54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” 

57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

John 11:54-57 (ESV)

Get outta town

The high council is out to get Jesus at all costs as we discussed yesterday. How does Jesus respond? As He did in John 7:1 – He gets outta town and heads to a remote area with His disciples. Was He afraid? As we previously discussed  no, He wasn’t. He knows His time has not yet come (John 7:30). He has complete trust in the Father’s timing. Do we?

4th passover

This was the fourth (and final) passover of Jesus’ ministry. “The Mosaic Law required that the Jews who had become ritually unclean had to purify themselves for one week before participating in this feast (Num. 9:6-14). Therefore many of them went up to Jerusalem at least one week before the feast began in order to undergo purification.” (planobiblechapel.org) The rest of the events of John through the resurrection will occur during this time frame.

Seeking Jesus

It’s interesting that the people were looking for (seeking) Jesus. Unfortunately, it is not in the way one would have hoped. They weren’t seeking Him like the Samaritan’s (John 4:39-40), to hear His teaching and know Him. Rather, they were at best just curious. Some were looking to score points with the Jewish leaders by turning Him in (v 57) – like those in John 11:46 who turned Jesus in after Lazarus was raised.

<- Reflection ->

• Consider again yesterday’s topic of substitution. God the Father killed (judged and punished) Jesus the Son so He wouldn’t need to kill (judge and punish) us! 
• Why do you seek Jesus? Do you even seek Him?
• Do we, like Jesus, completely trust God’s timing?