JOHN 7:32-36 THIS IS "THE" OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

At the beginning of the Gospel, St. John makes the statement that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1:14) and that “the world did not recognize him” (1:10). When Jesus follows that up with his statement to the Pharisees in verse 34 of chapter 7, “You will look for me, but you will not find me,” he is speaking a word of judgment on them in the tradition of the Scriptures. By rejecting Jesus they are cutting themselves off from the Father. Both Amos (8:12) and Hosea (5:3-6), as well as Proverbs (1:28-31) declare that the people in their disobedience will search for God and his word but will not find or hear him. Jesus further explains that he will be with the Father, but they have cut themselves off from the Father, and therefore their access to him (v. 34b).

It is easy for us to pass this passage off as a prophecy of his death and resurrection. But it is rather a message of grace and the consequences of denying that grace. The grace is that God has revealed himself to us and all people have been given this life in which to put their faith in him. If we do not “receive” him in this life, we will not “find him” in this life, and we will not be able to go to him when this life is over. The message to unbelievers is one of warning of the reality of self-imposed judgment. The message to believers is one of urgency. We are to actively seek Jesus, and the guidance of the Spirit in our lives. But, in addition, we are to be compelled by our love of our neighbors to do all in our power to make sure they have every opportunity to clearly see that Jesus is “the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14b).

Usually our employee group health insurance plans have a specific period where we can change our minds and sign up for coverage called an open enrollment period. You might want to think of this life as the “open enrollment period” for the Kingdom.

Come Holy Spirit and encourage my faith and openness to the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. May I use this gift of a life to both learn to know him better and encourage others to come to faith in him. May I never be in a self-imposed exile from your Word and in danger of eternal separation from the Father. Amen.