About Today
Saturday 28 March 2026
Saturday of the 5th week of Lent
Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us. Come, let us adore him.
Or: O that today you would listen to his voice: harden not your hearts.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Today's gospel reading
John 11:45-56 Jesus was to die to gather together the scattered children of God
Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to tell the Pharisees what he had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting. Here is this man working all these signs’ they said and what action are we taking? If we let him go on his this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation.’ One of them. Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said,’ You don't seem to have grasped the situation at all; you failed to see that it is better for one man to die for the people, and the whole nation to be destroyed.’ He did not speak in his own person, it was as high priest that made this prophecy that Jesus was to die for the nation - and not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God. From that day they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephriam, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.
The Jewish Passover drew near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves looked out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, ‘ ‘what do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?’
Reflection on the painting
At the end of today’s Gospel, the Jewish authorities reach a decisive conclusion: Jesus must die. To them he had become a threat. They wanted a status quo. They wanted to kill him, not because he had done harm, but because his presence unsettled the established order from which they benefited. In every age, those who disturb the familiar patterns of power and security are often pushed aside or silenced. Only moments earlier (just before today's Gospel reading) he had raised Lazarus from the dead, restoring joy and life to a grieving household. Yet this very act of life-giving mercy was perceived as dangerous. The one who brought life was condemned because the life he brought challenged the structures that preferred things to remain as they were.
Here we encounter the great paradox at the heart of the Gospel. The Life-Giver is put to death. In giving life to Lazarus, Jesus sets in motion the events that will cost him his own life. And yet, even in death, His life-giving work does not cease. From the cross He continues to pour out life for the world. As He had done while walking the dusty roads of Galilee and the crowded streets of Jerusalem, so too on Calvary He reveals the fullness of God’s love and life. That is why Christians 'dare' to call the day of his crucifixion 'Good' Friday. We do not simply mourn the cross; we venerate it: because through the wood of the cross the life of God was given to the world.
We are introduced to Caiaphas in today’s Gospel reading. He was the High Priest of the Temple in Jerusalem, the most powerful religious authority among the Jewish leadership at the time of Jesus. In our passage he argues that it would be better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to suffer. Caiaphas will appear again during the Passion, when Jesus is brought before him for questioning after his arrest. There, according to the Gospels, he accuses Jesus of blasphemy when Jesus affirms his divine identity, and the council decides that Jesus must die. He is thus a tragic figure who, in trying to safeguard the temple system, fails to recognise the very Messiah standing before him.
This dramatic moment is captured in the painting “Christ before the High Priest” by the Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst, painted around 1617. The scene is illuminated by a single candle. The small flame divides the composition: on one side sits Caiaphas, leaning forward and pointing accusingly while resting his hand on the book of the Mosaic Law; on the other stands Christ, calm and silent. What is striking is the contrast between the two figures. Caiaphas is animated, accusatory, almost agitated. Jesus, by contrast, appears serene and composed, his gaze calm and inward. Even the colours carry meaning: Caiaphas wears strong red tones (the wants blood to be spilled), while Christ is clothed largely in white, a traditional symbol of innocence and purity. Behind them other members of the council linger in shadow, suggesting the quiet machinery of judgment already in motion.
Christ before the High Priest Caiaphas,
Painting by Gerard van Honthorst (1592–1656),
Painted circa 1617,
Oil on canvas
© National Gallery, London
Saturday of the 5th week of Lent
Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us. Come, let us adore him.
Or: O that today you would listen to his voice: harden not your hearts.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Today's gospel reading
John 11:45-56 Jesus was to die to gather together the scattered children of God
Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to tell the Pharisees what he had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting. Here is this man working all these signs’ they said and what action are we taking? If we let him go on his this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation.’ One of them. Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said,’ You don't seem to have grasped the situation at all; you failed to see that it is better for one man to die for the people, and the whole nation to be destroyed.’ He did not speak in his own person, it was as high priest that made this prophecy that Jesus was to die for the nation - and not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God. From that day they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephriam, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.
The Jewish Passover drew near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves looked out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, ‘ ‘what do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?’
Reflection on the painting
At the end of today’s Gospel, the Jewish authorities reach a decisive conclusion: Jesus must die. To them he had become a threat. They wanted a status quo. They wanted to kill him, not because he had done harm, but because his presence unsettled the established order from which they benefited. In every age, those who disturb the familiar patterns of power and security are often pushed aside or silenced. Only moments earlier (just before today's Gospel reading) he had raised Lazarus from the dead, restoring joy and life to a grieving household. Yet this very act of life-giving mercy was perceived as dangerous. The one who brought life was condemned because the life he brought challenged the structures that preferred things to remain as they were.
Here we encounter the great paradox at the heart of the Gospel. The Life-Giver is put to death. In giving life to Lazarus, Jesus sets in motion the events that will cost him his own life. And yet, even in death, His life-giving work does not cease. From the cross He continues to pour out life for the world. As He had done while walking the dusty roads of Galilee and the crowded streets of Jerusalem, so too on Calvary He reveals the fullness of God’s love and life. That is why Christians 'dare' to call the day of his crucifixion 'Good' Friday. We do not simply mourn the cross; we venerate it: because through the wood of the cross the life of God was given to the world.
We are introduced to Caiaphas in today’s Gospel reading. He was the High Priest of the Temple in Jerusalem, the most powerful religious authority among the Jewish leadership at the time of Jesus. In our passage he argues that it would be better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to suffer. Caiaphas will appear again during the Passion, when Jesus is brought before him for questioning after his arrest. There, according to the Gospels, he accuses Jesus of blasphemy when Jesus affirms his divine identity, and the council decides that Jesus must die. He is thus a tragic figure who, in trying to safeguard the temple system, fails to recognise the very Messiah standing before him.
This dramatic moment is captured in the painting “Christ before the High Priest” by the Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst, painted around 1617. The scene is illuminated by a single candle. The small flame divides the composition: on one side sits Caiaphas, leaning forward and pointing accusingly while resting his hand on the book of the Mosaic Law; on the other stands Christ, calm and silent. What is striking is the contrast between the two figures. Caiaphas is animated, accusatory, almost agitated. Jesus, by contrast, appears serene and composed, his gaze calm and inward. Even the colours carry meaning: Caiaphas wears strong red tones (the wants blood to be spilled), while Christ is clothed largely in white, a traditional symbol of innocence and purity. Behind them other members of the council linger in shadow, suggesting the quiet machinery of judgment already in motion.
Christ before the High Priest Caiaphas,
Painting by Gerard van Honthorst (1592–1656),
Painted circa 1617,
Oil on canvas
© National Gallery, London