This is one of my favourite bible stories. We’re going to analyse it in parts, like we did last time. Again, I love this story, I think it really tells a lot about the character of Jesus.
This is a really long post, and so instead of it taking up my whole site, I’ve included the more… link below. Click it to continue reading.
1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2 But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
Judea was obviously where the Feast of Tabernacles was held. I find it interesting that even as Jesus walked the earth, his brothers (or followers, I think?) thought it was important to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. This was still an important thing to them.
Also, it’s important to note that in chapter 6, Jesus was saying some interesting things:
53 I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
This caused a lot of confusion amongst his followers, and I think that’s understandable, and many left him. We look and understand that verse now, knowing what he meant, but if you put yourself in the shoes of these people who were still just getting to know Jesus (this is very early in his journey), it’s a kinda weird thing to say.
My point is, I think this explains the last verse: for even his own brothers did not believe him. Let me say again, I’m interpreting brothers to mean followers, and given what he had just said recently about his flesh, and that many had left, I think this actually means what it says: Jesus’ followers were having their doubts about Jesus’, and wanted him to prove himself in front of people.
Let’s continue.
6 Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet. 9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.
Okay, so Jesus says to his followers you go, I’m gonna stay back here a while because people hate me. The time is not right for me yet to come. He stays behind while his followers go to the Feast. Does this mean that we do not need to attend the Feast?
10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. 11 Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, “Where is that man? 12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man. Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
So Jesus still goes, in secret. I guess this raises the question “If Jesus attended the Feast, shouldn’t we also attend the Feast?”
I’ve asked this question to people before, and talked to them about the Sabbath, and I’m often replied to with a quote from the bible about how Jesus broke the Sabbath by healing on that day, and so the Sabbath is broken by Jesus’ coming. I guess my last post has a little to say about it, if you’re interested in that kind of stuff, but we’ll get to keeping the Sabbath in just a minute.
Also in this passage, it’s mentioned that people were looking for him there - Jesus was expected there. I also think that it’s very funny that Jesus went to the Feast disguised, and would have heard people whispering good and bad things about him.
I don’t understand why they were scared of speaking aloud about him. It says they were scared of the Jews. Maybe this means that they weren’t sure what the authorities thought about Jesus (you’ll see later on), and didn’t want to say the wrong thing in front of them.
14 Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” 16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
I think that people would have been shocked - especially those sitting near Jesus. Here they were whispering about him, and then he gets up and reveals himself to them.
He is basically saying that he is the Son of God, and that his teaching is truth. Not too much else to read into on this bit - the next bit is where it gets interesting.
19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
Jesus just goes ahead and tells the entire crowd there, the people who were keeping the Feast in accordance with Moses’ laws, that they were breaking the laws. This would have been very controversial, I reckon. Lets face it, this guy Jesus knows how to stir the pot.
Then he changes the subject completely. The crowd replied with what I think would translate in modern terms to “The guy’s a nutter”.
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgement.”
This is the crux of what Jesus was trying to say, and a lot to think about.
This is really interesting, when you realise that circumcision was not law for or from Moses, circumcision is a command from God to Abraham, in Genesis 17:10. So what Jesus is saying is really “You circumcise for the sake of Moses, and you keep Sabbath for the sake of Moses, but you circumcise on the same day as the Sabbath, making you a hypocrite.”
Jesus put it much more elegantly and tactfully than that though. Then he goes on to say “I heal a man on Sabbath, you circumcise on Sabbath, why am I the one in trouble here?”
So I guess a question comes up from that.
Does Jesus mean that the Sabbath is abolished because of him, or does Jesus mean that healing is okay on Sabbath, but not circumcision?
Jesus talks a few times about the laws of Sabbath, and calls people hypocrites - posing the same question. I believe the answer lies in Luke 6:9-11, where Jesus says:
 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
I think what he’s getting at is that people are missing the point of the Sabbath - the point is to focus on God and have a day of rest, but if someone is in need, God won’t hate us for doing good to that person. This is backed up in Luke 14:5,
 5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
But I think that it’s important to note here that Jesus was just correcting us on the Sabbath, not abolishing it completely. I still haven’t seen the part of the bible that says we can stop keeping the Sabbath now. I mean, it’s one of the ten commandments! God gave us just 10 rules, and that’s one of them!
One last thing, before I wrap up, in regards to Jesus and the Sabbath. Luke 6:5.
Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
To me, if Jesus is proclaiming himself as the Lord of the Sabbath, I think he’s telling us that he’s in charge of it, and he says what goes. How can he be Lord of something he has abolished by dying for us?
So that’s about it. That’s a lot to process, I know. I’m thinking of turning these posts into studies for bible groups, maybe I’ll split this into two. My next post will be along the lines of “What are the rules of the Sabbath”, and “Is Sunday Sabbath okay?”. Till then, take it easy. And as Jesus tells as over and over: Don’t worry!
Hi, I’m Luke. Welcome to my blog. Here I write about life, the universe and everything. Be sure to check out other thing’s I’m involved with by visiting my home page: http://lukecarbis.com.
November 18th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Gods Law are like traffic lights. you have to obey traffic lights and stop because you could get in serious trouble. But what about at those pedestrian crossings and you see the person walk in front of you and the lights stay red for 20 more seconds. should we just wait in the road like an idiot? no. God doesn’t want us to blindly follow his law, he wants us to understand the reason for the law and the consequences for breaking it and then make the correct judgment.
I think your leaning more towards “We HAVE to stay stopped at the traffic light because THATS THE LAW”. But why dose the law exist in the first place? Are you any more or less safe when makeing the decision to safely drive through the superfluous red light then when you are mindlessly sitting there for no reason?
November 18th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
I completely disagree with you Rhys. 2 reasons.
1. I might understand why we have traffic lights, and so can make a judgement to break the road rules if it’s safer, but I don’t understand why God created the Sabbath, or why he asked us to keep it holy.
2. We’re not talking about road rules here, we’re talking about God’s word. God - the creator of the universe. Do we have to follow his rules ‘cos THAT’S THE LAW? Yes. No exceptions.
I’m sorry Rhys, usually I can accept your opinions on this kind of thing, ‘cos I know it’s impossible to dissuade you, but on this one I think that you are VERY very wrong.
We can NOT just dismiss the bible because we think we understand the reason for it. By this logic you can pretty much do whatever you like, and justify it.
Seriously, take some time out and think and pray about it.
November 19th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Just because Jesus did something dose not mean that we should imitate him. he also died on a cross, should we follow that example? He had no income during his ministry’s and relied on the kindness of strangers, should we do that to?
While you are mindlessly following all of Gods commandments, here are a few more for you to consider:
Lev 19:19 Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
Lev 19:27 Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
Lev 19:28 Do not… put tattoo marks on yourselves.
All of this right next to Lev 19:30 Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
I’m not offended or angry, I just think there are more important things to care about then what day you go to church.
November 27th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
[...] I’ve been writing a few of my own thoughts on some of the scriptures (here, and here). After reading them, Nonna sent me through a document written by Nonno, which helps explain them a [...]