“Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside.”
Matthew 8:1 NLT
Crowds loved the loaves and fish Jesus fed them, but some had a hard time digesting the new Life He offered. Does that sound familiar? Perhaps initially we followed Jesus’ teachings, but then slipped away when commitment to His ways required we give up ours. Or maybe we just gravitated to the cynical side of the crowd which tramples on each other or tries to silence people whose beliefs seem old-fashioned.
It’s possible to hang around a crowd so long that we become one of them. We may not agree with the direction the crowd is going, but we’re afraid be different. What if we’re criticized for believing the Bible as Truth or laughed at for trusting Jesus as Lord?
In Jesus’ day, there were a few courageous people who were not afraid of crowd mentality! A blind man shouted even louder when the crowd told him to shut up. A leper, trampled by his condition, approached Jesus in full view of the crowd who scorned him. A religious leader dared to withstand the crowd's criticism to publicly seek Jesus’ help. A woman excommunicated from crowds for twelve years, pushed her way through a crowd to touch Jesus.
Jesus gave every one of these heroic people a miracle.
So, don't be afraid of the crowd—instead, push through the crowd!
