2 minute read.
Daily Reading: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:21 ESV, John 5:1-23 ESV, Psalm 105:37-45 ESV, Proverbs 14:28-29 ESV
Daily Verse: “After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” (John 5:1 ESV)
HEORTE (1859): “A feast or festival” is used especially of those of the Jews, and particularly of the Passover; the word is found mostly in John’s gospel (seventeen times); apart from the Gospels, it is used in this way only in Acts 18:21; in a more general in Col 2:16, ‘holy day.’”[I]
Festive feast.
The Jewish people celebrated three significant feasts: Passover in the spring, Pentecost 50 days later, and Tabernacles’ feast in the fall. Which banquet Jesus attended at this time, we don’t know. Jesus, arriving in Jerusalem, heals an invalid who suffered for 38 years. Healing the lame man on the Sabbath caused the religious leaders to get their panties in a bunch, causing them to begin persecuting Jesus.
Instead of rejoicing that the invalid could walk, the religious leaders focused on the law. According to the 10 Commandments, the Sabbath must remain a rest day, with no work allowed. Yet Jesus heals people on the holy day. Talk about missing the forest for the trees. Instead of rejoicing, the religious zealots complained.
Enjoy the feast.
When God does a mighty work, celebrate it. God never does things the way we think He will do it. God makes a way when none exists. He parted the Red Sea, made the sun stand still for Joshua, and healed an invalid by the pool in Bethesda, all the same God.
Instead of critiquing how God works, we should celebrate when He does. We will never understand God’s reasoning:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
Leave behind your plan for God. Instead, search for God’s work in your life and join Him on the journey. Enjoy God’s blessing as you feast on His good works.
[i] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 93) Thomas Nelson
