15. Crowds Come to Jesus (Mark 3:7-12)

As the conflict stories conclude, we find Mark turning his attention to the disciples, and the development of their distinct role as those who will eventually speak and serve in the authority of Christ. At the same time, Mark describes the multitudes that find their way to Jesus, some coming for healing, some coming for spectacle, some coming for reasons that were at best confused. Although the crowds sometimes bordered on a mob, Jesus never failed to meet their needs with compassion, and thereby established a paradigm that his echoed through the ages as the great calling card of Christian ministry.