Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. ( John 6:15)
In the story commonly referred to as “The Feeding of the 5,000,” Jesus actually fed closer to 15,000 or 20,000 people, who then were ready to make Him their king. Why did they want to do that? Because Jesus had just met their physical need for food. Jesus had taken a little boy’s lunch and fed the huge crowd that had come to hear him preach. The people had been looking for a king to meet their physical needs, and they believed they had found Him. But Jesus would have nothing to do with their narrow-sightedness and withdrew from the people. When the crowd finally tracked Him down, Jesus admonished them:
“You are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” (John 6:26-27)
You see, the physical blessing of food that Jesus provided was intended to point to the deeper need of every human heart: forgiveness. The deepest need of the people then and of people today is the spiritual provision Jesus provides in order for us to rise above sin, Satan, and death. Jesus was most definitely the promised King, but He was not the king the people wanted. They wanted a king to meet their physical needs, who would remove the yoke of Roman oppression and reestablish the throne of David in Jerusalem. To be sure, when Jesus returns, all of this will come together. But Jesus did not come the first time to do those things; He said very clearly that “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10 ESV). He had come to deal with what separated us from God, which is our sin.
What kind of king have you been looking for lately? Are you expecting Jesus to meet your earthly kingdom expectations? There are times when we think and act very much like those who were miraculously fed by the five loaves and two fish; we feel like Jesus is not the king we want, but we must rest in the truth that He is always the King we need. When Jesus is not meeting our earthly expectations, it is because He is preparing to exceed them. Let that truth set you free to receive Jesus for the King He truly is, the One who has promised to meet all your needs in His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 