John 7:1-10
7 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2 But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6 Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because my time has not yet fully come." 9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.
10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.
Observations for living today:
- God had a plan and timing is important.
- The world hates Jesus because He reveals clearly it is evil.
Before God created anything He had a plan for His creation. Man, His work of art, was created first as a human being, but now through His Christ, a spiritual being (1 Co 15:45). Every event in God’s plan has a purpose and a time. Jesus accepted God’s plan and believed each detail God revealed to Him. This Feast of the Tabernacles happened in October of 30 AD. Things were getting intense, larger crowds followed looking for healing and the religious leader’s opposition increased in proportion to the peoples demand of more from Him; to the point the Sanhedrin’s intent to kill Him became known to the public.
God’s plan has a timeline designed to accomplish His purpose. During the Transfiguration, Jesus discussed with Moses and Elijah the details of His departure (Mt 17:3; Mk 9:4, 10; Lk 9:31). While Peter, James and John witnessed the event, they did not understand it all and specifically struggled to understand what Jesus said about “rising from the dead”.
Accepting God’s timeline, Jesus responded to His brothers’ suggestion, saying He would not go to religious festival yet, because according to God’s timetable, the time for Him to be revealed had not yet come; eventually it would, but not now.
Believe what God said: do not let the logic of this world lead you away from the truth.
Jesus did not use the logic of the world to accomplish God’s purpose; to do so would thwart the purpose of God. The logic of the world, i.e., good business practices or the smart thing to do to be successful will move contrary to God’s logic in most circumstances; friendship with the world brings very serious consequences, both intended and unintended (Jas 4).
This principle can be observed in the exchange Jesus had with Peter and His closest disciples once they concluded and He confirmed He was in fact the Messiah. When Jesus began telling His disciples specific details about God’s plan for Him as the Messiah, i.e., He had to suffer and be killed by the leadership of Israel before being raised from the dead after three days, Peter, using the logic of the world emphatically refused God’s plan stating, “This shall never happen to you!” Peter using ideas he was familiar with became the enemy of God by focusing on “human concerns” vs “concerns of God.” There was then and there is now a very real difference between what God is concerned with and what humans are concerned with. People use logic they are comfortable with, logic that seems natural to implement what they believe will move them closer to success. This calls for wisdom; you cannot be “working like the devil for the Lord”—you just might lose everything for nothing! (Mt 16:22; Mk 8:32)
Jesus clearly shows us how the world hates the truth (Jn 1:5, 11; 3:19). Mankind was deceived by God’s enemy when they chose to treat the knowledge of God as something not worth retaining (Ro 1). Each generation walks further away from the truth and develops their own idea of what makes sense based on logical assumptions of what they think is true. Consider for a moment how long it took for those who heard Moses and Jesus face to face, to convert their message into a complex system of rules and rituals only the few elites could rightfully explain to the people God loves, i.e., to the uneducated and corrupt sinners—the lost sheep of His flock.
There are two facts one must accept to avoid being deceived by the lies of Satan:
- God has a plan, which will accomplish His purpose (Is 46:8-13; 55:6-11)
- What God intends to accomplish will happen (Rv 21:5)
Everything that happens is not always what God wants.
While it is allowed to happen, it cannot interfere with His purpose. He limits the damages to those He cares about and He will reward their confidence in Him with more than a restoration of what used to be—the life of Job is a living example of this construct (Job 1-2). A second illustration is the life of Jesus. We have seen His humiliation and sacrifice, but we have yet to see the fullness of His reward/glorification (Heb 1-2).
Satan is busy doing things to disrupt God’s plan, to prevent His purpose from being made a reality.
How often do people blame God for what Satan did? Without fully understanding God’s plan and purpose they believe God did an evil thing by causing their suffering and pain, when in fact either Satan is tempting you to sin or you are learning a lesson from your sin, i.e., the result of circumstance (living in a world of sin) or the consequence of sinning (Jas 1:13; Heb 12:7).
One of the fastest ways to miss the truth is to make a false assumption.
Jesus’ brothers provide a good example of an incorrect assumption when they said “no one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret” (Jn 7:4) or possibly two incorrect assumptions: 1) Jesus wants to become a public figure; 2) things done in secret do not make you a public figure.
The logic they employed suggests the preferred method to communicate was to do so in a public forum, to prove something to as many people as possible. Based on His testimony it is clear Jesus’ goal was not to become a “public figure” by pandering to the crowds, even though He would in fact publicly submit Himself to “the prince of this world” so everyone would learn Jesus loved the Father and did exactly what the Father commanded Him to do (Jn 14:31).
When was the time right to become a “public figure”? [Jn 11-12]
Jesus discussed His departure with Elijah and Moses and then He waited. He went about life responding to the crowds with compassion, showing the Father’s character in everything He did. When He raised Lazarus according to God’s plan the world would no longer afford Him any privacy. When the Greeks asked to speak with Jesus, He knew and said, “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (Jn 12:20). Although there is no documentation to support it, this key milestone may very well have been part of the discussion with Elijah and Moses.
For those outside of God’s plan, i.e., those opting out because they do not believe the words of God; timing is not significant, i.e., anytime is right to do what they want to do. The world is not going to oppose those who agree with them; but it will oppose those whose words or deeds suggest the world has it wrong.
Building and executing a plan using the logic of this world will always have unfavorable eternal consequences. The world thinks you get ahead by taking what is yours, God teaches greatness comes by giving to others what you know is not yours—you are only a steward of it for a little while. The world tells you to get even or better get ahead when wronged, God demands you become like Him and forgive knowing you’ve done worse to others, i.e. Him. The world measures success in accumulated wealth (money), the Holy Spirit taught us love for money to be a root of many evils, which will drag you away from Him filling you with a dark hatred for the light of God’s love (1 Tim 6:10; Lk 16:9-15; Mt 6:19-24; James 2, 4 & 5)
Reality in Christ:
God’s timing for those living in the Reality of Christ is no different today—His plan unfolds and while it is not always completely known or understood, it is always perfect. Jesus did not know every part of the Father’s plan, specifically, regarding the day or hour this Heaven and earth will cease to exist, i.e., the coming of the Lord; neither the angels in heaven nor the Son of God knows when the end will come, only the Father knows (Mt 24:36; Mk 13:32). We must live just as Jesus did, trusting the Father, knowing His plan is good and to live without fear knowing we are part of His plan and He loves us (Mt 10:28; Lk 12:4; Jn 14:27).
What does it take to execute God’s plan in your life?
Know God. Hear God. Love God. Think like God. Care about what God cares about; the way God cares! A very simple plan, but it requires a life of vigilance, full of astute choices, which will invariably reveal the core of what you really believe about the word God spoke.
For all those who profess God spoke to them or God told them to do this or that in an audible voice or dream, I would only say, the silence of God through history is deafening. Therefore, I must conclude the overwhelming majority of such people are no different from those who blame God for having to suffer the results of evil and instead they justify their evil deeds as being directed by God. Both live in a lie based on a false assumption of truth. God did speak to men since Jesus left us; Peter and Paul for sure. Should He choose to He may well speak to others again. Jesus warned us of those who would lie in God’s name (Mt 7:15-20) telling us we would be able to know by their actions if they were good or bad. God told us how we can know the difference between a false or a true prophet—the true prophet is always demonstratively right, what he says always happens—zero errors.
God is always the same, His Spirit is not conflicted: you cannot love your enemy then kill him; you cannot turn the other cheek and then sue him in a court of law for assault; and God never delegates His vengeance to His former enemy—and all of us were at one time enemies of God.
Logic of the world vs the unshakeable Reality in Christ
- Familiar logic, thinking that seems natural and comfortable is never safe to rely on, because it emanates from the natural man or a temporal sphere of reality. Always be sure you are following God’s logic (ref: new creation 2 Co 5:16-17; new self Eph 4:11-24; spiritual man vs human nature 1 Co 2).
- Avoid incorrect or false assumptions; always have a way to check your work or balance your spreadsheet. God’s message does not contradict itself; let the Holy Spirit lead (1 Jn) By checking your work, you determine what you know is true and what you assume to be true—see “It Helps To Know What You Don’t Know” posted on the Lessons page.
- Perhaps the most powerful sentence Paul wrote on this subject was written to those in Colossae (Col 2): “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (v 8).
- Choose the reality in Christ and you are given the fullness of the Deity living in bodily form (vs 9-10), with God putting off the sinful nature of man (v 11). The religious rituals of Israel were a shadow of things to come, the reality is found in Christ. Although it may appear wise, a life lived according to basic principles of this world, based on human commands and teachings, has no value in restraining sensual indulgence (vs 16- 23).
- Life with Christ in God is real now, not something yet to become a reality (Col 3); it is the only reality for everything else will pass away and become nothing—from dust to dust, ashes to ashes, from nothing to nothing—only His Word/Spirit will never pass away; you are “raised with Christ” (v 1) and “hidden with Christ in God” (v 3), focused on “things above, not on earthly things” (v 2); the “old self with its practices” is taken off (v 9) and the “new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” is put on (v 10).
- Summary: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart; let the message of Christ dwell within you richly; and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father” (vs15-17).
Prayer:
Father, creator and sustainer of everything, thank you for my life in Christ Jesus and for the opportunity I have to prove I love you. I know you have a plan and it is unfolding according to your purpose. Give me the wisdom to understand my place and part in what is happening around me. Give me the strength and courage to do what you have created for me to do and for the privilege to be one of your children. Help me understand when I depend on the logic of this world instead of yours and I have made a foolish assumption instead of trusting what you have made so clear. Thank you for your patience and for giving me the strength to endure the lesson I so desperately need to learn. Thank you always for being such a good Father and providing such a wonderful Lord and Savior in Jesus. Fill me with more of your Holy Spirit and help me to better understand how your spirit walks with me each day, teaching and strengthening me so I can be the child that makes you smile; in everything thank you in the name of Jesus.
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