Who is this Jesus: Miracle Worker
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Who is this Jesus? We have seen through the Gospel of Mark over the last few weeks that Jesus was and is the Son of God. He was and is Healer. He was and is Teacher. Today, we will look at and see Jesus as Miracle Worker.
During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
Find a piece of paper and write down these words: Compassion, Concern, Continuing and Comfort.
As we study this passage today, I want to invite you to receive a bit of encouragement. We definitely are in need of a miracle worker just now. The Bible records at least 33 miracles that Jesus performed. However, John 21:25 tells us there were many more.
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
John 21:25
We certainly have heard about miracles in creation, in healing, and perhaps you have experienced a miracle in your life. You may be listening to this and wondering what exactly is a miracle. You may have heard of the Miracle on Ice referring to the USA’s miracle hockey win in the 1980 Olympics or or in baseball the Miracle Mets of 1969. These were events that were improbable in the sports world.
We hear perhaps the diagnosis that seems doom and gloom, and you hear someone say we need a miracle.
But, what exactly is a miracle? In the Bible, a miracle is God’s continuing work in His creation. It is the evidence of the power of God. A Biblical miracle shows God’s active presence. If you can explain a miracle, then it is no longer a miracle.
We have in God’s word many stories of miracles. The miracles of Jesus, we are told in , were written so that we may believe. They are not done to provoke faith, but to emphasize the glory of God.
Sometimes miracles included individual lives being changed through some type of healing like a paralytic being able to walk, a blind man to see, or even a person raised from the dead. There were miracles that went against laws of nature like Jesus and Peter walking on water or Jesus calming a storm.
Today’s passage in , we see a miracle repeated in the feeding of a large crowd with just a few items of food. The first such feeding took place and 5000 men were fed with five loaves and two fish as recorded in Mark 6. Then a second feeding takes place.
Listen closely to this passage from .
During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
Find a piece of paper and write down these words: Compassion, Concern, Continuing and Comfort.
Compassion
Compassion
We see in verse 1 that a large crowd gathered and they had not nothing to eat. In the first feeding, the disciples come to Jesus and announce the people are hungry. In this passage, Jesus calls His disciples and says, “I have compassion for these people.” The word for compassion means “moved deeply within.” Right from the onset of the telling of this miracle, we see that Jesus has compassion for these people. We should not be surprised at this because Scripture gives many instances of Jesus having compassion. In fact in Mark’s Gospel we see that Jesus had compassion on lepers (1:41), revolutionaries (6:34), Gentiles (8:2) and those that were demon-possessed (9:22). Jesus models for us that miracles begin with compassion.
I can’t help but wonder, who are you having compassion for right now? In the times in which we live, there are many who need our compassion. We have a world of people that are in fear. The great writer and theologian A.W. Tozer wrote, “A scared world needs a fearless church.” We can be fearless by showing compassion and with the understanding that when we do, miracles can happen.
With His compassion, Jesus also shows concern.
Concern
Concern
Jesus was concerned about the people that had gathered. He was concerned about what they did not have. Jesus knew the people had nothing to eat. He also knew without the proper nourishment that the people would collapse. These were not just any people, these were folks that decided they were going to be with Jesus. They were intently present with Jesus. The Bible clearly says that when we seek the Lord, He will care for us.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
I was reminded this week and shared it on a church wide call that our needs will be provided for by our Lord!
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
That is part of the miracle process! What an encouragement that we can have today! What hope in which we can trust! Our needs are being met in Christ Jesus because He is concerned about us!
Another thing I see in this passage is that Jesus’ concern for us is not limited to what He has already done. Let me explain. This is the second great feeding that is listed in Mark’s Gospel. In the first feeding, Jesus took 5 loaves to feed 5000. It seems that if that were the case, Jesus would only take 4 loaves to feed 4000. However, He takes 7 loaves to feed the 4000 because there were seven loaves available. Jesus teaches us to take things as they are and accommodate ourselves to them so that we can use what we have and make the best of it!
as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”
At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”
2 Corinthians
And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.
At the concern of Jesus, He will take what we have and turn into something useful for the glory of God if we are willing for Him to do so! Notice also that Jesus teaches us to be thankful for everything. He gives thanks for the seven loaves. Then He takes the 2 small fish and gives thanks for them as well. The interesting point of the 2 small fish is that they literally were small fish. The original language and study of the culture show that they were about the size of anchovies. Jesus does two separate prayers here because His concern is even in the lesser of things.
Notice one other concept here, the concern of Jesus leads to be the people being satisfied. We see in verse 8 that the people took that which Jesus blessed, ate their fill and were satisfied. When we take what we have and give it to Jesus, He in turn will take it, bless it and give us satisfaction!
We can see from Mark’s description that the compassion of Jesus and His concern, also lead to continuing care.
Continuing Care
Continuing Care
In verse 8, we see that there were seven basketfuls of broken pieces leftover. You might not know that the word used for basket here is the same word used for basket in .
But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
It was more of a hamper than a basket. The point is that the basket was large enough to hold a person the size of man named Saul before his name was Paul. So if we take the idea that the words are the same, there would be seven man size baskets leftover for continuing care! Not only were the people satisfied, they were nourished and able to go forward with leftovers.
Because of the compassion and concern for the people, Jesus continued caring for them. Here is something else to consider. The region in which this took place shows us something more. This feeding took place in an area which the people present would have been Gentiles. They would have been outcast by the temple leaders and forbidden to learn of the things of God. Isn’t incredible that Jesus chooses to share His miracles with all people everywhere? That leads us to one more area of thought about Jesus being a miracle worker. You and I can take great comfort in knowing that Jesus was in the miracle business but we can have even greater comfort that Jesus is still in the miracle business.
Comfort
Comfort
Let me show you what I mean. In verse 11, the Pharisees knew of the what Jesus had been doing associating Himself with those Gentiles. They opposed Greek influence in any way. They were always trying to discredit Jesus. The end of verse 11 has the Pharisees asking Jesus for a sign from heaven. In other words, they wanted a cosmic phenomenon, something incredibly spectacular. The Bible says that Jesus sighs deeply. He groaned in His Spirit. It is an action of dismay and despair. Then He says, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” This generation refers to those that are unbelieving (; ; ). Jesus is saying that no miracle can compel faith from an unbelieving heart. The Pharisees were not saying they were ready to be convinced. They were refusing to see the clear evidence that was in the teaching and ministry of Jesus.
What does that mean for us? It means instead of watching for this coronavirus to miraculously vanish, we should be seeing the miracles of what is taking place because of it! People helping others meet their needs. Slowing down and taking better care of ourselves and each other. Looking more to God and His mercies instead of trying to do it all on our own. It means being thankful for every little thing and stop taking so much for granted. It means finding other ways to worship and glorify God! There are all kinds of miracles around us. Jesus is at work for you and I for the Glory of God. Don’t miss the miracles that He is doing! They are right in front of us all!