Thinning the Crowd

July 4

(Luke 14:25-27 NIV) ““Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: {26} "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. {27} And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.””

(Mark 3:20-22 NIV) ““Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. {21} When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." {22} And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.””

(Matthew 12:46-50 NIV) ““While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. {47} Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." {48} He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" {49} Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. {50} For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.””

As the crowds following Jesus increased, He was concerned that people were following Him for the wrong reasons. He wanted followers who would change the world. But many who followed Him were just fans who wanted more miracles. So Jesus began the work of thinning the crowd. He started with family loyalty. To be His disciples, they would need to see Him as more important than their families. They would need to love Him more than they loved their families. Jesus even used the word “hate”. To love Jesus fully, we may have to “hate” our family. What He meant is that we must value our relationship with Him more than our relationship with our family. If we don’t, we cannot be His disciple. We must love Jesus even more than we love our own life. He carried a cross for us. To be His disciple, we must carry a cross of our own. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day