Last time we saw Jesus heal the man with the withered hand, in front of all the Pharisees. Remember, they were jealous of the Lord’s ministry, and bitter about His success. They wanted to put an end to this ministry.

We have been looking at this passage in Luke, but Mark brings out another interesting point:

Mark 3:6-10

6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

This is the point that a plot to have Jesus Christ murdered first takes shape. It’s interesting to note that to achieve their agenda, the Pharisees were willing to compromise everything they believed in. We know this because of who the Herodians were. As the name implies, they were a political group, who believed their candidate must be loyal to Rome. (In order to secure benefits for Israel). Therefore, they were political enemies of the Pharisees. The Pharisees also considered them apostate Jews, and therefore also religious enemies. They were so bitter and filled with rage about Jesus, that they were willing to do anything, and associate with anyone, to get rid of him.

In the face of this antagonism, what does the Lord do? Does He continue to try to save the Pharisees? Does He try to make them see the error of their ways? No, He simply breaks contact and moves on. He knew the hardness of their heart.

7 Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea,

8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him.

At this point, there was a huge crowd following and coming to hear Jesus. Of course, they all had different motivations for seeking Him. Some wanted to have God’s message communicated to them, some wanted to witness the miracles, some wanted to be healed. But look what the most important thing was to Jesus:

9 And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him;

Jesus recognized His primary responsibility to communicate and teach His message of salvation. He told the disciples to have the boat ready, so if the crowd pressed in too much, He could separate from them a little bit so that everybody could hear.

10 for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him.

Jesus did not come to heal everyone. It was a divine testimony to the fact that He, as their Lord and Messiah, had authority over sickness and death.

Why do you go to church? Is it the music program, the fellowship with your friends, the beauty of the sanctuary, or is it to hear the Word of God?

If the message of the Word of God was the most important thing to Jesus, then shouldn’t it be the most important thing for us?