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Bible Time Period: Messianic Fulfillment
You sent your only Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah, to fulfill all your promises: Give me new life in him.
Reflection
Today’s chapters are packed with familiar episodes from the life of Christ: the mission of the Twelve; the feeding of the 5,000; Peter’s confession; the Transfiguration – and that’s just part of chapter 9. Take particular note of these things as you read:
- During the Transfiguration (ch 9), Moses and Elijah speak with Jesus of the “exodus” whereby he will pass through a sea of suffering and lead his people through death to sin and to a new life in him. This is the same Moses and Elijah you read about in the Old Testament. Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. Together they bear witness here to the mission of the messiah.
- In 9:51, Jesus “sets his face to go to Jerusalem” and the Cross. There is no turning back from this point. The following ten chapters describe his ministry in Judea (previously known as “Judah”), during which time he establishes the foundation of his kingdom.
- Way back at the burning bush in Exodus 3, God revealed his name: “I AM.” Not until Jesus comes as Son, is God revealed as “Father.” The Lord’s Prayer (ch 11) asks us to recognize this and act on it.
Today’s Reading
Today’s Question
According to Jesus, what are the conditions and cost of discipleship?
Join the discussion below!
Love it!
Thanks Fr. Mike! I have a question that has been nagging at me this year…..why doesn’t anyone recognize Jesus when he appears to them after he rises from the dead. Especially his closest followers?
Hey Susan! I know that I am not Fr. Mike, but I have thought about this before too because it seems so odd those who knew Christ best wouldn’t recognize Him. I think it is similar to the Eucharist. We know that it is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, but there are so many that do not recognize Him in the Eucharist. It could be because they aren’t looking for Him in that form (like how Mary Magdalene was not looking for a resurrected Jesus but his dead body) or even because some people were not ready to see Him (like how on the road to Emmaus he opened up the Scriptures to show who He was so that their hearts were open to Him, then he revealed Himself in the “breaking of the bread”). The Apostles did not anticipate the Resurrection, they did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead so that could be one aspect of why they didn’t recognize Him right away. But I think more importantly that the Resurrection was a revelation of Christ’s Divinity so that could have shielded their eyes from recognizing Him at first. Hope that helps!
HI Chris, Good answer – I will go along with that. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I hope other people double back and look at this as they might have the same question I had and your answer is a good one. Have a blessed day!