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Weekly Message | May 11th, 2008
Passage: John 7:1-24
Key Verse(s): 6
Today is Mother's Day. Mother’s Day has its origin in the 16th century Christian practice of visiting one's mother church annually, which meant that most mothers would be reunited with their children on this day. For this special day slaves and servants were released for the weekend to visit their families. It is still recognized in the historical sense with special attention paid to Mary the mother of Jesus and 'Mother Church'. Here in the United States Anna Marie Jarvis (1864-1948) devoted her life to establishing Mother's Day as a national holiday after the death of her mother on May 9, 1905. A proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day was signed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson on May 14, 1914. Again, Happy Mothers’ Day! We truly thank God for Mothers in this world. In this Mother’s Day I would like to speak briefly with a title, “The Right Time”.
First, "for you any time is right"(1-13). By this time Jesus became well known among the people. Jesus was not in campaign mode like presidential candidates Barak Obama and John McCain. Instead, Jesus stayed around the Galilean areas for six months. Then he briefly visited Jerusalem at the time of the Passover Feast (in the middle of April) and to the Feast of Tabernacles (in the month of October.
At this time the relationship between the Jews (i.e., the religious leaders) and Jesus was quite strained. The reason was simple. One day Jesus healed an invalid man on the Sabbath. In this way Jesus broke the Sabbath law (John 5:18). Besides, Jesus repeatedly declared that he is the Son of God—equal with God in glory and honor. The point of Jesus’ teaching is to point that the world is evil. All his good works and wonderful teachings are in contrast of the reality of this evil world. In all these the Jews hated Jesus and wanted to kill him.
During the Feast of Tabernacles hundreds of thousands of people came to Jerusalem. They celebrated the completion of the harvest. They also gave thanks for God's goodness during their desert wandering (Lev. 23:33-43). It was Thanksgiving Festival for the Jews. Jesus’ brothers (probably through Joseph and Mary or other ways) told Jesus to clear his good name in the minds of the Jews. Probably, they were saying, “Please tone down your offending messages. Rather, focus on showing your miraculous power and your good work. Let the world see how good you are!” They urged Jesus to display his power and glory during the festival occasion. Jesus’ brothers were unbelieving even after living with him for so many years. Humanly speaking, this suggestion was sound. Look at verse 5: “For even His own brothers did not believe in Him"(5). At this time they did not know Jesus. Neither did they believe in Jesus. The work of God was not yet evident with them (Jon 6:29).
Look at verses 6-9. Jesus’ words were brief and clear. Jesus said, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the feast. I am not yet going to the Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.”" Jesus’ point is quite clear: (1)I testify that the world is evil; (2) so the world hates me; (3) it is not right time for me but any time is O.K. with you. So go ahead but I am not going.
The Almighty God may say, “The USA is evil. It is not blessed but condemned”. We are very angry if people—whether they are prophets, popes or whoever—about exactly who we are. God may say that you are not so smart. But if someone else says to us, “You are not so smart!”, then we hate for that statement for a long time. In brief, we cannot take any form of insult, even though they might be actually true.
That’s what Jesus was doing. The point of Jesus’ ministry was not merely doing good for people but to testify to himself. It was to establish his credibility as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. In doing so, he spoke truthfully about the world—its fallen and evil state. Jesus was telling the truth about himself and the state of the world. But the world was taking it as a form of gross insult and ultimately incredible form of blasphemy punishable to death. Yet, that was what Jesus was doing. Jesus was moving toward this time—crucifixion.
"My time" or "hour" is one of the themes of John's Gospel, aiming toward the time of His crucifixion. In Greek there are two words for "time or "hour"; one is "hora" which refers to God's destined hour, and the other is "kairus," which refers to an opportunity. But in this case of verse 5, "my time" refers to the best opportunity to do something for God. Jesus, the great Son of God, is quite constrained. Jesus’ time schedule was certainly more demanding than that of Mr. Ban (Secretary General of the United Nations). His brothers—in fact for all of us—are different. For us any time is right. This is a great affirmation for what we can do in this world. The more one becomes public with increasing responsibilities, the more we are constrained by tight schedules that we must bear. In contrast, ordinary sinners are free and flexible in that anytime is good for us in this world—either for God or for the world.
I want to conclude this section with God’s two great statement of time: “But when the time had full come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons”(Gal 4:4). “You see, at the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died fro the ungodly.”(Rom 5:6). At the right time Christ Jesus came to this world. At the right time Christ Jesus died for us. At the right time he has revealed to us. At the right time has demonstrated his good work in us. In the right time he was glorified.
Second, "if anyone chooses to do God's will,. . .”(14-18). At the right time Jesus went up to Jerusalem and stood among people. This particular Sunday—at Mother’s Day—some of you think about what to do after this service. Your specific plans are in mind. Not necessarily about doing God’s will. At this time the people were in the festival mood. They were not thinking about doing God’s will or any serious teaching. Yet, Jesus said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." This is Jesus’ invitation to do God’s will. Jesus wants his people to choose to do God’s will. What is God’s will for us? It is for us to choose to understand Jesus. It is for us to choose to accept Jesus’ teaching. It is for us to choose obey him.
Here is the second important theme in this section. It is about our choice. It is about our freedom. Our freedom is to choose our paths. This is God’s amazing gift for us. The fruit of this life is about the quality of our choices. A great discovery of King Solomon after so many years of study is this: “There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh….a time to love and a time to hate, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love an a time to heat, a time for war and a time for peace….He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of me; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end….So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happened after him?”(Ecc 3:1-11). These words are quite comforting for us. In this life we have rich experiences with diverse sets of events and activities. We sometimes feel that we are locked up with the painful events. They all pass in time. The key is to know the time and make the right choice. We are constrained in time and space but God is not. Therefore, God is able to make everything beautiful in his time. This is our comfort. This is the reason for keep our life going. We must not struggle with so much of what is uncertain and unknown to us. Rather, focus on what is within our reach. Enjoy work. Trust God.
As a sinner I was quite powerless, weak and miserable. In the right time God sent his Son and his people for me. In small conflicts of life I could have been rotten and terrible. By the grace of God I have not made destructive choices. I celebrate this Mother’s Day with my believing mother, my loving wife, two beautiful daughters and many of you. Jesus said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother”(Mk 4:34). My best choice was to know Jesus and welcome his people as my brother and sister and mother. This is what has defined my life. In his time God has made many things, if not everything, beautiful. For this I am very thankful and delighted.
What is God’s will for you? What do you choose to do at times of struggles? Know your time—a time to weep and a time to laugh and a time in between. Choose to do what is right. Choose not merely for your happiness. Choose to include Jesus who truly blesses you and others who need you. God gives us his strength to follow through on our choices. God graciously makes everything beautiful in his time.
Third, "Make a right judgment"(19-24). At this time people were divided. Jesus is the Son of God’s He is might and wonderful in every sense. Even so, there was a wide range of opinions. Some said, "He is a good man." Some said, "No, he deceives the people." Some even said, "He is a demon-possessed man."
Look at verses 21-24: Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
Jesus' point was this: the Jewish leaders accommodated the needs of people in applying the law. A child was circumcised on the eighth day. If the child were born on Thursday, then he had to be circumcised on Friday—that is the Sabbath. Even so, they allowed such practice. Why circumcision at the right time is more important than the Sabbath regulation. Sabbath law also had exceptions. Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. It was to accommodate his needs, not necessarily breaking the Sabbath. His conclusion was this: “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
People make judgment based on what they see. Appearance is a basis of our usual way judgment. So take care of your appearance. Be mindful of others. Watch out your words and action. These are the wise advices I have received from my mentors over the years: “Never take anything too personally. Walk with God always. Be careful when you are very tired or angry. Always say less than necessary.” All these are helpful in defining contexts for right judgment.
How can we exercise our right for judgment? Be fair. This fairness is anther gift of God. Jesus wanted them to apply their own standards (i.e., the way they interpret the Sabbath law) to Jesus. This fairness of the mark of Christians! This sense of fairness should be the strength of American people. People are judged not by mere appearance but by the content of their character and the results of their performance.
Our Lord Jesus made it clear about what it means to be fair when he said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”( Mt 7:12). In this Mother’s Day, what do mothers want? They want a small hint of appreciation—especially from those for whom they have devoted their time and efforts. This is the right thing to do. This is the right time to do that. If you have not done anything special even at this moment, still it is not too late. Doing what is right is never too late. Fair-minded people express their appreciation—sincerely. This is what defines us as Christians in this world. Know your time. Choose to do what is right. Exercise your right of judgment in all fairness. These are God’s message for us today. Again, Happy Mother’s Day!
May 11, 2008. Toledo UBF
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
