John 7:1-13 | What's happening (and who's involved)?

Proceeding after nearly all those following Jesus turn away from Him, He makes His way through Galilee. An important note is made that He did not go through Judea because those Jewish leaders were seeking to kill Him. Being in Galilee meant that He would be accompanied by His family, and among those, His brothers are named. Another thing that is noted is that it was the time for the Feast of Tabernacles (Levi. 23; Deut. 16; Neh. 8). This meant the Jews would get together in Judea to celebrate this feast.

Jesus' brothers insist upon Jesus going with them. Aww. How sweet! Not really. Jesus' brothers were mocking Him through it. They invited Him, insisting in nearly the same ways as those in the previous chapter, that Jesus go and make the proclamation that He really is who He claims to be. These demands they were making were hardly from a place of faith. Scripture specifically tells us that they said these out of unbelief.

Rather than being beaten down by them, He simply tells them His time had not yet come. Now, they would have understood that as His time not to go the feast, but the readers of John would've understood a deeper meaning. It was not His time yet to die. Jesus emphasized to His brothers that it was not time for Him to depart to the feast, so they left anyways.

A lot of readers have struggled with this passage because of what happens after. Jesus ends up going up to the feast. Some have suggested that Jesus lied. If you read carefully, we see what really happened. Jesus told them He wasn't going yet, and then He stayed in Galilee a little longer before departing. This gave Him the opportunity to avoid capture and death by the Jewish leaders that were looking for Him. It was true that His time was not yet.

What observations are you making?