It is interesting the details we are given about the life of Jesus and those that are omitted. If you think about all the details that play out in a three-year span of one’s life, which ones would be most important? What lessons can we learn from three seemingly insignificant passages about the life of Christ?
“Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat” (Luke 5:1-3).
The multitude pressed upon the Lord. During His early ministry and in the more rural areas, Jesus was very popular. There are those that were curious about this teacher. There were those who were seeking the physical benefits that He provided (John 6:26). There were those scribes and lawyers who sought to entrap Him, and there were those who were legitimately concerned about their souls. In a similar fashion, there are those who are variously motivated today. There are those who are curious. Those who desire the physical benefits. Those who are trying to find something wrong with the Lord’s teaching, and those who are properly concerned about their souls. Let us determine to be concerned about the Lord, based upon proper motivation. Knowing the value of the soul. Knowing that only the Lord has the message of salvation. Knowing that the gospel is God’s only saving power.
They heard the word of God. Our Lord was concerned about bringing to men the word of God. Jesus himself is called the Word (John 1:1ff; Rev. 19:13). He was and is the Prophet of God (Acts 3:22,23). God communicated through Him (Heb. 1:1-2). He spoke truth and not human speculations, theories or philosophies (John 8:32; John 17:17). Likewise, the apostles and other members of the early church were determined to preach and to teach only the word of God (Acts 8:4, 5, 35; 1 Cor. 1:18-25).
In this small section of scripture, we see the people clamoring after Jesus and His teaching of them. It sets the stage for His ministry and the calling of a disciple. All of the events in Jesus’ life were important. They all led Him to the cross. The ones that we have written in the gospels are most important. In your reading, slow down. Catch the details of these between passages. Those verses that transition us from scene to scene. Inspiration means every word is important.