45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
All was not well in Israel. People were living under occupation, and the Roman occupiers had a tight grip on society. Puppet kings were installed and taxes were a constant burden. Any visible dissent was met with crushing force. Herod Antipas, appointed by Rome, was ruling from his stronghold palace of Machaerus in modern day Jordan. Here, he imprisoned and later killed John the Baptist.
Israel was looking forward to the coming of a king who would lead a rebellion and restore Israel, expelling the army of occupation. This would match the cultural expectation even of the disciples. One of them is a man called Simon, also called the zealot. This helps to differentiate him from Simon Peter, but also suggests that he was, or at least had been, connected to the 1st Century ‘zealot’ movement, whose stated intention was to rid Israel of Roman rulers by force. We can start to see how the mustering and feeding of 5,000 men might look, especially to Simon and his friends, like an opportunity to take this dream forwards.
Jesus does three things. First, he removes the disciples from the situation, from place of potential temptation, sending them back across the Sea of Galilee. Second, he dismisses the crowd. Their dispersal reduces the risk of the crowd provoking Herod and his Roman masters by attempting rebellion. Third, at this moment of pressure and potential crisis, he retires to the mountainside to pray, and to seek the will of His Father in heaven..
What has all this to do with us?
Like you and me, the disciples were immersed in and influenced by their own culture. Like you and me, this leaves us open to temptations rooted in personal ambition. There were voices in the crowd calling for Jesus to be anointed as King (John 6:15). It’s highly likely that at least one of the disciples would have sided with the crowd. Jesus steers the disciples away from temptation. That might remind you of a familiar prayer which Jesus taught all his disciples, including you and me.
‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ (Matthew 6:13)
John tells us that the crowd were ready to anoint Jesus as King. An army marches on it’s stomach, and here was a leader who has proved his ability to satisfy the hunger of 5,000 men. More than enough men with which to start an uprising. A great opportunity, one might think, to establish his place as Messiah. But this was not Christ’s plan, because it was not God’s plan. To be declared King at this point would have led to his immediate imprisonment and arrest by the Romans, and there was still work to be done. I’m not only impressed that he stepped away, but the way he steps away. There’s no confrontation. Before the matter gets out of hand, he deals with it. Jesus simply dismisses the crowd and walks away.
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9)
.An army of 5,000 men would offer a great start to an uprising. defused the situation. and We are to learn from Jesus. We cannot ignore the magnitude of the moment. Jesus has just performed a powerful and very public miracle. He has managed a critical challenge which could have crushed his developing work and ministry. At this most difficult moment, Jesus seeks the undisturbed presence of God.
Jesus shows us how to respond to difficult times. Having dealt with the problem, he seeks the presence of God. He goes away from the distractions of the crowd and even the disciples to a solitary place, on the mountainside to pray. We need to find our own personal mountainside – the quiet place where we can be still before God, undisturbed by the noise of our world. The place where we can tell Him what is on our mind and seek His way forwards. It may be your own room, it might be your Church, it might be a hillside, the bench in your local park or even the local coffee shop.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.(Jeremiah 29:13)
Like those first disciples, we are called to step away from temptation and the powerful distraction of worldly ambition. Like Christ we are to seek God’s direction for the path we should take.
Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him. Deuteronomy 11:22
