The Shepherd

Good Morning Church!

Welcome!

Bibles out…Mark 6:30-56…

READ 30-56

We taught about this exact event in the parallel of this text in the Gospel of John over the summer (go and listen)

BUT today we are going to focus in deeper in this text…

Gods Word has no end…There is no bottom…you can go deeper and deeper into a piece of scripture and the Lord will continue to reveal more and more to you…

Thats what we are going to do today…

Now…what do we see when we look at this text in a broad view…MORE MIRACLES…

Jesus feeds the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish…

Later He walks on water…

But I want to draw our attention… zoom us in to 1 piece of this scripture that will open up a whole new study of this event…

look with me at verse 34 (READ)

We see here that Jesus reveals His role as THE SHEPHERD to man...

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

So He sees these people without a shepherd…compassion moves Him…

And He acts…

Thats where we are going to focus today…

ON THE SHEPHERD…

Their are 4 main responsibilities of a shepherd…

-Lead the sheep (to water, and good land)

-Feed the sheep (from that good land, make sure they don’t starve, provide)

-Watch over the sheep (sheep are dumb…they get themselves into trouble…also watch out for wolves0

-Defend the sheep (return to them if there is a problem and rescue them)

We are going to see Jesus fulfill all 4 of these responsibilities in the text we just read…

Lets zoom in…

The first role…

The Shepherd Leads (v30-34)

Its important to remember here whats been going on with the disciples…last week we saw the death of JTB…

But the disciples of Jesus weren't spoken about last week…why?

Read v 7 and 12…

So the disciples have been out teaching, casting, and healing…

now in v 30 we see they have returned…they are giving Jesus an update on all they have seen and done and taught…

These sheep…have been moving…they have been working…tirelessly…

So what does a good shepherd do???

v31- He leads them to rest…to be rejuvenated…

He takes them to a quiet place…with not a lot of people…no distractions…

He leads them to a place they can have uninterrupted time together…

To be restored by Him…like a flock in need of watering and rest after a long travel…

This is what a good Shepherd does…

King David, over a 1000 years before the birth of Jesus…wrote about this very role that Jesus would fulfill here…

Psalm 23:1-3 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

The sheep need rest…the Shepherd knows His sheep…and He leads them to what they need…

BUT on the way …A lost flock spots the Shepherd…And like a lost child who spots who is searching for his father…there eyes find Jesus…and they come running to Him…

And the Shepherd takes them in as His own… these lost, starving, wondering, panicked sheep join the fold…

And we see the Lord “lead them in the paths of righteousness” …He begins to teach them…

He plates up His Word…for those who are there to hear and feast off of…

Because a shepherd doesn't just lead…He also FEEDS…

The Shepherd Feeds (v34-44)

We see here that Jesus physically feeds these people…

The sheep are physically hungry…And He provides (I DON’T WANT TO MAKE LIGHT OF THIS…ITS A POWERFUL WORKING OF THE LORD)

But I want to look past the physical here…and into the spiritual…

The real food here…is in verse 34…READ AGAIN “He began to teach them many things”

The Shepherd has led them to green pastures…and has feds them what they need…HIS WORD

Matthew 4:4 “ It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

The very Word of God is like food…it keeps us from starving…we must eat it…

And some of you…men in the room…are called men…called to bring the bread to the flock…

Jesus tells peter at the end of John “FEED MY SHEEP”

Why read the bible???…to be fed…

Physical food fades…thats why we have to keep eating to survive…

We must continually grow food or buy food…

But the Word of God is a food that remains…it never runs out…and it keeps you full!!!

Look at the baskets after Jesus feeds over 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish…

There is enough left over for each disciple to have their own basket full…

The shepherd feeds His sheep what they need…THE VERY WORD OF GOD…

Lets keep moving forward…the Shepherd leads…the shepherd feeds…next we see that…

The Shepherd Watches (v45-48)

After this incredible miracle…Jesus sends His disciples by boat to the other side of the sea…

And He goes up to the mountain to pray…

So the sheep have been fed…and now they are sent…they are alone now…

We see its dark…they are rowing…and they are struggling…toiling…

Sheep in the dark…struggling to make their way…a great wind fighting them

A storm has arose…

They are overpowered...powerless against it…

Though they are the only ones in the boat they are not alone…

The Shepherd is always watching over His flock…

READ V48 A

He sees…He sees whats going on…He sees the struggle…He sees the challenges…

YOU ARE NOT ALONE…I SEE YOU

And what happens when a shepherd…high on a hill top…sees His sheep struggling???

HE COMES RUNNING!!!

The Shepherd Returns! (v49-52)

V48 B READ!!!

He comes walking across the waves….

A few weeks ago…we saw Jesus calm a storm just like this one…

NOW He is treading upon it…its beneath His feet!!!!

And He walks to them in the ship and the winds ceased…

and the sheep are safe again, Because the Shepherd is here…

CHURCH…HERE IS WHAT WE HAVE TO SEE IN THE TEXT TODAY

This has a real time…real world application for us today…

As Christ followers…when we are living lives dedicated to being obedient to Christ…

-denying our flesh desires…

-serving the Lord by serving the body of Christ

-proclaiming the gospel

-that paired with physically surviving (working, cooking, shelter)

-raising children…providing for them…

ITS EXHAUSTING!!!

BUT don’t worry…YOU FOLLOW THE GOOD SHEPHERD!!!

He leads you to rest in Him…pulls your heart to be with Him..(calls you to pray privately to Him...to spend time talking with Him)

He feeds you with His Word (calls for you to feast from it daily)

He watches over you (when you are tirelessly rowing against the waves…struggling…often times failing (to your flesh (sin or sickness), when the world is persecuting)

He steps in to deliver you!!! (NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE SALVATION…He strengthens you, emboldens you, encourages you, if your suffering remember He suffers with you)

This is what our pattern of life should look like…a life of reliance…

The sheep rely on the shepherd to lead them, to feed them, to watch over them…

We must rely on Jesus…we must be consistent in rest in the Lord…consistent in feasting on His word…

SO THAT WHEN THE STORM COMES…WE DON’T FREAK OUT!!!

LOOK at the disciples…READ V49-50a

The Shepherd comes…but they don’t recognize Him!

Instead they are afraid they continue in fear…eyes fogged by unbelief

They have seen him heal, cast out demons, calm storms, feed 5000…BUT THEIR HEART IS HARDENED STILL WITH UNBELIEF…

They cry out in fear and He says “DON’T BE AFRAID, IT IS I”

You know me!!! You have walked with me…You have seen my works!!!

Church this is why we must sink our feet deep in the gospel…and deep in Gods Word…

So that when the going gets tough…we are not blinded by the storm…

When the wind blows hard it doesn’t move us…

So that when the weight of flesh and sin in the world comes landing on us…

We get our eyes vertical…and looking to Jesus…faithfully knowing He is there…

And He will return…and call us up to Him!!!!

We wont be like Peter…when persecution came he denied Jesus 3 times…”I DO NOT KNOW THAT MAN”

We wont fear Him on judgment day…When the day of the Lord comes

WE ANCHOR OURSELVES TO HIM…

SO When the storm hits…we stare it down and know…WE ARE NOT LOST SHEEP…BUT WE BELONG TO THE GREATEST SHEPHERD

AND HE HAS LEAD US TO GREEN PASTURES…

AND FED US…WE SHAL NOT WANT…HE HAS LEAD US IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAMES SAKE

AND “YEA THOUGH WE WAL THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, WE FEAR NOT, FOR HE IS WITH US(OUR SHEPHERD) AND HIS ROD AND STAFF THEY COMFORT US…AND SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE: AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER!”

THANK YOU JESUS FOR SEEING US …WONDERING, HUNGRY, AFRAID SHEEP…AND PULLING US INTO YOUR FOLD…

TO BE OUR LORD…TO LEAD US, AND FEED US, AND PROTECT US, AND ULTIMATLEY SAVE US!!!

Church…we as gentiles dont belong in this fold…we were a wild olive shoot…a wild branch that did not know the Lord…

And yet the Lord had compassion…and through faith alone in His shed blood (His dying on the cross) we to can now echo the words of King David in Psalm 23…”The LORD is my SHEPHERD”

His work on the cross did this!!!

I want to take some time to remember this work Church

COMMUNION

This is intentional time…

This is a time for Christ followers…to remember Jesus’s death on the cross for our sins…the blood shed that we placed our faith in…

That Jesus has provided us eternal life…we remember how He did it…and worship Him for it!

(NOT A CHRIST FOLLOWER? Take this time to reflect on the gospel)

GRAB CUP…SIT DOWN…REMEMBER…WE WILL TAKE THE CUP AND BREaD TOGETHER AS A BODY

QUIET PRAYER!! 3-5 MIN

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:23-24

READ V23-24

TAKE THE BREAD AND EAT

READ V25-26

TAKE THE CUP AND DRINK