he plan.
Through a Jewish gateway the King will one day go out to touch His
world. This is the geography of John's story.

The action of the story swirls largely, too, about the great national
feasts, the Passovers, the Tabernacles or harvest-home feast of the
autumn, and one called "the Dedication," not elsewhere spoken of. To
these came great crowds of pilgrim Jews from all quarters of the world,
speaking many languages beside their national Hebrew, giving large
business, especially to money-brokers and traders in the animals and
birds used in the sacrifices. That classical Pentecost Chapter of Acts
gives the wide range of countries and of languages represented by these
pilgrim thousands. These feasts are the central occasions of John's
story.

_The time_ begins with John's preaching in the Jordan bottoms and
reaches up practically to the evening of the betrayal. It is commonly
reckoned three and a half years. That is, there are some months before
that first Passover, and then the events run through and up to the
fourth Passover, reckoning the unnamed feast of chapter five as a
Passover. This is the chronology of John's Gospel. John's Gospel gives
the only clue to the length of Jesus' ministry.

There are three groups _of persons_. There are _the Jews_. That is one
of John's distinctive phrases. By it he means as a rule the official
leaders of the nation, whom in common with the other writers he also
designates by their party names, Pharisees, Scribes, Chief Priests, and
so on. Among these the name of Caiaphas stands out, and later Annas.

Then there are _the crowds_, the masses of people that flock together in
any new stirring movement. There are Galilean crowds, feast-time crowds
including the great numbers of foreign pilgrim Jews, city crowds, and
country crowds. They gather to John's preaching. They gather in great
numbers in Jerusalem, and on the Galilean visits. They are easily
impressionable, swayed by subtle crowd-contagion, stirred up and played
upon cunningly by the opposition leaders.

They appeal greatly to Jesus, like unshepherded sheep. And the sick and
needy ones, so numerous, draw out His pity and warm touch and healing
power. They believe quickly, and almost as quickly are turned away and
desert the cause they had so quickly and warmly rallied to. Fickle,
unthoughtful, easily-swayed, needy crowds, but with the thoughtful ones
and groups here and there who are really helped and who stick. These
c