John 7 - Steve Wiggins Daily Devotional

“After this, Yeshua traveled to Galilee, since He did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill Him. The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, so His brothers said to Him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea so Your disciples can see Your works that you are doing. For no one does anything secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ For not even His brothers believed in Him.” John 7:1-5

One of the basic human needs is to be “known”. Knowing someone is more than acknowledging their presence, or even spending some time together….it is much deeper. In a sense, the best example of personal relational “knowledge”, was displayed in the garden of Eden. Adam & Eve were naked, and yet not ashamed. They knew everything each other, had nothing to hide, and they were completely at peace with themselves and G_d. That era didn’t last very long, for sin entered the world.

Since that time, every human being is conflicted with the desire to be “known” enough to be “accepted”, yet not “known” so much as to be rejected for being “shameful”.

Obviously, Yeshua had nothing to be ashamed of. Still, it must have been frustrating and saddening for Him to know that His own brothers didn’t (at that time) understand Who He was, or what He had come to do. They were summoning a sign from Him, to see if He would usher-in their expectations of the Messianic age.

They believed Messiah would throw-off Roman oppression. Their theology did not expect that Messiah would be crucified, or that His death was intended to accomplish the opposite of their expectations…victory would come through the salvation of their enemies, not their destruction.

The age following Yeshua’s resurrection was designed, (By G_d) to throw-off the Jewish religious rule in Jerusalem, judgment for their spiritual misleading. Not only were the Romans not going to be overthrown by some “Messianic army”, but G_d used the Romans, as a tool of His judgment against Israel’s spiritual pride, for having rejected Messiah. Yeshua knew this was not an era to be “ushered-in” lightly! Isaiah even prophesied against Yeshua’s brothers’ mindset.

“Woe to those who drag wickedness with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes, to those who say, ‘Let Him hurry up and do His work quickly so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take place so We can know it!’ Isaiah 5:18-19

Just as Yeshua’s mother could not usher-in the beginning of His earthly ministry, his brothers could not hasten the completion of it. In a similar way, I hear some Believers speaking in such terms, with respect to aiding religious Jews in efforts to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem today. They believe the rebuilding of the Temple will usher-in Messiah’s return.

To them, I say: Be warned! We know that once the temple is rebuilt, it will not be an era of joy, but of blasphemy & tribulation. We should not seek to usher the L_rd anywhere. Rather, we should simply pray as Yeshua taught us: “Thy Kingdome come, Thy will be done.”

Blessings,
~Steve Wiggins, Assistant Rabbi
Shuvah Yisrael
Daily Devotional, Wednesday, July 3, 2013