At the conclusion of Jesus' discourse to the Jews in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, his listeners attempted to kill him but Jesus somehow disappeared and slipped out of the Temple precincts. Something similar happened when Jesus returned to Nazareth and preached in the synagogue: his listeners were first of all amazed at his teaching and then wanted to kill him by throwing him over a cliff. Jesus also escaped on that occasion. Tomorrow, when we read an extract from chapter 10 of John's Gospel, we see a similar incident: the Jews wanted to kill Jesus but he somehow escaped. These incidents point to a greater truth. Jesus could refuse death in this way because his time had not yet come. He could avoid death because in doing so he was not being unfaithful to his Father. In the Garden of Olives after the Last Supper, when the Jews and Romans came to arrest him, he does not make any attempt to escape but surrenders willingly and quietly to his captors. He has washed the feet of his disciples and given us the Eucharist. His ministry is almost finished. It only remains for him to die on a cross to save us from our sins.