The Gospel of John 11:54 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.” (John 11:54 KJV).

This passage gives us a peek into the Lord's determination to abide in His timeline to culminate the earthly mission He was sent for by the Father. Sensing the tension with the unbelieving religious Jews rise to its boiling point, on the brink of confrontation, the Lord withdrew with His disciples to a secluded place. The imminent collision of His divine purpose against religious resistance is threatening to thwart the appointed time for His sacrificial offering.

The Jewish Sanhedrin, with their possessions and positions exposed and at stake, is fixated to eliminate Him as quickly as they could, saying: “.. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”” (John 11:47b-48 NIV).

Hence, the Lord Jesus retreated to spend intimate time with His closest disciples. He prepares them for his eventual sacrifice and going away to return to the Father who sent Him. In one instance, Scriptures reveal: “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Matthew 16:21 NIV).

And as His redeemed, in our dark moments of tests, experiencing the burdens we carry, this assures us that He is with us, intimately. He says to the house of Jacob and to us too, who are born again by faith in Him: ““Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” (Isaiah 46:3-4 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

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