Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah
49:8-15; John 5:17-30)
The law prohibiting
work on the sabbath is derived from the Third Commandment. Rabbis, however, were aware that God needs to
work on the sabbath to prevent the world from falling apart. Jesus uses this awareness to defend his curing
the paralytic on a sabbath. He tells the
Jews that as God’s Son, he too can work on the sabbath. He only does what he sees the Father doing – giving
life. Of course, the Jews hear
Jesus as blaspheming. How can a man –
they think – make himself out to be God?
In Jesus’
trial before the Sanhedrin in Matthew, Mark, and Luke he is condemned for equating
himself with God. John does not have a
Jewish trial, but he repeatedly has scenes like this one. On some of these occasions the Jews try to
kill him. In this way John verifies what happens at the Jewish trial.
As Jesus
invites belief in him from the Jews, so he wants our belief. We ask ourselves,
is he the Son of God, equal to the Father?
Or is he an imposter or, perhaps, a lunatic? Many people have difficulty accepting Jesus
as God. Some of these consider the ethic
that he preached too restrictive. Hopefully,
we will accept Jesus because the ethic is life-giving not detracting. It brings
not only fulfilment on earth but also happiness in heaven.
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