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The Popularity of Jesus and the Motive of the Crowds

by Wayne Davies
9/13/2014 / Bible Studies

When reading the gospel of Mark, the popularity of Jesus is mind-boggling. Consider these statements from the early chapters of Mark's account.

One Saturday in Capernaum, after the sun went down, Jesus and the disciples were at Peter's house and "the whole town gathered at the door" (Mark 1:33). The next day Jesus awoke before sunrise and went to a secluded place to pray. Apparently he doesn't get much alone time, because the disciples track him down and tell him, "Everyone is looking for you!" (Mark 1:36). After healing a leper, the news of this miracle travels far and wide so quickly that "Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places" (Mark 1:45). But this attempt at maintaining a low profile is unsuccessful, because "the people still came to him from everywhere" (Mark 1:45).

This is quite a picture Mark is painting for us. Jesus drew crowds by the thousands. He was the greatest miracle worker the world has ever known. As the Son of God, his divine power could heal any physical ailment, from a simple fever to leprosy to paralysis to blindness. Is it any wonder that masses of people converged on him? This is 2,000 years ago and the medical profession was light years away from what can be done today.

Jesus would travel from town to town in Galilee, the northern part of Israel, and then he often returned to Capernaum, which became his ministry headquarters. On one such occasion, when the people heard he was back home in Peter's house, "so many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door" (Mark 2:2).

When things got crazy in the close quarters of Peter's house, Jesus would head outside, often to the nearby lake (better known to Bible readers as the Sea of Galilee). The water provided a natural barrier between Jesus and the crowds: "Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him" (Mark 3:9-10).

This is amazing the only way Jesus can keep the people from crushing him is to go to the lake and get into a boat and push off some distance from the shore. He would then teach from the boat while the people stayed on the beach. "The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. He taught them many things" (Mark 4:1-2).

And people would come from all over literally. "When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon" (Mark 3:8).

As we consider the way people were drawn to Jesus, we are confronted with a simple question: Were they compelled to follow him only because of his healing power? Were they there just for the physical benefits such as free food and medical care?

Mark tells us that people were amazed at Jesus, and rightly so. But what was the cause of this amazement? Did the crowds really understand who Jesus was, or were they there merely for the thrill of seeing the greatest supernatural show on earth?

I ask this question because of something I do not read in Mark's account. I do not read about people acknowledging the deity of Jesus. Mark begins his book with the statement that Jesus is the Son of God (which means God the Son). How many people actually believed that? Based on Mark 8:27-28, not many.

Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say I am?" The response: "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."

What is missing from this picture? Why didn't the disciples say, "Everyone believes that you are God in a human body, the one and only God-Man"?

Please give this simple fact serious consideration Mark tells us who Jesus is in Mark 1:1. Then God the Father testifies to the deity of Jesus in Mark 1:11 at the baptism with these words, "You are my Son whom I love".

Then in the early chapters of Mark's gospel, we see the demons acknowledging the deity of Jesus. Before being cast out, a demon declares, "I know who you are the Holy One of God!" (Mark 1:24). This was apparently a common occurrence, for "Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, 'You are the Son of God'" (Mark 3:11).

The God of heaven knows who Jesus is, and so do the servants of hell. But what about the masses of people who follow him around? Take note of this in the gospel of Mark, we have no record of a human confessing the deity of Jesus until he is on the cross, when the Roman soldier says, "Surely this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39).

It's easy to miss the point when it comes to seeing Jesus as God in human flesh. When we consider all the evidence for his deity, how do we respond? Please don't make the mistake of those who witnessed his power firsthand. He was not merely a prophet or a very wise man or a gifted teacher or a compassionate miracle worker. He performed all these incredible feats not only to meet the needs of people, but more importantly, to demonstrate that his claim to be God was true.

Do you believe this? May it be so.

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