THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (Cycle B)
Readings:
Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-9
1 John 2:1-5
Luke 24:35-48
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments. Therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Opening Our Minds to Understand the Scriptures
Our goal as human beings made in God's image and likeness must be to overcome
ignorance and grow in knowledge, trust, and understanding of God and His divine
plan for humanity's salvation. Today's Scripture readings address the
subjects of ignorance (First Reading), trusting God (Responsorial Psalm), knowledge
(Second Reading), and understanding (Gospel Reading) concerning the true nature
and mission of Jesus Christ.
In the First and Second Readings, we read about the Apostles Peter and John interpreting the Scriptures as Jesus taught them. In the First Reading, St. Peter admonishes the Jews for their ignorance and preaches that Jesus fulfills what God announced to the Old Covenant Church through His prophets. St. Peter's address is full of Old Testament imagery. For example, he evokes Moses at the start of the Exodus liberation when God revealed Himself as the God of the Patriarchs (Acts 3:13a; Ex 3:6, 13). He also identifies Jesus as Isaiah's "Suffering Servant," whom God glorified, "raised high and greatly exalted" (Acts 3:13b; Is 52:13).
In the Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist speaks of God's mercy to someone who relies on Him and seeks Him when his life is in turmoil. He expresses his trust in God, who both hears and protects him when he calls upon Him. God, says the psalmist, is his one source of happiness and gives him the joy, peace, and sense of security he needs when life is difficult. In those times, God grants those who call upon Him inner peace.
In the Second Reading, St. John instructs the Church concerning Jesus's fulfillment of the Old Covenant sin sacrifices for the sake of humanity. He tells us that He is the expiation for our sins, not only for our sins but for those of the whole world (1 Jn 2:2, NABRE). St. John gives two necessary conditions to "walk in the light" of Jesus Christ. The first condition is to break with sin, and the second is to keep the commandments. We can have confidence if we sin that Christ died to expiate our sins, offering atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world. The second condition of walking in Christ's light is obedience to the commandments. We can honestly say we know Christ by obeying God's commandments (1 Jn 5:2-4). Anyone who claims to "know" Jesus, meaning to have an intimate relationship with Him, but fails to keep His commandments does not have a genuine, lasting relationship with Him. Our knowledge of the commandments and our obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ expressed through His Church become an exercise of faith that not only directs us on the path to salvation but also gives us an intimate knowledge of Christ and perfects God's love in us as children in the family of God.
In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples how to interpret and understand the Scriptures. He tells them that all the prophecies and promises found in the Old Testament refer to Him, from the Torah (the five books of Moses), the Psalms, and the books of the Prophets. That is why, in the Liturgy of the Word, we read passages from the Old Testament, and Christ's representative, the priest, follows Christ's example in applying them to the Gospel Reading and our lives.
From the beginning of her universal mission, the Church has taught the Scriptures as Jesus instructed His Apostles and disciples in Luke 24:25-27 and 44-48. St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (AD 354-430), continued to teach the Scriptures in the same way, writing, "The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is fulfilled in the New." And St. Jerome (AD 342-420) taught: "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."
The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God's divine plan and revelation. The Old Testament prepares us for what happens in the New Testament, and the New Testament fulfills what occurred in the Old Testament. The two Testaments are the genuine Word of God and shed the light of understanding on each other (see CCC 140). One cannot study one verse of Scripture in isolation from the related passage, one passage in isolation from the chapter, one chapter in isolation from the book, or one book of Sacred Scripture in isolation from the whole of the Sacred Word. We must study the entire body of Sacred Scripture in light of the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is then, in the light of true understanding and through a personal relationship with the Savior based on obedience to His commandments, that we can say that we truly know Jesus Christ (1 Jn 2:3). And, knowing Christ in a personal relationship, we can sing as we do in today's psalm, "Lord, let your face shine on us!"
The First Reading Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 ~ Peter Charges the
Jews With Culpable Ignorance
Peter addressed the Jews at the Temple: 13 The God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has
glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's
presence when he had decided to release him. 14 You denied the Holy and
Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 The author of
life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this, we are
witnesses. [...]. 17 Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance,
just as your leaders did; 18 but God has thus brought to fulfillment what he
had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ
(Christos = Messiah) would suffer. 19 Repent, therefore, and be converted, that
your sins may be wiped away.
After the Holy Spirit came to fill and empower Jesus's disciples, praying in the Upper Room on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, Sts. Peter and John went to the Temple during the afternoon Tamid worship service. It began at the ninth hour (three PM) and was also the hour of prayer for those not attending the service. There, Peter healed a man crippled from birth (Acts 3:1-10). Peter, John, and the man Peter healed entered the Temple complex and went to Solomon's Portico, a colonnade enclosing the outer court on the Temple's eastern side. Solomon's Portico had rows of columns 27 feet high and a cedar roof. It served as a place to gather and discuss Scripture (see Jn 10:23 and Acts 5:12). In verses 12-26, Peter puts the miracle of healing the man in the context of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This passage is Peter's second kerygmatic (preaching) discourse as he proclaimed the Gospel to the Jewish crowd at the Jerusalem Temple.
St. Peter began by putting the healing of the lame man in the proper perspective. He told the crowd that Jesus the Messiah healed the man, and they should not be amazed. The prophet Isaiah listed the disabled among those to receive Messianic healing (Is 35:3, 5-6; Lk 7:22). They are also among the outcasts that Jesus said to invite to banquets (Lk 14:13, 21). And by extension, those to whom Jesus will extend the invitation to attend the eschatological banquet at the end of time (Acts 3:11-12). Then, in verse 13, Peter recalled God's words to Moses during the burning bush revelation in Exodus. He told Moses how to explain His identity to the children of Israel: God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD [Yahweh], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you" (Ex 3:15). The God of Israel sent Moses to liberate the Israelites from bondage to the Egyptians, and He also sent His servant Jesus to free their descendants from bondage to sin and death. The use of the word "servant" in verse 13 identifies Jesus with the "Suffering Servant" prophecies of Isaiah (Is 52:13-53:12). Peter told them this is the same Jesus that they denied and handed over to be crucified instead of the murderer Barabbas, even though Pilate tried to release Him (Mt 27:20-23; Mk 15:11-15; Lk 23:18-25).
The words "Holy One" and "Righteous One" in verse 14 are titles of God (see Lev 11:44-45; Ps 78:41/77:41 LXX; 99:5/98:5 LXX; 103:1/102:1 LXX; Is 43:3; 49:7; etc.). Jesus said no one is good/righteous but God (Lk 18:19). The angel Gabriel identified Jesus by the title "Holy One" at the Annunciation (Lk 1:35), and the demon spirits who knew His true identity addressed Him as "holy one of God" (Lk 4:34). In using these titles for Jesus, Peter identifies Jesus not as a human Messiah but as the Divine Messiah, God Himself who came to save His people as He promised Ezekiel (Ezek 34:11-16). He makes the same claim in the next verse when he calls Jesus the "author of life," a contrast between Jesus, the one who gives life, and the murderer Barabbas, who takes it away: 15 The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
Despite his harsh assessment of the Jews' rejection of Jesus, Peter mercifully tempers that judgment by saying: "Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did" (verse 17). You may recall the first statement Jesus made from the Cross that expresses this same mercy to His Jewish countrymen (Lk 23:34). Jesus asked God the Father to forgive them because they didn't understand what they were doing.
Then, in verses 18-19, Peter again referenced the Suffering Servant prophecies from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 53. Jesus presented this teaching to the Emmaus disciples on Resurrection Sunday (Lk 24:25-27) and the Apostles and disciples in the Upper Room the same day (Lk 24:27, 44-47). It is what Jesus continued to teach during the forty days between His Resurrection and His Ascension.
In verse 19, Peter called the Jewish crowd to repentance and conversion, a turning away from sin and a turning back to God to receive forgiveness. Ignorance of Christ is no excuse, and therefore, we, like those 1st-century people, must repent, convert our hearts to Christ, and through Him be purified of our sins if we want to be a part of the universal restoration promised by the prophets (i.e., Is 56:1-8).
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 4:2, 4, 7-9 ~ The Lord's Divine
Security
The response is: "Lord, let your face shine on us."
Or: "Alleluia."
2 When I call, answer me, O my just God, you who relieve
me when I am in distress; have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
Response:
4 Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear me when I call upon him.
Response:
7 O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon
us! 8 You put gladness into my heart.
Response:
9 As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep, for
you alone, O LORD, bring security to my dwelling.
Response:
Scripture attributes this psalm to David. The psalmist speaks of God's mercy to someone who relies on Him and seeks Him when his life is in turmoil. Verse 9 suggests the psalmist calls upon the Lord in his evening prayer as he expresses his trust in God, who hears and protects him when he calls upon Him. God, says the psalmist, is his one source of happiness (verse 8). The poem's climax in verse 9 is the joy, peace, and sense of security that God gives the person who relies on Him and seeks him when times are difficult. In those times, God grants those who call upon Him inner peace.
Saint Teresa of Avila made this same point: "Turn your eyes and look within yourselves, as it is written, 'there you will find the Master, who will never abandon you.' The less consolation you feel you receive from without, the greater the gift he will give you. His concern runs deep, and he is never far from those who suffer or are hurt and who trust in him alone. That is what David said: 'The Lord stands by the suffering.' You either believe this, or you do not. If you believe it, why do you still suffer?" (Way of Perfection, 29,2). The last words in verse 8 are in the evening prayer of the Divine Office.
The Second Reading 1 John 2:1-5a ~Knowing Christ
1 My children, I am writing this to you so that you may
not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He is expiation for our sins, and not for our
sins only but for those of the whole world. 3 The way we may be sure that we
know him is to keep his commandments. 4 Those who say, "I know him," but do not
keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them. 5a But whoever
keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.
St. John gives two necessary conditions to "walk in the light" of Jesus Christ. The first condition is to break with sin, and the second is to keep the commandments. We can have confidence that if we sin, Christ died to expiate our sins. Not only does he offer atonement for our sins, but He also offers atonement for the sins of the whole world.
Expiation (verse 2) is canceling the debt due for our sins, for which the penalty is spiritual death. Jesus assumed the punishment for our sins, covering them with His blood on the altar of the Cross. He atoned for our sins and delivered us, canceling the sin-debt we owed by changing God's disposition toward us, turning away His anger by paying the price for our transgressions and the sins of all humanity.
Jesus will act as our Advocate with God the Father (see 2:1-2 and CCC 519, 605-6, 692, and 2634). He assures the forgiveness of the repentant Christian's sin through His intercession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance) and at our Individual/Particular Judgment at the end of our earthly lives (CCC 1021-22). In Jesus's final discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper, He spoke of "another Advocate," using the Greek word we transliterate as "Paraclete" (Jn 14:16), God the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept because it neither sees nor knows it. But you will know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you" (Jn 14:15-17). God sent the Holy Spirit fifty days after Jesus's Ascension at the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) or, in Greek, Pentecost, to fill and indwell the Church and guide its members on their path to eternal salvation. However, God the Son intercedes/advocates for us at our Individual/Particular Judgment after death. He defends us against Satan's accusations of the sins washed away by the blood of the Lamb who died for each of us and the whole world (Jn 1:29). Jesus also intercedes for us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we repent our sins and confess them to the priest who represents Christ's presence and, in His name, forgives our sins and assigns a penance as a demonstration of our repentance.
Next, John gives the second condition of walking in the light of Christ, and that is through obedience to the commandments. Living in obedience to the commandments is how we can honestly say we know Christ (verse 3). Anyone who claims to "know" Jesus, meaning to have an intimate relationship with Christ, but fails to keep His commandments does not have a genuine, lasting relationship with Him (verse 4). Our knowledge of the commandments and our obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ becomes an exercise of faith that not only directs us on the path to salvation but also gives us an intimate knowledge of Christ and perfects God's love in us as children in the family of God (verse 5).
The Gospel of Luke 24:35-48 ~ Understanding the
Scriptures
35 Then the two (disciples) recounted what had taken
place on the way and how he was made known to them [opened their eyes] in the
breaking of the bread. 36 While they were still speaking about this, he (Jesus)
stood in their midst and said to them, 36 "Peace be with you." 37 But they were
startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 Then he
said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?
39 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see because
a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." 40 And as he said
this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While they were still
incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to
eat?" 42 They gave him a piece of baked fish; 43 he took it and ate it in front
of them. 44 He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I
was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in
the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to
understanding the Scriptures. 46 And he said to them, "Thus it is written that
the Christ [Christos = Messiah] would suffer and rise from the dead on the
third day 47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be
preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are
witnesses of these things.
[...] = Greek translation; (...) added for
clarity. Interlinear Bible: Greek-English, Vol. IV, pages 244-245.
On Resurrection Sunday, Jesus Christ encountered two of His disciples, identified as Cleopas and his son, on their journey home to the village of Emmaus, sixty stadia (about seven miles) from Jerusalem. However, their eyes were "bound" (literal Greek in verse Lk 24:16), and they did not recognize Him. On the way, Jesus taught them how He fulfilled all divine revelation in Sacred Scripture. They invited Him to share a meal with them, and when He repeated His actions at the Last Supper by taking up the bread, blessing it, and then breaking the bread (Lk 22:19). At that moment, Jesus opened their spiritual eyes, and they recognized the Christ (Lk 24:30-32)!
Recognizing the true Messianic significance of the Scriptures, they also recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. What happened with the Emmaus disciples was a reversal of Adam and Eve's condition when their "eyes were opened" to sin. The wording, "their eyes were opened" (verse 31), is the same in the Greek Septuagint of Genesis 3:7 as in Luke 24:31 and 35. Jesus "opened" the Scriptures to them in the same way He brought about the "opening" of their eyes in breaking the bread.
Next, the Emmaus disciples did what all of us must do when we recognize Jesus acting in our lives. They immediately wanted to share their experience of Christ, and they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the Apostles and the other disciples. When they saw the Apostles, they received the news that the Resurrected Jesus gave a private revelation of His glory to His Vicar, St. Peter (verse 34; 1 Cor 15:5). While they were relating their experience, Jesus suddenly appeared, offering them His "peace." In the forty days from His Resurrection to His Ascension (Acts 1:3), Jesus appeared numerous times. He shared His physical presence and taught His eleven Apostles and men and women disciples. He gave a private revelation to St. Peter and His relative St. James (who became the first Christian bishop of Jerusalem). He also appeared to over 500 people at one time (1 Cor 15:6-7).
The Apostles were frightened (verse 37), and to reassure them that He was not a ghost, Jesus encouraged them to touch His wounds, and then He asked for something to eat. He did this to prove His identity and that He was flesh and blood, not an imposter or apparition.
44 He said to them, "These are my words that I
spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in
the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Jesus told them that the Torah of Moses, the books of the
prophets, and the Psalms contained divine revelation concerning the coming of the
Messiah. In other words, in His mission, He fulfilled prophecies about Himself
found in all of Sacred Scripture! There are two significant points in Jesus's
statement concerning belief about Him concerning Sacred Scripture and
especially the writings of the prophets:
45 Then he opened their minds to understanding the
Scriptures.
This event reversed Adam and Eve's condition when their
understanding was opened to sin in their fall from grace. Jesus "opened" the
Scriptures to His disciples in the same way that He brought about the "opening"
of the Emmaus disciples' eyes in the breaking of the bread in Luke 24:31. Now, humanity's
eyes will continue "to be opened" to Christ in the sacrifice of the Mass. In
every generation, our understanding of the truth of divine revelation comes from
reading and hearing the Scriptures and their explanation in the Liturgy of the
Word by Jesus's priestly representative. It also comes, as Jesus foretold when He
said, "I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord'" (Mt 23:39). Then, like the Emmaus
disciples, we profess Christ when our eyes are "opened" to His presence in the
breaking of the bread in the Eucharist.
You might ask, where is the teaching written that Jesus gave that day to His disciples and Apostles concerning the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture in His ministry and mission? It was oral teaching passed from Jesus to the ministers of His Kingdom, repeated in the writings of the New Testament letters, the writings of the Fathers of the Church, and Church teaching. Jesus gave the correct interpretation of Sacred Scripture to the ministers of His Church. As St. Peter wrote: Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of Scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the Holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God (2 Pt 1:20-21).
That is not to say individual believers cannot interpret Scripture. The Church encourages us to read and study the sacred books and provides guidelines in the Universal Catechism (CCC 109-119). However, to ensure a unity of interpretation guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church is the final authority for interpreting Scripture: "For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God" (CCC 119).
46 And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the
Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that
repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all
the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things."
Previously, Jesus's mission was only to the "lost sheep of
the house of Israel" (Mt 15:24), as was the first mission of His ministers
(Mt 10:5-6). However, after the Resurrection, the mission of sharing Jesus's Gospel
of salvation became universal. Universal power and kingship belong to the risen
and glorified Christ. Therefore, He confers upon the ministers of His Church a
universal mission to teach the Gospel message of salvation and to baptize
believers from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (see Is 66:18-24;
Dan 7:13-14; Mt 28:19-20 and Mk 16:15-16).
Between Jesus's appearances to His disciples and Apostles on Resurrection Sunday and His Ascension to the Father, there was a forty-day period in which Jesus continued to teach the Church, appearing and disappearing at will (Acts 1:3). He met with them in Galilee, as He told them at the Last Supper (Mt 26:32) and as the angel instructed them (Mt 28:7). St. John's Gospel gives a lengthy account of that meeting back where the Apostles' incredible journey began (Jn 21:1-23).
After meeting with the Resurrected Jesus in Galilee, the disciples and Apostles returned to Jerusalem. They remained there to attend the pilgrim feast of Weeks, also known by the Greek title "Pentecost," which means "fiftieth day" (Lev 23:15-21; Acts 2:1). The Jewish Pentecost was what we would call a "holy day of obligation." It was a "pilgrim feast" (Ex 23:15; 34:18-34; Dt 16:16; 2 Chron 8:13) that every man of the covenant was required to attend. The covenant people celebrated it fifty days from the Feast of Firstfruits (as the ancients counted without the concept of a zero-place value). The Feast of Firstfruits was the day of Jesus's Resurrection, the day after the Holy Saturday Sabbath of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:9-14). And like the Feast of Firstfruits, at that time, the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week, which we call "Sunday" (Lev 23:15-21; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 13.8.4 [252]).
Like Moses's forty days on the mountain receiving instruction in the presence of God, the Son of God continued to appear to His disciples for forty days to give them the knowledge they would need to establish the doctrines of His Universal (catholic) Church. At the end of forty days, He met with them again in Jerusalem and had another meal with them. Then, Jesus led them out to the Mount of Olives to give His farewell and to ascend to the Father ten days before the Jewish Feast of Pentecost and the fledgling community's momentous rendezvous with the fiery imprint of God the Holy Spirit, giving life to the Church (Lk 24:49-53; Acts 1:3-11; 2:1-41).
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Acts 3:13-14 (CCC 597*);
3:13 (CCC 438, 601*);
3:15 (CCC 2666*, 612, 626, 632, 635);
6:17-18 (CCC 591*, 600*);
3:17 (CCC 597);
3:18 (CCC 601*);
3:19 (CCC 674)
1 John 2:1-2 (CCC 1460*); 2:1 (CCC 519, 692*, 2634*); 2:2 (CCC 605*, 606)
Luke 24:36 (CCC 641, 645*); 24:38 (CCC 644*); 24:39 (CCC 644*, 645*, 999*); 24:40 (CCC 645*); 24:41-43 (CCC 645*); 24:41 (CCC 644); 24:43 (CCC 2605); 24:44-48 (CCC652*); 24:44-46 (CCC 112*); 24:44-45 (CCC 572, 601*); 24:44 (CCC 702*, 2625*, 2763*); 24:45 (CCC 108); 24:46 (CCC 627); 24:47-48 (CCC 730*); 24:47 (CCC 981, 1120*, 1122); 24:48-49 (CCC 1304*)
The Eucharist and the experience of the disciples at Emmaus (CCC 1346, 1347*)
The Apostles and disciples as witnesses of the Resurrection (CCC 642*, 643*, 644*, 857*, 995*, 996*)
Christ the key to interpreting all Scripture (CCC 102*, 426, 427*, 428*, 429, 601*, 2763*)
Christ our Advocate in Heaven (CCC 519*, 662*, 1137*)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; revised 2021, revised 2024 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.