¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (Jn. 6:15, NIV)

The crowd had their reasons for wanting Jesus to be king. They were tired of Roman oppression and he had just fed 5,000 of them with the starter kit of five loaves and two fish.

We have our reasons for Jesus to be “king” in the U.S. or some other place in the world. Our reasons are never enough. Our reasons are never high enough. When it comes down to it, we want him king for us. Our benefit. Our ease.

Maybe we want him king for our solutions to world problems. But even if our reasons seem altruistic, they simply can’t compare to what HE has in mind.

He will be King. Just not to our agenda, our measurements, our liking, or our timing.