Not Yet Time

Lesson #122

We continue in the section defined by John 7:1 – 9 at verse 6: “Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.”” (ESV). His brothers believed if Jesus was the Messiah now would be the time to go to Jerusalem and go public. With it being festival time in Jerusalem there would be large crowds and in the minds of his brothers the time to rally the people around him, but this is worldly thinking. Jesus came, not as a worldly Messiah to deliver the Jews from bondage under Rome, but to die on the cross as their perfect sacrifice and redeemer to deliver them from the bondage of sin. This is the work of the true Messiah and his time was not now but later.

“The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil” (John 7:7 ESV). Jesus seems to change the topic from what is the correct time to the issue of hate. His brothers are thinking about the popularity of Jesus, but Jesus is thinking about additional time for teaching and for the people’s hate to build against him. There will be coming events with Jesus that will cause the Jews to hate him to the point of hanging him on the cross. Because of sin the world is evil and Jesus stands against evil, but for those who believe he will die in their place for their sin. Anyone who lives a righteous life will be persecuted, but if you walk with the world you will not be hated.

Jesus continues by saying, “”You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee” (John 7:8 – 9 ESV). When we look ahead to verse 10 we find that he did go, but not publicly. I do not see a mistake here by Jesus saying that he was not going up and then goes. The Greek presence tense in verse 8 can have the sense, “I am not now going” up in the way the brothers expected.

For the purpose of this lesson Jesus did stay in Galilee and his brothers went on ahead. In a much future lesson Jesus learned that his friend Lazarus was very sick. He was asked to come right away, but he waited and Lazarus died. Jesus waited so he could raise Lazarus from the dead and teach about the resurrection. Here in our lesson Jesus waits and arrives during the middle of the feast and goes to the temple and teaches and says things that cause the Jews to hate him even more. This is according to plan.

Prayer

Father, it appears to me that western Christians are so much like the world that we are not hated and thus not persecuted. It also appears to me that the world is beginning to apply pressure to remove what remains of our faith. I believe we will soon come to the place where we will be asked to deny the Lord in order to receive certain benefits and services from the world. Father, prepare me for that time of persecution when I will be forced to take a stand with the Lord.