A Great Crowd Followed

Mark 3 : 7 - 12

This passage talks about Jesus who healed, and the church calendar today also talks about God who heals. We sinful human beings live in a condition that is unlike that in the original creation. We have suffering, sadness and sickness. God is able and willing to heal us. Unfortunately, man does not always respond correctly. Sometimes we fail to see the purpose of our health given by God. There are people who are relatively healthy yet they do not worship God. They do not love their neighbours either. Instead, they live for their own pleasure. When they fall ill, they feel very limited in fulfilling their desires. However, God heals not for that purpose. Furthermore, healing is not only about the physical, but also the spiritual aspect. We cannot see this life only from the physical or bodily perspective, but we must be aware that we have a spiritual dimension.

The passage says Jesus withdrew to the sea. Jesus was not obsessed with fame and being a celebrity. He came to heal the life of man, and not to proclaim that He existed. As mentioned in the other gospels, Jesus withdrew to solitude to have an intimate relationship with His Father. Jesus was not a kind of minister who was having a euphoria of success because many people sought him. We actually never know the motivations of people who sought Jesus. However, God knows the innermost of our hearts. He wants to heal us amidst all our life struggles. God’s grace is sufficient for us, but we also have to respond correctly to it.

In this seemingly simple story, there were people who came from Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem, which were in the Jewish territory. However, there were also people from Idumea and beyond the Jordan, where both Jews and gentiles lived. There were also people from around Tyre and Sidon, where the majority of the inhabitants were gentiles. This means that Jesus’ power and presence are not territorial. He is the universal God, not only for christians. His power is not only over Sweden or Indonesia, but it is universal. Jesus came also for you and me, and not for a certain group of people. The ministry of Jesus touched across all social layers, races and nations. We can compare this with other religions, sects or philosophies. There is a tendency for one to be accepted or suitable for a particular area but not others. Eastern philosophy suits the easterners, while western philosophy suits the westerners, and so on. However, Jesus’ power, teaching and ministry are for all peoples, and not for a particular territory. It is important to know and believe this because it will give us courage in our witness. Jesus is not for a particular group of people but for everyone. Jesus could heal sick people from anywhere.

Verse eight says the great crowd heard all that Jesus was doing and came to Him. However, verse nine says that Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready for Him because of the crowd, lest they crushed Him. It is like when a celebrity passes by, crowds of people want to get close and could crush him or her. This reveals that the ego of the crowd is more important than the glory of the celebrity. Otherwise, the crowd might have stayed back and listened to the teachings. There are many people who treat God as a celebrity like this. They are not concerned with worshipping God or listening to His teachings. Instead, they just want to selfishly show off that they can get in contact with the celebrity. Jesus came because He knew the people needed His help, grace and healing. Ironically, the people did not care about His teaching, but just wanted to get close to a famous person. Sometimes there is news of a stampede after a concert - maybe this is a similar situation. They were trying to get close to Jesus and yet they were actually very far from Him. Religious people may look close to God, but in reality they could be very far away from Him.

The term ‘crowd’ used in the gospel of Mark is rather ambiguous. It indicates that there were indeed a lot of people who needed God’s help. However, the depiction of the crowd indicates that they did not really appreciate Jesus. Why do you come to church? To meet fellow churchgoers, or perhaps people with a similar culture and language? Or do we really come to seek Jesus? If people really came to seek Jesus, they would not crush Jesus as in this story. Following Jesus is a personal matter although there are communal aspects to it. If there is no personal relationship with Jesus, then it is not true religion. If we come just to gather with others, then we do not seek Him personally. Some people leave a church because they were seeking conformity with themselves. They did not come as sinful people who want to be changed by God. They were looking for a church or a religious community that suits themselves. It is like the crowd in this passage who might just want to get healed or have other desires.

What is true religion? Do we still have the courage to follow God when the followers are the minority? Or do we just follow the crowd or majority? A religion like this is usually not deep-rooted because it is never personal. One needs others to applaud him or her to boost the religious fervor. It is like the crowd going to a concert or a football match. They are spectators or fans. God needs neither. God wants us to believe and follow Him, and then our lives are transformed. Faith is a personal matter between you and God. There is no such thing in a football match - you would not shout and cheer the team if you were the only spectator. That is what being a spectator would imply. However, if we are followers, then we will keep following even if others do not. I am not saying that christianity is for people who only want to have solitude and do not want to be in a community. We have fellowship and community, but each person should have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - this is the foundation.

Verse ten says Jesus had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him. There is an irony here: Jesus truly wanted to heal the people, but what did the people do after they were healed? There was no confession, no following, no praise to God. It is even more ironic that there was a kind of ‘confession’ from the unclean spirits in verse eleven: they fell down before Him. There is no mention of the healed people falling before Jesus. I am not saying that the unclean spirits were worshipping correctly. However, this is indeed an irony. They were acknowledging that Jesus was truly the Son of God. I am not saying they had a personal relationship with Jesus. The people who were healed could believe in Jesus and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, yet such a confession was not found, as if there is something wrong with the story. Why was it the unclean spirits who fell down before Jesus and confessed that He is the Son of God? We mentioned before that the power of Jesus is universal. His power, holiness and truth are so universal that they have to be confessed by the unclean spirits, who were actually enemies of the Kingdom of God. Such universality is a mark of true religion. Even the enemies have to confess that it is true. Sometimes in life we might be accepted by people who like us or benefit from us. However, there is a saying that the best praise or acknowledgment is one that comes from an enemy. If you have positive testimonials from people around you e.g. family and friends, people might consider them as normal or expected. Recently there was a Chopin piano competition in Warsaw, and the outcome of who won it prompted many debates. Many were not happy with the decision of the judges. Upon investigation into the biography of the winner, it turns out that the winner was a pupil of the main judge. People then thought that was the reason for the victory. I am not trying to analyze this case or state my personal opinion. Rather, with this illustration, I am trying to say that if people who give affirmations in our lives are people close to us, it is not so surprising. However, if there are people who do not like us, and yet they say that we do the right thing, that is the real acknowledgment. Jesus’ power and holiness are so universal that even the unclean spirits had to confess them. We are not unclean spirits. We are man, created by God, yet we do not want to confess about Jesus - is that not ironic?

This passage is relatively short, but here we can see what it means to believe in Jesus and follow Him instead of becoming like the crowd who pressed around Him like a celebrity. If our lives are then healed by Christ, what should our response then be? Should we not worship Him? We confess He is the Lord of our lives. We also witness Him as God whom we believe in our lives. In Europe, religion is cornered into a very private matter. You probably will not get persecuted for believing in Christ, but the societal rule is that you must keep it to yourself. You can be happy with your God, but do not tell me to believe in Him. We might also then think that it is indeed a private matter and refrain from talking about Jesus with others. How can people hear about Christ if no one tells them? Sometimes we fear offending people and lose our friends. There is an inspiring story in Indonesia. There was a person who heard about Christ and then believed. However, the person thought it was a shame that it was not christians who brought him to faith, and no christians had ever told him about this beautiful truth. When reading such a story, we are rebuked. We keep thinking that if we share the gospel, we will disturb the privacy of others. We are not aware that there are people out there who are really waiting for this good news but there is no one who tells them. We should pray a lot for God’s work, wherever you are, be it in Stockholm, Hamburg, or Switzerland, so that God brings people who are really seeking God to a true encounter with the true God. Do not be selfish. You have received something precious and kept it to yourself.

I am not saying that every time we share what we have received, we will be accepted. There will probably be many rejections. However, we do not preach the gospel and witness Christ for the outcome. The Bible does not say that. We witness and share about Christ because God commands it, and not because of the result that people accept and believe. The Bible also says what we do will not be in vain, because there are the elect who will certainly come to God. The elect who have been chosen in eternity by God will not be able to resist the love of God. They will finally surrender their lives to Christ. Is this not a comfort for you and me? Should we not be more active in our witness? Let us pray for God’s work in Europe that more people will come to know Christ. You and I are all humans who have struggles. Cast them unto God, and He will take care of us. He knows our needs. Do not let them become our focus, lest we become like the crowd in this passage. You and I should focus on seeking God, enjoying God, worshipping and praising God. As for other difficulties in life, God knows them. The Bible teaches us to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. May there be a spiritual revival for all of us. We should not waste time entrusted by God to witness for the glory of His name. May God bless us all. (S.W.)