Decisions That Affect People | John 7:3-5

So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. — John 7:3-5 Here's the context. There is an annual gathering happening in Jerusalem. Jesus knows that if he goes there announced this might put his life and presenting ministry at risk. So he has decided not to go publicly but secretly. But no one knows that at this point. But notice how his "brothers" respond. They are daring him a bit. His brothers are pushing him to make a big show of himself primarily because they don't believe he is the Messiah. I want to pause to note that the Bible teaches Jesus was born by supernatural birth through a virgin named Mary. Mary did eventually conceive marriage to a man named Joseph, and they had four sons. They were James, Joses, Simon, and Jude. We know these as Jesus's half-brothers or the sons of Joseph. At this moment in the story, we see that the half-brothers are still very skeptical about Jesus. But that is eventually going to change. Two of these men, James and Jude would eventually write letters of the New Testament. And James would become a significant leader in the church in Jerusalem. Here is what jumps out at me about this notation by John. Jesus was always discerning the tension between what God wanted and what man wanted. In this case, it happened to be his own half-brothers that were trying to lead him down a path that could be harmful. And for each of us as men, we encounter these challenges all the time. Sometimes people in our life, well-intentioned or not, will lead us down a path of disobedience to God in an effort to get us to something that would either intentionally or unintentionally lead us to harm. And as we cross these paths, we need to be sensitive to the Spirit and God's leading enough that we can say no to them to say yes to Jesus. So turn up your spiritual attentiveness today. Pay attention to the persuasions of those around you — even close friends and family. And if they try to persuade you toward any hint of disobedience, do the right thing. Be obedient to God even if it risks the relationship. Because you never know. Your decision for obedience today could affect their obedience down the road. It could have the same effect as Jesus. Check out other all Vince Miller's videos and audios for small groups at: https://beresolute.org/ Get Vince's most widely read resources The Daily Devotional at: https://beresolute.org/mdd Check out more ALL IN products like the one Vince is wearing at: https://beresolute.org/product-category/all-in-hats/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Connect with Vince socially: FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/millervince INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/vinceleemiller LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincemiller TWITTER: https://twitter.com/vinceleemiller