John 6:14-16 (ESV)
When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
They had heard this story before. God’s anointed leader had power from on high, and that included the power to miraculously feed the multitudes. Moses had done it in the desert with manna, and now this new prophet was doing much the same thing in the wilderness with five loaves of bread and two small fish. Add to that the fact that Moses had prophesied, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear” (Deut. 18:15), and you can understand how “the sign that he had done” would excite the crowd. Perhaps God had finally given the people a leader to rescue them from Roman oppression.
What do you want Jesus to do for you?
This crowd was willing to support Jesus so long as He gave them what they wanted – food. It’s easy to criticize how the crowd loved Jesus for the bread He gave them, but we often only love Jesus for what He gives us. We must also love and obey Him simply for who He is – our Lord and our God. What happens to our affections when the bread stops showing up? Does your heart grow cold when Jesus doesn’t do what you think He should do for you or someone you love? Does our faith depend on His signs?
King was a political title. The crowd was willing to support Jesus because they wanted to use Him to throw off Roman oppression either directly in Judea or indirectly through Herod Antipas in Galilee. This reminds me of when candidate Barack Obama visited Germany during the general election back in 2008. Over 200,000 Germans showed up to hear the 46-year old presidential candidate speak. The German paper Stern magazine featured Obama on the cover, above the line “Savior — or demagogue?” For most of mankind’s history, it is pretty obvious that we have been on the lookout for a political savior, but we have missed to forest for the trees.
The Australian theologian Leon Morris wrote, “He who is already King has come to open His kingdom to men; but in their blindness men try to force Him to be the kind of king they want; thus they fail to get the king they want, and also lose the Kingdom He offers.” Jesus wasn’t impressed or seduced by a crowd that wanted to make Him king. The devil himself had already tempted him with that fate. He turned His back on the crowd and went to pray because Jesus was more interested in being with His Father in heaven than in hearing the applause of the crowd. What is more interesting to us? The Son…or what the Son can give? The Heavenly Kingdom that will never fail us…or an earthly kingdom that always will?
