with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
I will put my law within them,
and I will write it on their hearts;
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
No longer shall they teach each other,
or say to each other,
"Know the Lord," for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord;
for I will forgive their iniquity,
and remember their sin no more.
Jeremiah 31:31,33,34
John 12:20-33This was during what we call Passion Week or Holy Week:
• after Mary anointed Jesus at Lazarus' home. [12:1-8]
• after "the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death, as well." [12:10-11]
• after Jesus' final entry into Jerusalem surrounded by hosannas and palm fronds [12:12-15]
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew, then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit."
25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
27 "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."
29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
First and Second Readings
The readings from Jeremiah and Hebrews compliment each other and the passage from John's gospel, so you may want to study them separately.
• Jeremiah 31:31-34
• Hebrews 5:5-10
The Fifth Sunday in Lent
On the Fifth Sunday in but not of Lent, we continue to follow Jesus to the cross. Early in Holy Week-Passion Week; the Savior and his retinue have reached Jerusalem; next week on the sixth Sunday in Lent, the church begins Holy Week, often halfway through the liturgy.
This scripture describes Jesus dying on the scandal of a tree. Jesus promises to draw all to himself: the tree of death – the cross – paradoxically becomes the new tree of life. In the Garden of Eden, "Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Genesis 2:9
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. John 12:32
In a reference to the healing snake lifted up in the Exodus wilderness from Numbers 21:8-9, we hear about Jesus lifted up—on the cross, lifted up from the empty tomb, lifted up in the Ascension. Earlier in this gospel:
• And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15
• So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he…" John 8:28a
"I Am the snake" could be Jesus' eighth "I Am" statement!
They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." John 12:21
We see the Glory of God as we "see Jesus," the Human One, lifted up on the cross. We see the fulness of the glory of God's presence in the weakness, vulnerability and defenselessness of Jesus dying on the cross.
The Apostle Paul determined to preach only Christ crucified, lifted up in glory on the cross: 1 Corinthians 2:2
the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me
with thy free spirit.
Psalm 51:12
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