Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11 Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, “Where is that man?” 12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews. (NIV)
Jesus goes for his own reasons to the Feast, not least of which was to celebrate the required festival as the Law of Moses commanded (Deuteronomy 16:13-16). Going later than most people, Jesus and his twelve disciples would have encountered few people on the roads. Although he took the usual road, since no one was around, he could be said to have gone “in secret.”
John distinguishes between “the Jews” and “the crowds.” The crowds would have been made up of Jews, of course, but when John says “the Jews” he is talking primarily about the Jewish leadership; the Sanhedrin. Later he will also bring up a third group, the “citizens of Jerusalem” (verse 25).
By this time, everyone had heard of Jesus’ miracles. Apart from the healing at Bethesda, most of the stories came from the north (as they had in the days of Elijah and Elisha). The men of the Sanhedrin were expecting Jesus to show up and make a big splash; the absence of Jesus baffled them. The people (“the crowds”) were also looking for him, although at least some of the people genuinely believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Those who didn’t thought he was a deceiver, a word they probably picked up from the leaders in the Sanhedrin (cf. Matthew 27:63), who were poisoning the hearts of the people (Romans 16:18).
We put our faith in Jesus. What the world thinks of him is not important; whether Washington or Hollywood or the Tora Bora caves in Afghanistan. We believe that Jesus Christ, truly God and fully human, gave his life to atone for our sins, and rose again from the dead, and that he will come again on the Last Day to raise us from the dead and bring us home with him to heaven.
Come, Lord Jesus,
Make us your guests,
And raise us all,
Forever blessed. Amen.
Something Extra:
Philemon 9b-10
I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.
The Greek physician Hippocrates said that a “young man” was a man who had passed the age of manhood (thirty). This was the word Luke used to describe Paul during the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58). Hippocrates called a man “old” (Greek presbys) who was in his early to middle fifties, and after that “aged” (geron). Since Stephen was martyred in about 33 AD, Paul would be in his late fifties or perhaps sixty at this time (Paul was perhaps five years younger than Jesus).
Paul’s appeal to Philemon is based on two things: First, he is “an old man.” That’s more an appeal to the number of years behind Paul’s ministry than the number of grey hairs on his head. Paul can say things now as a pastor of a few decades that he might not have been able to say shortly after his conversion near Damascus.
Secondly, Paul is a prisoner because he has been preaching about Jesus. And while a prisoner, “in chains,” he met a man who has now become his spiritual son. This man is Onesimus, who sought Paul out, and Paul showed him his sins and showed him his Savior.
Paul wants Philemon to know that he is making an appeal; he is not giving any orders. The runaway slave has been found, but not caught. He has repented of his sins, and he has become more than a slave. He has become a brother in Christ.
Before we turn to the next verse, let’s look into another, slightly later moment in time, and see another Christian pastor using Paul’s argument and some of Paul’s own words to appeal to a congregation to love one another:
“I am not commanding you as if I were anyone important. Even though I am a prisoner for the Name, I am not yet perfect in Jesus Christ; for now I’m just beginning to be a disciple, and I speak to you as my fellow students. For I needed to be prepared by you with faith, instruction, endurance and patience.” (Ignatius to the Ephesians, chpt. 3 v. 1)
Ignatius and Paul both realized that when we can’t be with someone in person, we must appeal to them. Paul does it in as Christian a way as can be imagined. He has now told Philemon that Philemon’s runaway slave is with him there in Rome, but he has in the phrase “my son” told him that this slave now has the same status as Philemon before God. They are friends of Paul, but more than that, they are brothers in Christ.
How will Paul proceed? What will he ask next? We’ll have to wait and see in the next few verses.
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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