People, Common
The ordinary crowds who gathered around Jesus are visible in the Gospels less by name than by their reaction. They marvel at his teaching, are amazed at his works, fall silent before his authority over winds and demons, and now and then break into open praise. Their response is rarely measured: it runs in the register of astonishment, fear, and audible exclamation. Set against this gladness, however, is a sober warning from Jesus himself — that emotional reception is not yet the same as rooted hearing.
Astonishment at His Teaching
In his hometown synagogue the common hearers cannot reconcile what they hear with the man they remember. "And when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From where has this man these things? And, What [is] the wisdom that is given to this man, and [what is the meaning of] such mighty works being done by his hands?" (Mr 6:2). At Nazareth in Luke's parallel scene the response is the same astonishment paired with the same disbelieving question: "And all bore him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth: and they said, Isn't this Joseph's son?" (Lu 4:22). The wonder is genuine; the recognition is incomplete.
The astonishment is not confined to the crowds. Even the disciples, hearing a hard saying about the kingdom, are caught up in it: "And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answers again, and says to them, Children, how hard it is to enter into the kingdom of God!" (Mr 10:24).
Astonishment at Mighty Works
The same response of stunned witness attaches to the works themselves. After the paralytic is healed and walks out before them, "he arose, and immediately took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion" (Mr 2:12). After the deaf-mute is restored, "they were astonished beyond measure, saying, He has done all things well; he makes even the deaf to hear, and the mute to speak" (Mr 7:37). The pattern is consistent: amazement, an audible saying, and a verdict about Jesus that the speaker scarcely measures.
The Crowd Before Authority
When Jesus exercises authority over the unclean and over the elements, the crowd's astonishment turns to fearful wonder. Confronted with an exorcism in Capernaum, "amazement came upon all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out" (Lu 4:36). On the lake, after the storm is stilled, the disciples find themselves in the same posture as the crowds: "they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mr 4:41). Luke's parallel keeps the same shape: "And being afraid they marveled, saying one to another, Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?" (Lu 8:25). The question at the heart of the umbrella is the question the common people ask: who, then, is this?
Audible Praise from the Crowd
Sometimes the response surfaces as direct exclamation from a single voice. "And it came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nursed you" (Lu 11:27). The blessing is sincere and emotional, the kind of utterance that punctuates the gladness of the crowd's hearing.
Hearing Without Root
The same gladness, however, is not by itself a saving response. In the parable of the sower Jesus marks out a kind of hearer whose first reception is enthusiastic but shallow: "And other [seed] fell on the rocky [ground], where it did not have much earth; and right away it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth" (Mr 4:5). The astonishment of the crowds is real; whether it endures is a separate question, and it is the parable, not the wonder, that supplies the test.