Jesus : The Fulfillment of the Law, the Power of Messianic Sign, and the Wisdom - Set to be Revealed at the Resurrection - Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

 On the Third Sunday of Lent (Cycle B), we reflect on Christological aspects of Jesus in terms of the Law (First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17), powerful sign and wisdom (Second Reading:1 Corinthians1:22-25), what his powerful sign is about (Gospel Reading: John 2:13-25), and the source of everlasting life (Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11, with John 6:68c). So, if Jesus comes to you and asks you, “Who do you think that I am?”, you can say more than what Peter said.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has made it clear that he is the fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:17), reminded how critically important to observe the Law faithfully (Matthew 5:18-19). But, observing the Law does not mean doing so as the Scribes and the Pharisees do superficially and legalistically (Matthew 5:20). So, Jesus demonstrated what he meant by “fulfilling the Law” in Matthew 5:21-48. In fulfilling, Jesus cited some mizvot (commandments) from the Aseret ha'Dibrot (Decalogue or Ten Commandments), which the First Reading (Exodus 20:1-17) addresses.

The first three commandments of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-11) are about the relationship between God and us, while the remaining seven commandments are about our relationship with each other (Exodus 20:12-17). Thus, the Ten Commandments are given to us to make sure that we have a harmonious relationship with God first and also with one another. And, this is how Jesus summed up what the Ten Commandments and the rest of the commandments in the Law are about by putting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18:

You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).

In a way, the first three commandments, which regulate how we live with God, make a vertical line, while the rest seven commandments, which regulate how we live one another, form a horizontal line. Figuratively, then, the Ten Commandment make a cross. And, God the Father has sent Christ, his begotten Son, in the human flesh of Jesus, at the cross section of this cross, represented with the Ten Commandments. Jesus connects God the Father in heaven and us on earth as he was sent to us by the Father in heaven out of His love for us (John 3:16), and to hold us together with God, Christ has come to us in the human flesh of Jesus to live among us (John 1:14). And, he is God himself (John 1:1). Thus, in this incarnated God, Jesus, the Christ, both the vertical God-human line and the horizontal human-human line cross, and this cross is also reflected in the Ten Commandments.

The refrain of the Responsorial Psalm to the First Reading on the Ten Commandments is: Lord, you have the words of everlasting life (John 6:68c). What gives life is not just the words of the Lord but he himself, besides he is the truth and the way (John 14:6).

With the First Reading and its Responsorial Psalm, we now better understand the Law that Jesus has fulfilled through his words, in particular, in Matthew 5:17-48.

And, in the Second Reading (1 Corinthians1:22-25), Paul addresses that Jesus is both powerful Messianic sign and supreme wisdom. As the powerful sign, Jesus is greater than all the human strengths amassed, while as the wisdom, his foolishness is far greater than the wisest human wisdom.

Finally, today’s Gospel Reading (John 2:13-25) addresses both the power in the sign and the supremacy of wisdom of Jesus, following his action of cleansing the corrupted Temple.

When Jesus cleansed the Temple, he was asked:

What sign can you show us for doing this?(John 2:18).

To this, Jesus replied with these words:

Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19).



And, nobody recognized the power of sign and wisdom in these words of Jesus. Had any of them did, he or she would have understood that Jesus was talking about his body in saying “I will raise it up”, referring to his death and resurrection.

Though not yet understanding what Jesus meant by “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up”, at least his disciples were able to begin believing in his resurrection after the resurrection took place, because of these words of him (John 2:22).

Jesus is the fulfillment of what is addressed, in part, in the First Reading: the Law, as well as the power in the Messianic signs and supreme wisdom,. And all of these elements are apocryphally contained in what Jesus did to the Temple and in his words afterward, as addressed in today’s Gospel Reading.

Let us look forward to recognizing the Law, the power of Messianic sign, and the supreme wisdom, when Jesus’ words in John 2:19: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up are fulfilled on the day of his Resurrection. And, this is also glimpsed in his cleansing of the Temple.