NOTES for Joh 7:12-13

The hesitations between these two opinions are no more subject of public discussion. Nobody has the boldness to speak at all about Jesus publicly. The conversations concern anything, about how everything is bad or good in the church, how and what should be done, who thinks about the most important human problems, who and how distorted history. Only not Jesus. The attempt to find out, who He is engenders fear, exposes to the light superficiality and inconsistency in the most important question of our life. The fear to answer openly and directly makes us return 2000 years before. Only that, at the time people discussed of it even though between themselves, although secretly, but they argued at least. Now the argue goes unobvious and inside every person. He is good or a liar? Who is He?  What kind of person He is? Why did He come to me? No matter how horrible it is to be ridiculous, to gain the character of a droll fellow or madman, in any case, sooner or later everyone will have to answer honestly to himself to each of these questions.

By the time this conversation between Jesus and His brothers takes place, He has already performed a number of miracles in Galilee and has become a noticeable figure there. According to human logic, this success should be developed by performing in Judea the miracles and signs that the Galileans had seen. All the more so because Christ is doing nothing bad or forbidden; otherwise they would not have urged Him so insistently to "show Himself to the world." They expect that, when He comes to Jerusalem, to that center of the Jewish faith, He will declare Himself the Anointed One. But divine logic is arranged differently, and so, after answering them that "the time has not yet been fulfilled," He remains in Galilee.

Is this not how we too often ask the Lord to manifest His power in an obvious way? We wait for signs and wonders from Him that would reveal His glory to the world and thereby bring even more people to Him. But God acts quietly and unnoticeably, just as Jesus came to Jerusalem "not publicly, but as it were in secret." He does not impose Himself on people, but waits for them of their own will to entrust their hearts to Him; He patiently waits for each of us to acknowledge in Him the King of kings.

This is one of the strangest dialogues in the Gospel. It looks as if the Jews simply do not understand what Jesus is talking about, while He Himself does not answer their words but says things that appear irrelevant. Yet if we consider the remarks of the people and of Jesus separately, their logical coherence is immediately revealed. They are simply conducting the conversation (if it is a conversation at all) in different directions. The Lord speaks about His mission - to bring people the word about the Father (for He Himself is the Father's Word), while the crowd's remarks show its complete lack of understanding.

Sometimes it feels as if this situation repeats again and again: Christ speaks to us through the Gospel, and we answer Him about something entirely different. To some extent this is natural, because we belong to different worlds (He is "from above," we are "from below"); He speaks of what we have not seen, but He has seen. This is not a lecture; it is testimony. And it is grasped only through the love and faithfulness of disciples who, not yet fully understanding and not yet believing perfectly, feel that Jesus speaks the words of eternal life and do not want to leave Him.

Today's reading helps us see more clearly the influence that religiosity has on a person's soul and consciousness. The account begins with mention of the feast of Sukkot ("the Feast of Booths"), to which Jesus' brothers are going to go in Jerusalem (vv. 2-3). Sukkot was one of the four main feasts of the Jewish religious year, and as usual a great gathering of pilgrims was expected in Jerusalem. It is no surprise that Jesus' brothers, who did not believe in His messiahship, wanted Him during the feast to proclaim Himself publicly as the Messiah and to give the proofs that those around Him had already demanded of Him more than once (vv. 3-5). Evidently, they expected to see the Messiah as the majority of believing Jews of the Gospel period imagined Him - as a Messiah-king, proclaiming an independent Jewish state and driving out the Romans. It is no surprise that Jesus refuses such a demonstration (vv. 6-8); He does come to Jerusalem, but secretly, trying not to draw attention to Himself (vv. 9-10).

Meanwhile, in the city, very different rumors about Him are circulating: some consider Him a man of God, others a deceiver (vv. 11-12). But everyone looks anxiously over his shoulder at those whom the evangelist calls "the Jews," meaning, as we can see, the spiritual leaders of the Synagogue and of the Pharisaic movement (v. 13). At that time Jesus again speaks to the people gathered in the temple court about the main thing - about His mission (vv. 14-18). And also about the true meaning of the Sabbath, whose meaning had long been lost behind numerous ritual prescriptions (vv. 19-24). Then some of those present recognize in the Speaker the One who had already been accused of breaking the Sabbath law, a violation punishable by death. And perhaps He is right? After all, no one appears to be intending to apply any sanctions to Him. But He cannot be the Messiah, for the Messiah must appear in some completely different way (vv. 25-27).

Here before us, as if on the palm of a hand, are all the questions that religion produces in the consciousness of a person who finds himself face to face with Christ and with the Kingdom that He brought into the world. No one has ever done such miracles as He has, and, perhaps, no one ever will (v. 31), but... why did He come not as religious tradition says of Him? And why do the religious leaders not receive Him? Where is the truth - in the religion that rejects Him, or in that evident reality of the Kingdom which bears such bright witness to Him? Each person answered this question for himself, and on this answer depended the acceptance or rejection of the Savior and of the Kingdom He brought into the world.

For an ordinary person, the path that the Lord Jesus' relatives suggest to Him is completely natural and understandable. In their own way they are right: if He wants to be a spiritual leader, He should seek human renown. And that is why today's Gospel passage shows so vividly how different God's plan is from human thoughts.

The Lord refuses what they offer Him. This means that the matter is not leadership; the Savior did not come in order to become the spiritual leader of the people. The Lord Himself says that the world hates Him because He testifies that its works are evil. This is testimony that each person accepts or does not accept personally, in full independence before God.

From this we can conclude that the purpose of Christ's coming is not to lead the people after Himself as a single whole. On the contrary, each individual person, when confronted with Christ's testimony, is singled out from the human groups and ties in which we are entangled and becomes precisely individual. Let me recall that the idea of being separate, or set apart, is expressed in biblical language by the word "holiness." Only on the basis of this separateness, this setting apart of each person from his social and national environment, does the Lord build the new unity of the Church, which is rooted in His uniqueness.

What is wrong, it would seem, with what Jesus' relatives suggest? They are concerned for the success of His preaching, so that He can gain new disciples in Judea. This is so natural, and therefore for those accustomed to the ordinary behavior of promoters of their own ideas, the evangelist's remark that even His brothers did not believe in Him can sound unexpected. If the brothers had spoken mockingly, that would be one thing, but they appear to have offered their advice quite seriously. In what, then, does their unbelief consist?

It is already shown in the fact that the brothers advise Christ to resemble a person who seeks to make himself known. They still find it hard to understand that He is not striving for His own glory, but seeking glory for the heavenly Father and receiving it only from Him. In addition, the advice to go and gain popularity in a situation where people already want to kill Jesus recalls how Satan tempted Him by offering Him the chance to throw Himself down...

Jesus bears witness that the works of the world are evil not only by the words of His preaching, but by His whole presence. That is why the world cannot tolerate Him, regardless of His words and signs. His presence is a silent reproach to an uneasy conscience, not because He wants to rebuke, but because beside Him it is simply impossible to remain indifferent.