John 71-13

 John 7:1-13

Once again we can have a passage of such death that there are meanings, implications, and applications that we might miss with a quick read. Jesus being fully human lived in a world of temptation. Note that these temptations always went to the same issue but in different forms. In the last chapter the people offered to make Jesus the king, Satan had offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world during the 40 days in the wilderness. The people wanted Jesus to provide them with miraculous bread Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones to bread. Now Jesus's brothers want him to go to Jerusalem to show off his power, just like Satan tempted Jesus to leap from the high point of the temple to show off His power.

Jesus's response is to shift the discussion from a show of power to a word about time.  A discussion of submission to the will of God. Jesus says the time καιρος is not at hand. The word means opportunity, the right moment, in regard to timing. A batter can swing the bat anytime he wants, but there is a right time to do it. If he is a little early or a little late his swing is ineffective. But if he swings the bat at the right time, when everything comes together, and the ball flies 450 feet out of the park.

How did Jesus deal with a multi-sided attack from the spiritual forces of darkness and human opposition, and pressure? He looked for the sweet spot; the intersection of the right circumstance, the right place, and the right opportunity or time. That kind of discernment doesn't just happen. It is built by being in the relationship with the Father. Unlike Jesus, we will miss that wonderful sweet spot of time, place and circumstance. But each of those misses is a learning occasion. With a major league pitcher that sweet spot of right timing is incredibly small with a little league pitcher it is much larger. If we want to learn to hit the sweet spot with a big league pitcher we must first learn to get the sweet spot with a little league pitcher.  

Sometimes before the devil draws us into wickedness he will first try to draw us into bad timing. Learning to be mature and discerning God's timing will allow us to find the sweet spot.

“Lord, help me to learn to discern the right time for all that You have for me. AMEN”