Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.
56 They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him. John 11:55-57 NRSV
Paul Tillich once observed that the three most prevalent ways human beings run away from God are these: Vocation, Vacation, or Joining the Church.” The people we encounter in this brief reading are utilizing at least two of the three approaches just mentioned. In his gospel, John describes them this way:
...and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?”
These folk are card-carrying members of a group of people who would travel to Jerusalem from far and near to participate in the three holy festivals celebrated in the city and around the temple each year. In this case, they’ve come to celebrate Passover – to remember God’s deliverance of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt – to make a sacrificial offering to atone for their sins – and to share in a communal meal that binds them together in God’s mercy.
Meanwhile, John introduces us to some others mentioned in the story – people who are respected as the religious leaders of the day, but who have less than honorable intentions. They want a God whom they can control… one they can tame by rolling up in words on a scroll, one they can fashion in their own image. Like their ancestor Aaron (the priest) they are skilled at fashioning idols when God refuses to work by their timeline.
“Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.”
We have one group hanging out at the temple wondering if Jesus will show up… and another group of people who are hoping he will. One group really doesn’t understand Jesus… and may only want to get close enough for a photo-op. The other group misunderstands Jesus and is threatened by his way with the crowds. At least in this part of the story… both groups are missing out on the real Jesus. With whom do you most closely identify in this story?
Are we so afraid of Jesus, and his claim on our lives, so fearful of what that might involve – that we are looking for ways to lock him up – put him in a box – roll a stone on top of him – or push him quietly away never to bother us again? The good news is that regardless of our intentions his intentions are pure and just and true. We know this because He shared them with one of the religious leaders many months before this reading occurred.
“The Son of Man (did) not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him, might be saved,”
John 3:17
How Sweet The Sound,
Jon (the Methodist)