Matthew 12:15-16 Mark 3:7-12

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/Jesus_Teaching_the_Crowds_by_the_Sea_of_Galilee.htm

Jesus attracted the afflicted.  It is interesting to observe the type of people who followed Jesus.  His disciples followed Him because that is what they were called to do and they accompanied Him from place to place.  It seems like there was always a group of religious leaders that surrounded Him in hopes of finding more reasons to condemn Him and turn the crowds against Him.  However, the largest group of people who were attracted to Him were those who were afflicted with some kind of suffering.  The people who were healthy had a much greater tendency to be indifferent towards Jesus.  The same thing continues to happen today.  The people who recognize their needs are to ones who are most open to the Gospel.  Those who are healthy and wealthy tend to see themselves as being self-sufficient.  God often uses the afflictions of this life in order to attract people to Himself.

THE ATTRACTION OF THE MULTITUDE WHO HEARD OF JESUS: The fame of Jesus spread far and wide.  People from all different regions of the country followed Jesus and His disciples out to the sea.  They had heard of all the things that He had done as well as the things that He taught and wanted to go see and hear for themselves.  The news of Jesus spread to many places and He traveled to many different places now people from all of those different places were leaving their homes and following Him.  God continues to attract people from many different places and cultures through “word of mouth” presentations of Jesus.  We have been called to spread the Gospel to all the nations of the world.  In essence, we are to talk about Jesus wherever we go and are called to go to many places to intentionally talk about Jesus.  Going and talking are two important aspects of our job description as believers.  Jesus showed compassion to people, met the needs of people and spent time with people.  These qualities attracted people from all different places.  The same is true of people today.  If we want to attract people to hear the message of the Gospel; we must learn to love people the way Jesus loved. 

THE AFFLICTIONS OF THE MULTITUDE WERE HEALED BY JESUS: Many who came out to see Jesus were afflicted with diseases and/or daemons.  Jesus was empowered by God to be able to heal the sick and liberate people from daemon possession.  The text says that He healed them all.  He asked for the disciples to get Him a boat from which He could teach without the crowds pressing in around Him.  This gives us an idea of the size of the crowd and the desire they had to be able to touch Him and be healed.  Desperation can be a big motivation in our lives.  When all is going well in our lives and we feel like we have everything under control; it is easy for our hearts to grow cold towards God.  When we are sick, suffering or facing any kind of difficulty in our lives; we tend to seek God and be more sensitive towards Him.  This should give us a different view of suffering in our own lives as well as the lives of others.  When we suffer, it may be that the Lord is seeking to draw us closer to Himself.  When we see a nation or a group of people that are suffering great affliction; it could be that the Lord is opening a door for the Gospel in those places.  Not all affliction is brought on by sin, but God is able to use afflictions in order to purify and attract people to Himself.   


APPLICATION: Love people as a means of attracting them to the Gospel.  Speak of the things that Jesus has done in our lives wherever we are.  Intentionally go to places for the purpose of talking about the work of Jesus.  Recognize afflictions in our lives as well as the lives of others as an opportunity to draw closer to God.

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