Feast of the Dedication
Jn 10:22-30
22The feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. 23And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. 24So
the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going
to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. 26But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
27My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. 30The Father and I are one.”
The Father and I are one. For
the Jews, God is shrouded in mystery and awe. They do not dare mention
God’s name. And so when Jesus, son of an ordinary carpenter from an
obscure village, appears and gains recognition for his teachings and
miracles, he is not readily accepted. And when he starts proclaiming to
them that he and the Father are one, the Jews are totally flabbergasted
and seek to kill him by stoning. It is Jesus who gives life, but it is
the Father who glorifies him after he lays down his life for the sheep
in complete surrender to the Father’s will.
The
Jews (not the general population of Israel but a specific category of
people who do not believe in Jesus and his teachings) ask Jesus to tell
them plainly if he is indeed the Messiah. But even in the face of a
categorical answer from Jesus, they still refuse to accept him as their
Savior.
The
Gospel says that mighty signs and wonders do not necessary result in
faith. Jesus presents to the Jews the “works” or miracles he performs as
evidence of his claim to his being the Messiah, but they are not at all
convinced. They turn deaf ears and harden their hearts to Jesus.
“Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
Do not harden your hearts” (Ps 95:7-8).
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