Colossal Crowds!

For Tuesday, March 10, 2026:

Matthew 4:25 NLT: “Large crowds followed Jesus wherever he went—people from Galilee, Decapolis (10 towns), Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.”

"Hear ye, hear ye! The Great Healer is coming to your town! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! You don’t want to miss this. Jesus Christ, in the flesh! Be there, or be left behind! Tickets available at OneNation.com.”

OK, I wrote a radio commercial for the next Jesus event. Of course they didn’t have radio back then, so this is all the result of my fertile imagination! Word-of-mouth got the job done as well as any radio station might have.

"Large crowds followed Jesus.” Imagine large crowds, much larger than you think. The Apostles were present, but also disciples, hundreds of loyal believers who showed up every time. They just weren’t part of the original 12. They were 100% convinced that Jesus was the heaven-sent Messiah. They didn’t want to miss a single word. Soon, they’d start inviting family and friends to come with them. And before you knew it, the crowd of hundreds had become thousands.

All four Gospels report the miracle of Jesus feeding 5K men, not counting women or children. But most of the men were married, so the number becomes 10K. Let’s assume families had at least two children, so now our number is 20K, quite a significant number of people traveling with Jesus. I’m glad I wasn’t in charge of logistics!

When Jesus heard that John the Baptist was dead, he wanted to be alone, so he got on a boat and headed across the lake. There was no GPS, so nautical navigation was to remain close enough to visualize the shoreline while staying far enough away to be in deep water. The disadvantage was that not only could those on board follow the coastline, but those still on the shore could easily follow the boat. So as Jesus sailed up the coast, the crowd could simply follow on land. There was no escape from the throng, at least not for very long!

Eventually, Jesus fed the 20K with five fish and two barley loaves, but that’s a different message. Today’s lesson speaks of the colossal crowd following Jesus. The key was that core believers shared the Good News with their families and friends. They invited others to join.

A friend of mine was recently voted in as pastor of a hundred-year-old church. They attract only about 60 people each week. I hope he can positively alter their trajectory. Only 60 people in 100 years? Jesus had 20K in attendance, and he preached for only three years!

See you at church! Bring your friends!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Most Faith!

For Thursday, October 30, 2025:

Hebrews 11:8 NLT: “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.”

There’s that word again – “faith!” Faith is believing that with God at the helm, everything will turn out for the best. So Abraham told everyone who lived in his circle to pack up and follow him. That would include all of the servants. Nowadays, we’d call them hired hands or just workers. They pitched their tents alongside Abraham’s, for both the job and for safety. Shepherds and stable workers, harvesters and those who prepared food, domestic workers, and their spouses and families – everyone was told to pack up, because God told us to get going!

Imagine the conversation. Abraham: “Honey, we need to pack everything and head down the road. We’re moving! God said!”

Sarah: “Sounds exciting! And where did God say that we’re going?”

Abe: “He hasn’t told me that yet. He just said to get going, so we need to get going.”

Sarah: “You tell that God of yours that we need more information!”

Nowadays, we wouldn’t plan a trip to another city without having a hotel reservation. And to do that, we’d need to know the name of the city! But this is a lesson in extreme, all-in faith. We need to be ready to pack up all our belongings, our friends, our families and our co-workers. We’re gonna herd our livestock down the road until God says “stop.” He’ll let us know when we have arrived.

The Bible says to trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. God’s way will always prove to be the best way!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Follow me!

For Friday, June 13, 2025:

Luke 12:38 NLT, Jesus speaking: “The Lord may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.”

When the Hebrew people were about to be liberated from slavery in Egypt, they were told to eat standing up. They consumed unleavened bread that could be prepared quickly. They were to keep their walking sticks at hand and to tuck in their tunics to facilitate running. God was about to show up and perform a miracle, and he wanted his people ready to go – quickly!

In today’s scripture, Jesus is oddly speaking in the third person. When we witness what we call the second coming, it will be him, Jesus, who comes to gather the faithful. He wants to find us solidly locked in with those obeying God’s commands. When Jesus arrives on his white horse, will you be ready to fly in the sky alongside your Savior?

A man once asked Jesus about eternal life. Jesus said, “Follow me.”

The man hesitated. “First let me bury my dead relative.” That was the wrong answer. When Jesus says to get going, the correct time is NOW, not later!

When Jesus advised Levi, the tax collector, to follow him, he immediately left the tax booth. We now know him as Matthew the Apostle! That’s how it’s done!

Let’s meet up in the sky!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship