2026/08/17

261. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: "I can do nothing of my own authority"

"I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me" (Jn 5:30). In these words, we find an image of the Eucharist. In Chapter 6, where Jesus says, "I am the bread of life" (6:35), He not only repeats the theme we discussed last time, but also states, "I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me" (6:38). He thus moves the discourse forward from "seeking His will" to "doing His will." He then made it clear: "This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day" (6:39). 

These words are linked to the passage in John 18: "This was to fulfil the word which he had spoken, 'Of those whom thou gavest me I lost not one'" (Jn 18:9). At this very moment and in this very scene, not a single one of the Apostles must be lost. That was because, they—upon whom Jesus had conferred the priesthood of the New Covenant through the institution of the Eucharist and the command to continue it, and with whom He entrusted kingship—would, in collaboration with the Holy Spirit, continue to make the Eucharistic Christ present, who carries on the work of Jesus, to the world and shepherd, care for and serve the Church that brings priests forth (cf. 21:15-19). In this way, they serve the living. The Eucharist saves every spirit of both the living and the dead. This is because, united with the drawing power of the Father, the power of Jesus—who draws all to Himself on the Cross—flows forth from within the Eucharist. 

In this way, the words in Chapter 6, "I should lose nothing of all that he has given me," are interlocking with the scene in Chapter 18, and the dead are particularly evoked. Even now, the number of people who have died in ignorance and await in Hades is likely far greater than those who are called to the path of salvation whilst still alive. Among them are also those who died without accepting death. The spirits of these people, now wandering as evil spirits, therefore attempt to possess living people, seeking death. They wish to be saved by reliving death alongside them. However, those possessed by the evil spirit will be gripped by extraordinary inner conflict because they also have a realm of the spirit into which God breathed the "breath of life." 

To save people from such suffering, Jesus granted His disciples the authority to cast out evil spirits. And Jesus Himself—who was both divine and human—during His time on earth merely cast out evil spirits, not saving them; He demonstrated that saving evil spirits is something humans cannot do. Jesus died and rose again as a human being and bore witness to eternal life for us. But not only that, He had resolved to bring about a second Incarnation—the Eucharist—to draw near to and save also the spirits of those who had become evil spirits. The place where this will take place is Armageddon, as described in the Book of Revelation (cf. Rev 16:12–16, 20:7–10). Jesus intended to carry out God’s perfect plan to raise, on the Last Day, every individual whom the Father had given Him, without losing a single one. 

Therefore, He said to those who were living: "This is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (Jn 6:40). The Father desires that those who are living should come to realise, whilst they are still alive, that they have received eternal life by accepting Jesus and believing in His name. The Eucharistic Christ gives Himself to us so that, by partaking of Him, we may experience the Father's desire. This very experience is the great power that draws us back to the Mass, to the Eucharist, even as we return to our daily lives after the blessing of dismissal at the end of the Mass. 

We return to our daily lives because the Holy Spirit is waiting there, ready to work in partnership with us. By working with us in our daily lives, the Holy Spirit brings about, so to speak, the mystery of a third Incarnation, enabling us to demonstrate the likeness of God. And the Holy Spirit, whilst spreading the Gospel of Jesus, remains with us, seeking to lift us to the heavenly celebration of the Mass when our spirit is separated from our body. As it is written in the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Jesus, rests upon each of us believers: "And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them" (Acts 2:2–3). 

As Jesus testified, whether we can actually fulfil the Father’s will—"I will raise him up at the last day"—depends on the extent to which we are aware that we are those who see the Son and believe in him, thereby obtaining eternal life, and on how deeply we internalise this realisation. Therefore, believers are those who earnestly desire to receive the Eucharist for their own salvation. Yet do we, as believers, truly understand our own hearts, express them honestly, and strive to put them into practice? Jesus knew that the people of His time would not believe even when they saw the works He performed. 

Maria K. M.