Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: April 2, 2025

Wednesday of the 4th Week of Lent

Scripture Text: John 5:17-30

Jesus answered the Jews:

"My Father is at work until now, so I am at work." For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus answered and said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation but has passed from death to life.

Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out,

those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.

"I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me."

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

Today’s gospel reading from John immediately follows the account of Jesus’ healing of a man on the Sabbath at Bethesda which riled the religious leaders. Their fury escalated when Jesus called God His Father. In Jesus’ response which continues in tomorrow’s gospel, Jesus focuses on His relationship with the Father who sent Him and on His doing the will of the Father.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Do I recognize the relationship of Jesus to the Father? Do I seek the Father’s will as Jesus does?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, You sent your beloved Son, Christ, to dwell among us, taking on our human nature, revealing You and your great love for us through His teaching, His miracles, and His selflessly giving Himself to atone for our sins though He was without sin. Send your Spirit to stir within us, to illuminate our minds, to tenderize our hearts, and to soften our wills and make them receptive to Your will. Grant that our faith in Christ and the salvation He won for us will lovingly lead us to choose your will for each of us, to work to become the ones You created us to be and that He calls us to be. We ask this in the name of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Spirit, one LORD, forever and ever. Amen.