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even though He knew the extent of the difficulties this choice imposed, the greatness of

the risk, and the very slim chances of success.
A verse in St. John’s Gospel gives us an inkling of the reasons which prompted Jesus to

adopt this attitude:

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in

this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what
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we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews .
The text is clear. As the last words of this quotation indicate, the Jews should have

participated actively in Jesus' work for it to have been a complete success which would

have benefited the whole human society.
This is why it was so important to approach the Jews who, as the chosen people, were

the unique depositaries of the Alliance with God. The Saviour's attitude was the only

one that corresponded with the plan He had established. It was to put this plan into

execution that He came into the world at a period when humanity was marking time
instead of crossing the interval that would have enabled it to enter into its phase of

development.

The beauty and force of the Word that gives to those that receive it, the power to
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become the Children of God should have found an echo in the hearts of the scribes
and Pharisees. But the latter were too attached to the letter of the Law and

concentrated their zeal on the out-

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John, IV, 21-22.
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John, I, 12.