Bible Study Notes - John 7:1-13
Chances are you
have heard the phrase, “Timing is everything” numerous times. This brief interlude amongst the miracle
stories of the first half of John’s gospel differentiates divine timing which
seeks the “good, pleasing and perfect” will of Almighty God with human history
which unfolds in accordance with sociological, economic, political and
religious factors. As human disciples of
the Lord Jesus Christ, we are creatures of time; perhaps, we are even prisoners
of time. We expect fallaciously for our
Heavenly Father to accomplish His will within our lives according to our
timeframe. When He does not because in
His infinite foreknowledge, He understands all of the necessary factors have
not been synchronized perfectly, we fall prey to the thoughts of abandonment
and neglect. We actually believe His has
forgotten us or is indifferent to our emotions and circumstances. The tendency of focusing upon the product and
ignoring the process in which it emerges really robs disciples of myriad
intangible but very valuable blessings.
God makes us
wait in order that He many change our minds, hearts and character as His will
manifests in our lives. A few biblical
writers utilize the imagery of making and fermenting wine to illustrate how
divine favor and blessings enter our lives.
Like fresh grapes which are crushed and squeezed before being poured
into vats for fermentation, we are subjected providentially to daily living in
which we mature spiritually and develop personally. In time, we realize we are actually ready for
the blessings which we would squander were they given to us prematurely. Paul Masson sold lots of good wine with the
advertisement, “We will sale not wine before its time.” Again, “Timing is everything.”
King Solomon
places upon the lips of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes the immortal words, “There
is time for everything and season for every activity under the heavens.” Love and the very best blessings in life
emerge in time.” We lose our
appreciation of the necessity of preparation and planning in our rapidly
advancing, technological and scientific world.
A “fast food” mentality coerces ours demands for instantaneous
gratification of physical instincts.
Rather than wait for a well-seasoned and masterly prepared meal, many
people will put a frozen dinner in the microwave. Satisfying their ravenous hunger pangs, they
overlook the lasting benefits of a nutritious and healthy diet.
Applying this
impatience to spiritual matters, disciples expect answers to their prayers in a
similar vein. They erroneously focus
upon the product of their petitions rather than the process that God
providentially and mystically designs to renew their characters as they wait
upon Him. However with our Heavenly
Father, we must seek “the right time.”
He cultivates the spiritual fruit of patience within us so that we
accept Solomon’s wisdom and learn how to wait patiently for God’s will to
unfold.
Time has two
significant dimensions: eternal and earthly.
The Greek word, kairos, refers
to divine revelation in “the fullness of time.”
Practically, God’s will emerges as the minute details of any situation
cohere perfectly with His perfect intention.
When it appears that God is slow in fulfilling a promise or His will has
been thwarted inexplicably, He is mysteriously refining the minutia in order to
bless a disciple in accordance with His “good, pleasing and perfect” will. The delay resembles the period of
intermission in a Broadway performance in which it seems the action stops completely
but behind the curtain the stage crew rearranges the setting to further the
plot. When the stage is set perfectly,
the drama resumes to it completion.
Chronos,
the Greek word for time, is the basis of the English word, chronology, which records
human history. As “hindsight is
perfect,” history reveals the myopia and limited perspective of politicians,
celebrities and other major figures.
Past generations did not clearly see their sins and injustices. Winthrop Jordan, author of the enduring
historical scholarly monograph on American slavery and racism, posits the
institutionalization and legalization of chattel slavery, White supremacy,
racism and myriad other social ills was “an unthinking decision.” It stands to reason had colonial political,
social and economic leaders fully understood the longstanding dire consequences
of their decision to relegate Africans to being property and the continual
problems it would cause the United States of America, they would have chosen
more wisely.
God is not
subject to human timeframes. “A thousand
years is as a day in His sight.”
Accomplishing His divine intentions often seem glacial to disciples. We cannot expect Him to conform to our
expectations and schedules. Rather
discipleship development necessitates synchronization of divine and human
time. We seek synergy with the will of Almighty
God. A friend spells TIME as an acronym
for “things I must earn.” Spiritually,
he insists disciples cannot short change the necessary process of introspection,
reflection and decision to change as they wait for the will of God. As they wait, they willingly embrace the
process of preparation and adaptation in anticipation of the answers to their
prayers.
In this passage
in the gospel, Jesus’ brothers tempt Him to defy the Heavenly Father’s timing
and use the occasion of a feast to transform Himself into a celebrity. Realizing their suggestion did not accord
with the Father’s will, Jesus informs them that it is not the right time. Essentially, this brief passage exhorts
disciples to develop the spiritual disciplines of prayer and meditation as they
learn to discern the will of Almighty God and obey His timing as to their
choices and decisions. Clear, concise
and cogent revelation comes to those disciples who steadfastly progress in
their relationship with the Heavenly Father.
Jesus sidesteps a potential crisis and tragedy as He listens for His
Father’s guidance and willingly adheres to His timing.
Consider the
following ideas and questions as you study the text.
·
The Jews sought
to kill him because of the miracles and teachings were turning the allegiance
of the crowd away from the religious leaders and towards Jesus. The Pharisees, scribes and teachers of the
Law fear the growth of the Jesus movement would affect adversely their
political and economic agreements with the Roman government. Thy resolve they must contain Him and His
disciples lest the Israelite nation suffer dire consequences if the Romans
suspect a rebellion is being planned.
·
In response to
their plot, Jesus utilizes the advice He previously gave the disciples. “Be as wise as serpents but as gentle as
doves.” He withdraws from public
appearances until the Father grants Him permission to do so. More practically, in the parlance of today,
Jesus refuses to believe His own press.
He does not allow His ego to overshadow the Father’s plan. Instead, Jesus waits patiently for the
Father’s guidance.
·
John delineates
this time as the Feast of Tabernacles which commemorates Israel’s wilderness
wandering years. Many people celebrated
this feast. Jesus would have had a
captive audience but He wisely rejects the fickleness of the crowd and obeys
the Father’s direction.
·
Sometimes, great
temptation comes from people, who are nearest to us, our circle of family and
friends. Jesus’ brothers strongly
encourage Him to show Himself to the world.
They insist His work should not be done in secret places or secluded
areas. Contemporarily, they ponder how
Jesus can resist instantaneous celebrity acclaim. Public affirmation certifies Him as the new
leader of Israel. In the world of
extensive and expanding social media, may persons share inappropriately their
private lives with the fallacious and morally vacuous quest for fame. Had Jesus not known His mission and purpose
and submitted to the Father’s guidance, He too could have been led astray by
the unpredictability of public acclamation.
·
The fifth verse
of this passage states blandly and sorrowfully that Jesus brothers did not
believe in Him. This is John’s wording
for the old adage, “A prophet is without honor at home.” Familiarity breeds contempt. Mistakenly, the people who are nearest and
dearest to us sometimes believe they know us better than we know ourselves. Family members and friends seek to define our
strengths and weaknesses. They think we
stood ask their permission rather than advice before undertaking projects as
they believe they can tell us whether we will fail or succeed. Additionally, jealousy, resentment and other
volatile emotions negatively affect close relationships. Conceivably, Jesus’ brothers’ refusal to
believe originated in any and all of these emotions.
·
Please note the
evangelist’s mention of Jesus’ brothers as this fact is often overlooked. Consult Mark’s gospel for more details. Also, consider Almighty God’s rewards of an
extended family to Joseph and Mary for their obedience to the divine call to be
the human instruments through which the Messiah and Savior of the world came.
·
Jesus responds
to His brothers by informing them His time has not yet arrived although any
time seems appropriate to them considering their very short-sighted
objectives. Jesus advocates process,
preparation and discernment as a means of cultivating willingness to obey God’s
will. Jesus knows betrayal, denial,
desertion, two unjust trials and crucifixion lay in the future. In His infinite foreknowledge, He realizes
the fickle crowd will turn against Him in exchange for Barabbas. Wisely, He waits for the Father’s
encouragement and empowerment in the Garden of Gethsemane. Divine delays often afford a person to
develop spiritually within mind, heart, soul, spirit, psyche, body and will as
he or she aligns with God’s perfect plan.
·
The willingness
to wait for personal transformation and divine orchestration is a fundamental
challenge for many disciples.
·
In the seventh
verse, Jesus differentiates the values of the world and those of the kingdom of
God. He tells His brothers that the
world does not hate them because they do not challenge any of the predominant
views or customs. Rather, He steadfastly
critiques the policies and practices of the world. As H. Richard Niebuhr in his compelling brief
book, Christ and Culture, posits, the
mores of the Christian gospel definitively challenge the surrounding cultural
values; they clash irreconcilably. Jesus
firmly resists the temptation of His brothers and their myopic reach for
celebrity and public approval. Instead, Jesus steadfastly defines and adheres
to the values of the kingdom of God which the Father sends Him to inaugurate.
·
Straightforwardly,
Jesus tells His brothers to go to the festival if they wish to do so. He simply will not go as His time to enter
center stage has not arrived. He knows
He cannot violate the Father’s timing.
To do so is an act of willfulness, disobedience and infidelity. As a consequence, Jesus remains in Galilee as
a part of further preparation.
·
There are times
along the journey of discipleship when we live with juxtapositions and
ironies. We do not understand why God is
not creating opportunities to enable us to exercise fully our talents and
abilities. We wonder why we sit idly as
less educated and gifted people surpass us in achievements and success. We fight cynicism as we begin to suspect we
are wasting our time being faithful to God and the kingdom.
·
Interestingly,
Jesus actually follows His brothers to the feast. He goes in secret. He attends in accordance with His own terms. Militarily, Jesus attends as a reconnaissance
mission in which He assesses the crowd, religious leaders and other significant
events. This silent and secretive
evaluation is a critical aspect of preparation for divine timing. It parallels the work necessary in
formulating a business plan before acquiring a loan or opening the
establishment.
·
Evidently, Jesus
approach to attending this feast was wise as He learns that the Jews are looking
for Him. This biblical detail reminds us
of the importance of discernment and humility.
Had Jesus submitted to the self-centered impulses of His ego and the
possible flattery of His brothers and assumed a prominent public role at the
feast, He would have given His enemies a clear opportunity to kill Him before
the plan of salvation had been accomplished.
Instead, Jesus waits for the Father’s direction with His timeframe.
·
A friend
periodically reminds me that only a few people in any crowd are actually going in
a definite direction. He mentions the number
of people who gather to see someone depart for a flight. Once, I was in the New York City Port
Authority bus terminal on 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in
Manhattan. To clear the waiting room
near midnight, NYC police officers announced loudly, “Anyone without a bus
ticket must leave now.” Nearly
ninety-five percent of the people left.
Yet, the place was crowded. This
duet of stories reveals the aimlessness of most crowds. John records a major division amongst the
crowd regarding Jesus and His public ministry.
Some observers characterize Jesus as a good man. Others allege He deceives people. Quite possibly, the religious leaders heavily
influence the latter group which would have surrendered Jesus to them had they been
instructed to assist in capturing Him.
·
By adhering
strictly to divine timing, Jesus avoids becoming a victim of a mob mentality or
some other casualty that certainly would have occurred had He exploited this brewing
public fervor at the feast.
·
The evangelist concludes
this brief passage with a reminder that fear of the Jews lurks predominantly in
the background of Jesus’ public ministry.
The religious leaders fear the unrestrained growth of Jesus’ public ministry
will eradicate their power and money. Some
people in the crowd are afraid to believe in Him as they fear expulsion from
the synagogue.
·
Have you ever
been afraid to confess boldly and forthrightly your faith in Christ because you
fear reprisal?
No comments:
Post a Comment