Jesus was the great Teacher. No one has taught like Him. Whenever He taught about the kingdom of God and principles of God, people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Wherever He went, a great multitude followed Him. Once Jesus was at a deserted place, and when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them; He healed their sick. He also met their physical need by providing them bread and fish. Many times, great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
Multitude was listening what He was teaching them; that’s all, and then they went back to their ways. They were not interested to know the depths behind His teaching. Most of them were coming to Him for healing and to satisfy their physical hunger. Wherever He entered into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.” (Mk.6:56).
Mostly Jesus spoke to the multitudes about Kingdom of God in parables. OnceJesus began to teach the parables by the sea. And a great multitude gathered, so He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. But as soon as He was alone, only those (few) who were around Him out of the great multitude with the twelve disciples showed interest and asked for the interpretation of parable. By seeing their interest, He said to them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [ignorant, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and EVER HEARING BUT NEVER UNDERSTANDING; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!” (Mk.4:1-12).
Further, WHEN JESUS WAS ALONE WITH HIS OWN DISCIPLES, HE EXPLAINED EVERYTHING ABOUT PARABLES (Mk.4:34).
We may also be like those who are in multitude / crowd who merely come to Jesus for healing or for physical needs, or like those who come and merely to hear His teaching (Word), but does not have curiosity or interest to know the secrets of His teaching. If we have no curiosity or interest, He will not reveal the mysteries behind His precious teachings. We may be in that great multitude or in church who will get from Jesus mere healing for our sickness or get provision for our needs. He is the same yesterday, today and forever; like those days when He saw a great multitude; and was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick, so He does today also. He will heal and provide, out of compassion. But He will not give the treasures and pearls from His Word. As it is recorded in Mark 4:34, when He was alone with His disciples, He explained everything about parables. He revealed secrets, mysteries, deep meaning about His Word to HIS OWN DISCIPLES, not to everyone in the crowd who came to Him.
We may also come to church every Sunday like spectators, who only come to observe things or only to hear and go back, but does not have any interest to know Him and His Word more, or to enrich our spirits. Jesus reveals the depths of His Word only to His true disciples who follow Him and obey Him, who had spiritual hunger and thirst, who had intimacy with Jesus, who spends personal time with Him.
Jesus predicted three times about His death, suffering & resurrection only to His own disciples, not to the crowd (Mk.8:31, 9:31, 10:33,34).
Let us see one of the references Mk.10:33,34 – Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
It is our choice: like whom we would like to be? To be like that great selfish crowd or like His own true disciples? How are we following Him; like those of great multitude who were only interested to meet their physical needs, or like His own disciples who obeyed Him and grew in closer relationship with Him. Decision is ours. God bless.
~ Anjali Jose
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