JESUS, THE PROPHET

Mark notes that Jesus taught with authority (cf. Mark 1:22). The Greek term is exusia which literally means “starting from being”. Jesus heals, heals, frees from evil starting from being, from his being and from being in the Father. His words and actions therefore coincide with his profound nature. However, the feature that we want to highlight of this evangelical page is the prophecy. Jesus is a powerful prophet in words (he announces the Gospel of God) and works (healings, miracles and wonders). He is also a mysterious prophet, as Mark narrates well, highlighting, on several occasions, the so-called “messianic secret” (Jesus did not want to openly reveal his messianic nature). But who is the prophet and what is his mission? In the Old Testament we find three terms: nabi’ which means “called”, hozeh (“visionary”) and ro’eh (“seer”). In these last two cases the emphasis is more on the transcendent vision of the prophet, who reveals God’s plan. The Greek term profètes is interesting and contains the verb femi (“to speak”) and the preposition pro which has three nuances: “in place of”, “in front of” and “before”. The prophet therefore does not speak in his name but in the name of God and helps the men of his time to understand history with its tortuous turns but also with his hopes. The prophet therefore shows everyone (“in front of”) the profound meaning of the events and facts. His work is a work of deciphering the meaning of life under the shell of human action. We want to remember here that the Christian is also called to practice prophecy (cf. Presbyterorum ordinis n. 2). This prophetic character means that Christians are strangers and pilgrims in this world, that is, on their way towards the Kingdom. This eschatological tension is not contempt for the human but an interpretation of him starting from his fulfillment. A prophet Jesus is well depicted in a painting by James Tissot: Jesus unrolls the Scripture in a synagogue (1886-1894), where the Master, to the amazement of the scribes and Pharisees, authoritatively interprets the Scriptures. From the word of God the ability to prophetically discern history as the history of salvation.

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves,
Prinknash Abbey