Fish or Fellowship?
Notes
Transcript
1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.
3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,
9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”
13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Let’s start with the obvious observation about Jesus in our passage. He is divine.
9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.
So as we piece our story together from the 4 gospels, Jesus and the disciples are trying to get away from everyone to a desolate place for some rest. They have been so busy they haven’t even been able to eat. But let’s look at Jesus’ response
34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
This is the heart of Jesus. He was human, He got tired and weary. They were so busy ministering to people they didn’t even have a chance to eat so they try and slip away to a desolate place to rest and recharge, but the people see Him and run on foot ahead of them. I don’t know about you, but if that was me. Compassion would not have been my natural human response reaction. But wow what a God we serve, what a Father in Heaven we have and oh what a Lord and Savior we have! Even though He is tired and weary and hungry and is just trying to get some peace and rest, how does He react to the sight of tens of thousands who found them? Now I would have saw more work more need more effort needed when I would have just wanted to rest, what did Jesus see?
34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
Don’t blow over this. Don’t just chalk it up to a fact you already know. Pause let it soak in. No matter what you are facing. He is still there looking at you with compassion and tenderness and He is more than willing to meet you in your need. But no pay attention this is a big BUT. We need to be aware of the mistake these people are making. I will be honest I made this mistake for decades and I am just recently trying to repent and correct it. No it will be easy for you to shake your head yes and say amen, but it is far more difficult to move it from your head to your heart. Let’s look at what this passage says about us.
2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.
Why were the people following? Because He was healing and later we they followed Him because He fed them here. So they were seeking Jesus’ hands Not for intimacy with God. God wants an intimate relationship with you.
Once it was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His Word;
Once His gift I wanted,
Now, the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone.
What hope does our passage give you? First and foremost Jesus can meet all your needs, but He really wants intimacy and this should be the most important pursuit of your life. Everything else in this world will pass away, but Your soul and God are eternal. And your eternity will either be plumbing the depths of God’s love or eternal torment. It is hard to understand why anyone would reject Jesus’ offer to spend eternity in His presence. But people are blind, so we need to seek intimacy with God and then offer up the lost to God and ask Him to bring life to the lost. So my final question to you this morning are you going to seek Fish or fellowship? Do you want intimacy with God or do you the blessings that He provides?