• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection Where is the crowd? – Sermon on the Mount Series #1

Where is the crowd? – Sermon on the Mount Series #1

Posted on October 10, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 3 Comments


CrowdAt the end of Matthew chapter 4, we are told that “great multitudes followed [Jesus]—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.”

Wherever Jesus went, he drew a crowd. Certainly some of the draw was his ability to heal. I’m sure that others followed out of a desire to see a miracle. Word must have traveled about the man who attended a wedding and turned water into wine.

Jesus’ response to the multitudes was to sit down and teach them (Matthew 5:1), a record of that teaching is found in Matthew chapters 5-7 and is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus taught and the crowds listened and marveled at his teaching.

My question is this, why do we not see similar crowds today? Is it because people aren’t as needy? In the physical sense this may be true. With modern medicine many of the cures that can be affected would seem miraculous if seen by Jesus’ contemporaries. Yet, the spiritual hunger is just as prevalent today as 2,000 years ago.

Here are some questions church leaders should be asking:

Are they staying away because our message is not clear? In 1 Corinthians 14:8 Paul asks, “and if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?” The point being that unless our message is clear and can be understood, people will not respond to it. If we are emulating the world and modifying the clear teaching of Scripture just to make it palatable to the surrounding culture, we are making an indistinct sound.

Are they staying away because our message is clear but not given in love? Paul tells us in Ephesians 4;15 to “speak the truth in love.” Without love, the truth is just a club to beat people down. Did you ever notice that the “sinners” were the ones who flocked to Jesus? They didn’t feel condemned by him, even when he made strong pronouncements about the consequences of continued rebellion against God. He spoke some very hard truths, but did so in love. The people were drawn by the love.

Are they staying away because our living does not match our message? I’ve been exposed to churches which preach grace but the pews were full of judgmental, cliquey people. James tells us in James 2:14-26 that “faith without works is dead.” In other words, our living must match our message. Our living must bear evidence of our faith. If not, then we have nothing to offer a world who desperately needs to be shown a better way.

Are they staying away because we haven’t reached out to them and asked them to come? People are more likely to visit if they are invited and have someone to show them the way around. A marquee out front may draw a few people in, but there is no substitute for a personal invitation.

I realize that numbers don’t tell the whole story and that there are very large religious gatherings where the Biblical message is being distorted. A church could be seeking God, seeing changed lives in those who attend, yet remain small. Size is not the ultimate test.

That being said, if the local church is not growing, that church needs to examine itself and determine if repentance and change are necessary. The lack of growth may say more about the church than it does about those who remain on the outside.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection Tagged With: Church, crowd, Jesus, relationship

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Grace and Truth

May we all look to Jesus as our example of how to speak truth which is tempered by grace and offer grace which is fortified by truth.

No Bullies

Rev. Emily C. Heath: Jesus, Bullies on the Bus and the Rest of Us

Rev. Heath published a piece in the Huffington Post which purports to give a Christian response to bullies. I have two points of challenge for Rev. Heath. One based on something she didn’t say and one based on something she did say.

On the difference between a hireling and a shepherd

In John 10:12–13 Jesus is quoted as saying the following about the difference between a hired hand and a shepherd: “The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The […]

DNA

There is a gene for that

I recently heard an author say that there is a gene that causes people to be bad or good. What is the basis and what are the implications of such a belief?

The church is not the only army that shoots its wounded

I have heard it said that the church is the only army that shoots its wounded. After hearing all the fuss about Adrian Peterson these last few weeks, I now know that this statement is not true. It is not false because the church does not shoot her wounded. It is false because the church is not alone in this behavior.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2022 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in