Of timing, unbelief, and hatred for the truth.  John 7.1-9

As you read or listen to John 7, verses one through nine, notice three things: Jesus was well aware of timing; his brothers did not believe in him; the world hated him because he spoke the truth about them.

“After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.”  John 7.1-9

John says it almost as an aside – ‘even his brothers didn’t believe in Jesus.’  ‘Seems natural then that the disciples would want him to go and do miracles in front of all of the pilgrims who would be in Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Shelters, also called the Feast of Tabernacles.  This was an annual week-long celebration in which the Jewish people camped out in tents in Jerusalem, ‘remembering’ their time in the wilderness.  Christian—note!  Jesus observed all of the Jewish feasts and celebrations; when studying the life of our Lord, we must not fail to realize that he was Jewish in every sense of the word.  All of his life and ministry was in the Middle East, which to this day, lives out Christian faith in a distinct manner, quite different from the west.

The fact that his half-brothers didn’t believe Jesus was their Messiah wasn’t a surprise to Jesus though, as it was recorded in Psalms, “I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children.” (69.8)  Mark goes further than John, saying “they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”  (Mark 3.21)  And who were Jesus’ brothers?  James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.  But they would believe… they just had to see the resurrected Lord!  Once they saw that Jesus did what he said he would do—he rose from the dead—they knew that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.  Right after Jesus’ ascended into Heaven, the believers were gathered together, waiting in Jerusalem as Jesus had told them, ‘for the gift the Father promised…the Holy Spirit’.  “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, with his brothers.”  (Acts 1.14)  Their faith became sight when they saw the resurrected Lord; then they professed him as their Messiah. 

The disciples pressed Jesus to go and do miracles before the pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem, but “Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.” 

Timing – Several times in the life of Jesus, we note that he says, ‘it is not my time’… or ‘it is not time yet’, referring to the plan of God for his earthly ministry.  In this scenario alone, he uses the word ‘kairos’ which speaks of opportunity; Jesus simply waited until the Jerusalem festival was underway, and then he went, rather than traveling with the crowds.  His ways are not our ways; his timing is not our timing, and God will not be rushed – but he always shows up on time. 

“The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil,” Jesus said.  Do you think that made him sad?  Too often, we do not think of the Son of God having emotion; too often, we do not think that everything the Son felt, his Father felt.  Of course, it made him sad—to be hated is a horrible feeling—but he knew before time began, that is how it would be.                            

In a small way, I know that feeling. Whether with high school students or adults that I have led … when Christians decide they just want to be nominal Christians, (that is in name only), and they pull away, they often dislike me—especially the students.  I think of young people who I have known since they were 8 years old, who decide that smoking pot is so great, and Jesus, well ‘he can’t be the only  way to God for that is much too narrow-minded’, so they stay away from FCA and SNL…and then, in the next breath, I hear how they despise me.  I ‘get’ it, but it hurts me … a lot.  So, of course, it hurt Jesus; do not think it didn’t.  But he loved them, and he loved us, he loved the world far too much not to have counted the cost ahead of time, and then do what he did. 

                                             Oh, how he loves us. 

Christine