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 the
Jews to believe in him, so he wants us to believe. 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.
