Today we discover why Jesus commands us not to broadcast to the world his healing and mercy in our lives. Crowds come from all over, pressing Jesus to help them. Those possessed by demons come and announce Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus rebukes them and seeks a way to escape from the crowd in order to regroup from all this.
Jesus does not trust the crowds and nor should we. Crowds judge things by a set of standards that are antithetical to the Gospel and the way of the Lord Jesus. Crowds care about numbers - attendance and money; they care about self-interest and instant gratification. Crowds are placated as long as their desires are met, but the second they are not or they have to wait, they will instantly turn. How much is modern religion like this? Note the perseveration on all these things by modern religion.
The way of the Lord Jesus is the way of self-denial: repentance of our sins and extending mercy and healing to others. Jesus' way is about humble service without fanfare or adulation. What might it look like if we modeled our faith communities and ministry along these lines? The time has come to find out.
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