April 9, 2011

Read It:
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.

Reflect about It: Here, we also see people trying to arrest Jesus again. What would it have been like to be there? I think sometimes, we feel so removed from the passion. These days leading up to holy week are some intense ones, with lots of questions and accusations flying all over the place. This is some of the best reading around! No one wants to accuse Jesus, yet most seem to be on board for his crucifixion. Did they truly believe that he was the Son of God and just gave into peer pressure? How many times is this true with us?

Pray about It: Sweet Jesus, when I read this gospel, I see again that people are trying to accuse you of being doing something wrong and turning against you, the truth. Help me when I am tempted to turn away from you and give into the crowds to seek you again and again.

Live It! Challenge: Access the things that you do and see what the motivation is behind them.