Hello chosen ones of God,
Today, let’s look at the multitudes that came after Jesus:
“And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him;”
— Mark 3:9
After the threat of destruction orchestrated by the Pharisees and the Herodians, Jesus withdrew from the place He was preaching and went to preach in a different location. However, the multitudes continued following Him despite the opposition from the religious leaders.
Now we see Jesus instructing His disciples to stand guard so that the crowd wouldn’t press against Him. It’s important to understand that the crowd gathered around Christ with all sorts of needs, demands, and motives. While some indeed heeded His words and were ready to faithfully follow and trust in Him, others followed for the wrong reasons. Jesus Himself mentioned this at one point:
“Jesus answered them and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.’”
— John 6:26
There were those who followed Jesus for personal reasons, not because they believed in Him as the Savior:
“For He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him.”
— Mark 3:10
We see that some came because they were afflicted with diseases, believing that if they could touch Him, they would be healed.
It’s also important to note that these people were not healed because of their faith, but because it was the will of Jesus to heal them, so that the power of God would be revealed.
We sometimes hear a similar narrative from modern-day faith healers, who claim the power of healing for themselves. When healing doesn’t happen, they often attribute it to the sick person’s lack of faith. However, this is not the case here. These people who came to Jesus for healing did not all believe in Him as the Son of God for salvation. In fact, most came because they heard that people were being healed, but they did not truly believe in Jesus for salvation. It’s important to understand that healing is ultimately for the glory of God, not because of any special powers in the healer.
The same is true with unclean spirits. In some Christian circles, exorcism has become formulaic—using crucifixes, holy water, or chanting the name of Jesus. But this is not how we see Jesus or the apostles handle it:
“Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’”
— Mark 3:11
The unclean spirits knew exactly who was at work. This was not some kind of demon-slaying trickery; it was the power of God at work. We see a similar reaction from evil spirits in the book of Acts:
“And the evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’”
— Acts 19:15
Casting out evil spirits was not based on the power of the person or any items like holy water or rosaries, nor on reciting a secret phrase. This was purely the exercise of God’s power over unclean spirits.
Furthermore, we see Jesus forbidding these unclean spirits from spreading the news about who He was, as it would disrupt His ministry:
“And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was.”
— Mark 3:12
As believers, it is crucial for us to understand why we are following Christ. If we are not careful, we may find ourselves grouped with those who follow Christ only for personal benefits and not out of salvific obedience and faith. It is important to examine our hearts and truly understand the purpose of our faith in Christ.
I pray that this word encourages us to examine our hearts and refocus on the true reason for our faith in Christ.
May the love of God be made manifest to you all the more.
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