Whenever we come to Jesus, we must not come to control him; instead, we must come to be controlled by him
I. The Hamas of the Christ?
I was somewhat disturbed earlier this week when I first learned of the outcome of the Palestinian elections. Of course, I am no expert in the affairs of the Middle East and all its subtleties. I think it is quite safe to say that we should not necessarily support Israel just because the state is called “Israel” and that we should not necessarily see the Palestinians as all bad. However, I’ve heard enough of the group Hamas to know that their winning the majority of the seats in the Palestinian parliamentary elections might not be a very good thing. Just in case you are unaware, Hamas is an organization that has been responsible for about 425 terrorist attacks against Israel.[1] Appropriately enough, the name Hamas is itself an Arabic word which means “zeal.” And zeal is, of course, a main characteristic of the many other militant Islamic groups that we have come to know, ever since 9/11—groups such as Al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, and Abu Sayyaf, all of which we have become more familiar with. And even though we need not assume that all these groups necessarily agree on everything, we are sure about one thing: They are all sworn to the advancement of the kingdom of God, the spread of the glory of God—by military means, and in the case of Hamas, the eradication of Israel.
Now, to be fair, fundamentalist Muslims are not the only ones who wanted to spread the glory of God by the sword. Many years ago, on the Golan heights, there were a number of Jews, about five thousand or more, who were willing to do a similar thing. These were people who were tired of Roman occupation. They were tired of being less than the royal priesthood that they were called to be. They were tired of being ruled by an emperor who did not even share their precious faith. And almost when they had not expected it, a leader had emerged. He was a man who could heal the sick and who could feed them an endless supply of bread. A man who could only be nothing less than a messenger from God, a mighty prince sent from heaven to lead Israel’s armies to destroy the immoral Roman empire and bring holiness to the land again. An army under this man would be unstoppable because there would be no injury that he cannot heal and no food shortage that he cannot solve. An army under such man like the prophet Jesus can only be indestructible.
But as it turned out, such an army never came into existence. You see, ironically enough, the Jews in John 6 have something in common with the Islamic terrorist groups of today: Both are trying to control God. Both are trying to make God do what they want. But when such an attempt to manipulate God and take him by force occurs, we find that God will simply walk away. And that in itself is a lesson for us.
II. John 6:14-15
The Prophet Came (6:1-14)
In John 6:1-14, Jesus had done the humanly impossible. He recreated a kind of miracle that had not been seen in a long while. The miraculous feeding of the five thousand from five loaves and two fish reminded the crowds of how once upon a time the Lord God fed his people in the wilderness when they were under the leadership of Moses (Ex.16; Num.11). It also reminded the people of how God miraculously fed a hundred men under the leadership of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings). So, in light of what happened, the people came to one conclusion—that Jesus is “indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world” (Jn.6:14). He is the successor to Moses. And so we see that the feeding of the five thousand does not just show that Jesus cares for our needs. It also reveals who Jesus is; that he is God’s prophet—and more than that; that he is the Lord God of Israel who has finally returned to lead his people to himself.
The Prophet Went (6:15)
Now, all this is good until we see what happens next. In 6:15, we come to the end of this story. And judging from how the story has been going, we would have expected it to end on a happy note. We would have expected it to turn out the same way it did when Jesus preached to the Samaritans in chapter 4 and all the people started believing in him. But as it turns out, the end is anything but happy. Instead, the end to the story of the feeding of the five thousand is very awkward and disturbing.
In verse 15, we see Jesus doing two things. Firstly, we see Jesus “perceiving.” The word “perceive” means to realize, to understand, or to know. As the crowds were cheering for Jesus, Jesus knew “that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king.” Now, we don’t know how Jesus came to know this. Perhaps God the Father told him. And we have seen before in John 2:24-25 that Jesus knew what was in the hearts of people. But then again, Jesus could have known just by what he saw happening before his eyes. First of all, here was a large group of people who believed that he was a leader sent from God. Second, this group was large enough to be a fighting force, an army. Third, it also happens that this group of people is tired of foreign rule and will look for any reason to rebel against their oppressors. Fourth, this group of people may have also begun to show signs of becoming unstable. You put all these factors and symptoms together and it will not take long for Jesus to realize that they were ready to make him their king. And they were going to use whatever forceful and military means necessary.
Now, having seen what they were planning, what Jesus does next is surprising: He “withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” This is, of course, odd. It is as if someone who had won a Nobel Prize decided to walk away just before his award is presented. But why would Jesus just walk away like that? I mean, did the people do something wrong? Wasn’t he the prophet to come? If you think about it, Jesus has just missed an incredible opportunity because on that one day, he could have had five thousand or more people waiting on him. Just think of it: Five thousand zealous and militant freedom-fighters—all willing to lay down their lives for his cause; all willing to take up swords for him, perhaps even go on suicide missions for him. So why doesn’t Jesus receive their allegiance? The text does not answer this question for us in so many words but I think the answer is quite obvious. The people may have been right in calling Jesus the prophet, but they had completely misunderstood him. And on his part, Jesus did not want to do anything that will further feed their misunderstanding.
What is it then that the people misunderstood about Jesus? The answer can be found in John 18:36. In this passage, we see that Jesus has been arrested; he is standing before Pontius Pilate, who is the Roman governor of Judea. Jesus is brought before Pilate by the Jews so that he can be tried as a political rebel who was planning to rebel against the Roman emperor (Lk.23:2). And while standing before Pilate, Jesus makes a remarkable statement: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting.” What does Jesus mean by this mysterious statement? Does he mean that his kingdom is just an idea and will not affect what happens on this earth? No, that’s not what he means. Does he mean that his teachings and authority will not affect how politics should be done? No, I don’t think that is what he means either. Does Jesus mean that he had no interest in wanting to be king? Well, absolutely not.[2] Jesus simply means that his authority to be king does not originate from earth. No one on earth has the power to make him king. It is God alone who will give him his kingdom when his mission of dying for our sins is accomplished. And this is precisely where the people went wrong. They were arrogant enough to think that they were the ones who could make Jesus king and bring the kingdom of God on earth. But by going away, Jesus is making a clear statement that this is not how it will happen. This is not how he will take up his throne; not by the death of others.
But there is still more that John 6:15 tells us about Jesus. Notice also what else the passage says: It says that Jesus withdrew “to the mountain by himself.” His disciples did not go with him. If we read Matthew’s version of this event in Matthew 14:22, we are told that following the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus for some reason saw the need to immediately make the disciples get into a boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds. Matthew may not tell us what actually led Jesus to dismiss the crowds in such a hurried manner, but of course, we have already seen the reason in John 6:15. And Jesus probably separated his disciples from the crowd because he did not want his disciples to be influenced by the people. But still, why did Jesus retreat alone into the mountains? The answer is found in Matthew 14:23 which says this: “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.” Jesus wanted to be alone with God the Father. He wanted to speak and listen to the voice of his Father. So, friends, by leaving the crowds, Jesus was making yet another statement. Not only was he saying that the crowd had the wrong idea about him. He was saying that the only person he will ever obey is God the Father, not anyone else. Jesus is very much willing to sacrifice fame and popularity and the company of people in order to obey the Father’s voice. And what a powerful statement this is because it completely defines who Jesus is. Unlike these people who are willing to rush ahead and get their own way, Jesus was willing to wait for the Father’s next move. And if we listen closely, it is as if we can hear John 5:19 echoing in the background of this event: “The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.” And clearly, by Jesus’ own behavior, we can tell what God the Father was doing. God the Father was not with the people. Because as Jesus withdrew into the mountains, so too did God.
III. To Control or Be Controlled?
Now, how would you have felt if you were among the people at that moment on that day? Would you have felt awkward? Disappointed? Hurt? Maybe angry? I mean, Jesus did not even stop to mingle with the crowd. Surely no pop star or presidential candidate who wants to be adored would do what he did. I mean, here you are: You followed Jesus because you appreciate all that he can do. When you saw that he could feed five thousand people with a little, all you could think about was that a great prophet is finally here. This is such a wonderful thing and all you want to do is to get close to Jesus but Jesus, for some reason, does not seem to want to get close to you.
Now, at this point, you can do two things. You can either reject Jesus and go your way or you can wonder whether or not he is trying to teach you something—even by his departure. And I suspect that he is teaching us something. When he left the people, the Lord also left behind one very important lesson. And that lesson is this: Do not teach Jesus what to do. Do not tell Jesus what you want him to be. If you want to come to Jesus, you must not come to control him; instead, you must come to be controlled by him. And any attempt to make Jesus into something that he is not, will be answered with divine silence.
Thus, in light of this very crucial lesson, the very relevant question that we must ask ourselves today is this: Are we coming to Jesus properly? When we come to him in a Bible study, or in prayer, or in the church service, are we coming to teach or be taught? Are we coming to lead or be led? Are we coming to control or be controlled? Last week, I said that the feeding of the five thousand is indeed an invitation to come to Jesus. But now we must realize that coming to Jesus is more difficult than we think. Because when we come to Jesus, we should not be surprised to find that the Lord himself will ask us: “What do you want from me?” And of course, it is not as if Jesus does not know the answer. He is simply asking to test us, to see if we are coming in the right way or not.
Coming to Control
So what does a wrong way of coming to Jesus look like? I don’t think we need to look too far to find an example because we already have an example in our Scripture for today, in the very thinking and behavior of the crowd. Just by looking at the behavior of the crowd, we already see that they had made one crucial mistake. And that mistake was to control the Lord Jesus and force him to be something he was not. Now, if we are honest, there are at least two ways we ourselves make the same mistake.
One way in which we try to control Jesus is when we try to make him fit with our wrong views of him. In other words, we control Jesus when we believe the wrong things about him. Now, if you are like me, you might find yourself asking, is it really that important to believe the right things about Jesus? I mean, can’t we just tolerate one another’s differences? Can’t we just all agree to love Jesus and go on with our lives without all this theological debate? Now, of course there is a point to this statement. After all, no one wants to be debating and arguing all the time. Some debates on Christian teaching may well be a waste of time. And even for those debates that are not a waste of time, we can always show more love and respect to those with whom we disagree. But friends, when it comes to Jesus, is it just a theory we are dealing with—or are we also dealing with a person? Are we not dealing with the Lord? What right then do we have to think less of him when we really should be thinking more highly of him? I mean, if you think about, we wouldn’t do this to our own loved ones, would we? For instance, how will my wife feel if I went around introducing her simply as my girlfriend—or worse, my old friend from college? It is the same way with our Lord. How will he feel if you thought of him simply as your good friend or a prophet from God? Not that these things are wrong. But when they are all that we believe about Jesus, then even they become disrespectful. When it comes to Jesus, we are not at liberty to choose which parts we like and leave out the parts we find difficult or don’t like. By all means believe that Jesus is a good person. But please also believe that he is more than that. Believe that he is the Son of God in human flesh. Believe that he is the Word of God. Believe that he died for your sins. We must either have all of him, or, as this story has shown so clearly, we will have none of him.
Another way we try to control Jesus is when we come to Jesus simply as a means to an end—especially an end that we ourselves have already chosen. This was another mistake the people made. To them, Jesus was a means to end Roman rule. Now, the end of Roman occupation is not necessarily a bad thing to want. But that is not what Jesus came to do. Jesus came for something more important: He came to end the rule of sin, the rule of Satan. In the same we ourselves can try to make Jesus meet our goals. For instance, it could be that some of us are here in church because we think that by coming to church enough, Jesus will give us what we want. We think that Jesus is obligated to give us a good spouse or well-behaved children or a good job just because we obey him. But if this is how we think, how much different are we from the people Jesus fed and fled from?
Coming to be Controlled
So our passage shows us how we should not come to Jesus. We should not come to Jesus to control him. But even by showing us the wrong way of coming to Jesus, it also gives us some indication about the right way of coming to Jesus. Because if the wrong way of coming to Christ is to control him, then the only appropriate way of coming to Christ is to be controlled by him. And how exactly will this look like? Two things.
Firstly, we come to be controlled by Jesus when we actually allow him to teach us. I have two thoughts here on what this involves. (1) Allowing Jesus to teach us means that we allow Jesus to define himself to us. It means that we let Jesus tell us through the Scriptures who he is; what kind of a king he is; what kind of prophet he is; what kind of God he is, and what he came to do for us. We do not depend on our own common sense or our own personal expectations of what Jesus ought to be. We let him tell us and we believe whatever he tells us. (2) Allowing Jesus to teach us also means that we allow him to define the important issues for us. So often, we come to Jesus with our own priorities. We ask, “Lord, please help me solve such and such an issue in my life.” For the people in the story, the main issue was probably national pride; national sovereignty. But it turned out that national pride was not the main issue for Jesus. If you think about it, why was Israel under Rome in the first place? It started because Israel herself was disobedient to God. Thus, for Jesus, the main issue was not getting Rome out of Israel, it was getting Israel back to God! His main issue was reconciliation with God. In the same way, don’t be surprised to see that Jesus may think that some issues are more important than the ones we think are important. We may come to Jesus concerned about our relationships and our future plans. Jesus could very well direct us to look first at something as simple as what he has done for us on the cross.
Secondly, we come to be controlled by Jesus when we see him as the end, not as the means for something else. Now, we need to be very careful here because there are places in the Bible where God does promise material blessing to us as an incentive for obedience. Take for instance the fifth commandment itself: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Dt.5:16).
What is the incentive for honoring one’s father and mother? It is the good life, right? So it is not as if God does not give us rewards. In fact, he gives us many rewards and gifts that are not himself, so to speak. If we are faithful to him, God often will reward us with good families; good health; good friends, and a good life. But how do these earthly rewards actually relate to Jesus? Well, let’s think about it this way: Any reward that is not God is to be seen as a symbol, a foretaste, of the reward that is God. To illustrate this, I had a friend who really impressed me by the way he prayed over his meal. He would pray something like this: “Lord, thank you for this meal. May it remind us of the bread of life, Jesus Christ. Amen.” God wants to bless us with many things. But above all, God also wants us to see that he himself is the main blessing. He is the end. If you have him, you will have everything. If you do not have him, you have nothing. This is why Jesus will later tell the people, “I am the bread of life” (Jn.6:35). When he says this, he means is that he is the one they should be seeking. He is the goal they should be reaching. He is the reward they should be working for. There is nothing else beyond him, nothing else after him. And everything we ultimately need will be found in him and through him.
IV. Conclusion
So, friends, how do you come to God today? Back then, the people Jesus fed wanted to control him. Today, Hamas and Al-Qaeda want to control God. But what about you? Are you secretly doing the same today? Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. And if you find that you are here with less then right motives, then go after Jesus to be forgiven because that is one thing he will give you. That is one need he absolutely delights to meet. Jesus may turn away from one who wants to control him. He will not turn away from someone who wants to be reconciled to him. And having forgiven you, the Lord Jesus will draw you to himself. He will speak words of comfort and peace to you. He will teach you his ways. And you will know, that it is he alone, who is the Bread of Life.
Bibliography
Burge, Gary. John. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.
Carson, D.A. The Gospel According to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991.
Israel Defense Forces, “The Hamas organization is responsible for more than 425 terror attacks in Israel.” No pages. Cited 29 January 2006. Online: http://www1.idf.il/ DOVER/site/mainpage.asp?sl=EN&id=7&docid=30286.EN.
Köstenberger, Andreas. John. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2004.
Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1971.
Ridderbos, Herman. The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary. Trans. John Vriend. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1997.
[1] Israel Defense Forces, “The Hamas organization is responsible for more than 425 terror attacks in Israel,” n.p. [cited 29 January 2006]. Online: http://www1.idf.il/DOVER/site/mainpage.asp?sl=EN&id=7&docid=30286.EN.
[2] Two passages that indicate that Jesus was self-conscious about his kingship are John 1:49 and 12:15. In John 1:49, Nathaniel, one of the Lord’s disciples, called him the king of Israel—and Jesus accepts that title without scolding Nathaniel. Furthermore, in John 12:15, Jesus deliberately rides into Jerusalem on a donkey because he wants to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 which says that the king of Jerusalem will return on a donkey.
I. The Hamas of the Christ?
I was somewhat disturbed earlier this week when I first learned of the outcome of the Palestinian elections. Of course, I am no expert in the affairs of the Middle East and all its subtleties. I think it is quite safe to say that we should not necessarily support Israel just because the state is called “Israel” and that we should not necessarily see the Palestinians as all bad. However, I’ve heard enough of the group Hamas to know that their winning the majority of the seats in the Palestinian parliamentary elections might not be a very good thing. Just in case you are unaware, Hamas is an organization that has been responsible for about 425 terrorist attacks against Israel.[1] Appropriately enough, the name Hamas is itself an Arabic word which means “zeal.” And zeal is, of course, a main characteristic of the many other militant Islamic groups that we have come to know, ever since 9/11—groups such as Al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, and Abu Sayyaf, all of which we have become more familiar with. And even though we need not assume that all these groups necessarily agree on everything, we are sure about one thing: They are all sworn to the advancement of the kingdom of God, the spread of the glory of God—by military means, and in the case of Hamas, the eradication of Israel.
Now, to be fair, fundamentalist Muslims are not the only ones who wanted to spread the glory of God by the sword. Many years ago, on the Golan heights, there were a number of Jews, about five thousand or more, who were willing to do a similar thing. These were people who were tired of Roman occupation. They were tired of being less than the royal priesthood that they were called to be. They were tired of being ruled by an emperor who did not even share their precious faith. And almost when they had not expected it, a leader had emerged. He was a man who could heal the sick and who could feed them an endless supply of bread. A man who could only be nothing less than a messenger from God, a mighty prince sent from heaven to lead Israel’s armies to destroy the immoral Roman empire and bring holiness to the land again. An army under this man would be unstoppable because there would be no injury that he cannot heal and no food shortage that he cannot solve. An army under such man like the prophet Jesus can only be indestructible.
But as it turned out, such an army never came into existence. You see, ironically enough, the Jews in John 6 have something in common with the Islamic terrorist groups of today: Both are trying to control God. Both are trying to make God do what they want. But when such an attempt to manipulate God and take him by force occurs, we find that God will simply walk away. And that in itself is a lesson for us.
II. John 6:14-15
The Prophet Came (6:1-14)
In John 6:1-14, Jesus had done the humanly impossible. He recreated a kind of miracle that had not been seen in a long while. The miraculous feeding of the five thousand from five loaves and two fish reminded the crowds of how once upon a time the Lord God fed his people in the wilderness when they were under the leadership of Moses (Ex.16; Num.11). It also reminded the people of how God miraculously fed a hundred men under the leadership of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings). So, in light of what happened, the people came to one conclusion—that Jesus is “indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world” (Jn.6:14). He is the successor to Moses. And so we see that the feeding of the five thousand does not just show that Jesus cares for our needs. It also reveals who Jesus is; that he is God’s prophet—and more than that; that he is the Lord God of Israel who has finally returned to lead his people to himself.
The Prophet Went (6:15)
Now, all this is good until we see what happens next. In 6:15, we come to the end of this story. And judging from how the story has been going, we would have expected it to end on a happy note. We would have expected it to turn out the same way it did when Jesus preached to the Samaritans in chapter 4 and all the people started believing in him. But as it turns out, the end is anything but happy. Instead, the end to the story of the feeding of the five thousand is very awkward and disturbing.
In verse 15, we see Jesus doing two things. Firstly, we see Jesus “perceiving.” The word “perceive” means to realize, to understand, or to know. As the crowds were cheering for Jesus, Jesus knew “that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king.” Now, we don’t know how Jesus came to know this. Perhaps God the Father told him. And we have seen before in John 2:24-25 that Jesus knew what was in the hearts of people. But then again, Jesus could have known just by what he saw happening before his eyes. First of all, here was a large group of people who believed that he was a leader sent from God. Second, this group was large enough to be a fighting force, an army. Third, it also happens that this group of people is tired of foreign rule and will look for any reason to rebel against their oppressors. Fourth, this group of people may have also begun to show signs of becoming unstable. You put all these factors and symptoms together and it will not take long for Jesus to realize that they were ready to make him their king. And they were going to use whatever forceful and military means necessary.
Now, having seen what they were planning, what Jesus does next is surprising: He “withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” This is, of course, odd. It is as if someone who had won a Nobel Prize decided to walk away just before his award is presented. But why would Jesus just walk away like that? I mean, did the people do something wrong? Wasn’t he the prophet to come? If you think about it, Jesus has just missed an incredible opportunity because on that one day, he could have had five thousand or more people waiting on him. Just think of it: Five thousand zealous and militant freedom-fighters—all willing to lay down their lives for his cause; all willing to take up swords for him, perhaps even go on suicide missions for him. So why doesn’t Jesus receive their allegiance? The text does not answer this question for us in so many words but I think the answer is quite obvious. The people may have been right in calling Jesus the prophet, but they had completely misunderstood him. And on his part, Jesus did not want to do anything that will further feed their misunderstanding.
What is it then that the people misunderstood about Jesus? The answer can be found in John 18:36. In this passage, we see that Jesus has been arrested; he is standing before Pontius Pilate, who is the Roman governor of Judea. Jesus is brought before Pilate by the Jews so that he can be tried as a political rebel who was planning to rebel against the Roman emperor (Lk.23:2). And while standing before Pilate, Jesus makes a remarkable statement: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting.” What does Jesus mean by this mysterious statement? Does he mean that his kingdom is just an idea and will not affect what happens on this earth? No, that’s not what he means. Does he mean that his teachings and authority will not affect how politics should be done? No, I don’t think that is what he means either. Does Jesus mean that he had no interest in wanting to be king? Well, absolutely not.[2] Jesus simply means that his authority to be king does not originate from earth. No one on earth has the power to make him king. It is God alone who will give him his kingdom when his mission of dying for our sins is accomplished. And this is precisely where the people went wrong. They were arrogant enough to think that they were the ones who could make Jesus king and bring the kingdom of God on earth. But by going away, Jesus is making a clear statement that this is not how it will happen. This is not how he will take up his throne; not by the death of others.
But there is still more that John 6:15 tells us about Jesus. Notice also what else the passage says: It says that Jesus withdrew “to the mountain by himself.” His disciples did not go with him. If we read Matthew’s version of this event in Matthew 14:22, we are told that following the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus for some reason saw the need to immediately make the disciples get into a boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds. Matthew may not tell us what actually led Jesus to dismiss the crowds in such a hurried manner, but of course, we have already seen the reason in John 6:15. And Jesus probably separated his disciples from the crowd because he did not want his disciples to be influenced by the people. But still, why did Jesus retreat alone into the mountains? The answer is found in Matthew 14:23 which says this: “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.” Jesus wanted to be alone with God the Father. He wanted to speak and listen to the voice of his Father. So, friends, by leaving the crowds, Jesus was making yet another statement. Not only was he saying that the crowd had the wrong idea about him. He was saying that the only person he will ever obey is God the Father, not anyone else. Jesus is very much willing to sacrifice fame and popularity and the company of people in order to obey the Father’s voice. And what a powerful statement this is because it completely defines who Jesus is. Unlike these people who are willing to rush ahead and get their own way, Jesus was willing to wait for the Father’s next move. And if we listen closely, it is as if we can hear John 5:19 echoing in the background of this event: “The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.” And clearly, by Jesus’ own behavior, we can tell what God the Father was doing. God the Father was not with the people. Because as Jesus withdrew into the mountains, so too did God.
III. To Control or Be Controlled?
Now, how would you have felt if you were among the people at that moment on that day? Would you have felt awkward? Disappointed? Hurt? Maybe angry? I mean, Jesus did not even stop to mingle with the crowd. Surely no pop star or presidential candidate who wants to be adored would do what he did. I mean, here you are: You followed Jesus because you appreciate all that he can do. When you saw that he could feed five thousand people with a little, all you could think about was that a great prophet is finally here. This is such a wonderful thing and all you want to do is to get close to Jesus but Jesus, for some reason, does not seem to want to get close to you.
Now, at this point, you can do two things. You can either reject Jesus and go your way or you can wonder whether or not he is trying to teach you something—even by his departure. And I suspect that he is teaching us something. When he left the people, the Lord also left behind one very important lesson. And that lesson is this: Do not teach Jesus what to do. Do not tell Jesus what you want him to be. If you want to come to Jesus, you must not come to control him; instead, you must come to be controlled by him. And any attempt to make Jesus into something that he is not, will be answered with divine silence.
Thus, in light of this very crucial lesson, the very relevant question that we must ask ourselves today is this: Are we coming to Jesus properly? When we come to him in a Bible study, or in prayer, or in the church service, are we coming to teach or be taught? Are we coming to lead or be led? Are we coming to control or be controlled? Last week, I said that the feeding of the five thousand is indeed an invitation to come to Jesus. But now we must realize that coming to Jesus is more difficult than we think. Because when we come to Jesus, we should not be surprised to find that the Lord himself will ask us: “What do you want from me?” And of course, it is not as if Jesus does not know the answer. He is simply asking to test us, to see if we are coming in the right way or not.
Coming to Control
So what does a wrong way of coming to Jesus look like? I don’t think we need to look too far to find an example because we already have an example in our Scripture for today, in the very thinking and behavior of the crowd. Just by looking at the behavior of the crowd, we already see that they had made one crucial mistake. And that mistake was to control the Lord Jesus and force him to be something he was not. Now, if we are honest, there are at least two ways we ourselves make the same mistake.
One way in which we try to control Jesus is when we try to make him fit with our wrong views of him. In other words, we control Jesus when we believe the wrong things about him. Now, if you are like me, you might find yourself asking, is it really that important to believe the right things about Jesus? I mean, can’t we just tolerate one another’s differences? Can’t we just all agree to love Jesus and go on with our lives without all this theological debate? Now, of course there is a point to this statement. After all, no one wants to be debating and arguing all the time. Some debates on Christian teaching may well be a waste of time. And even for those debates that are not a waste of time, we can always show more love and respect to those with whom we disagree. But friends, when it comes to Jesus, is it just a theory we are dealing with—or are we also dealing with a person? Are we not dealing with the Lord? What right then do we have to think less of him when we really should be thinking more highly of him? I mean, if you think about, we wouldn’t do this to our own loved ones, would we? For instance, how will my wife feel if I went around introducing her simply as my girlfriend—or worse, my old friend from college? It is the same way with our Lord. How will he feel if you thought of him simply as your good friend or a prophet from God? Not that these things are wrong. But when they are all that we believe about Jesus, then even they become disrespectful. When it comes to Jesus, we are not at liberty to choose which parts we like and leave out the parts we find difficult or don’t like. By all means believe that Jesus is a good person. But please also believe that he is more than that. Believe that he is the Son of God in human flesh. Believe that he is the Word of God. Believe that he died for your sins. We must either have all of him, or, as this story has shown so clearly, we will have none of him.
Another way we try to control Jesus is when we come to Jesus simply as a means to an end—especially an end that we ourselves have already chosen. This was another mistake the people made. To them, Jesus was a means to end Roman rule. Now, the end of Roman occupation is not necessarily a bad thing to want. But that is not what Jesus came to do. Jesus came for something more important: He came to end the rule of sin, the rule of Satan. In the same we ourselves can try to make Jesus meet our goals. For instance, it could be that some of us are here in church because we think that by coming to church enough, Jesus will give us what we want. We think that Jesus is obligated to give us a good spouse or well-behaved children or a good job just because we obey him. But if this is how we think, how much different are we from the people Jesus fed and fled from?
Coming to be Controlled
So our passage shows us how we should not come to Jesus. We should not come to Jesus to control him. But even by showing us the wrong way of coming to Jesus, it also gives us some indication about the right way of coming to Jesus. Because if the wrong way of coming to Christ is to control him, then the only appropriate way of coming to Christ is to be controlled by him. And how exactly will this look like? Two things.
Firstly, we come to be controlled by Jesus when we actually allow him to teach us. I have two thoughts here on what this involves. (1) Allowing Jesus to teach us means that we allow Jesus to define himself to us. It means that we let Jesus tell us through the Scriptures who he is; what kind of a king he is; what kind of prophet he is; what kind of God he is, and what he came to do for us. We do not depend on our own common sense or our own personal expectations of what Jesus ought to be. We let him tell us and we believe whatever he tells us. (2) Allowing Jesus to teach us also means that we allow him to define the important issues for us. So often, we come to Jesus with our own priorities. We ask, “Lord, please help me solve such and such an issue in my life.” For the people in the story, the main issue was probably national pride; national sovereignty. But it turned out that national pride was not the main issue for Jesus. If you think about it, why was Israel under Rome in the first place? It started because Israel herself was disobedient to God. Thus, for Jesus, the main issue was not getting Rome out of Israel, it was getting Israel back to God! His main issue was reconciliation with God. In the same way, don’t be surprised to see that Jesus may think that some issues are more important than the ones we think are important. We may come to Jesus concerned about our relationships and our future plans. Jesus could very well direct us to look first at something as simple as what he has done for us on the cross.
Secondly, we come to be controlled by Jesus when we see him as the end, not as the means for something else. Now, we need to be very careful here because there are places in the Bible where God does promise material blessing to us as an incentive for obedience. Take for instance the fifth commandment itself: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Dt.5:16).
What is the incentive for honoring one’s father and mother? It is the good life, right? So it is not as if God does not give us rewards. In fact, he gives us many rewards and gifts that are not himself, so to speak. If we are faithful to him, God often will reward us with good families; good health; good friends, and a good life. But how do these earthly rewards actually relate to Jesus? Well, let’s think about it this way: Any reward that is not God is to be seen as a symbol, a foretaste, of the reward that is God. To illustrate this, I had a friend who really impressed me by the way he prayed over his meal. He would pray something like this: “Lord, thank you for this meal. May it remind us of the bread of life, Jesus Christ. Amen.” God wants to bless us with many things. But above all, God also wants us to see that he himself is the main blessing. He is the end. If you have him, you will have everything. If you do not have him, you have nothing. This is why Jesus will later tell the people, “I am the bread of life” (Jn.6:35). When he says this, he means is that he is the one they should be seeking. He is the goal they should be reaching. He is the reward they should be working for. There is nothing else beyond him, nothing else after him. And everything we ultimately need will be found in him and through him.
IV. Conclusion
So, friends, how do you come to God today? Back then, the people Jesus fed wanted to control him. Today, Hamas and Al-Qaeda want to control God. But what about you? Are you secretly doing the same today? Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. And if you find that you are here with less then right motives, then go after Jesus to be forgiven because that is one thing he will give you. That is one need he absolutely delights to meet. Jesus may turn away from one who wants to control him. He will not turn away from someone who wants to be reconciled to him. And having forgiven you, the Lord Jesus will draw you to himself. He will speak words of comfort and peace to you. He will teach you his ways. And you will know, that it is he alone, who is the Bread of Life.
Bibliography
Burge, Gary. John. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.
Carson, D.A. The Gospel According to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991.
Israel Defense Forces, “The Hamas organization is responsible for more than 425 terror attacks in Israel.” No pages. Cited 29 January 2006. Online: http://www1.idf.il/ DOVER/site/mainpage.asp?sl=EN&id=7&docid=30286.EN.
Köstenberger, Andreas. John. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2004.
Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1971.
Ridderbos, Herman. The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary. Trans. John Vriend. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1997.
[1] Israel Defense Forces, “The Hamas organization is responsible for more than 425 terror attacks in Israel,” n.p. [cited 29 January 2006]. Online: http://www1.idf.il/DOVER/site/mainpage.asp?sl=EN&id=7&docid=30286.EN.
[2] Two passages that indicate that Jesus was self-conscious about his kingship are John 1:49 and 12:15. In John 1:49, Nathaniel, one of the Lord’s disciples, called him the king of Israel—and Jesus accepts that title without scolding Nathaniel. Furthermore, in John 12:15, Jesus deliberately rides into Jerusalem on a donkey because he wants to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 which says that the king of Jerusalem will return on a donkey.
