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The Gospel of Mark Chapter 3:7-35 Jesus Withdrew 7 - 12 3.7 -8. Then Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him. And from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, and around Tyre and Sidon a great multitude came to him when they heard about the things he had done Because of the rejection by the religious leaders in the synagogues Jesus withdraws to continue His ministry in the open places as so many have had to do since e.g. John Wesley. This time He returns to the seaside where not only the people of Galilee but from all over Israel come to hear Him and be healed. They came because they had heard from others of the mighty things that Jesus had done. It is only as we tell others about Jesus can they come to know that He has power to save them (Rom.10:14). There are times in our witnessing however that we need to withdraw and allow the Holy Spirit to work, especially when our witness is rejected. 3.9. Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd would not press toward him. The Lord was not heedless to the possibility of being overcome by the crowd and so makes provision for this by asking the disciples to have a small boat standing by that He might resort to and use as a pulpit. We might wonder why He should take this precaution for He was divinely protected from the crowds who wanted to throw Him over the cliff in Nazareth? God expects us to use our common sense and to make what provision we can. Remember what Jesus answered Satan when he tempted Him to throw Himself of the temple (Math. 4:7). 3.10. For he had healed many, so that all who were afflicted with diseases pressed toward him in order to touch him. There seemed to be no end to the number of people who needed healing or the number of different diseases. Here we read that many were healed, which would again suggest that not everybody was, not because of Christ's inability but because of their unbelief.