If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

 

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

 

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

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

 

- John 8:21–32 

 

In our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, and it is the final year of His earthly life.  The religious leaders have tried and failed to have Him arrested, and He teaches the people and disputes in the temple with the religious leaders.  Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.  

 

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

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

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."  Here my study Bible concludes that Jesus expects all who follow Him to be disciples.  That is, "learners" as the Greek word is directly translated.  To abide in His word is the responsibility of all faithful believers, not simply of the clergy or an elite class of zealots.  

 

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  My study Bible says that the truth refers both to the virtue of truth, and even more importantly, to Christ Himself (John 14:6).  To be free is a reference to the freedom from darkness, confusion, and lies, as well as the freedom from the bondage of sin and death.  

Today's reading almost begs us to ask the question, "What is truth?"  It is a precise question which will be asked by Pilate at Christ's trial before him (John 18:38).  It's a question that many theologians, philosophers, and others have asked since the Gospels were written, and likely before even in pre-Christian societies such as the ancient Greek and Roman.  It's a modern question, too, with all kinds of answers from psychologists and philosophers to scientists and scholars of language and so many other focuses.  And it remains a question intensely scrutinized today.  There is a famous film by the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, titled "Rashomon," which focuses very much on this question.  It's the story of a violent incident, as told in three different perspectives by the characters who participated in the original act, each with their own version of what exactly happened.  Today, as battles rage around the world, the question also plagues us, especially when we ask -- if we do -- how peace is possible.  But in this conflagration of worldly problems, let us go back to Christ and His answer.  Why does He say to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  First of all, we know that the term "the Jews" is most often used in John's Gospel to denote the religious leaders.  As Jesus is disputing and teaching in the temple in Jerusalem, this seems quite possible that it refers to those among the leadership who believe in the words of Christ.   So, if this assumption is correct, Christ is directly addressing those who will be conflicted in their loyalties to the chief priests and Pharisees who by now seek to have Him arrested and plot to kill Him.  What He is telling them is to take confidence in His word, and His teaching.  For to abide in His word is to come to know the truth.  That is, the truth of who He is, the truth of what He teaches, the truth of what we find in communion with God.  He explains the integrity of His word this way:  ". . . He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him. . . I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  This is the spiritual reality of the Kingdom, the salvation which Christ seeks to open for each one of us, and for His own community as Savior.  The truth that makes free, then, is the truth from this communion that sets us apart from all else so that we have one highest and deepest and most profound priority, and that comes from the grace of God which works through faith.  This truth will set Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both members of the Sanhedrin, free enough to participate in Christ's burial, and to follow Him after the Resurrection.  It will set free the centurion who will preside over His Crucifixion, and who will come to know that He is truly the Son of God (Matthew 27:54).  It will free one of the soldiers with Him, whom we know in the Church as St. Longinus, who pierced Christ's side with a spear (John 19:38).  It will set free the feared persecutor of the Church, Saul, the one who was "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord," to become the great apostle we know as St. Paul (Acts 9).  St. Paul will write of Christ's word in which we are to abide, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).  Jesus Himself will say of His word and His truth, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. . . . He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 10:34-39).  To find and abide in Christ's word, then, is to find something to take root in at the deepest sense of ourselves; it is to find a truth that sets us free from every other tie, settling our lives into a loyalty and love that gives us a depth within which to ground ourselves, a plumb line to His truth which marks out for us where we belong and don't belong.  Christ's word and truth give us something we can trust in, a light for ourselves and which we can share with others, so that we all might find our way through a confusing world, and one in which truth is deliberately obscured for all kinds of reasons.  Let us find the depth of what we need, in Him. 

He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answer1ed them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

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

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

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

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

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

 

 The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."   In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gives various blameless Sabbath violations (Matthew 12:3-5) when accused of doing work on the Sabbath.  Here Jesus points out their own exception for circumcision on the Sabbath.  Therefore, if circumcision can be performed on a Sabbath, why not making a man completely well on the Sabbath?  My study Bible comments that this therefore demonstrates that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God.  

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

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

 

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

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

In today's reading, Jesus tells the religious leaders, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  This is a complicated statement, and quite interesting, because He posits directly to them that they don't recognize that His doctrine is from God, because they don't will to do God's will.  Essentially what He is saying is that those who truly desire to serve God will also recognize Him, and where He is coming from, so to speak.  What is important here is the consistency of authority that is at work when instead of seeking only to serve ourselves we seek to serve God.  Or, as Jesus has put it, the One who sent Him.  Jesus puts this in the framework of a mission, with Himself as Servant, loyally serving the One who has sent Him.  It puts us in mind of a good soldier, or a good loyal servant, or one who serves a higher ranking authority in government or any other institution or enterprise.  If one is loyal to the one who sent you, then the mission is carried out with loyalty, true to the plan of the person one serves.  But to seek one's own glory and own will is to be inconsistent with the mission, a poor servant.   With this kind of logic, Jesus clearly frames an argument challenging the religious leaders about their lack of comprehension of what He does and who He is, because they are not loyal to the One whom they are supposed to serve.  As the religious leaders of the people, they are entrusted with the care of the flock of Israel, the beloved people of God.  They are meant to serve God by caring for this flock, and leading the people back to God.  But they seek their own glory instead, vying for their own authority rather than that of the One whom they're meant to serve.  They seek their own ends for their own purposes.  In Matthew 23, Jesus gives His full speech in condemnation of the devices and practices of the religious leadership.  Here, as they begin to show their desire to attack and be rid of Jesus, He tackles the heart of the problem and their divided loyalties which keep them from serving God and recognizing that He does so Himself.   If we take these words at face value, we can see how they would also apply to ourselves, because Jesus invites us also to consider whose will we seek to serve.  How will we recognize Him for who He truly is?  If we love and seek to serve the Father, we will also recognize the aim of Jesus; we will mutually seek to serve the same will of the Father.  And this continues as a kind of testing pattern for all who come into the Church and call themselves Christians:  whose loyalty is commanded in us?  Whom do we seek to serve?  Whose will do we desire to do?  In a sense Jesus is teaching that in that will of God the Father all those who love God may converge to recognize one another.  If it sounds complex, it needn't do:  we're meant to pray to find the way to discern, and to look to our hearts for where our love and loyalty lie.  Let us consider the power of this faithful Servant and His mission, and that we are invited to share in and do our part serving the same.

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

 

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

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

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

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

On Saturday, we began reading in chapter 7 of John's Gospel.  (The lectionary at this time skips over chapter 6, which we will visit later in Lent).   At this time, 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.

 

  Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  We recall that Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn harvest festival, commemorating the time when Israel wandered in tents (or tabernacles) following Moses toward the Promised Land.  It is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  In John's Gospel, the use of the term the Jews is meant most often to indicate the religious leadership, as a type of political designation, and not the Jewish people. Jesus, and all those who populate the stories here are Jews, including the attributed author of the Gospel.

Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  My study Bible comments here that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness derives from an unwillingness to know God or to recognize God's authority.  St. John Chrysostom, it says, paraphrases Christ in the following way:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."

The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Once more, we have an example given by Jesus of a blameless "violation" of the Sabbath -- to circumcise on the Sabbath.  We recall that Jesus was accused of violating the Sabbath in healing a paralytic on the Sabbath, telling him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." (See this reading.)  He was therefore accused of violating the prohibition against work (carrying burdens).  As He does elsewhere, Jesus demonstrates that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God.  They judge only according to appearance, which feeds their hypocrisy, rather than righteous judgment.  

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes,  no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  My study Bible comments that these crowds are mistaken when they say they know where this Man is from.  This is a mistake both in an earthly sense and a divine sense.  In human terms, they think of Jesus as being from Nazareth of Galilee, which is where He was raised.  But He was born in Bethlehem (verse 42; see Luke 2:1-7).  More than this, they cannot understand that HE has come from the Father in Heaven, eternally begotten before all ages; therefore His divine "origin" is also unknown to them.

 

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

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

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"   In a circumstance that often arises in John's Gospel, these religious leaders are completely baffled by Christ's response.  In this case, they will remain unknowing; but when this occurs with those who follow Him, the puzzling meaning of His words will eventually be brought out and understood.  To go among the Greeks means to go among the Gentiles, for whom Greek was the lingua franca, the international language of commerce and communication between peoples of the time.  My study Bible calls this an unwitting prophecy. (This is not the only occasion upon which the unbelieving and uncomprehending leadership will make such an unwitting prophecy in John's Gospel; see John 11:50; 18:14.)  It points to the time after His Ascension when Christ's name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  

Once again, in today's reading, we encounter the differences between Christ's words, their intended meanings, and the ways in which people "hear" them and comprehend them.  The religious leadership cannot make head or tail of Christ's speech.  They are outraged at His actions (healing the paralytic on the Sabbath at the Feast of Weeks, in this reading), and His claims to equality with the Father (in this reading).  We can also imagine that the rulers grow even more scandalized by the response of the people to Jesus, when they say things like, "Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?"  We can see the split among the people, too, as some others say, "However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes,  no one knows where He is from."    In this latter statement, John shows us yet another misunderstanding about Jesus, as the people think He's from Nazareth in Galilee, but He was born in Bethlehem, the city of David.  In terms of words and their meanings, and the misunderstandings that abound, Jesus gives us a teaching that is central to the discernment necessary in such peculiar circumstances which swirl with all kinds of agendas and misinterpretations.  He says, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  This is the key to understanding not only Christ Himself, but also how each one of us should approach circumstances if we would be His followers.  We need to refrain from judging by appearance, and instead seek righteous judgment.  That is, we seek through a prayerful and thoughtful approach, as best we can, to find where God leads us, what judgment we're given for all circumstances within this frame of mind, and the mindset that faith would give us.  For, without the discernment of God, without the love and understanding of God, how do we truly know how to approach life and the varied circumstances in which we find ourselves -- especially amidst the swirl of false agendas, manipulation, and the confusion of others?  A little further along in today's reading, and we get yet another misunderstanding, but one which remarkably produces an unintended, unwitting prophecy on the part of the religious leaders.  Jesus tells them the truth about where He is headed in this final year of His earthly life:  ""I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come." He speaks of His death, Resurrection, and Ascension, but they, of course, do not understand that.  They respond, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?" pointing to the time when this will happen through the apostles, a process so notably documented in St. Paul's Epistles.  If we would but discern also with righteous judgment, John's Gospel asks us to see in such an unwitting prophecy the hand of God working through the establishment of the temple and the office of the chief priests, even when that office might be occupied by those who do not serve well, even whose hearts are far from God.  Again, we turn to Jesus' words:  "I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  These are the words that teach us what is lacking in the religious leadership, and they incense these rulers.  Over and over again, Jesus will assert that if they "knew" God, if the love of God was in their hearts, they would recognize Him as One Sent by God, and they would recognize the truth in Him from God who is true.  And this is where we stop and think, and take note, that Jesus is teaching us about discernment here.  He's teaching us about what it means to judge with righteous judgment, and not by appearance.  It is in this relationship where we may transcend ourselves and our limitations.  For when we fail to go to this place where we can love God in our hearts in order to gain an answer for how to discern circumstances, how to listen to others and truly hear them, how to see and judge what is around us, then we have failed to do as He asks.  We will be like these uncomprehending leaders who fail in their own mission of service, and we will also be like hypocrites who rely on appearance to judge and even to define themselves in life.  Once again, we note the consistency of Christ's teachings and the Gospels, for this understanding about righteous judgment conforms to Jesus' teaching of the two greatest commandments, to love God first, and to love one's neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:36-40).  Let us endeavor to follow! 

 

 

If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."   Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

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

- John 8:21-32

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

 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  Jesus' going away refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension to heaven.

And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."   Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.   Jesus reiterates His identity.  There is almost a plaintive quality to these words, and His repeated warnings that they will die in their sins, as they have no faith in what He says about Himself.  He repeats twice the warning, and the assertion that He is from above, and not of this world.  All things turn back to the Father, as Jesus replies that "He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."    But they do not understand.  It is very important, also, to note that Jesus says He is from above.   In chapter 3, Jesus spoke of Baptism as literally being born "from above" (3:7), which is usually translated into English as "born again."

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

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."   To be a disciple is to be a learner (the literal meaning of the word in Greek).   My study bible explains that to be disciples is what Christ expects from all who follow Him.  To abide in His word is the responsibility of all believers -- not simply the clergy or an elite class of zealots.  The truth, it explains, refers both to the virtue of truth, and even more importantly, to Christ Himself (14:6).  My study bible adds that to be free refers to the freedom from darkness, confusion, and lies, as well as the freedom from the bondage of sin and death.

The threads of themes of justice continue to run through John's chapter 8, as we have observed with each reading in this chapter.  Today, Jesus deepens our understanding of judgment on spiritual terms, as He speaks of faith, sins, truth, and freedom.  His judgment, as He has said in yesterday's reading (above) is true, because His judgment is not of Himself but from the Father, whom He follows in all of His choices.  Let us look carefully at the text, and at Jesus' reply after all that He has said and sought to teach:  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."   Let us note that this is not just the common people He addresses, but those among the leaders who also believed Him.  He now turns and addresses them with this statement, exhorting them to abide in His word and to be His disciples, so that they will find the spiritual truth that makes them free.  In the next reading, Jesus will teach, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (8:34).  Each of these teachings touches on justice and judgment, and the freedom He offers through His truth is the freedom of a judge or deliverer in the traditional sense of the spiritual heritage of the Jews.  He is liberator, and He sets free through the judgment He brings into the world.  He offers redemption, a way out.  But it's no shortcut, and it's not a cheat.  It is a way through the mess of this world, the evil that might ensnare and entangle us in its mazes of deception and confusion.  It is a way out, a straight path, and it is through Him because of His allegiance to the Father, which He shares with us.  One might wonder, in the modern perspective or mindset, why we need to bother with all this.  Don't all sin?  Isn't the world filled with sin as a way of life?  With shortcuts and expedience, and cheating?  But those who have struggled in their hearts with a life of lies know that these things kill the soul, that they go more deeply into the self than the surface can understand.  The experience of the killing nature of sin is not something easily shaken off, and for that, there is only one remedy:  and that remedy is the truth, the spiritual truth that Christ offers, which is found in discipleship.  As He follows the Father, so we may follow and learn from Him, and neither will He desert us.  In keeping with the themes of justice and judgment, He has sent us a Counselor, an Advocate, one who pleads for us and is on our side when we call, and that is the Spirit who is always with us.  Let us be certain to understand that when the world presents us with simple solutions, they are rarely as simple as they look.  It is easy to be ensnared in what looks like the easy way, and easy to feel discouraged and tired of struggling, of making an effort.  The grass always looks greener when you see from the outside the appeal of a simple life, where all that matters is the worldly perspective of getting ahead, not thinking too much or too deeply, skating on thin ice and fantasies that deceive us.  But real life is what Christ offers us, the truth of His message and His love, and His once-for-all-time sacrifice that calls us to Him and asks of us to let Him show us the way through our problems and struggles.  This great Reconciler is the One who offers us a justice that does not evade truth and does not take shortcuts around our pain and struggles.  He offers us truth and beauty, the real deal, the way through, and He means every word He teaches.   All we need is faith.

I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."   The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

- John 8:12-20

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus' confrontation with the leaders in the temple, everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stopped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."   It is important to remember our context in the reading.  Although yesterday's passage is not found in several early manuscripts, we may note that these words of Christ, and His lack of condemnation of the woman caught in adultery (including His teaching to her, "Go and sin no more") reflect His righteous judgment.  It is in His light that we discern spiritual truth and righteousness, that we might judge with righteous judgment.  Another essential understanding of context is that Christ speaks these words on the "last day, the great day" of the Feast of Tabernacles.  This was the day when the great lamps were lit in the courtyard of the temple -- a huge menorah.  Its light was said to be so great that all the neighborhoods around the temple were brightly illumined at night.  My study bible says that, in this context, Jesus declares Himself to be the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light, a theme found throughout the Gospel of John, and particularly in its Prologue.  It adds that in the Scriptures, God the Father Himself is light (1:4-9; 1 John 1:5).  Our Lord confirms His claim through the performance of the great sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind, in the following chapter (9:1-7; see especially 9:5).

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."   Once again, as at a previous festival in Jerusalem (the Feast of Weeks, or Old Testament Pentecost), Jesus offers witnesses of His identity to the leadership.  At that festival, Jesus gave four witnesses:  John the Baptist, Christ's own works, God the Father, and the Scriptures (see this reading from chapter 5).  We recall that in the law, two witnesses were required, as Jesus states here.  In today's reading, He gives two witnesses:  Himself and the Father who has sent Him.  Let us carefully note once again John's great emphasis on true and righteous judgment.

Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.  My study bible comments here that because the Son and the Father share the same divine nature, one cannot be known apart from the other (14:7-11).  Clearly, these words also give us another purpose of Christ's Incarnation:  He reveals to us the Father.  Christ's hour is the time of His Passion, death, and Resurrection.

As we have seen in the past several readings in John's Gospel, this entire chapter has been bound up in teachings about justice, about righteous judgment.  In the first reading from this chapter, as He was considering going up to Jerusalem for the festival, Jesus said to His brothers, "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."  And as the chapter has progressed, we have been given a taste of what constitutes works that are evil:  namely, the failure to judge with righteous judgment.  In Saturday's reading, Jesus said something similar to what we read in today's reading:  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Yet the Pharisees persist in errors of judgment where He is concerned.  On Monday, we read that Nicodemus, who is also a Pharisee, questioned his fellow men of the Council, saying, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"   The leaders responded with an insult, and by saying something that was untrue, that no prophet had arisen out of Galilee.  In yesterday's reading (above), we were given the question of the woman who was taken in adultery, and Jesus' refusal to condemn, but to teach her to "go and sin no more."  Here in today's reading, John's Gospel once more considers questions of justice.  Jesus' response to the leaders, after refusing to condemn and setting free the woman taken in adultery, is key:  "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Christ as the true light illumines our way toward righteous judgment.  How do we know how to judge except by a good light, and with a good yardstick?   His is the pattern that sets down the light for us, illuminating our way.  As we wrote in yesterday's commentary, He is the God of second chances, the One who gives us both mercy and justice, and who teaches that these two things are not in opposition to each other, but form part and parcel of one another -- that one is not present without the other.  Righteous judgment, as He has said, is not judgment by appearances.  Rather, Jesus gives us a proper formula for good judgment, when He teaches regarding Himself and His own judgment:  "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me."  That judgment according to the flesh is the judgment by appearances alone, it is the judgment of this world whose "works are evil."  Christ's good judgment is contained right in His words in today's reading, when He teaches that His judgment is true, because He is with the Father who sent Him.  That is, He conditions His will to that of the Father.  His judgment is not that of the self-righteous, but that of One who seeks what is beyond Himself, in a worldly sense:  He seeks the judgment of the Father.  When He offers Himself to us as the light of the world, He is teaching each one of us that to seek Him is to seek righteous judgment.  He is teaching each of us that there is a light by which we are to seek true judgment, no matter what the case or the circumstances.  We are to remember that it is not of our own judgment alone that we might be righteous in our treatment and judgment of one another, but only through seeking that will which is beyond our own, and which is present in order to illuminate what we don't yet know and cannot see.  We need a light to illumine our own paths, so that we know where we are going, what we are choosing, and how to give up our own obstacles that block good sight and righteous judgment.  This is an encouragement that tells us that if we truly wish to be righteous, we must seek to be "like Him," for He is here to give us the Father, to accompany us with light on our journey.  Jesus will say, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (12:35).  In today's reading, He teaches us that He is, indeed, that light.  He is in the world, as incarnate human being, so that He might bring that light to us -- to each one of us, and so that He might shine that light when we need it and when we call upon it to illumine our own footsteps so that we know where we are going.  Let us consider His righteous judgment.  Even Jesus relies on the Father for righteousness and does not judge of Himself.  Who are we to decide our judgment is, of itself, superior?  We always need His light so that we know where we are going. 

You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me

 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

- John 8:12-20

Yesterday we read that on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does out law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."   At the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, the great lamps were lit.  These were huge oil lamps that towered over the court of the temple and produced a light so bright it illumined the surrounding area of the city.  This took place at night, in remembrance of the pillar of fire that led the Israelites in the darkness.   My study bible explains that Jesus here declares Himself to be the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light.  In the Scriptures, my study bible tells us, God the Father Himself is light (1:4-9; 1 John 1:5), an attribute which God bestows on God's followers (Matthew 5:14; Philip 2:15).  In the following chapter, Christ confirms His claim by performing the great sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind (9:1-7, esp verse 5).

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Here the central question is, as so frequently repeated in the Gospels, the identity of Christ and therefore His authority.  The Pharisees claim that He cannot bear witness of Himself.  Jesus has previously addressed this question of witness in chapter 5, when at the Feast of Weeks He healed a man on the Sabbath, and so began this controversy and accusation with the leaders.  There, He offered four witnesses to Himself (see this reading).  In the Law, two witnesses were required, and here Jesus offers two:  Himself and the "Father who sent Me." 

Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.  My study bible comments here that because the Son and the Father share the same divine nature, one cannot be known apart from the other (14:7-11).

How can Jesus be a witness to Himself as Christ?  This is an interesting question, even a puzzling one -- or at least one that opens up different kinds of answers.  Jesus is witness to Himself as Son, not as human being.  He more or less makes this kind of distinction when He says that He judges no one:  "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me."   All authority for Jesus rests with the Father; it is His alignment with the Father that creates authority.  His witness is not "of the flesh" but rather a divine witness to the reality of the Son and the Father.  His witness is true because He comes from the Father and knows that He will return to the Father.  This is an important understanding for ourselves both of humility and of integrity.  How is our witness true?  Jesus says also in today's passage that He is the light of the world.  He is here to illuminate all things, to give us meaning in our lives, insight.  Moreover, His is the light of life -- His illumination is life itself, even life abundantly.  It is in this light that we take on our own integrity, just as Christ's witness and judgment is true because of His alignment with and loyalty to the Father.  In humility we accept His light and grace, and we also know where it comes from.  We accept that light in order to grow ourselves in our own capability for taking it on, shining it back into the world, glorifying the Father in so doing.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus goes so far as to tell His disciples, "You are the light of the world" (see Matthew 5:13-16).  In all these statements, we can read a kind of unity through communion that extends from Father to Son (and of course, with the Holy Spirit), but also in turn to us, by adoption, and through faith.  What we are given to understand is Jesus' advocacy of a type of integrity that is found in the humility of loving God with all one's heart and soul and mind and strength.   To love is to trust, to surrender, to put one's being in union with another.  Jesus calls us to a faith that asks for confidence in God, of putting our trust in the One who will call us to change and to become the person God calls us to be.  In the Creed, we state of Jesus that He is "light from light, true God of true God."  Christ also offers to share with us that light so that we may in turn share it with others.  If we consider the great lamps in the ceremony at the Feast of Tabernacles, we know that light as flame, one that also transforms and purifies.  In this He offers us our own integrity, the capacity for true witness, in reconciling ourselves to the life He gives.

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

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

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

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

- John 7:14-36

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

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  We recall that Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot), an autumn harvest festival.  The events in these next few chapters of John's Gospel concern things that happened at this festival, which covers eight days, and is the feast of the coming Kingdom, commemorating the time Israel lived in tents (or booths or tabernacles) following Moses toward the promised land.

 And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath,so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."   Once again we remember that the term the Jews is used to denote the religious leadership (all the people here are Jews, including Jesus).  My study bible says of Jesus' teachings here that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness comes from the unwillingness to truly know God or to recognize God's authority.   My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom here, who paraphrased the words of Christ as follows:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."  Jesus refers here to a quarrel with the authorities which began when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, and healed a man near the pool at the Sheep Gate.  He was subsequently accused by the leadership of breaking the Sabbath.

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  My study bible tells us that these crowds here are mistaken, both in an earthly sense and in a divine sense.  Humanly speaking, they think Jesus is from Nazareth in Galilee.  But they're mistaken, as He was actually born in Bethlehem.  But beyond worldly birth, they can't understand that He has come from the Father in Heaven, eternally begotten before all ages, and therefore His divine origin is also unknown to them.  His hour referred to here is the time of His suffering and death on the Cross.  My study bible says that Christ is the Lord over time, which is an authority that is possessed by God alone.  He comes to the Cross of His own free will and in His time, not in accordance with the plots of human beings (see also 8:20; 10:39).  Jesus makes clear statements here of His relationship to the Father, for which they seek to seize Him.

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  Here Jesus refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven -- clearly giving us a picture that He knows what is to come.  It is all, in some sense, in His and the Father's hands, and will be a voluntary "exodus" on the Cross (see translation footnote at Luke 9:31).  To go among the Greeks is to go to teach among the Gentiles; that is, Greek-speakers, as the lingua franca of the time was Greek.  This is an unwitting prophecy.  It points to the time after His Ascension, when Christ's name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  Indeed, all the books of the New Testament (and at Christ's time, as well as for many centuries afterward, even the Old Testament Scriptures) were written and studied in Greek.

Jesus takes the traditions of the past, and something new is born as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.  Many of the people believe in Him, but the leadership -- although He does have followers among them -- firmly is against Him.  He is a threat to their place, and they will use the Law against Him, to charge Him with blasphemy.  Here in today's passage we see a common sort of development in John's Gospel.  Jesus' words are hard to understand, and hard to interpret.  A literal reading of His words will not allow one the insight to know what He's talking about.  Like the insistence upon the literal holding of the traditions that were developed around the Law, a literal understanding only of His words will not get anyone very far, because Jesus' words have meanings on many levels.  It requires an opening of the heart to perceive, an act opening to the possibility of faith.  The leadership clings to a worldly perspective, concerned as they are about their own authority and their places.  But Jesus teaches by example, and as we can see from His words, He clings over and over again to His relationship to the Father and His mission given in such relationship.  There is no separation between Father and Son.  That is, even on the Cross, as Jesus teaches, His Father is with Him (see 8:29, 16:32).  Jesus shows us the importance of clinging to this relationship, and that all things come in relation to God, even His identity as well as our identity.  He seeks the glory of the One who sent Him.  Throughout misunderstanding, throughout persecution, through all difficulties, it is the one thing necessary that Jesus clings to -- and by doing so, sets the example for all of us.  How does your relationship to Christ shape you?  How does it shape your decisions?  Does it define you when others would define you otherwise?  This is the key to Christ, and to true faith.  Who are we as we abide in Him?  What does it mean not to judge according to appearance, but to truly judge with righteous judgment?

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

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

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

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

- John 7:14-36

Yesterday, we read that Jesus stayed 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. 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."  My study bible says, "Jesus identifies the source of spiritual blindness:  unwillingness to do the will of God.  St. John Chrysostom paraphrases the words of Christ:  'Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, and the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts - entirely without provocation -- against Me, and you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  For, as it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort the sound judgment that shines there, while, if you remove these passions, you will no longer be thus afflicted' (Homily 49)."

"He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  Here is a key to Jesus and to what He has to teach, a theme repeated many times in the Gospels.  His aim is true because He seeks to be true to the One who sent Him; others speak for their own authority and glory.

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?"  My study bible says that "Jesus implies that healing the paralytic on the Sabbath is a greater obedience to the will of God than circumcising on the Sabbath."  Jesus is referring to a previous incident which occurred during the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, at which time He healed a paralytic on the Sabbath.  (See Do you want to be made well?)

 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Here's a teaching we can remember!  Elsewhere, He teaches, "Judge not, lest you be judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Matthew chapter 7, as part of the Sermon on the Mount).  But here the teaching is refined, and we're invited in to understand and think about this concept:  What is righteous judgment?  What is judgment by appearances?  Here, He's referring to a legalistic way of looking at the letter of the Law, rather than its spirit.  This way of judging fails to see the heart, and fails to understand God's purposes.

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is not this He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."   My study bible calls this "an ignorant claim filled with irony:  they know Jesus' human origin, but not His divine origin."

Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  A note says, "His hour is the time of His suffering and death.  Jesus Christ shows Himself to be Lord of time, a prerogative possessed by God alone.  He comes to the Cross of His own free will and in His time, not as a result of the political machinations of the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Romans."

 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Jesus alludes here to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension.  But, as will happen so frequently in John's Gospel, those who hear Him take His words at face value, and have no idea what He's suggesting.  They do not understand Him.

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, "You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come?"  My study bible says that among the Greeks means among the Gentiles.  "In those days, there were communities of Jews scattered throughout the Mediterranean world, especially in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Egypt.  Their question bears a tinge of irony.  By the time this gospel was written, the Christian faith had spread throughout much of the Gentile world."

Let us consider what it is to "judge with righteous judgment," as Jesus tells them in today's reading.  He contrasts this with "judging by appearances."  In the sense that Jesus is speaking, "appearances" refers to outward features, a person's face.  Righteous judgment would be judgment that is truly just, correct.  In modern Greek, this word for "righteous" also includes the concepts we associate with "rights" and "being in the right."  It also means having good reason.  So all of the concepts that link righteousness with truth and justice apply here.  But Jesus gives them depth when He contrasts it with judging by appearance; one needs to dig a little deeper, beyond the surface, to judge with righteous judgment.  For that, in Jesus' case, we need to go to the root of things, and He inextricably links righteousness with the desire to the do the will of God.  This is so when applying the Law of Moses, and it is so in judging just who Jesus is and what He's doing.  In fact, this "true aim" is the key to everything if we are to understand Him, if they are to understand Him.  It is also the way they are judged, in His sight.  Jesus claims that if they truly loved the One who sent Him, they would understand Him, because He is true to the aims of God the Father.  And there we have another, deeper layer of what righteousness is, where its root is.  When Jesus says, "He who sent Me is true," He's making it very clear that to love God (that is the One who is true) is also to love truthfulness itself, to be true to the ultimate One who is true is to be trustworthy.  So, righteousness, trust, and faith go together, but all begin with the love of God.  Jesus becomes an example for us because His aim is true, and that aim is to be true to the One who is ultimately true.  If this seems complicated, let it illuminate another teaching for us from the Sermon on the Mount:  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  That Jesus' aim is true because He's ultimately loyal to the One who sent Him gives us a picture of what it is to be pure in heart.  This loyalty is honor, without a personal agenda to magnify one's own glory or authority.  To be true to God, to love God who is defined by God's love for us, is to be truly righteous.  If we come full circle with this argument, then, it is a "pure heart" that is most capable of judging not by appearances, but with righteous judgment.  The real test becomes one of love, because it is the One who loves us who is the most true, to whom we must be true.  Love wants not necessarily what we want in our limited perspective, but rather what is truly for our good, and which leads us to a better good.  Let us remember Jesus' example so that we, too, may think about how righteous judgment may depend upon what we love and trust, first, and what our real aim is.