Episode 50 - Jesus' hour has not fully come - John 7:1-13

John 7:1   After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

John 7:10   But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

The setting here is another feast in Jerusalem. In chapter six, there was the Passover feast which is around April. This feast, the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles, was one of the major feasts that people were expected to attend. It is in October of our calendar. It is essentially a harvest festival and a time for the Jews to remember their ancestors wandering in the wilderness. In this text, the expectation by Jesus’ brothers and the people at Jerusalem is evident. 

What is also evident is that Jesus’ brothers have the same kind of attitude about Jesus’ identity as the Jews in chapter six. John says outright that “not even his brothers believed in him.” Something that struck me about his brothers’ attitudes was how their words to him parallel the same kind of challenge the devil through at Jesus in his temptation recorded in both Matthew 4 and Luke 4. The devil and his brothers are both saying, “If you are who you claim to be, do this!” They both want to have control over him and for him to submit to their demands. It’s a subtle form of mocking and they are mocking God. We should take note of that to not let anyone or anything provoke pride to do something. 

What most strikes me about this text however, is that twice Jesus says “my time has not yet come.” (vv. 6,8)  We’ve seen this before in John’s gospel. In the second chapter when Jesus and his disciples attend the wedding in Cana and Jesus’ mother tells him they’ve run out of wine. There is an expectation that he might do something. His response reveals not just to her but to his disciples and to us that his ultimate authority is from the Father. Jesus’ time is the hour of his death on the cross and his purpose is solely focused upon doing exactly what the Father wants, when the Father wants it done, and how the Father wants it done. Jesus knows that the cross awaits him in the not too distant future.

So, Jesus is telling his brothers, “I will be revealed to the world in the Father’s time, not yours and not anyone else’s.” Then, in verse 8 he tells them to go to the feast and that he is not going up to “this feast.” In the Greek text, it could be translated, “I am not ascending to this feast.” I strongly suspect that this is another one of those expressions of Jesus in which a prophetic truth is stated, yet it’s expected that the unbelievers would misunderstand it. Just like when Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up,” the Jews thought he was speaking of the temple building where they were standing. But, John points out that he was speaking of the temple of his body. In the same way, Jesus will ascend to a feast. But, it’s not the one planned by earthly leaders with evil motives. 

This helps us understand what is going on when he tells his brothers he is not going to this feast, but shortly after they leave, he also goes to the feast at Jerusalem albeit privately. He has not lied. He is going to go up to a feast, but in going to Jerusalem to the Feast of Booths at the temple is all under the direction and plan of the Father and not of the people with unbelieving and evil motives.

I find great encouragement in seeing how God carefully orchestrates His plan and carries it out and people cannot manipulate it. It’s the light that is not overcome by darkness.

Episode 42 - Jesus, a reluctant king?

John 6:15   Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

In the past episode I called attention to how the large multitude, that Jesus fed by a visible miracle, made a connection of the Prophet like Moses with Jesus. (See Deut. 18:15-19)  Just like God used Moses to guide and provide for the Israelites in the wilderness coming out of bondage into the Promised Land, Jesus’ miracle seems to fill what they expect. I wanted you to notice how this development comes immediately after Jesus told his antagonists, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me because Moses wrote about me.” (John 5:46) I am suggesting that John has not given us an account of coincidental events. He is helping the reader understand that what God did in times past was not only historical and significant, it was often prophetic; pointing toward God’s greater fulfillment through His Son, Jesus. So, just like Jesus said, the Scriptures are a witness to who he is.

Notice that in this single verse John tells us the people realize that Jesus is the Prophet. On the surface it might look like a good thing. Jesus perceives that the people are so convinced by this realization that they are going to “take him by force to make him king.” He is the “King of Israel” isn’t he? That’s what Nathaniel recognized in John 1:49. Isn’t this what we would hope would happen that they would want to make him king?

But, Jesus withdrew to the mountain by himself. In fact, it looks like he sent his disciples back to the boat perhaps as an elusive measure. Thinking that Jesus would be with the disciples, people would look for Jesus among the disciples. But, he went by himself up the mountain. Why? Why would he not have wanted them to make him king? I believe the answer lies in Jesus’ statement to his antagonists that he “can do nothing of his own accord” (John 5:19) Just like David was not allowed to take the throne from Saul, but wait for the Lord to install him on it, Jesus, a descendent of David, must wait for the Father’s time and not allow the will of any person or crowd prevail. Jesus recognized the crowd’s motivations were not based on the Father’s will but on their own. We will see how this works out in coming episodes.

The fact that John tells us he withdrew back up the mountain by himself is also a reflection of him being the Prophet like Moses. Moses alone was welcomed by God to the top of the mountain to speak with God. I think Jesus went there to communicate with his Father. 

What can we learn from this? I think it’s easy to look at circumstances sometimes and draw deductions and decide that we’re going to help God out because we think we know God’s will and timing. Then, other things come along to confuse us. We need to trust God that His ways in His time are always best.