My husband and I aren’t usually into documentaries, but we recently watched two separate films focusing on two very different mountaineers. One was about a Canadian man who was out in nature every chance he had and loved solo climbs with as little gear as possible (that means no ropes!). He also eschewed social media (and even cell phones at times) and self-promotion, considering climbing to be a spiritual endeavor.
The other documentary was about an ex-military Nepalese man who wanted to set new records and purposefully worked with sherpas (mountain guides) to bring attention to his country’s long history of paving the way for record-breaking men to reach the summit. He once posted a picture of a long line of people waiting to summit Mt. Everest, and it went viral around the globe.
It was so intriguing to see and learn about such differing personalities and approaches to mountaineering in these two men who shared an intense passion for the sport. I couldn’t help but think of Jesus—both the man the crowds wanted Him to be and the Man He actually was and is.
Who the Crowds Were
Before we look at who they thought Jesus was, we need to look at who the crowds were.
“Likely, they are peasants and farmers and fishermen—the poor, the lower classes of society, the ‘people of the land.’ But they are also tax collectors, … prostitutes, and those labeled ‘sinners’ by the religious powers that be. … They are mostly Israelites, Galileans, and Judeans, people who worship the God of Israel while under occupation by the Roman Empire. But some of them are Gentiles, non-Israelites. … Jesus seems to love the crowds of Galilee. For the most part, he avoids Jerusalem and the larger cities and spends his time near the sea, in the farms and smaller villages.”1
We know from the Gospels that Jesus had compassion “for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Jesus healed their sick and raised their dead. He cast out demons and forgave sins. He spoke to them plainly and in parables.
We also know that the crowds didn’t always know quite what to make of Jesus:
“Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ And they answered, ‘John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.’ Then he said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And Peter answered, ‘The Christ of God.’” (Luke 9:18-20)
Who the Crowds Thought Jesus Was
The name Jesus was most often called by the apostles (besides “Jesus” perhaps) was the word “Christ” from the Greek or the word “Messiah” from Hebrew, both meaning “anointed one”. By the time of Jesus’ ministry, there had been much discussion and speculation among the Jews about the promised messiah (There were, in fact, many proposed messiahs before and after Jesus’ time.).
After the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd exclaimed, “‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!’” (John 6:14) And Jesus’ response? “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” (v. 15, emphasis added)
Jesus knew that it wasn’t time for such attention to be drawn to Him, for it was not yet His time to go to the cross. He saw their hearts and knew that they were like the Israelites in 1 Samuel 8 who, even after being warned by Samuel that they were rejecting God as their king said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” (1 Samuel 8:19-20)
The masses were tired of being under Roman occupation and wanted a king who could overthrow the powers that be and restore Israel as a nation.
Jesus Is So Much More
About a century after Jesus’ death and resurrection, a man named Bar Kochba led troops in an uprising against Rome. As he won some early skirmishes, Jews started to believe that this man was the messiah and would be the deliverer they needed from their Roman oppressors.
“The fight began in earnest in 135 CE— and it was a disaster. Rome crushed the uprising and over half a million Jews were slain and hundreds of thousand more exiled.”2
Even when the Jews got the man they wanted, he wasn’t the Man they needed. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall but who we are before the Living God is what will last for eternity. It’s as if the majority of those listening to Jesus’ teaching were crying with the psalmist, “Rise up; come to our help!” (Psalm 44:26a) They were begging Jesus to heal them and feed them and relieve them from the very real struggles they were living in. Jesus saw those needs and was moved to relieve some of their suffering.
But more than rescue from political unrest, the Jews and Gentiles needed to realize their deepest, truest need:
“Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!” (Psalm 44:26b, emphasis added)
We could host a whole series on messianic prophecies, what they meant, and how they have been or will be fulfilled. Pages and pages could be filled detailing cultural context and what the Jews were looking for in a deliverer. The simple truth is that we are the crowds. We all have wanted Jesus to fit into our neat little box of what we think He should be for us. But Jesus is so, so much more.
The Servant King
Jesus came to this world humbly and left this world humbly, as well. The very powers that the people hoped He would overthrow were the ones who asked if He should be crucified or set free. And the crowds who had so recently hailed Him as king on His triumphant entry in Jerusalem were many of the same people who cried “Crucify Him!” He was the unexpected servant King—Son of David, Son of Man, and Son of God—the One who was born to die for the sins of all who would believe in Him.
One day, this Messiah, this Deliverer will return to rule and reign over all of creation “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11). But for now, He is slowly growing His kingdom on earth, and it starts with our hearts. Jesus deserves to be King of our hearts. How is He calling you to give Him greater reign in your life today?
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