The Mission Beyond the Multitude: Jesus’ Strategic Focus
John 5:13b
…for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
Jesus was 100% mission-minded. This means that He was not distracted nor attracted by things or to things that are common pitfalls for men who seek influence today. For example, in some passages, we read of where He was preaching, teaching, and feeding crowds of thousands and possibly even tens of thousands of people, and yet in other passages such as this one, we see Him deliberately avoiding the crowds altogether. Isn’t this fascinating? One would think that every crowd would be addressed at every chance to spread His message, but Jesus wasn’t focused on pleasing or appeasing crowds, but only pleasing His Father in Heaven. This meant that each day He fulfilled God’s Will for that specific day and that specific circumstance. Not every task or mission required a speaking engagement to thousands of people. In fact, many of Christ’s greatest works and most lasting impacts were made with individuals and small groups of disciples who would later shake the world with His message! There were numerous occasions where Christ had ample opportunity to speak to large audiences, and walked away from such opportunities, because He knew where His focus was most well spent and where it had the most impact. If you think about it, and study it out in the Gospels, the closer Christ got to Calvary, the smaller the crowds became. In essence, you could say that Christ preferred the cross over crowds, because He knew that if He didn’t finish the work of the cross, that He would not be able to help the crowds. This shows us His awesome leadership style; Christ did what had to be done at the expense of a large but temporary following, so that later on countless millions if not billions would accept His message and follow Him completely and relentlessly! His cross was the price He had to pay in order to give the crowds what they needed, and not just what they wanted. Even so, if we are to truly lead, we must see beyond the fickle demands of a waning crowd to their truest need, and if required, temporarily part ways with their approval, so that in the end we can offer them what they truly need! Our cross will also be the price we must pay in order to achieve the greatest influence possible on behalf of others.
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
…for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
Jesus was 100% mission-minded. This means that He was not distracted nor attracted by things or to things that are common pitfalls for men who seek influence today. For example, in some passages, we read of where He was preaching, teaching, and feeding crowds of thousands and possibly even tens of thousands of people, and yet in other passages such as this one, we see Him deliberately avoiding the crowds altogether. Isn’t this fascinating? One would think that every crowd would be addressed at every chance to spread His message, but Jesus wasn’t focused on pleasing or appeasing crowds, but only pleasing His Father in Heaven. This meant that each day He fulfilled God’s Will for that specific day and that specific circumstance. Not every task or mission required a speaking engagement to thousands of people. In fact, many of Christ’s greatest works and most lasting impacts were made with individuals and small groups of disciples who would later shake the world with His message! There were numerous occasions where Christ had ample opportunity to speak to large audiences, and walked away from such opportunities, because He knew where His focus was most well spent and where it had the most impact. If you think about it, and study it out in the Gospels, the closer Christ got to Calvary, the smaller the crowds became. In essence, you could say that Christ preferred the cross over crowds, because He knew that if He didn’t finish the work of the cross, that He would not be able to help the crowds. This shows us His awesome leadership style; Christ did what had to be done at the expense of a large but temporary following, so that later on countless millions if not billions would accept His message and follow Him completely and relentlessly! His cross was the price He had to pay in order to give the crowds what they needed, and not just what they wanted. Even so, if we are to truly lead, we must see beyond the fickle demands of a waning crowd to their truest need, and if required, temporarily part ways with their approval, so that in the end we can offer them what they truly need! Our cross will also be the price we must pay in order to achieve the greatest influence possible on behalf of others.
~ Pastor Gary Caudill