2 Differences between JESUS’ family and the crowd

Luke 9: 1-2

9 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, ² and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

I’ve read this scripture for many years but today I saw it in a different light. The first thing that struck me was the line “Jesus …. called the twelve”, and the question I asked was – why didn’t he call the crowd? Are there any differences between Jesus’ family and the crowd?

Yes, indeed there are differences between them or put another way there are differences between JESUS’s family and the crowd. Take for instance the fact that my husband has a middle name that very few people know about, only those of us in the family are aware of it, others in the neighborhood or office don’t know that name. They don’t know the name because they are not family in other words, they are not close enough to know. Families tend to have a deeper level of knowledge of each other as a result of the relationship. In the very same way, the disciples, at that time, were very close to Jesus, the disciples were in essence His family. (Matthew 12:48-50).

Reading further, Luke chapter 9 explains that two distinct qualifications separate the groups:

1. Knowledge

Luke 9:18-20

¹⁸Jesus asked, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

²⁰ “Who do you (disciples) say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

 Matthew 16:13-17

¹³ Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “Who do you (disciples) say I am?”

¹⁶ Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

These two very different responses show the key to the differences between JESUS’ family and the crowd. A stranger can only guess my husband’s middle name and that is what the crowd was doing. They guessed that Jesus was John the Baptist and that was wrong, another group guessed that Jesus was Elijah and they were wrong again. Then a third group guessed that Jesus was one of the prophets, maybe Jeremiah and still they were completely wrong. Why were they wrong? Because they did not know and they didn’t bother to find out from someone who knew and the bottom line is they were not interested to know.

Anyone truly interested in knowing about a person would have to make an effort to draw close to the person and get to know the person intimately. Although the crowd was always looking for Jesus or followed Jesus, they still didn’t know who He was. So why exactly where are they following Him since they didn’t know who they were following? It’s simple. It didn’t matter to them who He was what mattered was what they could get from Him.

2. What satisfied them or what they were seeking after

Luke 9:16

¹⁶ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. ¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied.

This is the second qualification and difference between JESUS’ family and the crowd. The crowd was completely satisfied with physical things like a delicious meal, clothing, houses, and stuff like that. Sadly, what the crowd was really after was not Jesus, it was the thought of what they could get and once they got it that was it. Bye Jesus. The disciples are the complete opposite, they were in an intimate relationship with Jesus, a relationship that was not based on what they could get but on getting Jesus Himself.

We all need to search our hearts and ask why we go to church. What are our prayer points like? Who is Jesus to us?

If you don’t know why you go to church and your prayer points are filled with “give me an education, give me food, give me clothes, give me shoes” with no thought of Him – then you might be one of the crowd.

Jesus answers prayers and gives us what we desire. He gives physical stuff like food to the crowd but He read Luke 9: 1-2 again to see what He gave His disciples. You choose which you prefer.

God bless you. “I am Olufunme”