The Feeding of the Five Thousand
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· 41 viewsJesus is the good and compassionate shepherd-leader who cares and lays down his life for his sheep.
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Introduction:
What comes picture comes to mind when you think about a great leader?
Maybe a visionary who knows where he is going and how he is going to get there.
Maybe a hard worker. Someone who is willing to get his hands dirty and work.
Maybe a man who stands upon conviction. A man who is not willing to comprise his beliefs no matter what the cost.
Maybe a entrepeneur. Someone who is able to start his own business and run it well. We were in Palm Springs and we visited a Toffee Shop where two young high school students started their own business and now is very successful with mass distribution centers.
Maybe a charismatic speaker. Someone who is able to communicate his ideas and get others to follow. Think about the speeches of Winston Churchill during WW II. Or Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil rights movement.
But when it comes to the Bible and the church, what word do you think the Bible would give to describe a good leader. A good leader is a faithful shepherd. A Shepherd is a lowly profession in the ancient world because of its association with sheep.
A Shepherd is known by his work with the sheep. And a shepherd is always around his sheep and cares for his sheep and guides his sheep and feeds his sheep. He will even go after wandering sheep. The title shepherd was even used of Kings of Israel, David, was a shepherd-king. The OT even described God as the Shepherd of Israel. In the NT, Jesus himself is called the Chief Shepherd in and . Even our word pastor is derived from the word Shepherd. And what we see today in our passage are three marks of a faithful shepherd.
I. A Faithful Shepherd will know his sheep
II. A Faithful Shepherd will care for his sheep
III. A Faithful Shepherd will provide for his sheep
And who is the greatest shepherd and leader none other than Jesus Christ himself. And we will see how these three characteristics our found in our Savior, and we would be wise to imitate our Savior’s example for those of us who lead, and these are the qualities you should look for in those who will lead you as we see in modeled in our Lord’s life.
Main Proposition: Three marks of a a faithful shepherd from , so that we know what to look for in faithful shepherds and what to aspire to for those desiring to be called into pastoral ministry.
Scripture Reading:
Mark 6:
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 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. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Recap
You remember Jesus was extending his mission through the disciples by sending them out to the surrounding villages to the same work he was doing: preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing the sick and casting out demons.
We saw last week how John was executed at Herod’s feast because he was a man of conviction and was willing to pay the ultimate price for following Jesus.
And now the disciples return to the Lord and report to him all that they had done while being sent out.
I. A Faithful Shepherd Knows His Sheep (vv. 30-33)
I. A Faithful Shepherd Knows His Sheep (vv. 30-33)
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
The Twelve return to Jesus and reported to Jesus all that they had done and taught. And Jesus, knowing that the crowds and needs were increasing, knew that his disciples needed rest. They may have even needed time to grieve because of the recent news of John’s beheading. Jesus was not a tyrant of a authoritarian leader. But he was a understanding leader and he knew that his disciples needed to retreat.
Mark
And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
One writer said, “If you do not come apart and rest, you will eventually come apart.”
Then she called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “All is well.” Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.”
A desolate place is translated “desert place” KJV and “Lonely place” NASB “Quiet Place” NIV.
You remember Jesus would often would retreat back to the Father to pray and be in fellowship with Him even early in the morning. And Jesus is teaching is disciples the need to retreat just like himself.
This verse has been particularly encouraging for me in this season of ministry. I have been tired as a pastor and I feel like I’m running on fumes. There is always a sermon to prepare, a family of six to care for, a email that needs to be answered, a person that needs to be prayed for, a person that needs comfort, a person that needs confronting, a person that needs encouragement, a person that needs counseling, a person that needs equipping, men who need to be trained and discipled, ministries that need to be organized. This season has been non stop even as we have faced unexpected deaths in the congregation.
Jesus knew his disciples limitations.
The apostles had no leisure even to eat. They were so busy that they could not even eat a meal together.
Ministry never ends because people’s needs never ends. If you are involved in ministry and serving people you will understand this. And many Christians who do not learn to rest eventually flame out or burn out.
How kind of the Savior to tell his disciples to “Come away by yourselves and rest for awhile.” What comfort I have found in this verse. I needed this. And we come and redst in Jesus.
And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
Jesus and the twelve are on a boat away from the crowds and they can just be with their Master and rest.
Jesus
What a kind Savior. A Savior who knows we are weak and human and can’t always be “on”. He knows that we need to rest. Jesus took a nap on the boat remember? He was human and he had needs. What a kind Savior who knows our limitations and our weaknesses.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Rest
Christian, you need to learn to rest and retreat. God even instituted the Sabbath to teach us the concept of rest. There is a time where we need to shut off the phone, stop with the emails, cease from our work and rest. There is nothing ungodly about resting because Jesus knows that if we do not come apart, we will eventually come apart.
One of my greatest fears as a pastor is to get disqualified. God forbid it. But it is possible. And I wonder how many pastors lost their ministry because they were burnt out. And I wonder how many pastors lost their families because they never learned to stop their work and never said no.
If you serve the Lord for awhile, you will understand what I am talking about.
Book Recommendations---Reset and Refresh by David and Shoana Murray. Ask one of the elders to give you a copy. Zeal without burnout. Christopher Ash.
Retreat
And not only do we need to rest, but we need to learn to retreat. Retreat would be an extended form of rest. Maybe a day, or a couple of days, or even vacation. Many of our people are on vacation, and that is ok. It is completely fine to take a break from the routine of constantly running and working and just stop and enjoy what the Lord has given you. I know many of our members are out of town and its ok. I pray they come back refreshed to serve the Lord in their workplace and in the church.
Members
Faithful shepherd knows the needs and weakness of sheep. And if we are going to minister to one another effectively, we need to know one another beyond a superficial understanding. Get to know other members in a meaningful way as you open up your home, share life, and confess sin to one another. Pray through the membership directory. Pray to get to know someone new or even some member in the church you don’t know well.
Elders
shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
We must pay attention to ourselves that we will not be undone by being burnout or tempted by sin.
But notice, there is a time to get back to work.
Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
As soon as they rested, people were running even from the shore as they saw the boat nearing and the work of the ministry would resume.
Transition: A faithful shepherd knows the needs of his sheep, but a faithful shepherd cares for his sheep...
II. A Faithful Shepherd Cares for His Sheep (vv. 34-37)
II. A Faithful Shepherd Cares for His Sheep (vv. 34-37)
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
Mark 6
As soon as Jesus steps off the boat with his disciples, there is already a crowd waiting for Jesus. And notice Jesus’ response. He doesn’t say, “Ah, when will these people stop?!” “Don’t these people realize I’m tired and I barely even go to rest?”
No, instead it says “He had compassion on them.” The word compassion is used in reference to Christ in the NT. It means to be moved deeply from the innermost being. Jesus was moved in his heart because he saw the crowds of people without leadership.
B.B. Warfield was a Princeton Theologian wrote an essay entitled “The Emotional Life of our Lord.
The emotion which we should naturally expect to find most frequently attributed to that Jesus whose whole life was a mission of mercy, and whose ministry was so marked by deeds of beneficence that it was summed up in the memory of his followers as a going through the land “doing good” (. 38 ), is no doubt “compassion.” In point of fact, this is the emotion which is most frequently attributed to him.5
He defines compassion as “The internal movement of pity”. “The internal movement of his emotional nature.”
their fatal ignorance of spiritual things, their evil case under the dominion of Satan in all the effects of his terrible tyranny, are alike the object of our Lord’s compassion.14
But Jesus burned with anger against the wrongs he met with in his journey through human life as truly as he melted with pity at the sight of the world’s misery: and it was out of these two emotions that his actual mercy proceeded.
God was so moved with pity that He did something about it. The Second Person of the Trinity took on our humanity to be acquainted with our sufferings so that we would understand us and suffer for us.
And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’ ”
Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. If you know your OT, you would understand that imagery.
who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”
And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’ ”
God even indicted the leaders of Israel who failed to shepherd his own people.
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered;
God was so angry with the leaders of Israel that He himself would be Israel’s shepherd.
And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.
Feeding is one of the primary duties of the Shepherd
So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered;
And notice after Jesus has compassion on the crowds, what does He do? The text says, he has compassion on the crowds and he gave them money. Or build houses. Or start a medical clinic. He had compassion the crowds and he gave them food, which he will do later. But he had compassion on the crowds and he began to teach them.
The central functions of a duty of a shepherd is to teach. Feed my sheep with the Word. Guide the sheep with the Word. Protect the sheep with the Word. Encourage the sheep with the Word.
The central functions of a duty of a shepherd is to teach. Feed my sheep. Guide me sheep. Protect my sheep. Encourage my sheep.
Jesus addressed their spiritual need before he addressed their physical need. And what we see is how Jesus prioritized the Word of God:
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey,
Why is it that a man or woman will keep going from relationship from relationship never being really satisfied? Or why is it that a man may make successful and wealthy, yet still have not enough money? Or why is that a person has an addiction shopping and continue to feed the addiction of shopping because she is never satisfied? Is not because people have thirsty souls? We’re looking for something to satisfy us and only the Lord can satisfy our thirsty souls.
Deuteronomy 8:
Unbeliever
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
Psalm 103:
Return to the Lord so that He may show compassion to You. The Lord is full of compassion. His heart is full of compassion and he is moved internally and he moves towards us in Jesus Christ, taking on flesh and bearing your sin at the cross because he knows that sin brings misery in our lives. And he rises again to extend forgiveness to you if you repent and believe.
Christians
If we have experienced the compassion of our God, then we will extend that compassion to others.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Colossians 3:
The Preaching of the Word is an Act of Compassion
God speaks to our deepest need. He satisfies our thirsty souls with his life giving Word.
Pastors Prioritize the Word of God
Jesus as a faithful shepherd guides his people through His Word. A faithful undershepherd will feed, guide, protect, and encourage the flock with the Word of God.
As Jesus told Peter:
Feed my sheep.
He tells us who are leaders to follow in the same foosteps. If we are going to look for faithful shepherds and pray for more shepherds in this church, let us make sure we look for men who are devoted to the Word and will feed God’s flock with His Word.
And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”
The hour was growing late. The sun was about to set, probably about 6pm. And they were in a desolate place, or isolated place. If the people did not return to the nearby villages, they would have nothing to eat.
And the disciples are instructing Jesus. And Jesus says to them, “You give them something to eat.”
And you can see the sarcasm of the disciples, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”
A denarius was a day’s wages. So what the disciples are saying is how are we going to come up with a year’s salary and buy food for them to eat? How are we going to get 25,000-30,000 to feed all this people?
The disciples still did not get it. And Jesus was going to teach them another lesson about himself.
Transition: A faithful shepherd will not only know his sheep, care for his sheep, but finally a faithful shepherd will provide for his sheep.
III. A Faithful Shepherd Provides for His Sheep (vv. 38-44)
III. A Faithful Shepherd Provides for His Sheep (vv. 38-44)
And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
John actually tells us it is a boy’s lunch that the disciples took from.
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
All four gospels record this miracle. And we are so familiar with this passage that we do not see the amazing miracle that Jesus did. Some liberal scholars will try to tell us the point of the story is to share what little you have with your neighbor. But that is not the main point of the story. The main point of the story focuses on who Jesus.
Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.
Obviously, you could not give food to people if they were crowding in on you. So there needs to be some type of organization for the distribution of the food. Real smart Jesus. First we don’t have any food. Second, you want them to sit in groups to give them nothing. Again, think about the OT.
Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.
Again, if you know your OT, Moses was called to organize the people to sit in groups.
Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
Mark 18:21
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.
A Jewish prayer:
This would be a preview of what Jesus would do for his people.
What Jesus does is pray a blessing over the food. And this sounds like communion doesn’t it?
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And they all ate and were satisfied.
Mark does not tell us how the bread was multiplied. But the bread was miracrously where everyone had enough bread and fish and they were satisfied.
The disciples did not understand who Jesus was. And they still did not get it. As the Lord provided the manna in the wilderness, Jesus would provide bread in the wilderness of Galilee to reveal his true identity.
And the bread would merely satisfy physical hunger. But Jesus came to satisfy our spiritual and eternal hunger.
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
John
Shepherds after My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the Bible A Shepherd in the Wilderness
Welcoming the disciples back from their first mission, Jesus calls them to a deserted place to rest for a while (6:31). They respond by taking a boat to a deserted place (v. 32). But, in keeping with a Marcan pattern, a crowd follows Jesus. The disciples are concerned that, because the place is deserted (v. 35), the people will go hungry. Jesus understands that the wilderness, though replete with hostile forces, is the environment in which he, as YHWH in the past, must reveal himself. The ‘way in the wilderness’ (1:3; Isa. 40:3) is the way of the Lord, an important element of second exodus theology.8 The miracle that the disciples were about to witness was a replication of the miraculous feeding in the wilderness of the exodus account. By that original miracle (and many others), YHWH had made himself known as compassionate provider to his people.
Shepherds after My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the Bible A Shepherd in the Wilderness
The wilderness, from the perspective of Deuteronomy, was the place where YHWH taught his people that he could provide for them. Miraculously provided bread was daily evidence of God’s pastoral concern. But the provision pointed to something more than physical sustenance: ‘He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD’ (Deut. 8:3).
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:32-33
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Jesus is giving a preview of what is to come. Because in his Kingdom, there is no one that is hungry or there is no one that will be thirsty. Jesus is not just providing bread that will decay and leave us unsatisfied. But he is giving us the eternal bread. The provider becomes the provision and food for our souls. The prophets spoke of this:
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
The One who would provide the bread that day, would be the bread of our souls by giving His life for us. And by giving us his life through bearing our sins and rising again from the dead, all who come to Him in repentant faith will be satisfied eternally and physically.
A Faithful Shepherd is a Provider.
Husbands, we imitate God when we provide. Elders, we imitate God when we provide the Word of God for God’s people. God is the ultimate provider who provides the sacrifice of His own Son so that we would one day be satisfied one day both physically and eternally.
Jesus is teaching us not to look to our lack, but our sufficiency in Him.
And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
I love the irony here. Each disciple had his own basket with left over food and broken fish. I think Jesus was trying to prove a point that He can provide.
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
And those who ate were five thousand men. Matthew tells us it was men and women and children.
And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Matthew
That means there were at least 15,000 to 20,000 people. If God could feed a half a million people in the wilderness in the OT, the same God could feed 15,000 to 20,000 people in the wilderness of Galilee.
And Jesus was the One who fed them. Which makes Jesus obviously the same God of the OT.
Jesus is the ultimate shepherd who knows his sheep, cares for his sheep, and provides for his sheep.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10:
John 10:
Summary:
The faithful shepherd knows His sheep
The faithful shepherd cares for His sheep
The faithful shepherd provides for His sheep.
The question for you is are you one of Jesus’ sheep? He is a good shepherd and you will no other shepherd like Him. Let the Good Shepherd of the Sheep care for you and provide for you.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
And like the Psalmist, may you find eternal peace if you know that the Lord is your Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even 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.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
their fatal ignorance of spiritual things, their evil case under the dominion of Satan in all the effects of his terrible tyranny, are alike the object of our Lord’s compassion.14
But Jesus burned with anger against the wrongs he met with in his journey through human life as truly as he melted with pity at the sight of the world’s misery: and it was out of these two emotions that his actual mercy proceeded.