Mark 3:7-12
Crowds Follow Jesus
7Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8When 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. 9Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.
Jesus was followed by many when He was on earth...His ability to heal is unsurpassed...Many hoped that if they could only touch Him they would be well...If you had faith and believed in Him you could be healed...Many people just wanted to touch Him or His cloak...The knew if they did touch Him, they would be healed...They had faith in Him...His physical presence no doubt helped...He was there and was something tangible...His followers just had this hope...
And if one thinks that Jesus is Divine and Different and is LOVE, then one might expect, His popularity to grow quickly and be ongoing from generation to generation...
But we know He heals those who have not touched Him...He told Thomas that blessed are those who believe and have not seen Me...By telling us this, He is teaching all of His followers after the resurrection may not see Him...But we still can be blessed by believing in Him...Jesus is telling us that believing is more than seeing something or someone...Jesus never brought the Father into His followers sight, yet He was sent by the Father to do His work...Faith is more than just touching something tangible...He teaches about Spirit and Truth....Faith, Spirit, Truth are believing in something you cannot see, but you know is there...Like love, it is there...Love is something you cannot touch, but it is there...
Without love and passion our faith and hope can diminish...God gives us all these feelings...God gives us both intellect and feelings (our hearts and our minds)...Our emotions and feelings sometimes can blind us and make us feel bad...But, without these feelings, man would be just pure intellect, he would be without love and faith...
Remember God is love...Jesus wants to bless us if we believe in Him, though we have not seen Him...Jesus told Pilate that everyone on the side of Truth , listens to Him...Pilate asks what is Truth???...Jesus is Truth...
Crowds followed Jesus, because He gave us these things...God gave His Son to this world for our sins...Jesus brought hope, love, faith, and truth...These are all intangible things God gave man...We cannot see or touch or see these things...These are the most important things in our lives...