The Needy Come to Jesus

Intro

Good evening students! It is good to see everyone here tonight. We are going to be wrapping up chapter six of Mark. Therefore, open your Bibles with me to Mark 6:53.

Have y’all ever heard that someone or something was coming to town or to our area so you had to tell your friends in order that they might go with you?

Growing up, my brother was a huge Atlanta Falcons fan. I am a big Tennessee Titans fan. My brother and I would come home from church every Sunday. He would go to his room to watch the Falcons. I would go to my room to watch the Titans. However, in 2015, the Falcons came to Nashville to play the Titans. I had been to a Titans game, but my brother had never been to see the Falcons play in person. I told my brother and we asked our parents if we could go. So, we bought tickets and the entire family went to watch the game together. Let me tell you, this was one of the worst games ever. The final score was 7 to 10. The Titans lost. It rained the entire game it was October, so it was getting cold as well. But, we got to watch our two favorite teams play against one another.

Today, we will see that the people of Gennesaret see that Jesus is coming to town. So, they gather everyone that was sick to come to Jesus.

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.

Pray.

The last time y’all gathered, Bro. Brad came to taught. He taught about Jesus walking on the water. If you remember in that historical account from Mark, Jesus walked on the water to get to the disciples boat after He had gone away to pray. The disciples did not recognize Him and were afraid because they thought He was a ghost. After this, they were in the boat heading to Bethsaida. However, they boat ends up landing in Gennesaret. This leads us to our first point tonight.

God sovereignly guides where we are to go with the gospel.

Look back with me at verse 53

Mark 6:53 ESV

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore.

The boat was supposed to be heading toward Bethsaida; however, the storm winds and waves caused the boat to go to Gennesaret. These winds and waves were brought about by God to get Jesus and His disciples to the people of Gennesaret. They had needs and were next to be reached by Jesus.

Danny Akin writes, “The strong winds had sovereignly sent them to a different location. More hurting people are in need of a helping hand, a divine touch.” (CCE 147)

This is clearly evident based upon the following verses. The people of Gennesaret had sick people in need of healing. God knowing this directed the boat away from Bethsaida toward Gennesaret.

Gennesaret was located south of Capernaum and described as a fertile plain with a wide variety of species, including walnut trees, palm trees, fig trees, and olive trees. (Josephus). So, Gennesaret was not in need of food. These people were in need of something more. Apparently, these people were in need of healing as they gathered the sick to come to Jesus. God had directed the disciples to this area for the purpose of meeting their physical needs; however, I am certain God sent them to this region in order to Jesus to be made known among them. Jesus and His disciples would then walk to Capernaum where He would deliver a sermon in the synagogues about Him being the bread of life. Therefore, God had divinely ordained that Jesus and His disciples would end up in Gennesaret with a purpose. This is what we would call divine providence.

The word providence is a word that we should be very familiar with. We have discussed the term sovereignty. Sovereignty deals with God’s power to do whatever He wills. However, providence deals with the purpose of the action.

If you have ever heard of the English idiom “I’ll see to it.” This is similar to providence. God is sovereign with power over all. He can do whatever He wants to do because He is God. The phrase “I’ll see to it” mean that someone will ensure a task or situation is taken care of or handled. Therefore, “God’s providence is that he see’s to it that things happen in a certain way.” (Piper, Crossway article)

God saw to it that Jesus and the disciples ended up in Gennesaret to reach them. God in His providence made for Jesus and His disciples to come ashore in Gennesaret. This is the providence of God that is seen in this passage.

We see God’s providence in our lives all the time. He ensures that things are carried out according to His will. Think about your salvation. God ensured that you heard the gospel of Jesus Christ in order that you could repent and believe in Him. Moreover, God will guide you in where to go to college, where to work, who to marry, and who to share the gospel with.

In my own life, I love to look back and see how God has worked in my life to get me where I currently am. During the time leading up to becoming y’all’s youth pastor, God was working. Jesse and I were actually about to move to Kansas City, Missouri where I attend seminary. However, I had come to Salem a couple of times to preach and knew God was calling me to serve as the associate pastor. I submitted my resume and was called to be your youth pastor. Then, God allowed for COVID to hit. The seminary shut down. However, God provided for Jesse and I a church family here at Salem Springs. God’s takes care of us as His children.

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

If we are those called according to His purpose, meaning if we are those who have repented and believed in Jesus, He works all things together for our good. God was taking care of Jesse and I. I am sure if you think back on your life you can see times in which God has worked things for your good according to His divine providence.

The people in Gennesaret were in need of a healing touch, so God providentially caused for Jesus and His disciples to end up there. God providentially leads us to those who need the Gospel also. Anytime that you share the gospel with someone, you are being used by God. Remember when the gospel was shared with you. God allowed for you to hear the gospel in order that you would be saved through Christ Jesus.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God wishes for all to be saved. Therefore, as God’s children, we are called to go throughout the world sharing the gospel in order that all may come to salvation. Therefore, if you are around someone who does not know Jesus as Lord, you are the person that God has providentially sent to share the gospel with that person. Look with me at

Acts 8:26–31 ESV

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

God placed Philip in the life of the Ethiopian to share the Gospel with him. Later, the Ethiopian would receive Christ as Lord and be saved. We are called to be used by God. I do not know that we will hear an audible voice sending us to another person to share the gospel. But, if we know someone does not know Jesus as Lord it could be that God has placed them in our lives that we would share the gospel with them. This leads to point 2.

Christians are called to bring the spiritually needy to Jesus.

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.

Jesus and the disciples get out of the boat. Immediately the people of Gennesaret recognize Him. This is a reversal of the disciples. The disciples did not recognize Jesus walking on the water, but the people of Gennesaret immediately knew it was Jesus.

Notice, upon recognizing Jesus, the people ran throughout the whole region gathering up sick people and bringing them to wherever Jesus was. The people of Gennesaret had faith. They heard details regarding where Jesus would be coming, so they gathered the sick in those areas.

The healthy in the area had probably heard of Jesus and all the miracles He had performed. Likewise, they had heard of His healing power. That is apparent by their hurried efforts to gather the sick. Notice, the word ran. The people saw Jesus and ran to throughout the region to gather up sick relatives and friends in order that Jesus would heal their ailing bodies. We must understand that Mark is giving the reader a summary of events. Jesus and His disciples walked from Gennesaret to Capernaum, so Jesus was healing them wherever He went. The people had gathered the sick and He would heal them as He came to them.

This act of people running to gather the sick paints a picture for us as believers. They saw Jesus, heard of Jesus’s miracles, and had faith that He could heal. Because of this, they ran upon seeing Him to gather those who needed Him.

For us, we are the believers. We are those who have heard the Gospel, recognized our sin, repented of sin, and placed our faith in Jesus Christ. We possess the Gospel. We were once in need because we were dead in our sins and trespasses. We could do nothing on our own. Someone shared the gospel with us in order that we could repent and believe. Someone came to us in order that we could be saved from sin and hell. Therefore, the people running to those in need paints a picture for what we are to do as well.

There are people without the gospel all around us. West Limestone is a pretty large community. There are about 800 students in your high school. About 20 of y’all come here to church. I would say maybe another one third of your schools population goes to other churches. That would still leaves over 500 students that could be without the gospel and it is probably more than that.

Y’all are the believers in your high school. Y’all are the one’s that Jesus has saved in order to reach others with the gospel. God has providentially placed each one of you within West Limestone High School for a purpose. You have a purpose. Your purpose is to live for Christ at all times and seek to reach people with the Gospel.

Whenever I was in high school, I did not get it. High school is the biggest mission field y’all will ever have. Get this, you are with the same people for 8 hours a day five days a week. Also, they can’t leave and neither can you. Therefore, what better place to share the gospel with someone than at school. Currently, that is your mission field. Are you gathering the needy to come to Jesus? Or, are you allowing the needy to have the primary need never be met?

In other words, are you taking the gospel to people around you? Or, are you more worried about being like the people around you that you forsake the commission of Christ to make disciples?

The sick were brought on their beds. They could not bring themselves to Jesus. Those without the Christ are much like these sick people. They had to be brought to Jesus. We are the one’s with the gospel. We must gather the needy and share Christ with them. If we do not, who else will?

Jesus has done and does all the work in delivering the sinner.

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.

As Jesus came to those areas, the sick were gathered there. Whether it was a city, small village, or the country, the sick were there in the marketplace waiting. The marketplace was where the community primarily gathered. The crowds would be there and that would be the place that Jesus would most certainly walk through. Because of that, the people would gather the sick in the marketplaces anticipating His coming. The people had faith in Jesus’s ability to heal. Likewise, they were desperate for healing. The faith of the people was so strong they sough to just touch the hem of His garment.

The people of Gennesaret had more than likely heard of the woman with the blood condition who touched Jesus’s robe and was healed. So, they were seeking to touch the fringe of His garment in order to be healed. Now, we must understand that there is nothing about the robe of Jesus that has the power to heal. It is the God man inside of the robe that has the power to heal.

The text says that as many as touch the fringe of His garment were healed. Those who had faith and reached out to Jesus were made well.

The greek word used is sozo: which means to save, heal, or deliver. So upon touching the fringe of Jesus’s garment, the sick were delivered from sickness. It was Jesus that delivered them from their sickness.

Jesus delivered them from their need. As Christians, we are called to be little Christs. Therefore, looking at the example of Jesus, we see that we are to be the one’s that go to those in need. However, I am talking about both spiritual and physical needs. We are called to take the gospel to address the spiritual needs of people as we have talked about previously. Likewise, we must be seeking to meet the needs of those around us such as service. We can serve others in our community to display the love of Jesus to them. Jesus showed those in need compassion and we must as well.

Jesus did all the work to deliver the needy from their sickness. Jesus has also done all the work to deliver the spiritual needy in fact spiritually dead. It is Jesus who has the power to save. The garment did nothing. Jesus has the power to save. Likewise, it is Jesus who has done all the work to save us from our greatest need which was our dead depraved state in sin. Jesus went to the cross though never sinning to pay for our sin. The sick reached out to touch the fringe of His garment to be healed. By reaching out to Jesus calling on His name to save you, you will be delivered from sin and death. It is through faith in Him that He saves us. Moreover, not all will come to faith in Jesus, but as many as will call upon His name will be made well as verse 56 says.

Danny Akin states, “Through the wonderful touch of His bloody, redemptive hands, we can forever be healed of sin’s diseases and made well forever. He walked across the stormy waters of judgment in our place, and He took on our sicknesses in His own body.” (CCE 148).

Jesus took our sins upon Himself in order to reconcile us to God. Will you repent of your sin and place your faith in Him tonight?

Christian in this room, will you eagerly seek to make Christ known to those around you. Jesus does all the work in saving the sinner. However, He has providentially placed you here. Will you be used by Him for His glory? Will you fulfill the purpose for which He has for you to share His Gospel?

Pray.