After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.There’s no other way to put it—Jesus was rejected by his brothers. They didn't believe in him. They didn't believe he was the Messiah. (They later realized he was the Messiah, and it changed their witness.) They even suggested that he walk into danger just to prove himself.
Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.
However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”
Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.
Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”
Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
John 7:1-17
Jesus took this rejection amazingly well. He was so focused on the mission that God had entrusted to him that he was able to go on in spite of the rejection. Don’t you wish you were that strong when it came to dealing with the challenges surrounding rejection? He didn't let their opinions of him keep him from doing what he needed to do. His Love First response to them was to not let them defeat him. He stood up for what he knew was the right thing to do. He knew that to let them harass him into going up openly to the Feast of the Tabernacles was to put others—new believers—in danger of being excommunicated from the synagogue.
So, after his brothers left for the Feast, Jesus went secretly. And, to no one’s surprise, Jesus was the topic of many whispered conversations. And, like most whispered conversations, opinions varied. People were afraid. And doesn't fear hamper our witness?
Finally, halfway through the week-long Feast, Jesus showed up at the temple, teaching openly and with authority. The Jews were amazed and questioned how he could know so much without having studied. He answered them directly by telling them that his teaching was from the One who had sent him. He reminded them that choosing to do God’s will would reassure them that the teaching came from God.
Taking his Love First mission seriously, Jesus not only overcame the rejection of his brothers, he also taught people in the temple and confronted them about rejecting others. Sometimes Love First is tough love. But it is always loving. And its benefits are boundless. Many people were led to believe by Jesus’ decision not to let rejection keep him from doing God’s will.
Your Mission
Use the phrase “I can do all things through you, Lord; you strengthen me” in your prayers today. Allow him to strengthen you.
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