This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent.  This fourth question appears to come from outside the “delegation.”  The meaning of v.24 (Some Pharisees were also sent) is not quite clear. Were they a rival delegation? Folks who took it upon themselves to interject, unhappy with the progress made by the official delegation and accordingly added some questions of their own. In any case, on this occasion their inquiry was natural: this man was preaching and baptizing. He was drawing crowds in the name of religion – and why does he baptize? Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. John’s testimony to Jesus will lead others to faith, but it is also offered as evidence in a trial. John’s interrogators in this passage are not curious passersby, but are a delegation sent by official Judaism (vv. 19, 22). The expression “the Jews” (hoi Ioudaioi, v. 19) occurs repeatedly in the Fourth Gospel and has a wide range of meanings. Its most common usage, as in v.19, is as a synonym for the Jewish religious establishment, which is the source of most of the opposition to Jesus’ ministry in John. Here it likely refers to representatives from Jerusalem leadership who quite naturally are going to make inquiries about what may well be a new religious movement – especially if there are messianic claims. There was a history of such movements and claims leading to religious disappointment and political ruin. Once John the Baptist acquired a following, the questions were sure to come. The first one was simple and straightforward. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Into this overarching narrative of the grand plan of salvation, we have the curious insertion of John the Baptist. We should note that this fourth gospel never uses the moniker “the Baptist” or “the Baptizer” – in fact John is never called the “forerunner” or “herald.” John has one role and one role only: witness (v.7).

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. From the opening Prologue we see the portrait of Jesus as the fulfillment of all of these Targuminic themes.  Jesus is personified (vv. 1-2), the agent of God and creation (v.3), the life-giver (v.4), the source of life and knowledge (vv.4-5), the maker of covenants (v.12), the means of salvation (v.16), the same as God and different (God and human natures), and the visible presence of God on earth. John 1:14 says:

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth”

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Jesus was not born into a time of theological vacuum.  Jewish theology was robust and with a history of succeeding and competing rabbinic schools.  The followers of Jesus and the people of his time were Jews who were raised and lived this theology.  It provided the framework for their daily lives and shaped their expectations about the Messiah, the Anointed One, who was to come. Among the gospels, John’s is the writings whose work expresses the fulfillment of those expectations and provides the theology for those that would follow Jesus.  The basis of the theology is evident from the opening:

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God…”

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. As mentioned in a previous post, the prologue and the beginning of John’s gospel appears on this 3rd Sunday of Advent as well as the gospel for the Mass on Christmas during the day (all years) and on the 3rd Sunday of Christmas (all years). So perhaps it is good to consider in detail this amazing text in its own right. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Last week the Gospel reading focused on the preaching and ministry of John the Baptist as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, the one who came to “Prepare the Way of the Lord,” by calling the people to turn back to God. The readings often include passages from the Old Testament, particularly from the book of Isaiah, which contain prophecies about a voice crying out in the wilderness, making the paths straight for the Lord. This week John the Baptist is still prominent, but the readings move from penitential in nature to one that anticipates the coming of the Christ child. We also move from the Gospel of Mark to the Gospel of John. Continue reading →