A HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS

AAA. Christ’s Exemplary Spiritual Conflict With His Family

(John 7:2-9)

I. Introduction

A. For a host of reasons, spiritual conflict with unbelieving or carnal family members is a hard trial to face. Even when the godly giant Moses faced it from his older siblings Miriam and Aaron (Exodus 2:1-10; 6:7), that conflict was so hard for him to handle that God Himself spoke to all three to defend Moses, Numbers 12:1-16.

B. We have a record of a spiritual conflict that sinless Jesus had with his unbelieving family members and how He wisely handled it in John 7:2-9, so we view this passage for our insight, application and edification:

II. Christ’s Exemplary Spiritual Conflict With His Family, John 7:2-9.

A. At the time of the family conflict that Jesus had with His earthly brothers in John 7:2-9, He knew that He had to minister in Galilee instead of Judea because the religious leaders in Judea wanted to kill Him, John 7:1.

B. However, the Feast of Tabernacles was near (John 7:2), and that created a spiritual complication for Jesus:

1. According to the Mosaic Law, during this Feast of Tabernacles, every Hebrew man had to appear before the Lord at the temple to bring an offering to the Lord, Deuteronomy 16:16-17.

2. Jesus was under the Mosaic Law (Galatians 4:4), so He was required to attend that feast to stay sinless and thus qualify to be our sinless Substitutionary Sacrifice on the cross to save us (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21).

3. On the other hand, for Jesus to go with His earthly family at the start of this feast could leave Him walking into a death trap since Israel’s religious leaders expected Him to come to Jerusalem for the feast. Those leaders would arrest Jesus and execute Him at the wrong time or in the wrong way by stoning (Acts 7:54-60) in violation of Christ’s fulfilling the Psalm 22:16 prophecy of His death by crucifixion!

C. In addition, Jesus’ earthly brothers in unbelief held to Israel’s typical view of Messiah’s role, for they urged Jesus to go into Judea, publicly demonstrate His authenticating miracles to His disciples there to prove to Israel’s leaders that He was indeed the Messiah that He might be accepted as their Messiah, John 7:3-4, 5.

D. Christ’s response was to follow God the Father’s will regardless what others thought, said or did, John 7:6-9:

1. Jesus told His earthly brothers that His time had not yet come to go up to Jerusalem for the feast, but that His brothers’ time was always ready, John 7:6.

2. Explaining this statement, Jesus claimed that the world could not hate His earthly brothers, but that it hated Him, because unlike His brothers, Jesus had testified of people in the godless world that their works were evil, John 7:7. Jesus’ earthly brothers were part of the unbelieving world, so they would not have aroused the guilt and hence the anger of the world since their works were also aligned with the world’s darkness!

3. Jesus then told His earthly brothers to go to the feast, but that He would not go up since His time was not “yet full come,” John 7:8 KJV. The Greek manuscripts differ at verse 8 over whether the original reading has the word oupo, meaning “not yet” or the word ouk, meaning “not,” with the latter word’s use being thought by some to indicate that Jesus lied in claiming He would not go to the feast when He did go to it later in John 7:10! However, with either reading, Jesus meant “He was not going up to the Feast ‘right then.’” (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 350; Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 299)

4. Having said these things, Jesus stayed for a while in Galilee before going up to the feast, John 7:9-10.

5. When He arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus was able to reveal Himself publicly and teach though the religious leaders sought to kill Him, for He was acting in His Father’s protective will, John 7:9-14, 30; 8:20, 58-59:

a. In the middle of the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles (cf. Leviticus 23:33-34), Jesus went up to the temple and began to teach the crowds there, causing the people to marvel at His great teaching, John 7:9-14.

b. John’s Gospel reports that the Hebrew leaders repeatedly sought to capture and kill Jesus (John 7:30; 8:20) but no man moved against Him because He was under God’s protection and it was not His time to die.

c. Finally, when Jesus told the religious leaders that He existed before Abraham did, implying He was eternal God, the Jews took up stones to kill Him, but He hid Himself and safely left the temple, John 8:58-59.

Lesson: When Jesus faced conflict with Israel’s religious leaders in Judea and His unbelieving earthly brothers in Galilee, He followed the will of God the Father at every step He took as to timing, location, and action. Accordingly, Jesus remained unharmed until the Biblical time for His death on the cross.

Application: If we face a conflict with any party, be it with family members or otherwise, may we focus on the spiritual dynamics involved and simply follow God’s clear, Biblical guidance at every step we take.