Jesus's brothers didn't believe in who he was. (John 7:5)
In this chapter Jesus's brothers were getting ready to go to a festival in Jerusalem. Because the Jewish leaders began plotting his death, Jesus didn't want to go with them. Listen to how his brothers respond, "You can't become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!". It was as if they were telling him he needed to become famous to gain recognition and popularity before people could believe in him.
The Jewish religious leaders were also angry with Jesus for turning the people's attention from the Law to the heart of the law. Because of the pride of the religious leaders, their judgement was clouded and they couldn't understand who Jesus was nor where He came from. Their popularity was being threatened, and their solution at this point- get rid of Jesus rather than seek for truth.
Jesus quietly went to the festival in Jerusalem and began teaching the people. Jesus knew what was going on in the hearts and minds of those who wanted to destroy him. In John 7:18 He says, "Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies."
Pride has an amazing effect on people. It causes people to act irrational, destroying the strongest of leaders. We can see these effects in these religious and politcal leaders as well as in many of our political leaders today. The Jewish leaders hated what Jesus was doing- he was healing people, casting out demons, teaching truth, but most of all, threatening their position, popularity, and their way of life. Jesus didn't come to be famous or popular, He came to save the world of sin and give us the hope of everlasting life.
Lord Jesus, please don't let pride get in the way of knowing You and seeking your Truth. Help me to be more concerned with pleasing you than being popular.
Thanks for the thoughts, Mandy. It's funny to think of how much we care about what others think of us and how much we want to be popular or significant in the eyes of others.
ReplyDeleteAs I've studied and taught history, and watched as the student's just really don't care much about even the most significant of historical figures - it reminds me that the pursuit of popularity is really hollow. These historical figures, who were so huge in their day, are now just paragraphs in a history book that teachers have to struggle to get their students to care about. All our strivings for popularity and fame won't really matter in the end, even if we do succeed, because at best we'll end up as a sentence or maybe even a paragraph in some history book.