We look back on Jesus’ life on earth today as an awesome thing, as an inspiring thing; we look on it with the greatest amount of respect and wonder. Jesus indeed lived the most remarkable life in the history of the world. It was because He Himself was God. But have you ever thought about how His family looked at Him? They were hardened through familiarity. They looked at Jesus and though He had lost His mind! Well, if I was His brother, I probably would have too; can you even imagine your earthly brother proclaiming Himself to be God in the flesh?! It really is something.

In the Gospel of Mark, we read about a crowd thronging Jesus. Mark says, “and the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.” [Mk 3:20] That’s an extremely large and tight crowd. Notice how Mark is careful to say “the multitude cometh together again.” Again to signify like before, and the occurrence Mark records directly before this regarding a crowd is this:

"For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known." [Mk 3:10-12]

Jesus is healing people, casting out demons, preaching the gospel, demons are crying out He is The Son of God (though He shuts them up); this is quite the scene. And there is so many people, that no one can even lift up their hands to eat bread. Then Jesus’ family/friends come. Mark records,

"And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself." [Mk 3:21]

Jesus was filled with The Holy Spirit and He was a wonder to His family! They stumbled at the stumblingbock of Christ (at least for the time being). Their hearts were hardened through familiarity and they thought He had gone insane! Jesus was overflowing with life and His very own family thought He had lost His mind.

Is it like that with me? What about you? Are we so filled with life, and so filled with The Holy Spirit, that His life is overflowing from us and the unsaved world wonders? Marvels? “How can he have peace at a time like this; how can he be so joyful all the time; why does he love to be pure.” Do they wonder?

Perhaps they think we’re mad. Let them think it!

"I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge." [Psa 71:9]

"Behold, I and the children whom The LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from The LORD of Hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion." [Isa 8:18]

Consider this: we are Jesus’ brethren. Jesus Himself says, “behold I and the children which God hath given me” and He “is not ashamed to call [us] brethren.” [Heb 2:11-13] Jesus is not ashamed of us; He does not think we are insane as the world would say; no, but Jesus encourages our zeal and love for Him. He greatly desires it. So let us take solace in that fact. For Jesus tells us, “…lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

We are His brethren, and we are also given to Him by The Father for His indwelling. He dwells within us that we might live through Him!

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." [1 Jn 4:9] 

"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." [2 Cor 4:10-11]

There should be a fountain of life coming out of us, “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” [Jn 4:14] So much so that others wonder, they marvel, they think we just might be insane. Just like Jesus’ disciples saw Him talking with the woman at the well. He was bubbling with life and trite, social boundaries weren’t going to keep Jesus bottled up. His disciples saw Jesus ministering life, the very Living Water He urged the woman to drink of. He was ministering, and His disciples, “marvelled that He talked with the woman.”

CONCLUSION

When we are a wonder, a marvel to the unsaved world, we make God our refuge just as Psalms 71:9 encourages. We come under His wings and drink and eat of Him. We partake of Christ, continually abiding in Him, that we might live through Him, with Him, by Him. “For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.” [2 Cor 13:4]