Tuesday after Cantate
Scripture: St. John 8:21-29 (NKJV)
8:21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”
And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
Devotion
Today’s reading from St. John’s Gospel picks up where we left off yesterday, “Then Jesus said to them again, ‘I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.’” Prior to Jesus’ crucifixion, the church leaders of that time were able to talk to God face-to-face. They had opportunity after opportunity to repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. But they refused.
The proof that Jesus was the Messiah was not going to be demonstrated simply through signs and wonders. The final proof that Jesus was the very Son of God would be found in the fact they crucified Him: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He.” The final proof of Jesus’ divinity is known through His crucifixion. Even though they proved the Scriptures to be true by crucifying Jesus, they would not believe.
After Jesus’ resurrection the church leaders did seek Jesus, albeit for the wrong reasons. Even though they crucified Jesus, there would have been forgiveness for them had they repented. However, they were “of this world” and not of Christ. They sought His body in order to prove Jesus wasn’t alive. But alas, they could not find what didn’t exist—a dead Jesus. Through the faith God has given us, we know our Lord is alive forever!
Prayer: Almighty God, grant unto me that I may without any doubt believe Your great and precious promises. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
