P—Plan

Journey through the Gospel of John with rookie bloggers who are seeking to honor their good friend, Tina. Today's post was written by Ellen.

 P is for Puzzle.

I remember the first time I saw a Rubik’s Cube puzzle. A six sided cube with a different set of colored squares to be matched on each side. I spent hours trying to figure out how to get all of the colored squares lined up on all sides. I managed to get a couple of the sides right, but then got stuck. 

Then, someone showed me the trick to solving the puzzle. “Aha, that’s how it works!”

I experienced something similar this year when we were studying the Jewish feasts that serve as a backdrop for so much of the Gospel of John. I have always thought of those feasts as being yearly celebrations just for the Jews, similar to Easter and Christmas for Christians. I discovered the feasts are more than anniversaries to commemorate a special event. They also serve to foreshadow God’s plan for our salvation. They aren’t just one side of the puzzle. They illustrate the whole puzzle that fits together in God’s plan for the ages.

                Acts 2:23………the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God…..

God had this planned from the beginning.  When we get to heaven, we will say, “Aha, that’s how it works!”

      The Jewish Feasts                              Our salvation

         Passover                                   Jesus is our Passover lamb

         Feast of Unleavened Bread      We must clean out the sin from our lives

         First Fruits                                 Jesus was the first one raised from the dead

         Feast of Pentecost                    The church was formed and the Holy Spirit came

           

            Current Interlude

             

         Blowing of Trumpets              Israel is gathered

         Day of Atonement                  Israel will recognize Jesus as Messiah

         Feast of Booths                      Families of earth all come together & celebrate

P is for Plan.

 We've reached a turning point in the Gospel of John.  Tomorrow we will see the pieces of God's solution begin to fall into place. The Lord has prepared the Perfect Passover Lamb and the feast approaches.