Monday Meditation
December 12, 2016
From the desk of A.J. Higgins
The Self-Effacing Christ
“And when they found Him on the other side of the sea,
they said unto Him, Rabbi, when camest Thou hither?”
John 6:25
The details of the story are well known. After feeding the 5,000 the Lord Jesus sent His disciples away, telling them to go over to Capernaum. The storm which arose, the miracle of the Lord walking on the troubled sea to come to them, the stilling of the storm – all served to reveal His greatness, glory, and deity. His, “It is I; be not afraid” have quieted many hearts going through their own personal storms.
To crowds, however, there remained a mystery. They saw that He did not go with His disciples when they sailed. They realized, as well, that He was not to be found on their side of the water. When they found Him in Capernaum, they were unable to understand how He had managed to be there when He was not in the ship.
This seeming mystery precipitated their question: “When camest Thou hither?” How did He manage to be there when there was no other way than by ship? Here then, was an opportunity for the Lord Jesus to tell them of His miracle. Imagine how impressed they would be with the fact that He had walked on the water to meet His disciples! You can almost imagine the buzz in the crowd as He announced His feat. Minds would have been reeling at the thought of a Man walking on water. Word would have spread quickly to the people. He had given them bread to eat (vv 1-12) and now He had manifested power over the water. Some of the more religious would have linked that with Moses – bread out of heaven and power over the water just as Moses had displayed in bringing water from the rock. “Any man who can fill our stomachs and satisfy our thirst deserves to be our king!”
But the Lord Jesus did not answer their question as we would have answered or expected someone to answer. He turns the question around and tells them that they were seeking Him for what they could get from Him. They had seen the miracle and yet had not seen the miracle of the loaves. They saw only kitchens full of bread and days of luxury.
In the eyes of a PR person, the Lord Jesus missed a “golden opportunity” to advance Himself and make Himself known. Yet in the eyes of heaven, and by heaven’s rating system, the Lord displayed the rare grace of humility and self-effacement. He did not draw attention to Himself. But it was not merely that He did not draw personal attention to Himself; His reply to them was to awaken their consciences and to bring light that would have led to spiritual hunger and thirst being eternally satisfied. He never drew attention to Himself; self-promotion was foreign to His nature.
The blessing of others is what marked Him in His pathway. He had come to do His Father’s will (John 6:38) and not to seek His own welfare. At every step, He was marked by a selfless devotion and delight in that will.
Consider:
1. Look at some of the questions men asked the Lord Jesus in John, and notice especially how He replied? It was always for their spiritual benefit.
2. What things hindered them from seeing the “sign” and only seeing the miracle?
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