Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also…since it is for this purpose that I have come. Jesus’ fame was fast spreading into the nearby towns and villages such that he couldn’t go anywhere without being noticed. And it appears that the people also knew how to get wind of his whereabouts. Once he was spotted, he soon got surrounded by large numbers of people, most of whom were in need of his services. Today’s Gospel passage picks up from where last Sunday’s Gospel passage penned off. Although it was a Sabbath, there was no rest for Jesus. After leaving the Synagogue, Jesus and his disciples found themselves at the house of Simon’s mother-in-law who was down with fever. Jesus laid his hands on her and cured her. But this was just the beginning. For by the time the sun was setting, word had spread that Jesus had “set camp” at Simon’s mother-in-law. People suffering various illnesses were brought to him in order that he may restore them to wholeness. But when on the following day he got informed that multitudes were still seeking him, he took leave of the area saying that he had to preach in other areas too.
While Jesus’ reason for moving to other areas was motivated by his desire to proclaim the good news in other areas, it can also be that he was aware of what was “cooking” and he did not want to “disappoint” them just yet. In the Johannine account of the multiplication of the loaves (cf. John 6:1-15), Jesus flees from the crowd when he realizes that they were about to make him a king on account of the sign he had worked (vs. 15). While we are not told that this is the very reason why Jesus decided to move on to other areas in the today’s Gospel account, we can assume that part of the motivation might have been the same. Jesus did not want to get the people confused about his identity and his mission. He was aware that the signs he was working in their midst were being understood “out of context” and were getting people exited. For while the people marveled at the signs he was working, the same could not be said about his teaching. Yet, the two were to be understood as two sides of the same coin. To pick one side while disregarding the other (as those who focused only on the signs) was to miss the point. Jesus couldn’t allow that to happen.
Secondly, familiarity breeds contempt. Jesus wanted the people to understand and appreciate his mission as a sign that the kingdom of God was already in their midst. While he wanted to be with the people and get involved in their lives, he also wanted them to realize that something “new” was happening. He wanted the people to see the difference that the ushering in of the kingdom had brought in their lives. The people had to “see” and “feel” the visitation of the Lord. He wanted the signs he was working in their midst to cultivate in them a thanksgiving spirit. Such a spirit would be hard to maintain if there was to be a feeling that what was happening was their right, and that they could have it any time they wanted it. He was their son (one of their own) and as such they had a right to the blessing wrought by his hands.
Thirdly, Jesus did not want to be “owned” by any one particular area or group of people. Human beings tend to want all the good things for themselves, and Jesus was aware of this. In the Johannine account of the multiplication of the loaves, the people wanted to make Jesus their king so that they would lay claim to all the good things he would henceforth do. They wanted to make him king so that they would become his priority. Jesus would be their king and they would be his people. As such, any good that Jesus would do would be directed at them first, and if there would be any left, then the remainder would flow to the rest. Such would be contrary to who Jesus was (I have to go to other villages for this is why I came).
Jesus’ mission was not to be impeded by anything. His was a universal mission, and for this to be realized, he had to detach himself from situations that could come between him and reaching out to those who needed him. He did not want to become a “family” wonder-worker. As much as his “family” had the right to his services, they at the same time had to understand that Jesus’ family was constituted of every man and woman under the earth. He was a brother to every son and daughter of Adam. May our appreciation of the good that Jesus does in our midst become our means of witnessing to the presence of the kingdom of God. And like Jesus’ mother, Mary, may we not be afraid to share Jesus with our brothers and sisters.