John 6:1-21

Democracy

“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”

The Good News is the message of the Kingdom of God. One thing we often overlook when we talk about the kingdom is that in order for a kingdom to exist there must be a King; not a President, not a Prime Minister, not a General, but a King.

There were several things wrong with this notion that the people were going to make Jesus king by force. There is no question that He would make a great king. Of course He would. In fact, there was no question regarding His right to rule as king or even the fact that He was indeed their king. So, what’s the problem? It’s a big problem.

This “democratic” ground swell to make Jesus king was wrong because it was...democratic. The fundamental basis of democracy is that the authority to govern is derived from the consent of the governed. If that is true then what happens when the people no longer want Him as king? In fact in a few more months they would be shouting, “We will not have this man to rule over us! We have no king but Caesar.”

The truth is that Jesus was and is king. They did not make Him king and neither do we. He is king regardless of for whom we vote. He is king regardless of who does or doesn’t agree with His decisions. And His decisions are not subject to the advise and consent of any deliberative body.

That is the way it is with a king. And the way it is with government? All authority comes from God. I’m not saying that democracy is bad or evil. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t vote. I am saying that if you are only going to do one or the other in the choice between voting and praying - praying is the one that actually makes a difference.