Jesus once declared to the multitude that was following Him:
“But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.”
John 10:26 NKJV
The sheep are the disciples of Jesus. They belong to Him, and they will do whatever the Good Shepherd tells them to do. They will not listen to the voice of a stranger, as the multitude does.
The multitude likes to listen to new teachings of men; but the disciples will always be faithful to the fundamental teachings of Christ, which has been inspired by the Holy Spirit. The sheep (disciples) listens to the voice of the Good Shepherd (Jesus) only.
The multitude can only believe in the Good Shepherd, so as to satisfy their own personal needs and desires. They want healing, financial breakthroughs, material and physical things. And these are all legitimate rights of all Christians. God wants us all to have all these things (1 Corinthians 3:21).
But by becoming the disciples of Jesus Christ, they will get to know how to position their lives for these things to come along their pathways without sweating for them.
The multitudes like to sweat themselves out in receiving these things. They believe that it has to come by toiling for them; but the disciples believe in God for them by positioning themselves in the grace of God to do it.
Many in the multitude can’t follow Jesus and His teachings faithfully, because they see it as just being fanatical to do. The multitude thronged after Jesus everywhere He went, but they were never diligent and committed as His disciples were in following Him.
The disciples will always walk in the righteousness of God that comes by faith through Christ Jesus, while the multitude likes to cling to their own righteousness. The multitude will listen to the word of God so as to justify themselves. But the disciples will follow after the voice of the Spirit in the letter of the word, because they do know that the life of God (Zoe) is in it (John 6:63).
That’s why Jesus said again that:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.””
John 10:27-30 NKJV
There is a difference between obedience to the letter of the scriptures, and obedience to the Spirit of the letter itself. The disciples will follow after the Spirit of the letter into eternal life. While the multitude is legalistic in the way that it interprets the scriptures.
That’s why they often miss out of their spiritual breakthroughs. The devil uses this legalistic approach of the multitude in interpreting the scriptures, to snatch them away from the presence of the Lord.
The enemy can never snatch the disciples away from the Good Shepherd (Jesus). In fact, he knows the disciples from afar and flees away from them, because they are dangerous to him.
The multitude is vulnerable to the attacks of Satan. He sees them as easy tools that he can manipulate against the disciples. That’s why you will often see the enemy using the lack of commitment in the multitude to persecute the disciples.
The multitude was always around Jesus everywhere He went. They were different in their goals and what motivated them to follow Jesus, in comparison to the things of the Spirit which motivated the disciples.
While the disciples had left all things behind to follow Jesus, the multitude had left nothing behind. It was therefore easier for the multitude to quit following Jesus, because they won’t sacrifice anything to follow Him.
The multitude of today is not different from those that was following Jesus. They are not prepared today to make any sacrifice either, just as they did in the time of Jesus. But the disciples are always ready to make even more sacrifices.
The scriptures once told us about the rich young ruler, after Jesus had confronted Him to make the decision of becoming His disciple. It says:
“But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Mark 10:22 NKJV
He went away in sorrow because he could not make such a huge sacrifice, by giving away his riches to the poor, so as to start following Jesus. At that same time Peter (the disciple) said to Jesus:
“ .. See, we have left all and followed You.””
Mark 10:28 NKJV
The disciples of Jesus Christ are always willing to leave everything of this world behind them to follow Jesus.
The meat versus the milk of the word.
Even though Jesus had picked His faithful disciples from among the multitude, He however never treated them alike at all. There were a lot of things that He never revealed to the multitude, but which were privately discussed with the disciples. He did this because He knew that the multitude was not ready to accept those things.
The multitude of today can’t accept certain things in the scriptures, because those things doesn’t fit into their Christian worldview.
That was why:
“And He (Jesus) said to them (the disciples), “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, and their sins should be forgiven them.’”
Mark 4:11-12 NKJV
Jesus would always reserve the meat of the word for His disciples, because they were willing to follow His teachings. The meat of the word is the mystery of the Kingdom of God. A mystery which many in the multitude today do not yet understand.
Jesus has hidden this mystery from the multitude, but revealed it to the disciples, so as to prepare the disciples for the time, when they would not have Him in their midst. The meat of the word as the mystery revealed gives strength and grace to the disciples. It empowers them in understanding their times and seasons.
The milk of the word was left for the multitude, because they were not matured enough to eat the meat of God’s word (see Hebrews 5:12-14).
Jesus actually told the multitude which was thronging after Him:
“.. If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.””
John 8:31b-32 NKJV
Those in the multitude who desired to abide in the word of Jesus, got qualified to be called His disciples. The disciples of Jesus Christ abode in His word by being doers of the word.
While the multitude just like to pay lip service to the letters of the word. The multitude can quote many scriptures today, but the scriptures never give life through the knowledge of it alone. The multitude needs to become doers of the word, so that it will give them the real life with Jesus.
The multitude loves to quote every promise of the Bible, but they are not necessarily being transformed by those very scriptures. They are still in their bondages, while the disciples are doing exploits with the revealed truth, that had delivered them from those bondages.
That was why Jesus was always mindful of the mixed multitude in the crowd that followed Him. The Holy Spirit showed Him all things about them. He followed the leading of the Holy Spirit in ministering to their needs.
We are called to follow the example of Jesus in our dealings with the multitude. The world may put pressure on you to compromise the standard of Jesus in dealing with their own. But remember that anything that you do compromise to satisfy the multitude, you will eventually loose.
If you compromise the elementary teachings of Christ to satisfy the multitude as a Minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will eventually lose the true disciples of Christ that are among them (Hebrews 6:1-7).
And the result of this will be that you will get yourself derailed, away from the purpose of the Lord in your calling.
The multitude is only interested in satisfying their own personal needs and not the will of the Father. They don’t really care about your vision, for as long as they can get what they want.
That’s why we must focus more on making disciples of the multitude, before the enemy can lay hold on them. There are a lot of congregations today where the multitudes are not being discipled.
And as a result of this they have become a thorn in the flesh to the vision of their leaders. Jesus called us to make disciples of the multitude and not to be pampering to their every needs.
The multitude can’t do what the disciples does.
The scriptures said about Jesus that:
“Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.””
Mark 6:45-50 NKJV
Jesus had sent out the disciples on a specific assignment. He never sent the multitude out, because they were not committed to following Him. The disciples knew what Jesus liked and what He would not accept. Jesus trusted them to do exactly what they were told to do.
There are Congregations that are struggling to grow today, because of the lack of the sense in commitment from the multitude in their midst. The multitude has been allowed to take over certain roles in their midst, alongside with the disciples without a sense of commitment to the vision of the Church.
Many Church programs has been stalled because of this. And this has caused instability that eventually has crippled the spiritual growth of such congregations.
The result is that the multitude continues to come to get pumped up every Sunday in such Congregations, without really making any progress to grow up spiritually. They are not being transformed by the word that is being preached or taught to them (Romans 12:2-3).
Jesus identified this type of mentality in the multitude that was following Him. At one point He bluntly told them:
“ .. Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”
John 6:26 NKJV
The multitude loved the physical food, but they never desired the spiritual food; so that they may grow up into spiritual maturity. They had the opportunity to become disciples of Jesus, but they blew it all away because of their desires for the physical food and other material things.
In the scriptures texts above after Jesus had dispersed the multitude, we can observe that the disciples saw Jesus as He was walking on the sea. It was a supernatural encounter with Him which was not witnessed by the multitude. The multitude missed out of this supernatural encounter with Jesus, because their motives were in the wrong place.
That’s why the multitude can’t encounter what the disciples are encountering every day. They don’t have the spiritual understanding of the truth that can make them free (John 8:32).
Jesus during this supernatural encounter on the sea was able to teach His disciples, how not to fear in the midst of the storm of life. He had used an analogy of the natural storm that they had seen for the spiritual storm.
That type of overcoming faith teaching and mentoring moment was not available to the multitude, because they were not yet ready for it.
Jesus taught the disciples how to keep on rowing in the storms of life. He taught them how to trust in Him and never to fear whatever the enemy may be throwing at them. He did this by appearing to them in the midst of their struggle at sea.
This spiritually prepared them to face the persecution that later came upon the Church, as the multitude was being scattered.
What lies ahead of us as the disciples of Jesus Christ today calls for an undaunted faith. Jesus gave us the command to make disciples of all nations.
The storms may arise as we go forth, but we are called to teach and make disciples of the multitude, so as to multiply and replenish the earth with the glory of God.
This is not the time to focus on pampering to the needs of the multitude, but our attention has to be on making disciples of as many of them that are able to receive the truth. They are the ones that will usher in the Lord on His return as they “go ye” to the end of the earth.
There is no time to be growing crowds and multitudes, that are not ready to get discipled and go anywhere for Jesus.
As a Pastor discipleship is crucial to the increase and expansion of your vision. Start discipling others to go out of your congregation to start new things elsewhere.
Don’t let the disciples sit down without any assignment for them. Jesus gave assignments always to the disciples. That was how He was able to do so much in just three years. What are you going to do about it?
The bottom line is that the disciples will always get things done for you. Multitude don’t. The disciples will carry and run with your vision. The multitude will not.
Make disciples of all peoples. Mentor them and empower them to go out and do what they see you doing. You will start increasing more and more as you do this. Amen!
