5th FRIDAY OF LENT - Gospel (John 10:31-42) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
FIRST READING - Jer 20:10-13
"The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion."
A reading from the Book of Jeremiah
10 Yes, I hear the whisperings of many:
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
“Perhaps he can be tricked; then we will prevail,
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not prevail.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
12 Lord of hosts, you test the just,
you see mind and heart,
Let me see the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
13 Sing to the Lord,
praise the Lord,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the evildoers!
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Jn 10:31-42
"They tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power."
From the Gospel according to John
31 The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” 34 [a]Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? 35 If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, 36 can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated[b] and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; 38 but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize [and understand] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 [Then] they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.
40 He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. 41 Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign,[c] but everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And many there began to believe in him.
5th FRIDAY OF LENT - Gospel (John 10:31-42)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
In today’s Word of God, the Lord reveals to humanity that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, sent by God the Father into the world to redeem humanity, so that we might possess eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
He came to love, to dwell with, to teach, and to guide humanity to live in a way that pleases God the Father, observing the law of love.
He set an example of love, charity, mercy, and selflessness for people to follow.
Whatever Jesus did for humanity was for our benefit, guiding us toward the Kingdom of Heaven and toward God the Father.
God lived the law of love right here on earth through the deeds, actions, miracles, words, and gestures that Jesus performed for humanity.
Furthermore, before Jesus came to earth to live and dwell with humanity, God the Father foretold this from the very beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned by listening to the serpent’s temptation.
Throughout the long course of history, He continued to prophesy that the Son of God would come down to earth as a man to love and redeem humanity from eternal death through His sacrifice on the Cross and His Resurrection.
Moreover, before Jesus was born and began to preach the Gospel, He sent Saint John the Baptist to foretell the Son of God becoming man, and he also bore witness, telling everyone about the Incarnation and salvation of Jesus.
Those who possessed faith, love, and absolute trust in God, and who yearned to live lives of holiness and perfection, believed and listened to the words of the prophets regarding Jesus Christ’s coming to earth to save humanity.
These people lived in a way that pleased God and were granted eternal life after their souls departed from their bodies, because they believed the words preached by Saint John the Baptist and in what Jesus did while He was on earth.
Yet, alongside them were those who prided themselves on their knowledge of the law; in their arrogance and desire for power, they claimed that Jesus Christ did not come from God, that He was not the Son of God or the Savior of humanity, and they sought every means to seize Him and put Him to death.
Through God’s works in this New Era, if one reflects on the public words, gestures, and deeds of Jesus, one can discern what comes from God and what comes from Satan.
Those who deliberately persecute the Lord, seek to kill Him, attempt to dismantle the house of God the Father, and refuse to believe the Real and Present Word that directly instructs them, will find their souls facing the same fate as the Scribes and Pharisees of the Jewish people of old, who opposed Jesus and the words of the prophets concerning the Son of God becoming man. The souls of such people are very likely to fall into the hands of Satan if they do not sincerely repent, confess their sins, and ask God for His forgiveness.
If they do not repent and return to God, perform good, holy, and virtuous deeds, and believe in the Real and Present Word, the words Jesus Christ taught in the Scriptures, and the words of the prophets recorded in the Holy Bible, they are highly susceptible to falling into the hands of Satan, following him, and in their pride, opposing God and seeking to exclude Him from their lives.
God the Father warns those who have lived and continue to live in sin, and who oppose His work in this New Era, that their souls will suffer eternally in hell with Satan.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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