4th Sunday in Easter 2018 (Cycle B)
April 22, 2018
Acts of the Apostles 4:8-12
1 John 3:1-2
John 10:11-18
Through much of the Gospels we see that there are religious leaders who constantly criticize Jesus and His followers for not following the “LAW.” The Pharisees is one such group of Jewish leaders who are always pointing to the laws that are being broken.
The origins of the Pharisees can be found in approximately 150 BC when it appears they were originally a part of a group of lay leaders, a group of lawyers called the scribes. The Greek translation of their name is “separated ones,” who were very strict about separating themselves from those who did not strictly follow the law or the Torah. They separated themselves from the Gentiles, the sinners, and others who were not strict followers of the Torah, including other Jewish leaders, called the Sadducees.
To the Pharisees, they regarded the higher learning/education in, and the following of, the Torah to be essential. They see the Torah as the way to being pious. Because they seemed to be more intelligent in the areas of the law, they were held in high esteem by the people in general.
They believed in certain human freedoms under the control of the divine and that included the belief of the resurrection and the belief in angels.
One of the other groups of leaders that always was at odds with Jesus and the Pharisees was called the Sadducees. They were a group of people who were mainly from the priestly class and those who were from the aristocratic class also. They were also influenced by the enlightenment of the Hellenistic era, just as the Pharisees were.
They opposed the Pharisees and their belief in the oral tradition mainly because they felt that lay people were intruding in on the priestly class and what they saw as their responsibilities. They also did not believe in the resurrection. After 70 AD, they seem to totally disappear from existence.
The last group that was always in conflict with Jesus were the scribes. The scribes had devoted themselves to “the fear of God” and to the study of the law, the wisdom of the ancients and the prophecies.
Our reading from Acts of the Apostles today again centers around the healing of the cripple that we read about last week. We heard Peter give a great discourse on how the people acted out of ignorance by putting Jesus to death.
While Peter and John continue to teach about Jesus and the resurrection, all of the Jewish leaders gather and are upset that they are preaching in the name of Jesus They arrest them both and put them in prison overnight. The next day they question them and Peter again explains that it is by the name of Jesus that the cripple is healed. He reminds them that they are the ones who reject Jesus and put Him to death.
One of the things that the Jewish court required was that for formal charges to be placed against an individual was that there be a second witness, hence the reason for John to appear also. This recalls the events in the Old Testament when Moses and Arron appear before Pharaoh and his magicians.
Our second reading is again from 1 John. He starts right off with a symbolic statement that carries several meanings. When he writes “See” he is not just referencing our physical sight. He is also telling us that we need to use spiritual insight and discernment for us to fully understand, to fully experience the love of God that He has for all of us. That is the kind of love that a parent has for a child, and John is telling us that we are children of God by that love.
The Gospel from John this week uses symbolism that the people can easily understand, that of a shepherd. Shepherds had great responsibility for the flocks that were under their care. They led them out to pastures for grazing by day and led them to shelter at night to protect them from predator’s.
It was not unusual for different flocks to be intermingled and that when their own shepherd needed them, they would recognize their masters voice when he called to them and would return to their own master.
Jesus applies the term shepherd to Himself, but more than just a shepherd. He referred to Himself and the “Good Shepherd” implying more than one who keeps track of His flock. Jesus says that he lays down His life for his flock. He protects if from the predators who would seek to destroy the flock and scatter them for the wild animals to prey on them.
Jesus also tells us that He knows that there are those who are not of His flock that He is called to protect also. Jesus knew He was sent first to the Jews to gather them back into the flock of the Lord. Not all heeded that call and Jesus knew that there were other non-Jews that were to be part of the flock as well, such as the Gentiles.
For us today, we are the Gentiles that Jesus describes as the “others” called to be under the guidance and protection of Jesus. We need to be open to the possibilities that there are others not like us that are also part of the Lord’s flock.