Why were the crowds so large?

Today I will talk about large crowds and what they seek. I will begin with today’s first reading. The time had come for the people to leave Babylon and head back home. A large crowd was gathered at the gate and the prophet Isaiah was giving a speech. He was saying, “Going home will be a great blessing but it also contains a danger and the danger is spiritual. We are going back to Canaan and the people of Canaan have many gods; the sun god, the moon god, the storm god, the god of wine and so on. We have only one God and his name is the Lord. When the Canaanites need rain they pray to Yam, the god of water.

When we need rain we pray to the Lord, the one and only god. When the Canaanites need bread they pray to Daygan, the god of grain. When we need bread we pray to the Lord, the one and only god.” The prophet concluded his speech by saying, “Don’t fall victim to the Canaanite religion and the worship of many gods. Please remain loyal to the Lord, the one true god. Please obey the First Commandment. God said to Moses, “I am the Lord, your God. You shall not have strange gods before me.” With those words Isaiah concluded his message to the crowd gathered at the gate.

During this liturgical year we are reading from Matthew’s Gospel almost every Sunday. Matthew’s Gospel says that Jesus was constantly surrounded by large crowds. In Chapter 4, Matthew states that large crowds followed Jesus from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan. In Chapter 5, Matthew introduces the Sermon of the Mount by saying, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, sat down and began to teach.” In Chapter 9, we hear that one Day Jesus was teaching inside a packed house in Capernaum. Four friends tried to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus, but the crowd blocked the doorway. So they climbed onto the roof, made an opening and lowered the mat right in front of Jesus. Jesus felt compassion for the man and healed him.

People were coming and going in great numbers and Jesus had no opportunity to be alone…. Not even for prayer. In today’s gospel Jesus heard that his cousin John the Baptist had died and he wanted to spend time alone in a boat for a time of prayer. But, once again, the crowds found him. Today’s gospel passage says, “When the crowds heard of this, they followed him on foot from their towns. When Jesus came ashore and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them.

He cured their sick and fed them by multiplying the loaves and fishes. So why were the crowds so large? That is my question for today. Why were the crowds so large? I can think of three reasons. Number One. They were hungering for spiritual wisdom. They were tired of listening to leaders who gave them worldly wisdom. They wanted to hear more about God’s way of doing things. So Jesus helped them immensely when he said spiritual things like: “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” (Lk. 6:37) “Give and gifts will be given to you.” (Lk. 6:38) “Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.” (Lk. 6:37) Jesus gave them words of wisdom: “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.” (Lk. 6:27) “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Lk. 6:31)

So that’s the first reason why the crowds were so large. They flocked to the side of Christ because he gave them spiritual wisdom and spiritual advice. He did what spiritual shepherds are supposed to do. He gave them spiritual wisdom. He gave them wisdom sayings like: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. Give unto others without seeking reward. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” 

And now for the second reason. When Jesus said, “You are my brothers and sisters if you hear my word and act upon it.” he was offering to be their companion on life’s journey. Jesus offered to be their brother no matter what they might encounter in life. Jesus was giving them a sense of community: a sense of belonging. And the people needed that because the Pharisees were labeling them as outcasts because they had failed to follow some of the 613 laws which they had invented. The crowds were large because Jesus gave them something they really wanted. Namely, a sense of belonging…… He did not say to the crowds, “You are my audience.” Instead, he said, “You are my sisters and brothers and we are family.” He gave them a sense of belonging. Reason Number Three for having such large crowds: His message about God’s love gave them hope.

The Pharisees had told them that God is condemning them. The Pharisees said, “If you are sick, that is a sign that God doesn’t like you. If you are poor, that’s another sign that God does not like you.” But Jesus said, “God shows no favoritism. God loves each and every one of you. When Jesus came to a town he went searching for the sick and the homebound and the lepers.

Jesus included everyone in his circle of friendship. His behavior indicated that he loved each and every person. And that message filled the crowds with hope. So the crowds around Jesus were large for three reasons: Because he gave them spiritual advice. Because he gave them a sense of belonging. And because he gave them a reason to be hopeful. The large crowd in today’s gospel did not realize it but Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah in today’s first reading. After feeding the large crowd Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst". Today we are members of the large crowd called the New Covenant. When we hunger we turn to Jesus. When we thirst we turn to Jesus. We are asking Jesus for what we really need. We are seeking spiritual wisdom. We want Him to include us in His circle of friendship. And we want Him to fill our hearts with hope.