Two Roads

...Jesus would not entrust himself to them [the clamoring crowds], for he knew all people. He did not need human testimony about them, for he knew what was in them. (John 2:24-25)

I would think it must have been incredibly tempting for Jesus to be a Rock Star. At this early point in his ministry when he is beginning to perform miraculous signs, everybody wants a piece of him, every agent wants to sign him to a deal.

He must have been tempted, human as he was. Yet in his divinity he could see into the hearts of the sycophants and see just how conditional their adoration was. He knew as soon as his true mission was made known that the throngs would turn on him and eventually abandon him. And so he did not give in to that temptation and allow himself to be carried off in their grasping arms, away from his path.

The way of God is not a ticker-tape parade where one is congratulated and adored. It is a narrow, often lonely road that one is mocked for taking.