After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
15 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.
Introduction
Last week we considered Jesus as our prophet from this passage, based upon the conclusion made in verse 14. This afternoon we will seek to see Jesus as King from this passage, focusing mainly on verse 15.
So here as we’ve seen, Jesus performs this sign of providing an abundance of food, for 5,000 men using only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. The people declare him to be the prophet who is to come into the world, and then from there in some way it escalates to where the crowd wants to take Jesus by force and make him king. Verse 15 tells us that Jesus perceived “that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king…” Jesus may have overheard their conversations, or simply perceived what was in their hearts; but whatever the case may be, he withdraws again to the mountain by himself to get away from the crowd, and escape their efforts to force him into being king.
Jesus Refuses the Crown of the Crowd
Jesus refuses the crown of the crowd. Why did Jesus do this? Why did He not accept their crown and become king right then and there? We will answer that, and let us first start by noting the wrong headedness of this crowd.
Thinking With Their Appetites
Verse two told us that a large crowd followed Jesus because they saw the signs he was doing. They were not coming to Jesus out of true faith. They saw the signs and they likely had sicknesses or loved ones who needed some kind of miracle that they were seeking. Some may have just been there to have entertainment or amazement. Whatever it was, they were not there simply to be near to Jesus, but wanted something from Him.
After the miracle, some may have been thinking with their literal appetites, thinking about the endless supply of food at their disposal if they could make Jesus king. They could eat all they ever needed, and they wouldn’t have to work, and life would just be great. This is like socialists today who want the government to be their king who gives them a bunch of free stuff so they don’t have to work. Free food for everyone!
So verse two lets us in on their intents, and then in verse fifteen it is quite clear that the crowds do not have the best intentions when it tells us that they were about to take Jesus by force. In other words, they wanted to enslave Jesus and demand that he serve them in the way that they wanted him to. It is clear that they did not intend to bow the knee to Jesus as King and submit to his rule and his way, but rather they wanted him to do as they said. That’s no king; that’s a slave.
How many this still describes today. They want Jesus to be king, but not in that way. They are coming to Jesus because they have some appetite they want satisfied. They aren’t coming to bow the knee and submit to the rule of Jesus as King. They want to make Jesus their slave; or as a means to some end other than God. What about you? Is this church thing just to fill some appetite of the flesh? Is this just a means to some end for you? We humans may not be able to detect your nefarious motives, but Jesus perceives and knows. You can’t fool him. He will not be used as a tool or a slave for you purposes and ends. Just as we saw last week, one of the things pictured in this miracle is that we are to come to Jesus with nothing; and we are to come to him with open hands ready to receive whatever it is that he gives to us. That is how we honor Jesus as King, we come to him with empty pockets and open hands ready to receive whatever he has for us; and since we live in age in which we have the closed canon of God’s Word, that’s how we know what he has for us. That is how we come to God’s Word; not to make it our slave and use it as a tool for our purposes, but to submit to it in every way, whether it’s what our bellies are roaring for or not. His Word is our daily bread.
The Dangers of Mob Rule
One of the things we ought to see in this is the danger of mob rule. As Christians we are not to be part of riotous mobs that bring chaos and disorder. We live in a world that is full of mob rule and mob rage – mobs of people demanding certain things and using force to harm people or property. This is not right.
One of the dangers of mobs is that they do not think.They act on appetite. You cannot reason with a mob. This is reflected well in our Lord’s response to this crowd of people. What did He do? Did he stand up and try to calmly reason and explain why now was not the time to be king and that he rules in a different way than they had in mind? No. He just got away. He got away from the mob. Sometimes that is the wisest thing to do, just get away from the crowd. That’s not to say there aren’t times to stand up to the mob, or to preach boldly till they have your head on a platter. There are times for that. We saw that modeled by the apostles in the book of Acts, many times being dragged before a mob of people, and boldly proclaiming the gospel; other times they escaped. So that is to say that it is a matter of using wisdom, and understanding what the best move to make is in a certain situation.
Let me ask you, what is mob rule? Essentially mob rule is democracy. That’s what we have here: the crowd of people, the vast majority of which wanted to make Jesus King. They voted and so they’re going to have their way.
To be quite frank with you, democracy is bad. When 51% of the people can force their decision on the rest of the people, that is not a good thing. It’s an interesting thing to see that today’s socialists like to call themselves “democratic” socialists. Hey, as long as 51% of the people want socialism, then it’s okay. No.
We don’t need democracy. One of the propaganda lines from our state department is that we need to overthrow all these foreign dictators so we can set up democracies around the world. Quite frankly its been a disaster. Democracy will not save this world. We have a good and almighty King. He is a King who subdues his enemies through the Spirit’s work in the preaching of the gospel. Democracy is nothing more than man’s rule by man’s law, and man’s popular opinion. Democracy is the tyranny of the majority. Just because the majority says it’s okay to do something doesn’t make it true. Boys and girls, that’s something you need to remember: just because the majority of the crowd, or the majority of your friends say its okay to do something, does not make it right. The majority can vote to keep abortion, but that doesn’t mean its not murder anymore. The majority can vote to raise taxes and redistribute the wealth, but that doesn’t make it not theft. Democracy will not preserve freedom if the people are wicked. The answer is obedience to Jesus. The only way our freedom is truly preserved is when the rulers obey Jesus as Psalm two calls them to do.
The mob mentality in men is sin because it seeks to overthrow God-ordained authority and providence. It seeks to force man’s will over God’s will.
Jesus will not be Forced by Man to do Anything
Jesus will not be forced by man to do anything. It does not matter if the majority have decided that Jesus ought to be king now, that doesn’t make it the right time. It does not matter if they have good intentions or bad intentions, it doesn’t make it right. Jesus will not be held captive to the will of sinful rebel creatures. Jesus will not subject himself to a democratic vote from those sinful rebel creatures. Clearly, this crowd did not really know who this Jesus was.
Jesus is King
While we recognize the hasty crowd and the wrong headedness of wanting to make Jesus king right then and there, we fully recognized that Jesus indeed is King. Jesus is King but He will not be crowned by the crowd. If Jesus could be made King by popular vote, then He could be voted out by popular vote. The means matter. Jesus is King today whether we want him to be or not; and rules according to his ways, whether we like it or not. So while we have a wrong view of Jesus’ Kingship by the crowds here, there is also a right way to see Jesus as King here.
Mountains and Kingdoms
The geography here is significant, as the text tells us in verse 3 that Jesus sat down on a mountain. How is it significant that Jesus was on a mountain? The Bible often uses consistent images to carry along themes throughout Scripture. Mountains are used in various ways, but one of the consistent uses of mountains in Scripture is that they are often associated with authority, power, and a kingdom. They convey kingship, and kingdom. Let me give you a few references for examples: Psalm 2:6; Psalm 24:3, 7-10; Daniel 2:31-34, 44-45; Matthew 28:16-18.
So here in John 6 it begins with Jesus on the mountain with his disciples, then in verse 15 when the crowds want to wrongly make Jesus king it says that he withdraws again to the mountain. So apparently, when they saw the crowds first coming they came down the mountain, and then Jesus goes back up afterward. Or it could just be saying that Jesus goes up or in further to the mountain. Either way, when faced with a hasty mob, Jesus does the divinely kingly thing and ascends the mountain. Jesus is King, but he is not crowned by the crowds.
The Gradual Way the Kingdom Grows as Opposed to Mob-Rule and Immediate Rioting
Consider the foolishness of the hastiness of mobs in relation to the Kingdom of God. The way of the Kingdom of God is not mob rule by force. It’s one of small beginnings. A rock that grows into a great mountain that fills the whole earth. It’s slow, yet continual progress. It’s patience. It wins over time. The Kingdom of God grows in a gradual way as opposed to the immediacy of rioting. It’s a little leaven working its way through the lump of dough, leavening the whole lump. It’s the smallest seed, growing into the tallest tree. The crowd was not thinking long term. If they declare someone king, they are going to be wiped out immediately by the Romans. As Christians we ought to think long term. We ought to think generationally. While at the same time taking just one step of faithfulness at a time.
Essentially what we see is that the crowds lacked self-control while Jesus displayed it perfectly.
You see, that’s just us. We are belligerent, uncontrolled sinners in our flesh; but in the gospel we are subdued by Christ the King, to be brought into his kingdom and be transformed into his image.
Jesus had to become our Priest before King
The ultimate reason Jesus would not be crowned king by the crowds is because he had to become our priest before king. It wasn’t time yet. He couldn’t reign in glory with his Kingdom without going through suffering. A crown of thorns had to come before his crown of glory.
Though he was born a king, he had to suffer and die to purchase his kingdom. It was not time for Jesus to be crowned King. He came speaking the Words of God, but he was yet to offer up himself as our priestly sacrifice, and then rise again as King. Jesus will not be made king by a mob, or by democratic vote, or by the will of the masses; but Jesus was to be made king through death on a cross. He knew that his Father had given him the nations for his inheritance, and indeed all things had been put in his hands. He would not be made king without dying to save His people to fill his kingdom. Thus, I hope you see that in this, Jesus is our Prophet, Priest, and King. He is our prophet in revealing God to us, informing our ignorance; he is our priest in that he offers himself up to God as our full and final sacrifice for sins and being our bread of life; and he is rewarded his kingdom, wherein we live and are governed by his rule.
Jesus Tempted by Satan
This rush to kingship before suffering on the cross, and rising again, is indeed what Satan would have him do; for Satan is defeated at the cross. Remember how Satan brought Jesus up on a mountain to view the kingdoms of the earth, to tempt him with. He wanted to give Jesus the kingdoms of the earth so that Jesus would not go the cross, crush his head, purchase, earn, and receive his authority, power, and kingdom from the Father. But Jesus did not falter. He went to the cross to become King.
Like Christ died to become king, so we must die to become partakers of that kingdom. We must die with Christ on the cross. We must die to ourselves. It must be said of us, as it is said by the apostle in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
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