Home should be a safe place . . . a place of refuge . . . a place of acceptance and understanding . . . a place, when all other places are hostile, of peace and protection. Alas, for way too many people, home is anything but such a place. That the enemy has launched an all out assault on the home is evident . . . that for so many, family is a part of the problem rather than part of the solution, is way too common. Instead of being allies in the struggles of life, family, for many, is the struggle . . . is the opposition. And I’m reminded this morning, from my reading in the first part of John 7, that Jesus knew this experience too.

You’d think that if anybody would “get it” concerning Jesus it would have been those who grew up in the same household He did. That Jesus had siblings is evident . . . that after His virgin birth, Mary and Joseph together had other children is clear . . . and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think of what life must have been like in the Joseph and Mary home as the kids grew up together. That Jesus was unique and stood out, I think, would have been evident. Can you imagine growing up in a home with a brother or sister who is literally and in reality the perfect child? Talk about pressure to try and “be like your brother” . . . impossible! Maybe some jealousy . . . maybe some resentment . . . but, you’d think that over time, witnessing a perfect human being grow up from a perfect child to a perfect teen to a perfect adult might convince Jesus’ brothers and sisters that He was very special and was someone to be listened to.

But such is not the case with the sons of Adam (or the other sons of Mary) . . . those conceived in sin (Ps. 51:5) . . . those born spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1) . . . you can put a son of Adam in the same house with the Son of God for half a lifetime and, apart from a work of revelation of the Spirit, it just won’t register. Such is evident from the conversation I read this morning . . .

The time is approaching for the Feast of Tabernacles . . . the time when people travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the harvest and to remember and celebrate their deliverance from Egypt and the time in their history when they lived in tents or booths or tabernacles en route to the promised land. And Jesus’ brothers taunt Him, “Hey, why do you keep hanging around here doing your miracles in front of the nobodies? . . . head down to Judea to the Feast and show Your stuff there so that those who say You are worth following can see Your works. Why do this stuff in the relative secrecy of Galilee when the thought leadership of religion is down south? After all, You seem to be seeking a following for Yourself . . . looking for some fame . . . so, show yourself to the world.” (John 7:1-4, Pete’s Paraphrase) John then records, “For even His brothers did not believe in Him.” (John 7:5 NKJV)

Ouch! Opposition at home . . . no safe place here . . . no acceptance or understanding . . . in fact, a bit of sarcastic hostility . . . darkness instead of light . . . dead to sin, not yet alive to God . . . and Jesus knew firsthand the struggle and personal pain of an unsupportive family. He knew what it was to be misunderstood by those with whom He had shared a home for years . . . He experienced the rejection of those who should have been His greatest fans . . . in the place where He should have been able to recharge his batteries, there too He had to fight the fight.

And it reminds me that we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our life situations . . . One who was tempted and tried just as we are, yet without sin . . . One who had to be made just like us so that He might be a merciful and faithful advocate for us before the Father . . . “Since He Himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested.” (Heb. 4:15, 2:17-18).

For way too many home isn’t where the heart is . . . home isn’t sweet home. The family that should be sticking together too often turns into a family feud. But this, my Savior knows firsthand . . . and is able to draw along side in understanding support . . . reminding us that we have been brought into His family . . . renewing us in the inner man through the indwelling Spirit of adoption . . . requesting us to set our hearts on the place He is preparing for us and the banquet table He is setting for us, even now. Soon, we’ll be home . . . around the throne of God with the family . . . for our blessing . . . for His glory . . . amen!