If Anyone Wills

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.  You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee. John 7:1-9

After His discourse on His body and His blood as spiritual nourishment for believers, many of the hangers-on left Jesus’ company. His perfect human flesh, untainted by sin, represents God’s perfect righteousness (+R) and His blood represents the Father’s Justice by Jesus’ atoning death for all human sins. They didn’t get the concept, as He knew they wouldn’t, so He was now down to just His closest disciples, most of whom would remain loyal to Him and His mission despite their limited human understanding. He stayed around home for about six months, in Galilee. There was no need just now to keep provoking the Jews, who were His enemies and were plotting His demise. There was an upcoming feast everyone was expected to attend, and Jesus’ half-brothers sarcastically challenged Him to make a public appearance there, and perform “works.” The brothers did not believe in His deity, and they apparently had some issues with their perfect elder brother. Rather than supporting Him, they seemed interested in subjecting Him to public criticism. “Go to Judea, Brother. Show them your stuff. They want to make you king.”

Jesus’ response: “you worldlings can go to the feast and enjoy yourselves. You are not under attack from the world, but because of my testimony against the world's evils I am under attack, and the time for the confrontation is not yet.” So He didn’t accompany His brothers to the feast.

There were seven Jewish feasts each year. Each one had two applications to Israel - historical and prophetic. This was the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles:  the last and great harvest home festival of the Jewish year. It foreshadows Israel’s kingdom rest after regathering and spiritual conversion. It is commemorative of redemption out of Egypt, and prophetic of the restoration of the kingdom over Israel. It recalls historical blessing and prophesies future fulfillment, when Jesus Christ will Tabernacle on the earth with His restored people, Israel. It occurred at mid-October.

But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?”  And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.”  Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. John 7:10-13

Jesus went alone to the feast, and the Jews were watching for Him in the crowds. There was a general undercurrent of talk and expectation about Him, with differing opinions of His character and His work, but they kept it quiet. Open discussion of Jesus was politically incorrect.

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. John 7:14-16

He didn’t attend Rabbi School, so where did He learn to teach like this? We (The Jews) haven’t authorized this doctrine. They didn’t, but the Father who sent the Son did. It is the Father’s teaching.

And now, a special promise to anyone who really wants to know true doctrine:

If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. John 7:17

Do you want to practice religion or do you want to know God’s teaching? It is a matter of your own volition. You must be willing to do God’s will. If you are simply seeking to prove your own point, or verify a religious tenet, you will not recognize God’s teaching. God shows His truth to those who are willing to believe Him, no matter what their religion says, or what their superstitious grandma has always told them. Throughout the centuries, people have gone through life quoting holy sounding one-liners, pious platitudes and do-good self-help cliches` which cannot be substantiated by scripture. The worst ones are the incomplete or misquoted scriptures, which leave out important words and phrases, and which completely obscure the actual meaning of the Word of God. Such 'quotes' twist God’s Word into magic hocus-pocus, some feel-good fantasy, or blatant legalism. “Yea, hath God said?” There are professing Christians who, when cornered on a Biblical principle, have to admit they do not read the Bible and would have no clue where to look for a particular teaching.

By the way: this is another good reason for you to own an Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible; not just to check the original languages, but to see if a given word or phrase is even in the Bible, and if it is, in what context it appears. For instance: "God helps those who help themselves....Repent of your sins....Invite Jesus...we're all God's children..." So just check those references and decide; do you want to keep spouting human viewpoint, or are you willing to do God's will?

Willingness to do God’s will clears away the cobwebs and brings God’s Word into our understanding, so that we can know the source of the teaching. It is the Holy Spirit’s ministry to those who are willing to believe. No spiritual truth will ever contradict God’s written Word. If your “truth” is from some other source, it is a lie. When one knows God’s written Word and accurately quotes God’s written Word, those who hear will likely wonder how he learned that stuff. That was the reaction when Jesus spoke.

The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?”  Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well?  Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. John 7:18-24

Jesus came into humanity, representing His Father and bringing salvation. He wasn’t seeking His own glory, but carrying out the will of the One who sent Him. He spoke too authoritatively and knew too much about that crowd for their comfort. He must have a demon!

He exposed their hypocrisy by reminding them that in order to keep the Law of Moses, they would perform circumcisions on the Sabbath, yet they condemned Jesus for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath. How does that make sense? That is not righteous judgment. That is phony religion.