[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 309-John 7-9 summary!]
Leviticus 23 tells us of the appointed festivals of the Israelites. They include Passover, the Feast of First Harvest, the Feast of Harvest, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Shelters or Booths. Most of the feasts or festivals were tied in with the harvest of various crops, but the two most important festivals: Passover and the Day of Atonement were tied to God’s deliverance of the people from slavery in Egypt and from slavery to sin. While we don’t typically celebrate these festivals, feasts or holy days, our celebration of Easter is tied to the celebration of Passover, because Jesus died as our “Passover Lamb,” and His institution of the Lord’s Supper was a reinterpreting of Passover. While Passover started the process of the Israelites becoming God’s people according to the Mosaic Covenant, Jesus’ changed Passover to the Last Supper and instituted the “new covenant,” which was sealed the next day in His blood.
Leviticus Chapter 24 tells the Israelites of their obligation to provide pure olive oil for the lamps in the tabernacle and holy bread for it daily. Such details show us once again of God’s call to holiness. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to an example of the just punishment of a man who blasphemed the name of the LORD in the middle of a fight. The punishment was death at the hands of the people.
Leviticus 24 outlines the rules for the Sabbath year, which was to occur every seventh year, and the year of Jubilee which occurred every fiftieth year. During these special times the land was to be given “rest” from being planted, and during the Jubilee, any land which had been sold was to be returned to its original owner. In addition, slaves were to be freed during the Jubilee. This radical concept shows us God is the ultimate owner of everyone and everything, and His desire is for us to live in freedom. Jesus becomes our redeemer through His fulfillment of the Law as our once-and-for-all sacrifice. He sets us free from sin and death, which is the ultimate Jubilee.
In John 2, Jesus performs His first miracle. A couple of points about the miracle: 1) He didn’t want to do the miracle; and 2) the miracle itself was turning water into wine. Jesus was pushed into performing the miracle by Mary, His mother. The problem was Jesus, His disciples, and mother were attending a wedding and the wine ran out. This was a major social faux pas. Mary told Jesus about the situation, and He said it wasn’t time for Him to do a miracle. Nevertheless, He obeyed His mother and did the miracle. That’s quite a statement about the importance of honoring our parents! What about the miracle being to provide wedding guests with wine? Many contend the wine was “non-alcoholic,” but the context tells us that isn’t true. When the steward of the event was given the wine Jesus “made” he said most people serve the best wine first, then once the guests are drunk, the cheaper wine would be served. The steward wondered why they had saved the best wine for last? We would expect anything Jesus made to be the best, but why contribute wine to a party? Many answers have been offered. Perhaps none is better than Jesus was obeying His mother and doing a culturally appropriate service to the family. He was helping. Jesus never did a miracle for His own benefit or aggrandizement. We can be sure this was not an exception, because the result was the situation was corrected, Jesus obeyed His mother, and His disciples believed in Him as a result.
Day 309-John 7-9
In John 7-9, John shows us Jesus is God. That’s a powerful statement, but we see it time and time again. In John 7, Jesus tells the people He is the source of rivers of living water. In John 8, Jesus calls Himself the Light of the World. In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind, and tells the man He healed that He is the Messiah. None of this happens without conflict. The religious leaders argue and debate with Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t back down. He knows they are out to put an end not only to His ministry, but to His life. Nevertheless, Jesus continues to proclaim who He is: The Son of God.