 
# Journey- Lesson 33 It Is Accomplished

by Marcel Gervais, Emeritus Archbishop of the diocese of Ottawa, Canada

Nihil Obstat: Michael T. Ryan, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Imprimatur: + John M. Sherlock, Bishop of London

London, March 31, 1980

This content of this book was first published in 1977 as part of the JOURNEY Series By Guided Study Programs in the Catholic Faith and is now being republished in Smashwords by Emmaus Publications, 99 Fifth Avenue, Suite 103, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5P5, Canada ON Smashwords

Cover: ''Jesus rose from the table and took off his robe .. and began to wash disciple's feet." John 13:4-5

COPYRIGHT © Guided Study Programs In the Catholic Faith, a division of The Divine Word International Centre of Religious Education 1977. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.

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Contents

Chapter 1 The Farewell Discourses (13:1 - 17:26)

Chapter 2 The Death and Resurrection of Jesus (18:1- 21:25 **)**

Epilogue

Answer key to practice questions

Self-test

Answer key to self-test

Recommendations for group meeting on Lesson Thirty-three

About The Author

Psalm 122

A pilgrim, standing at the gates of Jerusalem, recalls the joy he experienced when he first set out for the Holy City. He praises her, because she draws all the Tribes together and unites them in giving thanks to the Lord. Jerusalem is both the dwelling-place of God (vs 9) and the centre of all the courts of justice in the land (vs 5). The psalmist accepts all the members of God's People as his brothers and friends. He prays for the peace and well-being which should mark the com munity in which the Lord lives (vs 9).

The prayer of the psalmist is like that of Jesus as he spends his last hours with his disciples (John 13-17). They are his friends, his beloved, the first members of his People, the new Jerusalem. He prays for unity among them and all future members of his Church; he promises to remain united to them forever. He commands his Church to live not by strict justice but by the love and forgiveness he brought her. He bestows his peace upon her and prays that she may enter into the fullness of his own joy.

**Lesson Objective** : To describe the Church founded through the death and resurrection of Jesus (John 13:1 -21:25).

In the Book of Glory (Chs 13-20), Saint John shares with us his most sublime insights. The "Eagle"* soars to great heights and he uses the best of his literary powers to share with us the magnificence of what he sees. And so it should be, for he is describing the " _hou_ r" of the Lord's " _glory_ ". To our surprise the vision he imparts is not only of the dying and rising of the Son of Man but of that for which he died and rose, that is, the Church. And what he describes is not the glory of the Church in heaven, but the splendour of the Church on earth. The new People of God is on the evangelist's mind throughout these chapters. Even his description of the death of Jesus is surrounded by rich symbols of the Church which is being born at that moment: the seamless robe of Jesus; Mary ice mother of Jesus; the disciple Jesus loved. The blood and water which flow from Christ's side are symbols of the Spirit who bestows divine life through the two greatest sacraments of the Church, Baptism and the Eucharist. So too, when John writes of the resurrection, he shows us the Risen Lord breathing his own Spirit on his Church: the Spirit of Love who imparts to her the power to forgive sins; the Spirit of Truth who enables her to profess her faith in Jesus as her Lord and her God.

If it is the Church he has in view when he describes the _"hour_ " of Jesus (Chs 18-20), it is even more clearly the Church he has in mind in the Farewell Discourses (Chs 13-17). In these chapters Saint John draws us into the circle of "friends", the circle of Jesus and his "beloved". Alone with those who are the Father's gift to him, Jesus quietly assures them of the greatness, the dignity that is theirs as his People. As we reflect on his warm and gentle words we become increasingly aware of the amazing confidence Jesus places in his Church, and as we come to realize this, we are overwhelmed at the extravagance of his love for her. It truly does appear extravagant. His affection, his trust seem excessive: while we know that all the disciples except Judas will prove faithful in the end, we also know that one will deny him, and all but one will abandon him at the hour of his death, and some will doubt that he has been raised from the dead. But the frailty of his followers does not in any way diminish the love he has for them. On the contrary, their weakness calls forth from him greater and greater assurances that he will not abandon them, never "leave them orphans".

*Since the first centuries of our era, certain symbols have been given to the four evangelists: a man for Matthew; a lion for Mark; an ox (or bull) for Luke, and an eagle for John. These are taken from the Book of Revelation 4:6-8 (see also Ezek 1:5-10).

As we can see, these final chapters are closely tied together by one theme, the Church. The first five (13-17) provide a commentary on the rest (18-21). Though the last chapter (21) is probe ably the work of a disciple of Saint John (Lesson 31, pp. 4-5), it nevertheless forms an integral part of the whole. It supplies a necessary instruction on leadership in the Church, one which is in complete harmony with the rest of the Gospel.

# Chapter 1The Farewell Discourses*(John 13:1 -17:26)

**Section Objective** : To describe the life of the Church and the duties of her members as taught in John 13 to 17.

Throughout these pages Saint John describes the Church by evoking the main teachings of the Old Testament on the People of God. As God chose Israel as his own People, saved them out of Egypt by a mighty deed, bound them to himself in the Covenant, gave them his commandments and promised them many blessings, so Jesus chooses the members of the New People, saves them by his death and resurrection, unites them to himself in the eternal Covenant, gives them his commandments, and lavishes his blessings upon them. We will now consider these ideas under the three headings of Election, Salvation and Covenant.

_Election_ : God chose Israel to be his own People. He took the initiative. It was not for any merit on their part that he " _elected_ " them from among the nations; he chose them out of love, and love cannot be explained (Deut 7:7ff). Jesus chooses the members of the New People (John 15:16) not for any greatness or special holiness they possess, but simply out of love.

God chose Israel to be a priestly nation, that is, not for its own sake, but to serve the good of all peoples (Exod 19:3-8, Lesson 5, pp. 3-6). Similarly, Jesus chooses the New People for the sake of the whole world (17:22; see 3:16).

_Salvation_ : God saved his People from slavery in Egypt and led them to the freedom of a new life in the Land of Promise. By his death and resurrection Jesus leads the New People from the slavery of sin and death to eternal life in God. As the People of old celebrated their salvation out of Egypt at the Passover, so Jesus accomplishes the final saving act at a Passover; and his disciples will celebrate their salvation at the Eucharist, the Christian Passover.

_Covenant_ : By the Covenant God sealed his choice of Israel. On Mount Sinai he bound his People to himself, assuring them that he would be with them to lead and protect them. The union with God achieved by Jesus in the New Covenant is such that God is not only with or among his People, but within them; God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, dwells in each member of the New People (14:17, 23). Union with God begins on earth and is made perfect in eternity.

The former Covenant contained commandments which God expected his People to observe (Exod 20). Jesus also gives commandments to the New People of God, all of which can be sum married in one: "Love one another as I have loved you" (13:34).

By keeping the commandments of God, the People of the Old Covenant were to be a witness to the nations, a sign of wisdom and prudence, a testimony of God's presence among them (Deut 4:5-8). The New People too are to be witnesses to the world by the love they have for one another; they are to be a sign of Christ their Saviour: " _By this will all identify you as my disciples- by the love you have for one another_ " (13:35; 15:27).

*This title has become customary in recent years. It is quite accurate, for these chapters con taint the final instructions of Jesus to his disciples. They are, in a way, his last will and test mint. They bear a resemblance to the last words of Jacob (Gen 49) and Moses (Deut 31). But these chapters could just as rightly be called the Discourses on the Return of Christ, because as often as he speaks of going away, Jesus announces that he will come back.

As it was by a sacred meal in the presence of God that the Old Covenant was concluded (Exod 24:1-11), so is it at a meal that the New Covenant is sealed (13:1 off). At table with Jesus the disciples eat and drink in the presence of God the Father with whom Jesus is one (14:10f).

The Covenant given through Moses was accompanied by many blessings (e.g. Deut 28:1-14); the New Covenant in Christ brings the greatest of all blessings, the Holy Spirit, with his gifts of peace and joy (14:26f; 15:11).

Note: These teachings on the People of God have been summarized in order to alert our readers to allusions in John's Gospel which, for lack of space, we cannot always point out in our commentary.

I am the Way (13:1 - 14:31)

**Section Objective 1.1** To describe the formation, the privileges and the duties of the Church.

Unless I wash you (13:1-38)

As we have already said p. 4, see Lesson 31, p. 9), the Farewell Discourses provide a commentary on the Great Sign, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. To introduce this commentary on the "hour" of the Lord, Saint John records an action of Jesus which serves as a kind of lens through which we can see the meaning of the Crucifixion and Exaltation of Christ. At first glance the Washing of the Feet appears to be no more than a lesson in humble service; on closer examination, however, it becomes clear that its significance is far deeper.

Saint John introduces the account of the Washing of the Feet with solemn sentences which recall the great sweeping movement of the Prologue (1:1-18): " _In the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh . God the only Son ever at the Father's side."_

Reading John 13:1-3

_"Having loved his own who were in this world_." " _His own_ " refers to his disciples. The entire public ministry of Jesus is described here as one continuous act of love: _"Having loved his own_ ".

_"He now showed his love for them to the very end_." Jesus reveals his love perfectly, fully, by laying down his life. The phrase, "to the very end" means both " _completely_ " and " _to the very end of his life_ ".

_"Fully aware ... that he had come forth from God and was going to God_ ..." This line describes the movement of the Word coming from the Father, becoming flesh and returning to the Father through his death and resurrection. Saint John places this line here as an introduction to both the Washing of the Feet and the entire Book of Glory (13-20).

In the passage on the Washing of the Feet, Jesus performs three actions: he removes his robe, washes the disciples' feet and puts his robe back on again. In order to understand the significance of these actions, we must know that in Jewish thought clothing represents the person to whom it belongs. When Jesus removes his robe, therefore, we are reminded of the Son coming from the Father and, as it were, laying aside the glory of his divine Sonship to become man. When Jesus puts his robe back on, we are reminded of his return to the Father and the glory he had before the creation of the world (1:14, 18; 17:4f). The action of washing the disciples' feet is symbolic of his death, the lowest point in the movement of the Son coming forth from the Father and returning to him.

Saint John further emphasizes the symbolism of the death of Jesus by the verbs he chooses to describe what Jesus does with the robe. If literally translated, the phrases, " _Jesus ... took off his robe ... Jesus put on his robe_ ", would read, " _Jesus laid down his robe ... Jesus took up his robe_." The verbs are the same as those used of the Good Shepherd who " _lays down_ " his life and "takes it up" again (10:11, 15, 17, 18). In the light of this, the robe takes on a second seem boric meaning. It represents not only the glory of the divine person of the Son of God, but also the human life of Jesus which he freely lays down and takes up again. If we keep in mind that the action of washing the feet is a symbol of the death of Christ, the several levels of meaning of the dialogue between Peter and Jesus become clear. On the surface, Peter is simply pro testing against Jesus humbling himself: " _You shall not wash my feet- ever_ ". But if we read his remarks in the light of the evangelist's symbolism, Peter's protest here is the same as his pro test against the death of Jesus in the other Gospels, when Jesus first announced that he would die (Matt 16:21ff; Mark 8:31ff). Jesus' reply, _"If I do not wash you, you will have no heritage with me_ ",• stresses the necessity of his death for Peter (and for all mankind). If Jesus does not undergo death, Peter will not be able to inherit eternal life with Christ.

The evangelist intends us to see even more in the words, _"If I do not wash you_ ..." The death of Christ is a " _washing_ " away of the sins which separate mankind from God. By the cross Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes away the sins of the world (1:29). By the cross too, Jesus forms a People whose promised heritage is eternal life in union with God. All who wish to share in this heritage must become members of his People by entering into the saving death of Jesus, and this is done through baptism. Peter, representing all disciples, must be " _washed_ ", baptized into the death of Jesus (see Rom 6:3).

Note: The use of " _washing_ " and, by extension, " _baptism_ " as symbolic of the death of Christ, is found in other Gospels. In Luke 12:50 Jesus refers to his death as " _a baptism I must still receive_ ". In Mark 10:38f Jesus asks the sons of Zebedee whether they are willing to lay down their lives as he will: " _Can you ... be baptized with the baptism with which I must be baptized?_ "

Reading John 13:4-12a

It is evident from his request to have Jesus wash him from head to foot, that Peter does not understand the symbolism involved. What he does understand is that he risks losing his relationship with Jesus if he resists having his feet washed. Christ's reply has nothing to do with any physical washing but with the spiritual cleansing of baptism: " _The man who has bathed has no need to wash, except for his feet; he is clean all over_." Baptism is a ritual. It is enough, therefore, that it be a symbolic washing; there is no need to turn it into an actual bathing of the whole body. The ritual bath of a part can signify the cleansing of the whole. The words of Jesus also imply that baptism is to be administered once, and not several times: "The man who has bathed (been baptized) has no need to wash." Unlike the Jewish ritual washings which could be done every day, baptism is received once only.

*The word which is here translated as " _heritage_ ", is rendered in a variety of ways by translators: " _nothing in common with me_ ", " _no part in me_ ", " _you will no longer be my disciple_ ". While these versions give something of the meaning of John's word (meros), they fail to make clear that what is at stake is the inheritance of eternal life with Christ. In the Greek version of the Old Testament, _meros_ is used to refer to the inheritance which the People of God will receive from the Lord (see Num 18:20; Deut 12:12, 14:27).

The phrase, " _except for his feet_ ", has posed problems for interpreters from the beginning. Most manuscripts contain these words, but some omit them. It is not possible today to know for certain whether they were truly written by Saint John. In any case, the interpretation offered by a number of ancient Christian writers appears as good as most modern ones: by baptism a person is made clean once and for all; the barrier of sin separating man from God is removed by the Sacrament. But personal sin can still soil " _the feet_ " of the baptized, and so these sins need to be washed away by the Sacrament of Penance.

After he washes the feet of the disciples, Jesus gives an explanation which provides still deeper insight into his action. Research has shown that among the Jews it was not normal for a servant to wash the feet of his master. The devoted student, however, might wash the feet of his teacher. The gesture, therefore, was not a sign of the lowly service of a slave to his owner, but a sign of the affection and loyalty freely offered by a disciple to his esteemed teacher. In this light, the words and actions of Jesus are startling: Jesus, the Teacher (Master), is exchanging places with his disciples.

Reading John 13:12b-20

" _You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Lord', and rightly so, for that is what I am._ " Jesus is the teacher, the Lord and Master of all. But he chooses to reverse roles, so to speak, to adopt the position of a disciple, a student, washing the feet of the "rabbis" he loves and admires. By washing their feet

Jesus demonstrates his affection for the disciples: he is devoted to them, he shows them the highest esteem. It is as if he places them on a pedestal above himself in order to teach them a lesson on their own worth.

" _You are to do exactly as I have done for you_." This command will be stated again and again in the following chapters in the words, " _Love one another as I have loved you_." As Jesus gave the disciples a position of great dignity by treating them as his superiors, so should disciples do to others? Love, then, is not only service, but any action by which the beloved is lifted up, given dignity.

The death of Jesus, symbolized by the washing of the feet, was not simply an act by which Jesus lowered himself, but one by which mankind was raised on high, lifted to union with God. Those who come to accept Christ's death and resurrection are exalted even here on earth to the point where they are one with God the Father and his Son: " _Whoever welcomes anyone I shall send (disciple) welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes Him who sent me_ " (13:20).

To conclude, we can say that the overall message of 13:1-20 is that Jesus, by his death, lowered himself in order to raise us up to God. The Son came forth alone from God, but returns to him in the company of all who are "his own", all whom he has drawn to himself through his lifting up on the cross (12:32). By his death and resurrection he forms a People to himself, the community of those who are washed by him that is, baptized into his death. These are given a part in his heritage of eternal life in union with God. This is the great privilege offered to disciples, but it is not without responsibility, for along with the great gift comes the duty of every disciple to love others as Christ himself loves them.

In the next passage, 13:21-30, the way is prepared for the remaining speeches of Jesus in the Farewell Discourses. And this is done by the departure of Judas, the betrayer. Once he has left, Jesus can give his faithful disciples the Good News he has for them.

Reading John 13:21-30

In this passage we meet the beloved disciple for the first time. He is closest to Jesus at table and Peter asks him to question Jesus on the identity of the betrayer. Through the beloved disciple Peter can learn the secret thoughts of Jesus. We shall frequently see these two disciples together in the remainder of the Gospel. If we take the unnamed disciple in 18:15 as the beloved disciple, then it is he and Peter who follow Jesus as he goes to trial. Peter ceases to follow Christ and ends up denying him (18:25ff); the beloved disciple, however, perseveres to the foot of the cross (19:25ff). On the day of the resurrection, Peter and the disciple Jesus loved run to the tomb together (20:1-10). The disciple allows Peter to enter first. Both see the empty tomb and the burial cloths, but it is the beloved disciple who first believes in the resurrection of Jesus. Again in chapter 21, Peter and the beloved disciple are found side by side. The disciple Jesus loved is first to recognize the Lord, but Peter is the one who acts. Peter's position as shepherd of Christ's flock is reaffirmed (21:15ff), but the favoured disciple is promised a future which is disclosed neither to Peter nor to the reader (21:20ft).

There is little doubt that Peter, as is usual in the Gospels, stands for the Twelve, the leaders of the Church (see 6:67ff). But who does the beloved disciple stand for? We believe it is best to see him as representing not the apostles, but disciples; not the shepherds, but the sheep. In modern terms, he is not the clergy, but the laity. We can probably be even more precise in defining those whom the beloved disciple represents: he is not simply the sheep in general, but the most faithful of the flock, the saints, we might say. The beloved disciple, because he represents the most devoted disciples, will serve as an image of all disciples in the Church when he stands at the foot of the cross (19:25ff).

Since the beloved disciple is present at the Last Supper, therefore, we are to understand that the words of Jesus are addressed not only to the leaders but to all members of the Church: to the Twelve and to all other faithful disciples. The entire Church is symbolically present to receive the final instructions of Jesus. This makes it clear that no disciple is excluded from the promises and gifts of Jesus, no one is denied access to his most intimate thoughts. The in heritance of eternal life is offered to all, without distinction of rank or office.*

Once Judas has gone and our Lord is left alone with his faithful disciples, he begins his teaching on the new and eternal Covenant. He gives them his commandment and reminds them that it is by loving as he did that they will become known as his followers.

Reading John 13:31-37

I am coming back (14:1-3)

We have seen that the Church is formed in and through the death of Jesus (13:1-20), that she is to live by the love he commands (13:34); now we come to the great privileges which she enjoys on earth and in heaven (14:1-31).

The section begins with a little parable, full of warmth and tenderness, in which Jesus reminds his followers of the goal of the Church, union with the Father. He likens himself to a man whose father lives in a splendid mansion spacious enough for all his son's friends. So, if he must now leave them for a while, it is only in order to return to the palace and make it ready for the arrival of his honoured guests. Though he is the Son, he takes on himself the duties of the servants and staff of a royal estate, and makes everything ready in his Father's house. When all is properly prepared, he will come back to escort them to his Father's home. And he will welcome them to stay with him, not for a short visit, but forever.

*This is probably why Saint John avoids the word " _Apostle_ ". Though he is fully aware of the existence of official leaders in the Church, he refers to all alike as " _disciples_ ". When he wishes to speak only of the leaders he uses the term, _"the Twelve_ " (see 6:67, 70, 71; 20:24). John takes for granted the necessity of leadership and structure in the Church, but he lays more stress on the important truth that all are disciples first. Some may be called to be official leaders and some to serve in other ways. But all are called to be _disciples_ , united to Christ and faithful to him

Reading John 14:1-3

This beautiful parable expresses the esteem in which Jesus holds his disciples (the Church). He thinks so highly of them, he so enjoys being with them that he will put himself to no end of trouble in order to have them at his side forever.

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (14:4-31)

The way to the Father is Jesus himself, not a set of impersonal rules and regulations, not even a series of commandments to be observed, but a person, Jesus. He is himself the Way to the Father. The Church will arrive at her goal, not by a list of truths but through the person who is the Truth. The danger always facing God's Church is that of reducing her moral teaching and her doctrine to principles and ideas. Her Way, however, can never be a mere code of ethics, her Truth is not concepts; her Way is Jesus, her Truth is Jesus. Furthermore, she does not walk this earth yearning for a life which lies far ahead; even now she possesses eternal life, for the One who is with her is Life itself.

Jesus is the Life because he gives knowledge of the Father: he who sees Jesus, sees the Father. Eternal life is that loving knowledge which unites the believer with God (see 17:3).

Reading John 14:4-11

Jesus reveals the Father; he is the Word made flesh, making God visible to mankind. To see Jesus, therefore, is to see the Father. If Jesus can make the Father known, it is because the Father and he are one.

Jesus goes on to assure his disciples that they will perform works (miracles and great public acts) as great and even greater than his own. Once his human nature has been transformed by his glorification, Jesus will release into his Church a surge of power so great that she will even outdo him in mighty deeds. Her power will be the power he has as the Son in his Father's glory.

Reading John 14:12-17

The prayer of the Church is like a command which Christ promises to obey: " _If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it._ " What the Church is to pray for must be in keeping with what Jesus himself would ask of his Father; her prayer must be in his name. If the Church expects the Lord to " _obey_ " her prayers, then she must obey his commands (14:15). The greatest gift the Church can ask of Jesus is the gift she will most assuredly receive, the Holy Spirit. Though the Spirit is no more visible in himself than the wind (3:8), and therefore can neither be seen nor recognized by the world, he will come to the Church and abide with her, indeed, will live in her: " _he remains with you and is within you_ " (14:17).

Note: Since the Holy Spirit is to be considered again in chapter 16, we postpone further comment until all the texts on the Paraclete can be examined together.

In previous chapters we have been told that Jesus grants eternal life even in this world (e.g. 5:25; 6:40, 47, 54). We have also learned that eternal life is union with God. Now, in chapter 14,

Jesus reveals in greater depth the meaning of this awesome yet joyful truth- the community of disciples is one with God on this earth. And it is not simply that God is with the disciples or among them; God dwells within them. The Father, the Son and the Spirit live in the disciples.

Reading John 14:18-24

On the last day, Jesus will raise all the just to eternal life (5:28); he will usher all the faithful into his " _Father's house_ " (14:2) where they will dwell with him forever. But now on this earth, while the Church awaits her entry into God's dwelling-place in heaven, God the Father, Son and Spirit, will make of her their dwelling-place on earth. The divine presence is more than a general one pervading the whole Church; it is a personal presence in each disciple who loves Christ and obeys his commands (14:23).

Disciples who are faithful, who obey the command to love as Jesus loved will not only be the dwelling-place of God on earth. As they progress in loyalty and devotion to Jesus, so will they grow in awareness of the inner presence of their Lord: " _I shall love him and reveal myself to him._ " The unbelieving world cannot see this self-revelation of Jesus (14:22); only faith and humble obedience to the will of Christ can make it possible.

The Spirit who is sent by the Father and the Son will be a teacher, reminding the Church of all that Jesus taught, and explaining his message to her (14:26).

Reading John 14:25-31

As the world cannot see or recognize the Spirit Jesus will send (14:17), neither can it know or grant the peace he gives (14:27). His peace, like his joy, is that intimate union with God which disciples enjoy on earth. The loving company of Father, Son and Spirit dwelling within disciples is enough to enable them to withstand any trouble, any difficulty they may experience on earth. While disciples will no longer see and touch Jesus in the same way his companions at the Last Supper could, they will be one with him, and that is the greatest " _peace_ ".

Jesus can say that the Father is greater than he (14:28) because, first, as a man he is one of the Father's creatures and less than God; secondly, though he is equal to the Father, his relation ship to Him is one of mysterious dependence, like that of a son to his father (5:19-20).

Practice questions

**1.** John teaches that the Church is formed by (choose the best answer):

a. the decision by Christ's disciples to be a community.

b. the command of Jesus which brings it into being.

c. the death and resurrection of Jesus.

d. the love which Christ's disciples have for one another.

**2** Indicate whether the following statements on the privileges of disciples are true or false:

___a. Those who are baptized into the death of Christ inherit eternal life.

___b. Every faithful disciple will have the privilege of a vision of Christ in this life.

___c. Those disciples who are faithful will begin to live in union with God at the resurrection on the last day.

___d. The greatest privilege given to disciples in this world is the indwelling of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

___e. Faithful disciples will enjoy an intimate inner awareness of the presence of Jesus.

___f. The final privilege of faithful disciples will be entrance into the fullness of union with

God on the last day.

**3** From the following statements choose the one which best describes the primary duty of disciples.

a. To pray as Christ prayed.

b. To perform even greater signs than Christ. c. To love as Christ loved.

d. To teach the truths revealed by Christ.

I am the Vine (15:1-25)

**Objective1.2** : To describe the Church and the necessity of membership in her as taught in 15:1-25.

This section of the Gospel speaks of the Church and of the persecution which she can expect from the world. Because the People of God are a visible society, they can be identified, and therefore, they can be persecuted. The more the Church lives as her Lord commands her, the more likely is she to be the victim of the hatred which he encountered. Jesus often warned his followers that they would suffer and even have to face martyrdom. Nevertheless, no amount of warning can completely eliminate the natural fear of pain and death. Some disciples will be tempted to deny Jesus as their Lord; others might want to hide their membership in his Church; still other may be driven to despair, interpreting their suffering to mean that Jesus has abandoned them. It is with these pastoral concerns in mind that we are to read the next section, in which Jesus teaches what the Church really is and how necessary it is for every disciple to re main a living part of her.

Reading John 15:1-6

_"I am the real vine_." The vine is a symbol of the People of God, one often used in the Old Testament (e.g. Ps 80:8ff). The People under the Old Covenant and under the New remain a visible society on earth, with leaders and whatever form of organization best fulfills their mission. It is necessary that the Church, the New People, possess some of the structures of human institutions. Inevitably, she will also have within her all the weaknesses, shortcomings and sins of her members.

Disciples of Christ who see only these aspects of the Church can become disillusioned and tempted to value their membership lightly. In times of persecution especially, such disciples will be inclined to disappear from view; they will attempt to justify their absence from the Church's gatherings, especially the Eucharist, by imagining that they can remain united to Christ privately, in the depths of their heart, without publicly taking part in her activities. These would be like Nicodemus, coming to Jesus only " _by night_ ".

Disciples tempted in these ways need the consoling and strengthening truth contained in the words, "/am the real vine." The vine, as we have said, is a symbol of the People of God. The " _real_ " vine is the People of the New and Eternal Covenant, that is, the Church. (For more information on the word " _real_ ", see Lesson 32, p. 12.) The sense of the words of Jesus, therefore, is, " _I am the Church_ ". The Church is not a "thing", an institution created by mere men; the Church is that human society which is mysteriously one with the person of Jesus. Anyone who claims to be a disciple of Christ must be a member of Christ's Church, a branch on the Vine. Apart from membership in the Church there is no discipleship.* The illusion of private, hidden discipleship is shattered by the words, " _apart from me you can do nothing_ "; the " _me_ " in that phrase is the entire Vine, at once Jesus and his Church. Those who claim to be disciples in their hearts but refuse to belong openly and actively to the Church are only fooling themselves, for apart from the Church they can do nothing of worth; they are lifeless.

*It should be kept in mind that this chapter and the others in the Farewell Discourses are ad dressed to disciples, not to the whole world. What is at issue, therefore, is not the salvation of mankind, but authentic discipleship: once a person becomes a believer, he or she is joined to the Vine and must remain part of it. Later in chapter 17 we shall see that the Church, like her Lord, is sent for the sake of the world (see 3:16).

Disciples who withdraw from the Church for fear of being burnt at the stake of martyrdom have a much worse fire to fear: " _If a man does not remain in me, he is like a branch, cast off and withered, which they collect and throw into the fire to be burned_ " (15:6). Harsh as it sounds, those who pretend to follow Christ in a hidden manner are to be treated as dead branches to be burned. Christ did not found the Church by his death in order to make of her an optional institution.

But what of faithful disciples? How are they to understand what is happening when they see brothers and sisters desert the congregation in times of persecution? Jesus teaches them that if they remain in the Church, they remain on the Vine, and are one with him. They will therefore be cared for by the Father as he was. The Vine is tended by God the Father: " _and my Father is the gardener._ " Persecution is no more a sign that the Father has abandoned his Church than it was a sign that he had abandoned his Son. The sufferings of the faithful only prove their living unity with Christ: " _any of my branches. ... That bears fruit he trims clean to make it bear more fruit._ " The vinedresser's pruning may be severe, but its purpose is to make the vine produce a more abundant harvest.

Neither is the fact that brothers and sisters leave the Church, for any reason, to be interpreted as neglect by God. The vine keeper not only trims away useless shoots from good branches; he also cuts off branches which are dead. Jesus, in his earthly life, lost disciples (e.g. 6:66). His Church will also see members fall away. The Father "cuts off any of my branches that does not bear fruit" (15:2).

The next section (15:7-17) makes clearer what is meant by " _bearing fruit_ ". To bear fruit is to love as Jesus loved. There are two stages in the process of love, both of which are implied in the imp age of 'bearing fruit". The first is to love the members of the Church, "love one another" (15:12, 17); the second is to love those outside the Church. In this second stage love within the Church reaches out to embrace new members; new disciples, indeed, are the fruit of that love which disciples show for each other: "I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will remain" (15:16). In light of this, the branches which bear no fruit and which the Father will cut off (15:2), are members of the Church who have no love for the others in the community. Not only do they fail to bring new members into the Church, but by their loveless lives they actually prevent people from coming in.

It is evident from the teaching of Jesus in the passage you are about to read that membership in the Church does not of itself prove that a person is a true disciple; the Vine can have dead branches. The authentic follower of Christ is a "branch which bears much fruit" by the love he exercises.

Reading John 15:7-17

" _My Father has been glorified in this: in your bearing much fruit and becoming my disciples_." Jesus glorified the Father by doing his will and laying down his life for " _his own_ ". When Jesus returns to the Father, the disciples will continue his work on earth. And so, after the ascension of Jesus, it is through the Church that the Father will be glorified. When the members of the Church love each other and draw others into this love, the Vine will be bearing fruit and glorifying the Father.

The love which Christians exercise on earth is divine in origin: it is the love which flows from the Father to his Son, and from the Son to his disciples (15:9). As Jesus' love for the Father showed itself in total obedience to his Father's will, so the love of disciples for their Lord will be exercised by obedience to his commands (15:10). It was fidelity to his Father's will that led Jesus into the joy of union with him, and it will be their obedience to Jesus that will lead his disciples into the same joy (15:11).

The love which Jesus commands his disciples to have for one another is much more than affection. It is in essence a deliberate choice to be obedient to the Father's will, obedient even to the point of death. If Jesus can command love at all, he can command the greatest act of love: the laying down of one's life (15:13). The command to love requires a disciple to stand ready for martyrdom. This is not, of course, to be taken as justifying a suicidal attitude in which disciples take unnecessary risk or actively seek to get themselves killed. But when the Church is being persecuted, and disciples are therefore being tempted to deny the faith, then they are to find strength and courage in Christ's command to love to the point of laying down their lives.

_"No longer do I call you servants ... (but) my beloved_ " (15:15)." Though disciples are subject to Jesus and expected to obey him, yet they are not slaves. First because he loves them, and loved them before they ever showed love for him (15:9; see 1 John 4:19); secondly, because he has shared with them all that he has learned from the Father. Disciples are not slaves; they know they are loved for themselves and not simply for the service they can render. Unlike slaves, they are not kept in ignorance of the reasons for their obedience. Jesus shares his knowledge with all his disciples (cf. Exod 33:11 and Wis 7:27).

_"It was not you who chose me; it was I who chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit_ " (15:16). Though these words apply in a special way to the Twelve, they are intended here for every member of the Church. All have been chosen by Jesus and delegated to go out and make other disciples. There is no human explanation for the choices Jesus makes, for his election of disciples reveals the mystery of divine love (see Deut 7:7ff). No member of the Church can boast of having gained or earned the distinction of being loved, of being chosen by the Lord; love has been granted to all, and it has been granted freely.

The final verses of this section describe the hatred of the world for the Church. We move from love within the Church, to hatred attacking her from outside.

Reading John 15:18-25

In itself the world's hatred does not prove that the Church is living up to the commandments of the Lord; nor does the world's admiration prove that the Church is watering down the demands of discipleship (see Matt 5:14-16, Lesson 28, pp. 18-19). However, whenever the Church is persecuted because of her fidelity, disciples are to know that their suffering is a share in the passion of Christ (15:20). There is no reasonable explanation for the hatred of the world towards the Church, just as there was none for the animosity which some of his countrymen felt towards Jesus (15:25).

"" _Beloved_ " is a more accurate translation than " _friends_ ". The context requires a more powerful word than " _friends_ ", for the disciples are those for whom Jesus exercised the greatest love; he laid down his life for them.

Practice questions

**4** Indicate whether the following statements on the Church as taught in John 15:1-25 are true or false:

___a. In times of persecution disciples are exempted from taking part in the activities of the

Church.

___b. When Jesus describes himself as the Vine he identifies himself with the Church.

___c. Anyone can be a disciple of Christ without belonging to the Church.

___d. Disciples "bear fruit" by loving one another and by drawing others into this love.

___e. To be persecuted for Christ's sake is to share in his passion.

___f. The falling away of disciples is a sure sign that God is punishing his Church.

**5** From the following statements choose the one which best describes the love which Jesus commands his followers to exercise, as taught in John 15:1-25.

a. Warm and sincere affection for Christ.

b. A call to seek out martyrdom.

c. Obedience to God even to the point of death.

d. Humble service of those in the community.

**The Paraclete (14:15-18, 26; 15:26 - 16:33** )

**Objective 1.3** To describe the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church as taught in the Farewell Discourses.

Our Lord's announcement that he is going away and coming back again runs like a refrain throughout the Farewell Discourses. He reminds them that he is returning to the Father so that the world will see him no more; but he will return to his disciples and they will see him again (14:19). He will reveal himself to them (14:21) and will dwell within them (14:23); they will in fact live with his own Life (14:19). So filled with his power will they be that they will continue to perform his mighty works (14:12). How is all this possible? How can Jesus be with the Father in heaven and with his disciples on earth at one and the same time? The answer lies in the Holy Spirit.

We have seen how Saint John constantly focuses our attention on the person of Jesus. He places Jesus at the centre of his teaching, whether it be on the Eucharist or on the Church. It is not surprising, therefore, that he does the same when he teaches about the Holy Spirit. All that he says of the Spirit he says in terms of Jesus. In order to make us see that the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit is the closest possible, Saint John uses a single title for both: they are " _Paraclete_ ". Jesus is the first and the Spirit is " _another_ " Paraclete.

"If you love me and keep my commandments,then at my request the Father will give you another Paraclete to be with you forever" (14:15-16).

What does this most unusual title mean? It comes from two Greek words: para (alongside) and kalein (to call). A Paraclete is one who is called alongside a person in order to be of assistance. The exact form of assistance varies according to the circumstances. If a trial is taking place, the Paraclete can be a witness testifying in defence of the one at whose side he stands. In other situations he can be a helper, an interpreter, a spokesman. The meanings which Saint John favours are those in which the Paraclete assists by giving witness, by being a spokesman, a consoler, or a teacher who reminds the student of what he has already heard and helps him to interpret it. We should not, however, limit John's teaching on the Holy Spirit to what is sung gusted by the title Paraclete.

John's principal concern is that we understand the Spirit in relation to Jesus. He writes in such a way that everything which is said of the Spirit is said also of Jesus: Jesus is the Holy One, the Spirit is holy; Jesus gives witness, the Spirit does the same; Jesus teaches and so does the Spirit; Jesus is the Way and the Spirit is the guide; Jesus is the Truth, the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Many more examples could be given. What matters is that the Spirit is to the disciples everything Jesus was to them before his ascension. Even more important, it is through the Holy Spirit that Jesus glorified becomes personally present in the Church and dwells within each Christian. Jesus comes back to his disciples through the Spirit whom he sends.

_"He is the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot accept since it neither sees nor recognizes him, but you do recognize him since he remains with you and is within you. I shall not leave you orphans: I am coming back to you_ " (14:17-18).

Jesus, the man who is God, returns to his " _beloved_ " through the Paraclete who is sent to be not only "alongside" the members of the Church, but "within" them.

We have seen in the previous lesson (Lesson 32, p. 34) how during his earthly life Jesus was as limited as any man in his ability to communicate with others. He was not able to give himself to every person on earth, incapable of uniting himself to everyone. But once glorified by his death and resurrection, Jesus, the man, enters the realm of God, of the Spirit, and is henceforth able to unite himself fully with every man, woman and child on the face of the earth. It is only by his death and resurrection that Jesus can send the Holy Spirit and through the Spirit he becomes present to all who accept him. And so Jesus must "go away" (die and rise again) in order to come back again through the Paraclete.

"Still I am telling you the truth: it is for your own good that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the Paraclete will never come to you;

_whereas, if I do go, I shall send him to you" (_ 16:7).

If Jesus does not go away, he will remain as limited and alone as the single grain of wheat before it falls to the earth and dies (12:24). But once his human nature is transformed, glorified by his death and rising, Jesus becomes the human presence of God to all his followers, and this takes place through the Spirit. In sending his Spirit, Jesus himself returns to dwell within his own.

In the remaining texts on the Holy Spirit Saint John draws our attention to two particular aspects of the work of the Paraclete: witnessing and guiding. Both are forms of the special assistance which the Paraclete provides in times of crisis. When the Church is suffering persecution from without, the Spirit acts as a witness; when the Church is disturbed from within, by disputes over the truth about Jesus, the Spirit acts as a guide. Both kinds of crises will threaten the faith of disciples.

Persecution must never dismay or confuse the disciples. When they are put on trial, judged guilty and condemned to death, they are to understand that they are enduring what their Lord endured before them (15:18-25). But the temptation can arise: What if Jesus was mistaken? What if he was wrong? What if Jesus is not really God-made-man? When such temptations occur, Jesus will send the Paraclete. The Spirit will testify to the disciples concerning the truth about Jesus ("He will bear witness on my behalf'} and will prevent their faith from being shaken. Thus the Spirit will make witnesses out of the disciples themselves so that they can testify to the truth.

Reading John 15:26 ... 16:4a

These words are addressed primarily to the Twelve who were with Jesus " _from the beginning_ "; they are to be his first witnesses. But these words are also meant for all disciples who are to carry on the task of witnessing. The promise of the Spirit is given to all who suffer persecution and are tempted to deny Jesus.

When Jesus was accused of sin and condemned, the authorities considered their judgment to be just. The disciples, however, know that Jesus was innocent and the judgment against him was false. When their turn comes to be tried and condemned, they too will become victims of the world's distorted notion of justice. When they are persecuted for the name of Jesus, the Paraclete will come to the disciples and make them see that the world is in error about sin, justice and judgment. The world was wrong when it condemned Jesus, and it is wrong when it condemns his faithful followers.

Note: The exact meaning of 16:8-11 is unclear. A mind as great as Saint Augustine's was thoroughly baffled by these verses. Our brief comment below does not pretend to solve all the problems posed by these lines. We hope only to indicate the general direction in which a solution to the problems might lie.

Reading John 16:4b-11

For Saint John and his community, the reason why disciples were being thrown out of the Synagogue was that they believed Jesus to be God (see Lesson 32, pp. 24-26). Their experience of being handed over to the " _world_ " (Roman authorities) by hostile Jews was exactly what Jesus had experienced, and for the same reason - the declaration of his divine Sonship. We believe it is against this background that the puzzling words of 16:8-11 are to be considered.

" _And when (the Paraclete) does come he will prove the world wrong about sin, about justice, and about judgment ..._ " (16:8ff). The Spirit will bring proof, not to the world but to the disciples. Acting within them, the Paraclete will convince them of how wrong the world is, first about Jesus and then about themselves. The unbelieving Jews thought it blasphemy when Jesus declared himself equal to God, and they accuse his disciples of the same sin. But the persecuted members of the Church will come to understand that the real sin is precisely the refusal "to believe" in Jesus, that is, in his divinity (16:9).

The enemies of Christ thought that they had achieved justice in putting Jesus to death; but it was precisely through his death that Jesus was able to return to his Father. By killing him, then, by the ultimate injustice, the powers of this world were unwittingly bringing about the greatest justice, his glorification. This is the true justice which the Paraclete will make the disciples understand. Should they be condemned to death, they too will go to be with the Father and Jesus their Lord (16:10).

" _Finally, about judgment- in that the Prince of this world has been condemned_ " (16:11). To the unbelieving world who condemned him, the fact that Jesus died was proof that he could not be God, proof that he was a blaspheming heretic. The death of Jesus appeared to vindicate the judgment passed upon him. But the Paraclete will reveal to the disciples how wrong the world's judgment was. The Holy Spirit will enlighten the disciples, convincing them that Jesus has triumphed over death and in doing so has conquered the Prince of this world. Satan can only rule over people who deny eternal life, deny any possible union with God in this life or after death; but his power is reduced to nothing in disciples who know that they have eternal life now and will enter fully into it after death. It is the Prince of this world who is defeated by death, not Jesus and his followers.

Whenever Christians are besieged by enemies from outside the Church, the Holy Spirit comes to assist them in these and many other ways. But he is also needed when the Church is being threatened by conflicts within herself. In particular, John is concerned with the disputes which will arise over the meaning of the message of Christ. In such times of conflict within the People of God, the Paraclete can be counted on to teach what Jesus taught.

_"But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you myself" (14_ :26).

The Holy Spirit is particularly important for the future life of the Church because of his work of teaching and "reminding". While Jesus revealed all to his original disciples (15:12), the meaning and the implications of his revelation were not immediately and completely understood by them. There is much more to the message of Jesus than the first generation of Christians was able to absorb. In fact, there were many things which Jesus could not explain to those who were with him before his death; it would have been too much for them at the time (16:12). Only after his glorification when he could send the Spirit of Truth, could he lead his disciples to a deeper and more complete understanding of what he taught.

Reading John 16:12-15

The Spirit of Truth " _will guide you along the way of all truth_." Jesus knows full well that the Church must probe his teaching and struggle to understand it more clearly as she interprets it for every generation on earth. He foresees the great problems which will arise as new insights are discovered and new applications of the Gospel are made. He assures his disciples that the Spirit will be there to guide them every step of the way, and that the Church, guided by the Spirit, will not begin to invent teachings which have nothing to do with Jesus; for the Spirit passes on to the Church only what he receives from Christ (16:14). The truths which his con temporaries could not yet receive, the "things to come" (16:13), will be made known to the Church by the Spirit at the proper time. Though the Church can expect conflict among her members over every new insight which the Spirit grants her, she can be confident that she is guided along the way of all truth.

The remaining verses of this chapter (16:16-33) bring us back to the theme of Jesus' departure and return. Though it is a sad hour for the disciples, it is one which will turn to joy. Jesus com forts his followers with the promise that the day will come when they will indeed understand his teaching. Even though he is leaving them, he will return to them and will continue to teach them in words more clear and definite than any they have yet heard. It is, of course, through the Spirit that Jesus will continue to teach his Church.

Reading John 16:16-33

Regardless of the turmoil they may face in the future, no matter if members of the Church abandon their Lord, disciples are not to be discouraged. No conflicts from outside or from within should dishearten them, for Jesus, their Saviour has conquered the world: " _In the world you find suffering, but have courage: I have conquered the world"_ (16:33).

Practice questions

**6** The literal meaning of the word " _Paraclete_ " is:

a. one who is called alongside a person to be of assistance.

b. one who acts as a witness for another.

c. one who teaches the truth about Jesus.

d. one who guides another through difficult times.

**7** Indicate whether the following statements of John's teaching on the Holy Spirit (14:15-18, 26; 15:26- 16:33) are true or false:

___a. Through the Holy Spirit Jesus can be with the Father in heaven and with the disciples on earth.

___b. All that John says of the Spirit he also says of Jesus.

___c. Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are "Paracletes".

___d. The Holy Spirit will safeguard every faithful disciple from error.

___e. The Holy Spirit will demonstrate to the world that Jesus is the Son of God.

___f. The Holy Spirit guides the Church as she probes more deeply into the meaning of Jesus' teaching.

___g. The Holy Spirit prevents conflicts from arising within the Church over the meaning of Jesus' teaching.

Father, Glorify your Son (17:1-26)

**Objective 1.4** To describe the unity Jesus creates in the Church as taught in John 17.

The Farewell Discourses come to a close with the prayer of Jesus (Ch 17). It is the most extraordinary of prayers, profoundly human in feeling, yet greater than human in mystery and power. In this one magnificent poem the entire Gospel is found, for it is the prayer of the "hour" of Jesus, the moment towards which the Gospel has moved from the beginning. It is a prayer in which time is suspended. Jesus is both on earth (" _while still in this world, I pray_ ") and in heaven _("I am no longer in the world_ "). He is with the Father and with his disciples, one with both. The prayer lifts time into eternity, for it is the prayer of Jesus being lifted up, drawing all men to himself and uniting them to the Father. It springs from the human heart of God as he saves us: " _Father, the hour has come_ " (17:1).

The prayer resembles the Our Father in many ways. In fact, it may well be Saint John's version of the Lord's Prayer. There is, however, one significant difference between the two prayers. The Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:7ff; Luke 11:1ff) looks to the coming of the Kingdom at the end of time. This prayer, however, dwells on the period of time before the end. In John 17 Christ is praying for his Church on earth as she awaits the coming of the Kingdom.

Jesus prays to the Father in the hearing of those at table with him. He expresses the total submission of his will to the Father, but at the same time he declares what he wills for the Church present in his disciples. In effect, he prays to the Father on behalf of the Church. What he asks is that during her time on earth the Church be given eternal life, in other words, that his disciples in this world be united to God. And he prays that they be so united to each other as they move through the centuries that they will reveal to the world their oneness with God.

Unlike most prayers uttered by man, the prayer of Jesus is not the expression of a wish, a hope that something will happen. There is not the slightest possibility that his prayer may go unheard, for whatever he asks of the Father he receives (see 11:42). His prayer is always effective. If we remember this, we can appreciate the entire prayer not as a set of petitions but as a series of promises. And so, what Jesus asks the Father to give the Church, the Church possesses. His petitions become historical facts: the unity he requests is always present in the Church and can never be lost.

The prayer of Jesus for the Church is always answered, but this does not rule out the possibility that some, even many of her members may at various times break away from her. Disciples abandoned Jesus during his ministry on earth; they will also abandon the Church even though Jesus is interceding for her from heaven. For this reason the words of Jesus in John 17 are not only a prayer to the Father, but also an exhortation to all disciples. Jesus foresees the dangers which the Church will have to face in her pilgrimage through time, and he urges every one of her members to remain faithful to the end.

Chapter 17 can be divided into three parts: in the first (17:1-8), Jesus prays for himself; in the second (17:9-19), he prays for the disciples at table with him; in the third (17:20-26), he prays for every succeeding generation of disciples in the Church.

The work you have given me to do (17:1-8)

In John's Gospel the work of Jesus is interpreted almost entirely in terms of revelation; it is a work of making visible Him who is unseen: " _No one has ever seen God ... God the only Son ... has revealed him_ " (1:18). In 17:1-8, three different expressions are to be found: " _Glorify_ ", revealing God's " _name_ "; and giving God's " _word_ ". Each of these declares the work of Jesus to be that of making God known to man.

**1.** _"Glorify_ ": to glorify God is to make him visible by acts of power. Now Jesus is the Word made-flesh. As Word he is the perfect expression of the Father; as " _flesh_ " he can be seen by man. Jesus, therefore, is the One who is able to make God visible most perfectly. He revealed the Father by his mighty words and deeds during his ministry. But these signs were all pointing to his greatest act, his death and resurrection. It is in this final act of power that Jesus glorifies the Father to the fullest and by this same act Jesus himself is glorified. In order to glorify the Father, therefore, the Son must be glorified (17:1).

**2**. Revealing God's " _name_ ": To reveal God's name is to reveal God (see Lesson 28, p. 27). Jesus is God, the Son made flesh, one with the Father. By revealing himself, therefore, by making known his own identity as the divine Son, he reveals the Father. In other words, Christ reveals God through his own person.

**3**. Giving God's " _word_ ": this is revelation through the teaching of Jesus. Jesus did not invent what he had to say; he taught only what he first received from the Father who sent him (12:49f).

We may summarize the meanings of these three expressions as follows: to glorify is to reveal God through acts of power, principally the death and resurrection; to reveal His name is to make God known through the person of Jesus, and to give God's word is to reveal him through teaching.

Reading John 17:1-8

The purpose for which Jesus made the Father known was that as man he " _might grant eternal life to all_ " whom the Father gave him (vs 2). In 17:3 the evangelist adds an explanatory note on the meaning of eternal life. Eternal life, he tells us, is knowing the Father: John uses the verb " _to know_ " in its Hebrew sense of the intimate knowledge which unites those who love each other, and so, he intends us to understand eternal life as union with the Father. But he insists that eternal life is knowing the " _true_ " God. This gives the verb " _to know_ " a slightly more Greek meaning: to know is to recognize something for what it really is; to know God, therefore, is to recognize him as he truly is. The truth about God has been made known by Jesus Christ, and it is in knowing the truth about Jesus that we learn the truth about the Father: _"And eternal life consists in this: that they know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, the one whom you sent_ " (17:3).

_"I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do_ " (17:4). By his words and deeds Jesus revealed the Father throughout his ministry. From the first his mind was set on bringing his work to completion (4:34; 5:36), and this he does on the cross; his last words are, "It is completed" (or " _It is accomplished_ ", " _It is finished_ ", 19:30). By dying and rising Jesus perfects his work of making the true God visible to man.

By his death and resurrection Jesus ascends to the Father and to the glory which he enjoyed as Son with the Father from all eternity. Jesus prays for the glorification of his humanity; he asks that he be made known as he truly is, the divine Son in the glory of the Father: " _So now glorify me, Father, in your presence with that glory which I had with you before the world existed_ " (17:5).

Until he had been given disciples who embraced the truth he had revealed, Jesus could not return to the Father. He had to have followers who accepted his word. Now, surrounded by his faithful disciples, Jesus is certain that he has before him the foundations of his People; they have accepted his teaching and the Church to be created out of them will be able to transmit the truth to all generations to come: " _For the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them ..._ "(17:8).

I pray ... for those whom you have given me (17:9-19)

Every faithful member of the Church has belonged to the Father from all eternity, and the Father has made a gift of them to his Son (17:6). It is for all of these that Jesus now prays. His prayer is that they may glorify him just as he glorified the Father. As Jesus made the Father visible on earth by acts of power and by his teaching, so now the Church will glorify Jesus, making him visible by her acts of power and by her teaching.

The Church will do the same work Jesus did and she will meet the same obstacles; she will do battle with the same enemy. Satan fought against Christ and he will likewise pit himself against the Church. As long as the Church is in this world, and she must remain in it until the end, she will find her members subjected to temptations by Satan, the father of lies. The most terrible of these is the temptation to distort the truth. Jesus foresees this; he knows that the greatest controversies in his Church will arise over the interpretation of the truth about him self and the Father. He is aware that the Evil One will attempt to lure members away from him and from the Church with whom he is one. And so he prays that all disciples be " _consecrated in the truth_ ".

Note: In John's Gospel the term " _world_ " always refers to creation as the dwelling-place of man. John, however, can give the term slightly different shades of meaning, depending on the aspect he wishes to emphasize. In chapter 17 he employs it in three ways: the " _world_ " as created in contrast to the Son who is uncreated and has no beginning (17:5, 24); the " _world_ " as the realm in which the Evil One rules over those who oppose Christ and his true disciples (17:11-16); the " _world_ " as the mission-field of the Church and the object of God's love (17:21-22; see 3:16).

Reading John 17:9-19

_"I do not pray for the world but for those whom you have given me_ " (17:9). As the Father sent Jesus for love of the world (3:16), so Jesus sends his disciples, the Church, for love of the world. But the Church's mission will be ineffective unless she herself is safeguarded from falsifying the truth she is meant to proclaim. Therefore, Jesus must pray for the Church; he must obtain for her the same fidelity to the truth which he himself enjoyed. Without this guarantee of truth, the Church can be of no service to the world. This is why he prays not for the world, but for his own disciples.

Jesus prays that his disciples will be able always to resist the temptations of Satan (17:11-16). During his ministry Jesus was attacked, especially when he publicly proclaimed the truth about himself (see Ch 8). His attackers were unknowingly being used by the Prince of this world, enemy of the truth and promoter of lies (see 8:44). The truth Jesus announced was that he is the divine Son of God, eternally alive with the very life of God, and he resisted any temptation to distort or veil this truth. When Jesus returns to the Father, he leaves the Church still in the world and subject to the onslaughts of the Evil One who will continue to press for the dissemination of lies about God and about His Son. Jesus prays that the Church may be protected always from the attacks of Satan:" _I am not asking you to take them out of the world but• to keep them safe from the Evil One_ " (17:15).

Eternal life, we have been told (17:3), depends on knowing the true God and Jesus whom he sent. It is not possible to know Jesus, the person, without accepting the truth about him. And the central truth is that he is God-made-man; from this flows all else that Christians hold. Now if the mission of the Church were only a matter of repeating and reasserting this truth as a formula, few problems would arise. But the fact which Jesus fully realized is that disciples would probe that truth, discover new insights and make new applications of it throughout the ages. In chapter 16 we saw how he promised to be with his Church through the Spirit to teach and guide her as she unfolds and develops the truth he gave her. The guarantee of fidelity given the Church through the Holy Spirit is repeated again in the effective prayer of Jesus, " _consecrate them in the truth_ " (17:17).

The word " _consecrate_ " means " _make holy_ ". God is perfect holiness; whatever is made holy, therefore, is somehow made to belong to God. In the Old Testament both people and things are consecrated. For example, priests are " _made holy_ " for the service of the altar (Exod 28:41); prophets are consecrated to proclaim God's word (Jer 1:5). Also things offered to God in worship are consecrated (Lev 27:28). John employs the term in both senses: to be consecrated is to be given a mission, to be "sent" to serve God, and also to be offered up to God in sacrifice.

Jesus is " _consecrated and sent into the world_ " (10:36) as prophet to proclaim God's word and as priest to offer the sacrifice which takes away the sin of the world. The word he proclaims is himself and the sacrifice he offers is himself: "I consecrate myself" (17:19). He offers himself up in sacrifice, making of himself both the priest and the victim (see Heb 9:12ff; 10:10). And this he does so that the Church brought into being by his own consecration may be totally dedicated to the truth.

As the Father consecrated his Son and sent him into the world, so the Son sends his disciples and consecrates them to the service of God: _"For as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world_ " (17:18). The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ; as Christ was endowed with the gift of fidelity to the truth of God's word, so the Church is likewise given the grace of fidelity to the truth. Her consecration is like his: she is set aside as prophet, priest and offering, like Christ her Lord.

To be consecrated "in" _the truth means to be set aside, made holy_ " _by_ " the truth and " _fo_ r" the truth. Saint John, who always puts poetry at the service of teaching, intends us to remember that Jesus is the Truth; he also expects us to recall that the Paraclete is the Spirit of Truth. In this way the prayer asks that the Church be consecrated in Christ, by him and for him. Because the Spirit is to the Church all that Jesus was to his disciples, we can also understand the prayer as asking that the Church be consecrated in the Holy Spirit, by him and for him.

Because the prayer of Jesus is always effective, the Church can rest assured that she will always be consecrated in the truth, always made holy by it and always fit for it. The prayer of Jesus guarantees the presence within the Church of disciples who will be ready to offer themselves up in sacrifice for the sake of the truth he proclaimed. There will always be members of the Church prepared to be made holy by the service of the word, and prepared to be consecrated in the truth by laying down their lives for it.

**I pray ... for those who believe in me through their word (17:20-26** )

In this section of the prayer Jesus looks to the future of the Church to the end of time. He prays for all those in ages to come whose faith will depend on the " _word_ " of the first generation of disciples: _"those who believe in me through their word_ " (17:20). What will happen to the Church through the centuries as she moves further and further away from the first disciples? Will her testimony grow feebler as she passes through struggle after struggle over the truth, forcing her to define and elaborate the simple message of her youth? Will the passage of time place later disciples at a disadvantage? No. In fact, disciples of all later ages will benefit rather than suffer from the struggles of earlier Christians, for their witness will become ever more powerful as each new generation professes the one faith, the one truth in all its timeless power. As the Father and the Son are one in proclaiming the same truth, so every generation of disciples will be one with every other in announcing the one truth. Their witness will become more convincing as time draws the Church nearer to her completion. The world will not be able to ignore such evidence; and those whom God calls out of the world to be disciples of his Son will come to believe in him because of the unity throughout the centuries which the Church will display.

Reading John 17:20-26

_"I pray ... that they all may be one, just as you, Father, in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us_ " (17:20-21). The Father and the Son are one because they proclaim the same truth; the Son receives the words of the Father and faithfully hands them on to his disciples (17:8). And throughout history each successive generation of believers will be united to all who came before because all will be announcing the same truth. The prayer is for unity in the truth. The word of the Father given to his Son will certainly be the word of the Church from the days of her first members to the days of her last, for the prayer of Jesus is always answered.

The Church's unity in truth is one sign which will lead people in the world to believe in Christ. A second sign to unbelievers lies in the glory of Christ which the Church forever shares: _"I have even given to them the glory which you have given me._ " Jesus shares with the Church the glory of his own divine sonship. This he does by the gift of eternal life to begin here and now; and eternal life is union with the Father.

The glory of his divine sonship, hidden during his earthly life, is manifested, revealed by his death and resurrection. It is by this event that Jesus is glorified. Therefore, in sharing his glory with his disciples he grants them the privilege of being glorified, of passing through death and resurrection as he did. Jesus laid down his life and took it up again in obedience to his Father's command; thus he testified to his unity with the Father. When the Church suffers, dies and rises to new life in her fidelity to Christ, she testifies to her unity with him: " _I have even given to them the glory which you have given me, that they may be one, just as we are one, I in them and you in me_." The Church manifests his glory in many ways; for example, whenever she dies to the ways of the world and rises to renewed life, whenever her members lay down their lives in martyrdom, she glorifies her Lord.

" _that they may be brought to completion as one" (_ 17:23). Jesus prays that the unity of the Church perdure, that she arrive at the end of time "as one". He wills that the last generation of disciples be one with every generation which came before.

The love of the Father for the Church will be shown to the world by the fact that he preserves her unity to the end of time. As we have seen, there are two aspects to this unity: all disciples in every age will be one in their profession of the same truth, and one in bearing within them the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. This amazing two-fold unity will provide evidence to the world that the Church throughout her history has been cared for by the Father: " _Thus the world may come to know that you sent me and that you loved them even as you loved me_ " (17:23).

_"Father, they are your gift to me; and where I am, I wish (will) them also to be with me, that they may see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world"_ (17:24). When her work is completed and her time on earth is finished, the Church will be taken into the heavenly presence of Jesus, and there she will see clearly the magnificence of his eternal glory.

Having prayed for the final entry of the Church into his own divine glory, Jesus turns back to the disciples in this world (17:25-26). He assures them, and through them all other disciples, that the Church was indeed founded on men who knew his true identity: "these men came to know that you sent me." And as he made the Father known to these first followers by revealing himself as the bearer of the divine name, so will he continue throughout time to reveal himself and the Father to his Church: "And I will continue to make (your name) known." Jesus was the Revealer to the Christians who came first and he will be the Revealer to those who come last. Throughout all the intervening history, the love of the Father for the Son will permeate the Church, for Jesus will be united to her, and in loving his Son, the Father will be loving the Church: "so that the love you had for me may be in them and I may be in them."

Practice questions

**8** The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is best understood when it is read as:

a. a promise of blessings for the Church.

b. a wish for unity in the Church.

c. a petition to the Father for the Church.

d. a commandment given to the Church.

**9** According to the prayer of Jesus in John 17, the two aspects of the unity by which the Church will witness to the world are:

a. unity in the love which disciples have for one another.

b. unity in obedience to Jesus' commands.

c. unity in the truth Jesus revealed. d. unity in the Holy Spirit.

e. unity in sharing Christ's glory.

**10** The unity of the Church will:

a. be a reality only at the end of time.

b. become weaker as the end of time draws nearer.

c. cease at the end of time.

d. last until the end of time.

# Chapter 2 The Death and Resurrection of Jesus (18:1 - 21:25)

**Section Objective** : To describe the Church founded through the Hour of Jesus.

As we have seen, Saint John wishes us always to view the death and resurrection of Jesus as one event. Though he is fully aware that Jesus died on one day, rose from the dead on another and ascended to the Father still later, he invites us to look upon these events " _from above_ " as it were, from the viewpoint of God where all these form the one saving act of the Word-made flesh. In these final chapters the evangelist keeps this unity in mind. In his account of the death of Jesus he makes us see something of the glory of Christ the King, risen and triumphant; and when he recounts the appearance of the risen Lord, he shows us the wounds in his hands and side.

This way of viewing the death and resurrection provides us with an important insight into the new People of God formed through the hour of Jesus. The Church is a society on earth, with a heavenly king, but a king who rules forever from the cross. The new People have a new kind of king, not one to be seen as gloriously reigning in such a way as to be totally and forever de tacked from human suffering. No, for Saint John the cross can never be forgotten, nor can the King be thought of apart from it. He who rules the new People of God, though he is in the glory of his Father, bears still in his body the marks of his death. He remains, as it were, perpetually in the hour of his death and resurrection, perpetually expressing his greatest act of love.

Many passages from Saint John's Gospel could serve as a reminder of the reality which underlies these final chapters. The Prologue (1:1-18) could be read again, or the introduction to the Book of Glory (13:1-20). But perhaps the most succinct expression of the sublime truths taught by all the events of chapters 18 to 20 is to be found in the conversation with Nicodemus:

"Now, no one has gone up into heaven

Except the one who came down from heaven -

The Son of Man who is in heaven.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that everyone who believes,

May have eternal life in him.

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave the only Son,

That everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world,

_But that the world might be saved through him_ " (3:13-17).

The lifting up of Jesus is the supreme revelation of the love of God for all mankind. Every single person in the narrative of the passion and death of Jesus is loved: Mary and the beloved disciple; Peter who denies his Lord; the leaders of the Jews who betray their heritage and claim Caesar as their king; Pilate, the Gentile, who refuses to recognize the "Truth" who stands before him; Nicodemus and Joseph, the timid secret disciples who bury Jesus, and even Judas, the traitor. All are loved by God, and for all of these Jesus lays down his life. Though all are loved, not all recognize that they are. But those who know the love of God revealed in the death of Jesus, stand before the cross as before the throne of God.

The Hour (18:1 \- 19:42)

**Objective 2.1** To describe the People and their King who rules from the cross.

The Arrest (18:1-12)

Saint John transforms the Arrest of Jesus from a simple historical account into a cosmic confrontation between God and Satan. Judas, whose heart is ruled by Satan (13:2), leads the forces of his " _Prince_ ". On meeting God in Jesus, the armed band is thrown into total confusion and falls to the ground. If they regain their composure and carry out their design, it is only by divine permission. And this divine permission is granted by Jesus himself.

Judas, under cover of darkness, leads a detachment of Roman soldiers and of Jewish police provided by the chief priests and the Pharisees. The irony of the situation is clear: with lanterns and torches they look for the Light of the World; with weapons they intend to take by force the One who lays down his life freely.

Note: In 18:5, 6, 8, the expression"/ am he" is in fact the divine Name " _I am_ " as in 8:24, 28, 58. In chapter 8 English usage allows a literal translation (" _I am"),_ but in the passage which follows our language obliges us to write " _I am he_ ".

Reading: John 18:1-12

Jesus is in total control of the situation. He does not wait for Judas and his crew to seize him; he goes to meet them and asks whom they seek. When they reply, " _Jesus the Nazorean_ ", he identifies himself using the divine Name " _I AM (he_ )". The power of the Name throws the armed band to the ground (see Dan 2:46; 8:18; Rev 1:17). Thus rendered helpless, they could have done nothing to prevent Jesus from escaping. But Jesus has no intention of avoiding or delaying the hour now that it has arrived. His only concern is for the safety of his disciples. He commands his captors, " _Let these men go_ ", and they obey. The whole passage illustrates not only the total freedom with which Jesus goes to his death, but also the power of the divine Name by which Jesus protects and defends his disciples (17:11-12; see also 6:37ff; 10:15, 27f).

The weapons in the hands of the soldiers and police are the tools of violence with which earthly kings, managed by the Prince of this world, defend their power and their territories. Jesus needs no such defence, for his power cannot be threatened nor his kingdom destroyed. But Peter has not yet understood. In his misguided love for his Master, he takes up the sword, the instrument of the Prince of this world, to come to the defence of Jesus. He cannot yet accept the fact that Jesus must lay down his life, and he therefore unwittingly finds himself on the side of Satan's forces (ct. Mark 8:31-33).

The New People founded through the death of Christ is a society of human beings on this earth. It will, therefore, be tempted to imitate the methods of the Prince of this world. Leaders of the Church, like Peter, can play into the hands of Satan by attempting to defend the Church, or even Christ, by violent means. Whenever this temptation occurs, they must recall the stern command of Christ issued to the first leader of the Church, "Put back that sword."

The Interrogations (18:13-27)

In the next scene Peter acts out the truth about himself without realizing it: at this moment he is not yet a true disciple; he is, in fact, on the side of the enemies of Christ. And so we find Peter with the soldiers and police who arrested Jesus; they are all together huddled around a fire to keep warm.

Note: Saint John has inserted the interrogation of Jesus by Annas between the first and the second denial of Peter. Thus we are to understand that the questioning of Jesus and the questioning of Peter are going on at the same time. This fact heightens the contrast between Christ and the leader of his Church.

Reading John 18:13-27

Peter is telling the truth when he denies being a disciple. Only after a profound conversion can he become truly the leader of the " _kingdom not of this world_ ". The day will come, however, when Peter will be able, like Jesus, to " _glorify God_ " by laying down his own life (21:19).

**The Trial (18:28 - 19:16a** )

Unnamed, unseen, the moving force behind the chief priests and their collaborators is the Prince of this world, who is a murderer and a liar (8:44). The leaders of the Jews have already condemned Jesus to death (11:49-53); now it is only a matter of getting Pilate to carry out the execution. They have their lies ready. They call Jesus a dangerous revolutionary, a threat to the authority of Rome; Pilate, the representative of the Emperor, must put this man to death, if only out of loyalty to his ruler. To carry out their plan the Jewish leaders are prepared even to pledge their loyalty to Caesar, the oppressor of their people. Their exclamation, "We have no king other than the Emperor" (19:15) is intended only as a ruse to sway Pilate, but in fact it makes clear that they are on the side of the Prince of this world and his earthly puppets, the Roman Emperors.

The Jewish leaders had no authority to carry out a death-sentence. The Romans reserved this power to themselves (18:31-32). For Saint John there is a providential aspect to the fact that Jesus must be put to death by the Roman method, for it means that Jesus will be raised up on a cross. This gives the evangelist the basic symbolism by which he interprets the death of Jesus as a _"lifting up_ " which is the beginning of the Son's return to the Father (3:13ff; 12:32f).

Reading John 18:28... 19:16a

The evangelist describes the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate with deliberate irony. Pilate is concerned about keeping order among the Jews; he is not interested in their internal squabbles. Yet from his lips comes the truth, first in the form of a question, "Are you the King of the Jews?" (18:33, 37), then as a statement, " _Look, here is your king_!" (19:14, 19, 21-22). Of course, Pilate does not believe that Jesus is a king, for Jesus is unlike any earthly ruler and his subjects are not behaving the way earthly subjects do.

" _My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world my subjects would be fighting to save me ..._ "(18:36). The Disciples of Christ together form a kingdom; they are his subjects. They live on this earth, they are in the world, but they are not of this world (17:14ff). They are not to act like the subjects of an earthly king, taking up the world's weapons of war to defend their leader. In fact, a distinctive characteristic of this People must be their refusal to kill, even in defence of their king.

Jesus, the Son of God, is indeed the King come to drive out the Prince of this world (12:31), the evil one who rules by means of lies and violence. Jesus advances against the enemy armed only with his absolute fidelity to the truth. The whole purpose of his coming into the world was to reveal the truth about God the Father, and to do so he had to make known the truth about himself: "The reason I have come into the world is to testify to the truth" (18:37). The truth is that he is God and this makes him King. All who are "consecrated in the truth" are his subjects; they are those who listen to his voice (18:37). By contrast, Pilate, while uttering the truth with his lips, is actually held so firmly in the grip of the father of lies that he cannot even hear the voice of "the Truth" _who stands before him_ (18:38).

Jesus, the King, allows himself to be mocked and slapped in the face (19:1-3), and takes no revenge. Refusing to save his life by denying that he is indeed the Son of God (19:7), he consecrates himself in the truth. It is for this truth that he is put to death.

In what is possibly the most dramatic moment in the Gospel, Jesus is dressed in purple, the imperial colour, crowned with a wreath of thorny branches and presented to the chief priests and temple police (19:1-6). In this scene Jesus is being subjected to a mockery of the ceremony whereby a new emperor was crowned with a laurel wreath, robed in splendour and formally presented to his subjects for their applause. Instead of cheers of "Long live the king", Jesus is greeted with cries of " _Crucify him_ ".

As Pilate presents Jesus to his accusers, he declares, " _Behold the man_." This simple statement has engaged the hearts and minds of saints and scholars over the centuries with the result that many profound interpretations can be given to it. We wish to point out here only the first of its many levels of meaning. The words of Pilate show his utter contempt for the Jewish leaders. He makes known to them that he sees through their false accusations against Jesus. To Pilate, Jesus is only a man, and a pitifully helpless man at that, certainly no threat to the security of the Roman Empire. For Saint John, however, Pilate's words are profoundly true, for Jesus is indeed " _the man_ "; he is the Son of Man, the human saviour who is the Son of God (19:5, 7).

The Enthronement (19:16b-22)

Though he is aware that Jesus is innocent, Pilate hands him over to be crucified. The Roman governor, however, realizes that he has been manipulated by the chief priests and so he plans a small spiteful act of revenge. According to Roman custom, when a man was crucified, the charge against him was posted on the cross above his head. Instead of writing that Jesus pretended to be the king of the Jews, Pilate writes the charge as a fact: " _Jesus the Nazorean the King of the Jews_ ". The insult to the chief priests is effective. They protest the wording, but Pilate insists, " _What I have written, I have written."_

For the evangelist the inscription on the cross is supremely true. Jesus is indeed King of the Jews, and as King of God's People, he is King of all nations. The fact that the notice is posted in Hebrew, Latin and Greek indicates the universality of his kingship.

Reading John 19:16b-22

In Hebrew, the sacred language of God's People, in Latin, the official language of the Romans, and in Greek, the language spoken throughout the civilized world, Jesus is proclaimed King of the Jews. Jesus is a Jew, the son of a Jewish mother. The blood flowing from his wounds is the blood of Abraham. He is a member of the nation God chose to bring salvation to all mankind (4:22). Now that through one of their race they have become a "blessing to all nations" (Gen 12:1-4), God's People must be made new and able to welcome into their midst people of every tribe, race and nation.

The New People (19:23-24)

Without a people to rule, a king is not a king. It is, therefore, to the subject of the new People founded in the hour of Jesus that the evangelist now turns. He does so through symbols. Ac cording to Roman custom the soldiers who carried out an execution had a right to the clothing of the condemned person. Both in the clothing of Jesus and in the action of the soldiers John see profound significance. As we have said already (see p. 6), in biblical thought clothing represents the person to whom it belongs. The clothing of Jesus therefore stands for the person of Jesus, not Jesus as he hangs on the cross, but as he will live in his disciples. Thus, the clothing is a symbol of the Church, the new presence of Jesus in the world.

Reading John 19:23-24

Many modern commentators hesitate to find meaning in the soldiers' gesture of dividing Jesus' clothing into four parts. It seems appropriate to us, however, to recall what some ancient Christian writers saw in the scene. The number four is to remind us of the four points of the compass, the four corners of the world. And the Church, the Body of Christ, is to spread to the farthest reaches of the earth. To this insight we can add that the growth of the Church will take place through Gentiles, represented here by Roman soldiers. The scene, according to this interpretation, becomes a dramatic acting out of the saying of Jesus that the grain of wheat must fall to the ground in order to bear much fruit (12:20-24).1t is by his death that Jesus is able to reach out to all men and draw them to himself; this he does through the Church, his living presence on earth.

John turns our attention to one very special article of clothing, the tunic Jesus wore next to his body. Literally translated, his description of the tunic would read, " _this tunic was without a seam, woven throughout from above._ " He intends us to understand that this garment was woven from the top downward, that the whole tunic was as though knit from a single long thread and therefore had no seam. There is meaning in every word of his description.

_"From the top_ " ("from above"): The tunic is a symbol of the Church formed not by human initiative but by God's.lt is from the Father, _"from above_ " that the Son was sent to grant union with God. All who believe in him are joined to God even in this world. As the Father is one with His Son, so the Son is one with his disciples. Together all make up an indivisible whole, the new People of God (17:21). The unity with God which the Church enjoys is a gift of God, not the result of man's efforts. The Church, like the tunic, is made one "from above".

_"Woven in one piece. ... and had no seam_ ": Unlike the Roman empire, a patch-work of nations held together by force, the new People of God is a unified whole. Though it stretch to the four corners of the earth, it will be one organically united body, for the entire Church is the new Temple, the Body of the Lord (2:21 f) of which the tunic is a symbol.

The soldiers divided the other articles of clothing among themselves, but, struck by the unusual character of the tunic, they decide not to cut it into four parts (19:24). Instead they throw dice to see which of them is to have it. In these gestures John sees the fulfilment of Psalm 22:18: "They divided up my clothes among them, and they rolled dice for my clothing."

*The symbols (the clothing, tunic, and the persons by the cross) are capable of many acceptable interpretations, all of which help us to grasp the deep meaning of this most solemn moment. It is not possible for us to mention them all. However there is one which deserves notice. The tunic of Jesus might be a symbol of his priesthood. This long robe woven in one piece could suggest the garment of the high priest, and so signify that in his death Jesus is not only the sacrifice but the priest who offers it.

Mother and Son (19:25-27)

In this passage and the next Jesus utters his last words from the cross. These are the most solemn moments in the Gospel and the evangelist does not fail to give them the depth of meaning they deserve. If John attaches such importance to the words of Jesus, it is because they are the words of the Saviour in his "hour". His statements, therefore, cannot be taken as though they were only those of a dying man; they are the words of the Son of Man raised up on the cross and already returning to the Father.

At the ordinary human level, the words of Jesus to his Mother and to the beloved disciple are readily understandable. They express the concern of an only son about to die asking his mother and his most trusted friend to care for each other. But Saint John intends us to see a much deeper meaning than this.

John chooses his words very carefully in order to emphasize the importance of what Jesus says. He writes that Jesus " _saw_ " his Mother and the beloved disciple, and _"said, 'Behold (Look, here is) ._..' " As natural and uncontrived as these words are, they nevertheless constitute a kind of formula of revelation. Old Testament authors write in this way when they want to convey the idea that a messenger of God is revealing the hidden identity or mission of a person (e.g. 1 Sam 9:17). In the New Testament only Saint John employs this formula (see 1:29, 35, 47). His explicit use of it here in 19:26f indicates that he wishes the words of Jesus to be taken as a revelation of the true significance of Mary and the beloved disciple.

In addition to being a revelation, the words of Jesus are also a commandment to the disciple. Saint John indicates that the beloved disciple understood them as such, for " _from that hour the disciple took her into his care_ " (19:27). It is significant that the evangelist does not tell us Mary took the disciple into her care. From this we are to understand that Jesus is issuing a commandment to the disciple, a commandment which flows from the revelation contained in his words. We will consider these words, therefore, in terms of the truth they reveal and the duty they impose on the disciple.

Reading John 19:25-27

The words Jesus speaks from the cross are solemn statements of what is brought about as a result of his glorification. Jesus reveals to Mary that the disciple is now her son, and he reveals to the disciple that Mary is his new mother. From the cross, the throne of the King, Jesus announces that a new state of reality now exists because of his "hour". Henceforth he will be in his disciples (" _I in them"_ , 17:23) and they will live with his own divine life (14:19). In other words his human presence on earth will be through his disciples. And he shows how real this presence will be by what he says to his mother and to the disciple: Mary is to find Jesus, her son, in the disciple, and the disciple, because he takes the place of Jesus, is to see in the mother of Jesus his own true mother.

The bond now created between Mary and the disciple is the strongest that mankind can imagine, the bond of love between mother and child (see lsa 49:14ff). With this thought in mind, we can proceed to consider the symbolism which is attached to the beloved disciple and to Mary in this passage.

The beloved disciple stands for every disciple, that is, every member of the Church. He represents each disciple by being the symbol of all that is best in a follower of Jesus: he keeps the commandments of Christ (19:27). Therefore, when Jesus tells the beloved disciple, " _Behold your mother_ ", he gives every disciple a last commandment; as King enthroned on the cross, he is ordering his followers to love his Mother as he did. The deep significance of this commandment becomes clear when we consider the symbolism attached to Mary.

Saint John makes mention of the Mother of Jesus in only two passages, at the Marriage in Cana (2:1-11) and here at the foot of the cross. In both places John presents her in the company of the disciples; in both he avoids her personal name but calls her " _the Mother of Jesus"_ , and in both he has her Son address her as " _Woman_ ". We can therefore assume that the same threefold symbolism which we found at Cana is also to be found at Calvary (see Lesson 31, pp. 22-24). Mary is the Church, Mother of all disciples. Mary is Israel, Mother of the Messiah. And Mary is the new Eve, Mother of all mankind.

_Mary, Mother of the disciples_. At Cana Jesus told Mary that his hour had not yet come; now, with his lifting up on the cross, the hour has arrived. At Cana Mary made a request of her Son, but here she does not need to ask him for anything since he is accomplishing all that she could possibly ask for. At Cana Mary was spoken of as simply in the presence of the disciples; here she is revealed as the mother of all disciples. She is the symbol of the new People of God, the Church. She who gave birth to Jesus in the flesh, stands for the Church who gives birth to disciples through whom and in whom Jesus lives in the Spirit. The love Jesus has for his Mother is the model of the love every Christian is to have for the Church.

_Mary, Mother of the Messiah_. Mary is also a symbol of the Jewish nation, the People God chose to bring forth the Messiah. She represents the entire nation, from Abraham onward, through whom God worked his salvation (4:22), for it was this nation that brought forth the Saviour of all. The command to love her is, therefore, a command to love the nation she represents, the nation which was chosen by God. Any Christian who despises Jews is despising her who is not only the mother of Christ but his own mother.

_Mary, the Woman_. At this final level of symbolism Mary stands for Eve, mother of all the living (Gen 2:23; 3:20). In her person all mankind stands at the foot of the cross. It was for love of the world that Jesus was sent to lay down his life (3:16). Therefore the words, " _Behold your mother_ " are a command to all his followers to love all people as he himself loves his mother Mary.

By way of summary, then, when Saint John writes, " _and from that hour the disciple took her in to his care"_ (19:27), we are to understand that the Hour of Jesus imposes on all disciples the obligation to show the same care for the Church, for the Jewish nation and for all of mankind as children show for their mother, the kind of love which our Lord himself had for Mary his mother.

It is completed (19:28-30)

Having given his final command, Jesus knows that he has now brought his earthly ministry to an end (19:28). There remains only one thing to do and that is to "bring the Scripture to its complete fulfilment". He does this by his cry of thirst and by accepting some common wine offered to him in a sponge at the end of a branch of hyssop. While this clearly recalls Ps 69:21 (" _In my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink'_ ), it appears that Saint John sees here a fulfilment of Scripture that is broader and more "complete" than that of one single passage.

Throughout his account of the passion Saint John has emphasized the kingship of Jesus and has presented his crucifixion as an enthronement. Time and again he has pointed out that Jesus, the Son of God, is in control of the events surrounding his terrible death; and even here in this passage he informs us that Jesus is "aware that all was now finished" and is consciously performing one last act in order to fulfill the Scripture. And this final act is a statement of intense human suffering: "I thirst".

Our evangelist is aware that his readers may believe that an agony so completely under control was no agony at all, that it was not a true human agony, Such an error would be fatal since it would lead us to doubt whether Christ was truly a man like us. The Lord's thirst is used by John as evidence that the sufferings of Jesus were real. Thus Saint John makes sure that our understanding of the passion is true and balanced. Though Jesus, as the Son of God, knew and understood what was happening and was even in control of events, as Son of Man he under went terrible agony. The suffering he endured is the "complete fulfilment" of Scripture, for all of God's servants who prefigured Jesus underwent suffering in doing God's work.*

Jesus must " _drink the cup_ " of pain and death which the Father has given him to drink (18:11), and his accepting of the sour wine is a sign of his full acceptance of his entire passion. Now he can utter his last word, " _It is completed (finished, accomplished)."_

Reading John 19:28-30

Throughout the Gospel Saint John has shown us that the motive which inspired Jesus was that of doing the Father's will, and of " _bringing His work to completion_ " (4:34; see also 5:36; 17:4). This moment of completion has now arrived. As he lays down his life out of love of the world, he is accomplishing all the Father asked of him, and so can exclaim, _"It is completed_ ".

" _And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit_ " (19:30). The Holy Spirit was bestowed by Jesus only after the resurrection, as John well knows (20:22); but he wishes us to understand that the Spirit is given through the " _hour_ " of Jesus and this " _hour_ " includes the death as well as the resurrection of Jesus. In order to bring to mind this relationship between the Holy Spirit and the death of our Lord, John described Jesus' very act of dying as if it were a granting of the Spirit. His phrase is explicit: " _he handed over the spirit_ ".

The Lamb of God (19:31-37)

On the Day of Preparation, the lambs for the Passover Meal were slaughtered in the Temple at about noon, the hour at which Jesus was condemned to death (19:14). According to Saint John's order of events, therefore, Jesus dies as the lambs are being slain. And like the lambs for the Passover, not a bone in Jesus' body was broken (see Exod 12:46).

A soldier, observing that Jesus was already dead, pierces Christ's side. For the Roman soldier this may have been simply a way of making certain that the man was dead; for the evangelist, however, it has much deeper meaning. According to Jewish sacrificial laws taught by the rabbis, the blood of a victim offered in sacrifice was not to congeal within its body. The priests were to pierce the heart of the victim to allow a quick and complete outflow of blood. So it is probable that Saint John intends to suggest that Jesus is not only the Paschal Lamb, but a sacrificial victim offered up to God. When John writes that Jesus' side was pierced "and immediately blood. ... Flowed out," he could be suggesting that Jesus is being treated as all victims of sacrifice were to be treated. His heart is pierced and at once all that remains of his blood flows out. The evangelist would thus be combining the ideas of Jesus as Paschal Lamb and Jesus as the sacrificial victim who takes away the sin of the world (1:29).

Saint John points out that water flowed out with the blood. The flow of water from the pierced side of Christ is a symbolic fulfilment of the text, " _From within him shall flow rivers of living water_ " (7:38-39). The water, of course, is an image of the Holy Spirit. Thus, once again the evangelist reminds us that the gift of the Holy Spirit comes as a consequence not only of the resurrection but of the death of Christ. Now that Jesus has "been glorified" (7:39) he can impart his Spirit.

*Saint John would be giving much the same message as Luke, who teaches that the Messiah had to suffer in order to enter his glory. See Luke 24:25ff, Lesson 26, pp. 22-23, 25-26.

The flow of water from the pierced side of Christ has even deeper meaning. But this has already been explained in our commentary on 7:38-39 where Jesus was described as the " _Rock_ " and the " _new Temple_ " (see Lesson 32, pp. 18-19).

The water and blood from the side of Christ also suggests the two greatest sacraments of the Church, made possible by the gift of the Holy Spirit, baptism and the Eucharist. The water symbolizes baptism (3:5-8), the blood the Eucharist (6:53ff; 6:62-64).

Reading John 19:31-37

Our evangelist quotes Zechariah 12:10 as being fulfilled in the piercing of the side of Christ. It is important to note the entire passage of Zechariah from which the line is taken: " _And I (the Lord) will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and prayer, so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born."_ Five verses later, Zechariah writes, " _On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness_ " (Zech 13:1). It is probable that John wishes us to see all of this fulfilled in the flow of blood and water from the side of the one " _whom they have pierced_ ". From Jesus flows the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins (see 20:22-23).

The royal burial (19:38-42)

Two secret disciples, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, find themselves brave enough to ask for the body of Jesus in order to prepare it for burial. The large amount of spices (about a hundred pounds), the choice of a new tomb and its location in a garden are all significant. Kings received such costly ministrations in death; and kings were buried in new tombs. In particular, the kings of Judah, it would appear, were buried in gardens (e.g. 2 Kgs 21:18, 26). Jesus who was enthroned as King on the cross is given the burial of kings.

Reading John 19:38-42

Practice question

**11** Indicate whether the following statements about the People and their King who rules from the cross are true or false:

___a. During his arrest Jesus uses the divine name " _I AM_ " to illustrate his total freedom to go to his death and his desire to protect his disciples.

___b. Jesus urges Peter to put back the sword because they are vastly outnumbered by the detachment of soldiers.

___c. Pilate secretly believes in Jesus as the Son of Man.

___d. Pilate's remark, " _behold the man_ " ironically proclaims the great truth of Christ's humanity.

___e. When Jesus says to the disciple, " _here is your mother_ ", he reveals that disciples are to love the Church, the Jewish nation and all of mankind.

___f. The kingdom of Christ begins with the end of this world.

**The Disciples Come to Faith (20:1-31** )

**Objective 2.2** To describe the faith by which the Church finds life.

In chapter 20 much of the material Saint John uses is part of the common tradition of the Church: the empty tomb, the appearances of the risen Lord, his commissioning of the Twelve, the gift of the Spirit for the forgiveness of sin, the doubting of the reality of the risen Lord. We have commented in some detail on each of these as they appeared in the other Gospels. We shall not restate here what we have already said (see Lesson 23, pp. 27-29; Lesson 26, pp. 18-28; Lesson 30, pp. 12-14). Instead, we will concentrate on faith in Jesus glorified, for this is the particular concern of our evangelist.

He saw and believed (20:1-10)

In the first section of this chapter, Saint John reports the various responses of disciples to the fact of the empty tomb. Mary Magdalene reacts in a natural, human way. When she arrives at the tomb and sees that the stone at the entrance has been moved aside, she fears that our Lord's body has been stolen. This is what she tells Peter and the beloved disciple. But when they go to look for themselves, they see evidence that Mary's conclusion is impossible. The burial cloths are still there, and in particular the cloth wrappings for the head have been care fully rolled up. Grave-robbers would have neither time nor inclination to take such pains. Thus, the passage establishes that the body of Jesus was not stolen.

What is more important, this passage presents us with the first act of faith in the risen Lord, faith of the sort that is asked of us who are not numbered among the first witnesses. The be loved disciple, without the benefit of an appearance of the glorified Christ, comes to believe. In this he is the type and the model of Christians in all ages to come, for he has "not seen and yet believed" (20:29).

Reading John 20:1-10

The beloved disciple runs to the tomb with Peter, arrives there first, but waits to allow Peter to enter the tomb before him. These gestures all point to this disciple once again as the model for Christians. Though his love is enthusiastic and his faith is greater than that of Peter, he defers to the leader entrusted with authority by the Lord.

**I am ascending ... (20:11-18** )

We can unfortunately only touch the surface of all the meaning contained in the beautiful passage where Mary Magdalene recognizes the Lord. She is one who loved Jesus in his earthly life, who had great affection for him as a man. As yet she has no faith in Jesus; she still thinks his body has been stolen. All she asks is to know where it is lying so that she can mourn over it. When Jesus does appear to her, she cannot recognize him. It is only when he calls her by name, as the Good Shepherd calls his sheep (10:3, 14, 27), that she realizes who he is. But even then, she wants to cling to him in an earthly and human way. She wants to keep him as her great Rabbi (Teacher). Noble and beautiful as her affection for the earthly Jesus may be, it is not enough to make of her a true disciple. She must come to faith in him as her Lord. This she does when she announces to the other disciples, " _I have seen the Lord_."

Reading John 20:11-18

John presents the encounter between Jesus and Mary as though it were taking place as Jesus is ascending to the Father: " _Jesus told her, 'Don't cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father_. .. '"The ascension of Jesus is the completion of his return to the Father which began when he was lifted up on the cross. His return to the glory of heaven marks the beginning of a new and mysterious union with him as the Son of Man glorified. Faith is the foundation of the new bond between the Christian and his Lord. Mere human affection for the man Jesus, laudable as it may be, can not be a substitute for belief in Jesus as the Lord. The scene with Mary Magdalene, therefore, reveals that by his ascension Jesus establishes a personal relationship with all his disciples, but one totally different from natural human ties, for it is a relationship with the Man who is now our brother more truly and profoundly than we shall ever be able to comprehend since, in him, we have become children of the same eternal Father.

_"But go to my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God_." It is by his ascension that Jesus, our brother in the flesh, establishes the New Covenant which makes of everyone who enters it a child of God. The message which Jesus asks Mary to announce is an echo of the Old Covenant formula, " _I will be their God and they shall be my people_ " (see Lev 26:12; Jer 31:33; Ezek 36:28). The words of Jesus declaring the New Covenant established might be paraphrased in this way: " _My Father will be your Father, my God your God, and you shall be my brothers and sisters."_

Peace (20:19-23)

Now that Jesus, the Lamb of God, has taken away the sins of the world, he proclaims peace. The barriers between God and man are gone forever. The promise to Nathanael has come true: the sky has been opened and the angels of God are ascending and descending upon the Son of Man (1:51). The union of peace between heaven and earth has been made. Having accomplished his work on earth, Jesus, who has returned to the glory which he had before time began, appears to his disciples and commissions them to continue his work on earth, to pro claim the peace which comes with the forgiveness of sins.

Reading John 20:19=23

Jesus breathes eternal life into his followers by giving them the Holy Spirit, so that they may take away sins or hold them fast. By giving them the Holy Spirit, Jesus endows his disciples with authority to forgive sins and to judge. He imparts the Spirit to the community of disciples, the Church (see Matt 18:18 and 16:19, Lesson 29, pp. 17-18, 22).

My Lord and my God (20:24-29)

When Jesus appeared to the disciples and showed them his hands and his side, they believed (20:20, 25). But one of the Twelve was not present at that time, Thomas, the one who had urged the others to go to Judaea to die with Jesus (11:16). He refuses to believe on the testimony of the disciples. Until he has both seen and touched the wounds of Christ he will not be satisfied that the One the others have seen is truly Jesus who had been crucified.

Reading John 20:24-29

Thomas does not have to touch the wounds of Jesus; sight is enough for him as it was for the others: " _You have believed because you have seen me_ " (20:29). Thomas' profession of faith is truly the climax of the Gospel. Having begun with the solemn declaration, " _The Word was God"_ (1:1}, the Gospel ends with the astounding proclamation that the Word-made-flesh is _"Lord_ " and _"God_ ".*

This sublime truth has been the subject of John's teaching throughout his Gospel. In his return to glory, the Word retains the "flesh" he became. Though glorified, his human body retains the signs of his death. Thus, the evangelist proposes to our faith the great mystery of the Incarnation as revealed most fully in the "hour" of Jesus, that is, in his death-resurrection. John wants us never to forget the cross of Christ in which his humanity is most fully expressed, never to separate the death of the Saviour from his resurrection. For the mystery lies in this, that Jesus was, is, and always will be both God and man; and that the humanity of Christ now passed into eternity is as much an object of our faith as his divinity. Further, John wants us, whenever we think of Christ, to imagine him as in the moment of his supreme act of love, in the "hour" of his dying and rising. He wants us never to think of Christ without the wounds in his hands and feet; never to think of Jesus glorified without the heart pierced for love of us, the side opened so that he might draw us into union with himself (12:32).•

When Thomas sees the risen Lord still marked by the wounds, and when he proclaims him to be _"Lord_ " and " _God_ ", he is proclaiming faith in the divinity of one who is obviously human. No greater act of faith could be made, and yet it is the act of faith expected of every true disciple to the end of time. The faith of disciples is not in some abstract idea, but in Jesus, man and God; it is faith in a truth that was lived by a member of our human race, one who shared our humanity fully and who continues to share it to the full both now and forever. By the proclamation of this faith, all the followers of Jesus " _honour the Son as they honour the Father_ " (5:23). In this way the promise in Jesus' words is fulfilled, for it is in his " _lifting up_ " that the truth about him is made fully known: "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM" (8:28).

The last words of Jesus in the Gospel are addressed to all of us who come to faith without seeing the risen Lord. Upon us he bestows a final blessing: " _Happy those who have not seen and yet have believed."_

The evangelist brings his Gospel to a close with a succinct expression of the purpose for which he wrote.

Reading John 20:30-31

_"Kyrios ("Lord_ ") translates the divine name Yahweh (Exod 3:14); theos (" _God_ ") translates the Hebrew word for God.

Practice questions

**12** The beloved disciple stands for all disciples who come to faith in the resurrection of Jesus without the benefit of:

a. the testimony of others.

b. an inner awareness of Jesus' presence.

c. external signs or evidence.

d. an actual appearance of Jesus.

**13** Thomas comes to faith in the risen Lord:

a. when he hears that Jesus is risen.

b. when he sees Jesus.

c. when he hears Jesus call his name.

d. when he touches Jesus' wounds.

# Epilogue: Jesus, Peter and the Beloved Disciple (21:1-25)

**Objective 2.3** To describe the leadership the Risen Lord establishes in his Church.

As we have said, Chapter 21 was probably written by a later disciple of the evangelist. He reminds us that there were " _many other things that Jesus did_ " (21:25}, more than could ever be recorded, but he was resolved that the things told in this chapter should not be forgotten. It is an account of another appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples, one that is important for its teaching on the Church and her leadership.

It is the Lord! (21:1-14)

In the freshness of early morning, a little group of disciples are heading their boat toward shore on the Sea of Galilee. They have spent the night fishing but have caught nothing. From the beach a man calls out to them, asking if they have had any luck. They do not know that the man is Jesus, but because of his presence their failure turns to success. And the story itself is transformed from a simple tale about fishing into a lesson on discipleship and a prophecy on the success of the Church in her mission to people of all races and nations.

Reading John 21:1-14

The abundant catch makes the beloved disciple realize that the man on the shore is Jesus. But Peter is not so quick to perceive; he has to be told, " _It is the Lord_!" (Vs 7). Peter depends on the beloved disciple's ability to discern the presence of the Lord, just as he had to rely on him to discover the secret thoughts of Jesus (13:23ff). This passage, therefore, provides us with a further insight into the relationship between these two disciples.

We have seen that the beloved disciple represents the saints in the Church, the men and women of exceptional love and faith. And now we can define more clearly the service he per forms. It is a service of leadership, different from that of Peter, but just as important. If Peter stands for appointed and official leaders of the Church, the beloved disciple stands for the unofficial yet powerful leadership provided by holy men and women, most of whose names re• main as unknown to us as that of the beloved disciple himself.

The relationship between these two forms of leadership, moreover, ought to be as close as that of Peter and the beloved disciple in this Gospel. Each has an important part to play in the direction of the Church throughout the ages; and each one needs the special gifts of the other. They should work together as Peter and the beloved disciple do in the passage we are considering. The beloved disciple serves Peter by his power of discernment, and yet he defers to him, for Peter is the one entrusted with authority by the Lord (20:5f). For his part, Peter must always be willing to listen to the beloved disciple and ready to be decisive action. In this particular scene, once he learns that the person on the beach is Jesus, he cannot wait to get to him. Leaving the others, he dives into the water and swims to shore.

Upon landing, the disciples find that Jesus has made a fire and begun to cook breakfast for them. In this little foretaste of the welcome Jesus will offer to his disciples when they reach the eternal shore, Jesus asks them to bring him the results of their work: "Bring some of the fish you caught just now" (vs 10). Once again, it is Peter who acts; the leader of the disciples hauls in the net filled with fish.

"When they landed, they saw there a charcoal fire, with a fish laid on it, and bread." John 21:9

" _The net (was) loaded with large fish - one hundred and fifty-three of them! Yet, in spite of the great number, the net was not torn_ " (vs 11).

It was believed by some ancient scholars that the varieties of fish in the sea numbered one hundred and fifty-three, so it is likely that the fish caught by the disciples represents the vast numbers of people from all nations who will come into the Church. So abundant a catch should have broken the net, but it did not, and this is symbolic of the unbreakable unity of the Church. Because of the great number and diversity of her members, it would seem that her unity could not possibly be maintained. But Jesus has given his assurance that the Church, like the net, will not break apart, but will remain one to the very end (17:23).

Feed my sheep (21:15-25)

Jesus makes provision for the unity of his Church by leaving her a leader like himself who will be the visible sign and cause of her oneness. He has already made his choice in Peter, but this man has renounced his discipleship, not just once but three times, that is, completely. Now he must make a fresh commitment. Jesus asks Peter to declare his love, repeating his question three times. Thus Jesus leads Peter to undo, as it were, the triple denial he made several nights before.

Reading John 21:15-17

As it was by a charcoal fire (18:18) that Peter rejected the Lord, so it is at a charcoal fire (21:9) that he is asked to express his love. With each profession of love he receives a command from Jesus: " _feed my lambs. ... tend my sheep ... feed my little sheep_ " (vss 15-17). He is to be the shepherd of the People Jesus forms. Peter is to see to all the needs of the People, both spiritual and material. This is the meaning of the Greek word which is usually translated " _feed_ " (vss 15 and 17). But the nature of Peter's leadership is further defined by the word we translate as " _tend_ " (or " _take care of_ ", vs 16). This word means "govern", " _guard_ " and " _guide_ ", so Peter's leadership is one of both service and authority over the flock of Christ.

Peter's model is the Good Shepherd himself. Just as Jesus fed his People both physically and spiritually (6:1ff), so must Peter; and as Jesus set no limits to his dedication to the flock, neither may Peter.

Reading John 21:18-19

" _What he (Jesus) said indicated the sort of death by which Peter was to glorify God_ " (vs 19). Peter's task of shepherding must be closely patterned after that of Jesus himself. Thus Peter will be given the honour of witnessing to Jesus by "glorifying God" as Jesus did. By his command, " _follow me_ ", Jesus calls Peter to total discipleship, to follow perfectly in Christ's footsteps by laying down his life for the sheep.

The disciples counted it a great honour to be able, like Peter, to lay down their lives for the faith. In fact, martyrdom came to be seen as a sign, even a criterion of sanctity, so numerous were the men and women who died in this way. Yet many obviously holy people were dying natural deaths, denied the privilege of being martyrs for their faith. One such person was the beloved disciple, and the members of the community were troubled: Was he not as holy as all those others who showed the perfect love Christ had described (15:13)? As the " _brothers_ " at tempted to come to grips with this " _problem_ ", they remembered that Christ had made a prophecy about the future of their beloved leader, just as he had for Peter.

Unlike Peter, the disciple Jesus loved was not to die a martyr. About him Jesus had said, " _Sup pose I would like him to remain until I come_. ..." (21:22). the " _brothers_ " saw in these words a prophecy which put an end to their concern. They took Jesus to mean that he would return before their leader died. And so they thought the beloved disciple would not die at all. This interpretation, however, turned out to be incorrect. At the time this chapter was written, the beloved disciple was either close to death or had already died. He had not been granted the honour of martyrdom, nor had the Lord come back. Their confusion remained. To put their minds at ease, the author of chapter 21 inserted the next passage.

Reading John 21:20•23

From the death of the beloved disciple the members of his community learned two important lessons. The first was that the return of Christ in glory was not to be as soon as they thought. The second was that a person could attain genuine holiness without dying the violent death of a martyr. And so the beloved disciple represents the many faithful men and women who are denied the privilege of martyrdom, the ultimate sign of love.

The Epilogue (Ch 21) closes with words very similar to those which end the main part of the Gospel (20:30-31). Both endings stress the impossibility of recording everything Jesus said and did. In the first we are told that the Gospel was written so that we may have " _faith_ " and " _life_ ". Now we are assured that these things were written by an eyewitness, namely, the beloved disciple himself: "it is he who wrote these things and his testimony, we know, is true."

Reading John 21:24-25

Practice question

**14** Briefly describe the two kinds of leadership in the Church: that which Peter represents and that which the beloved disciple represents.

a. Leadership of Peter: ___________________

b. Leadership of the beloved disciple____________________

# Answer key to practice questions

**1**. c.

**2** a. T

b. F

c. F

d. T

e.T

f. T

**3** c.

**4** a. F

b. T

c. F

d. T

e.T

f. F

**5** c.

**6** a.

**7** a. T

b. T

c. T

d. F

e. F

f. T

g. F

**8** a.(The Church as a whole is safeguarded from error, not the individual disciple.)

**9** c. and e.

**10** d.

11

a. T

b. F

c. F

d .T

e.T

f. F

**12** d.

**13** b.

**14** a. On Peter's leadership: Your answer should include the following points: Peter stands for the appointed and official leadership, whose task is to shepherd the flock by: " _feeding_ ", that is, seeing to the material and spiritual needs of those in their care; and " _tending_ ", that is, governing, guarding and guiding the People of Christ.

Your answer could also include: the task of the officially-designated shepherd is to be modelled after Jesus. It is a call to love Christ and be totally devoted even to the point of laying down his life.

b. On the beloved disciple's leadership: Your answer should include the following points: The beloved disciple represents the unofficial yet powerful leadership provided by those with the special insight and judgment which flow from their deep faith and closeness to the Lord. Their leadership is marked by a profound sense of obedience and willingness to co-operate with the official leadership.

# Self-test

**1**. From the following statements choose the one which best describes love as taught in the episode of the washing of feet (John 13:1-20).

a. To serve in such a way as to give dignity to the other.

b. To serve others as a slave serves his master.

c. To serve by humbly teaching the truth about Christ.

d. To serve by bringing as many as possible to the cleansing waters of baptism.

**2** In our commentary we have explained the robe which Jesus removes in order to wash the disciples' feet (13:1-20) as a symbol of which two of the following?

a. His position as teacher and master.

b. His glory as the divine Son of God.

c. His divine nature.

d. His dignity as the Son of Man.

e. His human life.

**3** Comment as briefly as possible on the following statement: "Saint John teaches that the Church does not need rules and regulations for the moral life of her members nor carefully defined dogmas, for Jesus has said, _'I am the way and the truth and the life'_ " (14:6).

**4** Indicate whether the following statements on the Church as taught in John 15 are true or false:

___a. Disciples are loved only when they are obedient.

___b. Disciples are made aware of the reasons for their obedience.

___c. The world's hatred means that the Church is being faithful.

___d. A person cannot be a true disciple without being a member of the Church.

___e. The fact that a person is a member of the Church means he is a true disciple.

___f. To " _bear fruit_ " is to love others.

**5** In times of persecution, when disciples are tempted to deny Jesus, the assistance which the Holy Spirit gives is best described as that of:

a. a consoler.

b. a guide.

c. a witness.

d. a judge.

**6** In times of persecution, the Spirit assists the disciples by helping them to:

a. strengthen each other.

b. be witnesses to the truth.

c. find peace in their struggles.

d. prove the truth to the world.

**7** When the Church is being threatened by internal conflicts about the meaning of Christ's message, the Spirit acts as a:

a. witness.

b. consoler.

c. guide.

d. judge.

**8** Christ's prayer for unity in the Church (John 17) assures us that Satan's efforts to make the Church stray from the truth will:

a. be only temporarily successful.

b. never cause members to fall away.

c. never disturb faithful disciples.

d. never be successful.

**9** Indicate whether the following statements on the witness which the Church gives to the world through her unity are true or false:

___a. The Church's witness will grow weaker with time.

___b. The Church witnesses to the truth that Jesus was sent by God.

___c. The Church's witness will never be threatened by the forces of evil.

___d. The Church witnesses to the world that the Father loves her.

___e. The Church witnesses by her unity in the truth.

___f. The Church witnesses that other religions have no value.

___g. The Church witnesses whenever she shares in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

___h. The Church, by her witness, reveals the love of God for the world.

**10** Which of the following truths about the Church is symbolically represented by the tunic Jesus wore next to his body?

a. Her mission to the whole world.

b. The unity she will always enjoy.

c. Her closeness to Christ.

d. Her sharing in Christ's glory.

**11** Which of the following does not distinguish the burial of Jesus as a royal burial?

a. The large amount of spices and oils.

b. The cloth wrappings for his head.

c. The choice of a new tomb.

d. The location of the tomb in a garden.

**12** Indicate whether the following statements on the resurrection/ascension of Jesus as taught in John 20 are true or false:

___a. The interior of the tomb shows that Jesus' body could have been stolen.

___b. Peter comes to faith when he sees the empty tomb.

___c. Mary Magdalene seeks the same relationship with Jesus as she enjoyed before his death.

___d. By his ascension Jesus establishes a personal relationship with all his disciples.

___e. Mary Magdalene's announcement, "/have seen the Lord" (20:18) shows that her faith is still inadequate.

___f. Thomas comes to faith after touching the wounds of the risen Lord.

___g. When Thomas says, "my Lord and my God" he believes that Jesus has passed from humanity to divinity.

___h. Thomas professes the faith expected of all Christians.

**13** The words, " _feed my sheep ... tend my sheep .._. "(21:15ft) which Jesus addresses to Peter signify that Peter is given:

a.authority over all other disciples.

b.a command to serve and govern the Church.

c. a command to serve, but not to have authority.

d.a command to lay down his life.

# Answer key to self-test

**1.** a.

**2** b. and e.

**3** Your answer should include the following: Jesus' words, " _I am the way and the truth and the life_ " do not mean that there is no need for moral laws and doctrinal principles. Rather, they are a warning to the Church against the constant danger of reducing her moral teaching to a cold, impersonal code of ethics and of reducing her truth to a list of concepts. Jesus is her way and her truth and her life, and all her teaching on morals and faith are to be related to the person of Jesus.

**4** a. F.

b. T

c. F

d. T

e. F

f. T

**5** c.

**6** b.

**7** c.

**8** d.

**9** a. F

b. T

c. F

d. T

e. T

f. F

g. T

h. T

**10** b.

**11** b.

**12** a. F

b. F

c. T

d. T

e. F

f. F

g. F

h. T

**13** b.

# Recommendations for group meeting on Lesson Thirty-three

**1.** _"Love one another as I have loved you"_ (15:12).

a. The washing of the feet (13:1-20) teaches that genuine love " _raises up_ ", that is,,gives dignity to the other person. Discuss love as it is practiced and spoken of today. How well does it compare to the standard set by Jesus?

b. Disciples are commanded to love the Church, the Jewish nation and indeed the entire human race (19:25-27). Discuss.

**2** " _Consecrate them in the truth_ " (17:17).

The truth we believe is expressed by Thomas in the words. " _my Lord and my God_ '' (20:28). Jesus, the Word-made-flesh is God and man. fully divine and fully human. Many disciples today reject the full truth of this fundamental article of faith. Discuss.

**3** In the Scriptures we have God's own revelation for the salvation of mankind. But many of the issues and problems of today are not directly addressed in the Bible, simply because the sacred authors did not have them clearly in mind when they composed the Scriptures. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to guide the Church _''along the way of all truth_ " (16:13). The Holy Spirit assists the Church in probing. interpreting and applying Jesus' teaching for every generation. Discuss.

**4** _'' I pray . that they may be brought to completion as one_ " (17:20.22). Though the Church has the duty of probing and interpreting the message of Christ, she remains always faithful to the truth he revealed. Her constant fidelity to the truth is promised and guaranteed by Jesus (Ch 17); this is what gives her the unity throughout the ages which serves as a sign to the world of God's own love and fidelity. Discuss.

**5** Jesus left the Church leaders to guide and direct all disciples. Her leadership is of two kinds. that which is official (represented by Peter) and that which is unofficial (represented by the beloved disciple). Discuss these two forms of leadership. How are they exercised today? Discuss.

# About The Author

Archbishop Gervais was born in Elie Manitoba on September 21 1931. He is the ninth of fourteen children. His family came from Manitoba to the Sparta area near St. Thomas Ontario when he was just a teenager. He went to Sparta Continuation School and took his final year at Saint Joseph`s High School in St. Thomas. After high school he went to study for the priesthood at St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ontario. He was ordained in 1958.

He was sent to study in Rome. This was followed by studies at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem. He returned to London to teach scripture to the seminarians at St. Peter's Seminary.

In 1974 he was asked by Bishop Emmett Carter to take over as director of the Divine Word International Centre of Religious Education. This Centre had been founded by Bishop Carter to provide a resource for adult education in the spirit of Vatican II.

This Centre involved sessions of one or two weeks with many of the best scholars of the time. Students came not only from Canada and the United States but from all over the globe, Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe.

By the time Father Gervais became the director Divine Word Centre was already a course dominated by the study of scripture to which he added social justice. This aspect of the course of studies was presented by people from every part of the "third world"; among which were Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez and Cardinal Dery of Ghana.

In 1976 the Conference of Ontario Bishops along with the Canadian conference of Religious Women approached Father Gervais to provide a written course of studies in Sacred Scripture for the Church at large, but especially for priests and religious women. This is when Fr. Gervais began to write Journey, a set of forty lessons on the Bible. He was armed with a treasure of information from all the teachers and witnesses to the faith that had lectured at Devine Word.

He was assisted by a large number of enthusiastic collaborators: all the people who had made presentations at Divine Word and provided materials and a team of great assistants, also at Divine Word Centre.

The work was finished just as Father Gervais was ordained an auxiliary bishop of London (1980). He subsequently was made Bishop of Sault Saint Marie Diocese, and after four years, Archbishop of Ottawa (1989).

He retired in 2007, and at the time of this writing, he is enjoying retirement.

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" to see other works by Marcel Gervais go to "www.journeywithbible.com

**"Journey-Lesson-34 Rejoice In The Lord** " is next in this series.

**JOURNEY** a series of 40 lessons on both the Old and New Testament

**"The Word Made Flesh** "- A commentary on the Gospel of John

" **The Teaching of the Church on the Bible** "- a commentary on the document "Dei Verbum"

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