“Would the Christ come from Galilee? Doesn’t Scripture say that the Christ is a descendant
of David and from Bethlehem, the city of David?” The crowd was divided over him. Some
wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers of the temple went back to
the chief priests, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?” The officers answered, “No
one ever spoke like this man.” The Pharisees then said, “So you, too, have been led astray!
Have any of the rulers or any of the Pharisees believed in him? Only these cursed people,
who have no knowledge of the law!” Yet one of them, Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus
earlier, spoke out, “Does our law condemn people without first hearing them and knowing
the facts?” They replied, “Do you, too, come from Galilee? Look it up and see for yourself
that no prophet is to come from Galilee.” And they all went home.
Reflect
“To know Jesus.” In today’s Gospel, many of those who were listening to Jesus were confused,
remaining ignorant of Jesus’ true identity. In their ignorance, they even quoted the Scripture.
They thought that since Jesus was identified as a Galilean, he could not be the Christ since
the Christ, according to their reading of the Scripture, must come from the line and city of David.
In their ignorance, they concluded that Jesus could not be the Messiah since he was known to
be a Galilean. In our journey of faith, there are times when we think we already know the Lord
but in reality, we are the ones who need to grow more in our knowledge of Jesus. There is a
need to continue studying the Bible not only on our own but with the community as well. The
challenge is to grow together in our knowledge of God. Lent highlights not merely an
individualized journey of faith but of communal one too. Hence, we need to reach out to
one another.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2024