The Life and Ministry of Jesus
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. Mark 3:7–9
Our Lord would allow nothing, not even popularity and “success,” to divert him from his primary ministry. But it is not always the same for us.
Success and popularity bring the crowds. Then keeping the crowds becomes all-important, so we do whatever will do that. Popularity can, and often does, seduce the ministry. 1
Personal Encouragement
We want to be popular, He wants us to be faithful. We want attention and recognition. He wants humility and dependency. We want everything right now, He wants us to wait upon Him. We want to be people pleasers, He want us to find our pleasure in Him. We are always seeking to be satisfied in the next thing, while He wants to be our sufficiency.
Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:4
Having popularity and seeing multitudes are not necessarily a true measure of a spiritual work.
A Prayer
Lord, forgive me for trying to find satisfaction from this world, and not from You.
1. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
