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191. Jesus Attends The Feast


John 7:1-13
Key Verse: Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about Him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, He deceives the people." But no one would say anything publicly about Him for fear of the Jews.
John 7:12-13

We've already mentioned Jesus’ family earlier, and mentioned their confusion about Jesus' ministry. Today, Jesus' brothers appear to be a bit more accepting and supportive, suggesting that Jesus actually belongs in Jerusalem. "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples may see the miracles You do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show Yourself to the world." (John 7:3-4)

Jesus’ response to his brothers is along the lines of, "Don't push me!" "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right." (John 7:6) Jesus will not be pushed or bullied into bowing to man's opinion even from His own family. 

The brothers were probably thinking something like, "Well, okay, if you are Messiah, go for it!" This might have been similar to the Devil's temptation in the wilderness for Jesus to prove Himself, but Jesus remained firm in His mission. This dialog also reminds me of the exchange between His mother Mary and Jesus at the wedding at Cana in which Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come." Yet, in the end, He did comply. 

Jesus had not come to earth to be a spectacle or to prove Himself. He came to save the lost and He would do what He had to do on His Father's timetable, not man's.

After His brothers leave Him, however, as in the incident with Mary, Jesus does quietly attend the feast Himself. He does not go as the public figure that His brothers were challenging Him to be. He is quiet at first, slipping into the crowd, knowing all of the varied opinions that are being expressed concerning Him.

Is He a good man? Is He Messiah? Is He a troublemaker? Does He have a demon? Isn't it interesting how our own expectations and perspectives effect our opinions of another. Jesus was being Jesus, God's Son, yet, in doing so, He was the center of controversy because of expectations.

Paul says in 1 Cor. 13:12: "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." Our sin causes us to see life, see Jesus, through a fun house mirror distorted by our own experiences and prejudices. Some wish to see Jesus only as a distributor of love and reject His harsh words about sin because we don't wish to hear it. Others wish to see Jesus as judge because they think that they will be judged clean while others will be found to have flaws.

We need to be humble in our view of Jesus and trust that, as we get to know Him better, through study and obedience, we will get to know Him more purely because we will be meeting Him face to face. In His time, as we continue to walk with Him, our vision will become clearer. The mirror will become flatter and more trustworthy in showing us who He really is. We will see Him as lover, Messiah and Judge and we will accept it all and also accept that, as God, there are areas that we may never know until we are with Him in eternity. His truth will be revealed; His truth about Himself and His truth about us. Time is on His side. We need patience to be on ours.

Hymn: "In His Time"

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