It’s Not My Time

John 7:1-13, CEB

After this Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. He didn’t want to travel in Judea, because the Jewish authorities wanted to kill him.  When it was almost time for the Jewish Festival of Booths,  Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee. Go to Judea so that your disciples can see the amazing works that you do.  Those who want to be known publicly don’t do things secretly. Since you can do these things, show yourself to the world.”  His brothers said this because even they didn’t believe in him.

Jesus replied, “For you, anytime is fine. But my time hasn’t come yet.  The world can’t hate you. It hates me, though, because I testify that its works are evil.  You go up to the festival. I’m not going to this one because my time hasn’t yet come.”  Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.  However, after his brothers left for the festival, he went too—not openly but in secret.

The Jewish leaders were looking for Jesus at the festival. They kept asking, “Where is he?”  The crowds were murmuring about him. “He’s a good man,” some said, but others were saying, “No, he tricks the people.”  No one spoke about him publicly, though, for fear of the Jewish authorities.

                Mostly, this is a narrative transition in John’s gospel from the extended discourse surrounding the feeding of the five thousand to another extended discourse surrounding Jesus in Jerusalem during the Festival of Booths.  However, there are some important details included here that both inform the actual events and proclaim some core principles that the foundation of Jesus’s life and ministry.  Let’s take a closer look.

                First, Jesus instructs his disciples to go from Galilee (where they are) into Jerusalem for the Festival of Booths without Him.  The reason given is that Jesus has already locked horns with the religious leaders and He knows that those leaders are now looking for a way to kill Him.  Though Jesus will eventually voluntarily walk into a situation that He knows will lead to His death, now is not the time.  The principle here is that others will not cause Jesus death; He will willingly give His life away.  Jesus is in charge of the details and the timing, less there be in confusion.

                Next, the Festival of Booths is arguably the most popular of the Jewish festivals in Jerusalem, and because of that, there will be massive crowds.  The disciples see this as a strategic opportunity.  If Jesus were present among the crowds and performed miracles, His following could be multiplied exponentially.  They make this point to Jesus, who rebuffs the opportunity with the aforementioned reason that “it is not my time,” meaning it is not His time to die.  Additionally, it should be noted that we see here a growing disparity between the aims of the disciples and the aim of Jesus.  Jesus shows no ambition to “build a following.”  The unspoken ambition of the disciples on Jesus’s behalf is that He would build such a groundswell of support that He could a lead a successful revolt against the Romans.  Jesus not only has no interest in that, he actively avoids supporting that aspiration in any way. 

                Finally, we need not miss the author of John’s commentary on the faith (or lack thereof) of the disciples:

                “His brothers said this because even they didn’t believe in him.”

The disciples have not reached the spiritual maturity yet to even qualify for “believing in” Jesus.  This is despite Peter having proclaimed about Jesus, “you have the words of eternal life.” It also more clearly defines what qualifies for belief in John 3:16.  It’s not enough to believe in Jesus’s ability to do miracles.  It’s not even enough to believe that Jesus is a great Rabbi/teacher or even prophet.  What will be more and more clear throughout the gospel is that no one will reach the status of “believing in” Jesus until after the death and  resurrection.  Miracles, astute confessions, and teaching do not produce  or express authentic faith. The whole of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection provide the basis for the kind of faith Jesus is looking for.  You can believe Jesus is a miracle worker, the greatest Rabbi that ever lived, or a prophet greater than Elijah and still be an outsider of the kingdom of God.  Spend some time today thinking about that.

Question:  What is it exactly about Jesus that inspires you to “believe in” Him?

Prayer:  God, show us what it really means to believe in Jesus.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for those who don’t have enough to eat today.

Song:  It’s Not My Time – 3 Doors Down