“It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?” Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.”
John 11:55-57 NLT
The Jewish Passover feast occurs in the Spring, but looking back over the previous months of Jesus’ ministry, we find that He was in Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles in the Autumn (Fall) (John 7) and there again for the Feast of Dedication (John 10). But a lot had happened in those six months or so. Jesus did amazing miracles to support His claim to be the Son of God and spoke often that the only way to receive eternal life was through Him. We remember the man healed of his blindness from birth. And the crescendo that resulted from the raising of Lazarus from the grave. Many people came to believe in Jesus and the Pharisees and other religious leaders were becoming alarmed, to say the least. So Jesus was a marked man and the Jewish equivalent of “wanted” posters were everywhere.
John recorded that “many people from all over the country“ were in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival and they were looking for Jesus. “They kept looking” but Jesus was not yet to be found. So the people’s anticipation was building but their expectations were dampened by the arrest warrant issued by the religious authorities. But a new act was about to open up on the stage of Jesus’ ministry, as we will find out when we turn the page to John 12.
In the meantime, do we share in the anticipation about Jesus? We know that He will be returning again one day, but that seems a long way off, although we don’t know when. But we mustn’t forget that Jesus is alive and well, and through the Holy Spirit He is with us today. We don’t have to stand around in the Temple, or in any other church building, looking for Him. Many people have in the past, and some even today, undertake a pilgrimage to a holy site somewhere. For example, the Pilgrim’s Way in England is a route followed by many people from Winchester Cathedral all the way to Canterbury Cathedral, where the martyred archbishop St Thomas Beckett was buried. We too are pilgrims but not on an earthly pilgrimage. We are on a journey through life, disciples of Jesus. And we will not end up in a cathedral somewhere viewing a tomb containing a human being’s bones, but instead we will find ourselves in Heaven enjoying eternal life with Jesus.
There are those around us who are searching for fulfilment. But in our secular world, they will fail to find it, although hedonistic methods are employed in the process. Earthly tools and processes come to nothing, and many a person goes to their grave feeling disappointed. But when we turn to Psalm 23, we find that there is only one place where God can be found. We read through the Psalm and find all the encouraging and supportive helps the we need in our journey, and then we finally arrive at the last verse, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). We pilgrims will one day truly find Jesus in the real “Temple”, in Heaven.
Dear God. To know that Your love pursues me through every day of my life is truly amazing. I wonder how You could ever love imperfect beings like me, but I know that You did indeed, when You sent Jesus to die for me at Calvary. I am so grateful. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 