The Good Shepherd | Mark 6:30-56

Throughout the gospels, the book of acts, and the letters in the New Testament, we see the disciples of Jesus do some pretty spectacular things by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But tonight that’s very much not the case. The disciples are gonna be doing some pretty dumb stuff in our passage tonight. And we’re gonna see Jesus do some pretty spectacular stuff.

And I want y’all to notice in our passage that whenever Jesus does something spectacular, the disciples are pretty much doing the opposite of what Jesus is doing. And we see the contrast between the two here to show how great Jesus is and how terrible and sinful the rest of humanity is.

So let’s get into it…

Mark 6:30–34 NLT

30 The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. 31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. 32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. 33 But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. 34 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

1. Jesus shows compassion for His sheep (Mark 6:30-34).

So we saw last week when Caleb preached for us that the disciples just went on a trip. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two and…

What did He tell the disciples to bring with them? walking stick and the clothes/shoes they were wearing

So the disciples are back from their journey and they’re telling him all the cool things they did and said. Jesus proposes they hop in a boat and go somewhere else so they can get away from the crowds cause they couldn’t even eat with the crowds around them.

So Jesus and the disciples get in a boat and head somewhere else so they can have some peace after the crazy few weeks they’ve had. But the crowds were not having any of it. They actually followed along the shore and beat Jesus and the disciples to where they were going.

What do y’all think your reaction to this would be? Irritated, angry, frustrated

But it says Jesus had compassion on them. It says that the reason He had compassion on them was because it was like they were sheep without a shepherd.

When Jesus was constantly being followed by the crowds, He didn’t get irritated with them, He didn’t tell them to go away, He had compassion on them. He didn’t just see them as selfish people that were just trying to get something from Him. He saw them as helpless sheep with no one to guide them.

You see sheep are some of the most helpless creatures in the world. They are basically useless without their shepherd. They can die from predators without protection, they can get illnesses and parasites from not having proper care, they can even die from starvation because they didn’t have someone lead them to a good field to graze and wander off cliffs because they are that bad at navigating. Sheep are useless without their shepherd.

And this isn’t the only time Jesus calls Himself our Shepherd in the Bible. He says it numerous times.

So the question is, why does Jesus call us helpless sheep?

It’s because we are helpless without Him. We need Him. Without Jesus we’ll just keep wandering to our deaths in sin, starving ourselves from truth, defenseless against the Satan. Without Jesus, we are dead in our sin.

Thank God He has compassion on us. It was because of His compassion that He became a man in the first place. And it’s why He would eventually go to the cross and die for our sins. Because we are helpless sheep and He is our Shepherd.

2. Jesus provides for His sheep (Mark 6:35-44).

Mark 6:35–44 NLT

35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. 36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.” 37 But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!” 38 “How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.” They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44 A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed.

Here is where we begin to see the disciples’ heart contrasted with Jesus’ heart. Jesus has been teaching this huge crowd of people for a while now and it’s about to be night. They’re not anywhere close to a town, so the disciples go up to Jesus and say, “Hey, we gotta eat, they gotta eat, send them away so they can make it to the local towns to get food.” And I love Jesus’ response. The disciples start getting snappy with Jesus demanding He send the crowds away and Jesus says, “YOU feed them.”

The disciples respond, “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!” If any of y’all have a sibling, I’m sure you’ve had many arguments similar to this one.

But the disciples finally decide to actually listen to God and they find a boy who had a lunch packed with five loaves of bread and two fish. So basically a few fish sandwiches.

So Jesus tells the disciples to have the people sit down in groups of fifty to a hundred in the grass. And at this point, I’m sure the disciples are very annoyed. Prolly talking bad about Jesus under their breath. But they do it. And Jesus takes those five loaves and two fish, looks to heaven, blesses it, then He starts breaking it and distributing it out.

Now we’re not told exactly how this happens, I think that’s for a reason because faith means we don’t always have all the answers, but somehow Jesus feeds five thousand people from multiplying these five loaves and two fish; possibly even more because it only specifically says there were 5,000 men. So when you add families it could’ve even been double, triple, maybe even quadruple that. And they were all completely satisfied by the time Jesus was finished breaking it all up.

So here we see a situation where Jesus saw that His sheep needed food, and He provided.

And notice the disciples mood during all this. They’re annoyed with Jesus. They want to send these people away. If it were up to the disciples, these people wouldn’t have been provided for. Jesus is the only man to ever live to faithfully provide for His sheep.

And later on, He would provide for His sheep by empowering those same disciples with the Holy Spirit to do what He did while He lived on Earth. And He continues to provide for His sheep by blessing us with the Holy Spirit to comfort and empower us and we can then go and share the comfort and love God shows us with others.

You see Jesus didn’t just feed five thousand people to show that He can multiply food. No, there’s a deeper spiritual meaning to why Jesus did this. He did this to show that no matter what we walk through, no matter what difficult circumstances we face, as long as we’re followers of Him, He will provide. The people that stayed to hear from Him were provided for. They didn’t starve.

In the same way, there might be a time where following Jesus puts you in a situation where you are humiliated, mocked, made fun of, but Jesus will provide. He will give you comfort and joy in the trials you face and provide for your needs.

Alright, now let’s move on to our last point…

3. Jesus protects His sheep (Mark 6:45-52).

Mark 6:45–52 NLT

45 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. 46 After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. 47 Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 50 They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” 51 Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, 52 for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.

So Jesus has just fed five thousand people, and Jesus thoughtfully tells the disciples, “Y’all are good, I got it from here. I’ll say goodbyes then I’ll join y’all on the other side of the lake. Y’all go on ahead.”

So the disciples hop in the boat and start rowing. And they struggled. Apparently a strong wind came in that was causing them to go off course and they were having trouble rowing.

And after Jesus said His goodbyes to the crowds, He went by Himself to pray. And He saw the disciples struggling. So at about 3 o clock in the morning, Jesus decides He’s gonna help them out. So He started walking on the water. It says that He intended to pass by them, and it’s most likely that He started to walk past them on the water with the intention of them seeing Him. And it works cause the disciples see Him walking on the water and they are terrified.

How many of y’all would be terrified if you saw a figure walking on the water at three o clock in the morning?

Turns out you have a lot in common with the disciples. So the disciples are terrified and Jesus tells them to not be afraid and to have courage because it’s Him. Then Jesus climbs into the boat and this strong wind that the disciples had been struggling against all night suddenly stops. Now we know this is the second time Jesus has shown Himself to have control over weather.

What did Jesus do last time He controlled the weather? Calmed a storm while they were crossing a lake.

So Jesus at this point has made it clear that He’s awesome. And that He protects His sheep when they are in a time of distress. And take a look at verse 52. It says that the disciples hearts were still too hard to take in what Jesus had done after feeding the five thousand, walking on water, and calming the wind.

And Jesus knew they hearts would be too hard to get it. It’s not like Jesus just keeps doing these things in hopes that eventually the disciples will believe in Him. He knows what it’s gonna take for them to believe in Him. It’s gonna take Him dying for their sins. But He still does this incredible thing to protect the disciples even though He knew their hearts would be hardened.

In the same way, there are gonna be times where you’re gonna have trouble trusting in Jesus. You’re gonna reject Him, question Him, and even try to act like He doesn’t exist, but if you are one of His sheep, He will still protect you anyway. No matter how many times you fall over, no matter how many times you wander where you shouldn’t, He will still protect you.

After all this happens, to close out chapter 6, Jesus and the disciples land at Gennesaret. And while they are there Jesus heals many people.

So my question for y’all tonight is…

Have you placed your faith in the Good Shepherd that can heal you of your sin (Mark 6:53-56)?

Jesus shows compassion on His sheep, He provides for His sheep, and He protects His sheep. The question is, “Are you one of His sheep?”

Jesus would eventually show His ultimate act of compassion on the cross by dying for your sins. He took on the wrath of God that you deserved for your sins all so you could enjoy eternal life with Him. Do you want that? Do you want Jesus as your Shepherd? Are you willing to accept that you’re a sinner that needs a Shepherd?

If you’re already His sheep, are you trusting Him? Are you living each day trusting that He will provide for and protect you? Do you follow the Shepherd even in times when you’re not sure where He’s leading you? Do you follow the Shepherd even in times where you don’t like where He’s leading you?

We’ll have the chance to answer these questions in small groups.