Sometime during the middle of Jesus’ ministry, John’s gospel describes a time when Jesus appears to be alone with His brothers. In this event, John records a startling detail that is profound when we look at it a little closer. John tells us that “For not even His brothers were believing in Him.” (v. 5)
This detail is significant for us to pay attention to because too often, those closest to us may be among the least supportive of us. While this is not always the case, plenty of cases can validate this statement. However, I think most times those closest to us don’t support us, they believe they are being helpful. Sometimes, help comes in the form of telling someone you love some difficult to accept things.
Perhaps we don’t feel supported by those we know love us because we know they don’t approve of something we do, some people we associate with, or a habit we have. Sometimes having a lot of history with a person is not helpful for building a stronger relationship because people can get caught up with each other’s faults.
However, the word John uses in this statement is the word “belief” and this is a little different than simply supporting someone. While believing in someone leads to supporting them and their decisions, believing in this context also means trusting, having faith in, and being loyal to the person in question. In this passage, John tells us that Jesus’ brothers – those He was closest to and had the most history with – did not believe in Him.
Jesus would have been aware of this and because of this lack of belief, trust, and faith, Jesus knows that it is better for Him not to travel with His brothers. While His brothers recognize that Jesus is special and that He can perform miracles, they miss understanding the purpose Jesus came and the counter-cultural way He saw Himself.
Reading this prompts me to think that sometimes it is better to take a step back in our faith – but not a step back in a literal sense, but a step back to then focus again on the big picture. When we look at the big picture and keep our eyes open for examples of God leading and blessing people in the world around us, we can avoid the trap Jesus’ brothers fell into because they had decades of history together – which included plenty of pretty normal events.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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