Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

John 6:15 - Retreat into the mountains

 

John 6:15 - Retreat into the mountains

Robin and I love the mountains. We somewhat joke about it saying, you can simplify people into two categories. There are beach people, and then there are mountain people. We are mountain people. My gosh, who wants sand trapped into every possible spot on your body, so frustrating. 

The mountains for us are a retreat, a solitary and peaceful place where the hurry of life slows down, where schedules are abolished, and where the beauty and the presence of God is all around. So, when I come across John 6:5, I lean in and pay close attention. 

“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭6:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This verse comes right after Jesus' miracle of feeding the thousands. Jesus took the few hamburger buns and fish sticks and feeds thousands and thousands of people, and has leftovers. The people were amazed and said: “Surely, this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 

What got my attention in the verse was Jesus withdrawing to the mountains. But, let’s unpack a little more in this, I see something connected that needs to be another take away for me. 

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force... these people were amazed, and shocked and wanted to celebrate Jesus. Think about this, and personalize it. Maybe you just closed a huge deal for the company, or you solved a major issue at work, performed with excellence a complicated surgery, or whatever and the organization, neighborhood or hospital wants to celebrate you and your achievement. This honor and praise would feel good, and all the emotions would be running in high gear. My guess is, this is what the disciples were feeling. Pride was rising, energy levels moving up, and the beginning of worldly enthusiasm was creeping in. But here’s the deal, Jesus wanted nothing to do with this seduction. Jesus wasn’t impressed that the crowds were impressed; Jesus was on a mission and was not going to get caught up in the worldly enthusiasm. Jesus retreated, alone. 

In this passage of Scripture, it does not say what Jesus did in the mountains by himself. But we can look at other passages, and make some conclusions. My conclusions of what Jesus did are very similar to what I wrote about earlier for Robin and I. The mountains for us are a retreat, a solitary and peaceful place where the hurry of life slows down, where schedules are abolished, and where the beauty and the presence of God is all around. Jesus withdrew from the crowds who wanted to celebrate Him so he could spend some time with his Father, God, and enjoy and be filled and fueled for his mission. 

You see, Jesus knew that the worldly praise that was coming from the crowds would bring no real fuel for his soul, so he retreated and withdrew to spend time with the Father, the only one who can truly fill our soul. So, as I process this and think about these few words in this verse, I am left with this reminder; the things of this world can not truly fill our soul, only our Heavenly Father can. The boat, the new house, the likes on Instagram, the praise at the office, or in the game...the only way to truly fill our soul with fuel and to be filled with life is given by God himself. We must take the appropriate time, retreat into the mountains if we must...but getaway, alone with Jesus, and seek to be filled and fueled for this thing called life. 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch