Jeremiah 17:13–18 | John 11:47–54
As we enter the final stretch of Lent, the readings appointed for this Friday in Passion Week draw us more deeply into the shadow of the Cross. In both the Prophet Jeremiah and the Gospel according to St. John, we perceive the growing tide of rejection, suffering, and the redemptive offering of the just one.
“O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake Thee shall be put to shame…” (Jer 17:13)
Jeremiah, often called the “weeping prophet,” cries out to God from a place of deep distress and persecution. His words are both a personal plea and a prophecy fulfilled ultimately in Christ. He speaks of being a “lamb led to the slaughter” (Jer 11:19), and here again he prays for vindication against those who seek his downfall.
St. Jerome, commenting on Jeremiah, notes that the prophet is a type of Christ, suffering not for his own sins but because of his fidelity to the Word of the Lord. In his commentary, Jerome writes:
“Jeremiah, though a man, bears the type of the Lord; for just as Christ was hated without cause, so too Jeremiah, proclaiming the truth, is made the enemy of his own people.”
(Commentarii in Jeremiam)
Indeed, Jeremiah’s words in this passage point us toward Our Lord, who is the true “Hope of Israel”, the fountain of living waters (v.13), spurned by His people.
“It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people…” (John 11:50)
The Gospel today brings us into the dark counsels of the Sanhedrin, where Caiaphas, the high priest, unknowingly prophesies the redemptive death of Christ. His words—meant politically—are turned by divine Providence into a profound theological truth.
St. Augustine reflects on this mystery with awe:
“Caiaphas spoke not of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied… This is a notable instance of how sometimes even the wicked, while intending evil, serve the designs of God.”
(Tractatus in Ioannem, 49)
It is one of the sublime ironies of Passiontide: the enemies of Christ, in seeking to destroy Him, unwittingly fulfill the divine plan of salvation. The unity of the Church—”to gather into one the children of God who were scattered abroad” (Jn 11:52)—is born from this very rejection.
The Veil Begins to Fall
During Passiontide, the sacred liturgy itself begins to veil the image of Christ. Crucifixes and statues are covered, echoing the hiding of Our Lord from the crowd in today’s Gospel: “Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews” (Jn 11:54).
According to St. John Chrysostom, this withdrawal of Christ is not cowardice but purposeful, a manifestation of His divine control over His hour:
“He did not hide out of fear, but in order that He might accomplish all things in their proper time… He withdrew, not because He was unable to suffer, but because His hour had not yet come.”
(Hom. in Ioannem, 65)
It is the calm before the storm, the silence before the thunder of Calvary.
A Personal Plea in the Time of Tribulation
Returning to Jeremiah’s cry—“Be not a terror unto me; Thou art my hope in the day of evil” (Jer 17:17)—we hear the voice of the Church, and indeed of every soul, in the midst of persecution, temptation, and abandonment. This week of Passion invites us to unite our own wounds, our own rejections, with those of Christ, whose Passion looms before us.
Let us make Jeremiah’s prayer our own: that we may not be ashamed for trusting in the Lord, and that in the midst of a world hostile to truth, we may cling to the Hope of Israel—Christ Jesus, hidden now, but soon to be lifted up.
Meditation and Devotion
Prayer (inspired by the Passiontide Preface and today’s readings):
O Jesus, Hope of Israel, hidden now in Your Passion, we adore You.
You who were led as a lamb to the slaughter, grant us grace to follow You through rejection into glory.
May Your suffering be our consolation, Your wounds our refuge, Your death our life.
Through the prayers of the prophet Jeremiah, and the intercession of St. John the Evangelist,
strengthen us in the day of evil, and keep us steadfast until Your Resurrection breaks forth like the dawn. Amen.