Gospel Reading for March 18, 2026 – John 5: 17-30
FAULTLESS
Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.
“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
———-
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5: 20).
The scribes and Pharisees were highly legalistic in their interpretation of God’s law. This may be why they were more focused on identifying those who, in their view, “violated” the law.
Because they considered themselves experts of the law, they began to see themselves as FAULTLESS. When we think of ourselves as FAULTLESS, we tend to look for faults in others because doing so gives us a false sense of superiority and allows us to avoid confronting our own weaknesses and sinfulness.
The scribes and Pharisees were also constantly looking for ways to discredit Jesus, even putting him to the test—yet they did not succeed. In today’s reading, they accuse him of blasphemy for calling God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God. Had they paid closer attention to his teachings on love, mercy, and compassion—and to his miracles and good works instead of fault-finding—they would have recognized that Jesus is truly the Son of God, the Messiah who was to come.
We will never be able to see the goodness of God in others if we remain focused only on their weaknesses.
Lord Jesus, teach us to be humble and compassionate, so that we may grow in our faith.
