Belief vs. Unbelief

Homily for Thursday in the Second Week of Easter

As we seen before, one of the difficulties in the Fourth Gospel is to know when the characters are speaking and when John is adding his own commentary. Adding to that confusion is the fact that there are several people named John in this Gospel. There is John the witness (sometimes called John the Baptist), John the evangelist, and John the apostle. Oftentimes these three are conflated into one character.

Today when Jesus speaks, he asserts his supremacy. If one wants information, that one has to go to the person who possesses that information. If one wants information about a family, one will get it firsthand only from a member of the family. If one wants information about a specific location, one will get it firsthand only from someone who comes from that town. So then, if we want information about God, we will get it only from the son of God; and if we want information about heaven and heaven’s life, we will get it only from the one who comes from heaven.

John grieves that so few accept the message that Jesus brought; but when someone does believe and accept the message that Jesus brought, he gives testimony that he places his faith in the message itself. John goes on to say that we can believe what Jesus says because God poured out the Holy Spirit upon him in full measure, keeping nothing back.

Finally, John sets before us the eternal choice – life or death. All through history this choice has been set for Israel. Deuteronomy records the words of Moses: “See I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil.” That challenge was reiterated by Joshua. Jesus places his stamp of approval on the same message: “The one who believes in him has eternal life. The one who does not believe will not see life, but that one will see the wrath of God.”