Our Venerable Father John the Ancient Hermit (c. 800)
Acts 4:13-22; John 5:17-24.
Read John 5:17-24
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Although some people claim that Jesus never asserted His divinity in the Gospels, today’s reading proves quite the opposite. Multiple times and in different ways, Jesus revealed that He and the Father are One. For both claiming divinity and for breaking the Sabbath, the Jews sought to kill Him (Jn. 5:18).
Today’s reading also reveals that the Father “has committed all judgment to the Son” (Jn. 5:22). As we say in the creed, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” Jesus is the sole Judge Who will judge us not only according to our faith but also according to our works. Jesus says that “he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5:24), but He also tells numerous parables about the need to be vigilant, repent of our sins, and love one another. Most notably, He tells us the parable of the Last Judgment when the “sheep” are separated from the “goats.” He explains that inasmuch as we either did or not did not do an act of love “to one of the least of these,” we either did or did not do it to Him personally (see Mt. 25:31-46).
Since Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead, let us not sinfully try to usurp His role and judge one another. God alone can know the inner depths of one’s heart, and He alone can exercise perfect judgment and mercy. Let us forgive one another and look mercifully on others, even when it is extremely difficult to do so. May God “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”