Popularity Is Fickle - Matthew 3-4

Matthew 4:23-25 (ESV)

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Popularity is fickle.   One day they like you and the next day they don’t.   This is the fate of Jesus.   It is hard to read the above passage without also remembering this passage:

Matthew 27:21-23 (ESV)

The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry the crowds were all for Him.  He was doing great miracles and they loved Him for it.  However, once He began His teaching, they decided He should be crucified.   Teachings like this:

Matthew 10:39 (ESV)

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 16:25 (ESV)

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

We ought to go to Jesus today for our healings.   We tend to call the doctor first and go to prayer second.   That is not necessarily a bad thing.  But Jesus does heal and we need to seek Him.  But we can’t have the healing without the teaching.   The crowds in Jesus’ day were okay having Him heal their bodies, but they rejected His prescription for how to heal their souls.   Physical life, yes; eternal life, no.   The one who can heal the body, first wants to heal the soul.   Jesus used the signs and wonders like God does in every age.  He begins every new movement in His plan with outward signs and wonders.  But He then moves to the inward need of man.  He does want to heal us of our sickness, but He first and foremost wants to heal us from our sins.   Jesus knew the answer to this question He asked of the religious leaders just before He healed the paralytic: 

Matthew 9:5 (ESV)

For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

We grieve over the pain and suffering diseases and afflictions that come upon our families and friends.   We pray earnestly for healing for them.  And we should!   But do we equally grieve each day for their sins and their separation from God?   We often neglect the later and spend urgent time in prayer for the former.     Jesus is popular when He heals the body.  He is often ignored, or even rejected when He wants to save the soul.