The Masses

The masses, the crowds of Jews, loved Jesus.....for awhile. We see in Mark 1 and 2 that Jesus was pressed on every side by the people. He healed a leper, told him not to tell anyone; he told anyway, and Jesus drew such a crowd that he could not go into the city safely. He went into a house in Capernaum and drew such a crowd that the guys carrying the paralytic to be healed had to let him down through the roof to get to Jesus. He went down to the sea to preach; the crowds were so great that He had to get onto a small boat and preach from there.

Later, in Matthew 21, we read that when it was time for Jesus to enter Jerusalem, He sent disciples into a village to get a donkey and a colt (young male) of the donkey. The disciples said, "What if the man won't give them to us." He said, " 'Say, "The Lord needs them." ' " They did that and Jesus rode into Jerusalem (prophesied in Zecharia 9:9) with the people chanting and singing and laying down their clothes and palm branches. They were calling out, "Hosanna ('Save we pray')to the son of David" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," a common Jewish phrase from Psalm 118:26. These expressions of appreciation on this day were often used by the Jews to chant and sing when they went up to worship in Jerusalem.

But as much as the people loved Jesus at this time, they turned against him in a later time. It wasn't long before these same crowds would shout out, "Crucify Him, crucify Him." And almost suddenly Jesus found himself alone. He had been deserted by everyone, even His best supporters. But He knew this was coming, that He would have to do this for evil men. And He did it once for all time. He is our savior; let us worship Him....and remember Him.....and love Him and serve Him! Thanks for reading; see you next week!