Daily Exegesis

He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"

2012-01-27T09:42:00.000-08:00

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."
- John 6:1-15

Over the course of the past several readings, we have been reading about incidents that took place in the temple, at the time of the Festival of Weeks, or the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. Jesus first healed a paralytic man, telling him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." The authorities challenged the man, saying he was violating the Sabbath; he told them that the man who healed him said to take up his bed. When they found Jesus, they confronted Him about doing these things on the Sabbath, and He said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore they wanted to persecute Him all the more, because He said He was God's Son, and made Himself equal with God. Jesus than began to teach about Himself. He did as the Father willed, was given all things by the Father. He will do greater works than they have seen, for in Him is also the life in the Father. Moreover, the Father has committed Judgment to the Son. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. He told them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live." In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued. He offered four witnesses to His Sonship: the Father, John the Baptist, the works that He does as given by the Father, and finally the Scriptures of Moses and the Old Testament. He said, "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?"

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. While John reports seven signs altogether in His gospel, we are also told that many signs were performed that the Gospel doesn't mention. In this way, Jesus is already very well-known, and has many people -- "a great multitude" -- who wish to see Him. Now He has crossed back over the Sea of Galilee after the Festival at Jerusalem and the events there we read about over the past several readings. Now the Passover Festival draws near. My study bible tells us, "The Passover coincided with the Feast of Unleavened Bread which commemorated not only the Exodus from Egypt, but the first food from grain eaten in the Promised Land after the crossing of the Jordan."

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" John gives us a glimpse here into the mind of Jesus: He's testing Philip, because He already knows what He is going to do. That's a very interesting understanding. Often we may read in the Old Testament Scriptures about God's testing of Israel throughout its history. Here, we also have a fulfillment of "type" -- the multitudes follow Jesus onto a mountain top, as the Israelites leaving Egypt into unknown territory for the Promised Land. Can one buy bread in the wilderness? My study bible says that Philip was tested because he needs to understand who Christ is. Jesus continually reveals Himself -- especially in this Gospel -- through the things people don't know and don't understand, what they cannot see. He reveals the potentials inherent in His identity, and in relation to those who have faith in Him and to His Creation. Two hundred denarii is a large sum for these working people, about 200 days' wages for a laborer. Andrew looks to see what is on hand, but can't understand what can be done with such small provisions. By noting that these are barley loaves, we get a picture of the people who follow Jesus: they are the poorer people. Barley cost less than wheat, and, my study bible notes, was ready for harvest in the springtime at Passover.

Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. The feeding of five thousand (this is the number of men, a traditional way of counting -- there would also be women and children present) is reported in all four Gospels. It is a preview of the Eucharist: to "give thanks" in the Greek is the verb eucharisto. The food is blessed, distributed to the disciples and then given to the people. This is Jesus' fourth sign in John's gospel. Here in this setting, and at this time, it is a revelation of the divinity in Christ in the "type" of the feeding of Israel in the wilderness after the Exodus in the gift of manna.

So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. The twelve baskets are symbolic: the Twelve Apostles will go out into the the world with the food of the Gospel, for all the world. My study bible says, "As with the manna in the wilderness (Ex. 16:16-21), nothing of the gift of God should be lost. In contrast to the manna, here we have an abundance of twelve baskets of leftovers, one for each disciple."

Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." We contrast this with Jesus' speech made to the temple leadership, which John has just reported in the verses previous to today's reading. He told them, "Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" Jesus was referring to the verses in Deuteronomy, when Moses foretold of the Prophet who was to come: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him" . . . "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him." Here, those who have seen this sign believe that He is that Prophet, as predicted by Moses. The witness or testimony of the sign has been in a certain sense grasped by these people who are fed on the mountain top, but not by the leadership in the temple. However, in tomorrow's reading, we will see that their expectations of this Prophet are not in keeping with Jesus' identity nor mission -- John will once more give us truth through the people's misapprehension.

In yesterday's reading, Jesus contrasted the love of God with the love of the praise of men. He spoke of those who understand only the glory that comes from men rather than the glory that comes from God. There is repeatedly an assertion about a relationship first with the Father, and from this comes the understanding of Christ. So, I think that even in this reading, we have to ask ourselves, "What is glory?" Even through this great miracle or sign of the feeding in the wilderness, we will see the misunderstanding arise. John reports Jesus' signs, but does not offer them as proofs to force faith. Instead, they are testimony; they point to something beyond themselves. Over and over again, what is taken at face value is taken wrongly. Worldly assumptions about Christ and what He does simply can't take in the truth of His mission and His Person and intentions. Instead, He asks for those whom the Father is seeking: those who will worship in spirit and truth. The purely worldly, the obvious, is mistaken, just as an authority that comes only from other people and fails to have a connection to the true authority of God, through the love of God, will fail to grasp what is truly present. Let us ask ourselves what it is to worship in spirit and truth. Let us ask ourselves what we seek when we look at this text, or read of these signs. Can they teach us more than what we read or hear? Is there something we reach toward, even within ourselves, that takes us beyond our own limits and expectations and assumptions? That is the place we will find faith, the love of God -- the potential that is truly there in five barley loaves and two small fishes. Without this, we will miss the abundance of life itself.

How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?

2012-01-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

"I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
- John 5:30-47

Here, in today's passage, Jesus is speaking at the Festival of Weeks, or the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. Earlier (in the reading for Monday), Jesus healed a paralytic man, telling him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." The authorities objected to this violation of the Sabbath, and confronted Jesus. Jesus told them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Then they wanted to persecute Jesus the more, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. In yesterday's reading, Jesus expounded on the nature of His relationship with the Father. The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what is given Him of the Father to do. They will see yet greater works -- because as the Father gives life to the dead, so the Son gives life to whom He will. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but leaves judgment to the Son. Therefore, he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live." He also told them, "The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." Today, we continue reading Jesus' discourse to the temple leadership.

"I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true." Jesus establishes clearly the priority of the Father in all things He does. We remember that He is speaking as Son of Man -- God incarnate. But in this passage there is communicated both the divine relationship and His human will. My study bible has a note that teaches the theology of this divine relationship and the human Jesus: "The divine will is common to the Persons of the Trinity, for all share the same divine energy. In their manifestation in the world, however, all energy originates in the Father, being communicated through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Here there is a sense that the Son obeys the Father. This is because, in His human nature, the Son has human energy -- including human will - which He offers to God the Father as the source of all. This is His own will which must do the will of the Father." In this obedience, there is One who witnesses of Jesus, and this is the Father's testimony. Jesus begins to establish His identity here to the temple leadership, offering witnesses to Sonship. In Jewish tradition, says my study bible, a valid testimony requires two witnesses. Here Jesus offers God the Father as the first.

"You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light." Here is Jesus' second witness to His Sonship, John the Baptist. John, in Jesus' imagery here, was the great burning and shining lamp which cast light to illumine the truth, and to point the way to prepare for the Son. He was greatly respected in his ministry, widely considered a holy man. He preached a baptism of repentance for preparation for Messiah (who would baptize with the Holy Spirit) and the coming of the Kingdom.

"But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me." Jesus offers a third witness to His Sonship, and that is the works that the Father has given Him to do. They bear witness that He is sent by the Father, because they are signs given by the Father.

"And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me." Here is a powerful statement; Jesus returns to the Father as witness. It is implied here that through the works or signs Jesus is given to do, the Father bears witness to the Son. But Jesus' accusers can't read these signs, they can't understand them, because, Jesus says, they don't have God's word abiding in them. If they heard the Father's word within themselves, they would believe the One whom the Father has sent. It is a sense in which the word of the Father, abiding in human beings, creates recognition of the authority of the Son. God the Father is beyond all understanding in "hearing" and "seeing" but His word may abide in us. Moses testified through the word of the Scriptures, and the Scriptures bear witness to the Son. The Scriptures of the Old Testament are Jesus' fourth witness to Sonship.

"But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" Again (as in yesterday's reading), Jesus refers to the life that is in Him, the life that is His to give. He contrasts the capability of embracing the love of God in faith with the "honor from men." They don't receive Jesus, who comes in His Father's name, but they will receive those who have great names in a worldly sense. This goes to the heart of the recognition of Jesus' authority (as in the cleansing of the temple), and the power of faith. If they had the word and the love of the Father abiding in them, they would recognize Him. But they only recognize a worldly sense of authority, the honor that comes from men; their eyes are focused on the worldly to the exclusion of the spiritual life, which Jesus has spoken of as worship "in spirit and truth."

"Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" Again, He returns to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, in which the leadership who accuses Him claim to be experts. So, Jesus here is going deeply into matters of faith, accusing them of not truly believing Moses, and therefore the Scripture in which they are supposed to be experts. My study bible cites the words and testimony of Moses from Deuteronomy: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him" . . . "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him."

In Jesus' words today, we get a taste of the interrelatedness of spiritual reality and of our faith. There are four witnesses to Jesus' Sonship: God the Father, John the Baptist, the works He does (which are seen as signs in John's gospel), and the Old Testament Scriptures. But we also get a great lesson in faith: the leadership cannot truly recognize who He is because they don't really have the love of God abiding in them, and hence can't truly accept Moses' testimony, in which they are experts. This is, importantly, contrasted with the honor from men. It is as if there is an exchange posited here: we substitute one for the other. Without the true love of God within ourselves, we may be fooled by the picture of worldly honor, persuaded of authority where it does not exist, and missing authority where it does truly exist. Jesus makes it explicitly clear, twice saying that "I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved" and " I do not receive honor [or glory] from men." Jesus' honor or glory comes from the Father, and those who would worship in spirit and truth seek a relationship with this glory or honor, and recognize it where it is found. A "hardened heart" is unaware of this, blind to it, and recognizes only the glory that comes from the praise of men, a purely worldly sense of authority and conviction, of truth. Which will it be? These words are offered to us for a reason. It is all about relationship; without the first great love ("You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might"), we will be unable to recognize the Lord's work and whomever the Lord has sent; we will substitute for this love only the glory of the praise and authority of men. How do we keep this love, in spirit and truth, alive in our hearts? The question is there for all of us, today, here and now -- not just the temple authorities in this passage.

The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live

2012-01-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."
- John 5:19-29

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' third sign in the Gospel of John. Jesus is at the festival, which is named by Church Fathers as the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks. There is a multitude around a pool, called Bethesda, near the Sheep Gate. It was a pool used to wash down sacrificial lambs before they were slain. But every once in awhile, the water is stirred (the people believe, by an angel), and at that moment it is believed that the one who steps in will be healed. Jesus speaks to a paralytic man: does he want to be healed? Yes, comes the answer. But when the water is stirred someone always steps in front of him. He needs someone to put him into the pool. Jesus told him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." Immediately he was healed, and did so. But when the authorities saw him violating a Sabbath rule -- carrying his burden -- they told him this was not lawful. He told them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'" The religious authorities asked who this was, but Jesus had disappeared into the crowd, and the man didn't know who He was. Later, Jesus found the healed man in the temple, and told him, ""See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." The healed paralytic then told the officials that Jesus had made him well. For this reason, the Gospel tells us, the temple authorities persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore they sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." Here, Jesus begins to teach us just how the Father and Son are equal, and alike. There is a full likeness in the shared attributes of power, and the character in the use of that power. They are inseparable in this: the Father leads, the Son fully responds in like manner.

"For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel." Jesus promises greater signs than what they have seen, what He so far has done -- but all depends upon the Father. The Son follows and does what the Father gives Him to do. The Father gives to the Son fully, and the relationship is one of love.

"For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father." It is even the power of life and death, which is the power of the Father, that is also given to the Son. That is, the power to fully restore the dead to life. And something more we are taught here by Christ, that the Father leaves judgment to the Son, "that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father." Here is a clue about judgment: the Son, who is fully vested in power by the Father, represents the Father. He who rejects the Son, therefore rejects the Father. What is powerful here is the absolute statement of likeness. My study bible says this discourse "shows the Father and Son are so united in nature, will and action that the Son fully shares the divine attributes of giving life and executing judgment."

"He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." Here it is fully clear; Jesus is making His point so that it is lost on no one. This is also the will of the Father, that the Son may be honored, as is the Father -- the Son is fully vested with authority and likeness to the Father.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." Here is the action of the Father in the world, through the Son. What Jesus speaks is that which is given Him of the Father. Those who "take rest" in His word, who accept, shall share life in the kingdom. Even more strongly, it is redemption, a passing from death into life. Jesus is speaking of the last Judgment, but these words are in the present tense. I believe we can liken them to the present tense of Jesus' reply to the leadership in yesterday's reading: "Until now, the Father works and I work." This word may come in myriad ways; it is present to us, it reflects the One who sent Him.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man." Here is a puzzling statement -- one about the future, an hour that "is coming," and about the present, it "now is." Speaking of the dead who will hear the voice of the Son of God leads us to understand He is speaking of the final Judgment at the end of days. But there is also a present understanding here as well, the voice is present -- as it may still be "present" to us in spirit and truth, in any encounter. And we really have to ask the question as well, even in a spiritual sense: are there any "dead" in the world, who may feel a sort of spiritual death, and who may receive life from this voice? Jesus, who has been granted life in Himself, may give this life in many ways -- it seems a kind of open and endless promise. Nothing is given in measure to Him. As the Son of Man, God incarnate, He also has authority to execute judgment. As one of us, He lives so that we may respond in all ways He may reach to us, even as we live our lives in the world.

"Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." Here again is a promise about the final judgment, those who have already passed are also promised the possibility of hearing this voice, a judgment based on full knowledge of their hearts and minds and response to that voice -- which is the voice of love, and life. It is all a question of our response. It is also a promise for all beings, those living and dead, to all who lived before His presence incarnate in the world, and therefore even to all who may never have heard of Him.

Let us focus again on Jesus' statement to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, and understand today's reading in that context. He said to her, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Let us once again consider what it is to worship in spirit and truth. Note Jesus' consistency: here, He is also stating His mission as that which the Father desires. The One who sent Him is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. We have already considered these words in the context of that reading, and Jesus' statement that there is not one particular place in which to worship. But here, Jesus takes the meaning further, in teaching that these words defy not only place or space, but also time. They are a promise of a final judgment at the end of the time we understand now, but they are also words that are present to us -- here and now, just as they are a present promise to the ones to whom He was speaking in the flesh, the temple authorities. They are a promise to those who were dead, they are a promise to those who will hear this voice at the time of the final judgment. This promise lives to us, at all times and all places. And let us remember that to hear this voice is also an unlimited possibility in this sense: to worship in spirit and truth means that the potential for faith is not limited. The Father is seeking those who will worship in spirit and truth -- for the life of the world, the whole of the world and all that is in it. Life, the potential to give life, is not limited by anything in the Son's power that has been given by the Father. The Father seeks us all, everywhere, from all times. We have so many chances, so many choices to respond to this voice that is always present. Can we do so?