S) " 3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, 'Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.' 5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him."
John 7:3-5 (NASB)
O) This was just before the Feast of Booths, and Jesus had just told them that He would not be going up to Judea. It is clear that v.5 is talking about the physical brothers of Jesus (half-brothers, they would have been) and not spiritual brothers, because He clarified elsewhere that it was obedient believers that He considered to be His brothers. This aligns with the passages where Jesus said a prophet is without honor in his own home. It may have been more difficult to accept Jesus as the Christ, simply because they were so close to Him, and thought only of Him as a good older brother. However, reading v.4 almost gives the impression that His brothers wanted to believe. They acknowledged that He was doing works, in v.3, but it seems they had the wrong idea of the purpose of those works. Many of the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament use language about warfare and force, that can give the impression that the Messiah would overthrow political powers. We can see plainly, by reading the Bible as a whole (both Testaments) that this was not to be the case. Jesus reigns, even now, but it is a spiritual reign in a spiritual Kingdom.
A) Jesus will never become who I want Him to become. If my view of Him does not align with His actual character, then one of us will have to change. Hebrews 13:8 is pretty clear, that I must be the one to change. I thank God, then, that I have the Holy Scriptures, that I may learn through them, more and more about who God truly is, not only who Christ Jesus is, but the Father in heaven and the Holy Spirit, as well. What I believe about who Jesus is, will have an immeasurable impact on my expectations for what He will do. When I pray, asking things in Jesus' name, it is so important that I am also seeking to ask things that align with His character and will. Failing that, I must always be humble enough to concede that His will should be done, not my own. In many ways, I grew up in the church. You might say that I grew up near Jesus. That doesn't mean that I understood Him to be who He actually is, though. In order to believe in Him, I must continually seek to know who He really is, otherwise I will be remiss to say I believe in Him, if I do not truly know Him. Knowing someone is a continual process of gaining intimacy and understanding about the depths of who the person is. This is true in marriage, it's true in raising kids, it's true in friendships. This is certainly true with Jesus. This is why it is so important that I am immersing myself in Scripture everyday, because that is one of the surest ways to know Him.
P) Father, thank You for opening my eyes and ears, to understand and hear the gospel. You are a gracious, merciful God. Continue to draw me close, by the Holy Spirit, and sharpen my understanding of the Bible as I seek to know You better each day, Lord. I never want to misunderstand Your intent about my circumstances. I never want to assume to know what You are planning, based on my own preconceived ideas. Let me remain humble, teachable, and hungry to know You more. Let Your will be done, in all that I ask and pray. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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