Matthew 5:1
Ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος,
Now after he saw the crowds he ascended the mount,
καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ προσῆλθαν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ·
and after he sat down his disciples went to him.
I wonder what was going through the disciples’ minds as they stood (or sat) in the midst of the crowds, watching as Jesus removed himself from those crowds. Did they hang on his every step in anticipation of what he might do next? Or were they so distracted by the crowds that they did not even realize that Jesus had gone up the mountain? I would tend to favor the latter, since the disciples did not go to Jesus until after he had already climbed the hill and sat down. How long had Jesus been sitting up there before his disciples realized that he had gone up?
I don’t know.
The important thing here seems to be that the disciples went to him – they followed him. They took their cues from him. Jesus climbed the hill in response to the crowds, but he was not taking his cues from the crowds; and he certainly was not taking his cues from his disciples. He was leader. He was initiator. He was in control. As a leader I must pray for wisdom to know when to be in and among the crowds and when to climb the hill; but as a disciple – a follower – I must take all my cues from Jesus and from the Spirit whom he left in his place. In reality, as a man, even Jesus himself did not act on his own accord, but in accordance with the will of the Father so that he might serve as an example for his followers to follow (John 5:19,30).
I am not sure if it was intentional (I hope I am not reading too much into the text), but this simple verse seems to foreshadow the more prominent ascension that would take place less than three years later. After he saw the crowds – after he took on flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) – he ascended “far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10). Now that Christ is risen, we who have put our trust in him have been raised up with him (Ephesians 2:6); and, if we have been raised with Christ, we ought to seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).
He ascended and his disciples went to him. May we do likewise.
