John 6:14-15 God’s timing_

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. John 6:14-15 NIV

I would love to transport myself back to Galilee during this time period. Experiencing the environment, the culture, the political tension, the food, the smell in the air, the hope and faith about me, would be incredible. Although things on the surface have changed, especially in the last 100 years, there are many things that are just like today — fundamental human nature is common no matter what time period I find myself. There is every bit the same amount of political brinksmanship, religious division, and social unrest. There were causes that were just as polarizing as those that we fight with today. For us it’s gun control, abortion, and red and blue politics — in Palestine it was a zealot movement to overthrow Rome, the resurrection, and religious control of the Jewish Sanhedrin council. But one thing united most Jews: a fervent expectation of the coming Messiah, the one that “is to come into the world” for whom Israelites had been waiting nearly 4,000 years since that first fateful sin in the Garden. Combine that with the unseen vibe, the sixth sense that there was something unique that is or was about to occur during this time, then toss in John the Baptist who was full of the Holy Spirit and I begin to understand the palpable expectation for the Christ. It was time.

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Galatians 4:4 NKJV

I imagine being one of these in the crowd that were following Christ, waiting and wondering, “Could this possibly be the Messiah?” What would convince me? And then I witness with my own eyes an astounding miracle of food being multiplied. I heard his words which were profound, and agreed deeply with my spirit. I had seen the sick healed. Recognized the authority with which he spoke. I saw the affect he had on so many people. Evidence was stacking up. For many, the threshold for believing had been satisfied. A tipping point had occurred. There is now increasing public and visible agreement among many. Then, flesh steps in. Well meaning individuals who trusted themselves to accomplish what was in the Father’s hands to accomplish.

They wanted to take him and make him king. By force. Something about this plan is just bad. But the question lingers — what should their response have been? What should my response be?

The expectation of what the Messiah would be and what they encountered in Jesus were two very different things. Israel in 30 A.D. expected a king, a ruler, one that would release them from the oppression of Rome. Something along the lines of David. Someone to “make Israel great again” (MIGA). Once they knew who the Messiah was, isn’t it reasonable to establish him as king? And there lies the problem: a political spirit will never bring what only God can bring: the kingdom of heaven.

What I expect of God is most often not what I experience. It wasn’t then and it’s not now. God never changes and one thing constant about Him is that he always works in new ways. He works beyond my expectations. He changes things up. It becomes difficult for anyone to ever think they have figured Him out. I want God to fit in my grid, yet he has an entirely new grid for me to experience. Who ever heard of thousands being fed like this? Yet there is something much more important to God than fulfilling my personal job description of “God.” His goal is not to avoid my misunderstanding or stop me from being stumbled, but rather to affect my heart and person so that I see, hear, listen, and am teachable —receptive to open and honest relationship. My expectation at it’s most basic level should be that He is a good shepherd and will show me what I need to do.

There is a fine line between living out my faith and waiting for my God’s timing. The Bible is filled with stories of impatient men trying to speed up what takes God’s timing. And although Israel had waited a long time for the Messiah, and here he is, it was not yet his time to be crowned king. There is another day when that will happen and Oh! what a day that will be.

Jesus deeply loved these disciples, yet he saw they were about to do something that would end badly for everyone. Forcing him to be King would create a showdown with the Jewish religious leaders and the Romans responsible for governing Judea. Any insurrection would be met with bloodshed. (Fast forward about 37 years to 70 A.D. and that’s exactly what happened.) And most importantly, this was not God’s plan. Jesus knew the next steps began with the cross. Their King must die. The one thing he wanted more than anything is that they would believe and not be stumbled by him or his coming death. It wasn’t exactly the picture of a conquering ruler that the Israelites had in mind. Yet although his death would help reinforce other’s claim that he wasn’t the Messiah, it was actually God’s gateway to to something much greater, hidden from view for centuries. A creative plan. An incredible plan. In this act he would destroy principalities and powers and re-claim dominion in the heavens. From death would proceed “his kingdom come” to earth. The heavenly is first, then the earthly. First in the hearts and spirits of men, then in the physical time and space of governments and kings that oppose him at his coming. And these are the things we learn and understand as we are filled with the Holy Spirit. He is our connection with what’s going on in heaven and the real-time indicator of where we are in the process. If only we trust and listen.

The most expedient thing for Jesus to do was simply to slip away for some much needed time alone with his Father. By doing so, he diffused the confrontation for the moment and allowed the miracle to speak for itself among the people. Yet this showdown in John 6 is far from over.