John 7:1-8

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 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. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.”

John 7:1-8

In the beginning of this chapter, there is something that just doesn't add up when I look at it.  The confusion I find is when I compare verses 3-4 to verse 5.  How can Jesus' brothers say what they say in verses 3 and 4, and yet they still be described as not believing in him in verse 5?  Yet, what is written is written.  Somehow, is it possible for Jesus' brothers to say what they say and still not believe in him.

Purpose 1: Disciples
v3

Jesus' brothers are urging him to go to Judea.  The purpose is for his disciples to see the works that he is doing.  It is important to note that the disciples they are referring to are not the twelve.  If they were referring to the twelve what they are saying wouldn't make sense since the twelve have already seen his works.  Instead, they are referring to other disciples or other people who could potentially be disciples.  So, they are hoping for Jesus to recruit more disciples.

Purpose 2: Known
v4

There is a second purpose or a greater purpose we find in the words of Jesus' brothers.  They go on to explain the purpose of having disciples see his works, saying that "no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly".  They think reason that Jesus should be made known and the way to do it is to go to Judea so that people can see the works that he is doing.

Possible Reasons

So Jesus' brothers urge him to show his works in Judea for the purpose of gaining disciples and being made known.  What's so bad about that?  More importantly, why would they say that if they didn't believe in him?  Perhaps they were using this opportunity to validate Jesus' works.  If his works were widely accepted in Judea, then maybe this would prove that Jesus was the real deal.  Or perhaps they were giving Jesus bad advice in the guise of well meaning guidance.  Maybe they hoped that Jesus' works would be shown to be nothing in the face of the Jews in Judea.  Unfortunately, these are just speculative since it is not clear how or why the brothers did not believe in Jesus.

Misalignment: Timing
v6,8

Though it may be unclear why Jesus' brothers would say what they did and still not believe in him, a few things are made clear by Jesus' response to them.  Jesus explains why he is not going to the feast (at least not publicly).  In his response, twice he says "My time has not yet come".  In response to their question as to why he isn't going up to the feast, the answer is that his time has not yet come.  However, this answer is also in response to Jesus' brothers' notion that Jesus should show himself to the world and be made known openly.  Jesus' time has not yet come for him to be known openly and show himself to the world.  Jesus' brothers do not see eye to eye with Jesus when it comes to timing.

Misalignment: The World
v7

Another thing Jesus makes clear is the world's acceptance of him.  Though his brothers urge him to show himself to the world, the truth is that the world hates him.  The reason the world hates Jesus is because, as Jesus says, "it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil".  Jesus himself testifies against the world and proclaims that its works are evil.  This is why the world hates Jesus.  And so, the world and Jesus are at odds with one another.

If the world hates Jesus, why would Jesus' brothers tell him to show himself to the world?  It is possible that they didn't understand this fact and were assuming he'd be accepted by the world.  It is also possible that they knew this and were expecting the world's rejection of Jesus.  Either way, this shows that his brothers did not believe in him.

Conclusion

We learn quite a few interesting things from these few verses.  Not only do we see that Jesus' brothers do not believe in him, but we learn from Jesus that his time has not yet come and that the world hates him.  However, there is another thing I learned from reading a commentary that I'd like to share that was referring to Jesus' brothers.

"In any case, the incident shows that seeing Jesus perform miracles, living in his presence, and hearing him teach is not enough to make a person a believer.  It is not so much the evidence that demands a decision as it is the gift of faith that moves a person from darkness into light."

-The Expositor's Bible Commentary 10

Jesus' brothers lived with him and grew up with him and yet they didn't believe in him.  I guess that shows that it's not enough to just see and be with and experience Jesus.