Fourth Week of Lent, Thursday
Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47
He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me… For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.
John 5:35-36, 46
The children of Moshe Rabbeinu (“Moses our Teacher”) had difficulty accepting the Messianic claim of Jesus of Nazareth. Wonders and signs failed to convince; teachings in the synagogue alienated. Mysterious references to his invisible, inaudible Father “who testified on my behalf” eluded not only his adversaries but even his friends (John 5:37; 14:9).
The tablets of the Ten Commandments were akin to the tree of life for Israel, guarded in the ark of the covenant by two cherubim as at the gates of Eden (Exodus 25:18-22). The word of God, living and active, fed the Israelites in the desert of exile as a refreshing, spiritual drink. Yet Jesus called into question the confidence of those who prided themselves as faithful keepers of the law shaped by the divine word.
…and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
John 5:38
Jesus’ lamentation was devastating, for to be void of the word of God meant death and destruction.
You search the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life.
John 5:39-40
The first statement may also be read as an imperative: “Search the scriptures, because you think that you have eternal life through them.”1 Moving from the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) to the man, Jesus, required a gigantic leap of faith.
The awe-inspiring, wholly transcendent God of Mount Sinai spoke to Moses “face to face” from between the two cherubim over the ark in the tent of meeting (Numbers 7:89). The ark represented the ultimate manifestation of God’s physical presence on earth (shekinah). For a man to claim to be God in the flesh was the height of blasphemy.
Jesus, a Jew among Jews, understood the trauma and dissonance surrounding his person and work. Thus he appealed to the testimony of John the Baptist, his Forerunner, and especially to Moses, Israel’s foundational teacher and lawgiver. The appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus at the Transfiguration ratified his status as the true Messiah and Son of God.
The following poem is a reflection on Jesus’ appeal to his witnesses in John 5:31-47.
The lamp of the law given to Moses2
Illumined prophets, priests and kings.
Pharaoh’s rival esteemed Christ’s reproaches
More than Egyptian glitterings.3
Elijah’s word burned like a blazing torch,
Calling fire down from the heavens.4
John prepared the way for the fan to scorch,5
The Lamb’s lamp waking to penance.6
Dim was the lamp in the Light of the Word
Born in the beginning with God.7
Hearts filled with the word recognize the Word,
Acknowledging the love of God.8
He who has seen me has seen the Father9
Though his form is invisible.10
Alone I am not, but from my Father—
His charaktér made visible.11
Moses, Elijah and I are aflame—
Lamps in the triple Light of God.12
The Torah and Prophets proclaim
That I AM WHO I AM, your God.
References
1 See New American Bible (Revised Edition) footnote to John 5:39.
2 Psalm 119:105.
3 Hebrews 11:26.
4 Sirach 48:1, 3.
5 Luke 3:17.
6 John 1:29; 5:35.
7 John 1:6-9; 1:1-2.
8 Inverse of John 5:38, 42.
9 John 14:9.
10 John 5:37; 1:18; 6:46.
11 Charaktér from Hebrews 1:3: image, stamp, or imprint. Click phonetics for the pronunciation of charaktér.
12 Transfiguration of Jesus: Mark 9:1-8; Matthew 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36. Triple Light refers to the epiphany of the Holy Trinity.