Scripture: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 Yet we know where this man comes from; and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from." 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord; he who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me." 30 So they sought to arrest him; but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come.
Meditation: What was the aim of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection? He willingly suffered and went to the cross for our sake, to redeem us from sin and to restore our relationship with God the Father. Jesus met opposition and hostility with grace and determination to accomplish his Father’s will. Can anyone treat Jesus with indifference? We either accept or reject his claims, and his promises and his threats with faith or with disbelief and contempt. The consequences are enormous, both in this life and in eternity. The religious authorities sought to arrest Jesus because they could not accept his claim to be the Son of God. Jesus made two startling statements: that he was the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, and that the Jews did not know God but that Jesus alone knew him. He claimed to be in a unique relationship with God and to know him as no one else did. To the Jews this was utter blasphemy. This same choice is still before us. Either, what Jesus said about himself is false, or what he said about himself is true, in which case he is what he claimed to be the Son of God. Do you know the joy and freedom of surrender to Jesus, the Word of God and Redeemer of humankind?
“Eternal God, who are the light of the minds that know you, the joy
of the hearts that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you;
grant us so to know you, that we may truly love you, and so to love you
that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom, in Jesus
Christ our Lord.” (Prayer of Saint Augustine)