When you don’t have your facts straight, you can make some bad decisions, and that’s exactly what happened here.
First of all, Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe who He was. I wonder if Mary told her kids that Jesus was miraculously conceived, and they didn’t believe it…or if Jesus wouldn’t let her tell them. Who knows, maybe they never asked. Even though the brothers had seen the miracles, they didn’t accept who He was. I can’t fault them..it would be hard to accept that your brother was really God. The kid you grew up with, and played with…ate meals with, and who acted pretty much like all the other kids. So they made a bad decision: they encouraged Jesus to go to the Festival, even though it would mean trouble and persecution. They weren’t really interested in Jesus having more followers.
Interestingly enough, Jesus decides to go to the festival after telling His brothers that he isn’t going because it “isn’t His time”. I wonder what changed His mind. Was it the desire to share the Good News? Did His Father tell him after a day or two “okay, now it’s time to go”?
The uninformed decisions made by the crowd include:
1. Assuming that Jesus was lying (or possessed) when He said someone was trying to kill Him. Actually, that is exactly what the leaders were trying to do. After denying it, the crowd themselves remark “isn’t this the man they are trying to kill” in verse 25. I guess they tripped over the word “you”. Jesus meant humans, and must have thought He meant the crowd literally. At the end, it is the crowd that chants “crucify Him”. I have no doubt that some of the same people were at the crucifixion that were standing there right then.
2. Failing to recognize that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Where were his brothers to correct this mistake? They would know where Jesus was born.
3. Assuming the Messiah would appear from no where. The Bible prophecies never say that.
The lone voice of reason is Nicodemus, and I’m not sure that He was a believer at this point. The Pharisees condemn themselves when they say “is there any one of us who believe in Him?” Much like those who lead us today, they are completely disconnected from reality. The ground has shifted underneath them, the Messiah has come and they have failed to recognize it. Can there be a greater error? I don’t think so.
Our job remains simple: recognize Jesus for who He is, and develop a personal relationship with Him. Our task is to obey, even when we don’t understand. I would rather be part of the “ignorant crowd” that follows Christ and lives than be part of the “highly intelligent and informed” Pharisees who reject Him and perish.
Serving the Master,
PR