The Crowd: Mark 8:27-28
To follow Jesus implies we have our fingers on the pulse of the crowd. For an introvert, this is hard to say. I don’t always relish crowds. Crowds stress me out. It is much easier to study God’s Word and relate to people who think like I do. Interacting with the crowd implies I open myself up to contrary ideas. That can make life difficult.
I’m going to intentionally take the next set of verses at a snail’s pace. Peter’s confession of Christ is considered one of the pivotal moments in the Gospel story. It isn’t pivotal for Jesus; it is pivotal for the disciples. It is worth slowing down and digging in deep.
Jesus takes His disciples on a journey to Caesarea Phillipi. On the way, He asks His disciples a question. Jesus talks as He walks. Jesus isn’t trying to be efficient because He knows the crucifixion is drawing closer. Jesus knows when He stops moving He will be surrounded by a crowd. Jesus is now so famous that the will of the crowd dominates the environment wherever He goes. Jesus is being intentional about mentoring. He is being intentional about teaching the deep and life-changing lessons when the crowd isn’t around. Discipleship is an intentional process.
Jesus asks His disciples who the crowd says He is. The responses are interesting. Some in the crowd believe Jesus is Elijah. In this confession, the crowd demonstrates their hope for the coming Messiah. The crowd wants a Messiah to throw off the Roman occupation. These people are looking for a political hero to set them free.
Others say Jesus is John the Baptizer. This is a much more simplistic answer. Jesus and John had a similar preaching style. They both focused on repentance. They both were at odds with the religious elite. They both were itinerant preachers who weren’t afraid of going into the wilderness. They both used parables when they taught the crowd. The people who say Jesus is John the Baptist might be confused about whether John really died. They might not be focused on knowing the facts. Remember John baptized Jesus, therefore they had to both exist at the same time. For people who really wanted to know about Jesus, confusing Jesus and John the Baptizer should have been impossible.
Regardless of the answer, Jesus expects the disciples to be in touch with the crowd. He doesn’t want their thinking influenced by the crowd, but He does want them to know what the crowd thinks. It is impossible to make disciples without interacting with the crowd and seeing who is thinking and who is receptive. If we are looking at Jesus’ ministry as a model for our own life, can we claim to be following Jesus if we don’t occasionally have an interaction with the crowd to probe for signs of faith in people? To follow Jesus implies we have our fingers on the pulse of the crowd.
