“His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.”” (Jn 7:3-4)
How many times have we been tempted to show ourselves to the world— just as the brothers of Jesus advised Him to do? The suggestion does not only come to us from external sources. Our own natural inclination towards being in the public eye also motivates us in that direction. This does not necessarily imply that to attain visibility in society is wrong. God Himself promotes people to that level in life. However, the problem is usually with the motive underlying such a desire. The pride of life is still very much a vice in God’s sight, as the Bible tells us (1Jn 2:16).
Both God’s thoughts and His ways are higher than man’s. The general tendency is for man to seek to draw attention to himself. That was what prompted the brothers of Jesus to urge Him to go to Judea that His disciples may see the works that He was doing. They could not fathom how His acting in secret could promote His ministry. As far as they were concerned, creating public awareness ought to be His priority. His brothers’ mistaken assumption was that Jesus wanted to become a public figure. Hence, they advised Him : “For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” (Jn 7:4). However, Jesus knew He had come to do the will of His Father, and not to seek public attention. He said as much : “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (Jn 6:38). Earlier on, He had said this to His disciples : “… My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (Jn 4:34).
The brothers of Jesus, like most of the world, did not understand that God has plans for every person, which He fulfils in His own way, in His own choice of location and at His own time. The Bible says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11 NIV). God’s plans for you are unique in their details, and require that you depend on Him for their fulfilment, every step of the way. This implies that you, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;” (Prov 3:5). There is a significant difference between trusting in the Lord WITH your heart and trusting IN your heart. The former is based on the integrity of God’s nature and word, while the later is founded on fallen human nature. This is what the Bible says about trusting in oneself : “He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.” (Prov 28:26). As a wise alternative to trusting in yourself, the Bible recommends that, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Prov 3:6).
Satan’s aim of tempting Jesus in the wilderness was to lure Him to act independently of God. He wanted Jesus to trust in His own ability apart from the HolySpirit. He wanted Jesus to satisfy His legitimate needs by illegitimate means. Satan wanted Jesus to have the impression that God had forgotten Him or was too slow in fulfilling His (God’s) promises. The same thing is true of us today. Every temptation Satan brings our way is designed to foster distrust in us for God, and consequently lead us to act independently of Him. Bear in mind that God can never forget you, especially not in your time of trial. If God did not forget Joseph in the prison, you can rest assured that He will not forget you. That was the assurance He gave Zion : ““Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” (Isa 49:15-16).
Jesus knew that should He ignore or neglect His Father’s directions, whatever He did would amount to nothing. Therefore He would not get into anything before it was God’s time to do so. The wider context of the scriptural text under consideration reveals that the religious authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Jesus. Hence, a misstep would have been detrimental to His ministry. The reason why Jesus successfully completed His assignment on earth was because He yielded Himself to the HolySpirit : “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb 9:14). By offering Himself to God through the HolySpirit, Jesus left the responsibility of announcing His ministry to the world in God’s care. The outcome of that decision is recorded in the following words : “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.” (Lk 4:14). In His own way, place and time, God will show you to the world if you humbly wait for Him as you follow the leading of His Spirit. Shalom.
