After this, Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. 2 But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 No one works in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world.” 5 For his brothers did not believe in him. 6 So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but the time is always right for you. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify to it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, because my time has not yet been fulfilled.” 9 After he had said this, he stayed on in Galilee. 10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but [as it were] in secret. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was considerable murmuring about him in the crowds. Some said, “He is a good man,” [while] others said, “No; on the contrary, he misleads the crowd.” 13 Still, no one spoke openly about him because they were afraid of the Jews.
The Israelites were obligated to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem three times a year to observe the following feasts: Passover, Weeks or Pentecost, and Tabernacles, Tents or Booths (Ex. 23:14-17). Jesus’ brothers urged him to leave Galilee and go down to Jerusalem to the feast of Tabernacles. They demanded that his works be made manifest to the whole world like the manna in the desert (Jn. 6:31) and not just to those who believed. Jesus knew that the Jewish authorities were trying to kill him in Judea (Jn. 5:18) so he told them he was not going. Jesus’ relatives had failed to recognize his mission (Mk. 3:21; 6:4). Jesus said that the time for his crucifixion has not yet arrived but it was still time for them to believe in him (v. 6). The works of the world are evil and that is why the world hated him. Afterwards, Jesus went to Jerusalem in secret. The crowds were divided in their opinion of him and those who thought he was a good man were afraid to say so in public out of fear of the Jewish authorities.
Almighty God, grant us the grace to walk in your light and the faith to withstand the darkness of evil. Help our unbelief so that we may believe in all that your Son said and did on this earth, and give us the wisdom to recognize the works of your hand in our lives. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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