Matthew 19:2
There are always those who will seek to discredit the gospel. As a result, there may be some who wonder how it was that so many were able to follow Christ so much. Even in our day of modern conveniences, we tend to stick close to home. Actually, it seems that those nations in which we have the most freedom and ability to move about, we become the most cloistered. We can afford to drive miles from our homes, but many of us don’t even know our own neighbors.
A visit to any third-world, or highly populated, county would solve this issue for us. We would come to realize that, in some places, people are more of a moving bubbling bulging mass than they are elsewhere. Home is more where you happen to be at the time than a stately mansion on a hillside. People in these places often travel by foot, or bike. Their ability to spend large amounts of time surviving away from ‘home’ would be astounding to most of us. Their lack of ‘stuff’ to tie them down is a testimony to our materialism. This picture gives us a much better idea of what the ancient world looked like.
Beyond this, the Jews were a pilgrim people. They were used to migrating to Jerusalem once a year at least. They had many moves and transitions in their history. More than that, the law required hospitality to travelling Jews. Any good Jewish family would be expected to help travelling Jews along their way. So, this sort of thing was a part of their social system.
Indeed, even the employment structure in that day was more conducive to this sort of following. Being more agrarian than were are, several members of a family could be away from the homestead for weeks at a time without necessarily putting their livelihood in jeopardy. They could come home and find everything had been destroyed. But, usually, all was well. While they were away, they could use money to purchase their needs. This could be saved up through months of good weather, and shrewd trade-based business transactions. Ten of these for eight of those, and the like, can help here and there.
Finally, for those who were to be healed these pilgrimages opened up completely new economic opportunities. The blind, lame, crippled, deaf, etc. could now work and earn a living just like everyone else. Therefore, it is quite easy to see how the multitudes managed to follow Jesus so much.
Bible Reading: Mark 11:1-12:44
Scripture Memory: 1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are so amazing! Every time I think I know just how wonderful You are, I have to step back and realize how little I know about You. You just always have something new to teach. You have a limitless store of blessings for us. You inspire us to stretch so far beyond what we might be on our own. Without You, my imagination is limited by the size of my own psyche. The limitations of my soul hold me back. But, You, You stretch me out of my limits. You blow away the walls of human finitude and open a vista of beauteous and grand proportions. And, You are good. So many things that we think can inspire us only dunk us further into the cesspool of human depravity. Instead, You purify our creativity, expand our imagination, and inspire our highest aims. Thank You for enabling us, by Your saving power, to be a wonderful creation once again. Thank You for Your Spirit, and Your Son! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Prayer Requests: Pray for a man having some medical tests run today. Pray for whose cancer just came back after being in remission. Pray for a man overseas with a serious unknown health issue.
Journal Entry #14024