JOHN 7:1-13 NOT ONLY WHAT, BUT WHEN

1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2 But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

6 Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.” 9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.

10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11 Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, “Where is that man?”

12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.

Obedience to God is time-sensitive. A faithful disciple will do the will of his master at the time set by his master. Just as God’s ways are not our ways, his timing is not the world’s timing. As St. John points out, men’s motives are always mixed even when they are closest to us. Maliciousness need not be attributed to Jesus’ brothers, only that they, like the 5000 and those who sought him on the sea saw him as a miracle worker and not the Messiah. Their worldly wisdom dictated that he redeem his following by making a miraculous splash in Jerusalem while everyone was there. In men’s minds a crowd always provides the right time for celebrity.

But Jesus’ task is not human fame but divine revelation. As the faithful Son, the proper time is determined by his Father. In the wilderness, Satan tempts Jesus not with the suggestion that he do things that he was not called to do, but to do them according to his time rather than God’s (Luke 4). Jesus did make bread in the wilderness to feed the hungry. Jesus is Lord of all creation. Jesus was cast out of the Temple and the angels ministered to him. But everything Jesus did was done at the “right” or God-determined time.

We can guard against “wrong” timing in our lives and witness in three ways. First, every decision we make should be bathed in prayer. Through prayer we intentional seek the will and timing of the Lord. Second, each decision must be measured against the counsel of Scripture. A life that is centered in God’s Word is the one in which we can best discern his will. And third, no action should be taken without the affirmation of members of the Body of Christ. We are not messiahs, we are members of a community of believers. The guard against the sinful tendency of any human community is that its advice and support must be tested against Scripture and the God-proven tradition of the Church. Our “cloud of witnesses” includes all those who have followed Jesus in times past.

Father, may I become more obedient by waiting on your perfect timing. Amen