If we were in the crowd, trying to get up front and close to Jesus, what would have been our reasons for pressing in? Each person probably had their own reason. What were they seeking? Jesus knew their motives and knew that many were wanting relief from Roman occupation and a better life. In the same way, what are my motives for being a Christian today? Jesus offers a different kingdom than more cultural comforts and safety. He don’t promise green lights, full health, open doors. But He promised a new life, and the Spirit’s presence. He will NEVER leave us or abandon us.
“What do you do with a man who is supposed to be the holiest man who has ever lived and yet goes around talking with prostitutes and hugging lepers? What do you do with a man who not only mingles with the most unsavory people but actually seems to enjoy them? The religious accused him of being a drunkard, a glutton and having tacky taste in friends. It is a profound irony that the Son of God visited this planet and one of the chief complaints against him was that he was not religious enough.” - Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker & into the World: Evangelism as a Way of Life
“This first story repeats the theme of the series of stories based around Capernaum—the response of the crowds. This account records how the people came in great numbers from all over—“from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon” (Mark 3:8). They came to be healed. The press of the crowd was so great that he had to sit in a boat pushed out from the shore to keep from being crushed by them.” - Excerpt, Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark by Steve Langford
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