“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”
The extreme effectiveness of both David and Jesus on their respective missions brought, at least at first, more hardship than personal benefit. For both, it aroused the envy of the powerful. Jesus was no longer able to move about freely due to the adoring crowds, and was even at risk of being crushed by the effects of his popularity. David was also prevented by his popularity from moving about freely, instead being forced to hide from the angry king. In the case of David, Saul was provoked into plotting his death. So too with Jesus and the Pharisees.
It is clear in both cases that the popularity they experienced was not worth pursuing for its own sake. Those who were jealous of that popularity missed the degree to which it was a hassle. And yet they desired it because they feared that without it their own positions might become irrelevant. The popularity of both David and Jesus might well lead them to the kingship. Yet they only possessed this popularity because of their faithfulness to their mission, not because they sought it for its own sake. We can see this clearly in the ongoing fidelity of David to Saul while he was king. And we can see it in the way that Jesus did not want anyone to make known the Son of God, lest others accept a skewed vision of what that meant. Because they weren't obsessed with their own status they were ultimately far more trustworthy than their opponents who obsessed about theirs.
Success and popularity are not goals worth pursuing for their own sake. In reality, the tradeoffs are often not worth whatever payoffs there may be. Of course we do want to be successful, since the alternative, being a failure is highly undesirable. And we do want people to like us, since that too is better than the alternative. But when we begin to obsess about either of these as ends in themselves we become twisted. We become both harder to love and less effective in our other ambitions. Maybe if Saul had been a little less proud he would have been a little more effective on the field of battle, though that is speculative. Instead of focusing on these lesser goods we should make the mission our top priority, just as did both David and Jesus. We should seek first the kingdom and let God add whatever else besides that we may need. Seeking the kingdom first implies doing what we ought to do for others without being obsessed about our own reward, just as Jesus did with the crowds.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
Elevation Worship - See A Victory
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