Entrusting Faithful Men

During the Feast of Tabernacles (aka the Feast of Booths, or Sukkot), Jesus would have found plenty of rooms available at the local inns. One of the key features of the feast was that the people camped outdoors in booths or canopies made of organic material. All the meals were eaten outdoors. This was in celebration of God’s provision in the wilderness (see Exodus). But in Jesus’ day, some other traditions had been added to the Mosaic instructions (Leviticus 23:40-43). One of these was a procession each morning of the Feast, in which the crowd would follow the high priest from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple for the Water Libation Ceremony (Simchat Beit HaShoevah). A priest would fill a golden pitcher with water from the Pool of Siloam, walk the Jewish pilgrim road (a trail of stairs used as a ‘Mikveh’ – a purification ritual) to the Temple. They would enter the Temple courtyard through the Water Gate on the south side. There the water would be ceremoniously poured into a silver basin on the altar, while another priest poured a daily drink offering of wine into a second basin, with both draining out through perforated tubes at the base of the altar. The exact origin of the water libation is unclear, but traditionally it appears to have perhaps served several functions:

• It memorialized God’s provision of water in the wilderness when Moses struck the rock at Horeb and water issued forth (Exodus 17:6);
• It looked to God’s provision of the Messiah (Zechariah 13:1 – “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.”
• It sought God’s provision of rain for the land; (The imagery of failing rain was used in the Old Testament for the blessings poured out by God in the Messianic kingdom – see Ezekiel 47:1-7)

Interestingly, the source of the waters of the Pool of Siloam is the Spring of Gihon, commonly known as the “Virgin’s Fount”. Even more fascinating is that during the procession as well as the libation, continue reading…

Jesus primarily ministered and taught in Galilee. But He and His disciples would occasionally travel to Jerusalem, most notably for the Jewish pilgrimage feasts. There were three feasts that devout Jewish males would travel to Jerusalem for:

• Passover (took place in the spring- late March to mid April) Passover was also referred to as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was at Passover that Jesus was crucified, being the true Passover Lamb.
• Feast of Weeks (occurred 50 days after Passover). It’s also referred to as Pentecost in the new Testament and was a celebration of the grain harvest. (Interesting that the first 3000 Christians were added to the Church at a “harvest” festival!)
• Feast of Booths (also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot), Occurred exactly 6 months after Passover. This eight day festival in the Fall came after the harvest of grapes and olives. It is five days after Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and fifteen days after Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year). It celebrates God’s provision for Israel during the wandering in the wilderness after leaving Egypt.

Our passage (John 7) takes place at the time of the Feast of Booths. This is six months before His crucifixion. If we assume that occurred at Passover in 33 AD, this feast would be October 10-17, 32 A.D.

John 7:1-2 says that Jesus was avoiding Judea because the Pharisees were seeking to kill him, having charged that Jesus blasphemed. This goes back to John 5. Jesus in Jerusalem for another festival (John doesn’t tell us which one) healed a paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. I think this was the only miracle Jesus did in the city of Jerusalem. The problem was that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath (John 5:9). . . a definite no-no in the eyes of the Pharisees who viewed such as breaking the Mosaic Law in performing work on the Sabbath. To make matters worse, Jesus identified Himself as God. (John 5:17-18).

Jesus is avoiding Jerusalem, and declines going to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths, knowing there is a movement afoot to kill Him. He knows that His purpose is to die, but it will happen in perfect timing, as the Passover lamb for mankind. He is very cognizant of the timing (John 7:6). continue reading…