John
7:1-10 “Can the world hate you?”
Introduction: Jesus speaks with His half brothers
concerning who He is. They have grown
impatient with Jesus and express this openly to Him.
(John
7:1) After these things Jesus walked in
(John
7:2) Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles
was at hand.
In chapter six Jesus fed the 5000
men when the feast of Passover was near.
Now the feast of Tabernacles is at hand which means six months have
past. During this six months time much
has happened. Jesus was very busy. He returned from the Passover journey to
The people of
1. The
Jews sent a group down from
2. Jesus
healed the daughter of
a Canaanite woman in
3. Jesus
healed a deaf man in
4. Jesus
fed four thousand men besides women and children.
5. The
Jews returned with another group to ask Jesus for a sign to which Jesus
responded with a reference to Jonah’s experience.
6. Jesus
told His disciples in the boat to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
they thought He was getting on to them because the brought no bread.
7. Jesus
Healed a blind man at
9. Jesus
foretold of His suffering and death in
10. Jesus
fore told His second coming and was transfigured before Peter, James and
John.
11. Jesus
healed the demon possessed boy which His disciples had been unable to
help.
12. Peter
was told to go catch a fish and pay their taxes which he did.
13. Jesus
used a child to illustrate greatness and warned all about the danger of causing
a believer to stumble.
14. Jesus
taught a great lesson on forgiveness and then takes His journey to
(John
7:3) His brethren therefore said unto
him, Depart hence, and go into
(John
7:4) 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 is confronted by His half
brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas. These men being less than 30 years old were,
in effect, rebuking their elder brother.
If Jesus is to be the promised king of
Let us learn something right here
and now from the attitude of these men.
Never think that you know more and are wiser than Jesus. How many of us by our words and actions
scream out “Jesus you are wrong.” I know
better than you. You say pray without
ceasing but I say pray only when your in trouble. You say Study and rightly divide the word of
God so that we may be unashamed workmen for God but I say reading the Bible on
Sunday at church is enough.” You say
forsake not the assembling of yourselves together but I say I will go to church
only when it is convenient for me.” You
say “Love your enemies” but I say “do unto them before they can do unto
me.” You say forgive those who trespass
against me but I say “let them suffer for what they have done to me.”
(John
7:5) For neither did his brethren
believe in him.
Here is the reason His brothers
questioned His actions they are not saved.
Can you fathom this possibility. That His brothers could be raised in the same
house with Jesus and not believe in Him as their savior. These four men have the same problem as did
the disciples of chapter six. They see
only the physical and not the spiritual side of Jesus.
We must interject here another
lesson. Some people have every
opportunity to be saved and refuse to believe.
These men were now in their twenties but still had not believed in Jesus
as their savior. Mary, perhaps the best
mother of all times, was their teacher and took them to the feasts in
(John
7:6) Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
Jesus patiently and lovingly
explains His actions to His brothers. It
was not yet time for Jesus to die. He
had to fulfill all righteousness first.
He had to accomplish all things that were prophesied concerning
Him. His time was not yet come.
Let us learn here not to question
God’s time table. He will accomplish His
will in His time. We may become
discouraged as we wait for the answer to our prayers but be patient for God
knows the best time to take action.
Jesus goes on to say that their time
is always ready. There is nothing which
would keep them from going to the feast for they do not have the danger of
being killed hanging over their heads.
They do not have a schedule to keep.
They have an appointment with death and judgment that all men must keep
but as for their life they have no list of things that must be accomplished
before they pass on. They then can go
when and where they please. Jesus on the
other hand must do the will of His Father at all times if men are to be
saved. He must go only when directed to
do so by the Father. These men have the
liberty to go and come as they please.
They too like Jesus should seek the timing of the Father and only go and
do as God directs. They were required by
the Law of Moses to go to the feast and so they would go early so as not to
miss any of the preliminary activities.
Jesus will go in the Father’s good time.
(John
7:7) The world cannot hate you; but me
it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
What a sober indictment is here
brought to the attention of the brother’s of Jesus. The world cannot hate them. Remember just
here that James will pastor the
Child of God, does the world hate
you? If you are living for Christ it
will hate you. I fear that there are
many who profess to be saved yet because they live like the world the world
does not hate them.
The reason the world hates Jesus is
because He testifies of their evil works.
They love sin and do not want to think or admit that they are
sinners. When children of God behave as
they should they shine a light of truth upon the sin of the world.
(John
7:8) Go ye up
unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.
Jesus informs His brothers that He
will go to the feast but only when the time is right. Jesus had to go for it was required by the
Law. Fear of death was not the problem
for Jesus was not afraid to die. He had
come to die for our sins.
When the
time was right and all had been fulfilled Jesus will go with much fan fair to
(John
7:9) When he had said
these words unto them, he abode [still] in
(John
7:10) But when his brethren were gone
up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
The problem
of going up to
Jesus went
in secret to
May we ever seek to live for Christ and avoid those condemning words “the world can not hate you.”