John 6:25

When the boat people find Jesus in Capernaum, on the other side of the sea, they ask him, “Teacher, when did you get here?”  John 6:25 EFP

Perhaps a better question would have been, “How did you get here?”  Remember, the people had seen him disappear, followed soon by his disciples’ sudden departure without their Master on board.  As far as they knew he was still on the other side of the sea in the Perean hills.

But it is Jesus they seek, and since they are apparently surprised to find him in Capernaum, they ask him the first question that comes to mind, “When did you get here?”  My guess is that it was more an ice-breaker type of question, since their entire search was in response to the miracle he performed in Perea.  “When did you get here?”  What kind of question is that?  They already knew the answer—he got there before they did.  A bit disingenuous, to say the least.  I sense they wanted an encore of the day before!  Am I disingenuous with God when I pray?  Do I say things that don’t make sense simply because they sound like prayer words?  Do I lose sight of Jesus even as I seek him, because my motives are not pure or genuine? 

If I am sincerely seeking Jesus, why should I be surprised to find him?  I believe Jesus wants to be found more than we want to find him.  But when we do find him, we should not be in charge of setting the agenda. I should leave that up to him.