I’m always fascinated by these interactions between Jesus and His family. It’s really hard to imagine the dynamics of Jesus’ home life growing up, or to picture the struggle His brothers must have had with His claim to divinity. Everyone things his/her brother acts like “God’s gift to the world.” Jesus openly claimed that!

In these verses, I’m most struck by the way Jesus’ brothers taunt Him and try to set Him up. “Come on, Jesus. Your Disciples want to see some miracles, and what better place than at the feast. You NEED to go. You’ll be the star of the show.” Imagine how the humanity in Jesus must have wanted to shut them up. He must have been tempted to work a miracle right there, or better yet, to take their dare, go to the feast, and do something huge! He could have amazed them.

But Jesus didn’t leave for the approval of others. He lived for the approval of God.

I think most of us struggle with some level of insecurity or “approval-addiction.” That’s because we entrust our self-worth to one another, which is a big mistake. We have this desire to be known and accepted and loved unconditionally, but when we put that expectation on others, it’s a big weight. Too big.

The truth is that humans are not fully capable of that kind of love. You can trust people in lots of ways, but don’t trust them with your self-worth. Entrust that to God alone. He’s the only one who can handle that kind of weight. He is the one who gives you value.

Jesus trusted some people, but He entrusted His self-worth to God. He lived for an Audience of One ... and pleasing God was enough.