Jesus has iterated this "new commandment" for His disciples (see John 13:34).  My study Bible comments that many religions and philosophies teach people to love one another.  What makes this commandment new is the measure required of our love:  we are told to love as Christ has loved us.  In the following verses He explains what this depth of love means, that He will lay down His life for His friends.  Moreover, at the Cross He will lay down His life even for His enemies.  

 

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer to I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another."  My study Bible comments that friendship is higher than servanthood.  It says that servants obey their masters out of fear or a sense of duty; friends obey out of love and an internal desire to do what is good and right.  Abraham was called a "friend of God" (James 2:23) because he obeyed God out of the belief of his heart.  The disciples, and truly all the saints, are honored as friends of Christ because they freely obey His commandments out of love.  Those who have this spirit of loving obedience, my study Bible adds, are open to receive and understand the revelations of the Father (Matthew 16:17).

 

 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out  of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.'  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'"  My study Bible explains here that the term world is used in several distinct ways in Scripture.  In some cases, it refers to everything that is glorious, beautiful, and redeemable in God's creation (John 3:16).  Other times, it's a reference to that which is finite in contrast to that which is eternal (John 11:9; 18:36).  Yet other times, as here, this term indicates everything that is in rebellion against God (see also John 8:23).  Additionally, my study Bible comments that the rebellion of the world against God reveals several things.  First, while union with Christ brings love, truth, and peace, it also brings persecution -- because the world hates love and truth (see also John 16:33).  Secondly, the world hated Christ.  So therefore, it will hate all those who try to be Christ-like (verse 20).  Moreover, the world hates Christ because it neither knows nor desires to know the Father, as Jesus indicates here (verses 21-24).  Hatred for Jesus Christ is irrational and unreasonable, for Christ brings love and mercy.  Therefore, Christ is hated without a cause (verse 25).

 

 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."   My study Bible comments that with respect to God's working salvation in the world, the Son sends the Holy Spirit from the Father alone.  In other words, the Holy Spirit receives His eternal existence only from the Father.  In conformity with Christ's words, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed confesses belief "in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father."  While the Son is begotten of the Father alone, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone; in other words, the source or Fountainhead of both Persons is the Father. 

 

 St. John's Gospel is often called the Gospel of Love.  This passage is one of those that make it clear why it is called this way.  Many commentaries reflect that while the Synoptic Gospels teach us about the manner in which the Eucharist was instituted, St. John's Gospel gives us the reasons and meaning behind it.  Moreover, according to Biblical Studies professor Dr. Eugenia Constantinou, there is further good reason to understand St. John's Gospel in this way, as it also testifies to the particularly close relationship he had with Jesus.  He is referred to as the "Beloved Disciple" or "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20); Christ even commits the care of His Mother, the Theotokos, to the care of St. John when He was dying on the Cross.  St. John then took her into his own home (John 19:27).  This dimension of their deep friendship -- while Christ loved all of His disciples -- perhaps put St. John in the most advantageous position to teach us about Christ's love, and the deep nature of the love of God.  So important is our understanding of this reality of the nature of God and of our faith that St. Paul himself has written one of the greatest testimonies to it that we have.  This is found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.  So essential is love to our faith that, according to St. Paul, it surpasses all other gifts.  Indeed, he claims that having any other spiritual gift, but without love, renders that gift nothing.  Even among the greatest virtues of our faith, the greatest is love:  "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).  All of these things confirm Christ's words as found here in St. John's Gospel.  He will indeed go on to lay down His life for His friends, even for His enemies, as my study Bible tells us, and for all who have been and were to come, for the whole of the Creation.  Christ's words in today's reading confirm for us this basis of love for all of us who would be faithful to Him, for all of the communion -- from Father to Son and Holy Spirit, and in turn to us and to all of Creation -- is based in love.  Like St. Paul, we can say, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).  Let us also consider that when we go to our churches, when we profess to be Christian, without love we have no real basis in our faith.  Additionally, Jesus also promises us tribulation in the world, but it is His love that guides us through the evils we may encounter and endure, just as He did.  He invites us into that spiritual battle, and our part in it is His love, and His life teaches us that truth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready

 

 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 after Christ's preaching regarding the eating of His Body and His Blood, many of His disciples, when they heard this, 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.   As we begin chapter 7, we open up a section of the Gospel of John which includes chapters 7, 8, 9 and part of 10 (John 7 - 10:21).  This is a section that covers Christ's visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  The entire section covers an eight-day period.  At this festival, taking place during the final year of Christ's earthly life, Jesus taught in the temple and He attracted a great deal of public attention.  (This is already understood as something Jesus is aware of and wary about, as we're told He did not want to walk in Judea, for He's aware the religious leaders now seek to kill Him.)  Some of the people thought Jesus was mad (verse 20), some believed He is the Messiah (verses 31, 40) -- and others, such as the Sadducees and the Pharisees considered Him a threat (verses 32, 45-52).  The Jews who sought to kill Him refers to the religious leaders, and not the people in general.  At the approximate time of the writing of this Gospel, followers of Jesus had begun to be persecuted in the synagogues (and by the Romans), and the term "Christian" is first used.  The author of the Gospel, Jesus and His followers, and all the others in the stories of this section are Jews.

 

 Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Sukkot, is an eight-day autumn harvest festival.  It commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  During that time, the people lived in tents, or "tabernacles."  Together with Passover and Pentecost, my study Bible explains, 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, the final day included drawing water from the pool of Siloam, to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7), and we will read this significance in Christ's acts and preaching.  Moreover the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple provide a backdrop for Christ's discourses and images of light invoked.  See also 2 Maccabees 10:5-9.

 

 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.  Christ's brothers are either stepbrothers from an earlier marriage of His earthly guardian Joseph, or they are other extended family such as cousins.  In Middle Eastern usage, then and now, the term "brother" can mean all of these.  As we can see, His relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission (see also, for example, Matthew 12:46-50).  For examples of the use of the word brother to indicate any number of relations, see Genesis 14:14 in which Abram's nephew Lot is referred to as his "brother"; Ruth 4:3, in which Boaz speaks of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother"; and 2 Samuel 20:9 in which Joab calls his cousin Amasa "brother."  Christ had no blood brothers, as Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  This is the witness of the Church and the Gospels.  My study Bible mentions that Christ commits His mother to the care of John (the author of this Gospel) at the Cross (John 19:25-27), which indeed would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her. 

 

  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, such as on Palm Sunday.   That will initiate the events of "His time" to which He refers above (verses 6, 8).

 

 In all things, we seem to read about Christ's discernment.  We might think that, in His identity as Son of the Living God (see St. Peter's confession from yesterday's reading, above, John 6:69) Jesus can simply do anything He wants.  While He speaks truths quite valiantly (again, as in our recent readings in which He speaks of eating His Body and Blood), and accepts the consequences -- such as many of His followers leaving Him, Jesus is also always discerning.  He does not simply come out and conquer.  Neither does He force.  Rather, in the words of St. Athanasius we quoted in yesterday's commentary, Christ speaks and acts in ways not to compel, but to persuade.  So it is in today's reading when He chooses not to go up to this festival "openly"; that is, not in the way He will enter Jerusalem to initiate His final week on earth, His Passion, and Holy Week.  Notice the attention paid to time, and to the proper time.  Each moment has its own importance.  At this time it's important for Christ not to go to Jerusalem openly, but "in secret."  At the time of the next Passover Feast, He will go with a very public awareness of His travel to and entrance into Jerusalem.  So we should learn from Christ about discernment, about a prayerful life.  What God has prepared us for is one thing, but to confuse what may be proper at one time with what is proper at another is a mistake that may lead to an unfortunate conclusion.  Christ lives a prayerful life, always in obedience to God the Father, always seeking the correct way to live His ministry at each juncture and development.  Now it is not the proper time for an open or flagrant conflict with the religious authorities.  But there will come a time when it is proper to go to His Passion.  Let us learn from Him and from His discernment.  As we observed earlier (and in commentary on yesterday's passage), Christ seeks to persuade, not to compel.  Both His words (as in yesterday's reading) and His actions (as in today's) speak of this need in His ministry for a conduct that indeed fulfills all righteousness (Matthew 3:15).  In His loyalty and love of the Father, Christ's ministry unfolds as it is fitting and right, with prayer and discernment, always seeking the Father's will.  So it should be in our own lives, as imperfectly as we might be discerning in comparison to Christ.  But this is the image He gives us of the way to serve, and to live our faith.  So let us be faithful to it as He is. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?

 

 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. 

 

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  

 

- Mark 15:1–11 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Peter was below in the courtyard of the high priest, while Jesus was on trial inside the home, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."  And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.

 

 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  My study Bible tells us that while the Jewish religious law dictated the death penalty for blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16), of which the chief priests have convicted Jesus in an illegal night trial, under Roman occupation the Jews were prohibited form carrying out an execution.  So therefore, they must get a sentence issued by Pilate, the Roman governor.  

 

 Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  Pilate's question comes from the political charges that have been made against Jesus.  Pilate would not execute a person over religious matters, so therefore the chief priests have come up with a political crime that would guarantee the death penalty.  They accused Jesus of making Himself an earthly king, which would be treason against Caesar (see John 19:7-12).  

 

 And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.  My study Bible says that Christ's silence (He answered nothing) fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7, in which the Messiah is portrayed as silent while He is led "as a sheep to the slaughter."

 

 Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  Pilate is hoping to release Jesus, as he knows He is innocent (he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy; see also Mark 15:14; John 18:38, 19:4-6).  Therefore, he turns to the crowd for support, hoping they will ask for Jesus despite the accusation of the chief priests.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

 

In yet another aspect of the "upside down" nature of the events surrounding Jesus' Crucifixion, my study Bible has a note regarding Barabbas.  It says that the name Barabbas means "son of the father."  But we know that Jesus is the true Son of the Father.  Ironically, therefore, these crowds are given a choice between one Son of the Father and the other.  As the chief priests influence the crowds to choose Barabbas, so they also indicate to which father they belong -- the devil (John 8:44).  This illustrates for us perhaps the power of choosing, and unintended consequences for decisions we make that may not be central to a bad outcome or choice (such as the condemnation and Crucifixion of Christ), and yet nonetheless we participate in a secondary way, through the repercussions generated that affect others.  This crowd is not responsible for trying Jesus in an overnight (and therefore illegal) trial; they're not responsible for the many false witnesses who testified against Jesus.  They're not members of the Sanhedrin, nor are they scribes or elders.  But they are stirred up by the chief priests, and manipulated in a way so as to also participate in the same choices and "energies" of this bad act intended against Christ.  It illustrates for us how even our most small and tangential-seeming choices have meaning, for we choose whether we will participate in what ostensibly serves the good, or what is not good.  Jesus teaches us to be watchful, and to pray always, and such moments of decision are reasons for that admonition.  See Mark 13:37; 14:38.  In the illustration of the name of Barabbas, at this time when Jesus is on trial before Pilate, we have what is possibly a unique example of what heresy is.  For a heresy is something which is not necessarily obviously a lie.  As Jesus gives us the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the tares are a type of weed that closely resembles wheat, and they grow side-by-side, so that it takes discernment to know the difference, and one can't necessarily be taken out without disturbing the other.  So heresy is something that seems to resemble the truth, but it is counterfeit in one way or another, and this is why we need watchfulness, and the knowledge the discern the truth.  It is why the Church has historically held Councils to deliberate and identify heresy, and to give us the truth of Christ and identify for us what is false.  While this crowd may be thinking they are doing something correct by following the chief priests, or perhaps they simply are there to be roused one way or another at the spectacle of this trial before Pilate, Barabbas is a counterfeit hero -- one who claims boldness and daring in seeking to deliver the people from the Romans.  But it is Jesus who is the true Deliverer, and who offers the true salvation for Israel and for all people; He is the Savior.  If we look closely in our lives, we also may be able to identify moments in which things seem upside down, what is taken as true in fact is false, skillful lies and half-truths serving the opposite of the good.  Let us therefore take Christ's advice to be watchful always, and to learn and grow in our faith so that we are aware of what we are about, and not prey for skillful manipulators with their own agendas.  Let us not just follow the crowds, but always follow our Lord.  Pilate offers to release Jesus, but the crowd turns him down.  Let us consider what we choose, and whom we follow, at all times. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His discourse to the religious leaders, giving them four witnesses to His identity as the Son:  "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings how will you believe My words?"

 

  After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  The lectionary skips over chapter 6 of John's Gospel, in which Jesus taught about Himself as the Bread of Life, giving an extensive foundation for the Eucharist.  It will return to chapter 6 after next week.  So these things is a reference to the many events in chapter 6 which further alienated Christ from the religious leaders, and even from many of His followers.  Once again, the term the Jews here, as is most often the case in John's Gospel, is a reference to the religious leadership and not to the people.  The author of this Gospel was also a Jew, as was Jesus, His disciples, and indeed all the people we read about, with exceptions which are usually clearly specified.

Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  The Feast of Tabernacles (called Sukkot in Hebrew) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival.  It is a commemoration of the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, and the people lived in tents, or tabernacles, sometimes referred to also as booths. Together with Passover and Pentecost, my study Bible explains, 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, it also included on the final day of the feast the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam (referenced in this chapter).  This water was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).  Additionally on the final, eighth day, there was the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple, commemorating the pillar of light that led the Israelites, and illuminating the whole city of Jerusalem.  All of these will be reflected in Jesus' preaching and the events of this chapter, which will cover eight days during this festival.  It is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  Throughout this festival, He will teach in the temple and attract a great deal of public attention, as we will see. 

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. Jesus' brothers could be any number of extended family or kin.  In Scripture, and still today across the Near and Middle East, "brother" is used this way.  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).  My study Bible explains that Christ Himself had no blood brothers, for Mary had only one Son: Jesus.  These "brothers" are either stepbrothers (sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or they are cousins.  As further evidence of this, we look to Jesus committing the care of His mother to John at the Cross (John 19:25-27).  In the context of the culture, had Mary had other children to care for her, this would have been unthinkable.  

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.   Not openly, my study Bible explains, means not with a grand, public entrance as on Palm Sunday (John 12:12-16).  We can see already the effects of Jesus' public appearance at the festival.  We see that right from His arrival, the religious leaders seek Him.  There are those who think He is good and others who believe that He deceives the people.  But no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the religious leaders, among whom there are those who already sought to kill Him (verse 1, above).

 

 What a controversy Jesus stirs up!  It is now the final year of His life, but already His preaching and teaching -- even before He arrives at this festival -- has stirred an enormous amount of controversy and extreme opinions, from those who are devoted to Him as disciples to those who already seek to kill Him among the religious leaders.  From the text of this Gospel, we may deduce that such opinions run the gamut of interest and passionate debate.  Note that such discussion among the people must be done in a hidden or secret way, for fear of the religious authorities, adding to the atmosphere of controversy and danger.  This tells us something important about truth, related to what we read in the beginning of John's Gospel.  John 1:4-5 tells us about the Son, the Logos (or Word), "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."  That darkness that neither understands nor can fully "take in" or overcome the light of truth and life also resists, and it does so voraciously.  If we think about this in these metaphoric terms, we know that light extinguishes darkness altogether, and makes it disappear.  So it is with those who resist or fight Christ's truth.  So identified with whatever darkness cannot stand in that light are they, that they must fight tooth and nail, even to the death, to extinguish the light for their perceived survival.  So much so, that they feel they must seek to kill Him because He poses a threat to their way of life.  We can see this with truth of different levels in our world, society, communities, and families.  Secrets that some wish to keep hidden, because they cover up things that are wrong, become a type of shibboleth -- depending upon how dearly we cling to lies we think are necessary for us.  There have been elements in my own life that the light of Christ has exposed to me, made necessary for me to identify, and change, and from which to distance myself.  Some of these have been very hard and painful processes, but in the end there is the necessary trade off for what Christ offers instead.  So it is with those who seek to kill Christ.  We also see the depth of controversy that inescapably surrounds Him, which include rumors, misunderstandings, and in the long dynamic of the Church and religious controversy, a host of heresies that continually come to light and must be addressed.  This is a process that began long ago in the earliest Church and continues now. Jesus says to His brothers, "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil."  Sometimes, simply by bearing His light as best we can, we also give such testimony.  St. Paul compared discipleship with the struggles of an athlete competing for victory in a race.  Let us be prepared for our own race, our own good fight of faith.

 

 

 

 

 

If You do these things, show Yourself to the world

 

 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, 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, following Christ's eucharistic teaching on the eating of His Body and Blood, many of His disciples, when they heard this, 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.  Today's reading begins an entire section, spanning approximately three chapters (John 7:1-10:21), which tells of Christ's visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, over a period of eight days.  This festival comes during the final year of Christ's earthly life.  During this time in Jerusalem, He taught in the temple and attracted a great deal of public attention.  My study Bible comments that some thought Him mad (John 7:20); others believed He was the Messiah (verses 31, 40); and still others (such as the Sadducees and the Pharisees) considered Him to be a threat (verses 32, 45-52).  The Jews who sought to kill Him are the religious leaders, and not the people in general.  We recall that the term "the Jews" as used in John's Gospel most often refers to the religious leaders; virtually all the people in the events spoken of in this section are Jews, including Jesus and the author of this Gospel.  The Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival, which commemorates the time when Israel was wandering in the wilderness of Sinai, and the people lived in tents, or "tabernacles."  Together with Passover and the Old Testament Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks; see this reading), this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews.  My study Bible explains that it included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, it says, the final day of the feast included drawing water from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar.  This was used both as a purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  It also included the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple (see 2 Maccabees 10:5-9).  Each of these events as backdrop for the actions and teachings of Christ at this festival will play an important role in understanding His ministry.

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.   Christ's brothers are not children of Mary, the mother of Christ.  In Jewish usage (and even today across the Middle East), the term "brother" may be used to indicate a variety of relations.  In the Old Testament Scriptures, 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).  The English word "brethren" still retains this sense of belonging to the same family or clan.  My study Bible explains that Christ Himself had no blood brothers; Mary had only one Son, Jesus.  The brothers spoken of here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or they are cousins.  When Christ commits His mother to the care of the disciple John at the Cross (John 19:25-27), we should understand that such an act would have been unthinkable if Mary had other children to care for her.  

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, such as on Palm Sunday (John 12:12-16).  

John's Gospel begins to show us the disturbing signs of opposition to Christ's ministry.  And it is clearly notable that, while Christ proclaims He is sent from the Father, and that it is the Father who draws people to Him (indicating this is clearly the will of the Father), there is nonetheless a menacing opposition to what He is doing.  So threatening it is that He has declared (in yesterday's reading, above) that one of the twelve whom He has chosen, "is a devil," speaking of Judas Iscariot, who will eventually betray Him.  Jesus has also begun His final year of earthly life, which we understand because John's Gospel names the festivals at which He goes and participates in Jerusalem.  As we begin today's chapter (the beginning of a section spanning the next three chapters and events at the Feast of Tabernacles), we are given to understand that Jesus is already knowingly facing great opposition from the religious leaders in Jerusalem, who now in fact seek to kill Him.  It's an ominous beginning for this new chapter, and this final year of Christ's life.  His own brothers (His kinfolk, or extended family) also oppose Him to some extent; even they don't believe His message nor the claims of His identity.  In fact, they challenge Him to "show Himself," telling 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."  This taunting challenge is, effectively a death sentence which sooner or later will manifest, given the hostility He faces in Jerusalem.  While Jesus declines to openly take up their challenge, He will, of course, face what is coming nonetheless, and go to the festival without fanfare.  Of course, nothing Jesus does can possibly go unnoticed, and everything He does only contributes to the controversies surrounding Him.  What He does is too great to be hidden.  Let us, for now, understand the deadly serious challenge He faces from men who, for the sake of their own power, will contrive to get rid of Him whatever way they can, the mocking of His own extended family, and the deep betrayal that is coming from within.  For all of these challenges face the human Jesus, who nonetheless will follow where His divine Father leads.  While He is both fully human and fully divine, we nonetheless must at the very least admire His courage, and be ever grateful for His love.  For He goes, not for Himself, but for us.

 

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone)

 

 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"   The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).

 

- John 1:29-42 

 

Yesterday, we were given the first day of seven in the ministry of Christ.  It began with the testimony of John the Baptist:  Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said:  "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  "Make straight the way of the LORD," 'as the prophet Isaiah said."  Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 

 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  My study Bible comments that John's declaration of Jesus as the Lamb of God is a recollection of Isaiah's "Servant of God" who dies for the transgressions of His people (Isaiah 53:4-12).  Christ is the true Paschal (Passover) Lamb; He offers Himself for our deliverance from darkness and death (1 Peter 1:18-19).  According to St. John Chrysostom, Jesus came to John this second time in order for John to make this declaration; thereby it stops anyone from thinking that Christ needed baptism to wash away sins.  

And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."   My study Bible remarks on the passage telling us that the Spirit remained upon Him.  It notes that this is a sign that Christ possesses the Spirit in His fullness from all eternity.  Christ did not receive the Holy Spirit at His Baptism.  This vision that John saw revealed the truth that the Holy Spirit has always rested upon Christ.  This concludes the second day given in John's Gospel, in which John the Baptist declares that Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit, which is greater than John's baptism of repentance, which was performed with water and on earth.  It parallels the separation of water above from water below on the second day of creation is Genesis 1:6-8.

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"   The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).  Here we learn that Christ's first disciples had been first followers of John the Baptist.  These first two chosen as disciples of Christ are Andrew, and his brother Simon, also known as Peter or Cephas.  (Both Peter and Cephas mean A Stone, or Rock; Peter comes from the Greek Petros/Πετρος and Cephas is Aramaic in origin).  Here is the third day we're given in this Gospel, in which John the Baptist sends two disciples to Christ and Christ gathers them as His own -- one of whom He here declares to be the foundation of the Church (see Matthew 16:18).  This third day in the Gospel parallels the gathering of the waters and the establishment of growth on the land on the third day of creation in Genesis 1:9-13.  Let us note that there is a third person, unnamed, who has heard John the Baptist speak about Christ, and he is considered to be John, the author of the Gospel. 

As John's Gospel tells us the story, Jesus takes on His first disciples.  As noted above, there are actually two disciples who hear John the Baptist's  pronouncement, "Behold the Lamb of God!"   One is Andrew, and the other is not named.  These two disciples then follow Jesus and spend the day with Him.  This second, unnamed disciple is present to tell us that Andrew then went to find his brother Simon.  And then we hear something extraordinary.  Simon is brought to Jesus.  But then we're told, now when Jesus look at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).  In Matthew's Gospel, for example, Jesus tells Simon that he shall be called Peter in response to Peter's confession of faith, made on behalf of all the disciples:  "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" (see Matthew 16:16-18).  But here, we have John the Evangelist's early witness (the one who does not speak of himself as the second disciple with Andrew).  John is telling us something very important about Jesus, and that is His ability, as a divine Person, to see into a person and know something about an outcome far away in time.  Jesus can see what we might call Peter's telos, or "end."  That Greek word means end, but in the sense of the fullness of a journey, completion.  We know all the hoops and pitfalls and stumbling blocks Peter will come to, for the New Testament tells us about many of them, but Christ sees the fullness of the outcome of Peter's life, and crowns him, "Rock" (or Peter, as derived from the Greek of the Gospels).  Christ's vision of Peter as he truly is, or will become, is a signal of His divinity given to us by John the Evangelist and disciple as witness.  He has insight into Peter that only Christ can have, for it is Christ who is the guardian and creator of the true image of who we are, and who we can grow into through the power and grace of the Holy Spirit.  As yesterday marked the Feast of the Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in Greek) for many denominations of the Church, this is a good example of what is understood as theosis.  That is, the process whereby a person, through participation in the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ, and through the grace of the Spirit, becomes transformed, transfigured into this image that only Christ can teach us about ourselves.  It is through spiritual experience that this happens -- that trying, difficult, stumbling, insightful, and exalting process that we see unfold in Peter throughout the New Testament and into the life of the early Church.  A classic statement regarding the understanding of Jesus Christ as God Incarnate is given by St. Athanasius and others:  God became man so that man could become a god (or "like god").  This is the power of faith, and the vision of Christ for Peter as Rock, that powerful rock of faith in his confession that would become the foundation of the Church, is our example of that statement.  Peter will grow to conform to the image that Christ has of who he is, and this is true of the process of faith (to work the works of God, as John's Gospel will tell us) for each of us.  Each one has a role to play, just like the anonymous witness in today's passage who would go on to give us this Gospel.  Let us be attentive to our faith in our daily life, and Christ's seeds giving birth within us to the life He offers, as He sees us.

 

 

 

 

For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy

 

 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.  

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

 

- Mark 15:1–11 

 

Yesterday we read that as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."  And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.

 

  Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  My study Bible comments that while the Jewish religious law dictated the death penalty for blasphemers (Leviticus 24:16), under Roman occupation the Jews were prohibited from carrying out an execution.  So, therefore, they had to get a sentence issued by Pilate, the Roman governor.  

Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  My study Bible notes that Pilate's question, "Are You the King of the Jews?" comes from the political charges made against Jesus. Since Pilate would not execute a man over religious matters, the chief priests had to find a political crime of which to accuse Jesus which would guarantee the death penalty.  Therefore they accuse Jesus of making Himself an earthly king, which would be considered treason against Caesar.

And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.   According to my study Bible, that the Savior answered nothing fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7, which portrays the Messiah being silent as He is led "as a sheep to the slaughter."

Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  Pilate seeks to release Jesus, for he knows He is innocent (Mark 15:10, 14; John 18:38, 19:4-6).  So, he turns to the crowd for support, hoping they will ask for Jesus in spite of the chief priests.  My study Bible notes also that Barabbas means "son of the father."  So, ironically, the crowds must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  It says that by influencing the crowds to choose Barabbas, the chief priests indicate to which father they belong (see John 8:44). 

 

 It is quite interesting that Barabbas means "son of the father," and therefore -- as my study Bible points out -- the crowds must choose between one Son of the Father and the other.  It gives a type of poetic expression to something much more common than one might suspect, that the true and false are often not such glaringly obvious choices, but rather that one is a counterfeit of the other.  It is as if one poses as the other in order to mislead, and for the devil's own ends, who is himself the father of the false (see again John 8:44).  This is also illustrated quite clearly by Jesus' parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30).  This parable is frequently called the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, but it's important to understand that these particular "weeds" (or tares) are a plant that closely resembles wheat, a kind of false wheat that is inedible for human beings.  It's especially noteworthy that these weeds resemble closely the wheat, the crop beneficial for human beings, because this is the way we're taught that evil operates, that the devil operates.  So human beings frequently find that they have a choice not just between what's true and what's false, but rather between what is true and authentic versus what is a sham, a false presentation designed to resemble what is true but in effect presenting to us shabby and misleading goods that are not good for us at all.  This is the case with Barabbas and Christ.  One indeed is the Son of the Father, and the other is a false liberator, one in whom the people should not place their hopes.  Throughout the history of Israel, there is this basic struggle between reliance upon God, and placing faith in being like the Gentiles.  That is, faith in weaponry, wealth, and material power.  It is not that these things should not exist, but they must not come first.  When finally David is chosen as God relents and allows the people the kings they seek, it is of primary importance that David is a follower of God, one who will keep all of God's commandments.  Strict material power and prosperity does not come first.  Should David fail to do this, the kingdom will be lost.  The same lesson is given to David's successor, his son Solomon, and while Solomon begins well, other false gods -- for all kinds of reasons -- begin to creep in.  The eventual outcome is loss of the kingdom, and exile for the people.  In Matthew's Gospel, when Peter took up a sword to defend Christ at His arrest, Jesus says, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).  But this works as a kind of warning stretching over this period in which Jesus prophesies the destruction to come in Israel, specifically at the Siege of Jerusalem in AD 70.  For faith in those like Barabbas will not ultimately save Israel nor will it save the temple.  The counterfeit always resembles the authentic and true, in order to deceive.  It is a similar analogy to heresies in the Church; they sound like the truths we know, but ultimately they deceive and lead to the wrong place.  In a world dominated by the garish and fantastic in our entertainments, and seduced by violence and manipulation, it's important to remember the nature of deceit:   that so often it takes on the costume of a phony resemblance to truths we know, a false front.  Good and evil frequently take on the characteristics of the wheat and the weeds that look so much alike, and it's only in the consumption and aftermath that we realize we've been had.  Here the chief priests stirred up the crowd for their own ends, while the true Son of God stands meekly without speaking in His own defense.  Barabbas, the "son of the father" comes as brigand and revolutionary, perhaps akin to the popular idea of a Robin Hood, but who will he save?  How will he save?  For there is one Savior here, and He is easily overlooked by those who trust in mammon before God.  How will we know true from false?  Let us put our trust first in God, and seek God's kingdom, and let all things fall in line behind that priority.  In our passions we will be misled, in our astonishment and awe for power and all the products of material achievement we can be deceived, in all the means of manipulation available to empire we may find ourselves with false information and misleading news.  Those who seek to deceive do so for their own gain and motivations, even acccusing others of things they've done themselves.  Ultimately it all depends upon where our trust is first, so that we may know the counterfeit.  Jesus warns us of false saviors, false christs, teaching us that "by their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:15-20).  Bad fruit and "wheat" that fails to nurture are warnings to us about the paths we choose, and in whom we will put our trust.  Let us follow Him.

 

 

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready

 

 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 

 

 In yesterday's reading, Jesus said to the religious authorities, who accuse Him of blasphemy for making Himself equal to the Father:  "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

 

  After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.   The lectionary skips over chapter 6 of John's Gospel (to be read later in the Lenten period).  In chapter 6, there is the story of the feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness.  When the people seek to make Him king, Jesus preaches prefiguring the Eucharist, referring to Himself as the bread of heaven, and the eating of his flesh and blood.  This dispute took place in the synagogue at Capernaum.  As a result Jesus lost many disciples.  The period of chapter 7, which we begin today, starts after these things take place.  In Jerusalem (which is located in Judea), the religious rulers plot against Him for His declaration of equality to the Father.  The term the Jews, we remember, is most often used as a political term in John's Gospel, and refers to the leaders of the people at the time, not to the Jewish people.  All the people in these stories are Jews, including Jesus and the attributed author of the Gospel, the disciple John.

Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  The events that stretch over nearly three following chapters (John 7:1-10:21) speak of Christ's visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  The entire section covers eight days, the duration of the feast.  My study Bible comments that this festival took place during the final year of Christ earthly life.  As we will read, Jesus taught in the temple and attracted very much public attention.  Some thought He was made and other believed He was the Messiah.  Many in the religious leadership considered Him to be a threat.  Again we note that those who sought to kill Him are the religious leaders, and not the people in general.  The Feast of Tabernacles is succoth or Sukkot in Hebrew.  It is an eight-day autumn harvest festival which commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  At that time, the people lived in tents, or tabernacles.  My study Bible notes that together with Passover and Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks, which Jesus attended in chapter 5), this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews.  It included numerous sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, the final day also included drawing water from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, as purification and also in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).  Moreover, it included the stunning lighting of great lamps in the outer court of the temple.  Each of these events will figure as background to Jesus' teachings as we read.

 

 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.  Jesus' brothers are His relatives, and the term can indicate any number of relations.  My study Bible notes 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).  According to our understanding, Christ had no blood brothers, as Mary had one Son, Jesus.  The brothers mentioned here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage) or cousins.  Indeed, even today in the Middle and Near East, the term "brother" is used to refer also to cousins and other relatives.  One revealing detail regarding the status of Jesus is His committing of His mother at the Cross to the care of His disciple John (John 19:25-27).  In the context of the culture would have been unthinkable if Mary had other children to care for her. 

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 tells us that not openly means not with a grand, public entrance, as on Palm Sunday (John 12:12-16).  Let us note the atmosphere at this feast, where Jesus is a center of controversy, but no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the religious leaders, who are already known to plot against Him.

Jesus walks "quietly" and in an "unknown" way into the midst of the controversy that swirls around Him in Jerusalem.  Although He is the center of that controversy, He does not go into Jerusalem with a bold announcement of His presence.  He goes not openly, but as it were in secret.  His brothers give Him the worldly, and unbelieving, perspective:  "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."  This is the perspective of that which wants proofs on demand, manipulation of images, and the grand triumphant show of spectacle.  But this is not what faith in Christ teaches.  Jesus says, "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."  Jesus again introduces us to this dichotomy of the worldly, and the faith-filled perspective.  He says to them that "your time is always ready."  But Christ's "time" is different.  His life is through obedience to the Father, and the right "time" for Him is the one that is produced through discernment, and by faith.  This is a type of illustration of what Christ implies when He says, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).  There is a particular way He must go in life, He is called for specific things and the right time to do them.  For the worldly, there is always the right time for an array of "broad" and "wide" options, with choices that look good or options for manipulation or simply a kind of thoughtless grasping at whatever might look good at the moment -- or maybe serves an agenda someone else puts in front of us, to follow the crowd.   But the way of faith, the way of discernment, is different.  There is a deeper perspective to acquire, and one that asks us for a point of view produced through an inner connection to something more than the obvious, or whatever particular thing attracts at the moment or seems like a good idea at the time.  Jesus speaks of a prayerful way of life, one in communion with something greater than ourselves, which offers goals that serve something bigger and grander, and might ask of us a sacrifice for something better that we can't immediately see in front of us.  When Jesus speaks of time in this manner, He is referring to the proper and good and fitting time for something to occur.  We note how careful He is, even distinguishing between the time to go up to Jerusalem with great fanfare and announcement of His presence, and the time to go as it were "in secret."  Although Jesus will be speaking out openly and teaching in the temple, and cause a great deal of controversy, and attracting much attention at this festival, there is still a great deal of difference between this "time" and the time that will come on Palm Sunday for what is called the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem with all of His disciples.  For now, let us consider what this means that Jesus makes such an explicit differentiation between the sense of time that is His, and the one that belongs to His unbelieving brothers.  Let us think for ourselves of times we discerned the presence of God in a particular choice, or a season of change we were only to realize later, or perhaps the proper time to sit and be quiet, to go to our inner room, and shut the door, and pray to our Father who is in the secret place and who sees in secret (Matthew 6:6), for this is also a time of great and important significance, even when no one else knows about it -- even if the worldly cannot discern its meaning or benefit.  For this is what we do when we have faith, we walk with the One in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).  We are expected to have a dimension and meaning within our lives that isn't obvious to everyone, but that nonetheless makes a great deal of difference -- at times perhaps prompting us to speak out, to act decisively, to seize the day, and yet at other times teaching us to withdraw or to act "in secret" as Jesus does.   The Gospels give us many varied times of withdrawal or open teaching on Christ's part, including times when He withdraws altogether for prayer.  Let us consider discerning the use of our time, and following that depth of presence that helps us to know how to do so -- and even, like Jesus, when there are those who surround us who cannot understand.