Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people (Matt. 9:35).
How does a crowd affect you? Do you walk quickly through it with scarcely a glance to right or left? We may become mildly irritated, or even fearful at the sheer volume of people who share the same space with us; the anonymity of modern life can make a crowd seem threatening. Yet, as we look into the faces of individuals who make up the throng, we can sympathize with their aspirations, empathize with their anxieties, and long to find solutions together.
Crowds drew forth a profound response from Christ Jesus. The gospel accounts tell us that he was filled with compassion for the people of his land. We might say he loved ordinary men and women because he saw them to be in reality extra-ordinary, even the sons and daughters of his loving Father, God. With Christly compassion the Master was able to reach people's hearts to comfort and heal them. He taught them that God's kingdom is not a far-off place but a tangible reality here and now.
