Bible in 90 Days

Footnotes

1. John 6:1 The Jewish Passover is near at hand, and with it the days on which unleavened bread is eaten as a sign of renewal; the action also recalls the manna that fed the Hebrews in the wilderness. It is in this context that the evangelist places Jesus’ act of feeding the hungry crowd. The whole action is a sign and foreshadowing of a new Passover and a true life-giving food. Jesus himself, in his person, is the bread of life that God offers to humanity. In order to receive this bread that makes a person live forever, one must believe in the Word.
2. John 6:1 This is one of the rare passages in which all four Gospels are clearly parallel. At this point, John introduces the discourse on the bread of life. The sign of the loaves is seen as a symbol of the food given to mankind in the Word of God and especially in the Eucharist.
3. John 6:7 Two hundred days’ wages: literally: two hundred denarii. A denarius was the average wage for a day’s work (see Mt 20:2).
4. John 6:16 This account is connected with the preceding passage in the oldest tradition. Like the miracle of the loaves, it shows the absolute mastery Jesus exercises over creatures. For the disciples it is an invitation to believe without reserve: with Jesus present, they will lack nothing, and nothing can put them in peril.
5. John 6:20 It is I: literally, “I AM,” the formula that reveals the name of the Lord in the Old Testament (see Ex 3:14; Isa 41:4, 10, 14; 43:1-3, 10, 13). Hence, the evangelist is alluding to Jesus as the Son of God. See note on Jn 4:26.
6. John 6:22 Jesus’ gestures and actions are always signs of God; in them is expressed something of the mystery of Christ. Thus, the fourth evangelist places on the lips of Jesus a discourse that unveils the mystery. Here, then, is the deep meaning of the miracle of the loaves: Jesus is the Messenger of God, the true Bread handed over to gain life with God for the whole world.

   ²² 
   Thus, it is announced that the words of Jesus are food for people, and that the life of Jesus is given on the cross for the salvation of all. But the Christian addressees of the fourth Gospel could not read this discourse without interpreting it as already announcing the rite inaugurated at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26), the Eucharist, memorial of the body handed over, of the blood shed, of the sacrifice of the cross.
   Therefore, this discourse can be read on two levels. The author of the Gospel certainly wanted it so read: the word of God instructs one in the ways of God and the word of God is the bread of life that nourishes the spiritual hunger of God’s people.

7. John 6:22 There is a hunger for everlasting life, a hunger for God! And there is a bread of God, a food that gives everlasting life to those who believe in Jesus. The miracle of the manna was a symbol of this food (Ex 16:4, 13-15).
8. John 6:31 Bread from heaven: see Ex 16:4, 15, 32-34; Ps 78:24. There was a belief that the manna had been hidden by Jeremiah (see 2 Mac 2:5-8) and would reappear at Passover in Messianic times.
9. John 6:34 Jesus makes an astonishing affirmation: there is a Bread of God for us, and it is a person. Jesus himself fulfills his Father’s plan for us; in Jesus, God is present so that we may have true life. To receive God’s Bread is to believe in Jesus and accept him as the Son of God to receive through him the life his Father intends for us. What an astonishing gift! Jesus does not allow himself to be worshiped as a god or a hero; he says of himself that he came to satisfy the hunger of people and to fulfill our life. Every other food is only a diversion for our essential hunger. Jesus is the Bread that satisfies this hunger.
10. John 6:35 I am . . . : this is the first of seven self-descriptions of Jesus introduced by “I am” (see Jn 8:12; and 9:5; 10:7, 9; 10:11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5). These echo Ex 3:14 (see notes on Jn 4:26 and 6:20).
11. John 6:41 During the period in the wilderness, the Hebrews doubted the Lord and “grumbled” against him; the memory of this had remained as a warning for all time (see Ex 16; Num 11; Ps 106:25).
    When the fourth Gospel speaks of “the Jews,” the reference is to this mentality, this attitude of rejection, rather than to people as a whole or even to their leaders.
12. John 6:48 In what sense does Jesus do the Father’s will? By giving his life. He does not use the word “sacrifice,” but the terms “flesh” and “blood” express that idea in a very realistic way. In this gift, the life of the Father is given to human beings and becomes their everlasting life. That is a strong statement, and yet the objection of the Jews, who take it in the most material sense, does not lead to any toning down of it. On the contrary!
13. John 6:59 After the success of the multiplication of loaves, scandal arises. The “flesh” (v. 63)—that is, people with their petty desires and thoughts—could not but be shocked by a revelation as absolute as the one they have just heard (that Jesus is the living Bread come down from heaven). Many of his disciples as well as some other people stopped following him, and Judas was already thinking of handing him over.
    Only the Spirit gives people the will to believe that the Father speaks in Jesus. It is the Spirit who inspires Peter’s profession of faith (see Mt 16:16; Mk 8:29; Lk 9:20). But the Spirit would not be given in fullness until after Jesus’ Resurrection (see Jn 7:39).
    In regard to Jesus, there is a division among the people. This division and Peter’s profession of faith mark a parting of the ways in the life of Jesus. The time of revelation to the disciples has begun and from now on the conflict with the official religion will develop irreconcilably.
14. John 6:63 Flesh: the human being with its desires and thoughts.
15. John 7:1 The feast of Tabernacles, one of the most important Jewish solemnities, was a harvest festival. There was also a commemoration of the miraculous deeds that God had done for his people in the wilderness, with a joyous feast of lamps, a festival of lights. The feast was the ideal setting in which to present Christ as the Word of God who had come to enlighten and save everyone.
16. John 7:1 From now on the threat of death hangs over Jesus and creates tension for him. The tension has to be relieved as quickly as possible. A gathering of people in Jerusalem would be a good occasion for rallying them and neutralizing the adversaries. An impressive public manifestation by Jesus would also be helpful; people would at least know what to make of him. So reason the “brethren” of Jesus—that is, the relatives if not the disciples.
    But these perspectives of glory have no hold on Jesus. He has come to fulfill God’s plan; this is not the same as looking for a temporary success. He also has come to turn back the course of evil, falsehood, and hatred in the world. Jesus overcame the hatred of the world by handing himself over to it.
17. John 7:3 Brethren: i.e., according to Hebrew idiom, close relatives. See note on Mt 12:46.
18. John 7:14 Personal success is never the motive for an action of Jesus. His words and his miracles testify that he is the messenger of the Father. Jesus lives by this testimony, of which he is convinced, and does not defend any doctrine of a school or group; one care alone impels him: that the Father’s plan for us be recognized and fulfilled.
    Only those will understand Jesus who take the Law seriously in its deep inspiration and know the price of fidelity to God. But those who accuse Jesus of violating the Law and take upon themselves the authority to condemn him fail to recognize him.
19. John 7:15 The people want to know how Jesus can teach like a rabbi, when he was never trained by one and never quotes his teacher.
20. John 7:21 A single work: the work of which Jesus speaks may be the cure of the paralytic that is recounted in Jn 5:1-15.
21. John 7:25 The new prophet intrigues the people. He is one of theirs, yet claims an origin that does not cease to be mysterious. Some of the people are tempted to recognize him as the Messiah. The official authorities rebel against this temptation and want him arrested. In veiled words, Jesus announces his return to the Father (vv. 33-34). The authorities see this as an attempt to flee Palestine.
    In all these contrasts there is perhaps some irony. Jesus escapes the people who want to place him in their preconceived ideas, just as he escapes the people who want to lay hands on him. Jesus can be talked about endlessly; it is quite another thing to accept his mystery.
22. John 7:37 The last day was for the pilgrims a festival of water. How many symbolic meanings water evokes! Water had flowed miraculously from the rock in the midst of the wilderness to slake the thirst of the Hebrews (Ex 17:1-7). The Prophets had foretold a spring that would some day open in the midst of the people (Ezek 47:1; Zec 14:8). In all areas affected by drought, water is a sign of life and joy; it is a gift of God. Christians think of Pentecost and Baptism.
23. John 7:37 An alternative reading and translation is: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As Scripture has said. . . .” In this second reading, the Scripture passage refers to Jesus and not to the believer. See Ps 105:41; Isa 44:3; 48:21; Ezek 36:25; Joel 3:1; etc.
24. John 7:40 The upper class felt only contempt for the ordinary people. How could one accept a Messiah who came from distant Galilee, where Jews mingled with Gentiles and were cut off from the heart of Jewish life? Some justified their rejection by citing passages of the Law, but there were others who appealed to the spirit of the Law.
25. John 7:53 This story is missing in a number of ancient manuscripts and is inserted at other points in others; it does not seem to be from the author of the fourth Gospel, for it is written in quite a different style. However, it has been accepted by the Church as the work of an inspired author.
    We are struck by the portrait of Jesus found herein: his silence, his sober gesture, his refusal to use religion as a pretext to spy on and judge others, and his courage to proclaim his own truth. It is pointless to ask what he wrote on the ground. Let us dwell on what he considered the Law to be: it condemns sin not so that people may judge one another but so that they may feel the need to be saved by God. And it is to this salvation that he bears witness.
26. John 8:4 Caught in the very act of adultery: Jewish law required witnesses to have seen the act.
27. John 8:5 Stone such women: stoning was required only if the woman was a betrothed virgin (Deut 22:23-24). The Law also demanded the execution of both parties (Lev 20:10; Deut 22:22).
28. John 8:7 The Law stipulated that the first stones were to be cast by the witnesses (Deut 17:7).
29. John 8:12 Here is another symbol, which has the feast of Lights for its setting and enables us to understand more fully the part Jesus intends to play in the life of human beings: he is light. We may think of the luminous cloud during the journey in the wilderness (see Ex 13:21; Wis 18:3), the form in which God was leading his people.
30. John 8:12 I am: see notes on Jn 6:20 and 6:35.
31. John 8:20 The treasury of the temple: not the place where the offerings were stored, since this was closed to the public, but the adjacent room where the boxes for the offerings stood (see Mk 12:41; Lk 21:1).
32. John 8:21 The discussion is continued so that the reader may come into direct contact with the mystery of Jesus. Who then is he? He does not belong to the world of sin but gathers around himself those who believe in him. Without this faith in him, people remain shut up in death, cast off from God. A sudden word is uttered: I am, the name by which God revealed himself to Moses (Ex 3:14). Jesus is so closely united to his Father that he can claim the title “Lord” for himself. Jesus will appear as Judge and Lord when he is lifted up on the cross (Jn 3:14; 19:37).
33. John 8:31 The Jews can rightly protest that they are not illegitimate children, that is, using the imagery of the time, they have not grown up in idolatry but in faith in the true God. But that is not enough. To oppose Jesus and reject the truth means entering into an agreement with the devil. Jesus says that he is superior even to Abraham, the father of the people.
34. John 8:56 Abraham rejoiced at the promise given to him by the Lord that the future Messiah would come from his descendants (Gen 12:7; 15:2f; 17:15f; see Gal 3:16). My day: that is, the presence of the Messiah, whom Abraham saw and greeted “from a distance” (Heb 11:13).
35. John 8:58 I AM: see notes on Jn 6:20 and 6:35.
36. John 9:1 The preceding chapters have made grand statements about Jesus, e.g., that he is the light of the world; in those chapters, however, the evangelist was guiding us through sometimes difficult reasonings. Here, on the other hand, is a lively story that illustrates the teaching that has been given. The man born blind is an image of the catechumen and of Christians, who allow themselves to be enlightened by Jesus. Not only their eyes but their hearts open to the light.
37. John 9:1 In the view of the ancients, every illness had its origin in some sin, perhaps a secret one. Jesus firmly condemns this mentality. The blind man must take himself to the Pool of “Siloam” (= “Sent”); the evangelist emphasizes the word. Jesus is the one sent by the Father to bring light; it is he who opens the eyes of faith in those who go down into the pool of Baptism.
38. John 9:7 The Pool of Siloam: it was at the foot of the southern spur of the temple mount.
39. John 9:8 Who, then, is Jesus? Again there is questioning. Again also Jesus upsets the Pharisees, who have lost the essence of religion in the complexities of their traditions. The care for observances makes them forget that the Sabbath is first of all a testimony of liberty. In the presence of these teachers, the blind man who has been cured declares that Jesus is a prophet. They challenge his attestation and denounce it as a fraud. Thus, an inquiry is made to give themselves basis for their treatment of the man. A climate of fear ensues, and no one feels free to speak.
40. John 9:24 The miraculously cured individual is interrogated a second time. His questioners bring up Moses to show that Jesus is in contradiction with him. This, they think, cannot be refuted. But it is necessary to recognize here the presence of the same God who spoke to Moses! The man born blind recognizes that Jesus came from God with a special mission. That is too much for them. They throw him out bodily.
41. John 9:35 This is an encounter with Jesus, who identifies himself as the Son of Man—that is, as a being with a divine prerogative who has come to bring people to the presence of and communion with God. The profession of faith comes to the lips of the man born blind when he encounters Jesus, who is our light.
42. John 9:39 Human beings cannot remain indifferent or neutral in the presence of Jesus: we must opt either for light or for darkness. In this choice, the divine judgment comes into play with a sentence of life or death—which foretells the division between synagogue and Church. The lot of each person depends on one’s attitude of faith or unbelief toward Jesus. Those who realize they are walking along the way of error and open themselves to the light of the Gospel revelation will be saved. Those who delude themselves that they possess the truth and voluntarily close their eyes to the light will be lost.
    While the man born blind receives not only his physical sight but also the light of faith, the Jews who claim that they have sight are blind in a spiritual sense, because they refuse the light of revelation brought by Christ. True blindness is not the physical blindness of the blind man but the lack of belief. The Pharisees are convinced that they possess the truth and oppose themselves to the Envoy of God. They deprive themselves of the way to salvation. For they remain slaves of the sin of unbelief.
43. John 10:1 The parable of the good shepherd, the feast of the Dedication, and the raising of Lazarus are three passages that describe who Christ is and what he wants to be for us. The ideas of life and unity dominate in these pages. The desire of Jesus is that we have access to the full reality of life. He gives life to the point of giving up his own; he is the life.
    Another preoccupation impels him: to gather into one all who believe in him. So the work of God is to overcome the forces of death, destruction, and dispersion, forces that disfigure the world and our existence.
44. John 10:1 The image of the flock and the shepherd occurs frequently in the Bible to describe the relationship of Israel with God, or simply the relations of the people with their leader (this language came spontaneously to any civilization of antiquity). More than once the Prophets denounced as wicked shepherds those in authority who exploited the people or led them astray: kings, princes, priests, prophets of comfort (see Jer 23; Ezek 34; Zec 11:4-17). In the final analysis (they said), God alone is the shepherd to whom the flock belongs and who can properly lead and feed it. They were longing for a devoted shepherd who would act solely in God’s name.
    Jesus now dares to describe himself as this Messiah-shepherd, who comes to deliver human beings from those who enslave them for their own profit or to impose upon them their own convictions. There are no other ways of reaching life and the knowledge of God: Jesus is the “gate”; he is the Shepherd who knows and gathers believers into a single flock. The word “know” signifies a mutual exchange, a reciprocal and radical belonging. This is the main assertion of the passage.
45. John 10:21 This is a reference to the incident of the man born blind (in the preceding chapter).
46. John 10:22 In the fourth Gospel, the trial of Jesus takes place throughout the book, and on each occasion the Lord asserts his oneness with the Father in unequivocal terms. Here we have a new disagreement, connected with the feast of the Dedication of the temple, which was celebrated toward the end of December. It commemorated the historical fact that in 165 B.C. Judas Maccabeus wrested the temple from the pagan king who had profaned it by installing an idol in it. It was thus a celebration of the liberation, purification, and restoration of the holy place and of its worship (see 1 Mac 4:36-39; 2 Mac 1:9-18; 10:1-8).
47. John 10:23 Portico of Solomon: located on the east side of the temple, and thus sheltered against the winds from the wilderness.
48. John 10:30 I and the Father are one: this is the most solemn declaration of the passage. Jesus expresses his perfect unity with the Father (literally, “one thing”), so that his power is identified with that of the Father. Trinitarian theology takes its start from this verse. For here Jesus affirms in peremptory fashion his identity of operation and will with the Father. This is clear from the violent reaction of the Jews, who seek to stone him because he is guilty of blasphemy.
49. John 10:34 Your Law: the term Law usually meant the Pentateuch, but it was also used in the sense of the whole Old Testament—as it is in this case. You are gods: these words from Ps 82:6 referred to the judges (as well as other leaders or rulers) of Israel whose tasks were appointed by God (see Ex 22:28; Deut 1:17; 16:18; 2 Chr 19:6).
50. John 10:40 The testimony of John the Baptist is recalled: the Prophet announced a Messiah whose dignity and power were superhuman (see Jn 1:26-34).
51. John 11:1 Unceasingly, Jesus attests that he has come to give life. The Resurrection is the sign that shows he came to give life. Death is no longer the last word on the human condition, and life now assumes an unusual stability; it is filled with endless hope.
52. John 11:1 Death spares no one, not even friends of the Son of God. But unhurriedly and without fear, Jesus confronts it in order to liberate from it those he loves. Death can no longer be the final destination; henceforth, it is simply a passage for which sleep is like a first image.
    The Gospel of Luke also speaks of the two sisters, Martha and Mary, but without naming their village (Lk 10:38-42); we know from this passage that it was Bethany, and we also learn that they had a brother. Bethany was on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.
    One notes the decision of Jesus to accomplish his work without hesitation even to the destiny established by his Father (v. 9); and his light must instill courage into those who follow him (vv. 10-11).
53. John 11:16 Twin, i.e., Didymus, is the Greek translation of the Aramaic Toma, which means “twin.”
54. John 11:17 Faced with the death of a friend and the sufferings of the man’s relatives, Jesus responds with true humanity and a compassionate heart; by restoring life to Lazarus, he shows himself to be the Son of God, to whom the Father has given everything he asks for. The hope of a resurrection on the last day was shared by many believers, such as Martha; this conviction had been growing for about a century or two in fervent Jewish circles, such as that of the Pharisees (2 Mac 7:9-14, 22f; 12:43-45; Dan 12:1-3; see Wis 2:3—3:9). In the time of Jesus, however, the priestly caste in Jerusalem opposed the belief (Acts 23:6-9) and tried to ridicule it (Mt 22:23-33). Here Jesus not only confirms the hope but also reveals that he is the one who fulfills it.
55. John 11:17 Four days: the Jews believed that the soul remained near the body for three days after death, giving hope for a return to the body. By the fourth day there was no hope of coming back.
56. John 11:19 To console them: according to Jewish custom, there were thirty days of mourning: three days of very great mourning, four days of great mourning, and 23 days of lighter mourning.
57. John 11:45 There is peril for the city and its religion unless they accept the unimaginable: that God no longer needs his temple and henceforth is present through Jesus Christ alone. Because of civic and religious considerations it is necessary to decide the fate of this man, who unsettles the certainties and confronts the institutions and the established power.
    Without realizing it, Caiaphas, the high priest who had held this office since A.D. 18 and would continue to hold it until A.D. 36, makes a statement that is at the heart of the Christian Faith: Christ will die for all, so that the entire human family may have life. The temple and Jewish tradition are now transcended by a worship and a salvation that are universal.
58. John 11:49 That year: i.e., at that time. The Jews believed that the high priest possessed a gift of prophecy, which was at times unknowingly carried out (see v. 51).
59. John 11:53 Jesus is placed under a death sentence, which the careful reader will suspect to be illegal because of Nicodemus’ question to the authorities in Jn 7:51: “Does our Law allow us to pass judgment on someone without first giving him a hearing to ascertain what he is doing?”
60. John 11:54 Ephraim: on the edge of the wilderness of Judea, 16 miles north of Jerusalem.
61. John 11:55 It is the feast of Passover in Jerusalem, a time when faith and hope are reborn in the minds of the people, as they commemorate their deliverance from slavery, the formation of the people, the Covenant, the journey to the mountain of God, and the promised land. Lambs are sacrificed, reproducing the shedding of the blood that had preserved the life of Israel long ago. The feast is full of memories, which are at the same time a promise of a different future. This future is now becoming a reality.
    There is now a new Passover, the once-for-all Passover that is accomplished not in a ritual but in an action: Jesus fulfills the former Covenant by bringing to pass that which it had announced and prefigured (Ex 12:1-13, 16); he is the true Lamb who gives his life and whose blood poured out delivers the people from enslavement to evil and sin and opens the way to the true promised land, to the Father, in a communion of life with him.
    The last section of the Gospel of John is centered on this mystery of the Passion of Christ.
    The fate awaiting Jesus from the first pages of this Gospel is fulfilled; his adversaries have decided to put him to death and are waiting to have the sentence executed. It is the reign of darkness. But the hour of Jesus’ death and defeat is another reality, that of triumph and glory; and it will be confirmed by the Resurrection of the Crucified.
    The time of the Church will be inaugurated. She will receive the Spirit promised by Jesus and—as is indicated by the last signs (the miraculous catch of fish and the investiture of Peter)—will be established and sent forth to preach everywhere. She is to proclaim salvation and life so as to gather together all believers until the day when Christ will return in his glory as Son of God and Savior of the world.
62. John 11:55 The time for signs has ended. The glory that the signs announced is going to appear. How? It will not be through the deceitful glory of human triumphs; it will be through the presence of God in the action of Jesus and in the transformation of the human condition. Jesus’ hour of glory is above all the hour of his death.
63. John 11:55 According to the tradition followed by the fourth Gospel, the woman who pours the perfume on the feet of Jesus is Mary, the sister of Lazarus. With the prodigality of love she expresses her gratitude for the raising of her brother from the dead; but Jesus evokes his own death, and Mary’s gesture points ahead to this, anticipating by her anointing the rite of burial: it is an act of veneration.
    Wasteful squandering? Only Judas, whose shadow already darkens the picture, thinks so. It is not such veneration of Christ that turns his attention to the poor; it is avarice—at the same time that Jesus is being glorified at Bethany, the plot against him is being laid for civic reasons, as we saw earlier.
64. John 11:55 This is probably the Passover of the year 30, which was to be Jesus’ last. The devout Jews journeyed to Jerusalem to complete the ritual purifications necessary for Passover celebrations (see Ex 19:10-11, 15; Num 9:6-14; 2 Chr 30:1-3, 15-18). Since Jesus had been present in Jerusalem at the feasts of Tabernacles and Dedication, the populace expected him to be there again. A warrant had been issued for his arrest, and anyone who knew his whereabouts had to declare it under penalty of complicity.
65. John 12:3 Pint: Greek: litra, i.e., about a half-liter.
66. John 12:5 Three hundred denarii: a year’s wages, a denarius being a day’s wages for a laborer.
67. John 12:12 To a greater degree than the Synoptics, the fourth Gospel describes this entry as a triumph and stresses above all the theme of the glory of Christ. The raising of Lazarus has provoked the enthusiasm of the crowd, and for the first time Jesus allows himself to be acclaimed “King of Israel”; he lets himself be known as the King-Messiah announced by Zechariah (9:9).
68. John 12:13 Branches of palm: customarily used in victory celebrations (see 1 Mac 13:51; 2 Mac 10:7). Hosanna: an acclamation meaning “Grant salvation!” The citation is from Ps 118:25. He who comes in the name of the Lord: see note on Mt 21:9. The King of Israel: a reference to the coming king mentioned by Zep 3:14-15 and Zec 9:9. See also note on Mt 21:9.
69. John 12:15 Daughter of Zion: see note on Mt 21:5.
70. John 12:17 Another reading for this verse is given in some manuscripts: “Then the crowd that was with him began to bear witness that he had called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead.”
71. John 12:20 Jesus’ single-day success does not divert him from his hour, nor that of his adversaries, and it is his deciding moment. This page with so many themes gives us a glimpse into his thinking.
    To the crowd, among whom are sympathetic Gentiles, he proposes the image of a grain of wheat that must die. Conscious of the necessity for his death, he realizes the fruitfulness of his approaching sacrifice for the whole world.
    Paradoxically, that death is elevation and glorification: it will show who Jesus is and be the reversal in the fate of human beings. As in the account of the agony in the garden related by the Synoptics (Mt 26:36-46; Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:39-46), he overcomes his fear in the face of what humans regard as ruin; he dominates the cruel paradox.
    His death transforms the fate of the world: it is defeat for the forces of evil and opens up hope for those called to the communion of Jesus, to life.
    Here is an unexpected Messiah who completes God’s work by his own death; as here, so elsewhere we read constantly of Christ’s invitation to his disciples to share his lot (see Mt 16:25; Mk 8:35; Lk 9:24). Believers may fear death but not lose hope, since for Jesus, in whom they believe, the hour of death was the hour in which he conquered the devil, was glorified by the Father, and showed himself to be the light of the world. This beautiful text leaves us the meditation of the ancient Church on the cross of Christ; it has become the glorious cross.
72. John 12:20 Greeks: not Jews, but adherents of Judaism, although without embracing its practices.
73. John 12:31 Prince of this world: Satan, who has the ability to control human beings by drawing them away from God (see Jn 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2; 6:12).
74. John 12:34 Law: taken here as the entire Old Testament (see Jn 10:34), and referring specifically to Pss 89:37; 110:4; Isa 9:7; Dan 7:14. Son of Man: see notes on Jn 1:51 and Mt 8:20.
75. John 12:37 The early Christian generations always remained astonished at Israel’s refusal of the light, and they meditated on the text of Isaiah on the blindness of people when faced with an unexpected work of God. To recognize the light is to choose to accept its demands. Such a choice turns a life upside down; it is necessary to accept the risk of being marginalized from the usual social and religious milieu.
76. John 12:40 This text, like others in the Old Testament, appears to say that hardened hearts and blinded eyes are God’s doing. However, the evangelist is simply assuring Christian readers that even though God would give people every opportunity to convert, many would still choose to stay in their sin.
77. John 12:42 John is indicating that in the Israel of his time there is, as always, a remnant that believes. But they are not a true People of God because of their fear of being excommunicated by the authorities.
78. John 12:44 But who is the light? It is Jesus himself, sent by the Father to make known the Father’s love and to save believers. All through the Gospel, Christ has testified how deeply aware he is of this mission because of the unity in which he lives with his Father. What Jesus says in these few verses sums up his entire teaching concerning his mission.
79. John 12:47 This parallels the statement found at the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 7:24-27). Everything hangs upon a person’s acceptance or rejection of what Jesus has said.
80. John 13:1 This is the first of three parts that can clearly be distinguished in Jn 13:1—17:26. These pages constitute the best known section of the fourth Gospel, which at this point becomes the great book of meditation for Christians. The author develops a lengthy farewell address in the setting of the final meal. On the eve of his death, Christ lets his disciples know the deepest secrets of his love for God.
    The other two parts in this lengthy piece are: the community of the witnesses to Christ (15:1—16:33) and the priestly prayer of Jesus (17:1-26). Scholars believe that the three parts probably reflect three redactional stages.
81. John 13:1 The story of the Last Supper is not told in John, and we shall never know exactly why, but the farewell meal here is described in the same spirit. By washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus performs the action of a slave; love has indeed made him the servant of his friends.
82. John 13:18 The announcement of the betrayal of Jesus comes in the discourse that follows the washing of the feet. Jesus brings the crisis to a head. The traitor can no longer remain in the intimacy of the Lord, sharing his table and his confidences. The darkness must one day be separated from the light (see v. 30).
    Now the drama of the Passion begins; Jesus considers it the hour of his glory. He acts with a knowledge of the events that is the knowledge of God. Jesus is the Lord, as indicated by his title “I AM.” This attestation serves to make the faith of the disciples stronger.
    For the first time we meet “the disciple whom Jesus loved”; we shall find this unusual “name” three more times: once beneath the cross (Jn 19:26f), and the other two times in connection, once again, with Peter (Jn 20:2-10; 21:20-22). The tradition has always identified this disciple with John.
83. John 13:19 See note on Jn 4:26.
84. John 13:33 Jesus is not the first to recommend friendship, mutual service, and brotherly affection. But to love as he loved goes so much further as to become an absolute. It is no doubt for the purpose of underlining this that the fourth Gospel puts the commandment to love in the context of farewells; it likewise makes evident that this law of life is the most original sign of the community’s faithfulness to Christ.
    To love, to serve to the point of taking the last place and giving one’s life, goes beyond human strength. Perhaps the dialogue with Peter is there to say that good feelings are not enough and that it takes the grace given by the death of Christ to have such strength.
85. John 13:36 Peter’s denial is predicted in all four Gospels (Mt 26:33-35; Mk 14:29-31; Lk 22:31-34 and here).
86. John 14:1 Facing the death of Jesus, or facing our death, we might be shaken by fear. After all, without God is not existence for us a flight from the useless to nothingness? We have, then, to meditate on this chapter 14, where the themes are intermingled too numerously to discern the whole universe of meaning each verse opens to us. Yes, there is fulfillment, but it comes from God; it is abiding in God, truth in God, life from God. The symbols tell us that the fulfillment comes about in the communication of life from the Father, from Jesus, and from the Spirit.
87. John 14:1 The departure of Jesus ought not to become a time of discouragement amid hostility or uncertainty. The departure opens to all people the possibility of being in communion with God. Jesus gives the disciples the light and the life to enter this communion: he is the way not only through his teaching but also through his presence and his being—but what do we call the way and the goal of life for us?
88. John 14:1 You place your trust in God: this could also be translated as an imperative: “Place your trust in God!”
89. John 14:6 We can reflect upon the mystery of God to struggle to develop a better understanding of our life and the meaning of the world. But our power to discern cannot establish any certainties on our own. To know the Father, to discover what he wants for us, and to enter into his communion, we first have to look on Jesus, on his work, and on his love. Only the gift of the Son reveals the love of the Father in its fullness.
90. John 14:12 Here is a beautiful hymn on what it means to be Christians. They are not nostalgic survivors of a great experience that is past. In daily life, with its insults and interrogations, they remain in true communion with Christ and continue his work—i.e., they bear in his name the testimony of salvation and the testimony of truth. This communion, unceasingly renewed, gives them strength to cope with attacks of despair, falsehood, incomprehension, and nothingness—what John often calls “the world.”
    In this effort, which is never finished, they are uplifted by a new and constant presence of God: the Spirit. It is the Spirit who gives Christians the power to experience the divine presence in their inmost being, because the Spirit makes them live in the participation of God. It is the Spirit who gives Christians the courage to obey, as Christ did, the will of God, who is love, truth, testimony. It is the Spirit who makes them penetrate the heart of the words and acts of Jesus in the questions and debates of life.
    The Spirit is the consoler of Jn 16:5-13. The Greek word Parakletos means an advocate, one who aids by his power and advice. In the situations and struggles of living as a Christian, the Spirit supports us so that we may remain united with God and bear witness to him before the world.
91. John 14:22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot): Jude Thaddeus (see Mt 13:15).
92. John 14:27 Christ’s departure is imminent. Is the triumph over evil that the Passion effects merely a spectacle? No, this departure expresses Christ’s free decision to do the will of the Father and to be at the Father’s side, which is his true state of being. Such is God’s peace, whose way and meaning are opened for believers. Yes, there is a fulfillment and a happiness for us—it is this that the word “peace” evokes in the Bible. It is not found in the satisfaction of the passions. True peace is a divine gift, to which Christ gives us access in our communion with God.
93. John 14:28 The Father is greater than I: this does not refer to the trinitarian relation between the Father and the Son. It probably refers to the fact that Jesus was sent by the Father and that the messenger (in the Hebrew mentality) is inferior to the one who sends him.
94. John 15:1 To the Lord’s testament (farewell discourse) were added new instructions, as though to complete it. No doubt people did not want to lose other words of the Master, often meditated on, to explain the condition of the Christian community.
    It is the life of the community on which these chapters throw light. In this group of texts, chs. 13 to 17, none of our usual words are pronounced; People of God, Body of Christ, Church, congregation. The words preferred are: to abide in, to love, to testify. In ch. 16, an image is used that suggests this mystery: the image of the vine and the branches. In these texts, love is above all a characteristic of the community itself. It is the Spirit who gives these groups the strength to exist as people of love and as witnesses of Christ.
95. John 15:1 Every reader of the Bible knows that the image of the vine suggests not only the union but also the tragic relationship between God and Israel. The Prophets rebuked the people of the Old Testament for not producing the fruit God expected of them, for being a spouse often unfaithful to her calling to bear witness to God among the nations (see Isa 5:1-7; Jer 2:21; Ezek 19:10-14; Hos 10:1). Jesus is the new Israel, the only vine that the Father has planted. This means that the radical, constitutive reality of the Church is her inclusion in Christ through Baptism, grace, and close attachment, and that any fruitfulness the disciple may have depends on this union with Christ.
96. John 15:12 There are many reasons for people to regroup: affinity, interest, defense. But the Christian community has only one reason: Christ and his choice of us. It also has only one way of life: to love like Christ, who went so far as to give his life. To have Christ’s love is a gift. Then prayer is not a delusion; then the Christian community’s mission can bear fruit. The fruit has already been given: God’s love for us. In Christianity all is a gift.