‘Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.’
John 6:15
After Jesus fed the 5,000 men, the Jews sought to make Him king. The Jews had often suffered famine in those times allowing their surrounding nations and enemies to prevail against them. Once they saw the power that Jesus had to multiply a few loaves of bread they instantly thought He was the one who could also provide protection against their evil enemies.
Their plan would get rid of king Herod, who allowed the Romans to be in power, and force Jesus to bring control back for the Jews. Jesus perceived this notion either by divine revelation or by watching circumstances unfold. So before the Jews could team together and form a new government, Jesus departed to the mountain to be alone and to pray to the Father.
If Jesus would have become king on earth, He would have never went to the cross where He essentially conquered the entire world. Jesus was fully aware of what was happening and knew the hearts of men. It is also possible that the disciples themselves were going along with making Him king because it would give them a seat of power in Jesus’ kingdom.
Sometimes we get the wrong idea about what God is doing in our life. We must be careful to make sure that we are submitting to His will and not trying to accomplish our agenda. We know the power of God and we want to see great things happen but it’s not always the plan of God to do so. We must be patient and wait upon the Lord.
Pray
Lord, You know all things and I don’t. I submit myself to your authority and I will wait for You to instruct me. Help me to know Your will and Your way.