John 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king… We have in the connection: 1. A wonderful miracle. Five thousand fed. 2. A right conclusion. "This is the Messiah." 3. A wrong act. They would take him and make him King. Notice - I. THE PROPOSAL OF THE MULTITUDE. "To make him King." 1. The proposal was sincere and enthusiastic. The multitude were full of the idea; it burned in their breasts, boiled in their thoughts, flashed in their countenances, and blazed in their words. They were entirely swayed by it, and ready at any moment to break out in an apparently irresistible action. 2. The proposal was popular. The vast multitude were united, and even the disciples were not exempt. They were naturally drawn to the vortex of the terrible whirlpool of the popular sentiment. And although these people were not representative men, still they were fired with the national idea, and attempted to carry out the national wish with regard to the Messiah. 3. It was thoroughly secular. They wished to make him King in opposition to all the kings of the earth, and especially to Caesar, and to deliver them as a nation from the hateful yoke of Rome. Thus the proposal was directly seditious, endangering their own safety as well as the safety of Christ in direct opposition to the great purpose of his life. 4. It was utterly selfish. (1) They wanted to use him for their own purposes. Instead of surrendering themselves to him and to his teaching as the Messiah, they wished him to surrender himself to them, and to serve their low and personal purposes. They were not anxious to be drawn up to him, but to draw him down to them. They thought and acted under the inspiration of the loaves and fishes. They are not the first nor last to attempt to use Christ for personal and worldly purposes. (2) They wished to compel him to this. They would make him King by force. If they succeeded they would really be kings, and he the subject of their selfish desires. When they would take him by force, they little thought of the counter force they had to contend with. This is not an exceptional conduct with regard to Christ, to make him King by force. How many honours are forced upon him which he declines! (3) It was entirely mistaken. There is no regard paid to the Divinity and dignity of his Person, the nature of his office, or the great purpose of his life. They were doubtless sincere and enthusiastic, but their thoughts moved in a groove unspeakably lower than his. Little they thought that the honour they proposed would ill fit him; that the sceptre of the mightiest empire would ill become him who wielded the sceptre of creation; that the thrones of the Caesars would be infinitely too small and mean to contain him who occupied and filled the throne of the universe; that the most brilliant earthly crown would be a worthless toy to him who already wore a crown bedecked with stars and suns. To offer an earthly kingship to him was a mistake and an insult. II. THE CONDUCT OF JESUS. It shows: 1. The unselfishness of his nature. Consider: (1) The proposal was real. The multitude were unanimous. They represented the national idea with regard to the Messiah. They were terribly earnest, and determined to make him King at any cost, even by force. (2) It was quite possible. It was not the wild idea of a few enthusiasts, but that of a vast crowd representing the sentiments of the nation. And if Jesus were to consent they would rally round him with enthusiasm untold, and with such a General would be soon victorious. (3) From a human point of view it was very tempting. They wanted to make him King - the highest honour, power, and glory that people can confer on their fellow man. Think of his low position. A poor Carpenter, and the Son of a poor carpenter from Nazareth. Under the circumstances, who but Christ would not gladly accept such an offer? What was offered him in a mental vision, or perhaps by the personal presence of the prince of this world in the wilderness, was now offered him in a more practical manner by the multitude in another wilderness. But such was the unselfishness of his nature, that the worldly honour and royal dignity and glory involved in the proposal appealed in vain to him. They had no response from his nature but the old one, "Get ye behind me." 2. The spirituality of his mission. (1) Spiritual in its nature. It would not blend with worldly objects, nor fall in with worldly schemes. (2) Spiritual in its sphere. The mind, the spirit, the soul, and heart. (3) Spiritual in its means and operations. (4) Spiritual in its end. The spiritual life of man; the salvation of the human race; the liberty of the captives of sin. He said, "My kingdom is not of this world." Here is an illustration and a proof of it. He is offered an earthly kingdom. His ideas of power, honour, and glory were diametrically opposed to those of the world. They were purely spiritual. 3. The purity and strength of his character. (1) His character was in perfect harmony with his mission. His mission was spiritual and his character was true. Strictly true to his mission and to itself; there was not a jarring note. (2) His character was delicately sensitive to the presence of evil. Sensitive to its invisible promptings and motives. "He perceived that they would come," etc. He was sensitive to the very breath of worldly notions, human ambition, and petty pride. (3) His character had a decided resisting force against evil ever, in its most insidious and apparently innocent forms. How insidious and apparently innocent was evil in this proposal of the multitude! Was it not kindness and gratitude? Yes, but it was radically against the nature of his mission and the purpose of his life, and he shrank from it as from a venomous reptile. It was one thing to resist the proposal of the devil when he barefacedly offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world with their glory, on the humiliating and vile condition of worshipping him; it was another thing to resist him in the apparently innocent proposal of the multitude to make him King. It is one thing to resist the evil one in the common and glaring vices of society; it is another to resist him in the garb of kindness and in the hosannas of gratitude. Jesus did this. He had a force of character stronger than the force with which he was threatened. He became poor of his own accord, but could not be made King by force. A child could win him. A poor blind man could stop him by crying for help, but a multitude could not make him King against his will. He was taken by force once, but not before he gave a proof that it was by permission. He gave himself up to a cross, but not to an earthly crown. He sacrificed his life, but would not sacrifice his principle, his integrity, his mission, and heavenly trust. 4. The wisdom of his conduct. (1) He resisted the evil at its very beginning. "When he perceived," etc.; before it had gained too much strength, nipped it in the bud. (2) Resisted it at once. "Straightway," according to Mark - without any hesitation. (3) Resisted it in the best way. The disciples were sent away first, then the multitude. When the multitude saw the disciples depart, they lost hope and courage, he did not use extraordinary means when ordinary ones would suffice. The force of his character and wisdom were sufficient for this. 5. The devotion of his spirit. "He departed again," etc. We see: (1) The manner of his devotion. Retirement, alone. (2) The spiritual dependence of his nature. Independent of the crowd, but dependent on his Father. The multitudes were filled. He was hungry now for his Father's fellowship. (3) The habit of his life. "He departed again," etc. It was not the first time nor the last. Prayer was the habit of his life. (4) The secret of his power. His power was fed and nursed in secret fellowship with his Father. He went up the mountain to meet him, and came down with fresh inspiration and strength. If we want to do wonders down among men, we must retire and climb the mount to God. LESSONS. 1. When a multitude is inspired with wrong ideas and purposes, better disperse it. Thus did Jesus. 2. The best of teachers often find it difficult to gather people and keep them together. Jesus often found it difficult to send them away; they clung to him, and he had to take himself away from them. 3. When Divine and human .forces come into collision, the human ought and must give way. 4. If Christ deemed it wrong to take man and make him his subject by force, it is wrong for man, or any number of men, to attempt to make him King by force. Voluntariness is the principle of his kingdom. 5. It is better to be alone with a mountain than to be with a multitude, when it is entirely inspired with wrong and dangerous notions. 6. Much honour is attempted to be forced on Jesus against his expressed will. Such honour to him is dishonour, and will not have it. He withdraws from it. 7. The highest honour we can pay Jesus and ourselves is to make him King of our hearts and souls. "Enter in, thou blessed of the Lord." - B.T. Parallel Verses KJV: When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. |
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