Mark 6:30-44

Last week we made a big point about how the Body of Christ is to be in the world but not of it, so that we might serve the world as a pillar and buttress of the truth. Truth sets people free so if people are trapped in deception because leadership in the land has failed to understand the basic building block of society, the called out ones of Christ can engage the culture with what is known asi Truth.

If people are trapped in deception, the last thing and the most unloving thing we could ever do is “not share” what the truth actually is. If we are indifferent to people who are trapped in deception, then our indifference is evidence that we too are entrapped in a different form of deception. Jesus says plainly to His disciples.

Matt. 10:

Matthew 10:26–28 (ESV)

26 “So have no fear of them…27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

If we do not share truth with people because we are to concerned about what they might think of us, then we have a massive fear problem ourselves that is rooted in selfishness and pride. We are not put on this planet to make much of ourselves. God made us for our joy and His glory. We are to make much of Him and in order to make much of Him we have to make known, bring to light and proclaim what He says is true.

The preeminent message of the Kingdom from day one of it’s inception was, is and will alway be, “Repent.”

Last week we talked about some highly sensitive and “controversial” mindsets that have been adopted by our society and that society needs to be called to repent from.

I know that it was pretty intense, but please don’t be offended and walk away. Consider what was said and have a conversation.

The passage we look at today will be a breath of fresh air as compared to lasts weeks passage, but it doesn’t hit any less hard because in this passage, Jesus is going to survey a crowd of 5000 hungry people, look at His disciples, dead in the eye in a desolate place and say to them, “You give them something to eat.”

You, you, you, you, …. you all individually, and collectively are responsible for distributing to them, what you have given to me, that I have blessed, and given back to you, so that you could give it to them and so that I get the glory as I demonstrate my unprecedented compassion to people who desperatnly need it, but don’t have it yet.

There is so much beauty in the way that the Holy Spirit inspired these words that Mark records for us today. So many hints, motifs, illusions to redemptive history are found in this passage. We clearly won’t get to all of them, but I do want to indicate that the way Mark recorded this is marvelous. We are going to see what happens when disciples of Jesus, obey Jesus. When disciples obey Jesus miraculous and amazing things happen to other people as a result.

When the disciples obeyed Jesus, things that could never happen by their own efforts, happened. Things that were unrealistic, unexpected and frankly impossible happened, when the disciples obeyed Jesus.

The Creator wants to bless His creation, but sometimes those blessings are continguent upon obedience. Because of God’s common grace, God’s undeserved goodness is experienced by all to some capacity. He lavishes people with undeserved kindness so often, but in this passage, 5000 hungry people got the nutritinoal nurishment their bodies needed, and the means by which they recieved what they needed was through the obedeince of the disciples.

This story also leaves a trail of bread crumbs leading us all the way to the night that Jesus was betrayed when…

Mark 14:22 (ESV)

22 …as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”

This text is amazing.

I feel like I have started preaching and we haven’t even read the passage yet. Let’s do that now.

Mark 6:30–44 (ESV)

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.

35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.

42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Pray

Now I think it is important to try not to “harmonize” this story. This is the only miracle of Jesus, besides His resurrection, that is recorded in all 4 Gospels. That shows us it’s preeminence and importance in the life and ministry of Jesus. Each Gospel writer uses this story in various ways to support their individual claims about Jesus. There aren’t contradictions in this event, but there are differences in how and why the story was told by the 4 Gospel writers.

We are just concerned with why Mark wrote this story the way He wrote it. We don’t need to compare and contrast it with Matthew, Luke or John. We just want Mark to speak for himself and Mark wants us to know, is that despite all of our inadequacies, shortcomings and failures, others can be blessed by King Jesus if we obey what He has called us to do for them. The tangible compassion of Jesus, was being distributed by the obedient hand of His disciples.

We want to closely detail all the obedience of the disciples even if it didn’t make sense to them.

Let’s look at their obedience.

First of all in verses, 31-32,

Mark 6:31–32 (ESV)

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.

Jesus says, Come away…and they did.

Jesus knew that “rest” would be good for these guys, but then we read this.

Mark 6:33–34 (ESV)

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.

The moment they reach shore, Jesus and His disciples notice that a crowd of people had run around they lake to catch up with them.

Just a quick poll question…what do you think would take more energy: rowing across a lake or running around a lake on foot?

Running around lake by foot. That is insane. Think about Lake Whatcom. If something I wanted was on the other side, I would probably just wait till it came back around. Think about an Ice Cream truck…if I lived on lakefront property and heard the jingle pass by my house, but by the time I got outside I noticed that it was on the other side of the Lake? I am not sure if I would “run on foot” around the lake to get to it.

But these people were so desperate for Jesus and for Him to teach them that they tireless ran “around” the lake “on foot” to get to Him. So although the disciples were tired and needed rest, I think in this story the one who really needed rest were the people that were coming to Him from all over the place.

I think that is why when Jesus looks at them “he has compassion on them.” He is moved deeply with pity for them. He was moved in the inner core of His being for them because, “they were like sheep without a shepherd.” They are so “shepherdless,” that they were willing to run around a lake on foot in order to hopefully track one down that might be able to “teach” them a thing or two.

And Mark says, “he began to teach them many things.” This is beautiful; but the disciples express concern for what is happening in

Mark 6:35 ESV

35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late.

We are in a desolate place and the hour is late. We are tired. The crowd is tired, plus we are all starting to get “hangry,” I mean hungry.

Mark 6:35–36 ESV

35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

ran around the lake and arrived at the desolate place, listened to Jesus teach for a long time until a late hour. Being in a desolate place at a late hour, having not eating is a problem, so the short sighted think tank session begins among the disciples and they go to Jesus with their really bad idea:

Send them away. Send them away…let them fend for themselves getting out of this desolate place at a late hour; have them divide up and go into various “country sides” and villages and then use their own money to buy something to satisfy their hunger.

Basically: this isn’t our problem Jesus. Ya, you might have enough compassion to teach these people that were willing to run around a lake into a desolate place in order to listen to you teach. That was great Jesus, but now we go a “real problem” on our hands; this people are hungry and sometimes when people get hungry they are just one step away from being “hangry.”

So, why don’t you just tell them to get out of here and fend for themselves. In the words of James 2:14. “Keep warm and well fed.”

Talk about inadequacies, shortcomings and failures in the disciples. Their “think tank” session that didn’t factor in who Jesus was into the equation came up with probably the most “uncompassionate” solution ever. Their response to seeing people in need was so unlike the response of Jesus and yet they were supposed to be like Him. That is the end goal of discipleship, to be like the One doing the discipling. But these guys just had an epic fail and Jesus addresses them in their failure and asks them to do something that is impossible for them to do on their own, but possible to do only if they obey His orders.

To them He says,

Mark 6:37 (ESV)

37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”

Although Jesus was left out of their equation to solve the problem; Jesus didn’t leave them out of His equation to feed these hungry people! If the disciples obey what He said, people would be blessed and satisfied. Jesus is so gracious with these guys that repeatedly “failed to get it so often” (we will see this in next weeks passage as well). I think we can relate with Mark’s depiction of these disciples.

Look at their shortsighted and really unreasonable solution:

Just throw some money at a problem. Let’s gather up 7 months worth of wages and let’s all scatter into their “surrounding villages,” at a desolate hour and then try to get all that food back here to these hungry people. The logistics doesn’t even make sense. This is a plan that is inadaquate for the need even if they could gather up the money. So money was meaningless to solve this problem. Plus by the time they got back with all that food; the people would have been even more “hangry.” If anything was going to be done about this problem, it had to happen like, “Now.”

I think they get it and so they listen to Jesus and obey what He says to do…

Mark 6:38 (ESV)

38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

Then in verses 37-38 - Go and see how many loaves of bread you have (5 and 2 fish).

39 - sit down in groups on green grass -

40 - so they sat down

The only thing htat shoudl make sense to a disciple is to obey the one doing the discipleing. We are to be crafted into His image, so we must do what He says even it might not all make sense to us.

Remember Karaty kid and Mr Miyagi? Wax on. Wax off. Sand the floor. Paint the fence. Stand on a post at high tide and kick waves! Mr. Miyagi was trying to get Daniel Carusso some muscele memory built up when fist, elbows, knees and leg sweeps came His way. It didn’t make sense to Daniel at the time, but the time came when the “Crane Kick” just became natural.

When disciples of Jesus do what He says to do, people

we aren’t just his proxy, we are His hands and feet. The tangible expression of Who He is to one another.

When disciples of Jesus do what Jesus instructs, desperate, lonely, hungry people are able to have an encounter with the compassion of the Living Christ.

THe way Mark tells this story and the fact that he even tells this story right after the previous one was arrestingly relavant to me this past week.

The hands and feet of Jesus, just like any other set of hands and feet on any other body, in order for them to work needs to have pulsating blood coursing theri theri vains.Bringing life giveing oxygen to every cell. Hands and feet that are cold, dead and lifeless need to be servered, pruned cut off from the body.

We need to have the compassion of Jesus racing through our veins if the Kingdom is going to be preached and responseded to by those who need it.

BEcause sheep without shepherd. _ farm country (Rinehart - sheep are just a little dumb. they needed to be guided). known, fed, led and protected. if sheep don’t have shepherds they are concealed and hidden traps, hungry, aimless and vunlernable.

Body of Christ,

Point Whitehorn trailer of bread clams 19 bridges helps you understand where you are where you’re going and it’s leading you to final destination doesn’t work does his gospel Mark does his gospel.

So many repeated themes we have already seen. Retreating with Jesus to a desolate place, many people crowding around Him, not having leisure time to eat.

Teach them many things means we need to be committed to learning. Think about the The Great Commission to teach them think about all the stuff we talked about with elders. We have to learn a whole new way to human

Don’t want to rationalize the miraculous. It’s like we try to get God off the hook with our rationalism. But all the while he’s the one who is actually working.

Shawn:

Don’t do you like leftovers? Remember Maggiano’s

No leisure even to eat.

Mark 3:20 ESV

20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.

Through our selfless, sacriicialy efforts people will experience the compassion and saving power of Jesus Christ.

A few weeks back - we have to preach - (Now the other side of the same coin) - Preach the Gospel at all time if if necesary use words. (We actually have to do someting (Andy M.) What if the disciples looked out at the crowd of hungry people and quoted bible verses to them like

James 2:16 (ESV)

16 “Go in peace, be warmed and filled.”

Without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

James 2:14–16 ESV

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

New Orleans Fishadn Loave story -

KMM - Kentucky - hot nad mugge - training.

ook at His disciples a

Application

Teaching ministry - equipping hour

Obey Jesus. Trust and Obey -