ON YOUR MARK: WEEK 3 DAY 2

Mark 3:7-12

A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

When I think of these crowds coming from all directions, clamoring to get near Jesus, some sick, others with impure spirits, the word that comes to mind is chaos. Mark includes a specific detail in this passage that Jesus asked for a boat. The boat would provide enough separation that Jesus could minister to the crowds, one by one or in small groups, bringing order to the chaotic situation. Jesus provided healing, restoration, and freedom to the crowd, but He did it from His position over the water.

Genesis 1:2

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

The work of the Spirit is to bring order, healing, and restoration through the message of Jesus. The order that God brought in creation, Jesus continued in His ministry, and we are to continue in our ministry. Where around you is chaos, illness, and captivity to impure spirits? How can you bring the good news of Jesus into that environment?