Mark 2:13

A WALK BY THE SEA

‘And He went forth again by the sea side.’

Mark 2:13

The paralytic healed, our Lord left the house and, no longer surrounded by sceptical scribes, walked by the seaside. But the crowd would not leave Him. ‘All the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them.’ Think of this walk of Christ’s by the seaside.

I. It was not a walk of absent reverie.—Some men when walking amidst the most beautiful scenes of nature are lost in a reverie, in which they are oblivious of all around. They are lost in the contemplations of their own soul. They are great thinkers. They are good men. But they are not awed and inspired by the glories of the material universe. To such men the world is subjective rather than objective; they live more in the realm of thought than in the region of action. But Christ, Who was a great thinker, and was engaged in a mission calculated to absorb His attention, was never so lost in thought upon self as to be unmoved by the grandeur of external things, or by the call of present duty. When walking by the sea He was not so enchained by reverie as to be unmindful of those who were seeking instruction from Him.

II. It was not a walk of sentimental admiration.—There are many who admire everything they see. They can give no reason for their admiration of any one object, but they indulge the enthusiastic impulse of the moment. Their travels are not turned to any practical account; they instruct no soul throughout their journey. Christ thoroughly enjoyed the glories of nature, admired them fully, estimated them rightly, yet He was never so drawn away by them as to forget or neglect the imperative mission of His life, or the great need of men.

III. It was a walk hallowed by sacred teaching.—So far from being lost in absent reverie or in sentimental admiration, our Lord, during this walk by the sea, taught the multitude that resorted to Him. He might justly have excused Himself from such an intrusion. It was a time of needed rest and recreation after continuous effort, but He never pleaded fatigue as an excuse for toil. Nor did He hesitate on ecclesiastical grounds. He taught the multitude by the seaside. The world was to Him a temple for worship, its every scene sacred to the interests of truth. Some ecclesiastical personages will only teach in the consecrated church; let us find our rebuke in the simple conduct of the Lord. Where there are souls to listen, there the truth should be preached in all sincerity.

Illustration

‘For some years in succession the Bishop of Manchester (Dr. Knox) has held Church services on the sands at Blackpool. “He succeeded,” he said, in describing the mission, “in reaching great crowds of people on Sundays and weekdays. Although at first it was treated as a novelty and excited great interest, the prevailing attitude towards the mission was one of reverent attention and quiet sympathy. All our meetings were earnest religious services, not religious entertainments.” ’