Missing the Boat

While working on the structure of the gospel of John, I saw a scripture verse that astounded me.

John 18:2:
Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.

Jesus had been captured in a garden and then roughly handled by temple officers and guards. He was brought before both Annas and Caiaphas, the top religious leaders in Jerusalem. Since they could not legally kill Jesus, they needed to go to the political leader in Judea, Pontius Pilate, to carry out their evil deed.

Notice that John 18:2 says these religious leaders had Jesus bound and thrown into the Gentile judgment hall for prosecution. But they themselves would not go into the hall, because having contact with Gentiles [other nations than Judea] would make them “unclean.”  They were worried about keeping the Passover meal and fulfilling one of the three major feasts of their religious year.

There’s an English expression, “missing the boat.” It’s the opposite of “being on board” with an idea or event. Both refer to getting on a ship at the right time. When someone misses the boat, they totally miss what is really happening around them.

These religious leaders were oblivious to God’s salvation right before their eyes. Jesus was God’s plan to redeem mankind and first promised to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15. Abraham longed to see the Messiah, as did David and others throughout Bible times.

But the religious leaders of Jesus’ time did not recognize him for who he was. They wanted to keep the “Passover” as handed down by Moses, just as they were handing over God’s true Passover lamb, Jesus Christ, to be slain. [For more insight on Jesus Christ as our Passover lamb, see the blog Communion: Forgiveness and Healing.]

This was nothing new for these people. Jesus constantly pointed out their hypocrisy in keeping earthly traditions or in going through the motions and missing the heart behind God’s commandments (Matthew 15:1-9; 23:23; Mark 7:1-13).

We must be aware of where our hearts are when it comes to loving our heavenly Father first. We can go through our daily or weekly religious rituals, and totally miss the true essence of worship and praise. At times, we “feel righteous” for keeping our own man-made customs and laws. God warns against this in the scriptures.

Colossians 2:20-23:
Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
(Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

People love to place restrictions on what they touch, taste, and handle. But these are earthly things that perish and only fulfill human commands. They have a “show of wisdom” and can look good on the outside, but we should be more interested in what Jesus called the “weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23): justice, mercy, and faith. All are based on God’s love that we have for Him and share with each other.

Romans 8:3,4 [J. B. Phillips Translation]:
The Law never succeeded in producing righteousness – the failure was always the weakness of human nature. But God has met this by sending his own Son Jesus Christ to live in that human nature which causes the trouble.
And, while Christ was actually taking upon himself the sins of men, God condemned that sinful nature. So that we are able to meet the Law’s requirements, so long as we are living no longer by the dictates of our sinful nature, but in obedience to the promptings of the Spirit.

Now we can walk by the spirit because Jesus Christ gives us direct access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18; 3:12). It isn’t a matter of keeping laws to control our physical habits, but we have godly habits because of God’s love that is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit (Romans 5:5). God dwells in us and can help us whenever we go to Him.

The next time you are challenged to be “religious,” just take a breath and see if the boat is waiting at the dock for you to get on board. God’s thoughts and ways are always higher than ours. We can keep our thoughts on things above, and not on earthly attempts to be righteous before our Father. Jesus Christ has paid the price for us so that, unlike the religious leaders in John 18, we don’t have to miss the boat of God’s love, joy, peace, and power.