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They Could Not Hold Him
Where We Are
We are in the Friday of the fifth week of Lent. Yesterday, Jesus declared "I AM" in the Temple and barely escaped being stoned. Today, the evangelist John shows the confrontation continuing as Jesus appeals to his works as proof of his divine identity and mission. The first reading from Jeremiah presents the prophet surrounded by enemies who whisper against him and plot his destruction, a vivid foreshadowing of Christ's own experience in these final days before the Passion.
The Word
Jeremiah heard the whispering of many: "Terror on every side! Denounce him, let us denounce him!" Even his trusted friends watched for any misstep. Yet Jeremiah entrusted his cause to God, confident that the Lord is with him like a mighty champion.
In the Gospel, the Jews again pick up stones. Jesus asks, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?" They answer: "For blasphemy, because you, a man, make yourself God." Jesus reasons with them from Scripture, but they try to arrest him. He escapes from their hands.
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Reflect
"For which of these good works are you going to stone me?" The question exposes a devastating irony. Jesus has healed the sick, given sight to the blind, raised the dead. His works speak clearly. But his opponents do not deny the works; they reject the identity behind them. The evidence is right in front of them, and they choose stones over belief.
Jesus offers a pragmatic path for the skeptical: if you cannot believe my words, at least believe the works. Let the evidence lead you where your prejudice will not. It is a generous invitation, meeting people exactly where they are rather than demanding what they cannot yet give.
Jeremiah models the same trust that Jesus embodies. Surrounded by enemies, mocked and threatened by his own community, the prophet entrusts his cause to God: "To you I have committed my cause." He does not retaliate or flee. He trusts the Judge who sees everything, even the hidden motives of his persecutors.
Jesus withdraws across the Jordan to the place where John the Baptist first baptized him. It is a return to the beginning, the place where his public ministry started. And there, far from the hostile Temple precincts, many believe in him. Sometimes faith grows more freely in the quiet margins than in the established centers of power.
Living It
When your faith feels shaky or your prayer life seems arid, look at the evidence of your own life. Not theory or theology but concrete experience: a relationship that was healed when you thought it was beyond repair, a strength that showed up when your own reserves were empty, a peace that arrived without any rational explanation. Jesus told the skeptics to believe the works even if they could not yet believe the words. That counsel speaks to us as well. Faith is not always a soaring feeling of certainty; sometimes it is the honest recognition that the evidence of your life points somewhere your doubts have not yet been willing to follow. Today, name one concrete work of God in your experience and let that evidence steady you.
Prayer
God of the prophets, you stood with Jeremiah when the world turned against him, and you stood with your Son when stones filled their hands. Stand with me when truth is costly. As Holy Week draws near, prepare me to walk with Jesus through rejection, knowing that your love holds firm even when everything else gives way. Amen.
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