Wednesday In The Word...John 7:32-36...Where I Go

Today's Wednesday in the Word is John chapter 7 and verses 32 through 36, which read,

v.32 - The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.

Jesus has quietly came into the Feast of Booths and made His way into the temple to start preaching and teaching.  What is ruffling the authorities feathers are the words that Jesus is using to explain the close relationship between Himself and His Father, Father God.  The crowd is in a state of confusion to this man named Jesus who the authorities wanted killed but He is here speaking openly in the temple.  

The chief priests were mainly made up of the sect called the Sadducees who didn't believe in the bodily resurrection at the end of days.  The Pharisees did and therefore these two groups didn't usually associate with one another but now they had a common enemy.  The officers called here would have been the Temple Guard which were the security system of the Levites who were the watchmen of the Temple area.

v.33, 34 - Therefore Jesus said, "For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come."

Jesus is letting the crowd know that His time on earth is limited.  He is going to depart soon and be back with the Father God in heaven.  There were be those who will look for His body, dead or alive, but they will not find it.  Where Jesus is headed is not available at this time.

This is the ultimate hide and seek game with Jesus and He has found the perfect hiding spot only to be revealed when He reveals it.  We will not find Him on our own accord.  He will reveal Himself so that He is found and one day be with Him where He is but not right now.

v.35, 36 - The Jews then said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him?  He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?  What is this statement that He said, 'You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come'?"

The Jews were thinking only of the physical and not the spiritual.  Where would Jesus go that they could not physically find Him?  Would He go among the Gentiles, the Greeks, the "unclean" people?  Would Jesus leave "clean" Jerusalem and head out of this opposition to other people who would listen to Him?  They would not come to Jesus because He would be among those they banned as capable of knowing God even though the Scriptures they held spoke of the Messiah reaching all nations.

Their eyes were not opened by God to comprehend the gospel message of Jesus as the Messiah, come from God, sent to die on a cross for sinners, and risen to return to God.  The two men on the Road to Emmaus were prevented from recognizing Jesus.  Later their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus just as the disciples they reported to when Jesus opened their minds to understand.  The men on the road said to one another,

"Were not our hearts burning within us 

while He was speaking to us on the road, 

while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"

The action going on here of preventing and opening is coming from outside of ourselves.  It is God doing the preventing and the opening.  It is God creating the fire within.  To understand what Jesus is saying is going to take Him opening up our eyes and minds to understand it.  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, oh how thankful I am that my eyes and my mind were opened by You.  I thank You that I have been born again and born anew.  I understand and believe that You are Jesus, the Messiah, the One who came from God to die on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins.  I believe that You physically rose from the dead just as You said You would and are coming again.  I know this because You have made it possible for me to believe and have faith in You.  I am humbled by Your love.  Amen."

Pastor Adam