Jesus and the crowds

Day 99
OT Reading: 1 Samuel 1-3
NT Reading: Luke 12:1-34

Has it been obvious that it's been harder for me to post lately? I'm still entirely up to date with reading...so that's not the issue. But for some reason it's just been more difficult for me to sit down and write. Sometimes because I'm not sure what to say, other days just because this is usually the last thing I do before bed. But I don't want either of you to worry ;-). I'm sticking with the reading, even if the snarky comments aren't coming quite as often.

One detail that jumped out to me today was the very first verse of Luke 12. There we read, "Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another..." Sometimes due to movies and my own mindset, I picture a decent crew...several dozen maybe...following Jesus around. But here Luke tells us that thousands of people were following Jesus. So many that it almost had a rock-concert like feel where you may have to be careful to ensure you don't get trampled over.

To have a thousand people show up to hear you speak today is noteworthy. To have it in Jesus' day would be downright astounding. Most villages along the countryside would have somewhere between 50-100 people. A typical rabbi might be teaching a dozen to twenty people once each week. Therefore Jesus must be pulling people not only from right where he's at, but people from towns, cities and villages all over must be coming to see what this man is doing.

If you can remember the movie Forest Gump, I'm reminded of the sequence where Forest runs back and forth across the United States several times. After a period of time he begins to gain a tremendous following, stretching several miles off into the distance. This is kind of how I envision the scene of the crowd following Jesus. Perhaps his disciples up near the front, with a giant entourage of people -- some committed, some curious -- following Jesus from one place to another.

But even more amazing to me was the approach Jesus took each time these large crowds gathered. Several times throughout the gospels we see Jesus draw a line in the sand issuing a difficult, controversial or unpopular teaching to determine who was along to be a follower, and who was just there for the show. Jesus never let the size of the crowds sway him from his purpose. Knowing how easy it is for me to get distracted...this sort of thing hits home. It is easy to become influenced by the love of the crowd, but it is important to, like Jesus, never let that deviate us from our purpose.