5th week in Lent, Friday – 3rd April 2020 – John 10, 31-42
Correlation of words and works
In the Gospel, Jesus is being confronted by the opponents for three things: for the proclamation of the Word of God, for doing the works of God and for holding on to his position as God’s son. They wanted to stone him, not for the miracles He has done, but because He spoke of his Abba-relationship, which is a blasphemy. Jesus used the Hebrew Scripture, first half of Ps 82,6 in which human beings are regarded as ‘gods’, to prove his claims and disprove theirs. Then He does appeal to his works as a proof that He shares his life with God and in keeping with God’s plan for the world. However when Jesus proclaimed himself in the Temple area the Pharisees never believed His words and works, always wanted to stone Him. When he moved to Jordan, the place where John’s witnesses still echoes, it is said that many came to believe in Jesus there. In this place, many simple people, with grace and wisdom, were able to correlate John’s words with Jesus works. It is here, the ministry of Jesus comes to full circle as this section of the gospel ends. But this return to the beginning suggests that the end is near.
