Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah?’”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, February 18, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Sounds like Jesus’ is calling the people’s bluff. Honestly, I don’t recall ever having read this passage before, and it kind of made me go, “Oh, snap!” The authorities have made a big stink about Jesus and threatened his life, but here Jesus stands, preaching and teaching in the middle of the festival of booths and no one is doing a darn thing to him. Maybe the authorities are just creating a smoke screen because, deep down, they know he is who he says he is. What would it mean if that was really true? John tells us all about Nicodemus, a Pharisee who believes, and later, of Joseph of Arimathea, same basic story. Were there more in the upper echelons of Jewish society who actually believed Jesus was the messiah but said otherwise to avoid trouble with Rome? Is that why Jesus was allowed to preach as long as he did (three years, in John’s version) before he was killed? Something to wonder about, anyway.
Have I ever hidden the fact that I am a Christian? Why or why not?