24 May 2026 – Pentecost
Acts 2:1–11; 1 Cor 12:3–13; John 20:19–23
H O M I L Y
Fear is a recurring theme in the Gospel of Saint John. And the phrase ‘out of fear of the Jews’ comes up time and again. This phrase refers to a faith that is not yet pure, a trust that is not complete. Thus, Nicodemus, at the beginning of the Gospel, comes to Jesus to question him, but he does so at night ‘for fear of the Jews’. Similarly, the parents of the man born blind whom Jesus had healed refuse to tell the Pharisees what they know, ‘for fear of the Jews’. After Jesus’ death, Joseph of Arimathea comes to ask Pilate to hand over His body, but he does so at night, ‘for fear of the Jews’. In the Gospel we have just read, John tells us that, on the evening of the first day of the week—that is, on Easter evening—the disciples had gathered in one place, ‘for fear of the Jews’. It is worth noting, in passing, that in the original Greek text, unlike most modern translations (including the one we have read), it does not say that the door was locked, but simply that it was ‘closed’; and the phrase ‘for fear of the Jews’ refers to the fact that the disciples were gathered in the same place and has nothing to do with the fact that the door was shut.