Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent - March 15, 2013
Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
John 7:1 – 2, 10, 25 – 30
After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. 2 The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near.
10 However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
Jesus does not speak in riddles in order to confuse or hide. Sometimes he answers persons with a question, sometimes with a cryptic statement, sometimes with silence. Never did he intend to confuse people, or to confound them, or to prove that he was smarter or wiser than anyone else.
Jesus, however he responded to people, always intended to drive people deeper into God, to speak in such a way that persons could get beneath that which is superficial and illusory in life. These were his invitations to grow, to put down into deeper waters, to develop some spiritual wisdom.
Most of the time, though, the hearers heard his words at a superficial, very literal level. Most often religious leaders, crowds, and even disciples missed the invitation to growth and deepening.
If you have ears to hear and eyes to see, Jesus always has something to say or do that will expand your life God-ward. If you don’t have eyes to see or ears to hear, he is simply talking silly-talk.
John 7:1 – 2, 10, 25 – 30
After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. 2 The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near.
10 However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
Jesus does not speak in riddles in order to confuse or hide. Sometimes he answers persons with a question, sometimes with a cryptic statement, sometimes with silence. Never did he intend to confuse people, or to confound them, or to prove that he was smarter or wiser than anyone else.
Jesus, however he responded to people, always intended to drive people deeper into God, to speak in such a way that persons could get beneath that which is superficial and illusory in life. These were his invitations to grow, to put down into deeper waters, to develop some spiritual wisdom.
Most of the time, though, the hearers heard his words at a superficial, very literal level. Most often religious leaders, crowds, and even disciples missed the invitation to growth and deepening.
If you have ears to hear and eyes to see, Jesus always has something to say or do that will expand your life God-ward. If you don’t have eyes to see or ears to hear, he is simply talking silly-talk.
Comments
Post a Comment