The World Cannot Hate You: Timing, Opposition, and Who Jesus Really Is – John 7:6–13

In this episode, we remain in John 7 and listen as Jesus tells His unbelieving brothers, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here… the world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify that its works are evil.” We explore God’s ordained timing in Christ’s ministry, the uncomfortable truth that the gospel is inherently unpopular, and the sharp contrast between those who belong to the world and those called out of it.

We also watch the crowd at the Feast of Booths whisper and argue about Jesus—some saying He’s a “good man,” others that He’s leading people astray—and use that to expose modern attempts to reduce Jesus to a safe moral teacher. Along the way we talk about redeeming the time instead of living by the world’s blueprint, the danger of seeker-friendly compromise (including pop-Christian near-death-experience stories), and close with C.S. Lewis’s classic challenge: Jesus is either Lord, a lunatic, or something far worse—but not merely a nice teacher.

Key Topics Covered

• “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here” – Jesus’ absolute focus on the Father’s timetable

• God’s ordained timing in Scripture:

  • Jesus’ “hour” not yet come (John 2; John 8)

  • The fullness of time in the incarnation (Galatians 4:4–5)

  • Christ’s death and resurrection “according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4)

• Every believer having a God-given place, calling, and moment – and the danger of comparing ministries

• Why Jesus’ ministry, by nature, had to be unpopular and offensive

  • The gospel as stumbling stone and sword, not a PR strategy

  • Jesus as the “terrible church planter” by modern seeker-sensitive standards

• “Your time is always here” – what that reveals about His brothers’ unbelief and priorities

  • Concerned with being “good Jews” and public image, not God’s will

  • Living on the world’s calendar vs. living on God’s

• Redeeming the time vs. YOLO

  • Worldly scripts: college → debt → career → more stuff

  • Teaching our kids a different lens: days are evil, so we steward time for Christ

• “The world cannot hate you… but it hates Me”

  • John 15:19 – loved by the world vs. chosen out of the world

  • Why the world cannot love those who truly belong to Christ

  • Opposition as a normal marker of faithfulness, not necessarily failure

• Jesus going up to the feast quietly and later, not publicly and on the crowd’s terms

• The crowd’s divided whispers about Jesus:

  • “He is a good man.”

  • “No, he is leading the people astray.”

  • Reducing Him to “just a man” and arguing about Him like a politician

• Modern parallels: “good teacher Jesus,” therapeutic church, and near-death-experience Christianity

• C.S. Lewis’ trilemma: Jesus is not merely a great moral teacher

• Calling believers to live as if He really is Lord and God, not an accessory

Scripture References

Primary Text

• John 7:6–13

Supporting / Alluded Texts

• John 2:3–4 – “My hour has not yet come”

• John 8:20 – “His hour had not yet come”

• Galatians 4:4–5 – “When the fullness of time had come…”

• 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 – “According to the Scriptures”

• Revelation 13:8 – names written before the foundation of the world

• John 15:19 – the world loving its own vs. hating those Christ has chosen out of it

• Ephesians 5:16 – redeeming the time because the days are evil

• Revelation 3:16 – lukewarm, spit out of His mouth

Key Ideas / Phrases to Highlight

• “My time has not yet come… your time is always here.”

• The world cannot hate those who belong to it—but it must hate Christ and those who are in Him.

• Redeem the time, don’t just run the world’s script for success.

• Jesus is not building a brand; He’s proclaiming truth that offends the flesh.

• Crowds saying, “He is a good man,” vs. “He leads people astray” – treating Him as a man to be evaluated, not a Lord to be worshiped.

• C.S. Lewis: Jesus is either Lord, lunatic, or something worse—but not simply a great moral teacher.

• If Jesus is who He says He is, that changes everything: how we live, lead, parent, work, and worship.

Big Takeaways

1. God’s Timing, Not Ours Jesus refuses to move on His brothers’ schedule or the festival calendar. He lives on the Father’s timetabl