New Thoughts (12/29/07)
In the flow of John’s Gospel, this verse provides a postscript of sorts to the Galilee phase of ministry. The feeding of the 5000 is the last public miracle that he will record from that region. There will be other miracles, of course, and some of those in Galilee, such as the miracle of Jesus walking upon the waters which will be covered in the next section of study. But that was a private affair, a thing witnessed only by the disciples so far as we know. This dividing line is nowhere near so clear in the other Gospels. In fact, looking at the outline, it seems that they continue with a number of events in and around Galilee before proceeding to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. This is not to say that I have my order correct. It would be hard to imagine all of the events I have collected here somehow happening in the days leading up to a Passover which John said was drawing near when the 5000 were fed.
In spite of this, though, I would note with the HCSB that there is a somewhat surreptitious confirmation of the Synoptic accounts in what John writes here. In the descriptions of the mass feeding, we had that confirmation between Mark and John. Mark notes the greenness of the grass where the people sat. John notes the approaching Passover celebration. The one serves to confirm the other, giving us confidence in both accounts. Here, notice is taken of John’s mention of Jesus withdrawing ‘again’. And, it is that ‘again’ which keeps his account firmly linked to the others. Again, the linkage is most clear with Mark’s account, for Mark makes a particular point of the withdrawing of the disciples prior to their coming back to shore. They had been called aside by Jesus for some rest. Thus, for Jesus to retreat again, pulling Himself out of the crowds again, assures us once more that both accounts are to be trusted.
There is also a sense in which this moment foreshadows the true close of Jesus’ ministry. The people in attendance here had some understanding, albeit imperfect. They understood the promise of a king to come, and they understood that Jesus had been preaching about the kingdom having come. Well, if the kingdom was come, surely it was time for the king to take his throne, right? So, as we read here, they figured they might as well help him into his proper position. Why wait? Enough of types and shadows! Enough of promises and hope delayed! We’ll just push things forward ourselves.
As I said, this foreshadows the final entrance into Jerusalem. As John records the events of that last walk into the city, we find Jesus seated upon a colt (Jn 12:12-15). We find the crowds waving their palm leaves and crying “Hosanna!” Of course, for us, these activities don’t have anywhere near the significance that they had for those who did them. We see the palm leaves and about all it signifies to us is that the events took place somewhere warm. Of course there were palms, it’s the Middle East. But, for the Israelite, the palm leaf was a political symbol. It was the mark of victory, the triumphant symbol of the Maccabees. Likewise, the word hosanna, although we shout it often enough, doesn’t mean much more to us than joyful celebration. Truth be told, the concept of joyful celebration was there. But, what were they saying? “Come save us!”
That crowd was playing a game not much different from what was happening here in Galilee. They wanted their king and their kingdom and they wanted it now. But, notice a very great difference. Here, Jesus responds by taking Himself out of the picture. The time is not yet and the place is not here. But, come that day in Jerusalem we find Him seated on a young donkey, accepting the actions of those who came with their palms and their hosannas. Notice, also, the other message they are crying, “Blessed is the King of Israel.” This is such a politically charged situation! And how does Jesus respond? He confirms their beliefs. By riding in on that donkey’s colt, He has fulfilled a long-standing prophecy, one everybody there that day was well aware of. “Behold! Your King comes seated on a donkey’s colt.”
Now, I sincerely doubt that Jesus was the first to ever come into Jerusalem mounted like this. Were it not for the clear expectations of the crowd, His entrance would not bear much significance to those who chanced to see Him. But, with the politics clearly on display as He came along, this act is absolutely a confirmation. It is a full and public acknowledgement that yes, He truly is the King of Israel. And yet, He will still not be forced into any action that violates God’s plan or accelerates God’s timing. He truly is the King and yet, in this instance, He would suffer Himself to be utterly humiliated by the agents of the usurper.
This may explain, at least in part, why the crowds turned against Him so easily. They still didn’t understand. They wanted a military king and a military victory and they wanted the hated Romans out of town now! When it became clear that this wasn’t where Jesus was taking things, He became a King for which they had no particular use. Forget it! If You’re not going to deliver us from these clear and present oppressors then what is the point? Why should we put ourselves at risk for You?
I’m sure, in their defense, that they were mightily confused. They thought sure they knew what the prophecies had meant. They were so certain that this was the moment for a resurgent Israel. They had heard His teaching. They had listened and they understood that He was talking kingdom, and they loved that kingdom talk! So, what gives? If this is the King who delivers Israel, why is He being humiliated so? The problem lay in their supposed understanding. They had, it seems, stopped listening to Jesus about as soon as His words confirmed their presuppositions. They didn’t really hear what He had to say about the kingdom, only that the kingdom was here. So, they missed the point and so, they missed the day of their visitation.
When Jesus stood before Pilate, He would state the matter clearly. No, He would not deny His rightful claim to be king. It would have been foolishness to do so anyway. Pilate was not an idiot. He understood what that scene in the streets had meant. So, Jesus simply clarifies the matter. “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 18:36). There is something interesting in that conversation. There is the implication of power. If it were My intention to rule here and now, there would be no stopping Me. But, Pilate, you can relax. The kingdom I rule is not a matter of such petty political boundaries as you busy yourself with.
For just a moment, consider that explanation Jesus has just given to Pilate in combination with the prophetic fulfillment. Behold! Your King! But, His kingdom is not of this world. Well, that ought to tell us something, oughtn’t it? If He is our King and His kingdom is not of this world, then surely, our kingdom is not of this world, either. We are not citizens of the world, as NPR likes to sell the concept these days. We are, as Paul properly reminds us, citizens of a heavenly kingdom.
This does not mean that the kingdom of God is not to be made visible and manifest in this present life. What it does mean is that the apparent setbacks and delays that we observe in this life do not have a great deal of impact on the kingdom. The King remains on His throne and His kingdom remains under His authority. We just have a bad habit of viewing things purely as they apply to our current, physical situation. Just like those who came with their palm branches, we have our set opinion of what it ought to mean to have Jesus as King. Just like them, we put ourselves at a disadvantage by our preconceptions. For, when He insists on ruling on His own terms rather than ours, we, too, will find ourselves inclined to reject Him.
If you don’t believe this, then simply watch what happens to those who are so insistent that “You promised this, that or the other,” and discover that no such thing was ever promised to them. We have this whole movement afoot today of taking the promises of Scripture for ourselves. But, that movement fails to consider whether those promises were properly given to the whole citizenry of heaven or to a particular group or individual exclusively. So, we have those who are absolutely certain that they can call this promise their own, whether that be true or not. And, having made themselves certain of their ‘rights,’ they take their cue from society at large and begin demanding their rights. Listen: That never works out well.
God is not going to be played by your demands. Before you try, you really ought to consider the record of those who have tried that game before. Think about Abraham. Here was a man who had a legitimate promise from God. There was no question, in his case, as to whether that promise was for him or not. It was a clear-cut matter. But, Abraham was impatient. He didn’t see God acting in a timely fashion. So, He and Sarah decided to help God out. The world continues to pay the consequences for their actions even to this day!
Consider Moses. He had been leading the people through the desert for years. He had become rather used to being God’s point man. Came the time that the people were once again clamoring for provisions and Moses grew a bit impatient. They needed reminding who he was, and the instructions God gave him didn’t satisfy his sense of the necessary drama. So, he struck the rock rather than speak to it as he had been told. Well, the people had their water in spite of him, but he had only succeeded in disqualifying himself for entry into the promised land.
For us today, the usual suspects are health and prosperity. We are, many of us, absolutely convinced that there is some sort of promise in the Scriptures that if we are faithful to follow Jesus then He is contractually bound to heal us of every least little malady. Why, if we have the sniffles, it must be connected with some deep-rooted sin in our lives! If we’re not rolling in every material blessing that the world has to offer then obviously we’ve offended heaven in some way. Doesn’t it even register on us how ironic it is to think that heaven’s blessings are poured out in ‘what the world has to offer’? Nope. It sounds too good. We’re all for the kingdom now. But, when God stays His own course instead of shifting onto ours, how many fall by the wayside? How many turn on Him, decide He’s a fraud? Has God lied to us? Has He been untrue to His Word? Not at all! Such a thing would be impossible for Him.
The problem is not in Him. The problem is in us. The problem is not that He is not doing as He said. The problem is that we have not heard what He said. We have heard what we wanted to hear and then tuned out the rest, just like any other willful child. And, just like any wise parent, God is not going to make Himself subject to our manipulations.
Look. There’s nothing wrong with speaking the promises of God. There’s nothing terrible about praying the promises of God. But, understand, that it has nothing to do with reminding God of what He has said. He hasn’t forgotten. The real purpose of such things has got to be to remind ourselves of those things the King has promised to deliver. They are not a sufficient cause for us to think we can set the times and the means any more than they were for Abraham, Isaac or Jacob. Men of faith have a long history of running the entire course of their lives without seeing the fulfillment of the promise. Yet, men of faith never lost faith for all that. Why? Because they trusted God and they still do. They may have gone to the grave but it’s as temporary as this life. The promises of God remain yes and amen. A little matter like death is not going to prevent Him from coming through on His Word.
We who seek and serve God in this present age need to remember that it’s not really about this present age. There will come a time when the kingdom of heaven truly reigns in its fullness upon the earth. But, the timing of that reign is not put in our hands and we are powerless to force it to transpire so much as a second earlier than God has purposed. Our purpose is to hear His truth and act upon His truth. All these attempts to force Him into action by our actions are no more than foolishness, and likely dangerous foolishness at that. Oh, we shall restore the old order of worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. He’ll have to come back then! Oh! We’ll broadcast our message into every corner of the world, force the natives to listen. He’ll have to come back then! Listen clearly: even things that seem good are no longer good when we do them for the wrong reasons. God may still deign to use our efforts under those circumstances, but He is never obliged to us. Never. We are obliged to Him. That’s why He is the King and we are His subjects.
As accustomed as we are to our democratic principles, we tend to forget that this is how kingdoms operate. The people do not elect a king. The people do not tell the king how he is to rule. The King rules because it is His kingdom. The King sets the rules because He is the King. For the rest of us, obedience to His rule really isn’t optional. If we are of His kingdom, then we will obey. “Everyone who is of the Truth listens to My voice” (Jn 18:37). Notice: it’s not enough to simply hear His voice. It’s all about listening, and having listened, obeying.
