Daily Reflection: 33rd Day of Lent

Today’s Gospel is John 10:31-42:

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, (You are gods”‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him.

Jesus says: “If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

“Even if you do not believe me, believe the works”. It’s hard to argue with the type of miracles that Jesus performs. More and more people are beginning to believe in him, and this makes the powers that be mighty nervous. It also means that the time of the crucifixion is drawing closer and closer.

We, of course, can look back on the scriptures and see the big picture and we know how the story ends, but it must have been both fascinating and terrifying to actually live the story in real time. Can you imagine being one of Jesus disciples or followers and watching him perform these miracles that no one should be able to perform? Can you imagine the fear they must have felt as the Pharisees got angrier and more desperate to catch him and put an end to his crusade? Little did they know that by doing so they would make him unforgettable. The story is getting very exciting now even if we do know the ending.

Dear Heavenly Father,
When we call, you hear us. You are our fortress, our deliverer, the rock of our salvation. Be with us, Lord, all the days of our lives.
In the name of Jesus the Christ,
Amen

Questions for reflection: What do you think it would have been like to be a follower of Jesus as the time of the crucifixion drew nearer? Would you have been afraid? Do you think you would have been able to stand with him no matter what?