Monday of Week 2 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 3:1-8
Today we go back to the early part of John’s Gospel and begin reading chapter 3. In the coming Easter weeks we will be going through John’s Gospel more or less in order.
Today we see the encounter between Jesus and the Pharisee, Nicodemus, who was also a member of the Sanhedrin—the governing council of the Jews. He was, then, a very highly placed official.
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. This, on the one hand, indicates his fear of being seen by others, but on the other, probably also has a symbolic meaning. Religious man though he was, when he came to Jesus he was in a kind of spiritual darkness. But his virtue is that he comes to seek light. Jesus, of course, is the Light of the World. On the other hand, in the next chapter, the Samaritan woman will meet Jesus in the full blaze of the midday sun. It is interesting to contemplate the underlying meaning of this as well.
Nicodemus begins by praising Jesus. No man, he says, could do the things that Jesus did if he did not come from God. Given the fact that at this stage of John’s Gospel Jesus has hardly begun his public life, it is odd that Nicodemus can make this statement. But it shows that the events described in this Gospel are not to be taken with a strict chronology. This Gospel is rather a set of themes about the role of Jesus for us and the world.
Nicodemus sees in Jesus a prophet, a man of God, but has yet to recognise the full identity of Jesus. Jesus counters by saying that no one can see the Kingdom of God “without being born from above” (or ‘born again’—both readings are possible, and the meaning is basically the same). Though very common in the other Gospels, the term ‘Kingdom of God’ is only used here in John (vv 3 and 5). Its equivalent in the rest of John’s Gospel is ‘life’. To be truly in the Kingdom of God, i.e. to be fully integrated in the Reign or Rule of God, is to be fully alive.
Nicodemus hears Jesus literally, and asks:
How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?
His misunderstanding gives Jesus the opportunity to lead Nicodemus to a deeper understanding. To be born again is to be born of “water and the Spirit”, a clear reference to Christian baptism. Flesh only produces flesh (as in natural birth), but the Spirit gives birth to spirit and that is the second birth we all need to undergo:
You must be born from above.
The Greek word for “you” in this statement is plural and therefore directed to all, not just to Nicodemus.
And once we are reborn in the Spirit, we let ourselves be led to where God wishes:
The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
The “wind”, the ‘breath’ of the Holy Spirit, is the sole Guide for our lives. He brings about our renewal in his own way. The word for “wind” here is a word which also means ‘breath’ and ‘spirit’ (in Greek, pneuma).
Once we are guided by the Spirit, we have put ourselves totally in God’s hands, ready to be led wherever God wants us to go. This is the message being given to Nicodemus. He must be ready to move in a different direction from that which has guided his life up to this point. This readiness will lead him to see in Jesus the Word of God. We, too, wherever we happen to be right now, must ever be ready for God, through his Spirit, to call us in a new direction and to follow his lead.
Read more
Tuesday of Week 2 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 3:7-15
We continue today Jesus’ night-time dialogue with the Pharisee Nicodemus. Nicodemus, while accepting in principle what Jesus has said about being born again in the Spirit, now wants to know how it can be brought about.
Jesus accuses Nicodemus and his fellow-leaders of a lack of spiritual insight and a refusal to accept his testimony as coming directly from God:
If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
Jesus does not speak simply on his own initiative. He speaks of what he shares with the Father. It is the Father’s words and teaching that he passes on to us—he is the Word of God. His is not just a speaking Word; it brings all things from nothing, calls the dead to life, hands on the Spirit, the source of unending life, and makes us all children of God. To experience all this we need to have faith in Jesus as truly the Word of God and to live our lives in love.
But the Word is not always easy to understand and it requires, above all, an openness to be received and witnessed.* It is this openness that Jesus is challenging Nicodemus to have. People respond to the Word in so many ways. Some believe fully; others go away disappointed in spite of the many signs. One is reminded of the parable of the sower. To which group do I belong?
And up to now, only the Son has been “into heaven,” that is, with God:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
It is from there that:
…the Word became flesh and lived among us. (John 1:14)
He is in a position, therefore, to speak about “heavenly things”, that is, to speak of everything that pertains to and comes from God.
The only solution is to put all our focus on Jesus:
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
This is a reminder of the incident in the book of Numbers (21:6-9) where, as a punishment for their sins, the Israelites were attacked by serpents. God told Moses to erect a bronze serpent on a pole and all who looked at the serpent were saved.
Jesus, in a much greater way, will also be “lifted up” both on the cross and into the glory of his Father through the Resurrection and Ascension. And he will be a source of life to all who commit themselves totally to him. Only then will we be washed clean by the water from the pierced side (see John 19:34 and Zech 13:1).
To what extent are we ‘looking at’ Jesus? Is it merely a sideways glance when we think about him, or at certain fixed times (e.g. Sunday Mass), or is he the centre of our attention in all that we do and say?
Let our constant prayer be:
Lord, grant that all my thoughts, intentions, actions and responses may be directed solely to your love and service this day and every day.
_________________________________________________
*For numerous references about vv 11-12 of this passage, see the footnote in the New Jerusalem Bible.
Read more
Wednesday of Week 2 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 3:16-21
Today we continue reflecting on the meeting of Jesus with Nicodemus. The dialogue has given way to a theological reflection in which the words of Jesus and of the author cannot easily be distinguished.
The theme is the relationship between God and the world. A few very important statements are made:
- God so loved the world…He loves it so much that he gave his only Son, who died a terrible death on a cross as proof of that love. God loves the whole world and not just the “good” parts. God’s love is total and unconditional for every one of his creatures. But to experience the life that comes from God through Jesus, we have to believe in him, open ourselves to him and give our whole selves to him in deep faith and trust.
- God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. We must constantly remind ourselves of this. God’s first and only instinct is to love us and for us to experience that love. We have been made by him and for him. He made us to share his life and love forever.
- Those who believe in him…in heart, word and deed—avoid judgement. But whoever does not believe is already condemned. That does not contradict what we have just said above. Judgment does not come from God, but rather from our own choice. Today’s Gospel states it this way:
…the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
It is not God who abandons or dumps us—it is we who abandon him. We are our own judges when we deliberately choose darkness over light. We put ourselves beyond the reach of his love, which is there and only waiting for us to turn back. On the contrary, those who:
…do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.
It is not God’s judgment that we are to fear. Rather it is our own choices which can bring us closer to him or push us away from him. It is our own decision whether we wish to live always in the light or instead choose darkness.
It might be good for us to reflect today on those dark corners of our life—present and past—which we keep hidden from others. Why do we hide these things? The person who lives in the light, the person of integrity and wholeness, has nothing whatever to hide.
Read more
Thursday of Week 2 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 3:31-36
In rather abstract language, the Gospel today contrasts Jesus with those who see the world with purely worldly eyes. Jesus is the One who comes “from above”, although he lives in the world. The “one who is of the earth” can mean any of us, but here seems to refer to John the Baptist, who spoke of “earthly things” in the sense that he spoke simply as a human being, as opposed to Jesus as the Word.
But the “one who comes from heaven” is above all and:
He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.
What Jesus has seen and heard comes through direct communication with his Father.
But “no one accepts his testimony”. This does not mean literally every single person (obviously not true), but all those who are entirely immersed in this material world. Yet there are some who do listen and who do accept what Jesus is saying, and they know that what God says is trustworthy. When anyone fully accepts Christ’s witness, he accepts that Jesus is truly from God and that God acted (and continues to act) through him for the establishment of the Kingdom and the salvation of the world. For:
He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
He is the Word of God. But the sentence can be understood to apply to everyone who has consciously become a disciple and Apostle for Jesus and his message. Jesus is the Light of the world, but his followers are also called to be the light of the world (Matt 5:14).
The Son, Jesus, is the perfect image of the Father, and shares generously with us what he has received from his Father. Life without end awaits all those who believe in the Son, who believe his words and accept them as their way of life.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life but must endure God’s wrath.
Notice that one who believes “has” eternal life. Eternal life begins now with the response of faith.
We must not think that God takes vengeance on those who disobey Jesus. God can never be angry in our normal sense of the word. But rather, those who choose to go another way, the way of darkness and evil, can only expect to meet death. They are the victims, not of God’s anger, but of their own determination to live in darkness. Let us remember that with God’s help, the choice is ours to make.
Read more
Friday of Week 2 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 6:1-15
Today we begin the great chapter 6 of John with its strong Eucharistic overtones. We are bypassing chapters 4 (the Samaritan Woman) and chapter 5, which was read earlier. The stage is set by the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, a story we find in all four Gospels but which, in John, has some characteristics of its own.
As Jesus crosses the Sea of Tiberias, large crowds follow him along the shore. This lake was more commonly known as the Sea of Galilee. Its Roman name came from the new town of Tiberias, named after the emperor and founded about AD 20, i.e. during Jesus’ lifetime.
The crowd’s motive in pursuing Jesus was because of the “signs that he was doing for the sick.” The implication is that they were not following Jesus for his own sake or because of his teaching. They were not really disciples, but to some extent, people looking for something just for themselves. It is possible for us to come to Jesus in that frame of mind too, our prayers full of ‘Give me this and give me that’, but with little real commitment to the mission of the Kingdom.
Jesus goes up the mountain and sits down with his disciples. There are echoes here of Moses on Mt Sinai; Jesus is the new Moses and his disciples are the nucleus of God’s new people. It is also close to Passover, a time soon to be linked with the new Passover in the death and resurrection of Jesus and with the Eucharist, which is the new Passover meal. The whole of the chapter is linked to this.
Seeing the vast crowds approaching, Jesus teasingly asks Philip, always presented as being somewhat simple and naive:
Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?
As Philip came from Bethsaida (John 1:44), which was nearby, it was logical to ask him as a ‘local boy’. If Philip had any insight into who Jesus really was, he might have given a different answer. As it was he sees no solution:
Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.
Then Andrew, Peter’s brother and sometimes seen as a companion of Philip (see John 1), mentions a small boy who has five barley loaves and a couple of dried fish. Barley bread was the food of the poor. Obviously, that would not go very far. But of course, it is all that Jesus needs.
The British priest and author, Monsignor Ronald Knox, makes much of this small boy who was picked out of the crowd and was being asked to give up his precious lunch. The boy played a crucial role; it was his tiny contribution which made it possible for the whole crowd to be filled and satisfied.
It is typical of Jesus to make use of someone, a very insignificant person, in the doing of his work. This is something which happens all the time. How many times have I been chosen to be an instrument of God’s work? How many times have I failed to recognise some person I regarded as being of no importance who was in fact bringing me something from God? How often have I not recognised God’s presence in what needed to be done?
Jesus now gets all the people (5,000 men not counting women and children) to sit down on the grass:
In meadows of green grass the Lord lets me lie…[He] prepares a table before me. (Ps 23:2,5)
Then, in a ritual reminiscent of the Eucharist, Jesus:
…took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them to those who were seated.
All had enough and more than enough to satisfy their hunger, and the disciples are instructed to gather up all that is left over. After doing so, 12 baskets were filled. The Jews regarded bread as a gift of God and it was required that any scraps that fell to the ground should be picked up. These were collected in small wicker baskets which were carried as part of one’s daily attire. Twelve represents a number of completeness and abundance—an indication of just how much there was from the original five loaves that the little boy offered.
The boy provided the offering, but the Lord gave the increase. Such is always the case. The 12 baskets may also represent the Twelve, the ones who actually did the distributing of the Lord’s largesse—still the role of the Church today.
The crowd became excited at the sign they had witnessed and were saying:
This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.
Recall that John the Baptist was also asked if he was the ‘prophet’ (John 1:21).
As we will see in the rest of the chapter, the sign was pointing to Jesus and the food for eternal life which he will give. But the people were thinking of the ‘Prophet’ mentioned in Deuteronomy (18:15) who would be like Moses. Through Moses, God had provided food (manna) and water (from the rock) for the people in the desert. The Prophet they were expecting would do more or less the same.
Jesus, realising that they wanted to make him their leader, fled to the mountains alone. This is an example of one of those temptations experienced by Jesus when fasting in the desert:
…the devil…showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (Matt 4:8-9)
Jesus had come to win over the people to himself as Messiah and Lord and here was a glorious opportunity when the people were, literally, eating out of his hand. But Jesus knew that this was not the way he was to become king, nor was he to be the kind of king that these people wanted him to be—so he fled. The time for establishing his own kind of kingship would come later on.
We, too, sometimes can be tempted to take steps which seem, at first sight, to bring people to Christ, but on reflection, they may lead to results which are far from the gospel vision. They tend to lead people to ourselves rather than to God.
Read more
Saturday of Week 2 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 6:16-21
We have today an epilogue to the story of the multiplication of the loaves for the 5,000. Jesus had fled to the mountains to avoid the misdirected enthusiasm of the crowd. Before that (according to Mark’s version of this story), Jesus had packed the disciples off into their boats. Very possibly they were much more ready to receive the adulation of the crowd. They must have been quite excited to have been so closely linked with the sensational act which Jesus had just done and which had stirred up the excitement of the crowd.
The story that follows is much more than a mere account of a storm at sea. There is a good deal of symbolism:
It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
They might have been feeling quite disgruntled at being sent off so unceremoniously when things seemed to be going so well for their Master—and of course, them. Life without Jesus is a kind of darkness.
As they crossed:
The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
The strong wind and the rough sea can also be seen as a symbol of the storms that can surround the Church and any Christian community. The boat with the little group inside represents a Christian community surrounded by a hostile sea which can be very threatening at times. It still happens.
Suddenly they see:
…Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat…
Their first reaction is fear, until they hear his comforting words:
It is I; do not be afraid.
“It is I” is not mere self-identification, like “It’s only me.” Here it is translated “I AM” (Greek ego eimi), reminiscent of the words spoken by God to Moses from the burning bush. It is a phrase regularly on the lips of Jesus in John’s Gospel, and it identifies Jesus as one with God.
The words “do not be afraid” occur regularly from the lips of Jesus and in other parts of the Scriptures as well. With Jesus close by, there is no need to be afraid. As the First Letter of John tells us:
…perfect love [Greek, agape] casts out fear… (1 John 4:18)
The Apostles wanted to take Jesus into the boat with them, but all of a sudden they found they had reached the shore and safety—some see a miracle in this. On the other hand, in their fear the shore seemed far away. With Jesus close by they find themselves there in no time. The storm was over, their fears having evaporated with the presence of Jesus. The peace that only Jesus can give has come.
We, too, can have the same experience.
Read more
Monday of Week 2 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 4:23-31
After they had been released by the Jewish leaders following their arrest and interrogation, and had been given strict warnings not to continue what they were doing, Peter and John went back to their community and related all about their experience. This was possibly the same ‘upper room’ where the Apostles had met before and where the community may have continued to assemble.
The whole community then prayed. They recalled the words of the psalmist who asks why the Gentiles and the princes of the world conspire against the Lord and his anointed. Here we see in the unbelieving Romans the ‘Gentiles’, and Herod and Pilate represented by the ‘kings’ and ‘princes’. They have gathered against the Lord and his anointed. The word ‘anointed’ in Greek translates as ‘Christ’ (christos). The Herod in question is Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to AD 39. He was the one who executed John the Baptist and before whom Jesus appeared during his trial. Acts will later describe his rather gruesome death (Acts 12:20-23). Pontius Pilate, of course, was the same Roman procurator who had Jesus crucified.
Yet they recognise that all of this had been foreseen by God. About Jesus’ enemies, Scripture says:
Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass… (Is 37:26)
It was not that God forced them to act as they did, but that their freely chosen decisions were foreseen by God and would become part of his plan of salvation.
They beg the Lord, as persecution is also extended to them, that God will be with them through:
…signs and wonders…performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
It is good for us too to be aware that, when as individuals or communities, we are true to the living out of our Christian faith, we can expect to face criticism, opposition, abuse and ridicule. Then we must also pray for the Lord’s assurance, protection and guidance. We do not necessarily expect those against us to change their minds, but we ask for the strength to continue being faithful to our convictions and the search for truth and goodness.
Then, suddenly, the place where the community is praying begins to shake and they are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and Jesus. Their prayer for strength and courage has been heard. Jesus had said:
Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. (John 16:23)
It is a mini-Pentecost and enables them to go out and proclaim the Good News with renewed confidence, unafraid of the threats and dangers that await them.
Read more
Tuesday of Week 2 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 4:32-37
Today’s reading from Acts is one of three portraits of the early Christian community. It is probably more the expression of an ideal than a historic description, but it is no less valid for all that. The passage emphasises the communal ownership and mutual responsibility of the community members for each other.
We Christians are sometimes accused of being ‘socialists’. Perhaps it is not an accusation of which we should be altogether ashamed. The ideal of socialism as popularised by Marx is “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need”. If this were the essence of socialism, then it is hard to see how any follower of Christ could disagree with it.
However, what people often do is to confuse this stated ideal of socialism (and communism) with the way in which it was implemented, as well as the atheistic materialism which it proclaimed. As we saw so clearly during communism and Marxism at their height, an attempt to achieve justice without love does not work. We Christians must also remember that there cannot be true love without justice.
Four elements are mentioned in the first sentence of today’s passage:
- The believers form a community, a “group of believers”;
- They are of “one heart and soul”, deeply united with each other;
- “No one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common”;
- They gave “testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” with great power, through signs and healings “and great grace was upon them all”.
The reading tells us:
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.
This was a voluntary sharing to provide for those who did not have enough for the essentials of living. Each one’s aim was to ensure that the needs (not necessarily the wants) of the others were met rather than each one looking only to their own needs.
It is important to note that this was possible because:
…the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul…
Their material sharing was simply an expression of the care which they felt for each other at a much deeper level.
The passage concludes with a striking example:
There was a Levite from Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
It is known that Jews had been living in Cyprus since the time of Maccabees. Generally, Levites did not own inherited land in Palestine, but the rule may not have applied in other areas. Or, the property may have belonged to his wife. Barnabas will later become a missionary partner with Paul.
Barnabas’ action will contrast with another couple, Ananias and Sapphira, who claimed to be doing the same, but who in fact only gave part of their possessions and kept the rest for themselves. They were severely punished. One after the other, they both dropped dead. Their story is told in the following chapter of Acts, but is not part of our Easter readings.
Do we find such sharing communities in our Church today? One obvious example are the many different communities of religious life whose misleadingly named “vow of poverty” is primarily, not a vow of destitution, but one of total sharing of resources coupled with a life of material simplicity. Clearly, some communities live this life more effectively than others. Additionally, we have to admit that many Christians, including religious, can be caught up in the individualism, hedonism, consumerism and materialism that dominates so many of our prosperous societies today.
Perhaps today we could reflect on our own attitudes to material goods: how we acquire them, how we use them, to what extent we share our material blessings with those in genuine need, and not just that of our surplus. This is something we need to reflect on as individuals, as families, and in our parish community. There should not be any people in real need in our parish communities; if there are, how can we speak of ourselves as a parish community?
Read more
Wednesday of Week 2 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 5:17-26
In the passage immediately preceding today’s reading we are told that many signs and wonders were being performed by the Apostles and more and more people joined their community. Even Peter’s shadow falling on the sick was enough to heal them. All this was causing great alarm among the religious leadership who saw these men acting on the basis of a faith (a Saviour risen from the dead) which they regarded as heretical. During the next three days (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) we will be hearing a description of the leaders’ efforts to put a stop to the Apostles’ work.
Specifically, those upset were the high priest and the Sadducee party to which he belonged. As we saw earlier, Caiaphas was the high priest recognised by Rome, but the Jews considered his father-in-law Annas still the high priest because it was an office held for life. The Sadducees only accepted the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) as inspired, and rejected later teachings accepted by others. Nor did they believe in a personal Messiah, but only in a Messianic age. They also were seen to some extent as collaborators with the Romans, and it was partly because they feared the reaction of the Romans that they wanted to get rid of this new ‘movement’ which could arouse the suspicions of the Roman authorities. Caiaphas had said during Jesus’ trial:
You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed. (John 11:50)
Here was a similar situation.
We are told that the main motive for their displeasure was jealousy. The Apostles were attracting large crowds, apart from the fact that they were disseminating a doctrine which the Sadducees denounced. So they had the Apostles arrested and thrown into the public jail.
But during the night an “angel of the Lord” opened the gates for them and told them to go back and continue preaching in the Temple. The phrase “angel of the Lord” appears four times in Acts: Stephen, during his address to the Sanhedrin, tells of an angel speaking to Moses near Mount Sinai (7:30-38); an angel guides the deacon Philip to seek out the Ethiopian eunuch (8:26); an angel frees Peter from prison (12:7-10); and it is an angel who strikes down Herod when he accepts being addressed as a god (12:23).
In today’s reading, was it really a divine intervention, or was it the work of a secret but influential supporter? It does not matter; it is clear that Jesus is with his Apostles. So the dawn finds them back in the Temple preaching about Jesus.
The same morning, the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews, was convoked and the prisoners summoned. The Sanhedrin was the supreme Jewish court, consisting of 70 to 100 men (the proper number was 71). They sat in a semi-circle, backed by three rows of disciples of the “learned men”, with the clerks of the court standing in front.
The temple guard found the jail locked and the guards at their posts, but there was no sign of the Apostles. They were dumbfounded and could not explain the situation. Then the council was amazed to hear that the Apostles were back in the Temple teaching the people. They were re-arrested, but with no show of force because the leaders feared the opposition of the crowd.
We have here again a pattern that recurs throughout the history of the Church and indeed among all those who fight in this world for truth and justice. Untold numbers of Christians in every part of the world have found themselves in jail for their faith. Across the world, there are Christians in detention and labour camps right now. They have experienced the protection of God who gives them courage and peace and a sense of liberation (even if they are not always miraculously released).
As in today’s case, those in power are aware that they often do not have the people on their side. Their only weapon is their power, but not truth or justice. To keep their power and all that goes with it, they will not hesitate to suppress truth and act unjustly and often violently.
As with the Apostles, we cannot acquiesce in a situation where truth and justice are being attacked. There must be dialogue and even resistance, but never violence. Our own dignity and that of our opponents must be deeply respected. We oppose, not them, but their ideas and their actions. We might pray today to have even a modicum of the Apostles’ integrity and courage. Tomorrow, we will continue with this story.
Read more
Thursday of Week 2 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 5:27-33
After having been miraculously released from jail and returned to the Temple to continue their preaching in the name of Jesus, the Apostles were re-arrested and brought again before the 71-member Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews.
They were accused of two things:
- They had continued to preach in “this name” (their accusers could not bring themselves even to mention the name of Jesus) all over Jerusalem, even though they had been strictly forbidden to do so;
- They were blaming the Jewish leadership for Jesus’ death (although we do need to remember that the Apostles were themselves all devoutly religious Jews whose Lord and Saviour was also a Jew).
The Apostles were not in the least fazed by these accusations. The men who were so fearful at the time of Jesus’ death, and immediately after, now spoke out boldly. They told their judges:
We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.
Their accusers were undoubtedly accomplices in the death of Jesus; their motives a mixture of religious narrow-mindedness and political self-interest. But the Apostles believed that Jesus was now in glory as Ruler and Saviour:
God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel [i.e. all their fellow-Jews] and forgiveness of sins.
The title they give to Jesus corresponds to ‘Prince and Redeemer’. It was applied to Moses (as a prefiguring of Christ) by Stephen in his address to the Sanhedrin, where he said that Moses too was rejected by his people (Acts 7:35). There is an implicit comparison here of Jesus with Moses, something that the Apostles’ judges would certainly not have liked.
But the Apostles were witnesses to all that they were saying. They could not say or do otherwise, no matter what others might tell them. And the Holy Spirit was with them. Their testimony was directed and confirmed by the:
…Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.
It reminds one of Thomas More in England who refused to recognise King Henry VIII as head of the Church in England. More said, “The king’s good servant, but God’s first.” For refusing to compromise his faith and integrity, he lost his life. For Thomas More, too, there was no other choice. And there have been many others like him down the ages. Many Christians today languish in jails and camps for no other reason.
Not surprisingly, the stance of the Apostles infuriated their judges who wanted them put to death for what seemed blasphemous language. Tomorrow we will see the completion of this story.
Read more