Jesus Revealed Pt. 7 - The UnexpectedSample

Jesus Teaches in the Temple  

Thoughts on the Passage

Jesus goes up quietly – not to draw attention to Himself, like His brothers said He should do. That is what people do who don’t want the attention for themselves. We see other responses from people as well. We see grumbling people – people complaining that Jesus is not there. We see people angry, legalistic people – they condemn Jesus because they feel He is a law-breaker. We see people who mock Jesus, saying He has a demon. The one thing we do not see is indifferent people – people who do not care what Jesus says or does. Jesus polarizes people – they love Him or are unhappy with Him. That is what God wants to see. He wants people to make a choice about Jesus. 

This festival is supposed to be one of celebration – a time of thanksgiving to God for the blessings of the past year. Instead many people focus and condemn Jesus for doing a miracle on the Sabbath day. Jesus shows that Moses required that a child gets circumcised on the eighth day regardless of whether it is a Sabbath – Jesus made a whole body well! It is a time to celebrate, rejoice and give thanks; it is not a time to argue over silly things. 

Finally, this festival is again a time when the people would read/hear the Law of Moses and be instructed. Jesus is doing this for the people.

Application

This is a season of blessing where we hear the Word of God. Take time to listen carefully and ask God for understanding of His Word – just as Jesus gave understanding to the people about Moses and the real purpose of the Sabbath. 

God commanded the people to gather at this feast to be thankful. Take time today to thank God for blessings that He has given over the past year.

Time to Pray

Father, today I take time to think about Your Word. I ask that You give understanding about the passage from Your Word that I meditate on. Give me new understanding, greater insight and a greater love for You as a result. Also, fill my heart with thanksgiving today. It is a great day to stop and thank You for all the wonderful blessings that have come my way in the past year. I do not want anyone or anything to take away my thankful heart today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.