On our journey together towards Holy Week and Easter, we accompany Jesus in his increasingly hostile encounters with the religious leaders. In today’s Gospel Jesus is responding to the religious leaders who did not understand him nor recognize him because he broke their religious traditions. Specifically, today they are upset because he cured a sick man on the sabbath (the Lord’s Day, the Day of Rest) and told the cured man to get up and carry his sleeping mat. Both curing and carrying a load were considered work that was prohibited on the sabbath day. From their point of view no one who had such a blatant disregard for the laws and traditions received from Moses could not be a good person, much less a prophet or the Savior. They want to know who he is? Why he has such disregard for the rules? Who authorized him to act in such a way? Who was his teacher? What possessed him to do such things?
Jesus responds by saying that he does not look for nor need their approval to act as he does. He points out that they look for approval from each other and not from God. Rather than defend himself, Jesus says there is another who gives testimony about him. Jesus offers three witnesses in favor of who he is: his works (miracles), God the Father’s presence, and the Word of God. Jesus points out that the rabbis should be well versed in the Word of God and so be able to see that Moses pointed to the person of Jesus. Jesus’ words are a scathing reproach against the leaders who missed the whole point of their religious traditions. They missed the boat as far as recognizing the action of God in their lives and the presence of the Savior.
It is important for us as Christians in our society to have our lives centered on the person of Jesus and give clear witness with our lives to that faith. Each one of us personally with our own lives and as a community of faith form what is the witness that points to who Jesus is. Our conversion and the witness of our lives could be seen one more witness to add to Jesus’ list of three witnesses. If we reduce our lives to looking for approval from others, praise from others, or just following a set of moral rules, we become like the religious folks who failed to see the Savior in their midst.
In this time of journeying together in hope, ask yourself if you are that “other” who testifies on behalf of the Risen Lord with your life.
If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
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