John 2:23-3:21
Dear RTB’ers,
Clarification… Yesterday I discussed the Jews seeking signs and wondered at how they knew about Jesus’ signs. Today we see that Jesus was, indeed, performing signs (healings?) in Jerusalem, leading to the Jewish leaders requesting additional signs: Now when He was in Jerusalem … they saw the signs that He was doing. (v. 2:23) We also see Nicodemus acknowledging these signs in John 3:2.
The Catholic Church recognizes seven sacraments (Baptism, the Eucharist, Reconciliation [Confession], Confirmation, Holy Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction [anointing of the ill]), while mainline Protestant denominations recognize only two – Baptism and the Eucharist. One of the Catholic Church’s sources for Confirmation comes from Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (v. 3:5) So, is Jesus instituting Confirmation as a sacrament? The early church acknowledged the laying on of hands as a particular spiritual ritual for the receiving of the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 8:14-17, 19:6.) Sacrament or not, we celebrate Confirmation in our Anglican tradition as a special service where we ask to be “born of the Spirit” (v. 3:8b). We all need to be Spirit-filled!
Blessings.
See also: