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)