Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
One of the main goals of the gospel according to John is to show that Jesus is divine and that he has been sent by God. At several points in the reading he identifies himself with God by using the words ‘I AM.’ Those who hear or read these words are being led to make the same conclusion that many of Jesus’ disciples come to as described in the gospel of John—namely that he is “the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (John 11: 27).
The Pharisees are represented here as not doing this (John 8: 21-24). Jesus states that they will ‘die in their sins,’ because they do not acknowledge his identity as Son of God. Nor do they understand that God is revealing himself through the person and ministry of Jesus. We are told that the Pharisees are overly focused on ‘this world’ and not on divine things. It is revealing to contrast John’s portrayal of the Pharisees in chapter 8 with his portrayal of the raising of Lazarus in chapter 11. Even though Lazarus experiences death as the consequence of sin, he does not remain dead, but instead is raised to new life by Jesus. This event becomes a major symbol in the gospel of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.
Jesus makes the curious statement that when he is lifted up on the cross that it will be known that he is God. This is curious because you would think that this event would make it harder for people to believe in him. But what he seems to have in mind here is that in dying on the cross he is revealing his union with God. His will is perfectly in keeping with the will of the Father: “I always do what is pleasing to him,” he says (verse 29). It is Jesus’ devotion to God the Father and his utter willingness to do his will—even to the point of death—that draws people to Jesus and that demonstrates that he has indeed been sent by God.
The proper response to Jesus in this story is easy to state but is much harder to put into practice. First we must acknowledge Jesus to be God and confess him as Lord. And we should see him as being sent by God the Father to reveal God’s love to us in a renewed way. Second, we ourselves should be drawn to the cross. This emphasis on the cross sounds gruesome, but it is a positive thing for it symbolizes our willingness to follow Jesus. This involves doing God’s will, emulating his love, and seeking to serve others as he himself did. We are now past the mid-point of Lent this year, but still have a ways to go. Let us be inspired through our reading of John’s gospel to renew our commitment to seek Jesus and to emulate him in what we do on a daily basis.
-Joel Schickel