And I’m Out…

The crowds wanted him to stay. His mission took him onward.

After Jesus had healed the multitudes at Peter’s house, and presumably Peter’s mother-in-law had run out of snacks and refreshments for the multitude, Jesus decided to leave Capernaum. The people were begging him to stay, including, it seemed, Peter, but he was on a mission and had other cities to visit. How easy it would have been for Jesus to have stayed. He had rock star status, and while the hours were long, the crowds loved him, and the opposition had been quiet. Although on a previous visit he had brought about the anger of the Pharisees, on this occasion he appeared to have had no similar problems.

In fact, it was more likely that Jesus could have set up a megachurch there and had people come to him. He already had people coming from all of Galilee to see him, and he had already made a name for himself in Samaria, which was right next door. It wouldn’t have been a big deal for him to have hung out there and let the people come to him. If anything, he could have made “an audience with Jesus” a forerunner of an audience with the Pope and had people line up just for the chance to shake hands and be blessed. One step further, and he could have had people sending him money in return for a piece of cloth he had prayed over in the name of Jesus. We say yes to this, Amen…

Instead, Jesus didn’t build a big ministry for himself, and didn’t just hang out letting people come to him. He didn’t organize massive speaking events for thousands of people to attend, with special “love offerings.” He didn’t view his mission as a money-making exercise, as some have. What Jesus actually did was pull together a bunch of fishermen, rebels, and others without theology degrees, and entrusted his life to them. He took a mismatched group of people from various backgrounds (none of them with the necessary skills to plan his next speaking tour) and went on the road with them. The pressure on these people must have been immense. They would have been asked questions they couldn’t answer and asked for things they couldn’t provide. I often wonder what on earth God wants with me. Why did he choose me? Why was I called, and for what purpose? Why were any of us chosen? Now imagine that God himself asked you to go on a 3-year tour with him. How would this affect your mindset?