"When you shall have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know"
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5th Week Lent Tuesday
John 8: 21-30 Reflection:
Yesterday we moved on to the gospel of John which we continue right up to Holy Thursday in the daily readings. We are entering a period of more reflective gospels centring on who Jesus is and on his farewell discourses.
Jesus plainly tells the Jews in this reading that ‘he is from above and they are from below,’ and ‘I do nothing of myself: what the Father has taught me is what I preach.’ Earlier he had warned the Jews that they would die in their sins.
The lines are being clearly drawn for the showdown of Good Friday: Jesus is openly proclaiming that he is the Messiah and that he comes from God and has the authority to teach and preach in his name.
He is also a mirror of all that is bad in the greed and lust for power that has arisen in the Temple authorities. The High Priest and his followers have become corrupted by power and wealth. They see Jesus as a threat to them and to peace and have to be rid of him.
Such an intrusion into the power of the High Priestly caste could never be allowed.
In the end, the story of Jesus probably came down to greed and lust; so typical of human beings. Had he stayed in the hills, far away from the centre of power, they probably would never have bothered with him.
But he went into the heart of the corruption and exposed it for what it was.
He had to die, he had gone too far......
Over the next two weeks we will reach its climax!
John 8: 21-30 Reflection:
Yesterday we moved on to the gospel of John which we continue right up to Holy Thursday in the daily readings. We are entering a period of more reflective gospels centring on who Jesus is and on his farewell discourses.
Jesus plainly tells the Jews in this reading that ‘he is from above and they are from below,’ and ‘I do nothing of myself: what the Father has taught me is what I preach.’ Earlier he had warned the Jews that they would die in their sins.
The lines are being clearly drawn for the showdown of Good Friday: Jesus is openly proclaiming that he is the Messiah and that he comes from God and has the authority to teach and preach in his name.
He is also a mirror of all that is bad in the greed and lust for power that has arisen in the Temple authorities. The High Priest and his followers have become corrupted by power and wealth. They see Jesus as a threat to them and to peace and have to be rid of him.
Such an intrusion into the power of the High Priestly caste could never be allowed.
In the end, the story of Jesus probably came down to greed and lust; so typical of human beings. Had he stayed in the hills, far away from the centre of power, they probably would never have bothered with him.
But he went into the heart of the corruption and exposed it for what it was.
He had to die, he had gone too far......
Over the next two weeks we will reach its climax!
