Compassion Never Checks Out

Introduction:

Rest is an important aspect God has allowed us to enjoy! Every person needs rest, relaxation, and time alone with God. There is a line in which we can take a good thing God has given us too far.

There is a danger in taking no time for rest and too much time for rest.

vv. 30–32) Rest while you can:

[30] Picture: “told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.”

Imagine with me for a moment how excited they were to tell Jesus about their, mission trip; and to recap Jesus send them out earlier in this chapter:

Mark 6:7–12 NKJV

7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts—9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. 10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.

All things: how the Lord provided for them, as they were not to take with them a staff, bag, food, money, then were only to bring their shoes and a single tunic. The rest would be provided… and it was.

What they had done: They were to travel in pairs having power over unclean spirits. If a city rejected their message they were to shake the dust from their feet as a sign of judgement, severe judgement.

They had taught: What did the disciples teach?

Mark 1:14–15 NKJV

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

How they lived and what they had taught was of vital interest to Jesus. He had given them precise instructions. This report would reveal their obedience to Him, the degree of commitment and effectiveness of these twelve men.

Something to keep in mind, Jesus needed to know if these men were going to follow Him and be obedient. The salvation of the world depended on their talk and walk. Their teaching and example. Jesus would soon leave all in their hands. Praise God He also gave us the Holy Spirit to help!

Family you are accountable for both how you live and for what you teach. You are to be obedient to Christ—living exactly as He has said and teaching exactly what He has said to teach.

John 17:1–8 NKJV

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

EVERY DISCIPLE IS HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD:

[individual]

2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

[Corporate]

Hebrews 13:17 NKJV

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Jesus’ method of discipleship begins with a call to follow and eventually transitions to a call to go.

[31] I love this verse, because Jesus knew His disciples needed a time of rest.

Jesus knew the importance of hard work better than anyone did…I mean after all He is God. But look at this verse with me:

John 9:4 NKJV

4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

Jesus knew how to work hard. At the same time, He knew we can only be effective at work when we also take time for rest.

The busier we are, the more necessary it is to retreat regularly with Jesus.

Jesus and the disciples were constantly busy, so Jesus took them to a deserted place for some rest.

“Rest is necessary for those who labour; and a zealous preacher of the Gospel will as often stand in need of it as a galley slave.”—Clarke

[Sabbaticals are great!]

Never get over the fact Jesus makes your concerns His concerns.

vv. 33–38) Give what you got:

Jesus did not care if He Himself had no time to eat yet He would not ask the same sacrifice of his weary disciples.

A great leader does not seek to be served but to serve.

Mark 10:45 NKJV

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

It is easy to see the disciples saw the crowds as work, and as constant demands, especially at a time like this when their well-deserved rest would be interrupted by the multitude.

But it wasn’t all about them…Jesus saw these men and women and was moved with compassion.

If you are a born-again believer of Jesus Christ, you have a ministry. And to be an effective minister is this:

Ministry is prioritizing other’s needs over your wants.

[34] Jesus knew without a shepherd, the sheep would be in a lot of trouble. Sheep cannot fend for themselves against predators and have a hard time finding the food and water they need. Jesus is moved with compassion for the people because He knew their pressing demands were prompted by a greater need.

They needed a Shepherd, a Savior, a Friend, the list goes on and on. Jesus understand they needed Him. As a faithful Shepherd, Jesus took care of their most pressing need. He fed them with the Word of God.

Family, do you have a pressing need? Marriage in shambles? Dealing with addiction? Struggling with forgiving someone? Bitterness?

You do not need another therapy session, pill, or anything else…All of those things treat the symptoms, you need to be obedient to the Word of God. But first that requires you to be in the Word of God.

[35–36] Both the disciples and Jesus saw exactly the same need amongst this throng of people. The disciple’s solution?

to send the people away, to get rid of the need by getting rid of the needy. Don’t be quick to shame the disciples though, because this is the natural solution to the problem at hand.

[Wanting to fix and find solutions]

A feeding of this magnitude has not taken place since the time of the Israelite’s mass exodus from Egypt and their wondering in the wilderness for 40 years.

Feeding 5,000 men wasn’t even on their list of possibilities. Yet in true Messianic fashion, Jesus had a different solution and wanted the disciples to see it.

[too quick to overlook people]

Instead of rushing people off so you can get to your agenda, have you ever considered maybe they are the agenda?

[37-38] Jesus asks them to do the impossible, “You give them something to eat.”

To see the disciples reaction of this statement would probably be pretty funny. Because, again, this isn’t on the list of their || man’s solutions.

It is hard to truly know if the disciples were angry or just couldn’t believe what was asked of them. Clearly, they thought it would take about a years worth of income to be able to provide food for so many people. And all for one meal…what a waste!

It never entered their minds that Jesus might provide for the multitude with a miracle. God has resources we know nothing about, so we can trust Him and be at peace even when we cannot figure out how He will provide.

[Want to bake your noodle?]

Jesus didn’t demand anything from the disciples they didn’t have.

Jesus’ suggestion must have seemed so extravagant to the disciples.

“Well, Jesus if we had that kind of money, we would never spend it on one meal for these people. They are annoying, and they would just be hungry again before the day is over. Shouldn’t we spend the money on something more meaningful?”

Here’s the thing, Jesus will preform this miracle for two reasons:

To further disciple and teach His disciples to fully trust in Him for all things.

He wants to sit down to a meal with the multitude. But why? Because He loves them!

vv. 39–44) Trust Jesus for the rest:

[39] God’s provision always begins with what we already have. He wants us to use what we already have wisely.

It is incredibly foolish to ask for more from God if you don’t use what He already has given you in a godly way.

Can we take a moment and enjoy the humor of this?

Five loaves and two fish…it’s laughable amount of food.

Jesus obviously doesn’t need our help, but He graciously asks us to be involved.

Even with this tiny amount Jesus still started with what they had.

This tell me:

While Jesus might postpone addressing our concerns, He never overlooks them.

[39-40] commanded them to sit down in groups on the green grass.

Jesus organized the multitude. He didn’t want a mob scene; God is a God of order not chaos. God likes organization, especially when it comes to managing what He provides for us.

The Greek word for groups” is a very pictorial word. It is a common Greek Word for the rows of vegetables in the vegetable garden.

When you looked at the little groups, as they sat there in their orderly rows, they looked for all the world like the rows of vegetables in a series of garden plots.

[41] When Jesus blessed before the meal, He didn’t bless the food…

He blessed God for supplying it. The idea of praying before a meal isn’t to bless the food; it is to bless God in the sense of thanking and honoring Him for blessing us with food.

Jesus was faithfully following the custom of blessing the food and breaking the food into pieces and distributing it. The only difference from the normal custom was; Jesus looked toward heaven rather than downward.

Just thought it was interesting.

Everything is His so why not worship Him.

Psalm 24:1 NKJV

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.

Psalm 50:10 NKJV

10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.

Haggai 2:8 NKJV

8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts.

Notice the disciples are to help with the Work of the ministry of their discipler.

This is one of the areas we are seeking to implement in our church.

[42] Jesus miraculously multiplied the loaves and the fish, until far more than 5,000 were fed.

This really seems over the top. Why feed the multitude until they were filled? Why not just give them a little meal? Wouldn’t that be enough?

NO!

Jesus had people He loved over for a meal! And there will always be more than enough food. That’s how much Jesus loves these people and us.

Family Jesus provides extravagantly, yet simply. He could have multiplied steak and lobster… But He simply gave people bread and fish.

Often when Jesus provides, don’t be surprised if He provides simply.

When it comes to Jesus feeding anyone physically or spiritually, if someone is left hungry, it was either because they refused the bread from Jesus or because the disciples didn’t distribute the bread to everyone.

Jesus supplied plenty for everybody to eat. But everybody has to eat for themselves.

[me] gather food for everyone else except myself.

[you] the food is set before you and you refuse to eat.

Family, the assurance Jesus can provide—even miraculously—for all of our needs should be precious to us; it was the earliest Christians.

On the walls of the catacombs, and other places of early Christian art loaves and fishes are common pictures// one of the reasons we can our bimonthly church breakfast fish and loaves.

[43] Jesus could have just left this behind, but He didn’t Jesus generously provides, but He doesn’t want things wasted.

It isn’t because Jesus was cheap or doesn’t trust for future provision; He simply knew wastefulness doesn’t glorify the God of all provision.

12 baskets signifies the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Anointed One, the One who is able to provide for the people of God.

He will provide for you too.

The most significant gift by Jesus is not a need met but a Shepherd given.

v.34 “shepherd” v.39 “He commanded them to green grass”

Psalm 23 NKJV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

The Comparison:

The Lord is my Shepherd || Sheep without a Shepherd (6:34)

Makes me lie down in Green Pastures || Commanded to sit down on green grass (6:39)

Leads me besides still waters || Peace be still (4:39)

Valley of the Shadow of Death || Jairus’ dead daughter (5:24) Galilee lowest fresh body of water on earth

Prepare a table before me in presence of enemies || Scribes watched Jesus eating with sinners (2:16

Benediction

Numbers 6:24–26 NKJV

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’