Living Miracles: Community in Action

Bible Passage: Mark 6:53-56

This week in our Scripture we encounter Jesus on the other side of the sea and we find him in a place called Gennesaret. Jesus started on the other side where he turned a famine into a buffet, then he walked on water and gave the disciples yet another example of His great power. This week we find him engaging in healing of an entire community. What we will see today in the scripture is that faith leads to action. Today we will see in scripture how encountering Jesus, while it does not require anything more than belief, it inherently leads to action. Today the scripture illustrates for us how when Jesus presence is recognized, it excites people. We will then see how when Jesus presence is recognized and He is made known, the community as a whole is built up. Lastly we will see how the recognition of Jesus and the built community, leads us all to a place of continually reaching for Jesus.

Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again -- until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.

William Booth in The Founder's Messages to Soldiers, Christianity Today, October 5, 1992, p. 48.

The passage today highlights the mechanics of faith through action. People immediately recognized Jesus, ran throughout the region bringing the sick on beds, and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. This progression from recognition to active seeking to physical contact reveals faith as embodied—not merely intellectual assent but movement toward Jesus. Those who reach out in faith to touch the fringe of Jesus’ garment experience healing, demonstrating that faith manifests through tangible gesture and proximity.

We will see that the text doesn’t emphasize the quantity of faith required. The people ask only to touch the garment’s edge—a minimal, almost hesitant request—yet as many as touched it were made well. This suggests faith operates not through magnitude but through genuine openness to Jesus’s presence. The linguistic restraint of their plea contrasts with the absoluteness of the healing outcome, revealing that faith’s power lies not in its intensity but in its authentic orientation toward Christ.

Turn with me in your Bible today to Mark 6:53-56

Mark 6:53–56 ESV

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

1. Recognizing Jesus' Presence

Mark 6:53–54 ESV

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him

We find in our scripture today that the first thing to happen when Jesus arrived in Gennesaret is that the people recognized Him. My question is how? There is no record of Jesus having been to Gennesaret. So if Jesus had never been there before and there was no facebook, instagram, twitter, or other social media, how were the people so certain that this was Jesus when He arrived? It is completely possible that someone in the town recognized him from being in the region. But why would they recognize Him? Jesus was recognized because everywhere He went, He changed people’s lives. Without a picture, without a personal knowledge of who He was, the people immediately knew who Jesus was. It was because of the way Jesus changed peoples lives. The first step was recognizing Jesus. Let me ask you a question. When is the last time you recognized Jesus? When is the last time people in your life recognized you because of the presence of Jesus? When is the last time that people recognized our church because of the presence of Jesus? This question is not meant to bring condemnation but meant to highlight a very important aspect of our lives. If the presence of Jesus was what changed lives, then should that not be what our primary goal in life should be? If the presence of Jesus is what changed the lives of people, then the presence of Jesus should be our aim in life. I want the presence of Jesus so evident in my life that it changes the lives of those around me. I want the presence of Jesus in my life in a way that it displays the almighty power of Jesus to save, deliver, and heal the pain and hurt all around me in this world. I want people to look at me and not see me, not hear me, not think of me but think of the power of Jesus in me. Some in here need to experience the presence of Jesus, but you have never really seen why it is important. Maybe you think the presence of Jesus is all about rules, all about religion, all about the stuff that drives you crazy about religion. The presence of Jesus is not about any of that, the presence of Jesus is about freeing God’s most precious creation from the most devastating condition, sin. Some in your life need to see the presence of Jesus. There are people around you every day who are walking around with the weight of the world on their shoulders. This does not mean to go quoting scripture to them, step into their lives in a way that they can see that there is something inside of you greater than you. Our community needs to see the presence of Jesus in our church. Our community is full of broken homes, not just homes with divorced parents but desperately broken homes where even if both parents are there, the pain is still real and the suffering is evident. How do we make an impact in this? It is not to be a place that is religious by nature, but a church of action. We reach into peoples lives and we show the presence of Jesus in a real and tangible way. The first thing that happened in Gennesaret was that people recognized the presence of Jesus.

A friend of mine shared a story about a time he was hiking alone and got lost. As he wandered, he started feeling discouraged, thinking he would never find his way back. Just then, he spotted a child with a toy compass in his hand. He approached the child, and together they found their way back. Sometimes, Jesus is like that compass - when we feel lost, His presence guides us back to hope and direction in life.

The presence of Jesus brings hope and healing. In our world we do not have Jesus walking with us now so we are the presence of Jesus with the Holy Spirit living in us. Are you living like it? Do others see Jesus in us?

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

James 2:14–17 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? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

The world does not need any more good pastors, the world does not need more pretty church buildings, the world does not need another evangelist. The world needs people who are willing to represent the presence of Jesus in their world. The presence of Jesus changes things. First we see that the people recognized the presence of Jesus. The presence of Jesus resulted in the community of faith.

2. Community Faith

Mark 6:54–55 ESV

54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.

The presence of Jesus resulted in the community running out to bring the needy, bring the lame, bring the weakest of their community. They did this because of the power of Jesus to bring hope, to heal, to change the lives of anyone He came into contact with. When those around us see the presence of Jesus, guess what happens? That’s right, by nature they go and find the needy, find the hopeless, find the people in their lives that need the presence of Jesus. Are you a person that others look to, are you a person that others tell people in their lives to seek out? Jesus was one that the crowd sought out, not because of his great jokes, not because of his religious knowledge, but because of His care and concern for their lives. Jesus loved and because He truly loved, people wanted to bring those who needed that love. A natural part of our faith is to grow in such a way that others want to be around us, to grow in ways that is an example of the love of Christ. Are you building the community of faith around you? Are you living with Christ living through you in such a way that the community of faith is built up? Are we living this way as a church? Are we a church that others seek out because of the presence of Jesus? Does that mean that at times you will be taken advantage of? For sure. Does it mean at times it will be difficult because the enemy wants to stop what you have going on? Absolutely. What I can tell you is when those 2 things are happening in your life you can count on the fact that you are in line with the heart that Christ calls us to live in. I want to live the type of life that others see Christ in me and run and get others so they can experience that Jesus for themselves. Are we going into the world with excitement to take Jesus to the world? We should live in such a way that the presence of Jesus is evident in our lives, it will be evident as people seek out the difference in us and them. It will be evident when others lives are changed by our being in their lives, not because of us but because of Christ in us.

Matthew 5:13–16 ESV

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

When the presence of Christ is evident and we live in such a way that Christ lives through us, it is natural for a community to be built. It is natural to go out and to tell everyone about what God is doing!

My kids as I have told you all over and over, are a blessing to me. I have some tricks I have learned over time, my dad taught me a few things that look really cool but are in fact really easy. One of those things is how you can take a needle and make it go through your finger to the other side. This trick is completed by putting the pin into a layer of your skin without going into the second and third layers of your skin. So it is literally in your finger but it causes no pain. I showed my kids this and you know what they did? They ran and told all the kids around about it, they wanted all the kids in the neighborhood to see the trick!

This is how it should be for us as individuals, we should be running to the world to show them the presence of Jesus. Why don’t we? I cannot speak for your life but I can be transparent with you this morning. In my life when I am not out telling everyone I see about my Jesus, it is because I have allowed his presence in my life to be overruled by other less important or impactful presences. I trade in the presence of Jesus for the things that won’t last. This is the same reason that we see churches ineffective in delivering the Gospel. It is not because they are bad churches, it is because the presence of Jesus has been traded in for the other things. We will end today with the last point of reaching for Jesus. We will end here because it is so important that in all of our lives, we find that place where we don’t need all of Jesus time, we don’t need Jesus to show up physically. But in every aspect of our lives we are reaching and desperate to just touch the fringe of His robe.

3. Reaching for Christ's Healing

Mark 6:56 ESV

56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

We see that when the Presence of Jesus was seen, when the community of faith was built, it resulted in the people seeking any part of Jesus. All they wanted was just a little bit of Jesus. Why? Because central to Jesus and all that He does, Jesus healed and Jesus have hope and Jesus brought life. Are you in your life reaching for Jesus? Are we as a church constantly reaching for Jesus? Have we traded in our lives the presence of Jesus for other obligations or desires? Is it affecting the healing in our world that Jesus desires? Look again here to the scripture.

Mark 6:56 ESV

56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

The words made well come from the Greek verb sōzō—translated “made well” or “saved”—carries profound theological weight beyond mere physical restoration. Rather than using therapeuō (“to heal”), Mark employs sōzō (“to save”), showing Jesus’s power extends to spiritual, social, and physical dimensions simultaneously. This word choice signals that healing encompasses wholeness across multiple registers of human existence. What does this mean? It means that Jesus offers more than a meal, Jesus offers more than help with a utility bill. Jesus offers complete healing, not physical healing while yes He does that too, Jesus is offering eternal healing. The healing that removes our anxieties about this present time and age. A healing that causes us to look towards eternity and say I cannot wait, but for those in my life who do not know Christ, I must wait.

Philippians 1:18–25 ESV

18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,

The healing that Jesus offers is so much more that what we can feel and touch and see. The healing and blessing that Jesus offers can release us from the prison of this flesh. This healing though is a part of our continual reaching for Christ. Some in here have experienced that healing and your salvation is whole. But you have stopped being excited and you have grown cold in your faith, you do not seek those who you can bring to Christ, you do not seek out opportunities to bless. Why? Not because you are a bad Christian, but because the evil one knows that if he can lessen the presence of Jesus in your life, well he can drive you to a place of ineffectiveness. The evil one does the same in the church, if the church can become so focused on its needs, if it can be focused on how it operates, then soon enough it will forget why it operates. We must realize the presence of Christ, we must build our community around the excitement of the presence of Christ, and we must understand the healing and blessing that Jesus provides is so much more than what we can see, hear, feel here on the earth, it is an eternal healing that satisfies our souls.

Maybe focus on the tangible act of reaching for Jesus’ garment as a powerful demonstration of faith in action. Encourage believers to see reaching out to Christ in their own lives as an active, physical demonstration of faith that can lead to personal and communal healing and growth. Reflect on how such action reflects a deep belief in Jesus' power to heal and transform.