Seven Miracles in John and the Feast

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This continuation of my study of the miracles in the Gospel of John will focus on them in conjunction with the appointed feast and sacred assemblies found in Leviticus 23. In Chapter 20:30,31 John states the reason he was writing: 1. To highlight SOME of the miracles Jesus did. 2. To show these miracles as proof that Jesus was the Son of God. (I feel John was making a defense and creating an offense against the ‘false brothers’ who were coming.)

Who, why, and how someone decided that there were only seven miracles must have been a product of Common Core math (that is a joke). I will repeat some information from my first post and from +1, +1, +1. There are many books, articles, videos, and sermons on the Feast; please read several because of the vast number of viewpoints on this subject.

See Leviticus 23, Exodus 23:10-17, and 34:18-23 for these special days. In keeping with why John wrote his gospel, these feasts speak to and about Jesus’ mission.

  1. Sabbath, the day of rest each week.
  2. Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits are together in the first month of the Jewish religious year.
  3. Feast of Weeks or Pentecost is fifty days/seven weeks (plus one day) after the wave offering of Firstfruits. This is around the barley harvest that we find in the Book of Ruth.
  4. The seventh month has three feasts on different days: Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur, Feast of Tabernacles. The Day of Atonement is/was the most important, and these kept you involved from the 1st to the 21st of that month. This was after all of the harvesting was done, so it was a big deal each year.
  5. Hanukkah or the Feast of Dedication is not in Leviticus or Exodus. It is a celebration when a miracle of the temple lamp stayed burning for eight days on a one-day supply of oil. In Father God’s Song that miracle of oil and light could be the birthtime of Jesus. Yes, I calculated the months/days from the information in Luke and the 12 Days of Christmas, December 25th to January 6 or Epiphany, are reasonable.

I have heard there is a list of things the Messiah had to do to prove Himself to Israel and become ‘the Man’ in Psalm 110. So, in John 2:8 when the leaders asked for a sign, and in 6:30 the people asked for a sign, this is what they were looking for; Jesus did not perform for them. However, in John 2:23 Jesus did miracles and the people believed, I guess some of the leaders were not paying attention. Nicodemus did pay attention, so in Chapter Three he talked to Jesus. In John 6, Jesus had given them the sign of feeding 5,000 men and their families, with leftovers just like Elisha in 2 Kings 4:42,43.

This is lagniappe, John the Baptist is compared to Elijah; that would make Jesus like Elisha. In my first post many of those signs I attributed to Elisha. The Elisha connect may explain why John added 4:54 about Cana/Galilee and leaving Judea; Elisha started his ministry at the Jordan near Jericho which is the territory of Judea (These are really the only two numbered miracles and they are specific to Cana).

John | The amazing name John: meaning and etymology

I will tell on myself, the first two times through this list I did not include the Sabbath. Jesus did miracles on the Sabbath to show that the Son of Man was Lord of the Sabbath. Reflect on John 5:17 “My Father is always at work…” and John 6:29 “The work of God is to believe in the one He has sent.”

Now, I will attempt to sort out the Feast and Miracles in John.

  • Chapter 1 tells of Creation 1:3, Jesus’ birth 1:14, John the Baptist 1:15, and Nathanal’s vision 1:47.
  • Hanukkah to Passover, Chapter 2, the miracle of the wine
  • The first Passover in His forty months of ministry. 2:23, Jesus did miraculous signs that the people and Nicodemus saw. 3:14-15, Jesus’ foretells how He dies for our salvation.
  • Pentecost to Day of Atonement may be indicated by 4:35 with the “months to harvest”. In 4:46 Jesus has returned to Cana and does a long-distance healing of the son in Capernaum.
  • Seventh month- the Day of Atonement, 5:1, and a special Sabbath 5:9 Jesus heals an invalid of 38 years and in verse 25 may foretell of raising Lazarus. 38 years is the length of time the Children wandered after Mt. Sinai.
  • Second Passover is approaching, 6:4, 6:5 starts the feeding of the 5,000 and 6:16 has Him walking on water. 6:2 crowds followed Him because of healings. 6:14 because of this sign the people knew this answered a sign.
  • Day of Atonement/Feast of Tabernacles and Jesus is in Jerusalem for several chapters. 7:22,23 are questions about the Sabbath. 9:1 starts the narrative on the man born blind and his healing; verse 16 concerns the sabbath, again.
  • Hanukkah, 10:22 and 22-42 centers on the sabbath again.
  • The final Passover and its time of purification, 11:1 to 19:31 (indicates a special sabbath). 11:1 is the story of raising Lazarus; Jesus was on the east bank of the Jordan. He crossed the river and went back. His ride into Jerusalem is like Joshua, David and Elisha’s crossing the Jordan. 12:12 starts His final Passover and ends with His death and resurrection.
  • Firstfruits, 20:19 is Jesus appearing to the Eleven and others in a locked room.
  • Firstfruits to Pentecost, Peter’s second catch of fish and his restoration.

Remember John’s purpose in writing, he chose certain things to prove Jesus as the Son of God. He does not write a complete history, as is seen by Chapters 6 and 7. Celebrating the second Passover and Pentecost is not mentioned but goes to the Day of Atonement in Chapter 7.

Observations and Reflections

  1. John does not talk about Jesus and the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost; what are your thoughts as to why.
  2. Matthew, Mark and Luke share some of the same miracles as John, but include many others. Why?
  3. You can extend this study by going through Matthew and see how miracles and feasts are handled in that Gospel.

Egypt – Different Name Same Problem

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Egypt is an ancient country that has interacted with Abraham’s family for a very long time. That relationship changed throughout the Bible and when the prophecies in Isaiah are fulfilled it will change again. I think it is fair to say much of the time Egypt has not been nice to Abraham’s family through Jacob. The poetry and prophetic books in the Bible use several different names/symbols for the land along the Nile River, and that is what this post is about.

Psalms 105 and 106 are “Sabbath lessons” and part of those lessons include Egypt. Psalm 106 has a telling of the exodus from Egypt: verse 10 uses terms for ‘hand of one hating’ and ‘hand of the enemy’ to describe Egypt, verses 19-20 tell the story of the Golden Calf/Bull (a god of Egypt), and verse 21 uses the names Egypt and Ham (also in 105). Psalm 106 was written after Jeremiah because it includes ‘other foes’ who oppressed Israel (verse 41).

Ham

Ham is Noah’s son who had to tell on his father. For that unkind, embarrassing act he got cursed, especially his son Canaan. This story is found in Genesis 9 and 10. Another of Ham’s sons is Mizraim or Egypt. If you do a word search in the KJV you can find Mitsrayim and Egypt. If you use the Strong’s Concordance it is H2526. Ham appears to come from the word for hot. Ham is used in Psalms 78:51, 105:23 and 27, and 106:22 in connection with or for the land of Egypt.

Mitsrayim or Mizraim is H4714 in the Strong’s and is translated Egypt. It is the lands along the Nile River, both upper and lower Egypt.

Rahab is H7294 in the Strong’s and is another name used for Egypt. It means boaster or storm. When this name is used it is negative. See Psalm 87:4, 89:10, and Isaiah 51:9. PLEASE do not think that is the name of Jesus’ grandmother who helped the spies in Jericho; she is H7343 and her name means to be wide or spacious.  

Pharaoh is the title for the king of Egypt. See H6547. I am including it in this post because of Isaiah 30, where the people thought he would help them against Assyria. Pharaoh is often used as a symbol that Israel thought would help them, they seldom did. That Pharaoh did not help at all during the time of Isaiah.

What do Rahab, Pharaoh, and Mizraim have in common? They all contain RA or the Egyptian sun god. Yes, other words contain that set of Hebrew letters, but I thought it was funny. Strong’s Hebrew: 7451. רָע (ra’) — Evil, bad, wicked, harmful, unpleasant

Isaiah 30:6 refers to Egypt as ‘a people of no profit’ or Hebrew Concordance: yō·w·‘î·lū — 9 Occurrences  This was not a great time for Egypt and they were having problems. Assyria was the new power in the Levant to be reckoned with and they took the idea of being a bully to a whole new level.

Isaiah 61:11

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Isaiah 61 is known by many Christians because Jesus quoted it to start His ministry. This Chapter begins with ‘the Spirit (ruah) of the Sovereign Lord’ (verse 1), but it also ends with ‘the Sovereign Lord’ (verse 11), or Adonay YHWH. In between you will notice the word ‘will’ used many times in connection with what was in store for Israel. I believe there are three sections or ‘words’ in this chapter: verses 1-7; 8+9; and an Isaiah praise break in 10-11. Yes, verses 1-3 could be another commission for Isaiah and it does talk to Jesus’ ministry. After some housekeeping I will look at verse 11.

  • God bless translators, that is not an easy ministry/job.
  • I appreciate the work of Langton and Estienne in creating chapters and verses, they did the best they could.
  • Our concordances work around the root words in the Hebrew language. There are variations of these words that can aid translators and academics in their work, but would make a printed volume very LARGE. (Think jots and tittles with prefixes and suffixes.)  Bible Hub text analysis gives a better look into these Hebrew words by grouping similar variations together. It can add a new level to your studies.
  • Commentaries may not be text analysis. Mounce New Testament Version in Bible Gateway does give a list of verses and word variations.
  • I believe Isaiah will make more sense if you read about the history in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles; cross check the king list in Isaiah 1:1. I also believe our Book of Isaiah is not chronological.
  • Assyria is the ‘forgotten enemy’ as we tend to focus on Egypt and Babylon. They were not nice to anyone in the Levant. Two different kings are named in attacks on the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.

 Isaiah 61:11 For just as the earth brings forth its plants, or a garden makes its plants spring up, so Adonai, God, will cause victory and glory to spring up before all nations. (Complete Jewish Bible, CJB)

Isaiah 61:11 For as Eretz bringeth forth her tzemach, and as the gan (garden) the things that are sown in it tatzmiach (causes [them] to spring forth); so Adonoi Hashem will tzedakah (righteousness) and tehillah (praise) yatzmiach (cause [them] to spring forth) before kol HaGoyim. (OJB, Orthodox Jewish Bible)

  • as the earth – H776, kaares is used twice. See Isaiah 51:23; here it is referring to the practice of Assyrian kings to walk on and over their defeated foes as they lay on the ground.
  • brings forth – H3318, towsi is used a total of eight times, here are a few. Exodus 12:46, they could not bring any of the lamb out of the house after the first Passover. Deuteronomy 14:28, they are to bring all of the tithe. Psalm 143:11, David is asking God to bring him out of trouble.
  • Its sprout – H 6780, simhah is used four times. Psalm 65:10, David is thanking God for the rain that helps the crops to grow. Ezekiel 17:9+10 has a vine growing sprouts; it is part of a parable about Babylon carrying away the people and king of Jerusalem.
  • and as the garden – H1593, ukegannah is used twice. Isaiah 1:30 is a garden with no water; it is referring to people who forsake the Lord. Gardens (gan), plants, trees, crops, and vineyards are used throughout Isaiah to teach lessons and represent things. 61:3 refers to ‘oaks of righteousness as a planting of the Lord’, and verse 5 where foreigners will tend Israel’s crops.
  • Sown in it – H2221, zerueha is used only here. The other form of this word is used in Leviticus 11:37 where it is concerned with a purity law of not sowing different seeds together.
  • makes sprout – H6779, tasmiah is used four times. Genesis 3:18 is the thorns and thistles as part of the curse after the Garden of Eden. Deuteronomy 29:23 is the land of Israelite who chooses to not obey God; it will be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Isaiah 45:8 is part of the prophecy about Cyrus and this calls for righteousness and salvation to spring up and grow after it rains righteousness.
  • will make sprout – H6779, yasmiah is used twice. 2 Samuel 23:5, David knows he is right before God who will make salvation to grow for him.
  • Righteousness – H6666, sedaqah is used thirty times. The first one is Genesis 15:6 where Abram believes God and is credited with righteousness. (See Psalm 60 with Abraham) There are other Zedek words for righteousness. The last time this one is used is in Malachi 4:2 where the sun of righteousness will rise. It is also the robe in verse 10. Isaiah uses this form nine times.
  • and praise – H8416, utehillah is used three times; once before Isaiah and once after. 2 Chronicles 20:22 when Jehoshaphat had the people praise their way into battle. Nehemiah 9:5 is when the people repented of mixed marriages and other sins, so they had a praise fest.
  • Before – H5048, neged is used fifty-two times.
  • The nations – H1417, haggowyim is used 180 times and appears in Isaiah eighteen times.
  • Isaiah 61:11 Hebrew Text Analysis

The words I highlighted connect with many important events, themes, and people. As I read Isaiah 61:11, I thought of the first Garden in Genesis and the last Garden in Revelation. The picture in my mind is how it could have been and how it will be.

Five and Two

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Five and Two, this combination of numbers is found in the Old and New Testament, and in narrations and parables. A young lad’s lunch is the main course for this study, but the side dishes and appetizers are just as important.

In a sermon I heard recently, it was noted that the early Church Fathers liked to interpret the New with the Old and assign meanings to things; really things have not changed that much. St. Augustine of Hippo has the first recorded use of five and two with the Feeding of the 5,000. He saw the five loaves of bread as the Five Books of Moses and the two fish as the Psalms and Prophets. That is not a bad interpretation, and I am sure St. Augustine worked that into his commentary very well. Is that the only way to look at those numbers in that story?

No; here are a few other ways to look at that number combination.

  • A mother or aunt overpacked a young lad’s lunch; since he did not eat all of it, he shared it with his uncles and Jesus.
  • Five can represent grace, provision, and readiness. Two may represent unity, truth confirmed by witnesses, or divine order.
  • The first use of this combination is in Genesis 45:6 and there it is associated with famine. Well, that idea does not really work here.
  • Numbers 7 has this pair of numbers used several times in association with a sacrifice for the individual tribes. That might be a real stretch.
  • Judges 20:45 uses these numbers in describing how many Benjamites were killed.
  • 1 Samuel 25:18 list the amounts of provisions Abigail prepared to stop David and his men from killing off her husband’s household. This one is more in line of suppling provisions.

In my study I noticed a contributor named I. M. Rite who focused on one explanation and dismissed any other insight to these numbers. I think he got his version from his favorite preacher, The Right Reverend Wright. Well, Jesus used these numbers in several of His parables so we should look at them.

  • Matthew 25:15 has bags of gold being assigned to trusted servants who were to use this wealth to increase their master’s holdings.
  • Luke 7:41 has two people owing a man some money; one owed 500 and the other 50.
  • Luke 12:6 teaches us about five sparrows being sold for two pennies.
  • Luke 12:52 has a family of five divide into groups of two and three.

Yes, there are other examples of five and two. The translation you search in may give you more or less verses to look at, so try several.

This post is like the leftovers the disciples picked up; they were good food and should not be wasted, but they looked a little different than what was packed in that lunch. My point, STUDY, go Berean, and do not put God in your little box. His Word fits nicely in-between the covers of my Bible, but as soon as I open it ‘my world’ fills up and overflows. Sounds like provision and witness to me.

BibleGateway – Keyword Search: five two

Bread in the Bible

Feeding the 5000

Egypt

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Egypt. This topic has been in many of my posts. It played key roles in my Out of Egypt and Passover to Pentecost series. So, this is not really a new study as I have been laboring on this topic a long time and with this series I cannot see me exiting the subject of Egypt soon.

Egypt is one of the three major oppressors of Israel (Assyria and Babylon), and one of two of the longtime antagonists of Jacob and his children (Edom/Esau is the other). So, in reading/studying the Prophet Isaiah it was not surprising to find all of these players in that Book, but there are several massa and amar (God said or oracles) that Isaiah records that are surprising as to how Egypt and Assyria will act in God’s story. (I wanted to write Godstory instead of history. Well, I guess I did.)  

My study starts in Genesis 10:6 and instantly becomes a HOT mess; this is because of the name Egypt or Mitsrayim. 10:6 is a list of the children of Ham, Noah’s son. All of these children are associated with the Levant and Africa. The names Egypt or Mitsrayim are used in various places and translations, but both are the lands along the Nile River or Ham’s son. Explore these Bible Hub references.

All sorts of thoughts have flooded my brain because of Genesis 10 and the Tower of Babel. Archeology, history, and shared human experiences are not being ignored, but they are not my main subject in this post. I will put this down as an example, pyramids and ziggurats share a common shape, but academics do not like to state they may have a common origin. I have watched shows where the shared shape is mentioned and marveled at, but no one has said the Tower of Babel and a shared human activity. Why would they make a statement that points to the Bible.

God directs Terah (from Shem) to go to Canaan (from Ham), we are not told why he was to go but Terah never made it. Abram (Terah’s son) does go and the Godstory gets a new chapter entitled FAITH. So, in Genesis 12 we see a famine and Abram and company going to Egypt (from Ham). Egypt now is a place of refuge and this repeats with Joseph/Jacob and Jesus. The refuge changes into a place of problems and slavery.

With all of that in mind it is interesting that Jehovah warns Jacob’s children to NOT go back to Egypt for help. Israel responds to that degree with marriages, treaties, trade, looking to Egypt for military assistance, and running away from Babylon.    

In general, most references from Joshua to David, are references to what had happened and how God had done great things for Israel. From Solomon to Isaiah is a different story, and then comes the time of Babylon and bad things happened as the people thought Egypt would help them. Two very telling verses for the time from Joshua to David are: Joshua 24:14 and 1 Samuel 8:8; both paint the picture of the People forsaking God and worshipping and serving other gods.

Much has been and could be said about Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to Egypt. In God’s story it is a reset in the action to bring salvation to the world, and the Gentiles into the Family, and compares with Abraham and Issac, and then Moses/Joshua and the taking of the Promise Land.

Egypt had history before Abram and stayed a world power right into the time of Rome. The Bible does not record much of that history because it is a different story. One thing they were good at was fighting; they had major conflicts with the Hittites, the Sea People, Assyria, and then Babylon at the time of Josiah. Trade was another thing that Egypt did and it had an effect on the world around it.