The Festival in Jerusalem

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

October 21, 2019

The Festival in Jerusalem

Page 153-155

John 7:11-36

When Jesus was confronted about his teachings, he replied “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me” (John 7:16). Jesus said the religious leaders wanted to arrest him, but couldn’t “because his time had not yet come” (John 7:30). Does this mean that Jesus was robotic, saying and doing only that for which he had been programmed? Actually, I see Jesus’ appearance at the Festival as a sign of his humanity. He didn’t have to be there, he didn’t need to be stirring up the religious leaders. But he couldn’t resist an opportunity to try and help the people grasp the reality of God’s love for humankind.

I knew a man who was helping Jews from the former Soviet Union immigrate to the USA. I asked him about the challenges in helping the immigrants assimilate into their new country. He said they had been fed many lies and misinformation about life in the US, not the least of which was that the Americans suffered from lack of food as much as the Russians. He said one trip to the supermarket dispelled that notion.

Much of the controversy that surrounded Jesus was based on misinformation about the nature of God, His relationship to the world, His purpose for humankind and His vision of community. Many people, especially the religious leaders, would not accept Jesus as the Messiah because Jesus did not fit into their expectations of the Messiah, and because Jesus’ vision of God, the world, the nature of humanity, and their neighbors was so different than their preconceived notions.

A Christian is a person who has become aware that the world’s culture has told them a pack of lies about God, the world, themselves and their neighbors. A Christian learns that God, in Christ Jesus, is telling them the truth.

My Takeaway: Jesus’ visit to the festival is an invitation for me to answer four questions: What is my understanding of the nature of God? What is my understanding of the world? What is my understanding of my place in the world? Who are my neighbors?

And one more question: And I know this how?

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.