By: Scott Adkins, Sling ‘n Stone Ministry
Carter County Times
Big crowds! Big crowds!
Churches today seek and celebrate big crowds – one church publicly celebrates drawing 25,000 attendees. Big crowds, however, don’t impress God; nor do most in those big crowds follow God or His Son. We know this is so because big crowds attended Jesus’s sermons. (Matthew 4:25) But they did so, not for His truth, but for “loaves and fishes,” that they might be filled. (John 6:26) Thousands attended Jesus’s sermons, seeking their own selfish ends – not God’s kingdom or His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33) When Jesus hit them with truth, “many… went back, and walked no more with Him.” (John 6:66) Same thing happened when the Sanhedrin arrested Jesus. When persecution’s heat came, every single disciple ran off, abandoning Jesus to face what came next. (Mark 14:50) (“They all forsook Him and fled.”)
Nothing’s changed. Today, millions say they follow Jesus, but like the big crowds in Jesus’s day, today’s big crowds hang around Jesus, seeking only to satisfy and justify themselves, saying, “I go to church; pay my tithes; I believe in Jesus.” Jesus ain’t impressed. Like Luke 18:13’s Pharisee, today’s selfish seekers risk eternal doom.
His truth still offends today. And persecution’s heat still separates who’s real from who’s not. Many prefer emotional songs and sermons over steadfast faithfulness and hard work – like evangelizing the lost, no matter the cost – Jesus accepts nothing less from those who call Him Lord. (Luke 6:46) (“Why call ye ME, Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say?”)
We must examine ourselves: Do we follow Jesus, and if we do – why? (II Corinthians 13:5) Do we seek something from Him? Or do we seek only to serve Him for His sake? The latter proves soul-saving faith. The former? Soul-damning hypocrisy. What makes folks serve Jesus for His sake alone, no matter what? Answer: Steadfast love for Him, for Who Jesus is; and for what He did when he died on the cross. (I John 4:19) (Ephesians 2:14-18) Scripture remembers only one who so loved Jesus: Mary Magdalene.
When the Romans crucified Jesus atop Golgotha, the big crowds were long gone. Only four remained: John; Jesus’s mother; her sister; and Mary Magdalene. (John 19:25) After they entombed Jesus, everyone went home. Everyone but Mary Magdalene. She alone remained faithful. Mary never flinched. She loved and trusted Jesus even beyond His atoning death on the cross. Walking to Jesus’s tomb Easter morning, Mary found it empty. Yet, she stood fast. Weeping alone and faithful to Him still, Mary loved and trusted Jesus to the very end – and that’s when Jesus showed-up… and then, HE spoke her name: “Mary.” (John 20:10-16)
Y’all see? It ain’t the big, self-seeking crowds; it’s that one who stays faithful ‘til the end. That’s who spends forever with Jesus. (Matthew 24:13) (“He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”); (Mark 13:13) Who do y’all want to be?
