Jesus was on a mission that was not popular, even among His earliest disciples. His mission and the timing of its revelation were based on the Father’s will, not on people’s needs or expectations. The Father confirmed Jesus who through signs, wonders, and miracles would reveal His authority and anointing. Each confirmation had a goal and a timing that Jesus followed even to the dismay of His followers.

The disciples were trying to make Jesus famous by natural means. They wanted to position the Lord for greater exposure, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world! For even his brothers didn’t believe in him” (John 7:3-5). Jesus wasn’t hiding. This had to do with the timing of the Lord’s revelation as directed by the Father.

Whatever the Lord asks us to do in His name it is never about making us famous. We are called to follow the Lord’s example and not succumb to cheap advertisements of personal fame. To have a garish, bright, and visible advertisement of our ministry is not the way of the Lord. It is self-promotion. 

The greater our success in ministry appears, the more we must dial back self-advertisement to remain aligned with the Lord. This will protect us from taking on the ways of the world that will cause us to erect billboards of our success, representing a shallow expression of self-promotion, not a revelation of Jesus Christ.