In chapter 6 of the gospel of John, Jesus miraculously feeds a crowd with five loves of barley bread and two fish. What fascinates me about this story is the very natural response of the people. According to verse 14, the people said, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world” (NIV). Verse 15 continues this thought by telling us Jesus knew they intended to make him king by force.

This interchange is important in many ways. First of all, it impacts our view of the people to whom Jesus came. To say that Israel somehow failed by rejecting her Messiah, is to forget that Israel was never meant to accept her Messiah. Jesus intentionally made sure they did not and would not accept him. When they got ready to crown him he would withdraw. When they got comfortable with him, he would offend them. When they expressed their offense at him, rather than apologizing, his words were more barbed and intended for greater offense. Jesus apparently had never read How to Win Friends and Influence People. When they were ready to make him king, because they are sure he is the Messiah, he withdraws from them. However, this is not what most intrigues me about this passage.

They believe he is the prophet because he miraculously fed them. If he is made king he can continue to provide them with food. Hungry people do anything to be filled. Hungry people will follow anyone who promises them bread. They will even start a revolution to satisfy their hunger. They see in Jesus, not a Messiah who will save them from sin, but a king who will save them from hunger. Such a king can make it possible for everyone to be fed. No one would starve, or even have to earn their bread. Such a king not only meets the needs of the hungry, but fulfills the desires of the lazy. A common rule of economics is that of the “Free Rider.” Mankind always does the least necessary. Any person who can benefit without any effort will do so. This is a major problem facing welfare programs throughout history—they too often overlook this economic fact. If a person will eat the same with effort as they will without effort it is natural to simply take what is given and avoid the effort. Most of these programs subsidize laziness and punish hard work, by taking from the one who works hard and giving to the one who will not. Here we see Jesus facing his own “free rider” problem. These people do not want to be saved or even to serve him. They want him to serve them and to do so in a very specific way—through the giving of bread. Later, in the same chapter of John, we see this again. When Jesus makes claims about himself (claims they had previously entertained themselves), they ask him for a sign in a not very subtle way, “What miraculous sing then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” They continue with a not too subtle recommendation: “Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’” (John 6:30f NIV). We can paraphrase this with: “What can you do to prove you are who you claim to be? Oh, here’s an idea! Give us bread and we’ll believe in you.” Not only does Jesus refuse to be baited, but he actually goes out of his way to offend them. He says that rather than giving them bread, he is the bread they need. When this does exactly what it is supposed to do, he doubles down and continues by saying, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world” (John 6:51 NIV). Shortly after this, most of those who had wanted to make him king when being fed rejected him when he refused to play along.

Jesus is not some heavenly slot machine—pull the handle and a prize comes out. Jesus is the lord of heaven and earth, the king of the universe. He does not need our belief and neither does he need us to concur with his choice of action or direction. He will choose and we will live with his choice. He will act and we will experience his action. He will decide and we can only follow.

When I watch a movie, I am looking for the philosophy and worldview being demonstrated. One movie that I loved was The Grey with Liam Neeson. Since I have spent years discussing and studying the philosophical Problem of Evil, I love when Neeson’s character is lying on the bank of a stream, wolves coming quickly as he looks into the sky, and calls on God to take action. What I love most, is that God does nothing. Many have gotten to their own version of this, promising to believe, to change, to be better, etc., if only God will step in and act. Yet, when God does not act they take it as an indictment of faith. However, it is just at this point, when He chooses not to act, that God most demonstrates His divinity and sovereignty. If God is at your beck and call, ready to provide the miracles you need to rescue you from your own life and your own choices or circumstances then He is reduced, and you have become God. This cry of “God if you will do (fill in the blank) then I will do (fill in the blank) for you,” is nothing more than an attempt to manipulate God. A god that can be manipulated is not worthy of worship.

Jesus chose not to be manipulated by the crowd offering am earthly crown. He chose to follow the divine plan, leading to a divine crown—a plan that required rejection and crucifixion.

In my devotional reading I have moved back into the Minor Prophets. I always joke that these are the easiest part of any Bible to find because the pages are usually still stuck together. It is sad that these are so overlooked by the average Bible reader—seldom read except as part of an organized Bible reading program. The Minor Prophets have much to say to us today about major questions we have in life.

One such question is my philosophical favorite—the question of evil. The question of evil is one that has inspired generations of unbelief from people seeking but failing to find an answer. It is asked in various ways:

“Why do bad things happen to good people?”

“Why would an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God allow evil to exist?”

“Why would God permit sin, especially some of the more horrendous sins?”

If you think you are the first to ask this, rest assured that you are not alone. If you would like to consider my answer, check out my article here. This question has been asked from time immemorial. In the Minor Prophets we find it addressed in Habakkuk. The prophet starts by asking God why He seems to not listen to calls for help (1:2), and why it seems the law is paralyzed and justice never prevails (1:4). We’ve all felt this way at times and we want to call God to task for it, just as Job did and as Habakkuk does here. God responded to Job by showing his own smallness in asking the question. God responds to Habakkuk by declaring the intent to make things even worse.

God tells Habakkuk that He is going to answer the question of why evil succeeds and good fails, by calling up and bringing forth a far more evil nation—Babylon—to sack Judea and carry God’s people into captivity. In other words, God is going to answer the question of evil by sovereignly calling into service those who are far more evil. An evil nation will prosper and those under God’s covenant are to be scourged by them.

Habakkuk’s response is beautiful: “O Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O Lord, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish” (1:12). He sees that God, who is their everlasting Lord, has a different time frame from mankind. While mankind wants an answer and delivery now, God has His own plan, agenda and schedule. God will follow that and not be held to a creature’s standards. The prophet knows that God’s plan includes the eventual delivery of his people and their purification. Habakkuk trusts God to make the right decision and understands that whatever God does is within God’s right to do.

When you look at the world around and wonder why evil seems to flourish and good seems to fail, understand that God is in control. His schedule is working. His plan is succeeding.

Ruth Gleaning

I’ve moved to one of the most beautiful stories of scripture for my devotional reading, the book of Ruth. This story moves me as I think of an old woman and her daughter-in-law reduced to harvesting grain left over in the fields and then go on through the story and discover how God cares for them. The story begins with the heart breaking story of a Jewish family moving to Moab to escape a famine in their homeland. While there the father dies and the two sons take Moabite wives. In time, the sons die. In the world view of Naomi, the old woman, God has greatly stricken her. For what sin was she stricken? She gives no indication of knowing, but insists that the actions of God have been for her harm. It is easy for us to fall into this same pattern. We assume bad things are a punishment from God. This book should dispel that habit.

Had these things not happened we would not have the beautiful story of an outsider being accepted into the people of God. Not only was Ruth accepted into Israel, a relative by marriage overlooked her place and condition taking her as wife (another saw this as too much). In time she went on to become the grandmother of the King of Israel. This of course made Naomi the great grandmother of the king, and when Ruth was blessed Naomi was blessed as well. When bad things come our way, it is natural to assume the worst, to complain that God is unfair or to assume he is punishing us. Perhaps he is pushing us along to get us into the area where he intends to bless us. Perhaps his blows are not affliction, but the wind driving us into the land of blessing. When life seems to punch you in the head, take a quick look back to see if God is showing you an area to repent. If there is such, then repent quickly and turn from your sins. However, realize that God is pointing you forward, not back. He is the God who makes what was into what will be. He is working on you, through good and bad. They are not meant to simply grind you into the ground, but to make you stronger.