He Could HAve Built The Healing Church Of Jesus

“NOW WHEN HE SAW THE CROWDS, HE WENT UP ON A MOUNTAINSIDE AND SAT DOWN. HIS DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM, AND HE BEGAN TEACHING THEM SAYING,” MATTHEW 5:1-2

Apparently Jesus missed the “Church-Growth” Seminar. He had been praying for the sick and people were getting well and multitudes were gathering and instead of playing to the crowds, He left them.

Some translations are even clearer, but because Jesus saw crowds gathering, he fled them to teach the twelve. He began teaching THEM (the twelve) saying . . .” Why is this so important? Because it flies in the face of everything the traditional “church” holds dear; bigger is better, more equals success; the business church model is alive and well.

The popular mantra says, “If it is healthy, it will grow”, but by what standard? What is healthy growth? Is healthy growth a hundred Luke-warm believers and two on-fire disciples or 11 men who are on their way to becoming on-fire ready – to-lay-down-my-life friends of Jesus?

Many “church experts” today would instruct Jesus to capitalize upon His notoriety; exploit His success. Multitudes desired to follow His ministry, He could have built the “Healing Church of Jesus” on the spot; He didn’t. He didn’t even receive an offering. He could have spent weeks during the healing campaign to advertise His upcoming Sermon on the Mount. He could have preached this Kingdom Message to the multitudes as many paintings erroneously imply, but instead He left the crowds behind to instruct His closest companions and thereby impart Himself into 12 lives. The cynic might say, “Well that was Jesus’ mission!”

And I would then ask, “Should it not then also be our mission as well? Didn’t Jesus say that He had come and to seek and to save the lost? Weren’t there more “lost” in the multitude than in the twelve, Judas aside?

Jesus did “ministry” all wrong by our standards; even the prophet Isaiah indicates that His physical features would not make Him noticeable, “HE HAD NO BEAUTY OR MAJESTY TO ATTRACT US TO HIM, NOTHING IN HIS APPEARANCE THAT WE SHOULD DESIRE HIM.” ISAIAH 53:2 The fact that Judas has to identify Him with a kiss indicates that His appearance wasn’t different from the other Jewish men. Jesus didn’t promote His face, His Name or His ministry; He simply fulfilled it. When given multitudes, he fled them to invest in twelve.

May God help us as we strive to serve Him. Amen!