John 7: 1-13

(John 7: 1-13)

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.  Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.  His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judæa, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.  For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.  But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?  And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.  Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.

 

When it came to a great Jewish holiday, the diaspora Jews who lived scattered around the country would flock to Jerusalem, but the Feast of Booths, one of the three major festivals held by the Jews, was approaching. So Jesus' brothers asked Jesus to go to Judea. However, their intentions weren't simply the dimension of wanting Jesus to keep the holidays.

『 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. 』
Jesus' brothers saw the reaction of the Galileans who were cold to Jesus, and also saw the reaction of the Galileans changed when Jesus performed the miracle of two fish. The brothers of Jesus would have thought that if the miracles of Galilee were performed in Jerusalem at the feast of Booths, where many people gathered, they would gain considerable fame and power.

Of course, if the brother Jesus gains fame and power, it would be natural for them to benefit greatly, and it must have been calculated in their minds. They were brothers who spent a long time together, seeing and hearing Jesus' miracles up close, but this petition was not out of faith. 『For neither did his brethren believe in him. .』

However, the brothers needed a political Messiah to benefit them, and they had an unbelieving motive that Jerusalem could be a good place of opportunity if Jesus did his request. So Jesus said, ``Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come. 』And stayed in Galilee. The “my time” Jesus spoke of was not a time for Jesus himself. “My time”, which Jesus refers to, refers to the time God has decided, that is, the time that God has appointed to fulfill His will, and the time to walk the path of death on the cross for the redemption of mankind. Jesus took steps thoroughly in accordance with God's time and will. And God accomplished the work of redemption through Jesus, who thoroughly obeyed his will.

The Feast of Booths was a holiday of great significance to the Jews. It was a day to commemorate the past 40 years of the Israelites living in tents in the wilderness after the Exodus. One of the important events that took place during this holiday was a ritual that the priests brought water from the Siloam Pond and poured it onto the altar in a water pot made of gold every day during this period. This ritual reminded me of the incident of giving living water from the rock when there was no water during the wilderness life, and during this ritual, thousands of people cheered. And they kept the last day of the Feast of Booths as the day of salvation.

They believed that this was the last day of apology when last year's sins could be forgiven, so they poured water on the altar and thanked the grace of apology. In this way, the Jews waited eagerly for the Messiah, who would give forth living water that would never be thirsty, and give the way of salvation. And finally, even though Jesus, the true protagonist of the Feast of Booths, and the Messiah they were looking forward to came, they did not recognize the Messiah. Not only that, but rather, he hated and tried to kill Jesus, who speaks of justice and justice. If you do not abide by Jesus' words today, you will be the one who kills Jesus.