Mark 3:7-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea ⁸ and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. ⁹ And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him,

This verse tends to give you an idea of the size and scope of the crowd following Jesus. They were from Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, Tyre and Sidon. They weren’t just a crowd, but a great crowd. To give you a little perspective of the geography covered here – Judea was of course the southern part of Israel who’s capitol city was Jerusalem, and Galilee was most of the northern part of Israel, while Tyre and Sidon were cities to the northwest on the Mediterranean coast. Beyond the Jordan meant East of the Jordan river or present day Jordan. Then finally Idumea or Edom, the Edomites were following Jesus. Do you know who the Edomites were? They were the descendants of Esau Jacob’s twin brother and they lived South and East of the Dead Sea. Between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Arabah.

Do you realize the significance of this – these are the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother that despised his brother who became the father of the Nation of Israel. These are the people that refused to let Moses and the Israelites cross their territory during the Exodus, because they hated the Israelites, and here we have crowds of people following Jesus Christ the Messiah. Some in this crowd were from Idumea, Edomites. We don’t know how many, but it must have been a large number for them to be mentioned. 

God’s promise to the world would come through Jacob or Israel not Esau, and Jesus was the culmination of that promise.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3 ESV).”

You know, a lot of us think that we are not worthy of God’s blessing, and I suppose realistically that would be true for all of us, but God’s promise is that “all families on earth shall be blessed”, not some families, but all families, and not may be blessed but “shall” be blessed. So the blessing is for all deserving or not, and that blessing is found in the person of Jesus Christ! Even some Edomites found that blessing and were glorified and amazed!