Wise Christian Timing John 7:1-10

Text:  “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven; a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and at time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

Good morning, wise Christian time-keeper!   Like your Master and Lord, the Living Christ Jesus, you are a wise discerner of time; you know when to speak and when to be quiet; you know when to advance, and you know when to wait for a more convenient time to move forward.  You do well, Christian time-keeper.  You do very well and your Lord is pleased with you.

“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong…”  (1 Corinthians 4:10)

“Behold, I (Christ Jesus) send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”  (Matthew 10:16)

The first ten verses of chapter seven of our Journey in John’s Gospel today, teaches us how the Lord Jesus was not One to rush into things as others all around Him were wont to do.  Followers of Christ Jesus must learn to be similarly wise as to our timing in His service.

The writer of our eight verse text above was Solomon - a king, and the son of king David; who asked God for special wisdom instead of riches untold.  His Holy Spirit inspired verses above on the subject of wise timing are therefore priceless.  ‘…There is a season, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven…’  Praise God for such wise advice from God’s Word!

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)

After the often impulsive Peter declared publicly that, ‘…We believe and are sure that Thou are that Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ - we learn that ‘…Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him.’ (V.1)  (Dictionary Definition: Jewry - n. the Jewish world, community, or religion; Judaea; a district inhabited by Jews.  The Chambers Dictionary p 864)

Now, any Bible Scholar knows that the only reason Christ Jesus came to us in bodily form - via what we call the incarnation - was to suffer and to die to make the only Atonement Sacrifice for our sins that would be acceptable to our thrice Holy Lord God of total wrath against all sin.  Even the old Levitical priesthood knew this vital fact.  Jesus had come to die for us!

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I (God the Father) have given it to you upon the altar (the Cross) to make an Atonement for your souls; for it is the Blood (sinless Blood of Christ) that maketh (makes and continues to make) an Atonement for the soul (of sinful mankind).”  (Leviticus 17:11)

“…This is the Blood of the Testament which God hath enjoined unto you…and without shedding of Blood (Christ’s sinless Blood) is no remission (of sins).”  (Hebrews 9:18-28)  Hallelujah!  What a Saviour we have!

However, our passage today informs us that the Lord Jesus would not take the advice of His brethren (His unsaved natural brothers and sister) and go up into Judaea and show all in sundry His Supernatural powers.  Why?  Because He knew that ‘…the Jews sought to kill Him…’ and that the proper timing of His Atoning death was crucial to His Father’s will.  The time was not right!  Christ Jesus would lay down His life in the Father’s perfect time.

We learn near the end of this morning’s Bible reading, ‘But when His brethren were gone up (to Judaea), then He also went up unto the feast, NOT OPENLY, but as it were IN SECRET.’ (V.10)  The Lord Jesus exercised sharp discernment and practiced wise timing.  Praise His Name!

Let us seek to apply the knowledge from God’s Word we have so far gleaned this morning:  Do you need to make a crucial decision in some area of your life - in family, in business, in church matters, in service?  Do it wisely, and at the correct time.

Do you feel led of the Spirit of God to go out and serve Christ in a foreign land; in an unfamiliar place; among potentially hostile people?  Pray about it much, then make a wise decision.  Patience is a very real virtue, my friend.

Have you members of your own family, friends, work colleagues, you need to bear witness to of the saving power of Christ Jesus?  Pray hard for them, then look for the best and wisest time to speak of these Eternal things. 

Thought:  Time is of the essence - be in time, keep in time with God!