Thursday of the
Fourth Week of Lent
(Exodus 32:4-14; John
5:31-47)
In today’s from
reading Exodus the Israelites have just apostatized. They molded an image of gold and worshipped
it. Moses tries to defend them from
God’s wrath. He tells God that He would
look foolish in destroying the people he saved.
He also reminds God of His promise to Abraham.
In the gospel the Jews
are about to reject God again. They
refuse to believe that Jesus is God’s emissary.
Jesus tries to dissuade them. He
argues that his testimony is greater than John’s. He may be referring to his baptism that
forgives sins whereas John’s only shows repentance. Jesus also performs mighty works that testify
to his closeness to God. The Father also testifies to Jesus. It is not clear what’s in mind here. Perhaps Jesus is saying that the Father
speaks to people’s hearts. Finally, the
Scriptures since Moses have testified to Jesus being God’s enduring prophet.
We should recognize
the possibility of our worshipping idols and rejecting Jesus. For an idol we may put pleasure or even
family before God. We may reject Jesus
by refusing to forgive others as he taught.
Now is the time to renew our faith in the Father and the Son. Soon we will relive their victory over sin
and death.
