The True and Better

Introduction

Here we are at what could be argued as the most well-known story in the gospels aside from Jesus’ death and resurrection. Other than the resurrection of Christ from the dead, this is the only other miracle that’s recorded in all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And so, right there we can see that this event was incredibly profound and impactful and the gospel writers really wanted their readers to examine what took place on that day.

Perhaps no other story in all of Scripture, other than the resurrection of Jesus from the grave reveals to us so clearly the deity of Christ. He is God in the flesh for nobody other than God alone could do what was done on that day.

This moment in Jesus’ life and ministry was so incredible that John, in his gospel actually says that at the end of the day the people were about to come and take Jesus by force to make him king. And so, Jesus withdrew from this scene because the people didn’t understand yet what type of King he truly was.

They wanted someone to overthrow Rome. Herod, as we touched on briefly last week was a horrific ruler. He was the one who had John the Baptist beheaded.

And so, here, with Jesus, you have a man who is an incredible teacher, he can heal, and perform all kinds of miracles. He’s got a massive following. In their minds, this was the solution to their problems. Here was the king they thought they needed for their temporary and earthly problems. But Jesus, is not that kind of king and his reign and rule is not one that happens by force.

Jesus’ rule and reign will be established and accomplished through sacrifice and suffering and death that he willingly walks into. His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, an eternal kingdom. It’s not one of this world. It’s not temporary.

An earthly king can try to provide temporary fixes to earthly problems. Your life might get better for a while, but there’s no longterm solution or fix. And isn’t that what we truly long for? Healing of our heart and soul? The complete and total removal of that which is destructive?

For the past few weeks now our news feeds have been filled with headlines of war. We’ve seen the devastation, the destruction, the evil of war. We’ve read of millions fleeing for their lives, being uprooted from their homes. Families being separated. Hundreds of thousands remaining to fight for their freedom and survival.

We hope for a ceasefire but don’t we long and yearn for day when there is no threat of war?

A ceasefire is a temporary fix until the next conflict emerges. What our hearts and souls long for though is to live in a world where there is no threat of conflict. Where there’s an eternal peace.

Problem

But so often, we’re so short-sighted like the people here in Mark 6. We want quick fixes to earthly problems. But what Jesus offers is what we truly need. Restoration. A soul that is satisfied forever. An eternal peace under the reign and rule of an eternal King who is infinitely good.

Main Aim

There’s a reason why all four gospel writers included this story in their writings. They’re crying out to us from their writings to look to Jesus as the one who satisfies. As the King of kings and Lord of lords. As the one who provides the life that we truly need, which is life eternal set free from sin and shame. All those who had come before him, kings and prophets were but a shadow of what we truly needed.

Think of that song we just sang, “Christ the True and Better.” I’m so glad we sang that today. Think with me of the richness of the lyrics.

Christ the true and better Adam Son of God and Son of man. Who when tempted in the garden never yielded never sinned. He who makes the many righteous brings us back to life again. Dying He reversed the curse then rising crushed the serpent’s head.

Christ the true and better Isaac humble son of sacrifice. Who would climb the fearful mountain there to offer up his life. Laid with faith upon the altar Father’s joy and only son. There salvation was provided oh what full and boundless love.

Christ the true and better David lowly shepherd mighty King. He the champion in the battle where o death is now thy sting? In our place He bled and conquered crown Him Lord of majesty. His shall be the throne forever. We shall e’er His people be.

And here today in Mark 6 we see,

Big Idea

Jesus is the true and better Moses, the shepherd for our souls who provides rest for the weary and satisfying life for the hungry.

Body

He is the true and better. Jesus gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want. Typically what we want is not actually what we need. We’re so often like children in this way.

My kids rarely know what they actually need. They have lots of wants. There’s no shortage to their wants but as a parent I’m looking long-term and will actually seek to give them what they need because I know that’s better for them.

What we want usually address the temporary problems of our lives. What we actually need, that which only Jesus can give, addresses the eternal needs of the soul.

So, what from this narrative before us of the feeding of the 5000 do we see that Jesus gives us? Three things.

Number one.

Jesus gives us rest

Look at verses 30-32 again.

Mark 6:30-32, “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.”

So, Mark’s returning back to the evangelistic mission of the apostles that we read of last week in verses 7-13. Jesus had sent them out two by two to teach and preach and proclaim the gospel, the kingdom of God. He gave them authority over the demonic realm, he gave them authority to heal and do some pretty mighty works so these guys have been gone for a while. We don’t know how long and it may have been interrupted by the beheading of John, we don’t quite know but what we do know is these guys return to Jesus with some stories to tell.

They are no doubt in my mind, amped up and at the same time physically, mentally, and emotionally drained.

Remember, Jesus sent them out with nothing except his authority. They were completely dependent upon the Lord during this journey and as thrilling as it is to be completely dependent upon the Lord, it’s exhausting as well.

I remember the very first mission trip I ever went on. It was the summer of 2001 and I was in New York City for the week engaging in gospel conversations with people in parks all around the city. I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing.

I had just signed up for the trip a few days before. I was there reluctantly and scared out of my mind. So, if you’ve ever gone on a mission trip to New York you know that we get paired up with someone and walk around the parks looking to enter into gospel conversations with people. Well, the person I was partnered with was new as well but I didn’t know that. I thought they were the experienced one that I’d learn from and come to find out, they thought I was the experienced one they would learn from. So, that was a fun interaction as we’re walking around the park looking for someone to talk with.

So, we just walked around that park for a good while just praying. Some of the reason why was fear but we understood, we can’t do this on our own. And so, it really was a sweet time of praying and depending on the Lord. Now, I’ve gone to New York on that mission trip since 2001 more times than I can count and I could spend the rest of the morning sharing amazing stories of God redeeming people and I could share the same amount of stories of rejection to Christ and his gospel.

At the end of the day though, you’re as amped up as you can be because you’ve been on the front lines of seeing God work in people’s lives through you and you are more tired than you can imagine.

So, the disciples of Jesus had just come back and they’re telling stories and they’re excited but at the same time they’re physically and emotionally drained. And even here people are crowding around so that they couldn’t even get something to eat. Ministry is draining. It’s amazing, but it’s exhausting.

And so, Jesus calls them to go and get some rest.

Jesus is calling the disciples to two types of rest here.

Physical rest.

There is nothing sinful about taking time to rest. Jesus commands them to rest. In fact, it would have been sinful for them not to rest.

People tend to err with two extremes. They either never take a break from taking a break - that’s called laziness and that’s not what Jesus is calling them to here. Note how he says in verse 31 to “rest a while.” Or we err by never actually taking a break. We immerse ourselves in work and we never stop.

But from the beginning God wove into the rhythm of creation a day for rest. Why? So, we’d depend on him and find our identity, value, and worth in Jesus and not in the work of our hands. God calls us to rest to remind us that we are not God, we’re human, which means we’re dependent upon our Creator.

He calls us to rest to remind us that He is sovereign and in control. The world is not dependent upon us but upon him. Rest reminds us of these things.

The disciples no doubt could have come back and been tempted to think, “Look at all the amazing things WE did!” They needed time to rest to remember where that power came from. It didn’t come from them.

2. Spiritual rest.

They needed time alone with Jesus to be spiritually restored. What they needed was Jesus and his presence in their lives. As thrilling as ministry is, as thrilling as serving people is, Jesus is still the true and better. We don’t find our value and purpose in life in our work or in our ministry but in the one we work for. Which is Christ.

The moment we take our eyes off of him, we become an idol. Ministry becomes an idol. It no longer is about Jesus but about our name, our reputation, our skills, our abilities, our performance. Rest reminds us of our need for Christ.

The second things Jesus gives us is,

Jesus gives us direction

In verse 33 Mark says that a large crowd follows Jesus and the disciples all the way around to the other side of the shore. The disciples and Jesus sailed for about 4 miles and the crowds ran around the shore about 8 miles and the crowds still beat them there and were waiting for them.

Now notice Jesus’ reaction in verse 34.

Mark 6:34, “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.”

I love the imagery that Scripture gives us of Jesus as a shepherd.

Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Luke 15:4-6, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’”

John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Hebrews 13:20-21, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Revelation 7:17, “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Jesus and the disciple’s rest was very short-lived. Ministry is often like that. But you see here the heart of the great shepherd. He was filled with compassion. Not annoyance, not frustration, but compassion. In fact, the word “compassion” has the sense here that he was affected deeply within his soul. He felt deeply for those waiting for them because they were lost.

You see, for Jesus to be the great shepherd, that means we’re the stupid sheep that can’t do anything, definitely can’t save ourselves. We are needy and desperate.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer described succinctly the human condition and the human need without a shepherd.

“There were questions but no answers, distress but no relief, anguish of conscience but no deliverance, tears but no consolation, sin but no forgiveness” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We desperately, desperately, need a Shepherd Savior. Jesus is that Shepherd Savior and Mark’s showing us this truth.

Remember, all of Scripture is pointing to Jesus as the fulfillment of it all. This phrase, “Sheep without a shepherd is not new here.” We see it all the way back in Numbers 27 as God’s people, the Israelites are about to enter the promised land. They need a new leader. Moses, who had led them is not going with them and so he prays that God would raise up another leader. Why?

Numbers 27:17, “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 who does God raise up? Joshua to lead the people.

In Ezekiel 34 God rails against the spiritual leaders of the day who had abused God’s people. He called them, “evil shepherds.” And in Ezekiel 34 God promises to raise up another who will care for God’s people. It’s here you see the promise of David and the David kingdom.

Ezekiel 34:23-24, “And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

Again, all of this is pointing to the one true, eternal shepherd who will care for, guide, and lead God’s people forever.

Listen, Moses fell short. He was not the eternal Shepherd Savior that the people needed. Joshua fell short. He’s not the Shepherd Savior the people needed. As mighty as David was, he was not the eternal Shepherd Savior. Only Jesus is the eternal Shepherd Savior that the people need, that we need. Jesus is the true and better Moses. The true and better Joshua. The true and better David.

Jesus saw the physical and spiritual state of a people and led them, guided them, and fed them.

The disciples wanted to send them away as the day got late. But Jesus is going to reveal to them all that He is the eternal Shepherd Savior. He’s going to reveal to them that he is the God who provides. That just as God provided for the people of Israel in the wilderness with bread from heaven (Ex. 16) he is going to give them bread that satisfies.

The last thing we see that Jesus us give is,

Jesus gives us himself

We’ve come now to the feeding of the 5000. Most likely it’s more than 5000. 5000 men were recorded here but Matthew’s gospel says there were also women and children present. It’s really hard to know how many but some estimate it could have been as many as 20,000 people present.

The disciples come to Jesus with actually a pretty fair request. Let’s send the people away into the surrounding towns and villages to get something to eat. There’s nothing wrong with that request. That seems reasonable. In fact, wasn’t the purpose earlier to get some rest?

But I love Jesus’ response in verse 37. “You give them something to eat.”

Now, their response back is a little snarky. “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread?” A denarius was equivalent to a laborers daily wage. So, the average person came home each day with one denarius. So, 200 would have been around 7 months wages.

I did the math, that would equal about $40,000 in today’s money.

So, the disciples begin with a fair request in their minds to send people away, but there’re forgetting who they’re with. Jesus responds with a command they can’t accomplish on their own and so rather than them looking to Jesus to provide they get a little sarcastic. “I guess we’ve got to find $40,000 somewhere.”

Now, we heard the story read this morning right? In verse 38 Jesus asks them what they have. They find they have five loaves of bread and two little fish for 20,000 people. So, Jesus says, and I’m inserting this, “Yep, that’s plenty.” “Have everyone sit down.”

He blesses the food, divides it up, they distribute it and everyone is filled to the brim and in the end there are twelve baskets full of food because nobody could eat anymore because they were so full.

What’s Jesus doing with this whole interaction with his disciples and the 5000?

He asks the disciples to do the impossible. Feed this large group of people. They can’t do it. Of course they can’t. Jesus knows that. That’s the point. Jesus calls us to do the impossible. Take the gospel to the ends of the earth. It’s an impossible task on our own. Jesus knows this. That’s the point.

Until we see and recognize that Jesus is calling us to do the impossible, we will be absolutely unqualified to do it because we’ll be failing to recognize that all authority, all power, all good comes from Him.

I mean, notice how Jesus performs this miracle. He works with what the disciples have. Now, what they have is not enough, but in Jesus’ hands it’s plenty. Once Jesus takes hold of what they have only then does it multiply and become enough.

The task ahead of us as followers of Jesus is impossible on our own. Even in how he calls us to live is impossible on our own. “Take up your cross daily and follow me.” “Love your enemies.” “Forgive others as you have been forgiven.” In our strength, looking at our resources and supplies and what we have in and of ourselves we don’t have enough. In fact, true honesty would say, “It’ll take a miracle in my life for those things to take place.” And it’s right there that God does his most impactful and restorative work in and through you.

As one commentary says,

“It is not God’s intention that we should be in ourselves adequate to our tasks. Rather, he wants that we should be inadequate. If we only accept the tasks which we think are adapted to our powers, we are not responding to the call of God. The church is always in a crisis and always will be. There will be difficulties, limitations, insoluble problems, lack of people and money, a menacing outlook, endless misunderstandings and misrepresentations. We are not only to do our work despite these things; they are precisely the conditions requisite for the doing of it.”

It’s only when we recognize our own inadequacy and that it’ll take the working of God to accomplish what needs to be done and the mission Christ calls us to that he begins to work through you.

And it’s only when we submit to the working of Christ in our lives that we experience the fullness and richness of what he has to offer us in himself.

Conclusion

Jesus filled those people’s belly’s that day with bread. He loved them. He had compassion for them. He met a physical need. Like Jesus, we should care for the needs of our neighbors. Like Jesus, we should be known as a people of compassion.

But what did they truly need? We tend to focus on the miraculous multiplying of bread but it was His word, His teaching back in verse 34 that they truly needed for eternal life.

The food they ate that day satisfied them for moment but what they needed from Jesus ultimately was His Word, His teaching, His gospel to satisfy their souls for eternity.

In John’s gospel it records that the very next day the crowds returned but they returned to Jesus for the wrong reason and Jesus calls them out.

John 6:26-27, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.”

They wanted more temporary fixes but couldn’t see that Jesus was the solution they needed for the hunger in their souls. They wanted to make him king to make their lives on earth easier. They wanted another Moses who would feed them bread like Moses did for the Israelites in the wilderness. They wanted another Joshua to set them free from their oppression under Rome. they wanted another David who would triumph over their enemies in battle.

But Jesus isn’t just another Moses, another Joshua, another David. He’s the ultimate Moses, the ultimate Joshua, the true and better David.

Jesus didn’t come to set them free from Rome, he came to set them free from their bondage to sin. He didn’t come to triumph over their earthly enemies but to triumph over the enemy of death. He didn’t come to feed them with food that perishes but food which leads to eternal life. He’s come to bring the ultimate exodus, the ultimate liberation.

How? On the cross. Jesus triumphed over our enemy by being bound, beaten, bruised, and killed. We became rich through Jesus becoming poor. We became something by Jesus becoming nothing. We became filled by Jesus emptying himself out for us.

You want to have an impact in this world then start by recognizing your own inadequacy and Jesus’ sufficiency. You want to see the Kingdom advance against the powers of darkness? Love God, love your neighbor as yourself. He’s the true and better. Jesus is all we need.

Akin, D. L. (2014). Exalting jesus in mark (D. L. Akin, D. Platt, & T. Merida, Eds.; Mk 6:33–37). Holman Reference.