To lead out (יָצָא yāṣā՚)

To lead out (יָצָא yāṣā՚), in the basic qal conjugation this verb means “to come out”, and “to bring out” is a form of the hifil conjugation, in which it also means “to draw out, to command to come out, to rise up and to release”. This verb implies leaving a closed or confined place. This is the verb for Exodus, i.e. the liberation of Israel from Egyptian slavery. God brings an oppressed people out of oppression and sets them free.
In today’s first reading (Ex 20:1-17), we hear ten words of God, called the Decalogue, which Israel received through Moses at Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments do not begin with commands, but are preceded by an introduction that is important in understanding the entire Decalogue. The most important fact is that before giving the commandments to his people, God introduces himself and reveals his identity by saying: “I am the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, out of the house of servitude.” So the God of the Ten Commandments is the same God who fought and delivered Israel. This fundamental experience of liberation also allows us to better understand the deep meaning of the commandments that lead to freedom and are an expression of liberation. God is not like Pharaoh who held the nation captive and maintained the power of the oppressor over it, but He is God who frees and shows the path to freedom and true worship.
This Sunday’s Gospel (John 2:13-25) shows the Lord Jesus, who in indignation throws the merchants out of the temple in Jerusalem and says to those who were selling doves: “Take these things out of here, and do not make My Father’s house into a house of commerce.” The house of commerce is a place of exchange, trade and doing business, and they deform the worship of God, which God wants us to exercise in freedom, selflessness and love. It should be noted that the Lord Jesus, when asked by the Jews what authority he had to do this, points to a sign that will be “the raising up the destroyed temple.” These words are a profound definition of His resurrection, which will be the last and most important sign mentioned in the entire Gospel according to St. John.