Thoughts on the Gospel of John (85) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded him and said to him, How long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I said to you.
John 10:22-26.

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (85)
We last encountered Jesus in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles and afterwards (chs. 7-9). Between the Feast of Tabernacles that was celebrated in September and the Feast of Dedication in December three months passed. Whether the Lord had been in Galilee in the meantime, and whether He took part in this latter feast is not recorded. The Feast of Dedication was not one of the three feasts of the LORD that every Israelite had to attend annually in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16). It was introduced by Judas Maccabees in 164 B.C..

Jesus was walking in Solomon's Porch in the temple in the winter. Was this mention of the season a sign from the Holy Spirit of the increasing cold attitude of the Jewish leaders towards the Lord? Again they challenged Him, reproaching Him with leaving them in uncertainty whether He were the Christ or not. But the Lord knew their hearts: they would not believe in Him. His words in chapters 5, 6 and 8, for example, made it clear who He was. Whoever still doubted could be convinced by the works that Jesus had done as the One sent by the Father. Acknowledging Jesus as the Christ of God has been up to the present not a matter of proof, but of the attitude of the heart.

(to be continued on the 16th April)

Today's reading: Jeremiah 14:1-22 · Luke 22:47-65