We speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen

9 APRIL (Jn 3,7-15)

The Gospel according to John, from the outset, in his Prologue, reveals the truth of Lord Jesus. He is the Son of God who came down from heaven. However, he did not come down as the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, or as the angel who woke Elijah and fed him. He descended becoming flesh, true man, born of the Virgin Mary. He descended by becoming a partaker of our humanity. He is the true Son of man.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him. (Cf. Jn 1,1-18).

Since he came from heaven in our flesh, he can speak to us as a man to man, as a man speaks to another man, but not of the things concerning the earth, but of those of heaven, because he knows and lives them; he knows them by the eternal science because they are his very life. The other founders of religion know God only from a distance, like the human eye knows the galaxies without any electronic tool and ignoring any mathematical, physical and astronomical calculation. It sees a bright spot. Nothing more.

Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can this happen?” Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

This Jesus who came down from heaven must operate the human redemption going to heaven; however, not as he came. He must go back up through the ladder of the cross, letting himself be crucified upon it, in order to become the sign and sacrament of faith for all mankind. Jesus applies to himself what happened in the desert with Moses.

From Mount Hor they set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the Lord sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover.” Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered. (Num 21,4-9).

After Jesus ascended into heaven, passing through the way of the cross, who wants to drag with him other brothers to heaven, must also go through the way of the cross, letting himself be crucified on it. The cross of Christ and Crucified Christ look at one another with faith in only one way: wishing also us to be like him, for the redemption of the world. Who does not have this desire, he is not looking at the cross with the eyes of true faith, yet. He looks at it as a non true believers and as a non “authentic” saviour of his brothers.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints give us eyes of true faith.