For there is no man that doth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, manifest thyself to the world.
ουδεις γαρ εν κρυπτω τι ποιει και ζητει αυτος εν παρρησια ειναι ει ταυτα ποιεις φανερωσον σεαυτον τω κοσμω
11 Church Fathers comment on this verse
When they said, “No one does anything in secret,” they accused Him of faintheartedness and at the same time expressed suspicion concerning His works. When they added, “and seeks to be openly known,” they reproached Him with love of glory.
His brethren, that is, the children of Joseph, accuse Him of two dispositions: fearfulness and love of glory. Therefore they say, “No one does anything in secret,” which is a sign of fearfulness, “and seeks himself to be known,” which is a sign of love of glory. If, they say, You do such works, then show Yourself to the world. By this they are in effect saying: We do not understand Your conduct in a good sense. For if You do such works as good works, show Yourself. But if You hide Yourself, it is clear that You hide because You do evil.
If, they say, You wish to be known, which means to be “openly manifest,” then do not be a hidden wonderworker. Since You are distinguished by the power to accomplish all things, do not avoid being “manifest.” In this way You will become known to the world and glorious in the eyes of those who behold You...
They continue and advise Him: “For no one does anything in secret and himself seeks to be known. If Thou doest such things, manifest Thyself to the world,” Jn 7:4.
And immediately: “For even His brothers did not believe in Him,” Jn 7:5. Why did they not believe in Him? Because they sought human glory.
Even what the brothers seemed to suggest to Him concerned His glory: “Thou workest miracles. Glorify Thyself, that is, reveal Thyself to all, so that all may be able to glorify Thee.”
Flesh spoke to flesh, but flesh without God spoke to flesh with God. For the prudence of the flesh spoke to the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, Jn 1:14.
“For no one does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly.” At a superficial reading it seems that they are urging Jesus Christ to go into Judea. At a deeper reading, however, they are mocking Him as timid and vainglorious.
To do something in secret is proper to the timid. To seek to be manifest, that is, known, is proper to the vainglorious.
“If Thou doest these things, manifest Thyself to the world.” If Thou performest such miracles, and there is nothing illusory in them, then manifest Thyself to all the Jews.
They suspected His miracles of being illusory. From this it is clear that Jesus Christ worked miracles there also. John passed over all of them, as he did many other things, hastening rather toward some new account not found at all in the others.
Then he also states the reason for such suspicion.
Let us now review the events that may belong to the Lord’s last journey to Jerusalem. Let us turn to what happened in Jerusalem when the Savior appeared there in the last year of His ministry. This is set forth by the Evangelist John in chapter 7.
What John describes initially took place during the Feast of Tabernacles, six months before the last Passover and six months before the Savior’s death.
The visit to Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles revealed to the disciples all the malice of the Jews against Jesus. It had to show how truly near His departure was. This was the last great feast that He intended to spend with His people.
Outside Jerusalem, the people for the most part showed a strong disposition toward Jesus Christ. Even His enemies were compelled to act against Him only by cunning. In Jerusalem, however, even the voice of those well disposed toward Him became weak.
This was because of the influence of the chief seat of government upon the people’s opinions. There His enemies could use even violent measures against Him with impunity.
From this there arose a strange confusion of ideas about Jesus in Jerusalem during the feast, and even a conflict of opinions about Him. Well-minded Galilean pilgrims judged Him in one way, the inhabitants of Jerusalem in another, and His personal enemies, openly rising against Him there, in still another.
These judgments sometimes came into open contradiction with one another. Moreover, they still remembered that a year and a half earlier, when He was in Jerusalem at Passover, He had allowed Himself to heal the paralytic. Under this pretext they had sought until now to put Him to death as a transgressor of the Law.
Explaining the desire and counsel of the Lord’s brothers according to the flesh, that He should go to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, the Evangelist notes in verse 5 that the Lord’s brothers did not yet believe in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah.
They were probably very inclined to believe in Him. Yet they were perplexed and scandalized that Jesus Christ had not been in Jerusalem for so long, about a year and a half.
This was from the Feast of Pentecost, Jn 5:1, to Passover, Jn 6:4, and from that Passover to the Feast of Tabernacles. The latter was celebrated in the seventh month, Tishri, corresponding to our September and October.
Jerusalem was the capital of the people of God and the center of enlightenment. In their opinion, the Messiah ought chiefly to act there, and there alone His activity could be properly assessed.
When the time drew near to travel from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, the third great Jewish feast, Lev 23, they watched and waited to see whether the Lord would go to this feast in Jerusalem.
Not noticing such an intention in Him, they addressed Him with an invitation and, as it were, an exhortation: “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Thy disciples also, whom Thou hast gained there, Jn 2:23; 4:1, may see the works that Thou doest.”
They meant that not only the crowd, the simple people, by whom He was constantly surrounded in Galilee, should see them. “For no one does anything in secret and at the same time seeks to become known by his activity.
“If Thou doest such great works, and Thou truly dost them, then perform them openly. Manifest Thyself to the world. In the backwoods of Galilee, however much and however Thou actest, no one will know of Thee except an ignorant crowd.
“But in Jerusalem, especially during a great feast, when people stream there from everywhere, Thou canst glorify Thyself before the whole world. Thy present activity among the dark mass of the people is hidden activity.”
Thus one may paraphrase the speech of the Lord’s brothers according to the flesh.
To this Jesus Christ answers: “My time has not yet come, but for you the time is always ready.” That is, for you it is timely to go to Jerusalem not only now, as people usually go from Galilee to the Feast of Tabernacles, but whenever you think and wish.
Why? “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because by the light of My righteous life and truth I testify of it that its works are evil,” compare Jn 15:19.
Consequently, no danger and no obstacle await you whenever you go to Jerusalem. But danger to My life awaits Me from enemies in Jerusalem, and the time to undergo it has not yet come.
Therefore, “Go ye up to this feast. I do not go up,” ουκ αναβαίνω, or, according to some codices, “I do not yet go up,” ουπω, “to this feast, because My time to go to Jerusalem has not yet been fulfilled.”
The invitation of Jesus by His so-called brothers to go to Jerusalem and declare Himself to the world.
The so-called brothers of Jesus, concerning whom see Jn 2:12, as they were setting out for the feast, urged Him to go there also. “Go,” they said, “into Judea. There manifest Thyself to the world. Why hide here in Galilee if Thou desirest to be known?”
In transmitting their words, the Evangelist explains that they did not believe in Jesus.
There is nothing surprising in the fact that the so-called brothers of Jesus did not believe in Him as the Messiah. Like most Jews of their time, they were convinced that the Messiah whom they expected would be an invincible conqueror, a brilliant king of the whole world.
They believed that He would subject the whole world to the Jews. With such views of the Messiah’s purpose, it is understandable that they could not recognize the meek and poor Jesus as the desired Deliverer.
They undoubtedly knew of the miracles He performed, but they were scarcely acquainted with His teaching. If the Nazarenes did not want to believe, or even to think, that their fellow citizen, Jesus the carpenter, could be the Messiah, His nearest relatives could believe in Him still less.
The mystery of His birth was also hidden from them. That these relatives did not follow Jesus and knew of His works only by hearsay is clear from their own words.
They advised Him not to hide there, but to go into Judea: “that Thy disciples also may see the works which Thou doest,” Jn 7:3.
If they thought that Jesus’ disciples had not seen the works He performed, one may conclude that they had in mind only the last period of His ministry. At that time He truly avoided crowds and withdrew with the Apostles to prepare them for His coming sufferings, death, and Resurrection.
From these words it is clear that they knew nothing, or almost nothing, of the period preceding this withdrawal.
According to Professor Nesmelov, the so-called brothers of Jesus did not believe in Him as the Messiah and Deliverer solely because He decisively refused to appear in the role of a political figure.
“If You do these things,” and so forth, does not express doubt about the reality of the Lord’s extraordinary works. It is only a conditional form of speech here, meaning, “since You do such works,” and so forth. “Show Yourself to the world”: by “the world” is evidently meant a wider circle of people than Galilee and Capernaum, namely Judea and Jerusalem, where Jews gathered from all the ends of the world.
After a whole year’s stay in Galilee, for Christ had not even gone to Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus Christ set out for Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.
This feast had been established in memory of the forty-year wandering of the Hebrews in the Arabian wilderness, on their way from Egypt to the promised land. The feast received its name because for the seven days of the feast the Hebrews moved out of their houses into tents, or tabernacles.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem not at the beginning of the feast, but after three days had passed. His purpose was to avoid a solemn reception from the people, who were waiting for Him at the feast.
The brothers of Jesus according to the flesh did not believe in Him as the Messiah. Knowing of His miracles and teaching only by hearsay, they urged Him to go to Jerusalem at the beginning of the feast and there openly declare Himself.
But Christ knew that the Jews sought to kill Him. Since the time for Him to suffer had not yet come, He for the present avoided a solemn entry into Jerusalem. Thus He would give the Jews not the slightest occasion to commit violence against Him.
First of all, we must establish the fact that, in our judgment, none of the Apostles could have been among those "brothers of the Lord" who "did not believe in Him." At the end of chapter 6 we saw that the Apostles, through Peter's mouth, uttered the confession of faith. They confessed that the Lord Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The Lord accepted this confession and said: "Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil." Therefore we draw two conclusions.
First, Jude the brother of James and James the son of Alphaeus, who were among the Apostles and are sometimes called the Lord's brothers, as in 1 Cor 9:5, could not be called brothers of the Lord who did not believe in Him.
They were apparently, though there are many disagreements, the children of Mary of Cleopas, the Theotokos's own sister. Compare Mk 2 and Jn 19:25. Jude the brother of James is the same as Levi the son of Alphaeus, Mt 10:3, as Bishop Michael indicates with references at this passage.
Yet we must say that, by comparing Mk 2 with Lk 5:27, 29 and Mt 9:9, where the calling of the publican, or tax collector, is recounted, the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, "Matthew the publican" in Mt 10:3, is identified with Levi the son of Alphaeus. In general, this question is very difficult.
Second, in all probability the Lord's brothers who did not believe in Him were the sons of Joseph the Betrothed from his first marriage. Blessed Theophylact indicates this beautifully when commenting on this passage of John.
We must add that St. John Chrysostom, in Homily 48 on John, thinks that those who reproached Him included the Apostles Jude and James. He does this by identifying them with the persons named in Mt 13:55. But compare Mk 3 and 34. It is hard to suppose that the Apostles were among those who said, "He is beside Himself."
Blessed Theophylact says: "His brothers reproach Him, plainly the children of Joseph, as being assailed by two passions, fear and love of glory." He continues: "Whence came such unbelief in them? From a corrupt will and envy. For relatives are always accustomed to envy their own more than strangers."
In citing these words of blessed Theophylact, we point out that we cannot allow that any of the Apostles, apart from Judas Iscariot, were among the unbelieving brothers.
Theophylact, following John Chrysostom, does indeed seem inclined to think that Jude the brother of James and James the son of Alphaeus were among them. Yet, apart from what has already been said, we must consider the bitter words of reproach, which are impossible in the mouths of the Apostles.
We should also note that the Lord says to them below, in verse 8: "You go up to this feast." According to verse 10, they did indeed go. But could the Apostles have gone up to the feast apart from the Lord?
All this comes down to the fact that we do not recognize Jude the brother of James and his brother James the son of Alphaeus as sons of Joseph the Betrothed. James later became bishop of the Church of Jerusalem, Acts 12:17; 15:13; Gal 2:9. We see them only as persons legally related to the Lord's brothers according to the flesh.
As for the sons of Joseph from his first marriage, listed in Mt 13:55, we think of the Lord's word: "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." These words are spoken after the listing of the Lord's brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Jude, in Mt 13:57.
There seems to be no doubt that these are precisely the relatives who, in Mk 3, "went out to seize Him, for they said, 'He is beside Himself.'" We also think that they not only did not believe in the Lord, but, as blessed Theophylact proves, they also envied Him.
These brothers of the Lord were probably sons of the aged Joseph from a very early marriage. They were far older in years than the Lord Jesus and apparently allowed themselves to give Him advice. Such is the advice in the present passage of the Gospel we are reading.
In it, besides unbelief, one also hears a hidden desire to make use of this world's goods, if, as they thought, the Lord Jesus became king. "Show Yourself to the world," they say. They probably allude also to the fact that the Lord, as we said above, had not been in Jerusalem at the second Passover, but had spent it in Galilee.
Perhaps the Lord's unbelieving brothers expected that in Jerusalem, as had happened in Galilee, the crowd of people would wish to make Him king by force. They may have thought that He would be unable to decline this title, which would bring them reputation and wealth.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 19 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS