Full Sermon Jesus, Our Good Shepherd, Still Gives Us More Than We Need based on Mark 6:30-44

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Well known miracle. The feeding of the 5000 is one of the most well known of the miracles of Jesus. Using five loaves of bread and two fish Jesus fed the huge crowd. He multiplied the food so that twelve full baskets of leftovers were collected after the people ate as much as they wished.

II. Similar things today. Today we might think of similar things. A shopping spree in a grocery store where you can keep as much as you put in your shopping cart in two minutes. Or a helicopter above a crowd of people dropping down lots and lots of twenty dollar bills. Or the government giving people a thousand dollars a month for free.

III. Jesus the Good Shepherd cares. The Gospel of Mark gives us a better picture of God’s amazing love and abundant provisions. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, caring for the people who were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, teaches the people about the things of God first. Then, He gives them more than enough food to eat. Even better than what a shopper can put in a grocery cart in two minutes or money from the sky or free government money that will be quickly eaten or spent, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, still gives us more than we need.

IV. Straying sheep and security. Maybe you can remember a time when you were like a straying sheep without a shepherd. Like straying sheep, you might have been tempted to look in the wrong places for security in life. You might have looked for safety in the things the world around you offers. Some of you might look to politics for safety and think voting for the right person for president will make life better. Some of you might look to winning the million plus dollars the lottery offers for a more enjoyable life. Some of you might look to having the right boyfriend or girlfriend or the right husband or wife as the way to having a more secure life.

V. No perfect security in our world. The problem is that these things the world around you offers are not going to give you perfect security. A good president or a big amount of money in the bank or a good spouse can be blessings from God, but none of those will give perfect safety and security. Presidents do not always make good decisions. Money in the bank does not always give happiness. A spouse will make mistakes from time to time. You all have your good days and bad days. On your bad days the security offered by the world around you does not solve all your problems.

VI. Wrong places for comfort. Like straying sheep, you can look in the wrong places for comfort. You might try to soothe your guilt with a steak dinner or a bottle of beer or a favorite TV show. You try to get inner peace through food or drink or entertainment, but these things are temporary. These things are empty. Sometimes they might seem to work, but other times they fail completely. Sometimes the food or drink or entertainment is good, but other times not so good.

VII. Earlier Jesus sent out the twelve. Mark’s Gospel tells us that Jesus had sent out His twelve student disciples to proclaim that people needed to repent of their sins and wrongs. They had done some healing miracles and cast out many demons, too. There were a lot of people around them as they told Jesus about what they had done in His name. Jesus decided to give them some rest by going in a boat on the Sea of Galilee to a place on the other shore. But people went on land to meet them at that other side of the Sea of Galilee.

VIII. Jesus had compassion on them all. When Jesus saw the great crowd of people He had compassion on them. Jesus looked at them as being like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus first taught them many things about God’s kingdom and mercy. That was very important. Jesus was told by His disciples that He should send the people away to get some food in the surrounding villages. Instead, Jesus told them to give the people food to eat. The disciples were thinking that over a half a year’s wages for an average worker would not be enough to buy food for the great crowd.

Jesus asked them how many loaves of bread they had. They told Him that they had five loaves and two fish. Then Jesus told the people sit down in groups. They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

IX. Read Mark 6:41-43. Mark 6:41-43 tells us about the miracle: “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.”

X. Jesus miraculously supplied the people with bread and fish. Jesus did not break up the five loaves of bread and two fish into tiny little pieces to give the people a little bit to eat. Jesus miraculously gave more bread and more fish to the disciples to give to the people, so that they could eat until they were full and satisfied. Jesus began with five loaves and two fish and he ended up with twelve baskets full of leftover bread and fish. Five thousand men ate and were satisfied.

XI. Jesus met spiritual and physical needs. Jesus took care of their spiritual needs first by teaching them about God’s kingdom and mercy. Jesus also took care of their physical needs after He taught them.

XII. Similar to Friday morning Bible studies. That reminds me of the Friday morning Bible studies we have at St. Peter Lutheran Church. We have our spiritual needs taking care of as we learn about God’s kingdom and mercy. We also have food and coffee most of the time. We usually have food and coffee left over as well.

XIII. Jesus, our Good Shepherd and cross of Calvary. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, provides more than we need through the cross of Calvary. Jesus gave His precious life for far more than 5000 men and 12 disciples. Jesus gave His precious life on the cross of Calvary for billions of people. All who believe that God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son on the cross of Calvary shall not perish but have eternal life. The death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary provides for the forgiveness of all our sins and wrongs. The death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary shows us God’s amazing love and mercy that still continues in the lives of Christians today. The death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary gives us more than enough to meet our spiritual and physical needs.

XIV. Conclusion. Each time we receive Holy Communion, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calls us by name and provides a rich banquet for us. This is not a lottery win or money from above or free money from the government. In Holy Communion, Jesus says, “This is my body. For you. This is my blood. For you.” Through faith in Jesus we are completely satisfied now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.