When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.
The verse belongs to the Feast of Tabernacles, a seven-day celebration that drew people from Palestine and other lands to Jerusalem to give thanks for the year's blessings. It shows Jesus remaining in Galilee after telling His brothers that His time had not yet come and that He would not go up to the feast with them then. His waiting reflected that each event in His work had its proper hour, and He waited patiently for His Father's will. He did not act on His brothers' demand to display Himself publicly, and He did not seek worldly approval. He did not rush into danger or expose Himself before the appointed time.
He avoided places where hostility could provoke a mob and endanger His work before the appointed time for Him to leave it. Not going up with His family avoided recognition that could have exposed Him to efforts to take away His liberty or His life. He went up later, when He could travel among the crowd without being distinguished, and teach the people. The verse teaches that those who work for God must in no case imperil God's cause and their own influence by perverted ideas, and that God works with a person just as long as that person follows Him and heeds His counsel.
The verse belongs to the Feast of Tabernacles, a seven-day celebration that drew people from Palestine and other lands to Jerusalem to give thanks for the year's blessings. It shows Jesus remaining in Galilee after telling His brothers that His time had not yet come and that He would not go up to the feast with them then. His waiting reflected that each event in His work had its proper hour, and He waited patiently for His Father's will. He did not act on His brothers' demand to display Himself publicly, and He did not seek worldly approval. He did not rush into danger or expose Himself before the appointed time.
He avoided places where hostility could provoke a mob and endanger His work before the appointed time for Him to leave it. Not going up with His family avoided recognition that could have exposed Him to efforts to take away His liberty or His life. He went up later, when He could travel among the crowd without being distinguished, and teach the people. The verse teaches that those who work for God must in no case imperil God's cause and their own influence by perverted ideas, and that God works with a person just as long as that person follows Him and heeds His counsel.