“Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest Thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him” (John 1:38-39).
The Object of Man’s Enmity
“After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him” (John 7:1). We have already encountered the leadership of the Jewish nation. We have seen their staunch opposition to the Son of God who is in their midst. Now their enmity reaches the point that they are bent on murdering this blessed Man.
“Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand” (vs. 2). What a paradox! The feast of tabernacles is the last of the seven feasts of Jehovah (Lev. 23). It prefigures the day of peace and rest for the children of Israel under the glorious reign of their Messiah. How can they celebrate the anticipation of such a day of righteousness and glory when they are busy plotting to kill the King? That’s why it must be called “the Jews’ feast of tabernacles”; at this time in John’s Gospel, it cannot be a feast that God honors.
“His brethren therefore said unto Him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that Thy disciples also may see the works that Thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If Thou do these things, show Thyself to the world” (vss. 3-4). How little the mind of man enters into the thoughts of God! Man ever seeks the honor that comes from man, “not the honor that cometh from God only” (John 5:44). Man must capitalize on every opportunity for self-exaltation, so he expects Jesus to act the same way and would even help push Him into the limelight.
Unbelief Dishonors God
However, the Spirit of God sheds the true light on their hearts. He reveals the real root of their suggestions: unbelief. “Neither did His brethren believe in Him” (ch. 7:5). Unbelief will always misjudge God. By not thinking correctly concerning man’s true place before God, it does not honor Him with that trust and confidence that become His creature. Only the Spirit of God can give us proper thoughts about God and about man.
The Lord Jesus always was led by the Holy Spirit in every thought, every word and every action. Such suggestions of self-exaltation never distract Him for one moment from His perfect path of obedience to His Father’s will. They only provide a clearer display of His perfection as man.
“Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for My time is not yet full come” (vss. 68). He ever remembers the work that He had come to accomplish. Every footstep must move Him in that direction alone, according to God’s timetable, not man’s.
The Place of Humility
Sometimes this means remaining right where He is. “When He had said these words unto them, He abode still in Galilee” (vs. 9). Judea is the place of importance, to man’s way of thinking; Galilee is despised. Nazareth, “where He had been brought up” (Luke 4:16), is a town of Galilee, and Nathanael, when Philip tells him that they had found Jesus of Nazareth, expresses the popular opinion of the day about that place: “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46).
Philip answers Nathanael with the words of his Master: “Come and see.” Jesus is there. He is “meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29). “He is despised and rejected of men” (Isa. 53:3). “He humbled Himself” (Phil. 2:8). In the face of the hatred of man’s heart on the one hand and the pride of self-exaltation on the other, where will we find the Lord Jesus? In the place of humility.
Where do we dwell, if we want to abide with Him? In this same place of humility. As we stay with Him, we shall become more like Him. “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me” (Matt. 11:29 JND). “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility” (Prov. 15:33). “Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God” (1 Peter 5:5-6).
May we have grace to abide in His company and to develop and display this character trait that was so perfectly exemplified in the life of our blessed Saviour, “the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8) who went down to the lowest place.
D. R. Macy