John 7:1-13

Jesus can be annoying sometimes. I know that sounds awful to say. We love Jesus. We honor Him. We worship Him. But for some people, He can be quite annoying. He will say all the wrong things at all the wrong times. He will put people in awkward situations. Sometimes, He’s even a little embarrassing. He doesn’t fit in. He’s socially unacceptable. Jesus can be offensive.

I know that’s not the way you see Him, at least I hope not. And I’m pretty sure that anyone who comes to church would never think of actually saying those words. But there are times when Jesus’ words, Jesus’ personality, His characteristics can rub us the wrong way. Not that there’s any problem with Jesus. The problem, of course, is with us. In fact, when His words and His personality and His characteristics become somewhat awkward for us, that exactly the time we’d better be looking at ourselves to see where we’ve gone wrong.

It’s necessary for us to see this part of Jesus. We’ve seen many of His more attractive aspects. His love and compassion for us. His authority to rescue us from evil. His determination to put death to death. Over the past few weeks we’ve see Him moving and we’ve heard Him talking and we’ve grown in our love for Jesus.

But not everybody reacts this way when they come into contact with Him. Some avoid Him. Some ignore Him. And some react, even violently, when they come into contact with Jesus Christ. Verse 1:

Word has gotten around about the things He is doing and the statements He is making. He’s been cleaning up the Promised Land, moving around in the midst of God’s people setting things straight. They’ve gotten way off track in the obedience and trust in God. They’ve been depending on themselves, and failing miserably. They haven’t been putting their trust in the Lord.

And Jesus has come to change all of that. He’s come to show them, and us, who exactly God is, and that He can be trusted. He’s come to clarify some misunderstandings about God’s will, about loving enemies, rather than fighting. About forgiving rather than an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. About being a light to the nations rather than staying huddled in a little corner of the world.

These all sound great, except not to some people. Jesus is rocking the boat. He’s not sticking to the story. The truths that He is talking are so old that now they seem new and strange and wrong. And people are so ticked off at Him, furious at Him, that they are ready to take Him out. They are ready to kill Him.

Now, Jesus purposely came to bring the truth. He is, after all, the Way, the Truth and the Life. He purposely went into the temple and cleaned out the mess. He purposely got into arguments with Pharisees about grace being more important than the law. He purposely went to synagogues, knowing that when He did, that people would try to stone Him.

But now, He purposely steers clear of Judea. He will push the envelope only so far. At some point, He will push the people so far and He will allow Himself to be in the place where they will demand His death and they will put Him on a cross. But not now. Not today.

But not everyone supports this decision. Verse 2:

Isn’t that such a nice thing to say? They’re being so supportive, it looks like. It’s the annual feast of tabernacles, it’s in the Fall, September or October, and it’s the time when the Jews celebrated and remembered and gave thanks for the harvest and for God’s care for them. Kind of like their Thanksgiving Day. But it also pointed to the day when God and His people would live together, they wouldn’t have to be separated anymore, they would dwell together. God would make His dwelling among men.

So it’s interesting that earlier in the gospel of John, in the first chapter, it says that Jesus dwelt among us, literally, that He tabernacled among us. God is here. The day that the Feast of Tabernacles had been looking forward to is today. And now Jesus, the God who has given them the harvest, the God who was living among them, can’t even go to the celebration. He can’t show His face, or He’ll be killed.

But His brothers want Him to go. They try to convince Him, in verse 4:

Which sounds great if they saying this for the right reason. I mean, if they’re encouraging Jesus to show the people God’s love, God’s power, God’s plan of salvation, then, hey, great!

But that’s not why they’re saying this. That’s not why they’re encouraging Jesus to go into this dangerous situation. Verse 5:

We don’t know why Jesus’ brothers wanted Jesus to go to Judea. Maybe they were mocking Him. Maybe they wanted Jesus to just get this over with. They were tired of the attention that Jesus was bringing to their family. Everybody was talking about them. Maybe, is it possible that they wanted something bad to happen to Him. Maybe they didn’t want Him to be killed, but maybe shook up a little. Just something to get Him to act a little more normal. To fit in. To stop stirring things up and making so many people angry. Whatever the case, His own brothers did not believe Him.

Well, Jesus is staying in control. He knows the plan. He knows that it’s not time yet. He knows the reaction of the people. He’s seen the mobs following Him, being fed by Him, bringing all the sick and demon-possessed to Him to be healed. But He also knows that there are many who simply hate Him, hate everything He says, hate everything He does. He tells His brothers, in verse 7:

Of course the world won’t hate Jesus’ brothers. They don’t act like Him. They don’t talk like Him. They may have a family resemblance with Jesus, considering they have the same mother, but they look, they look, nothing like Jesus. They don’t believe in Him. So the world is going to leave them alone. They fit in. They play by the rules.

Jesus, though, will be hated. He will be mocked. He will be ignored. He will shouted at and arrested and put on trial and eventually killed. Jesus knows this, and He tells His brothers, in verse 8:

Jesus is using an interesting word, here. He says that He is not going up at this time, and that can mean a bunch of things. Jerusalem is on top of a hill, so He could mean He’s just not going up to the top of the hill, right now, because if He does, at least openly, He will be arrested. But, Jesus is probably also thinking about when He will be lifted up on the cross. This is the last time Jesus would be home in Galilee. Next Spring, it would happen. The people would be mad enough, and the time would be right for Jesus to be mobbed and beaten and pierced and killed. For sure, this is on Jesus mind. At the same time, He could be thinking about when He would go up, as in ascending to heaven, to sit down at the right hand of God and rule the world until every enemy is under His feet. All this is going through Jesus mind.

So, when we hear, in verse 10, that:

He wasn’t really lying to His brothers. He wasn’t deceiving them. He just wasn’t falling for the trap. He goes, but He goes in secret. He mingles in with the crowds, and in the middle of thousands of people, He’s safe for a while.

But even as He goes, there are different reactions. The leaders are looking for Him, in verse 11. This rabbi, the one who claims to be God, wouldn’t dare to miss this important festival. He has to be here. So where is He?

For others, they’re intrigued. Verse 12:

There was something about Him they liked, something about His eyes, something about the way He talked. But they’re whispering. They can’t really talk about Him. Others aren’t impressed. No, they say, he deceives the people. People are torn. Some are drawn to Him, and will hopefully, at some time, give their lives to Him. Others, though are repulsed. Some, like His own brothers, may mock Him and not believe in Him.

And Jesus is getting the same reaction today. We love Him. We love Him so much. We think He is a good man, and that is the understatement of the millennium. We worship Him as King of kings and Lord of lords, the Prince of Peace, ruling over the universe. We love His words. We mimic His actions. We think the way He thinks. We love Him with all of our hearts and souls and minds and strength.

But there are many who don’t see Him the same way. They’ll tolerate hearing about Him once or twice a year, on Christmas and Easter. He says things that frighten them, things about selling everything and coming and following Him, about picking up their crosses and dying to themselves. About making Him Lord over every action, rather than they’re own right to make their own decisions and live their own lives. Jesus is a threat to their way of life, so they’re not going to spend time with Him.

Others have the same reaction, and they still come to church. They’ll come to the building, but they don’t really want to meet Him. So they spend their time with all the theologies and doctrines about Jesus, without ever really meeting the actual Jesus. Because He’s just too scary. He’s safer as a historical figure who lived on earth 2000 years ago, rather than a living breathing Person who lives in Hollandale in 2007. So we talk about the things about Jesus, rather than talk about Him. Or talk to Him.

And for us who love Jesus, who take on His attributes, who obey Him, we will get the same reaction. There will be people who want to be our friends because, whether they know it or not, they see Jesus through us. They see His compassion, His tenderness, His truth in what we do and say.

But others will not like us, for exactly the same reason. They will resent us. They’ll ignore us. They’ll tell jokes about us. They may even threaten us. They’ll talk about us behind our backs. They’ll kill our reputations. They will hate us, because they hate Jesus.

Kristy, you told us this morning that you love Jesus, that you want to be His servant. Kristy, people are going to like you, because you are a follower of Jesus. You, with your gentle spirit of serving, of caring, you will show people what Jesus looks like, and you will introduce people to your Lord. At the same time, you’re going to rock the boat, because you are a disciple of Jesus. People will refuse to be your friend, because you are a Christian and you act like it. It’s not you. Don’t take it personally. It’s your Lord they don’t like. They’re just going to take it out on you.

And each one of us will have the same reactions. Some will be drawn and some will be repulsed. Jesus has this affect. His character has this effect. We’ve gotten to know His character over this month. We knew Him, and now we know Him a little better. There’s more to Jesus. He’s not a 2 dimensional figure on a flannelgraph. He’s not just a character in a story. He’s a real Person who thinks and acts and moves and rules. He’s Jesus. Knowing Him is more important than anything else in your life. Knowing Him is more precious than anything else in your life. He’s Jesus. He’s Jesus.