John 6:14-17

14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 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.

16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 

17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

“He’s the Prophet! Let’s Force Him to Be Our King!”

Why did John use the word sign instead of miracle? In verse 14, we see John’s use of the word “sign” to describe the miracle of the loaves and fish. He only writes about seven signs/miracles in his gospel account. It seems that he picked miracles that he could attach a deeper meaning to, which explains his use of the word “sign” instead of miracle. John doesn’t want us to simply be amazed by the miracle that Jesus performs. He wants us to understand and apply the deeper meaning that the miracle provides. In verse 14, we see that the people seem to somewhat understand the sign, because they call Jesus “the Prophet”. This means they are making the connection back to Deuteronomy 18:15-19 where Moses prophesied to the Israelites that God would “raise up a Prophet” for them. They got part of it right, but verse 15 tells us that they don’t fully understand Jesus’ purpose for being on earth. Jesus read their thoughts like we have seen Him do many times, and saw that they were plotting to make Him their king……by FORCE! That blows my mind! They saw the miracle that Jesus just performed with the bread and fish. They had seen other miracles that He had done by healing the sick. Did they really think they could take Jesus against His will? And why would they want to do that to someone who had just fed them all the bread and fish they wanted? We can clearly see the shallow mentality of the people. They wanted a king whom they could put up on a pedestal in a worldly way to be seen by men. For the Jews, religion was all for show. But wasn’t Israel always obsessed with having an earthly king? Remember in 1 Samuel 8 when Israel begged Samuel, who was the last judge over Israel, for an earthly king? This was a big red flag that their hearts were not right with God. They should have been seeing God as their king, and trusting in Him to lead them and take care of them. God warned them of all the bad things that would happen if they had earthly kings. But they wouldn’t listen. They wanted to be like all the other nations around them who had earthly kings. But why? They had the one true God as their king! Why would they want to be like everyone else when they were God’s chosen people? It seems that the nation of Israel was still looking for an earthly king even at the time of John’s writing. The mentality had not changed. It makes me think…..we are to follow the laws of the land today. We have a government that makes laws that we are required to follow. We are commanded in Romans 13:1-7 to obey the government. Disobeying the government is disobeying God. But…..we have to also recognize that our true king is Jesus. If our government tries to put things into law that are against King Jesus’ Word, then we know where our loyalty has to lie. We are to obey our heavenly King before we obey any other man-made governing authority. (Acts 5:27-29) 

Now let’s talk about Jesus withdrawing to the mountain, because there is symbolism in that as well. What did Moses do when he came down from the Mt. Sinai with the law written by God on stone tablets only to find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf? He broke the tablets, and later had to return to the mountain to make more. The people’s sin caused Moses to have to return to the mountain. Jesus also returned to the mountain in this account, because of the people’s sinful thoughts. Jesus’ and Moses’ actions parallel each other. It also says that Jesus was alone this time without His disciples. 

The text takes a turn in the next few verses. The disciples got on the boat and sailed towards Capernaum. It was dark and Jesus had not come to them. It seems as though they might have been waiting for Jesus to come down from the mountain, but Jesus told them to get in the boat and go to the other side to Bethsaida as we read in Mark 6:45. Jesus stayed on the mountain for a specific reason as He always had a reason for everything that He did. He had another point to make before the evening ended. Jesus never ceased in doing the Father’s will. Question for myself: Am I continually doing the Father’s will? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)