The Friday in the 5th Week of Lent
March 31, 2023
John 10:31-42
In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, we find Jesus in a precarious situation. He is surrounded by Jewish adversaries who are attempting to stone him to death for the blasphemy of claiming to be God. At first Jesus pleads his case with them citing all of the miraculous works that he has performed on the earth as a man. He pleads that if they can see and believe in the works, that they should believe in Him. Jesus’ requests for their belief is such a basic request, that it is hard to fathom the Jews wanting to murder him for it. Ultimately, these adversaries cannot find the faith to believe that Jesus is the son of God and make another attempt to seize him. Jesus escapes their grasp and flees back across the Jordan to temporary safety.
Jesus faced relentless persecution for his beliefs and actions throughout his life, but he always faced it head on, with no fear. We as Christians can face similar challenges, doubt, and evil throughout our daily lives. A lot of times the easy way out may be to avoid these situations altogether or to just give into them. That is not how Jesus approached persecutors, and that is not how he wants us to handle these situations either.
Instead, we should view each of these occasions as an opportunity to put our faith on display and confront the skeptics head on. Like Jesus, we most certainly will receive some backlash and rejection along the way, but we should always maintain our belief and share it in our interactions. Time and time again Jesus was rejected, but he never veered from the path that God sent him here to share. We should find strength in the Holy Spirit to overcome any fears we may have, knowing that God sacrificed his only son, so that in the end, we can be forgiven and reach salvation.
Cole Wise