Jesus went to the feast of Tabernacles secretly, but didn’t stay undercover for long.
click here for an online Bible John 7:1-24
Even Jesus’ siblings did not believe in him. They suggested that he go to Jerusalem and perform some miracle there. That would be the best place to draw a crowd. Jesus wasn’t looking for a crowd, he was looking for believers.
The religious leaders were still looking to kill Jesus because he violated the Sabbath by healing the lame man and claimed to be the Son of God. There was a lot of buzz about Jesus but it seems that most of it was wrong. Some thought he was just a good man while other thought that he was a deceiver. The leaders thought he was a blasphemer.
Even though the religious leaders sought to kill him, Jesus went up to Jerusalem and started teaching in the temple. He criticized them for saying that he broke the Sabbath when they conduct circumcisions on the Sabbath. He said, “Stop judging according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.” I think what he meant was don’t judge based on what appears to be right to you, but judge according to what God says.
How often do we make judgments based on our opinions or experience rather than what God says? I do it. We all do it. The Pharisees did it. They thought they were protecting God’s honor, but they were really protecting their tradition. When I see something new or unfamiliar, and I react negatively, I have to catch myself and ask, “Is this reaction based on my opinion or God’s word?” I have to be careful to not confuse ‘like and dislike’ with ‘right and wrong’.
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2 comments:
I concur - my first reaction is purely personal when encountering something new. We need to keep that perspective of "What would God think of it?"
In 7:24, Jesus is further driving home the point of the SPIRIT of the law. They thought they were meeting the law fine but this was only in the LETTER of it. Just as in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 5-7), Jesus is opening their eyes to the REAL level required by the Law - complete heart-compliance. Honestly analysed, they knew they could never meet this level of compliance. This indeed is the point of the Law - you'll never achieve it, so your only hope is in Christ alone for salvation. Sadly, my past "religion", Catholicism, is too often stuck in this mind set of legalistic compliance and hoping the heart will follow. Just as in Jesus day, this rarely occurs. He showed the proper way of the heart first and let God worry about the rest.
There is a great need for us as Christians to have God's point of view on things. Too often we rely on our own experience and feelings and then end up making poor or wrong decisions. My prayer is that God would captivate my words and actions and that he would enable me to seek His counsel and wisdom before reacting out of my own weakness and frailty.
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