1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
Alerted to the prodding advances of the Pharisees over His sudden prominence, Jesus sets out fleet footed for Galilee. The Pharisees eyebrows were raised over Jesus’ growing ministry and He was well aware of their propaganda spreading out against Him. These leaders surmised that they had rid themselves of the Baptist and now Jesus surfaced on the scene stirring stronger the hearts of the people. The fact that Christ was making many disciples grieved them and they had delusions of dealing with Him as well – setting Him off of His straight and narrow course. Jesus never concerned Himself over man’s testimony – whether good or bad. We find earlier in John:
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man. John 2:23-25 (NIV)
Jesus knew very well the fickleness of man and was also clearly aware of what His future held, yet, He knew His time had not yet come hence His return to Galilee to escape His exasperated enemies. His focus was always fixed, carefully living in regards to God’s timing and purpose. This is evident in the response to His own family members who mockingly asked why He was not seeking to do His miracles more publically at a certain time, Jesus responds:
6 Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. 8 You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." John 7:6-8 (NIV)
Always pleasing the Father, His timing was precisely what the Father desired – ever waiting for the “fullness of time” before He proceeded. Those who follow after the desires of their own heart and ways find any time right to do whatever they please. Conversely, those seeking to do God’s will, wait on God’s timing. King David, a man after God’s own heart, tells us in Psalm 27:
13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalms 27:13-14 (NIV)
David also states in Psalm 37:
34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. Psalms 37:34 (NIV)
Let’s face it; waiting (groan) is never easy. In our microwave society, we want everything instantaneously – no waiting in lines at the bank or the grocery store; no waiting at the doctors or on the phone for a human voice; no waiting for a husband or a wife or a child; no waiting for a vacation or a home or a car – we humans simply do not favor waiting. Yet the Bible is replete with “in the fullness of time”; “after a long time”; “at the appointed time”; “during that long period”; “when the time had fully come” – get the drift? Our times are in His hands whether we perhaps acknowledge this or not. Scripture tells us:
14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in your hands; Psalms 31:14-15 (NIV)
Let me be perfectly clear here – waiting is not for want. There is always purpose behind “pregnant pauses” in our lives. God is in the process of hewning, pruning and building our characters and I might add those in our spheres with each minute that passes, encouraging us to “grow up “ in Him in order that we may be vessels worthy of use. Believe me, that certainly takes time! Abraham was 100 when his promised son was born; God took thirteen years grooming Joseph before he was elevated to the second highest in command under Pharaoh; Moses was years tending his father-in-law’s sheep before leading the Israelites out of Egypt and the list goes on and on. To prepare a vessel for use takes time yet it is more than worth the wait. The Creator of the universe has prepared works for us to do which requires prepared vessels and to miss that calling is to miss everything. Rather than “kicking against the goads” during our prolonged periods of wait, a better part of valor would be to earnestly seek through prayer, God’s Word and the counsel of saints areas in our lives which God is working on and be willing participants with Him while living in joyful and hopeful expectation.
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:10 (NIV)
“Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.” Oswald Chambers