4th week in Lent, Saturday – 20th March 2021 – John 7,40-53
Truth Hidden for Intelligentsia
Majority of the religious leaders were opposed to Jesus. They try to find all sorts of reasons to show that He is not what the people think He is. They passed judgment on the basis of their prejudices and their superficial examination of the facts. They blindly refused to face facts honestly. On the other hand, the guards were so amazed of Jesus that they did not obey the Jewish leaders’ order to bring Jesus to them. They were mesmerized by his speech. But the religious leaders easily labeled Jesus than to listen to the facts the guards presented to them. In fact, they used an argument similar to discredit the witness of the blind man that Jesus healed (Jn 9,34). Apparently only Nicodemus raises challenges to their plans of getting rid of Jesus, and he is put down for trying to defend Jesus. However, we should not be surprised when “the intelligentsia” refuses to trust Jesus or when the religious leaders reject him. God has hidden His truth from “the wise and prudent” and revealed it to “spiritual babes,” the humble (Mt 11,25-27). The best example to be considered would be Paul. He was a very intelligent rabbi when God saved him, yet he had to be “knocked down” before he would acknowledge that Jesus was the resurrected Son of God. Indeed, Paul personally explains the difficulty of winning “smart religious people” to the Jesus, the Saviour (1 Cor 1,26-31).
