John 10:40-42


John 10:40-42
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. 41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.” 42 Many believed in Him there.

The methodology of Jesus must have been confusing and, at times, frustrating to those who followed Jesus.  People who believed He was the Messiah were constantly wondering when He would begin His process of liberation and overthrowing the Roman government.  Clearly, the most strategic place for this to occur was Jerusalem.  Yet, Jesus is constantly wandering out to the outlying areas and even going out to the middle of nowhere.  His plans and methods were far different than those He was expected to follow because His purpose was not what the people imagined it to be.

THE WITHDRAWAL TO THE WILDERNESS: Jesus had healed the woman on the Sabbath, defended Himself brilliantly in the face of His critics and the people were rejoicing in His demonstration of power and wisdom.  Had Jesus been intent upon creating a political climate of revolution, this would have been a golden opportunity.  The crowd was on His side!  Instead, Jesus withdraws to the wilderness where His public ministry had started.  It was a place that was isolated from the large population centers where He could find solitude where He could pray and invest in the lives of His disciples.  Too often, we become convinced that we must constantly be “on line” we have the feeling that if we ever take a day or a week off of work, the world will stop spinning.  Time to escape from the hustle and bustle of our daily schedules seems to be unattainable.  We need to remind ourselves that none of us are irreplaceable and that more can ban be accomplished through prayer and intimacy with God than the works of our flesh.

THE FAITH OF HIS FOLLOWERS: The people followed Jesus to the wilderness and remembered the testimony of John about Him and were convinced that all John said about Jesus was true.  The miracles He performed, the truths He taught and the love He showed were all in accordance with what John has said about Jesus and what the Scriptures prophesied about Messiah.  The people believed in Him.  It seems as if the location in the wilderness somehow facilitated their belief.  Perhaps it was because in the wilderness there were not so many people and circumstances that distracted them from the truth about Jesus.  Perhaps it was the location that reminded them of John’s testimony.  Perhaps it was the more individual attention Jesus could give them in the wilderness.  Whatever the case may have been, many people believed that Jesus was the Messiah.  There are times where it is good for us to “get way” to a place where we can spend time with the Lord, learn from Him, reflect on Him and strengthen our faith in Him.

APPLICATION: Make sure we are promoting the kingdom of God and not our own kingdoms.  Take some time off to rest, reflect, recharge, recreate and most of all relate with God.  Contemplate the works of the Lord and the promises of His Word.  Allow what you learn of Him and from Him to grow your faith.

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