Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: March 16, 2024

Date:   Saturday of the 4th Week of Lent

Scripture Text:  John 7:40-53

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, "This is truly the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But others said, "The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David's family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?" So, a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?" The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this man." So, the Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed." Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, "Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?" They answered and said to him, "You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."

Then each went to his own house.

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The gospel reading for today, taken from the Gospel of John, continues the earlier readings of the week that have centered on Jesus’ identity. In today’s text, the crowds are again divided with some judging Jesus to be a prophet, others “the Christ.” But there are also those who dismiss all judgments of what the crowd has experienced in the person and teachings of Jesus because of their own expectations, and those deny that He could be the Christ because they don’t know Him. They point to the expectation that the Messiah will be of the house of Dave and from Bethlehem. They didn’t know what we know.

The guards, too, were torn. They reported to the chief priests and Pharisees, the religious authorities who were seeking ways to stop Jesus. While they were aware of the authorities’ desire to trap and stop Jesus from His work, they were also moved by Jesus’ words.

Nicodemus, the Pharisee who came in the night to talk to Jesus in Chapter 3 of John, speaks up. He questions the others who are so set against Jesus without first hearing Him out. But the others in authority that day turn on Nicodemus for his lack of support for their judgment.

“Then each went to his own house.” Jesus confounded those who opposed Him, those who hated Him. This gives us a sense of division.

 Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Where do I stand personally? Who do I say Jesus is? How committed am I?  

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, You sent your only-begotten Son as our Savior, to take on our human condition, to dwell among us, to reveal your great and abiding love for us, to teach us through word and example, and to offer himself selflessly, one without sin, for our sins. Send your Spirit to ignite within us your transformative love. Grant that it may illuminate our minds and hearts and paths in life so that we might choose well and choose love this day and all days. Help us to acknowledge Christ as Son of God, Savior. We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and rules with You and the Spirit, one LORD, forever and ever. Amen.