Following the Crowd?

When the Lord, gave His Sermon on the Mount I assumed He presented His teaching to the large crowds that always seem to be gathered around him. However, with a closer reading of the story found in Mathew 5, this is what the text describes…

            “When Jeshua (Jesus) saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.” So why did He go up the mountain?  As a teacher (rabbi) Jesus did not seek large numbers. He sought disciples. This is my point.  His ministry drew large crowds almost from its outset. “Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.” (Matthew 4:25) Multitudes of people sought him:  The sick, the infirmed, the troubled, the curious, the seekers and the skeptical.  Luke explains….”A large crowd of his disciples, and a great throng of people had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. “(Luke 6:17-18).  But were they true disciples?

Jesus didn’t go up on the mountain so that people could better hear Him teaching. He went up on the mountain to get away from the crowds so He could better teach His own disciples…..those who had chosen Him as their spiritual leader and Messiah. That’s why it says when He saw the crowds He went up on the mountain…. so He could be alone with his devoted followers and believers……not the crowd below.  He wanted to reveal to his true disciples the truth of Himself and how they were to teach others.  How God had given Him not only the power to heal but how to put into practice the principles of discipleship.

In Luke’s version, Jesus stands on a level place, (Luke 6:17) giving rise to the title “Sermon on the Plain.”   With a careful reading, Luke doesn’t say that he delivered the sermon in that level place. Instead Luke prefaces the sermon by distinguishing between the crowd and his disciples, just like Matthew does.  Luke says, “Turning his gaze toward his disciples, (lifting up His eyes to his disciples) He began to say……..”(Luke 6: 20). In these words, Luke indicates that our Lord delivered His sermon to his disciples and true followers, not to the large crowds.   Matthew says he actually withdrew from the crowds by ascending the hill.

So what do learn from these stories? Just as we find today. The Lord has two types of followers. Crowds of people who really come for their own self interest, perhaps wanting to seek a miracle or see one performed, or a ticket to heaven just by going to church.

Yes, we know the Lord is still in the healing business. He is with us in our pain and sorrows as well as bringing joy to our hearts.  He can heal us… both physically and spiritually.  He is our Savior and Redeemer.  He loves us.

However, He also seeks disciples….those of us who follow Him simply because we know who He is. We seek him not for personal gain but simply seeking Him as Lord. We want to learn His teachings so we in turn can help others. He teaches us to love others as we are being loved.

Are you and I part of that Great Commission? Are we simply followers or are we disciples?

 (Matt. 28:18-20)  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”