He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the
crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as
a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch
him. Mark 3:9–10
It’s fascinating to ponder the enthusiasm that so many people had
toward Jesus. In the passage above, we see Jesus asked His
disciples to have a boat ready for Him so that He would not be
crushed as He taught the crowd. He had been curing many who were
sick, and the crowd was pressing upon Him to try to simply touch
Him.
This scene provides us with an illustration of what must happen
within our interior lives regarding our Lord. The people can be
said to have been single-minded in their devotion to Jesus and
fervent in their desire for Him. Granted, their desire may have
been somewhat selfishly motivated by the desire for physical cures
of their ailments and those of their loved ones, but nonetheless,
their attraction was real and powerful, driving them to put their
complete focus upon our Lord.
Jesus’ choice to get into a boat and distance Himself a bit from
the crowd was also an act of love. Why? Because this act allowed
Jesus to help them refocus upon His deeper mission. Though He did
miracles out of compassion and so as to manifest His almighty
power, His primary focus was to teach people and to lead them into
the full Truth of the message He was preaching. Therefore, by
separating Himself from them, they were invited to listen to Him
rather than just try to touch Him for the sake of a physical
miracle. For Jesus, the spiritual wholeness He desired to give the
crowd was of much greater significance than any physical healing He
also gave.
In our own lives, Jesus may “separate” Himself from us in somewhat
superficial ways so that we will be more open to the deeper and
more transforming purpose of His life. For example, He may remove
certain feelings of consolation or permit us to encounter some
trial through which He seems to be less present to us. But when
this happens, it is always so that we will turn to Him on a deeper
level of trust and openness so as to be drawn more deeply into a
relationship of love.
Reflect, today, upon how single-minded your devotion is to our
Lord. From there, ponder, also, if you are more attached to the
good feelings and consolations you seek or if your devotion is
deeper, focused more on the transforming message our Lord wants to
preach to you. See yourself on that shore, listening to Jesus
speak, and allow His holy words to transform your life more
deeply.
My saving God, I turn to You, this day, and seek to be
single-minded in my love and devotion to You. Help me, first and
foremost, to listen to Your transforming Word and to allow that
Word to become the central focus of my life. Jesus, I trust in
You.
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