John 7:40-53

Jeremiah 11:18-20

Psalm 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12

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.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you sent your only begotten Son to save the world. In all things you manifest your infinite love for humanity. You did not abandon us when we deserved death. Instead, you sent your Son to redeem us, to lift the ancient curse, and to restore us as your children.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Who is Jesus? On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus proclaims to the crowds that he will give living water to those who believe in him. The promise of water recalls the figure of Moses, who struck the rock and provided water for the people of Israel in the desert. The new Moses-like figure of Jesus makes the crowd wonder: “Who is Jesus? Is he the prophet? Is he the Christ?” All four Gospels ask and seek to answer the question: “Who is Jesus?” Matthew takes up the question in Chapter 16 when Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they reply, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (16:13-14). Jesus inquires further: “And who do you say that I am?” Peter responds that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. In Mark, Peter answers simply: “You are the Christ” (8:29). In Luke, Peter says that Jesus is “the Christ of God” (9:20). Peter also confesses in the Gospel of John that Jesus is “the Holy One of God” (6:69). The identification of Jesus with the Christ posed an insurmountable problem for the crowds: How can Jesus be the Christ if he is from Galilee? The Christ, they knew from the prophets, would descend from David and be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). What the crowds did not know was that, as Matthew and Luke relate, Jesus was in fact born in Bethlehem, the City of David (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4), and that Joseph – the spouse of Mary and the mother of Jesus – was a descendant of David and belonged to the royal house of David (Matthew 1:16, 20). The chief priests and the Pharisees were also ignorant of Jesus’ heavenly and earthly origins. They responded in anger to Nicodemus who suggested that they give Jesus a hearing and learn more about his person, his message, and the purpose of his actions.

2. Is Jesus the Prophet? The crowds, the chief priests, and the Pharisees all mention “the prophet.” This refers to the prophecy about the return of Elijah before the coming of the Lord (Malachi 4:5-6), and the appearance of a prophet-like-Moses, promised in Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18. Earlier in John’s Gospel, John the Baptist denied that he was the Christ, that he was Elijah, and that he was the prophet (John 1:20-21). John understood himself as the voice in the desert (Isaiah 40:3), who prepares the way of the Lord. Jesus, however, will identify John the Baptist as the fulfillment of Micha’s prophecy about the return of Elijah: “If you are willing to accept it, [John] is Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:14). In Acts 3:22, Peter will identify Jesus as the Prophet-like-Moses. Jesus, then, is both the Christ (Messiah) and the Prophet-like-Moses. The Pharisees are wrong to say that no prophet arose in Galilee. The prophet Jonah was from Galilee (2 Kings 14:25) and the prophet Hosea also was likely from Galilee. They might have meant, though, that “the prophet” does not rise from Galilee. Whether they meant “a prophet” or “the prophet,” the chief priests and the Pharisees are blind because they refuse to see and believe in Jesus. Nicodemus, however, is not blind. He appears three times in John’s Gospel. He first comes to Jesus by night and professes that Jesus is a teacher come from God. That night, Jesus taught Nicodemus three things: first, that entry into the kingdom of God is accomplished through being born anew; second, that this re-birth is not physical but rather spiritual and accomplished through the Spirit; third, that Jesus, the Son of man, must be lifted up in order to send the Spirit. In his second appearance, Nicodemus attempts to convince the Pharisees to listen to Jesus and give him a hearing. Finally, Nicodemus appears at Jesus’ burial and brings a mixture of myrrh and aloes. Nicodemus is a man of faith, who desires to learn from Jesus the Rabbi, to defend Jesus the Christ, and to honor Jesus the King.

3. The Plot against Jesus: The first reading from Jeremiah reflects the attitude of the Pharisees who wanted to arrest and kill Jesus: they wanted to “destroy the tree with its fruit” and “cut him off from the land of the living.” They wanted Jesus’ name to be remembered no more. The death of Jesus, the gentle Lamb led to the slaughter, will produce the opposite effects: the Cross becomes the tree of life with supernatural fruit; Jesus destroys death by dying and wins eternal life for us; because of his obedience unto death, God highly exalts Jesus and bestows on him the name which is above every name (Philippians 2:8-9). There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name by which we may be saved (Acts 4:12).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Anointed One who reigns at the right hand of the Father. You bring the gift of eternal life and the joy of salvation to the world. Grant me this gift today and the joy that springs from love.

Living the Word of God: How can I imitate Nicodemus today? How can I learn from Jesus? How can I profess my faith in Jesus to others? How can I honor Jesus?