John 7:3

3 So Jesus' brothers said to him, "You should leave here and go to Judea so your followers there can see the miracles you do.

John 7:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 3 His brethren therefore said unto him
That is, the brethren of Jesus, as the Syriac and Persic versions express it; who were not James and Joses, and Simon and Judas, the sons of Alphaeus, the brother of Joseph, the husband of Mary, so called, ( Matthew 13:55 ) , for some of these were of the number of the twelve; and all of them believers in Christ; whereas these his brethren were not. The Jew

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 therefore is mistaken, who supposed the above persons are here intended; and objects this their unbelief to Jesus, as if they knew him too well to give him any credit; whereas they did believe in him, and abode by him to the last; and some of them, if not all, suffered death for his sake. They therefore are to be understood of some distant relations of Mary or Joseph, that dwelt at Nazareth, or Capernaum, or in some of those parts; and the feast of tabernacles being at hand, they put him upon going up to it, being willing to be rid of him: saying,

depart hence:
which is the language of carnal men, who desire not the company of Christ, nor the knowledge of his ways; and like the Gergesenes, who preferred their swine to Christ, and desired him to depart out of their coasts:

and go into Judea;
among his most inveterate enemies, who sought to take away his life; and which doubtless they knew; which showed a quite different regard to him, from that of his true disciples, ( John 11:7 John 11:8 ) , for which they give some plausible reasons:

that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest:
meaning not his twelve disciples, who were now with him, but the disciples he had made, and baptized in Judea, ( John 4:1 John 4:2 ) . Or his disciples in the several parts of the land, who would all be at Jerusalem, at the feast of tabernacles; and so, should he go, would have an opportunity of seeing his miracles, and thereby be the more confirmed in the faith of him,

F12 R. Isaac Chizzuk Emuna, par. 2. c. 45. p. 434, 435.

John 7:3 In-Context

1 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jews there wanted to kill him.

2 It was time for the Jewish Feast of Shelters.

3 So Jesus' brothers said to him, "You should leave here and go to Judea so your followers there can see the miracles you do.

4 Anyone who wants to be well known does not hide what he does. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."

5 (Even Jesus' brothers did not believe in him.)