Following Jesus vs. Following the Crowd

“…Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, ‘Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.’ And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, he entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.” Matthew 9:23-25 NASB

I’ve read this story numerous times throughout my life, and I’m always amazed by the miracle that Jesus performed!

But when I read it today, something else jumped off the page at me!

The crowd…

  • Was in noisy disorder,
  • Had wrong beliefs,
  • Fed each other’s negativity,
  • Laughed at Jesus, Son of the Living God,
  • Got sent out, and
  • Missed seeing a miracle because of their unbelief.

If we read the parallel story in Mark 5:35-42, we see that Jesus Himself put them out and that

He only took the little girl’s parents and His 3 closest disciples with Him to perform this miracle.

So, I have to ask myself, and I invite you to ask yourself,

“Which group would I rather be in?”

  • The small, intimate group with access to Jesus in all His love and power?
  • Or the crowd of mockers who are so wrapped up in their unbelief that they don’t even consider the claims of Christ to be a possibility?

Do we really need the approval of the crowd, real or virtual, or

is Christ’s approval enough?

Is it really a good idea to go along like a chameleon, trying to blend in with the noisy, boisterous crowd, giving lip service to their beliefs that grieve the spirit of God?

At the end of the day, who is really going to have your back? A bunch of unknown friends from the world wide web, or God Almighty, who loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you?

I am convinced that the crowd will be quick to leave and forsake me,

but Jesus will always be there for me.

The crowd will break their promises,

but Jesus’s will always keep His.

The crowd is fickle with their supposed love, here today, gone tomorrow. But

Jesus is faithful, and His love endures forever.

The crowd may seem exciting with all its noise and activity, but as far as I can tell,

seeing the miraculous happen in a moment of peace and tranquility is so much more amazing!

The chaos of many voices all vying to be heard is very discouraging, but

my one voice is important to Jesus.

Jesus gives new life to those who need it.  His resurrection power can bring life into even the most hopeless of situations.

I choose Jesus!

What about you?

 

Photo by Jens Johnsson on pexels.com

38 thoughts on “Following Jesus vs. Following the Crowd”

            2. Ah! I don’t think I saw that one. I saw another about being on Jesus’ side being the best decision. Is this something I can fix on my end or do we need to wait for WordPress to fix their kinks yet again?

              Liked by 1 person

  8. This is so important for me. I always feel different. I always feel like I’m not quite preachy enough for my Christian community, but but have too much Christ for everyone else. He sent this message as reinforcement for a message I was listening to yesterday. I am set apart in His small community of people He loves dearly.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wow, that’s great, Brittany, that God used this to reinforce something He’s teaching you!
      I’ve listened to the voice of the crowd far more times than I’d like to admit. God used these verses to remind me that people will drag us down to make themselves feel better about themselves, and listening to their voice means I’m cowering in fear and shame instead of listening to His voice, which causes me to stand tall in confidence! We’re not supposed to make people feel so good about themselves that they remain in mediocrity. We’re supposed to point them to the one who wants to make them new and give them abundant life!

      Like

Welcome to the conversation! I'd love to hear what you have to say about this!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.