Disbelief or Trust in God’s Word?

John 7:1-24

Jesus' Brothers Disbelieve

1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 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. 4 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." 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

6 Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come." 9 When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

The Heavenly Scholar

10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?" 12 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." 13 However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"

16 Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?"

20 The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?"

21 Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

The brothers of Jesus did not want to believe their older sibling of the same mother and therefore tried to talk Him into going to the feast and publicly demonstrate His wisdom and abilities.  Jesus did not dance to their tune (Luke 7:32, 35) but simply remarked that it was not the time to reveal all secret things to His disciples and the masses just yet.  There was a specific time for the Lord to do and say everything because it had been planned out before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20).  He further explained for their and our benefit that the world was set on destroying Him because He publicly proclaimed that its works are evil and they disbelieved and rejected Him and His words since they the secrets of their own hearts were exposed by Him.  He therefore revealed His secret things in small doses to regulate their hate until it was time to go to the cross.  After Jesus told the brothers He was not yet going, He went secretly in His prepared time shortly afterwards as the masses asked in small groups because they were afraid to be associated with Him as they wondered where He was with complaints and discussion among themselves if He was good or a deceiver.  Jesus then appeared openly in the middle of the feast and began teaching the kingdom of God in the temple to the gathering crowd.  The hearers were astonished at His teaching (Mark 1:22, 6:2) because they knew Jesus had not attended any Jewish seminary under the Pharisees as their own members of the Sanhedrin had done.  They could not grasp that as as the Son of God He knew every jot and tittle (Matthew 5:17-18) of the scriptures, having written them Himself as the living Word of God (John 1:1) among them (John 1:14)!  Jesus even answered their question about where He learned all things by telling them the Father who sent Him to tell them was behind it all.  They should have listened and realized that it was the truth of God’s word they were arguing against and heard what He had to say, but they only demonstrated disbelief and not trust in God’s word being taught and heard.  Jesus sought only to glorify His Father in the teachings and under His authority.  Then He turned to the real underlying issue of them wanting to kill Him because they were exposed as opposing the word Moses taught them which also spoke of and pointed to Him (Luke 24:27, Genesis 3:15, Numbers 21:9, Deuteronomy 18:15) standing before them.  As John 5:46-47 tells us, believing what Moses wrote should lead one to believe all Jesus taught (Acts 26:22-23) as well.  Their disbelief led to rejection of all Jesus fulfilled as God had been telling them all those years from the beginning of creation.  He pointed out that their law was not God’s anymore nor what Moses really taught them; they now were in opposition to the scriptures because they were opposed to the one whom they spoke of standing before them.  He used this to demonstrate why it was right and lawful in God’s eyes to heal on the sabbath day of rest made for man’s benefit (Mark 2:27-28) and not to punish men for doing good on that day.  Jesus used this to point out that they should judge with scriptural righteousness and not appearances created and enforced by their own reasoning.  He came to make His people well in body and soul, not to fit a checklist of what man developed to judge others according to their own rules apart from His word.  Do we ourselves judge righteously according to the scriptures?  May we trust with godly belief in God’s word even when it appears to go against what we have been told is the way to deal with Him or others and not as these religious but not right with God people did.