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October 25th
The bible reading today is in Luke 10&11 and John 10:22-42.
“...and Jesus was walking in the temple...perhaps to warm himself on this cold rainy day. Not teaching, but walking in the Temple during the wintertime feast of Dedication...like he was just another visitor. He was walking in the colonnade of Solomon. (The porch just off the eastern side of the court of the Gentiles...covered over and looking over a deep valley...very white...supported by walls of four square stone precisely quarried and stacked two football fields high.)
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense?
Or in the Latin Vulgate translation...”How long dost thou take away our soul...depriving us of the knowledge of thee?...or Nonnus translation, “How long will you hide yourself from us...stealing away our hearts?”
Almost sounds like genuine seekers at first. But we know the end of this story. These were not just out to ensnare Jesus by twisting his words. They were out to kill him.
It was an ambush. Angry religious leaders who were out to destroy him encircled him. They were out to separate him from friends. They were out to find him alone without backup. They were out to intimidate the carpenter/rabbi and hoped that he would confess that he was not the Messiah for fear for his life, but Jesus was far from intimidation...he was bold and courageous.
Then the confrontational crowd asked this question...”If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
