Did Jesus Lie?

There are some passages in the Bible that can cause questions of doubt when read incorrectly.  Recently, I came across some of those verses that, when read superficially, are misunderstood.  As you read, look intently and think critically about what you encounter.  John 7:1-10 reads this way:

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.”  Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.

However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.

Did you see it?  Was there anything there that made you uncomfortable?  Were there any actions that seem to contradict other passages of Scripture?  Let me play devil’s advocate for a moment:

Doesn’t Jesus bend the truth in an effort to deceive the disciples?
He tells them that he’s not going to go, He waits for them to go, and then He goes in secret.

In Matthew 5:37 Jesus Himself said, “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
How do His words here compare with His actions in John 7?  Are Jesus words to His brothers clear, plain, and full of integrity?

Now, before you look up my home address in the church directory to hunt me down, let me answer those questions.

Did Jesus bend the truth in an effort to deceive the disciples?  No, He didn’t.  Jesus’ brothers wanted him to go to the Feast for earthly reasons.  They wanted Him to display His power in an effort to be worldly king, not a Heavenly King.  Jesus had no intention of going to the Feast on their mortal terms, He was always planning to attend on His divine terms.

Are Jesus words to His brothers clear, plain, and full of integrity?  Yes, they were.  Notice that Jesus clarified His answer to His brothers with the word “yet.”  As we said, Jesus had always planned on attending the Feast, He just wasn’t going to do it at the exact moment His brothers wanted HIm to, nor was He going to do it on their conditions.

Jesus not only always told the truth, but He exemplifies truth.  Jesus just didn’t tell the truth, He is truth.  May you always speak words that are truth.  May you always demonstrate truth in your actions.  And may you seek, follow, love, worship, and share the Truth that is Jesus Christ.

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