But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. Galatians 4:4

The Bible says that “when the right time came,” God sent His Son (Galatians 4:4). God has a just “right time” for everything.

As a child, when I wanted something from my mother but she was talking with someone, I was taught to stand beside her, with my hand on her arm and wait quietly until she addressed me. I tried to stay quiet, but I couldn’t resist tapping, tapping, tapping on her arm—I wanted something, and I wanted it now!

            In the gospel written by John, there are two times when someone close to Jesus asked Him to do something (John 2:1-11 and 7:1-10). In each of these cases, Jesus responded in the same way. [1] At a wedding where the wine had run out, Jesus’s mother—who seemed to expect that Jesus would do the supernatural, asked Him to do something about it. “My time has not yet come,” Jesus told her (John 2:4).

Next it was Jesus’s brothers who told Him it was showtime! “You can’t become famous if you hide like this,” they said. They wanted Him to put his miracles on display at a festival, but He replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go” (John 7:3-4).

“Jesus first refused to grant their request and then He fulfilled it after showing that He does things according to the timing and the will of God, not man,” explains David Guzick. “His delays were not denials. They would bring greater glory to God.” [2]

In our own lives, it’s encouraging to remember that Jesus’s delays are not necessarily denials–they have a greater purpose that we’ll know later!

[1] Guzik, David. “Enduring Word Bible Commentary John Chapter 11.” Enduring Word, 13 July 2022, https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/john-11/.

[2] Ibid.