Sermon: Crowds

Crowds

Read Mark 3:7-12--Pray

Crowds can be interesting to be part of, I mean they can become expressive and load. Or a crowd can be passive and quiet. Crowds can very in size, from small to thousands. But the ability to control a crowd is another thing entirely.

I sat in a crowd of 70,000 people once and gathered to watch a U2 concert, and Bono the lead singer of the band had the ability to capture and hold every person, it seemed at will. I have been to a promise keeper rallies, Joe White was playing the part of Peter. In the morning session he chased and captured a rooster…holding that rooster by the neck…he began to lament how that roosters crow reminded him of his betrayal of his Lord and savior…and I watch 30,000 men…biker, nerd, athletes…men from all walks of life…cry like babies!

I believe Jesus must have had these same abilities; …because the crowds he dealt with was very diverse. Think for a moment, what kind of people would have been drawn to Jesus.

Some would have those looking for the messiah and try to forcefully place in charge. These same people where looking for a king to break the Roman rule and restore Israel’s place in the world. The zealots of his time longed for this to happen, but Jesus came with a different message.

Jesus withdraws to the lake with his disciples, and large crowd follows him. The crowd came from all over Israel (v.8). In fact the crowd became so large Jesus was afraid of being pushed into the lake, so he had a boat readied in case he needed to get away.

The needy pushed forward to be healed just waiting for a chance to be healed by Jesus. Reading this make me think about crowds of people, who would have made up this group who was here to see Jesus.

By now many had heard of the miracles Jesus had performed and I’m sure some came out of curiosity. I call this crowd the…

The Spectators

They came to see the healing and the miracles. They had heard the rumors and they need to come see for themselves. Many of these people have no intention of ever becoming a ‘follower’ of Christ, they simply where curious.

These same people exist today. They are the “rubber neckers”, they come to church not because they themselves believe, but maybe their spouse does. They like to see what is happening, they enjoy the show or the fellowship. They absolutely have no intention of ever becoming a Christians. They are neighbors who look into your life and watch to see what you do differently. They watch to see if you follow the stereotypical thoughts about Christians. Sometime they will ask questions and they’ll make comments like, “I’m glad you have found what works for you”. But nothing more, nothing real serious, they are simply Spectators…

The Needy

The next crowd are those in need, the sick and the diseased, those who where without hope of a cure. They are mentioned in scripture, they struggled to get to the front of the crowd, twisting turning they had nothing left to lose. For most of them it didn’t matter who Jesus was they just wanted to be healed. They wanted relief.

The needy are with us today, some of them get to the point where they will say anything to get some relief of their pain. Many in the group in Jesus time wasn’t interested in what Jesus had to teach, but merely saw Jesus as a means to end. Some in church fall into this category, the church is a means to end. It meets some physical, of psychological need. But that isn’t what it’s all about. They visit a church as long as they benefit in some small way and then move one to the next church. Another crowd is the one not mentioned…is the

The unbelievers

This group isn’t mentioned but you know they are there. The unbelievers, the skeptics, the Pharisees and many other fell into this group. They where watching very close, looking for a way to disprove Jesus and his work. Jumping on every opportunity to show the world Jesus is a fraud. They hate the ideas he brings, how he toys with them, and how he speaks with authority…”who doses this Jesus think he is”. Some watch up close, some watch from afar, but all are waiting.

The other part of the unbelievers was the evil spirits; these spirits recognized Jesus and fell before him! They know who he is, but still would not submit to him, they even obeyed him when he told them not to tell anyone who he was v.12.

Why where they there? They where there to stir up opposition too Jesus ministry…they are still doing this today

In fact this stirred up crowd is at work today. Many still gather to try and disprove Christ and his teachings. They will say and do anything to destroy Him, to discredit his work. They will relentless go after those who believe and try to pick them off one by one. They like to corner you make you feel stupid for following your faith, they call Christianity a crutch of the weak. They hate the idea that Christians believe the Bible and actually apply it to there live. They stand on street corners and call us “homophobic bigots”…They mock us in movies and on news programs and loath our impact on society. Last group in this crowd is the…

The True Believers

They are no mentioned either in the scripture, but you know they are also there. They are watching everything Jesus does and says. He has them captivated; they can’t get enough of him. He has them in the palm of his hand; he can see in their eyes…this crowd has left everything behind; all that matters now is following Jesus. He has touched them in such a way, a way they were so surprised. They never dreamed they would be following him around like a hungry sheep, wanting to be feed. His words priced their hearts and his looks soothed their pain. He understood them, when no one else could. Jesus was more than miracle worker, he was more than a gifted orator…He was the Son of Man, God in flesh.

He had made them realize the sin in their lives and latter he would hang on a cross, as way to provide a forgiveness of that sin. Jesus lived and dies so that we might live…The true believers had to learn this and at times struggled with the idea…but in the end they would embrace Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit change the world.

This crowd is very much alive today, many of us in this sanctuary fall into this category. For whatever reason, Jesus has grabbed us and held us captive…he has shown me my sin and I have accepted his forgiveness, he has put to death the old life and has raised me to walk in the newness of life! And when I die I can sing….

We are trav'ling in the footsteps

Of those who've gone before

And we'll all be reunited,

On a new and sunlit shore,
Oh, when the saints go marching in,

Oh, when the saints go marching in

Lord how I want to be in that number

When the saints go marching in