After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.
Comment: We have learnt that Jesus teaching had become too hard for some. The phrase in the middle ‘For not even his brothers believed in him‘ is presumably talking about his own family but may include close relatives. The phrase ‘the Jews were seeking to kill him‘ refers to the powerful leaders who saw His teaching as being very different from theirs, and His claim to be the Messiah was seen as blasphemy – which was punishable by death. The first group seemed to be saying ‘We don’t believe You, come up where the power lays and see what they think of You.’ It was an important feast and they were planning to go. The second group were saying ‘Be careful we are after You.’ Was it a lie when Jesus said that He was not going up and then did. I think that He didn’t want them to make a big thing of it initially for as we will see soon Jesus had plans to do a very public thing – it seems as if He wanted to do it His way.
Prayer: We sometimes think that as God it must have been easy for You. But we see here all the evil and scheming and hatred you faced. Thank You for bearing it all for us.
As I read it! 