John 7:1-5 (HCSB): After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since He did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill Him. The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, so His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea so Your disciples can see Your works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” (For not even His brothers believed in Him.)
Jesus’ life at this point was sometimes frustrating. The Jews, the very people that the Father had sent Him to, were spiritually dead, so blind to what he was telling them that when He spoke the truth they tried to stone Him for blasphemy.
This didn’t shut Jesus up, but it did make Him pull back to Galilee, where the people, although no less blind than the Judeans, were at least not so openly hostile to Him. The time had not yet come for Him to suffer and die, and He wasn’t interested in pushing things too far just yet.
Even His own brothers didn’t believe that Jesus was who He claimed to be. They knew at this point that He could do miracles, but they considered Him nothing more than a wonder-worker, a freak. Their familiarity really was a breeding ground for contempt.
Everyone was getting ready to head south to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the three important celebrations that every male in the land was supposed to go to. But Jesus didn’t appear to be making any move to get ready to go. His brothers couldn’t understand this. Their remarks that He needed to go so that His disciples could see what He was doing, and about His seemingly wanting to become a great celebrity did not come from belief, but were jabs at who He claimed to be.
But Jesus never lived by the expectations and norms for the world, even the religious world. He took His every direction from the Father. And until the Father told Him to go, He was going to stay right where He was.
Father, it can be pretty easy to try to fit into the expectations of the world around us. And that can do us damage, causing us to jump to a tune different that Yours. Jesus never gave in to that kind of pressure. Instead, He quietly waited for Your command, and when it came, and ONLY when it came, He immediately acted. Help me to have that same level of responsiveness to Your word, so that I can glorify You with my every though, word and deed. Amen.