Today, we’re continuing in our series ‘Encounters with Jesus in John’s gospel.’ I’m going to focus on the first eight verses of John 7. These tell us about an encounter Jesus’ brothers had with him. As usual, I’ll try to give the context. Then we’ll look at what happened. After that, we’ll think what we can learn from it.
CONTEXT
We’ve looked at five passages in John’s gospel so far.
In a small town called Cana, in the north of Israel, Jesus turned water into wine.
One night, a Jewish ruler called Nicodemus visited Jesus. Jesus told him he needed to be born again.
At a deserted well in Samaria Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink.
In each case, the things Jesus did and said surprised people. But they didn’t make people angry.
But in the next encounter, Jesus went to Jerusalem, to a pool five minutes’ walk from the temple. He healed a paralysed man. But he did it on the Sabbath. He broke the Sabbath rules. Now, things start to get messy. The religious Jews challenged him. He told them: ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working.’ Jesus was calling God his father! That got the Jews REALLY annoyed. From that point on, they want to kill Jesus.
Very sensibly, Jesus left Jerusalem and headed back to Galilee.
Last Sunday we looked at another encounter. A large crowd followed Jesus into a desolate place. They came to hear him teach and because he was healing people. At the end of the day, he fed 5,000 people. It was an awesome miracle! After Jesus worked the miracle, he drew out a spiritual lesson. He said, ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’ [6:51].
Now, Jesus’ own followers said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ …. And we read that ‘many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him’ [6:61,66].
Both in Jerusalem and in Galilee, Jesus had said things that were hard to swallow. This was the result. Humanly-speaking, Jesus’ ministry was going nowhere.
Was Jesus’ ministry truly off-track? The prophet Isaiah had prophesied, ‘He was despised and rejected by men’ [Isaiah 53:3]. What was happening was only what Isaiah had prophesied.
Enter Jesus’ family. They think Jesus is off-track and they’re going to help.
FAMILY TO THE RESCUE!
Jesus is back in Galilee, and his brothers, who are from that area, pay him a visit. Next to the word ‘brothers’ the ESV has a footnote: ‘Or brothers and sisters.’ I’m not going to spend time delving into this. Let’s just accept that here, the word brothers can mean ‘brothers and sisters.’
Do we know anything about Jesus’ brothers and sisters? A little. We know that Jesus had four brothers and we know their names. And we know he had at least two sisters. While Jesus was alive there’s nothing to suggest that Jesus’ brothers and sisters had put their faith in him. But after Jesus was raised from the dead, they are part of the original group of 120 [Acts 1:14] and later, two of them have significant roles in the early church.
So Jesus’ brothers, and perhaps his sisters too, come along to give him some advice, to help him get his ministry back on track.
Do you have brothers or sisters? I have two brothers. My dad passed away about two and a half years ago. Before he died, the three of us would be constantly in touch about my dad’s care. After he died, we talked about his funeral arrangements, his estate and so on. I imagine that’s normal. Brothers and sisters have a special relationship and we expect to give and receive advice.
Jesus’ brothers and sisters no doubt had a similar view. Jesus was their brother; they could give him advice. Maybe they thought Jesus’ ministry was running out of steam – and they knew what was needed. ‘Go public!’ they urged him. ‘The feast is about to start in Jerusalem. Go down there! Show some miracles! Don’t hide yourself away up here in Galilee!’
John then adds an intriguing comment. Look at verse 5. John writes, ‘For not even his brothers believed in him.’ That, in John’s view, is why Jesus’ brothers suggested he go down to Jerusalem. Because they DIDN’T believe in him! It sounds very strange, doesn’t it? I’ll come back to this.
Jesus told his brothers that he wouldn’t go. Later, however, he did go to the feast, but secretly.
APPLICATION
I think we can learn from what Jesus’ brothers got wrong and from what Jesus got right.
WHAT JESUS’ BROTHERS GOT WRONG
Let’s start with what Jesus’ brothers got wrong.
I drew our attention to verse 5 a moment ago.
Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe in him. What does that mean?
I think Jesus’ brothers knew he could work miracles. I expect they’d witnesses a few. They believed he could do that. But they didn’t believe IN HIM.
Many people at that time imagined that Jesus was a kind of messiah who would liberate them from the Romans. BUT THEY DIDN’T GRASP THAT HE WAS SON OF GOD, THE ANOINTED ONE, WHOSE MISSION WAS NOT TO LIBERATE JEWS FROM THE ROMANS BUT TO LIBERATE HUMANKIND FROM THE TYRANNY OF SIN. Perhaps Jesus’ brothers thought the same.
If Jesus was simply a human messiah then it would be fine for his brothers to offer him advice. But if he was the Son of God then he didn’t need their advice.
Let’s apply that to ourselves. If WE believe in Jesus, if WE believe he is Son of God, then we MUST believe he knows what he’s doing. It would be plain silly to tell the Son of God, ‘Jesus, I think you need a new strategy.’ We have to fit into what he’s doing. HE doesn’t fit into what WE think he should do! If we believe that Jesus is leading us on a particular path, we should follow it. If Jesus is Son of God, he knows what he’s doing!
On Thursday evening some of us watched a movie called ‘Blue Miracle.’ The film is based on the true story of a Mexican orphanage. In 2014, part of Mexico was hit by a hurricane, including the orphanage. Somehow, God led the orphanage to enter one of the world’s biggest fishing tournaments. The director of the orphanage, a man named Omar Venegas, spent 43 minutes reeling in a 385 lb blue marlin – the biggest fish caught during the tournament – and the team won about $250,000. All the money went to the orphanage. Omar Venegas is a Christian. He said afterwards: ‘We won the Bisbee’s Marlin World Tournament … my first time fishing a marlin. First time in a famous tournament and First Place, let me tell you ONLY GOD does this miracle. God, the only God, creator of all that exists today. He decided to bless Casa Hogar Cabo A.C. with this huge prize!’
In the film, it seemed very strange to Omar Venegas to enter a fishing tournament. But that WAS God’s plan.
Jesus’ brothers had a view of what Jesus should do. He should go down to Jerusalem. But that WASN’T God’s plan, or at least, not for then.
Simon Peter had a view of what Jesus should NOT do. He shouldn’t go to the cross. But that WAS God’s plan.
But NONE of us know Jesus perfectly. We have our views of what he’s like and what he does and doesn’t do, but to some extent, we’ll miss the mark.
Jesus isn’t in the business of conforming to our ideas of what he is like or what he should do. Just as in the case of the Mexican orphanage, he will surprise us. We’ll wonder what’s going on. When that happens, we need to be like Omar Venegas and trust him. We need to say, ‘You’re the boss. You’re the Lord. WE don’t need to tell YOU what to do. We need to listen to what YOU tell US to do.’
Let’s move on now to what Jesus got right.
WHAT JESUS GOT RIGHT
Jesus’ brothers and sisters urged him to go to a feast in Jerusalem. If I was Jesus, I might well have said yes.
We like to be yes people. I would say to myself, ‘It’s good to fit in with what my family wants.’ I would say to myself, ‘My brothers and sisters haven’t yet come to faith. This is a chance to witness to them.’ I would say to myself, ‘Perhaps I SHOULD prove myself.’
But Jesus told his brothers, ‘You go. I’m not coming with you.’ Jesus said no.
Jesus knew what he should and what he should not do. He wasn’t deflected by his brothers.
When I was in my early 30s, I thought about becoming a missionary. One of the things that made me hesitate was my family. My brothers and many of my cousins were doing really well in their careers. They never said a word against me becoming a missionary. But I thought they’d look down on me if I abandoned a career path. We need to be like Jesus and not worry what people think.
We need to DO the right thing, not swayed by other people’s views. Not even our families’ views.
But as well as DOING the right thing, we need to find the RIGHT TIME for it.
In today’s passage, Jesus tells his brothers, twice, ‘MY TIME HAS NOT YET COME.’ The fact that Jesus says this twice means that it’s important. In spite of the danger, Jesus intends to go to the feast. But it has to be AT THE RIGHT TIME.
There’s an important principle here. It may be that something is right to do. But it also needs to be THE RIGHT TIME to do it.
Just as we may have our ideas about WHAT Jesus should do, we may also have our ideas about WHEN he should do it. But God knows both WHAT to do and WHEN to do it.
A church might be really wanting to start some new ministry. The members of the church may feel that God is leading them into it. But it’s still necessary to ask God WHEN.
A young person might be single and longing to find a life partner. But God knows the right person is for them AND THE RIGHT TIME. If God isn’t presently leading them into the relationship they want, perhaps it’s because it isn’t the right time.
I’ve had some amazing experiences of God guiding someone into my path or God guiding me into someone else’s path AT JUST THE TIME I NEEDED THEM OR THEY NEEDED ME.
How can we know when ‘the hour has come’? My quick answer would be, prayer. That was the pattern for Jesus. In his life, he often found guidance and revelation in the context of prayer.
CONCLUSION
Let me summarise.
FIRST, let’s learn from Jesus’ brothers.
Jesus’ brother had a mistaken view of what Jesus should do. It was based on a mistaken idea of who he was, what his mission was, and how it should be carried out.
But ALL OF US, TO SOME EXTENT, ARE LIKE JESUS’ BROTHERS. None of us know exactly what he’s like.
Married couples tend to know each other pretty well. But every so often, they surprise each other. They don’t know each other completely.
In the same, way, we don’t know Jesus perfectly. And because of that, Jesus will sometimes surprise us. When that happens, we need to remember that he is the Son of God. He knows what he’s doing. And he’s Lord. It’s his decision.
SECOND, let’s learn from Jesus. Jesus had brothers and sisters. They gave him some advice but Jesus didn’t believe their advice was God’s plan. He said no. Many of us have families like Jesus’ family. There are members of our families who don’t believe. Those family members are likely to push a believer from the path God wants him or her to follow.
In that situation we need to have the courage to say no. If we don’t, then we’re putting our family before God. I listened to a sermon on this passage by a pastor in California [Joe Anady / Emmaus RBC]. He commented: ‘I do wonder if we are not most often guilty of the sin of idolatry when it comes to family. Perhaps our love for family hinders us from loving God. We think that if we follow Christ truly it will cost us in regard to our family relationships, and so we turn from him.’
It’s challenging. But following God might mean going against the wishes of our family. Then we need to remember Jesus’ example.
Prayer
Lord Jesus. Thank you that you are Son of God, Anointed One, our Lord. You know what you’re doing. Please help us not to make assumptions but constantly listen to you. Thank you that knew your mission. You were faithful to it and weren’t swayed by people’s opinions – not even your family’s. Help us please to follow your example. Amen.
Talk given at Rosebery Park Baptist Church, Bournemouth, UK, 5th March 2023, 10.30 a.m. service
