Business as usual
| Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 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. 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. Whenever the evil spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." But He gave them strict orders not to tell who He was. (Mark3:7-21) |
He's describing another "usual" day for Jesus as he did in chapter one.
Bear in mind that one of the characteristics of Mark's Gospel is that he depicts Jesus as the tireless worker whose motto was "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."
There are a few things to observe:
- Jesus is still relentlessly preaching, teaching, healing and driving out demons.
- People are coming from far and wide. The NIV Study Bible says: "Here we see impressive evidence of Jesus' rapidly growing popularity among the people." The areas mentioned are akin to saying people came from North, South, East and West and the furthest corners of Israel.
- Although Mark doesn't depict Jesus as teaching from the boat, he hints at it but points out how the boat was an escape and "distance creator" because Jesus was being swamped as He had healed many and people were desperate to have a part of that.
- Jesus continues to muzzle the demons, and it's for the same reasons as I have mentioned before, namely, it's not Jesus' time yet. For now He is revealing Himself as the Son of Man, and, when the time is right, He will be revealed as the Son of God. It also mitigates some of the crowding and discourages people from trying to make Him king by force.
But more importantly it is a glimpse into the huge heart of the King.
