His Divine Timeline

Intro

Please turn to John 7.

We will be in verse 1-13 this morning

The title of this morning’s sermon is

Divine Timing

And this morning begins the end of Jesus’ ministry

We are now roughly 6 months from Jesus’ Passion Week

And if everything goes as scheduled we should finish our

verse by verse walk through of John around Easter

So please open your bibles to John 7:1-13

John 7:1–13 (CSB)

After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since he did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him. The Jewish Festival of Shelters was near. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” (For not even his brothers believed in him.)

Jesus told them, “My time has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify about it—that its works are evil. Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” After he had said these things, he stayed in Galilee.

After his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly. The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?” And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, he’s deceiving the people.” Still, nobody was talking publicly about him for fear of the Jews.

Let us Pray

Illustration

Have you ever wondered how you arrived here today?

I’m not referring to your car or your alarm clock.

I mean the series of events that have shaped your life and brought you to this very moment, sitting in these pews.

I’ve been privileged to hear some of your life stories, at least what you’ve shared with me.

And I know my own journey.

But when we take a moment to reflect, we can see how one event led to another, creating a chain of experiences.

How one decision brought about a particular outcome, which then influenced another decision.

Looking back at my own life, I see pivotal moments where different choices could have led to an entirely different path.

Isn’t it remarkable how our lives unfold?

How the good times intertwine with the bad,

how our trials transform into joys upon reflection.

Eventually, we find ourselves contemplating how we ended up here.

And when we look even deeper, we can see God’s hand guiding it all.

We are all part of God’s Divine Timeline and His Divine Plan.

And with God, there are no accidents.

One of the greatest examples of this is the timing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Jesus’s coming was precisely timed according to God’s redemptive plan, as emphasized in Galatians 4:4. That we read this morning

He was born during the Pax Romana, a period of peace that facilitated the spread of His message through safe travel and communication.

The extensive network of Roman roads and the widespread use of Greek allowed for the rapid spread of the Gospel.

There was a heightened sense of messianic expectations among Jews,

and Jesus's life and ministry fulfilled that

along with numerous Old Testament prophecies.

The moral and spiritual climate of the time also created a hunger for

hope and redemption, which Jesus perfectly addressed.

See by coming at this specific time

Jesus’s message and ministry were able to gain traction and spread rapidly across the known world.

This convergence of historical, cultural, religious, and technological factors created an environment where the Gospel could be effectively shared and the early church could grow.

And all of this occurred due to God’s perfect timing

As we will see this morning, Jesus operated under God’s Divine Timeline

and so do we, and isn’t that assuring

that we are all a part of Gods great timeline

that the creator of the universe whom holds the chaos and order of time in his hands

perfectly orchestrates our lives based on his will

despite our poor choices at times

And this morning we are going to learn of just how Jesus obeyed God’s divine timeline

and how we, should work on God’s timeline as well

we will learn that though

Being aware of God’s timeline

Trusting in God’s timeline

and Aligning with God’s timeline

Which just so happen to be our 3 points this morning

Be Aware of God’s Divine Timeline

John 7:1 “After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since he did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill him.”

By now I hope we have learned to pick up on these time markers John puts out for us

After this… tells us that there is a gap in time between what we just finished in John 6 and where we are now

We know there is a gap in time because John 7:2 “The Jewish Festival of Shelters was near.”

So there was about 6 months

we know that because John chapter 6 revolved around the Passover, remember that is why the crowds were so big

that is why they were ready for the king messiah

So if John 6 occurred during the Passover and we have the Festival of Shelters now we know that there is roughly a 6 month gap

which gets us here this morning

Now, Because Jesus was so Aware of Gods timing

he did not want to travel there because he knew the Jews (or the religious leaders)

were trying to kill him

and as we enter chapter 7 the desire to have him murdered is stronger than ever

if we remember back in Chapter 5 they tried to kill him

remember, the whole sabbath thing

and Jesus will address that again here in 7

So I am sure the “Jews” have heard all that Jesus has been up

I am sure they had spies up there, giving them Jesus’ play by play

So he stayed in Galilee

It was not yet his time so he worked where he was

waiting for the timing of the Lord

and during his time in Galilee between the passover (Chapter 6) and where we are right now

He didn’t just sit around waiting for God

no, He got to work

he found work in the waiting

and some pretty awesome things happened

While John does not display any information this

the other gospels do

During this time he

he healed a deaf and mute man (Mark 7:31-37)

he fed another 4000

Peter confessed that he was the he was the messiah in Cessarea Philipi

and from there they went up on the mountain and Jesus was transfigured

where they were joined by Moses and Elijah

Jesus predicted his death and resurrection

he taught with many parables

we can find a lot of these accounts in the Mark 8-9 text

as well as Matthew in the 16-17 or 18

and Luke 9 and surrounding areas

So again, Jesus has been busy.

All the while his family and everyone he knew was watching all of this

Especially his brothers

Now, John didn’t mention the fact that this was the feast of shelters just for our timeline

I believe he had another specific reason

So what is so special about the feast of the tabernacles?

It just so happens to be where Jesus will again chose to reveal himself

The Festival of Shelters, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot,

Is Jewish festival celebrating the fall harvest

and it is a commemoration of Israel's wilderness journey during the exodus

celebrating all that God provided

But get this…

Due to God’s divine timeline this was a perfect place for Jesus to reveal more about himself

because Jesus is actually the fulfillment of all that they were celebrating

Jesus fulfills the Feast of Shelters (or Feast of Tabernacles) by

embodying God's presence among His people. Just as the Israelites lived in temporary shelters to commemorate God's provision during their wilderness journey,

Jesus, as "Immanuel" which literally means(God with us),

signifies God's ultimate dwelling among humanity (John 1:14).

During the festival, a key ritual involved drawing water, symbolizing divine provision; Jesus declared Himself the source of "living water," offering eternal life to those who believe in Him (John 7:37-38).

Additionally, the festival's emphasis on light finds fulfillment in Jesus, who proclaimed Himself the "light of the world" (John 8:12), guiding humanity out of spiritual darkness.

Isn’t that amazing!

Now, with the upcoming feast coming up

And with the knowledge of knowing that all Jewish men were required to attend

His brother advise him to

John 7:3–4 “So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.””

There seems to be a mocking, sarcastic, undertone to their statement

Lets look at this… Jesus had 4 half brother

James, Joses, Simon, and Judas

he also had some half sisters as well

But non the less, they had seen everything Jesus had done

They heard his miracles, they may have even eaten the fish and bread

yet their attitude is something to be desired they

they were probably even part of the group that left at the end of chapter 6

maybe they were embarrassed by the fact that their brother was claiming to be God

maybe they though he was crazy

I mean, have any of you grown up with a perfect brother

we know from Mark 3:31-32 that at one point they had to set out and find him because they thought he was mad

This embarrassment or whatever this is had to be a heavy load

they we probably self conscious of him

But they compensated for the embarrassment with mockery

It is almost as if they are challenging Jesus to reveal himself on a bigger scale

if he wanted a public ministry then he should go to the most public of places

Surely they didn’t want him murdered,

this was teasing, through sarcasm

but this only shows their obvious misunderstanding of his mission

and their own human motivations

which were based on their unbelief

as we see in

The next verse John 7:5 “(For not even his brothers believed in him.)”

Perhaps this was their lipness test

if he performed on the grand stage of Jerusalem

then he would either entertain them with more miracles

or prove that he really was the king messiah everyone wanted

or maybe he would stop these crazy antics and go back to building things so that they can be a normal family again

But the real issue here is that nothing Jesus had done had caused them to believe

Not the miracles, not the teachings, none of it

You know what finally made them believe?

it would end up being him being hung on a cross

and rising from the dead

then visiting them and 500 others

And there is no doubt that this is part of God Timeline as well

Because it would take this initial unbelief

and the reflection upon it

To cause James to write his letter that is now in the bible

as well as lead the church in Jerusalem

Just as it lead Judas, also known as Jude to write his letter as well

See Jesus was aware of Gods timing

which impacted his choice to stay in Galilee rather than go to Judea because He was aware that the Jewish leaders in Judea were seeking to kill Him.

This decision reflected His understanding that it was not yet the appointed time for His ultimate confrontation with them, which would lead to His crucifixion.

See even when faced with pressure from his family he did not give in

Jesus’s brothers urged Him to go to Judea and perform His miracles publicly to gain recognition

But they misunderstood His mission and timing

He was aware that their advice was based on human reasoning

and their lack of belief further solidified His understanding that following their advice would not align with God’s plan.

And we must be aware of Gods timing as well

We must be aware of the circumstances and situations in our life.

And we should take heed and understand that God's timing involves

both the awareness of

opportunities

and obstacles.

see when we hit the brick wall of life

we can either sit there idle

or we can get to work where we are

and feel confidant that God’s timing is better than ours

Illustration:

Like Jesus, who was aware of the dangers he faced,

we must be vigilant and discerning about the seasons and timing in our lives.

And within this we can recognize the significant events and divine appointments as well

because these can prove to be indicators of God timing.

Illustration: Just as the festival was an important event to Jesus and God’s timeline

we can recognize the spiritual markers in our life that indicate God’s timing.

But we must also seek caution in this

We must seek prayer and scripture to help us discern God’s timing

and we must also be aware that even those close to you might not understand God’s timing for your life.

Which is why we must seek God's guidance rather than human validation.

illustration: Like Jesus’ brothers, people may pressure you to act according to their understanding, but stay aware of God's specific timeline for you.

Because it is one that you can trust

Which leads us to our second point of the morning

Trust in God Divine Timeline

This is how Jesus responded to their advise we should say

and he turned their mockery

into a teaching moment

John 7:6 “6 Jesus told them, “My time has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand.”

Jesus is saying here

my time is different than yours

and I will not allow the you or the world to dictate my actions

See it was not time for the world accept and acknowledge his claims… not yet

No, It was time for Christ to convict the world

it was time for Christ to

Point out the sin of the world

to point out the false religion of the world

to point out the depravity of the world

to point out the corruption of the world

to point out the needs of the world

and to finally point out the destiny of the world

should it not come to Him in belief

It was time for him to show the world

true love

true grace

true mercy

true compassion

true service

and true sacrifice

No, Christs time would come where he would garnish the acclaim

the time will come when all will

recognize his authority

The time will come when Philippians 2:10–11“10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

The time will come as Romans 14:11 “11 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.”

But our time, it is always at hand

our time is now to acknowledge

who Christ is

our time is now to repent and turn to Jesus

our time is now to seek him with all that we have

its our time find forgiveness

to find life

have our burdens lifted

and grace and mercy to be showered upon us

Now, while our times is always at hand to either come to Christ or to reject him

Now is also the worlds time

That is why Jesus says in John 7:7 “7 The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify about it—that its works are evil.”

See Christs brothers were part of the unbelieving world

and as unbelievers there is no concern with God’s divine timeline

and they could come and go as they wished

They can travel to Jerusalem without fear because they belong to the world and for that reason the world would not hate them

They fell right in line with everyone else that

mocked Jesus

that hated Jesus

that criticized Jesus

that rejected Jesus

But the world, it hates Jesus

because he testifies that all of its deeds are evil

and he convicts the world of the very things we already discussed

And within this context of worldly

hate and evil

he tells his brothers in V 8

John 7:8 “8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.””

He knew that if he went up there with them, according to their timetable

in that large caravan of travelers

that that would be an even greater risk to his plan and his mission

they would have probably again tried to crown him king and messiah

or throw him off the mountain

both were not outside of the realm of possibility

perhaps it would have triggered a premature

triumphal entry

which would have started the confrontation too soon

thus resulting in Jesus’ death before the proper time

and we know that His time to lay down his life had not yet come

that would come some 6 months later

and the very moment God determined

So as John 7:9 says “9 After he had said these things, he stayed in Galilee.”

He stayed for the time being and Trusted God

He understood the opposition He faced because of His mission.

and He trusted in Gods timing

Se we must Trust that following God's timeline may bring opposition,

but it is part of His plan for your growth and testimony.

and Trusting in God’s plan means

sometimes waiting and

sometimes acting,

but always in accordance with His timing.

Trusting in God’s timing may not always be easy,

but it is necessary for fulfilling His purpose,

even if it brings challenges and opposition

And it amazing because once we are aware of God’s timeline and trust in it

then our time will align with his

which is our 3rd point of the morning

Aligning with God’s Divine Timeline

John 7:10 “10 After his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but secretly.”

This is interesting, this seems like a contradiction by Jesus

he said he wouldn’t go

then he goes, in secret

what up with that?

Well, if we look a little deeper we see that Jesus was not saying he would not go

he just would not go in the manner his brothers expected

because his time for public confrontation had not yet come

Instead, based upon his awareness and trust in God’s timeing

Jesus waited a few days

V 14 will later tell us he arrived halfway through the festival

Which means Jesus simply waited until the roads were clear

until the large caravan or workers had cleared

to make his departure

and even then

according to Luke 9:51-56 he most likely went through Samaria

which we know the Jews definitely would not have done

And this is why John said he went in secret

he did not need nor want unnecessary fanfare or publicity

and if he would have had this fanfare and publicity

he never would have been able to teach publically

think about a famous person

give example

and John 7:11 confirms this “11 The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?””

The Jews were there, ready and willing to see what this Jesus would do next

and remeber theses jews were the leaders that were looking to kill him

but there were others there looking for Jesus

that is why in V12 and 13 it says

John 7:12–13 “12 And there was a lot of murmuring about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, he’s deceiving the people.” 13 Still, nobody was talking publicly about him for fear of the Jews.”

The response of the crowds included whispering and buzzing

they were excited about Jesus

whether that was a good excitement or a bad is mixed

as some said good things

and some said bad things

the good things centered around those that said he was a good man

things like

loving and caring

giving and unselfish

true and honest

just and moral

but noticed these things still revolved around him only being a good man

not the God man

The bad things they said were probably things like

he is misleading

deluding

he is leading people away from God

he is only seeking attention

he is a deceiver

Now all of these things the crowds were says were saying

we must note were done so at a whisper

and out of earshot of the Jews

because even the crowds were scared of the Jews

those in charge

those that would eventually convince them to yell

crucify, crucify

See there was confusion and mixed opinions about Jesus among the people.

And there still is today

And often times aligning with God’s will

will involve navigating through confusion and opposition.

navigating between differing opinions of what you should do and not do

But we must stay committed

to God’s direction despite external pressures.

we must align with God’s will and His Divine Timing

Just like Jesus stayed aligned with God’s will and timing,

even when faced with misunderstanding and opposition from those around him

we can and must do the same

Conclusion

See Jesus

Exercised divine wisdom in God’s Divine timeline

in choosing the right timing to reveal Himself at the Feast of Tabernacles,

despite pressure from His brothers to show His works publicly.

And this highlights that God's

plan,

purpose,

and timing

are superior to our own understanding and expectations.

Just as Jesus waited for the appropriate moment to act,

we too can find encouragement in knowing that God's timing is perfect and purposeful,

even when it seems delayed or contrary to our desires.

Trusting in His timing,

we are assured that

His plans are to prosper us

and fulfill His greater purposes

in ways beyond our imagination,

reinforcing the truth

that His ways are always higher

and better than our own.

Because I can assure you the time will come when all will bow and confess Jesus is Lord

what truly matters is who’s timeline and who’s plan are you are on

The worlds, or God’s

Because In God's divine timeline and plan,

Jesus Christ came at the perfect time

to die for our sins and rise again,

offering eternal life to all who believe.

And today, God calls you to trust in Jesus as your Savior,

aligning your life with His plan

and receiving the gift of salvation He has perfectly orchestrated for you.

And for those of us that believe may we find relief in God’s Divine Timeline

knowing that His plans are perfect

and unfold precisely according to His sovereign will

And this allows us to trust in God's timing for every aspect of our lives,

confident that He works all things

for their ultimate good and His glory.

And for our Church

God is on the move here

Things are happening

and God is preparing us

He still has a plan for us

so let us stay diligent and wait on Gods timing

because I am excited for what he has in store for us

let us Pray