Jesus's Brothers Disbelieve

Well, in saying that, I'd like to invite you this morning to open your Bibles. This is really the compass of Redeeming Grace Church. This is our steering wheel. This is our rudder. It's everything. It's the Word of God.

So we're going through the Gospel of John. Today I'd like to speak to you about Jesus' brother's disbelief. And I like to break this up in a two-part series. We're not going to get through the first 13 verses, which this covers all today.

I don't believe we're going to. There's a lot here. Not a lot of drama here, though. I was reading R .C. Sproul's commentary on it. He said he had a difficult time in even finding drama in this chapter.

But there is much truth here for us to glean on and to learn. So as you open your Bibles with me to the Gospel of John chapter 7, we just finished chapter 6. Very, very deep chapter, wasn't it? And the Word of God has great depth to it.

Seventy-one verses in chapter 6 that we looked at, in which we just finished Glass Lord's Day. Jesus did a discourse on the bread of life, speaking of himself. And it's basic, very simple, but profound.

I pray it was beneficial for you and your spiritual man and your soul to encourage you in. But as we saw in this wonderful chapter, as it progressed, it's very apparent that the Jews were rejecting and disbelieving the words of Jesus.

I'd like to focus on that, and I want you to think about the words of Jesus, because really they loved Jesus' bread that he multiplied. They loved his miracles in which he brought about for the glory of God to teach a lesson.

And also they loved his blessings, and they even loved his works. Yet, when it came right down to it, the most important thing, it was his words that they hated. And isn't it so in our world today? Everybody wants the blessings.

Everyone wants miracles. Everyone wants, wants, wants, wants. But they never look at the words of Jesus as being the paramount thing. And that's why the Scriptures itself is the most important aspect of our worship service, is the words of God, the word of God itself, the words of Jesus.

They hated it.

And we see this in the case throughout this gospel. As Jesus sets his face like a flint to go to the cross, the Jews' hatred toward the Messiah actually escalates even more so. And here we are in John chapter 7.

We embark on this. We see Jesus is opposed by his family in verse 1 through 13, in which we will begin today. And then you see next, then he is opposed at the temple in the verses 14 to 36. He's opposition, opposition.

Then our Lord is opposed by the religious rulers in verses 37 to 52. Then in verse 53 to chapter 8 to verse 11, we see our Lord is again opposed by his accusers. Now, here in chapter 7 through John chapter 10.

Chapter 7 through John chapter 10, we have our Lord's third year of ministry. And if this is his third year, you know what's coming. He's almost heading to the cross, his journey to the cross. This is his mission.

This is why he was sent from the Father to come here. That was always on his mind. We will see that in today's message. But primarily, he goes to Jerusalem, and this is where he will eventually be crucified under his own people and sinners.

But today we will look at and focus on the first nine verses. But I don't think we're going to get through all the nine. But I would like to read the first 13 verses. As we look at our Lord is that he's opposed by his own family members, by his own brothers.

And let me read beginning with verse 1 to 13. I like to just read it so we can see what we're looking at. And what the Lord has for us to learn from our Lord's rejection from his own family. Hear the word of the living God.

Chapter 7, 1 through 13. After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. And his brothers therefore said to him, Depart from here and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing.

For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. For even his brothers did not believe in him. Then Jesus said to them, My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come. And when he had said these things to them, he remained in Galilee.

But when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, Where is he? And there was much complaining among the people concerning him.

Some said he is good. Others said, No, on the contrary, he deceives the people. However, no one spoke openly of him for the fear of the Jews. Please bow with me in prayer as we look to the Lord and seek his face during this hour of worship.

Our Heavenly Father, we praise you. We thank you. And we thank you for your everlasting eternal word. Lord, help us to be never ever to take ever your word for granted. Nothing compares to it in this entire universe.

For your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Forever settled in heaven, as your word says. Lord, as we begin our study in this wonderful chapter, chapter 7, we thank you for the great privilege, Lord, of entering into the story of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Lord, I do pray that you would open our eyes, the eyes of our hearts, and help us to understand the depth of the message that you have for us. And, Lord, for the promise of eternal life that you give through Christ, which is all important.

Lord, I do pray that you would guide us and help us, Lord, to discern your truth by your spirit. Lord, we need the spirit of God. We need your spirit, the true teacher, the one that bears witness with us, Lord, that we are the children of God.

To apply these truths to our lives today, Lord, help us. It's just not academic and intellectual. We need transformation, Lord. We need a transformed heart. We thank you for your word that does the work.

And we pray for this for your honor and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. John chapter 7 presents us a rich tapestry of the teachings and the encounters of our Lord showcasing the wisdom, the love, and the power and the authority of Jesus Christ.

As we embark in this chapter, we learn the significance of God's timing. There's much we can learn here. We can learn the significance of God's timing. God's timing is always perfect, and it was perfect in the life of Jesus Christ.

So that's something we can learn. There's another thing we can learn, too, is the courage to face how God gives us courage through this, and Jesus being the great example for us in the face of opposition.

To encourage each and every one of us, because we need this. We need encouragement, but we do need courage to face the opposition that's against the truth. And as you well know, the world is opposed to the truth.

The power of prayer is spoken of here in this chapter. Also, as I was looking, we see the authority of Jesus' teachings, the fulfillment found also in the Holy Spirit, the promise that He gives living water, and the importance of wisdom and humility in our interactions with each other.

I think this is all important, and we need the Spirit of God to really help us, because we cannot do this in the flesh. We need God to help us. So let us begin, and let's look at verse 1 to 9. We'll probably get to 7.

I'll pick it up next Lord's Day, as God wills it. But what I have before us, I think, will bless your heart and soul. As the Lord would minister to your heart, Jesus is opposed by His own family. Jesus is opposed by His own family.

And there are exhortations that we can see here, but we see that Jesus is rebuked by His own brothers. There's opposition here. So my first point is this. First, we see and observe that Jesus goes up to Jerusalem in secret.

We first see and observe that Jesus goes up to Jerusalem in secret, in Galilee, at the Feast of the Tabernacles, as it approaches. And verse 1 says this, After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews, the ruling authorities, another translation says, sought to kill Him.

Sought to kill Him. You see the escalation of how they wanted to kill Him, how they wanted to take Him. There's a lapse of time here, or I should say months, between chapter 6 and chapter 7. This is important for us to see this, because of the time period that's going on here, because while chapter 6 occurred around the Passover period of time, as you see in chapter 6, verse 4, that mentions the Passover.

Now the Passover, the Feast of the Jews, was near. Then we come to chapter 7, occurs at the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles. So John the Apostle wrote nothing about those months here in his gospel, because his purpose really is not to present the chronology of the life of Jesus, but to portray Him as the Son of the Living God, and show us how men reacted, or believed in Him, or disbelieved in Him.

And the text says, After these things. What things? Well, the things written to us from the previous chapter, chapter 6. And keep in mind, chapter 6 indicates that Jesus, if you look at the verses very carefully, He only spent two days with the multitude of the 20 ,000 people.

This is interesting. Only two days He spent with those 20 ,000 people as He broke the bread, He did the miracle. They rejected Him, they disbelieved Him. There He was, the bread of life, right in front of them.

And they still disbelieved. So we see that there's a disbelief, and Jesus only spends two days with the multitudes there, and that is spoken of in John 6, 22. Pastor John MacArthur notes this, of the context, but He spent seven months, listen to this, seven months teaching His 12 disciples.

See how important it is? Jesus was making disciples, the head of the church in which He gave the command. But He takes these 12, and He pours His life into them. Let me continue His quote. He takes seven months teaching His 12 disciples who believed in Him.

This phrase subtly highlights the great importance of discipleship. MacArthur says, for Jesus contracted great lengths of time upon training His future spiritual leaders, end quote. And I think that's so important for us to get that, and I really appreciate MacArthur's insight on that, because that is missed quite often.

But Jesus takes these 12, 12 apostles, the ones that believed. And if you notice as we came to that portion in chapter 6, it was Simon Peter who was the spokesman, the head apostle, that spoke for the other 11, for all the 12.

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we also come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. So Jesus pours seven months, only two weeks, with these 20 ,000, the multitudes, seven months into the disciples.

Very important for us to see this. After these things, after these things. And that's what it speaks of. That's what it brings to us in chapter 7. And then Jesus walked in Galilee, for He did not want to walk in Judea because, and it tells us, because the Jews, the ruling authority, sought to kill Him.

Well, let me give you another comment here, another theologian and is a reformer. John Calvin said this, and I love this. As I was looking into my commentaries, I thought, well, this would be good for the church to hear this.

And I love these great men of God. But here is John Calvin. Listen to what he says about verse 1. While Christ avoided dangers, He did not turn aside a hair's breadth from the course of duty. For to what purpose would life be maintained and defended, but that we may serve the Lord?

We ought always to take care, therefore, that we do not, for the sake of life, lose the reasons for living, end quote. And that ties into exactly everything what Jesus is doing here. He's on a divine timetable.

He is on the Father's timetable, and it's perfect. He avoids certain things, but He's under the supreme authority of God. He's always doing those things which pleases the Father. And He's on that divine timetable.

So in a nutshell, what is He doing? He's avoiding the wrong time in God's perfect providence. And there's nothing to contradict that statement. Jesus is basically avoiding the wrong time because He's in perfect timing with the Father and the Father's will.

Isn't this wonderful about our Lord? So in other words, it's the sovereign plan of God that dominates here. God's perfect timetable. Jesus is right on schedule to everything that is happening. And we're talking about the perfect Son of God, the Son of Man.

We are talking about perfect timing too. Everything about Christ is perfect. Jesus is right on schedule to the Father's timetable and His Son's mission to Jerusalem as He sets His face like a flint. And He's got one thing in mind, is to die, to take the sin of the world upon Himself and to die as the Lamb of God for He's God's Lamb.

And for this reason, Christ came. For He came into the world to seek and save that which is lost. He was to die, to give His life as a ransom for many on the cross of Calvary to redeem sinners from the wrath of God.

That's what He saves us from, folks. And we never need to lose sight of that. He saves us from God's wrath. And that we justly deserve. And we need to understand and we need to tell people in this world, lost and dying world, this is why Christ came.

To take that wrath upon Himself and to redeem us. And to save them from the wrath to come. Because God's wrath is abiding on them right now. Verse 2 says, now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

The Feast of Tabernacles, what is this? Well, I'm going to try to summarize this. There's so many commentaries on this that spans it. I don't want to take up too much time on this, but I'm going to try to put it in a nutshell.

The Feast of Tabernacles was one of those important events in the Jewish calendar. And in the Jewish calendar, it came at the time of harvest. It always came at harvest time. And there's a reason it came at harvest.

And to celebrate, they celebrated the fact that the Jews lived in temporary shelters. It was a temporary shelter. And this is what they celebrated. Or you could say booths. This is why it's called the Feast of Tabernacles.

Or some call it the Feast of the Booths. Shelters, which are only temporary. And they celebrated this time because after they came out of Egypt and God delivered them out of Egypt, this was another celebration that they had.

It was a festive, joyful event. God delivered them out of Egypt. It was a joyous holiday for the Jews. And they were always looking forward to the coming day also, and Scripture within the Messiah would reign and save the Jewish nation that would dwell in the land in peace and prosperity.

But isn't it ironic? Christ, their Messiah, comes and they reject Him.

They oppose Him.

And here is all the Jews at this time period, at the harvest, going to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. That was at hand. In other words, it's very close. So the feast was known also for... I think this is really good insight.

There's so many aspects on this, but you can look at that in your devotional time. But the Feast of Tabernacles was also known for water drawing. Water drawing. And we see that Jesus makes reference to this.

How does He make reference to it?

He says,.

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink living water. Living water. There is a fountain. And we see that in verse 37 and verse 38 as the promise of the Holy Spirit on that last day, the great day of the feast.

Jesus stood.

And what does He do? He just doesn't teach. He cries out. It's like an invitation. If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me. And he who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

The promise of the Spirit of God. And also Jesus makes reference to the light of the world. That He is in John 8, 12, I am the light of the world. So we observe that, that Jesus is that, through the Spirit of God, He offers water, everlasting life, the promise of the Holy Spirit.

He is that light. So there's the connection of all this. And Jesus' time is perfect as He goes towards the cross. Now this is the furthest thing from the Jewish mind, that the Messiah, they're not even accepting Him as the Messiah, but the Messiah is going to be a crucified Messiah.

Well, next we also see, which I believe that's just one aspect of that, as we looked at, that we see, we observe, that Jesus goes up to Jerusalem in secret. But also we see and observe the unbelief and the opposition of the brothers of Jesus against Him.

Notice verse 3, His brothers therefore said to Him, Well, depart from here and go into Judea, and your disciples also may see the works that you're doing. Well, listen to that. Some people were surprised to read that Jesus even had brothers, but He did.

He had four of them. Actually, they're half brothers. We'll see this. It's very clear from the Scriptures. There's many Scriptures on this. I chose from verse 3, the reference to Matthew 13 .55. Matthew 13 .55 says, and this is what they said of Jesus, Is this not the carpenter's son?

We know that there Joseph was a carpenter. Jesus more than likely was along with His Father here on this earth, not His real Father, because His real Father is in heaven. But they say, Is this not the carpenter's son?

Listen to their doubt about Him. Is not His mother called Mary? They make reference to Mary, and it's interesting they don't make reference to Joseph. It's more than likely that Joseph is already deceased and dead at this time.

And His brothers James, Hosea, Simon, Judas. James, we know, is one of the apostles. He's the one that wrote the book of James. And you have Simon, and then you have Judas, Hoses. You don't know. It's another name for Joseph, but there's four half brothers there with some we don't know much about.

But we do know that James wrote the epistle of James, and we also know Judas, as known as Jude. He wrote the book of Jude. He was his half brothers. But at this point, they're not believing in Him. At this point.

They eventually do believe, down as you would read in Acts chapter 1. They were there at the day of Pentecost. But at this point, they do not believe. The half brothers of Jesus. And again, because of the virgin birth, Christ being born at the virgin birth, that only Mary is His human mother.

And here for a time, even Jesus' own brothers, who are named here in Matthew 13 .55, did not believe in Him. They did not believe. And His own family opposed. Mark 3 .21 is interesting. I chose that as well as a reference.

Notice what it says here, the Scriptures. And when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, He is out of His mind. They said this about Jesus. Today's interpretation is He's like a lunatic.

He's crazy. He's out of His mind. His own family. Well, it says His own people, but in the Greek expression here used in various ways can describe some friends, close acquaintances. In the strictest sense, it means His family, which probably is the best understanding here.

Now, what does the Scripture say about Him? Well, that's two Scriptures in the New Testament. What about the Old Testament? Does it say anything about Jesus being rejected and opposed?

Absolutely.

Listen to this, Isaiah 53. 3 is one that comes to mind most. Very well known, but verse 3 of chapter 53 says He is despised and rejected by men. Also by His family. A man of sorrows. He's acquainted with grief.

And notice what it says about all of us. Actually, it's saying about the Jewish nation, but it's all of us in general. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him. We rejected. He was despised. Again, that word is used twice there.

And we did not esteem Him. Despised, rejected, despised. Jesus is despised. We were once there, right? We were rejecting Him. And like the world in darkness, despising Him, rejecting Him for who He is.

For who He is.

Here the prophet foresees the hatred and the rejection of mankind, and especially the Jewish nation, towards the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the suffering servant in chapter 53, who suffered not only external abuse, but there's internal grief here that He's despised and rejected.

There is grief. There is internal pain in our Lord in that prophecy. An internal grief to overlook and avoid Christ in responding to Him and coming to Him.

People push Jesus away.

Notice it's interesting that people in darkness, they welcome the cults because it appeals to the flesh. They welcome anything that appeals to the flesh. But Jesus deals with the heart problem. What we need the most.

To be delivered from our sin and the wrath of God. And He deals with that. They hate Him for this. He was despised and we did not esteem Him,.

Scripture says.

Unbelief, rejection, a nation to a crucified Messiah that eventually would come. John 1 .11 says it, doesn't it? He came unto His own things. It could mean His own dominion. And then it says, and His own did not receive Him.

That means His own people did not receive Him. The Jewish nation did not receive Him. But it also can mean His own family. His own family despised Him, rejected Him. Now, although the Jewish nation again possessed the Scriptures, they testified of His person and coming, they still did not accept Him as the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel.

That He did come and here He was right in front of them and just manifesting His works and power and teaching of Himself through the miracles. But they didn't get it. They were full of unbelief. They were blinded and had a hard heart.

Here's another Scripture in Isaiah. Isaiah 65, 2 and 3 says this, I was sought by those who did not ask for me. Oh, I love this Scripture because it speaks of the Gentiles that come into the kingdom of God.

But listen to what it says. I was sought by those who did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not seek me. And I said, this is the Lord speaking, Here I am, here I am. To a nation that was not called by my name, I have stretched out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good according to their own thoughts.

Though Israel sought the Lord, they did not, and let me say this, they did that superficially. They were not seeking Him for the right reasons. It was not a genuine seeking after God because they loved God, but they just sought the Lord superficially.

And here in the New Testament, we see Paul quoting this in Romans 10, 20. He quotes Isaiah 65, 2 and 3. I was found by those who did not seek me.

Paul quotes it.

How important it is to know what the prophets say. The apostles even speak of them and quote them. I was made manifest to those who did not ask for me. How was He made manifest? By those that did not seek Him.

How? All we could say is sovereign grace. The sovereign grace of God. The sovereign grace of God that comes to us. And that's the way God sought us. We were not seeking Him. He comes to us. And of course, He speaks to us through the Word.

People say, you know, no man really seeks God. Just always questioning. I remember R .C. Sproul was answering the question, how can a person seek God? He said, my neighbor says they seek God, but R .C. made a good answer to that question.

He said, really, they're not seeking God. They're seeking miracles. They're seeking blessings. They're seeking this. But they're really not seeking God because they love God. God is really the seeker and He comes after us.

And aren't you glad He does? It's wonderful. Sovereign grace. That's the only one or two words I have for it. And you can find many scriptures that back that up. Here's another verse from Jeremiah, the weeping prophet.

Jeremiah has so many good verses here. But because of time frame here, I chose two. Chapter 7, verse 25 and 26.

It says this.

Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants, the prophets, daily. This is God speaking. Daily rising up early and sending them.

And in verse 26. Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear but stiffened their neck. That means unbelief, folks. Harden their hearts, stiffen their neck, and they did worse than their fathers. God was grieved.

Then you have another reference in the New Testament concerning the unbelief of the half-brothers. Matthew 12, verse 46 to 50 says this. And this is a very good one. While he was speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside asking to speak to him.

But he replied to the man who told him, Who is my mother and who is my brothers? Stretching out his hand. Don't you love that? How God stretches out that picture in the Old Testament. Jesus himself in flesh, God in flesh.

He stretches out his hand towards his disciples and said, Here are my mother and my brothers. And then he said, For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. And by the way, that is not a verse there that emphasizes salvation by works.

It means there's obedience. That is the fruit. And it comes out of a regenerate heart. They do the will of God. That is the obedience. That is to obey God. And to obey God's will is everything in Scripture.

But it's only to the regenerate. They obey. A couple of things we see here, because first of all, Jesus was not repudiating the earthly family. And that time is made evident in John 19, 26 and 27. When Jesus was dying on the cross, you know the story.

On Calvary's cross in verse 26, Jesus foresaw his mother and disciple whom Jesus loved. And he said to his mother right there, while Jesus was hanging on the cross,.

He says,.

Woman, behold your son. In verse 27, he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own home. Why did I quote that? Because Jesus is not repudiating that we just cast our own family aside.

No.

What he was trying,.

What is he doing?

So Jesus, there at the cross, he's basically saying that during his death, which I think this is so powerful and such a lesson for us. Jesus, as he was dying and hanging on a cross and crucified, he was not even thinking of his own self.

He was thinking of his mother. And here she was in her older age. Never once Jesus was thinking of himself, but always the needs of others. And there his mother,.

He says,.

Behold your son. His own earthly family did matter. Rather he was, what was he saying about who is my mother,.

My sisters,.

My brothers. He was actually emphasizing the supremacy of the eternal importance of our spiritual relationship within the family of God. He's not saying abandon your family. You got to take care of your family.

We know that. And it's very important. There's the household of faith too, right? But it's like a lesson. It's like a microcosm for us. And that's why each home matters. It's like a miniature church, Jonathan Edwards said.

But it's also speaking of a spiritual relationship. That's very important, isn't it? Well, there's much more that could be said about that, but let's move on. John chapter 7, verse 4. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.

This is what they say that his brothers are saying to him. We don't know which one, but he had four brothers. That's speaking here, it doesn't say. And anything in secret while himself seeks to be known openly.

If you do these things, show yourself to the world.

Show yourself openly.

Listen to this, verse 5.

Even his brothers did not believe him after that statement. Now, I'm going to make some comments about this statement. It could be that these words from verse 4 were spoken to Jesus in sarcasm.

You see that?

Can you hear the sarcasm in that they're basically telling him his relatives seem to imply that the Lord was looking for something publicly. You're esteeming yourself. You're going to be somebody. As you say this, you're the Messiah.

See, you notice what they're saying sarcastically? Let me say this. What else was performing all these miracles in Galilee if he did not want to become famous? In other words, they're saying this is a way you could be publicly known more and more and be famous.

I think they were thinking of themselves.

You get that?

They were thinking of themselves. They were not thinking of Jesus because they were sarcastically saying this because they had a hard heart of unbelief. Now is your big opportunity, Lord. You say you're the Messiah.

Here's your big opportunity. Look at the temptations that's brought even before his own brothers. Like bypass the cross. That's implied there. Here's your big opportunity. They basically say, in effect, you have been seeking to become famous.

You should go to Jerusalem for the feast. Hundreds of people. It's going to be a lot of people there. And you will have a great opportunity to perform many miracles there. This is what they're saying, in effect.

Galilee is a little quiet place on the map. You are practically performing your miracles in secret there. So why won't you do this and go up to this feast? And we know that you want to become well-known, don't you?

You make a name for yourself. Then they added this. If you do these things, show yourself to the world then. Oh, the sarcasm.

Isn't it sad?

It almost grieves you just to hear this come from his own brothers. I love Jesus' reply. We'll see that in a minute. But he so graciously replies to them.

But he gives a powerful truth to them.

And it's powerful. Thought here seems to be, like I said, if you really are the Messiah, if you're really doing these things and these miracles, he said, to prove it, why don't you just offer these proofs where they will really count, namely in Judea?

Well, verse 5 says basically what's coming out of their heart. Even his brothers did not believe him. Even his own family did not believe him. Aren't you there? You and I are there. We have people in our own family that do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we'll see why in a minute. Here his brothers had no sincere desire to see him glorified, by the way. They had no sincere desire to seek the Lord in the right intent of their heart.

It was sarcastic.

It was unbelief. Here his brothers had no sincere desire, for they did not believe him to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Neither were they willing to entrust themselves to him. Again, what they said to Jesus was sarcastic.

A .W. Pink says this concerning this text, and this is a good one, about the unbelief towards Jesus. Pink says, How these words betray their hearts. How these words betray their hearts. They were men of the world.

Consequently, they adopted its ways, spoke of its language, and employed its logic. Show thyself to the world, meant accompanying us to Jerusalem. Work some startling miracle before the great crowds who will be assembled there.

And thus, not only make yourself the center of attraction, but convince everybody you are the Messiah. Ah, how great of an ignorance, full of ignorance they were of the mind of God and the purpose of the Son's mission.

And Pink says this, it was the pride of life displaying itself. The pride of life. End quote. And it goes right along with 1 John 2 .16, doesn't it? Listen to 1 John 2 .16. All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father.