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Note To The Reader: End of Part I: The Book Of Signs

 All the way back near the beginning, I said that we could divide the Gospel of John into two parts: The Book of Signs, and The Book of Glory. "Signs" has a special meaning for St. John, and many of the disciples of Jesus. A sign lets you know that God has done something which points to a bigger truth. It could be a miracle, or some kind of gift, but those who witness it, or who experience it are supposed to see beyond the moment, and see the whole story, as well as their part in it.

"Glory" for St. John means Christ on the Cross. Even so, we can't think about the Cross without the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension back into Heaven.

Jesus did the signs we have seen in order to convince people that he is exactly who he said he was, and that he had been sent by the Father. Yet Jesus's whole mission rests upon his sacrifice on the Cross, and all that came after it. What would be the purpose, if God did miracles in order to tell people that he was here and active in the world, but he left His work unfinished? We are not free until death itself has been defeated. Like St. Paul will later say, if Christ has not been raised from the dead, our faith in him is pointless.

If you watch enough baseball, and a guy makes a terrible error in the field, like clockwork, he will very shortly come up to the plate to bat. The announcer will say, "He would like to atone for his error earlier," or something very similar. If he gets a big hit, he's made things right. The error from earlier doesn't matter. Therefore, when we talk about the "atoning sacrifice" of Jesus, we are talking about His work to make things right between all of us, and God the Father. There are some major disagreements among Christians about exactly how Jesus makes atonement, but the major point is that only Jesus can do it. We are acceptable in the sight of the Father because of the glory of Christ's work on the Cross. As we will see, it wasn't the most pleasant experience for Jesus, in human terms. But in terms of God's wider plan for you and me, Jesus embraced His Cross with great joy, and it brings him joy to know that we will receive him, and to take up our own crosses in life. When we really understand how much Jesus loves us, we understand that he would have died for me if I were the only one. This is the heart of love, and as we read the rest of the story, Jesus wants us to see it clearer and clearer.

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