ressed by Jesus' spirit of helpfulness and His
unusual power.[47] And the Galileans among them give Him warm welcome as
He comes up into their country.[48] It is a great multitude that follows
eagerly up on the east coast of the Galilean sea, hail Him as the
long-expected prophet of their nation, talk of plans for making Him
their King, and earnestly cry out, "Lord, evermore give us this (true)
bread."[49]

Even in the midst of the bickering discussions at the Tabernacles Feast
many of the multitude believed on Him, some as the long-talked-of
prophet, some as the very Christ Himself.[50] And as He talks to His
critics of His purpose always to please the Father, still others are
drawn in heart to Him and believe.[51] And at this same time, as the
criticism gets uglier, many make bold to speak out on His behalf[52]
though it was getting to be a dangerous thing to do. As He feels
compelled to withdraw from the tense atmosphere of Jerusalem, and goes
away into the country districts beyond the Jordan the people come
flocking to Him with open hearts.[53]

The Lazarus incident made inroads into the upper circles of Jerusalem,
many of the influential social class with whom these dear Bethany
friends seem on close terms, and who had been out there during those
stirring days, believe on Jesus, and many of the common people, too, are
won by that occurrence.[54] That tremendous raising of Lazarus had much
to do with the great acclaim of the multitudes as Jesus rode into
Jerusalem on the kingly colt.[55]

It is without doubt a sincere homage that these multitudes from far and
near, and the home crowds, render, with their palm branches and
garment-strewn roads, and spontaneous outburst of joyous song.[56] And
now as John put his bit of a knotted summary on the end of this part of
his story, he points out that even among the members of the Jewish
Senate there were many real believers.[57]

But a crowd is a strange complex thing. It doesn't know itself. It's
easily swept along to do as a crowd what would never be done by each one
off by himself. And this works in good ways as well as in bad. Jesus
drew the crowds and was drawn by them. He couldn't withstand the pull of
the crowd. The lure of its intense need was irresistible to Him. Yet He
knew crowds rarely.

He was never blinded by their enthusiasm. His keen insight saw under the
surface, though it never held Him critically back from helping. He
quickly notes that the belief of