Based on John 6:1-15 (New King James Version)
“After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?’ But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.’ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?’ Then Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.’ Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 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.’ 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.”
Unfortunately, many of us err because we do not understand what we need to understand. And by not wanting to understand (because “being able” to understand is not the problem), we make life more difficult for ourselves, sowing more evil than good. And by making wrong decisions, we throw away a lot of valuable resources, like time, money, and finally, spiritual gains. When mistakes occur, even though things may look good at the moment, you are going down a twisted path that may lead to an uncertain and evil end. Therefore, we need to correct these misconceptions so that better things can be achieved (for our own good, and for the good of others), but it’s not easy because it goes against our very nature.
The first misconception that we see in this passage (or more exactly, the one with the greatest importance) is the issue that they saw Jesus as a prophet. That is a huge problem. Jesus was not a prophet, and He cannot be acknowledged as such. If Jesus is not acknowledged as what He truly is, and with a complete internal conviction, nothing will be gained. There will be no salvation, or forgiveness of sins, or divine direction, or godly blessings, etc., etc. Quite simply, without acknowledging and accepting Jesus as who He is, then the only path left is hell (it’s not my opinion, but rather, it’s what God’s Word says).
Jesus was and is God. He has to be acknowledged and accepted personally as the Almighty God, the Most High, the Creator, and everything that is a part of being the only God, as part of the Divine Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), because the three are one. If you do not believe in His divinity, then you will not be able to experience His divine power, starting with eternal life. And the second way that He must be acknowledged as is as the Lord. In order for God’s salvation to take effect on your life, you have to belong to Him fully and completely. He has to be the Lord of your life. As you can see, this has nothing to do with being a mere prophet.
The second misconception is related to the first one, and that is: We are not the ones in charge, but rather, God is the one in charge. From the moment we acknowledge Jesus as God and Lord, then as logic would dictate, we need to do what He says as opposed to us trying to command or manipulate Him. It is impossible and absurd to try to command or manipulate God. And besides, nothing good can come from that. The problem is that nothing good comes from trying to get our way or trying to fulfill our desires (and I know it is difficult to accept this). We need to understand that our instincts and desires are governed by the sin that lives within us. That’s the problem. When we surrender our lives to the Lord, it’s only the beginning of a long and hard process of trying to submit those instincts and desires under His dominion. So then, we are incapable of thinking and doing good on our own (I know this is hard, but don’t get discouraged or rebel because you are only going to hurt yourself).
We see this, for example, when Peter tries to persuade the Lord about not dying: “Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’ Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’” Matthew 16:22-24. When we think carnally, we are only putting into action Satan’s will, and not God’s will. The Word also says this: “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.” Jeremiah 7:22-24. When we look to fulfill our will (or achieve our own supposed happiness), we go backwards, to the past that God needs to bury so that He can make new things in our lives, so that we can live the abundant life He wishes to give us. It’s not about happiness, but rather, it’s about eternal purposes that go beyond our supposed happiness or fulfilling our own personal desires. This is what the Word says also: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:7-9. If we desire good for our lives, we need to change our way of thinking through the work of the Holy Spirit and His Word in us. Our understanding needs to change just like God counsels us here: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2.
Do you want for your life to truly change? My best counsel for you is that you should leave behind these misconceptions and hang on to the Lord with all your heart, following Him (and not your carnal desires) each day faithfully. Lord bless! John