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After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His brothers did not believe in Him. Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come." When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.
But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?" And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people." However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
- John 7:1-13
Yesterday, we read that many of His disciples, when they heard Jesus speak about His Body and Blood, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father." From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.
After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. The section that follows (through several chapters in John) tells about Jesus' visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. The entire section covers eight days -- the length of the festival. My study bible says, "At this festival during the last year of His earthly life, Jesus taught in the temple and attracted a great deal of public attention." As we will read, some thought Him to be mad, others believed Him to be the Messiah, and still others (notably the temple leadership parties of Sadducees and Pharisees) considered Him to be a threat. The Jews who sought to kill Him refers to the religious leadership and not the people in general. Indeed, all the people in this text are Jews: followers, disciples, Apostles, and Jesus Himself -- and their families. That includes the author of the Gospel.
Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. My study bible explains: "The Feast of Tabernacles (Heb. succoth) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival commemorating the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai and the people lived in tents, or tabernacles. Along with Passover and Pentecost, this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews; it included numerous sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43). In later times, the final day of this feast also included drawing water from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as a purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7). It further included the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple." See also 2 Maccabees 10:5-9.
His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For even His brothers did not believe in Him. Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come." When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee. Jesus "brothers" are extended family. Commentators have maintained throughout Church history that they are either step-brothers from an earlier marriage of Joseph (who was a much older man at the time he and Mary were betrothed), or they are cousins. Today in the Middle East, it is still common to call extended family (such as cousins) "brothers."
But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?" And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, "He is good"'; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people." However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. My study bible explains that "not openly" means not with a great public entrance such as will happen on Palm Sunday (12:12-16). We remember that at the period this Gospel was written, members of the early Church had first come to call themselves Christians, and their persecution fierce in the synagogues and elsewhere. The "Jews" here refers to leadership -- and is meant to be used in political terms, not national or ethnic. Before that time, followers of Christ had been considered to be a sect of Judaism, often referred to as "Nazarenes" - as is still common today by non-Christians.
Persecution can come in many forms, but it's not something that Christians haven't had to accept throughout the history of the Church. Here in John's Gospel, we get the first indication of Jesus' disfavor with the leadership; they seek to kill Him. Later on in John's Gospel, Jesus will teach His disciples that "a servant is not greater than his master." As Christians, we are told to follow our Master, and given great lessons by Him that, "if they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also." What we understand from this teaching is that we must face adversity also through our faith. In other words, we turn to Him in prayer, we look to His teachings, we turn over to God not just the beautiful things of life, but also the harsh things of life -- even if we face difficulties because of our faith. This is a most important thing to understand, that the difficulties we have in life, no matter what they are, aren't excuses for us to quit our faith nor to catch ourselves "off the mark" so to speak. When we hear about something called "spiritual battle" -- it's just that, the interior battle within ourselves to resist temptation to fall "off the mark" and to lose our faith in what we've been given. Every adversity, no matter why it's there or how it comes to us, in this point of view, becomes a test or a challenge to us. Can we meet it with Him, or are we going to deal with it "on our own," so to speak, and forgetting about the Master who has already gone through it all? If we look at the early life of Jesus as an infant and a child, we see the struggles of His parents, Mary and Joseph, and what they went through to protect Him. They were His chosen caretakers, and they understood how precious He was. I think we also have to consider the nature of His identity, the announcement of Gabriel that Mary kept in her heart, and the understanding that protection also includes that the full public revelation of His identity must be kept secret until it was the appropriate time. This, also, Jesus exemplifies through His ministry. Everything He does is with purpose and mission in mind; there are no miracles to "prove" who He is on demand, it all depends on faith. Woven throughout this story is the understanding that correct choices and protection, facing difficulties in the ways that God has given, are all based on faith, trust, and love. And that's the balanced place we try to remain, on that mark we've been given. Life may throw us constant curves, fears, trepidations, outrage, injustice, and all kinds of things we can't predict and may be thoroughly unprepared to deal with. But the point of faith is just that, even when we don't feel our confidence, we turn to the confidence we can have in Him and the whole host of those who can help, even the entirety of the Church as it lives in Him, for help, for a way. We call on the Holy Spirit who works in all things. We may have to endure, to develop the "long-suffering" or patience we read about in the Bible, and of which there are so many examples in the fullness of all the Scriptures. But we begin with Him, right here, where even His own brothers scoff and dare Him to come openly and prove Himself. Let us remember His guidance is for every day, in all circumstances, rejoicing or otherwise. To be wise as serpents and simple as doves is always where He wants us.
