Jesus Kept An Eye On the Calendar

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus went from there [Bethany] to the region near the wilderness...
Now many went up to Jerusalem before the Passover.
John 11.54-55

If the high priest and the Pharisees hand been able to get their hands on Jesus they would have arrested him on the spot, following the raising of Lazarus. But Jesus, keeping an eye on the calendar, secluded himself beyond their reach. The Son of God knew that it would not be right for the sacrifice to be offered before the Passover.

So it was that many who had arrived in Jerusalem early, that they might complete a ritual purification before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, were left to speculate on the whereabouts of Jesus (John 11.56). If there had been betting parlors in Judea I would imagine that bookmakers would have transacted a brisk business in wagers on whether or not Jesus would dare to show his face at all in Jerusalem for the Passover. Of course, all such speculation would have ended if the people had only known that Jesus was the Lamb of God, how could he not come, there truly couldn't be a Passover without him.

In a way, the anticipation of a possible clash between Jesus and authorities might have insured that an even larger than usual crowd was going to try to get to Jerusalem, kind of like boxing fans swarming to see a championship bout. The clash of “heavyweights” would be something far greater than the many ballyhooed “fights of the century” we see being hawked regularly on pay-per-view (There' an invitation to spend $45 to watch some silly UFC “World Championship” sitting in my “inbox” right now.). The contest—though it really was no contest at all, the outcome was assured even before the days of Abraham—would in fact be the fight of eternity.

Oh sure, the high priest and the Council thought they had it all planned, were sure that they would determine the fate of Jesus. But the Father had in fact ordained the exact timing of events, and so the Son kept an obedient eye on the calendar, so that he should not arrive a day sooner, or later, than the precisely appointed Kairos moment to fulfill the sovereign will of God. The fact that there was, in effect, a standing arrest order for Jesus (John 11.57), shows that the minds of the Jewish leaders had already reached a verdict, because you know they were not going to bring him in and charge him with jaywalking or littering—they were out for blood. Thanks be to God, the Lamb would willingly shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins! And he would do so on the annual day of Israel's perpetual remembrance of its delivery from bondage in Egypt. But this time, it would be both Jews and Gentiles who would be set free, and from bondage and slavery far worse than that imposed by any nation. The chains of sin and death would be broken forever, and prisoners set free, by the blood of the Lamb.

The folks who stood in the temple discussing the hot topic of the day had no idea what would soon occur. But Jesus kept his eye on the calendar, because he had a divine appointment to keep for our sake, and for the glory of his Father.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4