Believing in the Works of God
Believing in the Works of God EMPOWER YOUR FAITH / Daily Gospel Reflection, March 22, 2024, 5th Week of Lent — Friday GOSPEL — John 10:31–42 The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, AYou are gods”‘? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power. He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him. REFLECTION: We witness, in today’s Gospel, a confrontation between Jesus and the Jews who sought to stone Him. Their accusation? Blasphemy. Jesus, however, responds with a profound challenge, urging them to consider the evidence of his works and the testimony they provide to His divine identity.
As Jesus faces the threat of stoning, He directs the Jews’ attention to the miraculous works He has performed. These works, He asserts, are not merely acts of human goodness but manifestations of divine power. Jesus invites them to discern the hand of God at work in his ministry, to recognize the presence of the Father within Him.
Moreover, Jesus appeals to Scripture itself, reminding the Jews of their own tradition and its acknowledgment of those to whom the word of God came as “gods.” He emphasizes that if Scripture upholds this truth, then how much more should they believe in Him, the one consecrated and sent by the Father into the world.
Jesus’ words challenge us to reflect on the evidence of God’s presence and activity in our lives. Just as the Jews were called to recognize God’s hand in Jesus’ works, so too are we invited to discern the signs of God’s grace and mercy in our midst. In the face of doubt and skepticism, Jesus calls us to believe, not only in His words but also in the works that testify to His divine nature.
As we journey through this Lenten season, may we open our hearts to the works of God unfolding around us. Let us heed Jesus’ call to believe, not only with our lips but also with our lives, that we may come to a deeper understanding of the Father’s presence in our midst and grow ever closer to Him. Amen.
