John 7:10

John 7:10 says, But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  After His brethren left, Jesus went up to Judea Himself to the feast, but He went quietly.  It says He went not openly, but as in secret, but I think this means without announcing His coming.  Sometimes, we may be better off just quietly going about doing God's work without calling attention to ourselves.  Even though He was in their midst, the Jews were still looking for Him, but for the wrong reason.  If we today are looking for Jesus for the wrong reason, we are not going to find Him.  If we are looking for someone other than the Savior of the world or for some reason other than salvation by His sacrifice, we are not going to find Him, even though He is always in our midst.  When I see signs that say, "Let's bring God back to America," I cannot help but think that He never left.  When we feel a lack of the presence of God in our life, our community, or our country, we need to acknowledge that His absence is not the problem.  We can even say that the actions of the lost people are not the problem.  Verse eleven adds, Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?  The religious people, the Jews, looked for Jesus, the other people around Him recognized Him.   We need to be able to recognize Jesus for Who He is, or we will be looking for Him in the wrong place. Verse twelve continues, And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. They murmured about whether He was a good or bad man, but they knew He was there.  The people of God, the Jews, did not recognize Him even when He was there.  If there is a lack of the presence of God in America, or anywhere today, the problem lies with His people. Verse thirteen concludes, Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.  Jesus was not hiding at the feast, and God is not hiding today.  He is with His followers, expecting us to make Him known to the world.  When people began to recognize Jesus, they didn't say anything for fear of the Jews.  We do not need to let fear keep us from witnessing for Jesus.