Hated – John 7:1-13

“Sukkot, commonly called the Feast of Tabernacles or in some translations the Festival of Shelters, and known also as the Feast of Ingathering, is a biblical Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month, Tishrei. During the existence of the Jerusalem Temple, it was one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which the Israelites were commanded to perform a pilgrimage to the Temple.” (Wikipedia)  So why didn’t Jesus have to go?  According to Jerusalemperspective.com, during Jesus’ days it was understood that one might go up to Jerusalem once every few years or even once in a lifetime and still be in obedience to the Torah.  Whatever the case, Jesus did not feel obligated to go and this sparked a discussion with his brothers.

After these things Jesus traveled Galilee.  He didn’t want to travel Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him.

Now it was near the Jewish feast of Tabernacles.  So his brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples might see the works you are doing.  Because no one does things in secret if he seeks to be open.  If you do these things, make yourself known to the world.”  For not even his brothers believed in him.  So Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world is not able to hate you, but it hates me, because I bear it witness that the works it does are evil.  You go up to the feast.  I will not go up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled.” After he had said these things he remained in Galilee.

But after his brothers went up to the feast, he also went up, not openly but secretly.  The Jews were seeking him at the feast and were saying, “Where is he?”  And there was much grumbling about him among the crowd.  Some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others were saying, “No, he is deceiving the people.”  Nevertheless, no one was speaking openly about him for fear of the Jews.  (John 7:1-13)

The mention in the last chapter of Judas’ coming betrayal prepares us to see that, from this point on, the Jewish leaders are seeking to kill Jesus.  And though it makes sense to his unbelieving brothers (we learn in Mark 6:3 that their names were James, Joses, Judas and Simon, and that he had sisters) that the best way to show himself to the “world” is to make himself known in Jerusalem rather than Galilee, it is a matter of timing for Jesus and his time to be killed has not yet come.  He has to explain to them that the hatred that is stirred up against him comes from his exposing of peoples’ works as evil.  Like Abel, whose sacrifice was accepted by God, and exposed some deficiency in Cain, resulting in Abel’s murder, so Jesus time will come to be murdered.  But, Jesus points out, his brothers’ time is always here, meaning they can always go about freely to the religious festivals like Booths, or Tabernacles, and perhaps suggests that they can always find a time to believe in him.  We know that they later did (1 Corinthians 15 mentions an appearance by the risen Jesus to James, and the epistles by James and Jude are in our New Testament).

But after initially declining to go up, publicly at least, Jesus is prompted by the Spirit, we believe, to go up at first privately, without any fanfare or public notice.  He hears the various opinions of him being muttered by the populace.  They want to talk about him openly but their fear of their religious leaders inhibits them.  And, in fact, the religious leaders are looking for Jesus and a reason to arrest him. 

If we live for Jesus we will stir up in some the same kind of hatred, curiosity and skepticism as our master did.  The student is not above the master.  But we must follow the lead of the Spirit in everything we do, even if it puts us in danger.

Discussion Questions

1. Where are some places you don’t feel it is safe for you to travel, and why?
2. Do you think Jesus’ brothers were ignorant of the hatred of the Jews against him, and if so or if not, what was their motive for urging him to go to Judea?
3. Do you think Jesus was hateful in the way he exposed the evil works of people?  Why or why not?
4. Why do you think the crowd was afraid of speaking openly about Jesus?  What could happen to them?
5. Have you experienced hatred as a follower of Christ?