Jesus sees Individuals in the Crowd (He Knows You)

He talked personally to a lame man

“Jesus said, ‘Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.’ He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he begin teaching them many things”

(Mark 6:31-34, NLT).

The passage above describes Jesus, after an exhausting day, going off with the disciples across the lake. Beginning near Capernaum, Jesus and the Twelve sailed “to the far side” of the Sea of Galilee (John 6:1), to a remote area near Bethsaida on the north. Figuring out where Jesus and his party were headed and seeing their boat, the crowd followed them along the shore, hiking the distance on land.

When Jesus saw the huge crowd, he could have herded the disciples back into the boat and sailed away again, or he could have dismissed the people. After all, they were pestering him, crowding out his time alone with disciples (You must understand that Jesus himself as a human being was also need to rest. Imagine how tired he was). Instead, Jesus “had compassion on them” and spent most of the day teaching them and healing their sick.

Jesus saw the “huge crowd” certainly, but he also saw individuals and knew their needs. Jesus is awesome! No one was lost in the crowd. And when Jesus saw these people, he knew each one’s deepest needs and felt with them and for them. He had compassion. Jesus ministered with and to ordinary men and women, just as assorted as people today. Some in the crowd were simply curious about this new teacher; some were needy, desperate for a miracle; many had gnawing questions about Jesus’ identity and supposed power. Despite the self-centred motives of most of the crowd, Jesus took them seriously and met their needs.

Think about this: Jesus sees you in the crowd. He knows you by name. He hurts with you and wants to be with you, to heal your wounded spirit. Don’t let anything keep you from Jesus. He doesn’t expect you to get your act together before approaching him. He made you; he knows you; he knows your strengths, potential, and weaknesses. He just want you to come, to allow him to work in you and through you. When you do come, Jesus meets you where you are. Jesus is awesome and he is seeing you as individual because – He cares.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.