But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." For even his own brothers did not believe in him. -John 7:2-5
Imagine being entrusted with a sum of money, say $100.00, and then having the responsibility of buying food for your family. What might happen, however, if you spent the money on candy, Twinkies, cookies, potato chips, and cokes? The one who entrusted you with the money would not be pleased – to say the least. As followers of Christ we have been given a sacred charge: tell others about Jesus Christ. We tell because countless people still don’t know who He is.
The seventh chapter of John shows that people were talking about the Lord: who He was, why He had come, and what they thought of Him. People have been posing these questions since the coming of the Lord, and it is only by faith that we find satisfactory answers. People are still wondering about who Jesus is and what He can do for them. Christ does what He has always done: He saves people from their sins. Jesus Christ is the hope of salvation, new life, and life eternal. Jesus Christ is the way of salvation.
Jesus’ brothers tried to get Him to attend the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, but they wanted Him to go because they were looking at the situation from a human standpoint. They thought it would be good publicity and advertisement for His cause – get out get out there and shake some hands and meet some well-connected people, right? Jesus told them that His time had not yet come, but for them anytime was right because they were looking at this through a human perspective and not a spiritual perspective (V 6). If we are not careful we too can get caught up in the human perspective of the Christian faith.
Some years ago my father was having a conversation at a family reunion with a relative who I had not seen in many years – since I was a child in fact. The man asked what I had been doing and Dad told him that I was the pastor of a church. The man replied, “Oh well; I guess a person could make a pretty good living doing that.” That is a human way of looking at the call to preach. It’s not about choosing a career that might be profitable, but rather it's following the call of God to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, this was the same attitude that Jesus’ own brothers had at that time. They had not come to accept that Jesus was the Son of God and the Savior of the world.
Resist the temptation to examine Jesus Christ from a worldly perspective. Christ came into the world to save sinners from their sins; that's you, me, and everyone else. We all stand in need of the salvation Christ offers. No matter who you are or what you have done, Christ stands ready to forgive, empower, and set your feet on a right path.
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