Message/Application: In John 7 the crowds and many disciples were turning on Jesus and the Jews were trying to kill him. His brothers didn’t believe or understand his purpose, so they tried to advise him by saying “no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things show them to the world.” Although this this idea is essentially true (in a negative application) the advice they gave him was completely contrary to the heart and mission of Jesus. The heart and mission of Jesus was to do the will of the father. He was not seeking public recognition. In fact, he was avoiding public recognition. Not because he was shy, but because he was doing something way more important and the general public didn’t understand the value because they had their own agenda for Jesus. This is not to say he wouldn’t later become publicly known. It just wasn’t his mission. He spent all of his time teaching and preparing his disciples in private knowing that what he taught in secret would change their lives, and they would ultimately change the world in the same way. The truth is, whether good or bad, the things we do in secret become known publicly because they reveal our heart motives. The brothers of Jesus had this backwards because they had the priority backwards. They would later come to understand who Jesus was and what he came to do because what Jesus did in secret was later revealed publicly. Oh the irony!
