1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.
1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee;
About six months passed between the events of chapters 6 and 7. Jesus spent this time in Galilee in public ministry and discipling His followers. The synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) delineate the activities of Jesus during this time while John does not.
for He did not want to walk in Judea,
Ministry in Judea at this time would not have been profitable for Jesus because He had too many enemies there. Jerusalem was the storm center regarding Jesus. Galilee and Judea were two different political jurisdictions. It was safer and circumspect for Jesus to minister in Galilee for this reason. For Jesus to walk openly in Judea would have been very dangerous for Him.
because the Jews sought [were keeping on seeking] to kill Him.
The Jews were actively seeking to kill Jesus in Jerusalem and Judea. This verse foreshadows the coming hostility to Jesus. He lived on borrowed time. He could no longer move openly without putting Himself in danger.
PRINCIPLE:
Timing in ministry is important.
APPLICATION:
Sometimes pastors launch or change ministry without regard to timing. It is important for a congregation to be contextualized about the need for the change. Until the congregation comes to that point, it is dangerous to change ministries because the pastor will not have his congregation with him for the change. His people may not want to kill him but they may revolt at his leadership!
Dr Grant, greetings in Christ Jesus!
With due respect, sir, I believe that Jesus was never in any danger. Being in the very nature God, this world and anything in it have no power whatsoever over Jesus, thus, while Judea was “dangerous,” Judea was not a dangerous place for Jesus, as Jesus was and never could be in any danger because Father God, as you said in your other parts of your commentaries, had always hold the life of Jesus as the Son of Man and more importantly, Jesus being God that no one and nothing could endanger or even create danger against Him.
Perhaps, in my personal opinion, Jesus did not walk in Judea simply because it is the will of Father God, not because there is danger to Jesus Himself.
God bless!
Rodeo, Judea was a dangerous place because Jesus was beaten, persecuted, and killed on the cross in Jerusalem Judea. I agree that he was in no danger from the viewpoint that God the Father did not allow anything to happen to Him until it was His time to die on the cross.
I strongly believe that He was in danger, eventhough He was God, He was still 100% man. And so any physical harm that would’ve come to him, He’d either had to elude or endure where necessary. If we recall when Jesus was born and Herod sent out a decree for all male babies to be killed, we already know that Jesus was the target. But the angels of God had already aforewarned his parents to take him to Egypt until Herod died. Why would the angel sent by God told them to move with him if his life was not in danger? Now Jesus the man is being led by the Spirit of Almighty God, so the Holy Spirit lead Him to exactly where needed to be.. Just my perspective.