Jesus went out to the lake with his
disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee,
Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far
north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide,
and vast numbers of people came to see him. Jesus instructed his disciples to
have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him. He had healed many people
that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. And
whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would
throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, "You are the Son of
God!" But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was. Mark
3:7-12
Crowds. More and more people were flocking
to hear Jesus speak. I would go there if I were living at that time. Take a
look at a map… Tyre and Sidon were a ways north on the Mediterranean
Sea. Ieumea was a region, also known as Edom—where the family of Esau settled
in earlier times. The distance to Capernaum was considerable considering that
the followers were probably traveling by foot. The distance from those areas
and cities mentioned are from Capernaum:
To Jerusalem
– 85 miles
To Idumea
(Beersheba) – 130 miles
To Tyre –
35 miles
To Sidon 50
miles
Considering that someone could walk about 20 miles in a day you can see that it took
those followers two to probably seven days to travel to see Jesus. Would you
spend that kind of time and energy to travel to see anyone today? When was the
last time you walked twenty miles? I know that ten years ago I walked 16 miles
and then at least another five miles length in a two-day group relay race between Portland,
Oregon and Seaside, Oregon in the annual Portland to the Coast Relay. I don’t know if I could do that today. It
would be a great motivation in Jesus time…to see Him in person—the great
healer. Those who made the trek undoubtedly became believers. I know I would
have. I haven’t even seen Him…and I believe in Him. I have faith in Him.
Remember what He told Thomas who had to see Jesus resurrected body to believe…
- Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me.
Blessed are those who believe without seeing me." John 20:29
Can you believe without seeing?
Prayer
~ Thank You Jesus that we can believe without seeing. Thank You for granting us
such faith…and for dying for our sins.
Daily
Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 1-4
©
2018 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted
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