The Healing at the Pool (Part 4 Con t)

Weekly Edition September 15, 2017 Gospel According to St. John Second Year The Healing at the Pool (Part 4 Con t) 5 16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working. 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19 Jesus gave them this answer: Very truly I tell you, the Son Part II can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his The Last Discourse 13:1 17:26 Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also The Arrest and Trial 18:1 19:16 does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he Death and Resurrection 19:16 (b) 21:25 does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. 24 Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. Part I The Gospel of St. John Prologue 1:1-14 First Year 1:15 2:22 Second Year 2:23 6:71 Third Year 7:1 12:50 Entering into Scripture: A Meditation on Jesus Confrontation with the Pharisees (Part 1) Like my fathers before me, I am jealous for the Lord, our God the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am proud to be a Pharisee and feel it is my duty before God and man to follow and uphold the Law of Moses and every statute and ordinance commanded by God. As it is written in Torah, You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when 1 you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. We Pharisees not only remember the law of Moses, God s servant, and the statutes and ordinances which God commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, but are also keepers of the oral

tradition handed down from our fathers. To us the Law of Moses includes both Written Torah the First Five Books of Moses and Oral Torah, which represents those laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, but are regarded by us Pharisees and prescriptive and co-given by God Himself. We believe the Oral Torah has been passed down in an unbroken chain from God to the lips of Moses to our rabbis and teachers of the law today. Hence, we treat it as no different than the Five Books of Moses it has equal weight and substance. So I am justified in my righteous indignation towards this Man now before me, Jesus. Here in Courtyard of the Gentiles, surrounded by many leaders of our faith, Rabbi s, teachers of the law, Priests and a gathering group of on-lookers, Jesus is sized up for what He is a scoffer and pretender. For everyone knows that it is against the law to carry a burden on Sabbath. He tramples upon the Law of Moses by doing what is forbidden. That is bad enough but He goes farther He has encouraged that man to sin by carrying his bed on the Sabbath. This Jesus is like those evil-doers written about in Proverbs: For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. And He has caused this man to stumble sinning on Sabbath Day! What is permissible on Sabbath to do good or do evil? Jesus asked. You say I set aside the law by healing this man and telling him to carry his bed on Sabbath. What about the way you set aside God s law through your oral tradition adding layer upon layer to the Word of God? Yet more evidence, as far as I am concerned, that God is justified in establishing us as the keepers and interpreters of the law! Sinners like this Man have no business doing anything other than begging God for mercy. To begin He is a heretic for dismissing the Oral Torah. How dare He trample on the Law. Added to that He cannot even perceive how wretched His own words are. God ceased from His creating works on the seventh day. No work of creation is permitted on Sabbath. This Jesus doesn t know God s law. God would not heal on the Sabbath day because healing would be an act of creation from which God Himself rests. Jesus answered the charge, saying, My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working. Outrageous! We should just stone Him to death now! Not only is He a sinner, now He calls God His own Father! Preposterous! It is a moral outrage! I have never before witnessed so heinous a crime against God and Moses. This man is claiming to be God s Son placing Himself as God s equal! And these poor people that don t know any better are blindly following Him into sin! We must stop Him! Jesus spoke again: Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. Blasphemy! Stop it! Must this charade go on? Truly this Man is a sinner! Jesus walks in the steps of the devil, Lucifer. For it is written in Isaiah, How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. This Man claims to be like the Most High! Outrageous! Blasphemy! He is calling God His Father, He is making Himself equal to God. I cry out, God Most High, God enthroned above the heavens God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob smite this sinner by the might of Your hand! In Your wrath lay Him low in the dust! For You are a God that metes out punishment for sin to the second and third generation! The crowd breaks out in a chorus of amen. 2

When the shouting settled down, Jesus spoke again: Yes, and He will show Him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him. More blasphemy! The Psalmist says, The Lord reigns forever; He has established his throne for judgment. But here Jesus is claiming that God has handed all judgment to Him. Nonsense. Who can believe this? Laying aside this outrageous claim, it does not square with what our father, David, said: Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. That is where the tribes go up the tribes of the Lord to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel. There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. So there. It is plain to see. Anyone who knows Scripture can discern that there are twelve thrones for judgment; not one. This man is a liar and a thief. He makes Himself out to be a god, but His words prove Him to be false! I have heard enough. I am finished. I need no more offense at the breath of this scoffer. I turn to leave, disgusted that the elders will not stone this Jesus to death right here in the Court of the Temple. I would relish that - a swift and just sentence carried out before my eyes. This Man deserves to die! As I begin to make my way, I pause as Jesus speaks up again. He says, Very truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man. I want to throw up. The Son has life in Himself? Ha! Let s see how fast that life fleas Him before a volley of stones hurled at His head! I will show Him what it means to cross over from life to death! Whoever believes this Man has left the protection of God s law and is subject to God s wrath. He is an angry and jealous God, and I am jealous for Him. This Man s words are nothing but lies and vitriol. All who listen to Him are damned. I begin to move away again, seething with wrath that these blasphemies can be spoken right here in the Temple courtyard and the elders will do nothing to stop it! In my anger, I grab my robe. Straining with all my might I rip it. The shredding sound causes some to turn and look at me. They nod in approval. Normally I take great delight when the elders approve of me, but not today. I am too angry to care. No one else follows my lead. The teachers of the law continue to argue with Jesus, using the words of Torah to refute His claims. Jesus speaks up again, Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By Myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and My judgment is just, for I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me. Just judgment? This is just judgment: Then the Lord said to Moses, Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. 3

Reflection 3: Ring-Fencing the Word of God It is written in Jeremiah Nor shall you carry out burdens from your houses on the Sabbath day, or do any work, but you shall hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. Through their Oral Torah, the Rabbis decreed that one should not only avoid forbidden acts like carrying a burden on Sabbath, but also not do anything that (a) resembles a prohibited act or could be confused with it, (b) is a habit linked with a prohibited act, or (c) usually leads to performing a prohibited act. The Rabbis called these measures putting a fence around God s word. The emphasis was on doing everything possible and then some to avoid violating the Word of the Lord. Forgetting that You are the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, the emphasis of their faith was on avoiding Your wrath. In their zeal to adhere to Your word, they lost sight of the forest for the trees. They trampled the spirit of Your word which is not about avoiding Your wrath but attaining to Your love. Love God and love my neighbor on these two hang all the law and prophets. Where fear of God s wrath lives large, Your spirit of love is smothered out. Application: In what ways do I ring-fence the Word of the Lord today adding prescriptions and prohibitions out of fear rather than living into the freedom of God s love? Reflection 4: Fear of the Lord The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, the writer of Proverbs tells us. The Psalmist writes that it is the beginning of wisdom too. There is a debilitating fear that focuses on punishment, and for some, this is where the journey to know You begins. But it should never end here. It must advance toward those positive connotations associated with fear of the Lord reverence for You; holding You in the highest esteem. Loving You with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. This kind of reverential fear of the Lord fosters our growth as loving persons; our becoming more Christ-like. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. Increase my capacity for love, Lord Jesus. Application: Fear is its own torment, the itch of a conscience that has not been reconciled to God in love. What fears in me need to be exposed to the love of God? 4

Reflection 5: A Feast A feast is the occasion for which Jesus is in Jerusalem and heals this invalid. Though unnamed, it is one of the three main Jewish feasts that require Jews to pilgrimage to the Temple. A feast conjures up the joyous exuberance of God, like the wedding feast in Cana, or like the birth of a child. You tell us that Your Father is always at work even to this day and so are You. We are invited to see the ongoing work of creation in the giving of life. Yet the legalists were so focused on Your supposed infractions that they were blind to the joyous exuberance of life of giving new life to dead limbs. They miss the intimate union of Father and Son, and therefore never comprehend the gift in their midst the Life-giver is standing before them. The One in whom divinity and humanity are preciously and mysteriously united, offering to my humanity His own divinity. But I must be open to receive it; to receive You. Application: How do the burdens of my life blind me to, and rob me of, the joyous exuberance of God s intimacy the invitation to abiding restful union with God in love? Reflection 6: The Old has Passed Away The Pharisees never saw this one coming. Grace is entirely new and something never-before expected. It is Your gift to man Your gift to me. Grace has come through You, and it is only available to me because You, Lord Jesus, fulfilled the demands and obligations of the law for me. The law stands firm. Grace supersedes it. You the law-giver, in a completely new and surprising reversal, satisfy its demands on my behalf and on behalf of the whole world. This unmerited favor costs me so little because it cost You so much. All I must do is accept You by faith. But You had to endure the agony and shame of the Cross. Application: What does grace mean to me? 5