Authentic Testifying

The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. (John 7:7)

I have mixed feelings when I read this verse, maybe more than the average person might have. It is because I have seen verses like this misused to justify fanatics who irritate people by their rabid attacks on others and then use the opposition they create to claim they are suffering persecution for the sake of the truth. In reality they are creating unnecessary animosity against themselves and toward God by misrepresenting Him and indulging in a spirit of pride and spiritual arrogance. This kind of 'testimony' is not a presentation of the truth about God causing resistance for them, but is a counterfeit spirit that creates annoyance from the abrasiveness of their methods that they claim to be God's methods.

But putting that aside, I want to discover what this verse really has to say within the context of the circumstances of this story. Jesus was replying to His brothers who harbored resentment in their hearts against the purity of His life. They had spent years observing but resisting the growing exhibition of godliness in Jesus' life and they had come to resent Him so deeply that they were ready to already betray Him into the hands of those who wanted to kill Him. The beginning of this chapter states that Jesus did not work in Judea because the leaders there wanted to kill Him, yet His brothers were urging Him to go back there and work openly supposedly for the sake of publicity.

Jesus' brothers were not ignorant of the dangers facing Jesus in Judea. But they shared the commonly accepted false notions of what a Messiah, a deliverer was supposed to look like and how He was supposed to appear. Because the actions and attitudes of Jesus were in sharp contrast to that of the popular beliefs about God, Jesus' brothers shared the spirit of animosity that enraged the hearts of His enemies in Judea. And because they were in more sympathy with the Jews who hated Jesus than they were with their own brother, Jesus stated that they were in no danger of being persecuted like He was.

What I would like to look closer at is what Jesus meant when He talked about testifying of the evil deeds of the world. Because the examples I have most often seen of 'testifying' against the world have been poor imitations of Jesus, I need to perceive more clearly what the real way of testifying should look like. How did Jesus testify against the evil of the world without misrepresenting the love and compassion of His Father? How did Jesus' life and testimony expose the evil of the world without condemning sinners like the Jews loved to do?

One thing is clear in this passage; Jesus was avoiding the path of seeking publicity which seemed to be one of the sources of irritation by His brothers. He explicitly told them that it was not time for His publicity, while they were urging Him to seek more of it to be successful. This should be an important point to ponder, even in connection with learning the real truth about godly testifying. Seeking to gain publicity by seeking confrontations with those who disagree with us is clearly out of harmony with the example of Jesus in this passage. If He had believed in those methods of 'testifying' He would have taken His brother's advice and gone out looking for a public fight with His opponents.

A more fundamental issue that creates confusion when seeking to know the truth about testifying for God, or witnessing as it is popularly called in church, is the definition of the terms Jesus uses here. Just what do we mean when we talk about evil? And is it really the same thing that Jesus is thinking when He talks about testifying of evil? If our ideas and beliefs about evil are not in harmony with God's definition of evil then we may find ourselves actually promoting evil rather than opposing it. That would be a very tragic thing to do, but it may be far more common than we might imagine at first.

As with all issues, I believe it is vitally important to pay careful attention to the spirit that is in charge of our heart to discover what our real message is that other people are receiving. This is far more important than the words we may be using. We might think we are condemning evil and working for God and are faithful witnesses for Him while in fact we may be unconscious pawns of the enemy who is using us to further his own schemes and drive people away from God instead of attracting them toward Him. If we attempt to advance the work of God while employing any of the techniques of the enemy, we are deceiving ourselves and are promoting a false picture of God.

What are some clues within this passage that might help me to unpack what true or false witnessing might involve?

Jesus was avoiding unnecessary conflict by not working openly where He was strongly opposed. He was not out looking for a fight, putting up antagonizing billboards, screaming epitaphs against abortion doctors or threatening torture and eternal damnation on those who disagreed with Him if they didn't obey Him. Instead He chose to simply follow the leading of the Spirit of His Father each day and wait for God's timing to determine the time and place for the public exhibition of His death that would turn the tide of all history in the most public manner possible.

Jesus was not seeking to promote Himself by grasping for publicity. That is the method of the world, to enlist popularity, to seek votes, to maneuver one's self into positions of influence and power by getting ahead of others. Jesus' whole life was spent in doing just the opposite of what the world believes is needed to be successful. He humbled Himself continually and progressively until the very point of torture and death while never ceasing to forgive those who attacked and shamed Him. He challenged the assumptions of the religious establishment and presented a picture of a heavenly Father so different than most have ever thought about that it aroused the fiercest antagonism and even accusations of blasphemy against Him. Yet He continued to demonstrate the ways of love both to the ostracized of society as well as to those who opposed Him most viciously.

By refusing to go with His brothers up to the feast openly, Jesus refuted their assertions that He was trying to gain publicity for Himself. They implied that He needed to seize the moment, to make Himself known at at every opportunity. But He declared that creating opportune times was easy for them because they were in harmony with the spirit of His enemies while He was choosing to wait for His Father to determine the timing of events in His life.

His brothers insinuated that Jesus' disciples needed to see His works in Judea for His ministry to really take off. There are other implications in their assertions also, but Jesus did not get into an argument about the most effective way to advance His ministry. He simply treated them with respect but refused to be swayed by their attempts to intimidate or shame Him into doing things their way. And while He knew He was planning on going to the feast, He would not allow His brothers to determine the specific timing or route He would chose to follow.

Jesus came to testify of the real truth about His Father, yet to this day it is still quite obscure to most of us. In His life, the way He related to sinners and those who hated Him as well as in His teachings, He presented the clearest picture of God's character and motives that has ever been seen in all of history. And it is this same type of testimony that is needed from those who come to know Him now and are willing to develop a similar relationship to Him that He maintained with His Father while living here on earth.