Divine Timing and Carnal Advice Text: John 7:1-9
Introduction: Two Clocks
Every man lives his life by a clock. The only question is which clock he is watching. There is the world's clock, which is always ticking, always urging, always demanding that you make your move now. It is the clock of ambition, of self-promotion, of seizing the moment for your own glory. This clock is wound up by the opinions of men and the pressures of the age. Its hands are always pointing to "now," because for the unbeliever, now is all he thinks he has. Then there is God's clock. This is the clock of sovereign timing, of appointed feasts and fulfilled prophecies. It is the clock of salvation history. The world sees this clock and thinks it is broken, or that it is running too slow. But this clock keeps perfect time, and it is set to the unwavering counsel of God's will. The hands of this clock are moved by the Father, and they point not to the opportune moment, but to the appointed moment.
In our text today, we see a collision between these two clocks. The brothers of the Lord Jesus are watching the world's clock. They are operating on principles of worldly wisdom, public relations, and career advancement. They look at Jesus, they see His power, and they think He is mismanaging His campaign. They believe He needs a better marketing strategy. From their perspective, hiding out in Galilee when the big festival is happening in Jerusalem is just bad business. So they offer Him some well-meaning, carnal advice. "Go public," they say. "Make a splash."
But Jesus is not watching their clock. He is watching His Father's clock. He operates according to a divine timetable, a schedule set in eternity before the foundations of the world were laid. His every move is calibrated not to the expectations of men, but to the fulfillment of the Father's purpose. This passage is a stark reminder that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It shows us the deep chasm that exists between the thinking of the natural man and the mind of Christ. And it forces us to ask ourselves a very pointed question: which clock are we living by?
The Text
And after these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself publicly to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him. So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I bear witness about it, that its deeds are evil. Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not yet going up to this feast because My time has not yet been fulfilled.” Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.
(John 7:1-9 LSB)
Prudence and Persecution (v. 1-2)
We begin with the setting, which establishes the central conflict.
"And after these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near." (John 7:1-2)
John first gives us the reason for Jesus' location. He is in Galilee because He is being prudent. He was "unwilling" to walk in Judea. This was not a matter of fear in the sinful sense, but of wisdom. The ruling authorities, the "Jews" as John typically refers to the Judean leadership, were actively seeking to murder Him. Jesus is not a reckless fanatic. He does not court martyrdom before its appointed time. There is a time to stand and a time to withdraw, a time to confront and a time to walk away. Jesus knows the difference because He knows the Father's schedule. His hour had not yet come. This is a simple but profound lesson for us. We are called to be bold as lions, but also wise as serpents. Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is live to fight another day.
The occasion is the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles. This was one of the three great pilgrimage feasts in Israel, a time of immense national celebration and religious fervor. It commemorated God's provision for Israel during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, when they lived in temporary shelters, or booths. It was a harvest festival, a time of great joy and anticipation. For a public figure, this feast was the prime time event of the year in Jerusalem. The city would be teeming with pilgrims from all over the world. If you wanted to make a name for yourself, this was the stage.
The Unbelieving Advice of Family (v. 3-5)
It is in this context that His own brothers step forward with their advice.
"Therefore His brothers said to Him, 'Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself publicly to theworld.' For not even His brothers were believing in Him." (John 7:3-5 LSB)
This is the kind of advice you get from people who mean well but are spiritually tone-deaf. Their logic is impeccable, from a worldly point of view. They are saying, in effect, "Jesus, your current strategy is failing. You can't build a movement from the backwoods of Galilee. The real action is in Judea, in the capital. You need a bigger platform. You have the miracles, the 'works,' so go put them on display where it counts. Go for the big reveal. Stop playing in the minor leagues." Their reasoning is entirely horizontal. It is about optics, influence, and public perception. They want Him to "show" Himself to the world.
John, with pastoral insight, gives us the diagnostic key to their bad advice in verse 5: "For not even His brothers were believing in Him." This is a staggering statement. These are the sons of Mary and Joseph, the men who grew up in the same house with the Son of God. They saw His sinless life up close. They heard His wisdom day in and day out. And yet, they did not believe. This is a sobering reminder that familiarity with Jesus is not the same as faith in Jesus. You can be raised in the church, you can know all the stories, you can even be related to the most godly people, and still have a heart of stone. Their unbelief is what blinded them. Because they did not believe He was the Son of God, they could only interpret His actions through a grid of human ambition. They assumed His goals were the same as theirs, just on a grander scale. They saw a gifted brother who was squandering his potential.
Their advice is a temptation. It is the same kind of temptation Satan offered in the wilderness: use your power for public spectacle, for personal validation, for a shortcut to glory. But Jesus operates on a different plane entirely.
Two Timetables, Two Relationships (v. 6-7)
Jesus' reply cuts to the heart of their spiritual blindness. He contrasts His reality with theirs.
"So Jesus said to them, 'My time is not yet here, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I bear witness about it, that its deeds are evil.'" (John 7:6-7 LSB)
Here are the two clocks. "My time," Jesus says. The word here is kairos, which means the appointed, opportune, decisive moment. Jesus' life is governed by a series of divine appointments set by the Father. His birth was in the "fullness of time." His death would be at His "hour." He is not a slave to circumstance; He is the Lord of the kairos. "Your time," He tells His brothers, "is always here." The word for their time is also kairos, but in the sense that for them, any time is as good as another. Because they are living by the world's clock, any moment is an opportunity for self-advancement. They are free to be opportunistic because they are not constrained by a divine mission.
Then He explains the fundamental difference in their relationship to the world. "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me." Why? Because His brothers, in their unbelief, are still friends of the world. They speak its language, they share its values, they operate on its assumptions. The world doesn't hate its own. You don't get cancelled for suggesting a better marketing plan. But the world hates Jesus. And the reason for this hatred is not that Jesus was rude or tactless. The world hates Him because He bears witness against it. He testifies that its deeds are evil. Jesus is the ultimate light, and His very presence exposes the darkness. He doesn't just condemn specific sins; His entire being is a testimony against the world's fundamental rebellion against God. The world loves darkness rather than light, because its deeds are evil (John 3:19). And when the light shows up, the roaches scatter and curse the light. This is the root of all persecution. The world hates the truth because the truth exposes its lies.
A Strategic Refusal (v. 8-9)
Jesus concludes by drawing a sharp line between His path and theirs.
"Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not yet going up to this feast because My time has not yet been fulfilled. Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee." (John 7:8-9 LSB)
He tells them to go on ahead. They are free to go because they are part of the system. They can participate in the religious festival without any friction because their hearts are aligned with the world's expectations. But Jesus must wait. "I am not yet going up," He says. The "yet" is crucial. Some have tried to accuse Jesus of deception here, because He does in fact go up to the feast later in secret (v. 10). But this is a foolish accusation. He is not saying "I am not going at all." He is saying, "I am not going up yet, and I am not going up with you, on your terms, according to your timetable." He is refusing to follow their program. His journey to Jerusalem must not be a publicity stunt orchestrated by His ambitious brothers. It must be an act of obedience to His Father's kairos.
His time has not yet been "fulfilled." This is the language of purpose, of a mission being brought to its designated completion. Every step Jesus takes is a step toward the cross, and that final "hour" governs everything else. He will go to Jerusalem, but He will go in His own way and in His own time. By staying behind, He severs Himself from their worldly counsel and demonstrates that His agenda is set from above, not from the well-meaning but misguided advice of His own family.
Conclusion: Whose Counsel?
This passage puts us all in the hot seat. We are constantly bombarded with advice, from family, from friends, from the culture, from the so-called experts. And much of it sounds just like the advice of Jesus' brothers. It sounds reasonable. It sounds practical. It sounds like common sense. "Promote yourself. Build your brand. Seize the opportunity. Don't be so rigid. Go with the flow." It is the wisdom of the world's clock.
But the Christian is called to live by a different clock. We are called to live by God's kairos. This means that our decisions cannot be governed by what is popular, or what is pragmatic, or what will get us ahead in the world's eyes. Our decisions must be governed by the Word of God. What is the Father's will? What is the appointed path of obedience for me, right now? This requires us to be men and women of the Book, with our ears tuned to the voice of the Shepherd, not the clamor of the crowd.
It also means we must be prepared for the world's hatred. If you are living a quiet, comfortable life and the unbelieving world thinks you are just a wonderful person, you should be concerned. If you never experience any friction, it may be because, like Jesus' brothers, you are no threat to the darkness. Jesus says the world hates Him because He testifies that its deeds are evil. As His followers, we are called to be witnesses. We are salt and light. Salt stings in a wound, and light exposes what is hidden in the dark. If we are faithful, we will be hated. It is a promise. "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18).
The good news is that the brothers who gave this bad advice did not have the final say. After the resurrection, we find them transformed. James, the brother of our Lord, becomes a pillar in the Jerusalem church and writes the epistle that bears his name. Jude also writes an epistle. Their unbelief, stubborn as it was, was ultimately conquered by the undeniable reality of the risen Christ. Their clocks were forcibly reset by the resurrection. And that is our hope as well. We are often foolish. We often listen to carnal advice. We often try to run ahead of God's timing. But the gospel is the good news that Christ's death and resurrection have the power to break our worldly clocks and to set our lives to the glorious, sovereign, and perfect time of our Father in heaven. Our job is not to tell God what time it is. Our job is to trust His timing, obey His Word, and leave the outcomes to Him.