January 27 Now?

John 7:9-10 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. 10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.
 
JESUS had just told his brothers, “You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.” But after they left, he also went. It took about 30 hours to walk from Galilee to Jerusalem. Would it not have been more appropriate to travel with family and friends? Why would Jesus go separately with his own disciples?
   One answer is in John 7:1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. Thousands of people traveled together in caravans to the great Feasts. Surely some would have urged Jesus of Nazareth to Jerusalem’s throne. His brothers may have sought political fame for Jesus and selfishly aroused the crowd to proclaim Jesus king. Such actions outside of the Father’s will would end Jesus’ ministry at the wrong time. That time would be later at another Feast called the Passover.
   The Sovereign God is directing the Son’s footsteps. He sees the total picture. Remember, Jesus is fully God and fully man. His human nature must hear from the divine to fulfill God’s will. Jesus has said, “For me, the right time has not yet come.”  He has knowledge of his next movements the others do not know. The Son will go to the Feast in the Father’s time in a way that will serve to further reveal his divine nature.    It’s important to also note the Feast of Tabernacles was one of the three Feasts the Lord God commanded the Jews to celebrate each year. This Feast remembered how God had come to tabernacle – dwell – with his people to protect them and lead them. In addition, this Feast celebrated the harvest time for some crops. Dwelling, harvest and protection are the reasons for the Feast.
   Jesus personifies the Feast. He came to dwell on earth with his people. He came to protect his chosen from sin and reap a harvest of the righteous. In God’s love, the Son came to lead us to tabernacle with him for eternity.   
   In response, our work is to submit to God’s sovereign timetable. Rest in the assurance all things are his and his alone. 
 
Prayer: Lord God, I submit my life, even my timepiece, to you. Give to me a true understanding that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)