Thursday, December 20, 2007

Jn 7, 11-14 Jesus began to teach in the temple area

(Jn 7, 11-14) Jesus began to teach in the temple area
[11] The Jews were looking for him at the feast and saying, "Where is he?" [12] And there was considerable murmuring about him in the crowds. Some said, "He is a good man," (while) others said, "No; on the contrary, he misleads the crowd." [13] Still, no one spoke openly about him because they were afraid of the Jews. [14] When the feast was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple area and began to teach.
(CCC 578) Jesus, Israel's Messiah and therefore the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, was to fulfil the Law by keeping it in its all embracing detail - according to his own words, down to "the least of these commandments" (Mt 5:19). He is in fact the only one who could keep it perfectly (Cf. Jn 8:46). On their own admission the Jews were never able to observe the Law in its entirety without violating the least of its precepts (Cf. Jn 7:19; Acts 13:38-41; 15:10). This is why every year on the Day of Atonement the children of Israel ask God's forgiveness for their transgressions of the Law. The Law indeed makes up one inseparable whole, and St. James recalls, "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it”. (Jas 2:10; cf. Gal 3:10; 5:3).

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