JESUS WAS NOT OBVIOUS
John 7:1-5 NKJV
7 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 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. 4 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.” 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
According to the artists of old, Jesus had a halo and was surrounded by a divine-type glow. Some traditions have Jesus healing children and animals as a small boy. But, according to the scriptures, both groups missed it. It seems as if some religious thinking strives to remove the humanity from Jesus. He was the sinless Son of God born of a virgin. But He was also subject to the pressures and weakness of the flesh as the Son of Man. Jesus never gave in to temptation and weakness, but He had to overcome them. He was not divinely immune. And there was nothing about Him that made people think, oh, this is the Son of God. Chapter five of John reveals that Jesus must not have been obvious as the Son of God. A closer look at the entire chapter spells out the story of so many people misunderstanding Jesus or thinking He was a bad influence. Not everyone who encountered Jesus believed in Him.
John tells us in verse one that Jesus did not want to walk in Judea because the Jews were looking to kill Him. So, for a season, Jesus avoided Judea. Was Jesus afraid? No, He was wise and knew that He would choose how He was to die. He was not going to have the Jews kill Him on their terms. He knew the cross was His destiny in accordance with the Scriptures.
But this short verse tells us another story. Jesus did not put Himself in the path of death. People may think that Jesus, as the Son of God, could have walked through any attempts to kill Him with no problem. But because He was also the Son of Man, He avoided a situation that could have resulted in His untimely death.
Here is another indication that Jesus did not have a divine glow or halo around Him. His own brothers did not believe in Him. If Jesus healed his brothers every time they were sick as children, they would have no problems believing He was the Christ. But until Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, no miracles were taking place in His life. We know His brothers came around later, but when Jesus was starting His ministry, they were not on board.
APPLICATION
The reason I went this way today was to be a reminder of the fact that Jesus is not only our Lord and Savior, but He is also our example. Because He was both the Son of God and the Son of Man, He is able to help us in our weaknesses, and we are able to relate to Him in a greater way. The writer of Hebrews tells us that as our High Priest, He can sympathize with our weaknesses. That He was tempted as we are yet without sin.
Knowing that Jesus felt what we feel, and still loves us and is there for us is encouraging. Because He truly does “get us” we can come boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help when we are in need. He is not there to look down on us but rather to lift us up.
PRAYER
Lord, I am grateful for all You have done. I am especially grateful that You are for me and are not looking to condemn me for my weakness but rather to strengthen me.