Jesus' Delay

“When the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea.” John 7:2-3  During Jesus’ time the Sukkoth was  "a feast very much observed among us."  (Ant. 15.3.3)

Autumn had arrived, and with it the major festival of the Jews called Sukkoth.  The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the three great harvest festivals when the Jewish people go to Jerusalem to celebrate.  In this passage Jesus delays his trip.  This made me think about the delays which have been part of Sukkoth.

It would have been great if the Messiah could come to his temple, or if “every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty.” (Zech 14:16-21), but the time had not yet come.

During Sukkoth the Jews build houses out of branches and leaves (the ceiling must be open enough to see the stars) to remember the forty years they wandered in the wilderness before they could enter the Promised Land.  (Lev 23:39-43) During that time the entire generation which made a golden calf died out. (Psalm 95:10)

When the Jews arrived in the Promised Land they built homes and developed farms, but the “House of God,” their place of worship remained in a temporary structure called The Tabernacle.  For a time this was located at Shiloh.  After David conquered Jerusalem he brought the contents of the Tabernacle to his new capital at Jerusalem.  (2 Sam. 6)

During the Feast of Tabernacles the Temple, the “permanent” place of worship was dedicated by King Solomon (1 Kings 8:2ff).  During this dedication we could say that worship was moved from the Tabernacle constructed by Moses in the wilderness into a building constructed by human hands.  The dedication was blessed as could be seen by the cloud which filled the Temple. (2 Chron 5:13-14)

The Jews worshipped in the Temple of Solomon for 410 years (Seder Olam), which was destroyed by the Babylonians.  After an order by Cyrus, during the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jews held their first worship service in Jerusalem (Ezra 3), and then laid the foundation for the new Temple.  But there was delay in building because of conflict with the locals and the need for people to build their own homes.

Why did Jesus delay his coming to Jerusalem?  It could have been because of sin (which is why the Jews wandered in the desert).  It could have been because of unfinished business (the Jews did not take the strongholds in the land when they first arrived).  Or it could have been because the people were too focused on themselves and their needs.  All of these reasons existed.

But John tells us "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." (John 7:6-8)

Bread of LIfe

Today’s post is about the “Bread of Life.” (John 6:48) Birthday cake is made of bread, and today is my birthday. I get to eat the bread which celebrates life. That is fun. I look forward to my birthday. I tell people I think I’m 39 … “again.” I do things with a little more zest.

Some tell me I’ve had a lot of birthday cake. I’ve had cakes so many years in a row that it is normal, and even mundane. (That’s not nice or true… it is still fun for me).

For some who live life a long time, it is normal and mundane. Life drags day after day. Jesus said, “Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.” (John 6:49) They ate manna every day of every week for forty years. Day after day they picked up manna. The only variety was Friday when they picked up enough for two days, and Saturday when they were able to rest.

Keith Green suggests they were able to get creative in cooking the manna. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foUH4No_SVU) But I think for most families it was the same day after day. Manna, Manna, Manna.

Water is a necessity in life (John 4). Wine is an “extra” in life (John 2). Bread is a staple. Our blessings over food recognize this: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth;” and “Give us today our daily bread.”

Jesus tells us life is more. Jesus said. “I am the living bread.” (We are to be alive and not dead) He added:
- This is the bread that comes down from heaven, (this means it is special)
- This is the bread a man may eat and not die. (This bread should keep us from being mundane)
- If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. (This bread adds zest to life)
This bread I give for the life of the world. (Jesus was willing to give personally of His time, energy, and even His life for the world)

The bread of Jesus is free. The bread of Jesus is to be shared with others (it grows stale if hoarded). The bread of Jesus should add fullness and fun to life. When we have the bread of life we should live with more zest. We should do more good. We should not count the cost (like Philip … we should be more like Jesus). We should share the bread of life (like Andrew and Jesus) so others can life.

Data and Real People

As I read about Jesus healing the man at the pool of Bethesda, I began to see some differences and similarities between this healing and the healing of the Nobleman’s son. I also saw similarities and differences between Nicodemus and the Samaritan Woman…

- Status: Nicodemus & the Nobleman were well respected leaders within their communities. The Samaritan was despised for nationality and because she was a woman. The man at the pool was also despised because he was crippled. If he lived today he would have been on welfare.
- Family: Nicodemus & the Nobleman came from stable families. Although we do not know much about Nicodemus, the Nobleman was married and had a child. The Samaritan Woman was a divorcee who had a live in boyfriend. The man at the pool had no family. He was alone in the world.
- Age: The Nobleman’s son was young. The Samaritan Woman was old enough to be married five times. The man had been ill for thirty-eight years.
- Occasion: Nicodemus and the Nobleman sought Jesus and found him. They had heard of his reputation and his ability to perform miracles. The Samaritan Woman came to the well where Jesus asked her a question to engage her in conversation. Jesus came and found the man at the pool, asking him a question, “Do you want to get well?”
- Travel: Nicodemus came to Jesus who was in town because of the feast of Passover. The Nobleman traveled about a day’s journey to find Jesus. Jesus had traveled a day north of Jerusalem when he met the woman at the well. Jesus was in Jerusalem for the feast when he met the man at the pool
- Privacy: Nicodemus and the Nobleman met Jesus in private. Jesus met the Samaritan Woman and the crippled man in a public place, and near the water.
- Required: Jesus asked Nicodemus and the Samaritan Woman to come out of the darkness into the light of Salvation. Jesus sent the Nobleman home because he had healed the boy from a distance. Jesus touched the man at the pool asking him to pick up his mat and walk.
- Afterwards: Nicodemus and the man at the pool found they were in conflict with the Pharisees after their meeting with Jesus. The woman and the nobleman left in peace. The nobleman was found by his servant who told him his son was well. Later the Woman brought her entire town to meet Jesus (and also his disciples). Jesus found the man he healed in the Temple and told him to sin no more.

The lesson here is that Jesus is for all people: Rich or Poor; Respected or Despised; Well or Sick; Near or Far; Surrounded by family or Alone; Sinner or Saint. Jesus came to change our lives for the better … if we will receive Him. The key question seems to be “Do you want to get well?” When we answer in the affirmative and follow the word of Jesus we receive the gift of health, life, and forgiveness.

Going Beyond the Miraculous

I met a man last night who does not believe in God. Why? Because he can not philosophically accept the existence of a God. This is truly sad. At our meeting we talked about death and care for those who were dying. We talked about the hope that comes from knowing there is life after death. He said it is a nice thing for me to offer this hope, but he can not believe in life after death. It is a pity for the suffering and demise, which is so useless.

John’s gospel says, “many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.” (2:23) Nicodemus came to Jesus because, “no one could perform the miraculous signs … if God were not with him.” (3:2) Perhaps the man I was with needs to see a miraculous sign to stretch him.

Miraculous signs can change our philosophies and beliefs. The people begged for signs. (4:48; 6:30) They followed Jesus because of his signs. (6:2, 14; 7:31; 11:47-48; 12:18) In a sense, even those who were “too wise” for signs looked for a sign to prove Jesus had some authority. (2:10; 3:2; 9:16)

Commonly people say Jesus performed seven signs in his gospel: 1) Changing water into wine in John 2:1-11; 2) Healing the royal official's son 4:46-54; 3) Healing the paralytic 5:1-18; 4) Feeding the 5000 6:5-14; 5) Walking on water 6:16-24; 6) Healing the blind man 9:1-7; 7) Raising Lazarus from the dead 11:1-45. And there was an eighth sign: the Resurrection. In addition to these seven signs, John wants us to know, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.” (20:30)

To come to belief because we see the signs is a wonderful thing, but Jesus tells us we need to get beyond the signs. Jesus challenges the royal official from Capernaum, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe.” (4:48) He tells the people at the Sea of Galilee, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” (6:26) For our faith to believe because of signs can be self serving. We only want more. “What’s in it for us?”

Signs can be a good starting point, but we must move beyond. We must love. The greatest commandment is, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Dt 6:5) Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (13:34)

To never move beyond a belief based on signs is selfish. Jesus commands us to love. He knows our hearts (5:42) and sees our faith is more about us and our selfishness than doing His desires. Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” (14:21)

The royal official asked Jesus to come to his home and heal his son. (4:46) Jesus told him, “Go home.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. He moved beyond the need to cling to signs. We must also. We must move from seeking what we can get from our religion to obeying so our neighbors can see God’s love through us.