John 7:6-10 – So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify about it, that its deeds are evil. 8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, because My time has not yet fully arrived.” 9 Now having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee. 10 But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as though in secret.”
Some wonder if Jesus was not being honest, if He had lied to his brothers about going. First of all Jesus was sinless and if He had lied it would have been a sin. If Jesus lied then He would not have been without blemish as He had to be to be our Savior. (Hebrews 9:14, 1 Peter 1: 18-19, Deuteronomy 17:1, Song of Solomon 4:7) Jesus was one hundred percent man and one hundred percent God and we know that God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 6:18) so Jesus not only would not, but could not lie.
So, as we see in the following verses, how is it that He did not lie? Looking at two key parts of what He said brings understanding. Jesus twice said that His time had not come. Once in V6 “not yet here” and in V8 when He said that His time had not “yet fully arrived.” He never said that He would not go, He was saying that it was not yet the Father’s time for Jesus to go. He did not say anything about whether His time would be later that day, the next day, or several days later. Jesus was obedient to God’s exact timing. Jesus could wait for the Father to send Him. He was accustomed to living by faith. We should be too. (Hebrews 10:38)
Those not walking with God in faith are not used to waiting for the right timing of God to do something. They never do that and so they know nothing of it. Faith is not knowing the future and not needing to because the Believer knows and trusts God in all things, small or big. The mature Believer knows to wait on the Lord in all things, until He prompts us to act. So to the brothers of Jesus, who did not believe, “but your time is always ready.” Since they know nothing about being guided by God, but act as they think best (not seeking God’s direction). Then any time is a good time to go. But not so for Jesus. Jesus seeks to be one hundred percent in obedience to the will and timing of the Father. He will wait for the Father’s direction to go.
Until one learns to walk in faith with the Lord one will not know the peace of God. Until we learn to seek and know God, we will not have faith in God. We grow in faith as we read His Word and as we seek the Holy Spirit to make the Word alive to us. The Word is supernatural and from God. Since the Spirit is the Author of the Word, it is best to have the Author explain the words to us. So we learn to seek understanding from the Spirit to reveal the Word. Paul wrote in Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” As the Word takes root in us and changes our being (2 Corinthians 5:17) we seek out close fellowship with God. As we commune with God we increasingly know Him. When we know Him we know that we can believe and have faith in Him. Knowing Jesus personally is what makes all the difference. Knowing how greatly He loves us thrills us and encourages us to stay always close to Him who is always close to us. Trust God, walk in faith and obedience and we too shall have understanding of His words and ways. (John 15:15) Jesus loves us, we need to come to Him not only once, but every day and every moment of our lives. We who do it know the joy. Oh the joy! I pray that all of you would know such surpassing joy. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.