Jesus’ Next Journey to Jerusalem

from Google Images

Many Biblical scholars believe Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem began in Luke 9:51. However, in order to maintain this idea, they have to conclude that Luke either uses about nine and one half chapters to show Jesus wandering aimlessly all over the countryside, zigzagging all the way to Jerusalem, and even reversing course to return to Galilee (cf. Luke 17:11), or he places Jesus’ movements in a hodgepodge of seemingly unrelated incidents that took place in various parts of Palestine, having no perceived order in them at all. It is astonishing for me to see how far one will go in order to protect a favorite idea from being disproved, or, perhaps it may be better to say, some scholars have embraced the idea for so long that they believe it must be supported in the Scriptures somewhere.

 

Calling the First Disciples

from Google Images

It is actually John who shows how five men first came into contact with Jesus following his baptism. Andrew and an unnamed disciple left John the Baptist to be with Jesus on the way back to Galilee from the Jordan (John 1:37-39). When they arrived in Galilee, Andrew went to fetch his brother, Peter (John 1:40), and the following day Jesus found Philip, who then told Nathaniel who also came to see Jesus (John 1:43, 45). These are the first five men who came to listen to what Jesus had to say, and it is implied in the Synoptics that some of Jesus’ disciples were with him in Capernaum and probably Nazareth, as well (cf. Luke 4:38 and Mark 1:13).[1]

 

Prayer in Jesus’ Name

Why does God answer some prayers but not other prayers? Why will God answer a prayer to save a cancer patient from death, but won’t have an amputee grow another limb? There are a lot of people who seem to know or at least think they know why God heals, but really, why would God heal one person, but not another? Jesus didn’t ask for qualifications when he healed anyone; he simply did what needed to be done. There was no hocus pocus, or do you have enough faith for the healing, or would it be God’s will for **you** to be healed. Jesus simply healed the person.

 

Feeding the 5000

We are told in the Synoptic Gospels that just before Jesus fed the 5000 men, the disciples had returned from their mission to preach in the cities of Galilee. Herod had just executed John the Baptist and thought the rumors about Jesus and the Kingdom meant John had risen from the dead. Many of John’s disciples had come to Jesus looking for leadership, but Jesus knew most of the people were merely looking for another miracle. This seemed to be the extent of their attachment to him (John 2:23; 4:43-45, 48; 6:2). Therefore, Jesus took his disciples into a mountain to spend time alone—away from the crowds of people (John 6:3).

 

Jesus—the Concrete v/s the Abstract

Jesus claims to be to be the Bread of life that came down from God out of heaven (John 6:32-33, 38), and he went on to say that no one has everlasting life, unless he eats Jesus’ flesh and drinks his blood (John 6:50-51, 53-54). A great deal of misunderstanding has occurred over the theme of this part of the Gospel of John, including some modern critics saying that this part of the Gospel of John was taken from the pagan religious rites dealing with Mithraism. So, what is Jesus saying and can we be sure the understanding is not taken from paganism?

 

Jesus—Feeding the Hungry

Even a cursory reading of John 6 will show that Jesus had compassion on those who were hungry (John 6:5). Nevertheless, Jesus didn’t dedicate his office as Messiah to satisfy the needs of the poor in the world or even in Palestine (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4), but he had compassion upon the needy, wherever he saw them.

 

When is Enough, Enough?

At one of our annual family reunions my cousin, Michael, asked me about my writing. At that time I was writing a book about Jesus’ life and teachings according to the Gospel of Luke. I told him I wished I could retire and devote myself to completing it, but I didn’t think I had enough set aside to do so. He asked me: “What is enough?” I thought about his reply for quite awhile afterward, and Thanksgiving week that same year my company offered me an early retirement. I had to decide by the week before Christmas. It was a very intense month for me, but the long-story-short is: I decided I had enough, put my decision in God’s hands, and never looked back. However, instead of writing a book, I decided to begin a blog, and here we are!

 

The Two Resurrections

Jesus told Martha that he was the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:24), and here in John 5 Jesus was telling the Jewish authorities that there are two resurrections, one called the “Resurrection of Life” and the other called the “Resurrection of Judgment” (John 4:29). What does this mean?

 

Bethesda and the Five Porches

A man lay impotent for 38 years at the pool called Bethesda which had five porches or porticos. It was located near the Sheep Gate on the north side of the Temple. The five porticos were places by the pool where folks could gather protected from the weather to rest, talk with friends, or simply contemplate what was on one’s mind. In a way these porticos could represent our five senses whereby we take in the world around us. We have no other means to physically know our world but through the senses of sight, hearing, touch, scent or taste that witness to us about the facts of our world.

 

The Man at the Pool and the Promised Land

It was to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus went again to Jerusalem (John 5:1). He came to the pool called Bethesda and healed a man, who had been impotent for 38 years. For 38 years he couldn’t move from one place to another. He claimed that at a certain season (probably during this particular feast of the Jews) an angel stirred the water of the pool and the first to enter its waters would be healed (John 5:4), but he had no one to put him into the pool (John 5:7), for, while he was crawling there, someone else always entered first.

 

A Prophet Without Honor

After passing through Samaria, Jesus came again into Galilee. John tells us of Jesus’ testimony that a prophet has no honor in his own country. This statement comes as a surprise at this point, because John places the statement just before he tells us about how the Galileans received Jesus, because they had witnessed the things he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover (John 4:44-45). How are we to understand this?

 

Worship in Spirit ~ Worship in Truth

After spending some time looking forward in John’s Gospel, I find my mind drawn one more time to the woman at the well in John 4. She expressed an inner conflict over the correct place of worship, which was an expression of the more obvious conflict between Jews and Samaritans.

 

The Sinner and Jesus

Have you ever noticed how Jesus was not afraid to be associated with women of questionable moral character? Mary Magdalene was someone out of whom he had cast 7 demons (Mark 16:9). We don’t know exactly what that meant, but certainly Mary Magdalene was not someone, who had graced the lists of high society in her day. Then there was the woman in Luke 7:36-50. Simon the Pharisee was appalled with Jesus’ obvious acceptance of her gestures of affection. Additionally, how can we forget the protection and mercy Jesus offered the woman caught in adultery? When everyone else condemned her, Jesus judged everyone else, and saved the adulterous women.

 

How Secret are our Thoughts?

Would you be comfortable in the presence of someone who could read your mind? Some of us go to great lengths to make, what we hope would be, a good impression on others. Some businesses even employ people, whose sole responsibility is to keep a good image of the company before the eyes of the public, and, if for any reason the company is caught doing something illegal or has produced a product that has hurt the public or the environment, these public relations employees try to turn the negative publicity into something positive or at least something less damaging to their company’s image.

 

You Are What You Eat

Is God concerned with our diet? Well, ‘yes & no’ would most likely be the truth. My family doctor is probably more concerned over my cholesterol level than God is. On the other hand God is interested in what I think about Jesus and in my overall spiritual well being.