14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Popularity and the pandering praise of people did not procure the kingship of the “Prophet who is to come into the world” as the people had hoped. We are about to learn a lesson from our Savior today that perhaps many of us need a better grasp of: the way of the crown is through the way of the cross. It was true for Jesus and it is true for His followers as well. Each gospel presents us with its own version of the following Truth - red flagging it, if you will, to demonstrate its importance:
23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me , he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. Luke 9:23-24 (NIV)
Simply put, as believers - we live to die, we die to live – just as our Savior did. Interestingly, it is in our dying that we discover life that is truly life.
“When God calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20 (NIV)
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Tim 6:17-19 (NIV)
The Jews were expecting a Prophet who would show forth the finger marks of God. Having miraculously fed the 5,000 +, the people rightly presumed that Jesus was their Man. We find the prophecy in Deuteronomy:
15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. Deut 18:15 (NIV)
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. Deut 18:18-19 (NIV)
The Jews were in hopes that Jesus would be the One to lead them out of their bondage to the Romans. They were expecting a king with outward pomp and splendor. They had a misguided view of Christ’s kingdom. Christ had served their purposes by filling their stomachs and now they prostituted their religion for secular sake by seeking Jesus for what His hand would provide rather than simply seeking Jesus – Jesus is often sought for something other than for Himself. While it is both true that He was the Prophet to come and that He would also lead His people out of bondage – it was not quite the way they had planned. They were expecting a King that would conquer and rule. They neglected the prophecy regarding the “suffering servant” which the prophet Isaiah had predicted:
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-5 (NIV)
Jesus’ popularity was at its peak. The people were seriously seeking to make Him King. This had to have been a tempting plan for our Lord. If that cup could have been removed sans the cross and accomplished the purposes of God for which He came, I am pretty confident Jesus would have been all for it. Yet the price of the kingdom was the cost of the cross. Before He could be the reigning Lion He must first be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world for the sins of the people. How easy it would have been to have gone the path of popularity. How easy it is for us to do likewise. It is here that our example is set by our Savior – He withdraws by Himself to the mountain – to converse freely with His Father - leaving us with a wonderful testimony against ambition and affection for worldly honor.