Mark 6:30-44 - I got a Filet-O-Fish
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Big Idea:
Big Idea:
True rest is found by trusting in Jesus.
Intro:
Intro:
Hi Church Online! Thanks for joining us.
Many of you know today is “Palm Sunday.” On the Easter celebration calendar, it marks the Sunday before the Friday that Jesus died on the cross (Good Friday). And the reason why it’s called “Palm” Sunday, is connected to the following story from Mark 11...
Side Note: I had every intention of being at, or past, this point in Mark by today. My plan was to be at the resurrection by Easter. However, you know we’re currently in Mark 6, and unless you want to spend the next 7 hours catching up, we ain’t gonna make it.
All that to say, for those wondering, I have no idea when we’ll finish Mark. What I do know is our extended time in Mark won’t be a waste. Mark is all about Jesus. And our 2022 Vision is to focus on Jesus. So, that works for us!
…anyways, Mark 11 says...
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
How many of you know this is not a picture of Jesus? This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. And he used to do this “wave of a hand,” called a “Jedi mind trick,” to use the force to get people to do what he wanted. For some reason, I always picture the disciples doing that here… [wave] “The Lord has need of it...”
And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
Notice how it says that as Jesus entered Jerusalem (which was a Sunday) the crowd spread branches (or palms) on the crowd. Hence, Palm Sunday.
Here’s the thing about Palm Sunday: The same crowd that yelled, “Hosanna” is the same one that yelled “Crucify Him!” a few days later. They rightly celebrated Jesus in a Messianic way, but they missed something important - that He was actually the Messiah - the Savior.
We miss important things today too; even in the church.
For example: We live in a very busy-culture. We value productivity and treat full schedules as a badge of honor. Again, even in the church.
And don’t get me wrong, hard work/productivity is good. God also wants us active. 2 Thessalonians 3 tells us we shouldn’t be lazy. And Jesus says He came to give us an abundant life, which can simply mean a “full active life!”
But did you know that God has highly values rest? And we often miss this important value in our busyness. In fact, Hebrews 4 describes the life Jesus is inviting us into - eternal life - as a life of rest.
The Kingdom of God is an invitation into rest. How refreshing is that?
We see Jesus teach that value here in Mark 6; verse 30 says...
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
Where were they returning from? Remember, Jesus had sent them out two by two, with His authority, to preach the Kingdom of God? Now, they had finished that work and return to Jesus.
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.
Does that description sound like your life? A life of “coming and going,” with “no leisure even to eat?” The disciples were busy just like we’re busy. And how does Jesus reply? “Come on boys! This is the most important mission in the world. The time is short! Time is money! You can rest when your dead.”
No. He says, “Come away by yourself… and rest a while.” With the phrase “rest” written in command form - as if to say, “You have been faithful. And, this IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MISSION in the world, but rest is ALSO VERY IMPORTANT in my Kingdom; therefore, I command you to rest.”
And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
How many of us could obey Jesus command today? Like, if we heard Him say, “Come away with me and rest for a while.” Could you go? Would you go?
And if you reply “no,” is that because you truly can’t or you won’t (because you don’t value rest like Jesus does)?
Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
If the busy life of the disciples felt familiar, I’m sure this does too. Even when we try to rest, what happens? Our work follows us. Only for us, instead of thousands of people, we have thousands of texts, phone calls, and emails following.
And we think, “This is why I can’t rest. I have too many important things to do.” And initially, Jesus seems to give into this excuse.
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.
If I was a disciple, I would’ve been confused.
You commanded us to rest.
But when we get interrupted, it’s back to work.
So, do we value work or rest?
I believe that’s a relevant question for us today...
Because many of us could really use 3 vacations right now. We’re stinkin tired, amen? We need the rest.
But we’re also working hard to support our families and dreams. Additionally, many of us are working for the Kingdom of God, which is the most important thing in the world!
So, we know we need rest, but there’s so much work to do!
And according to verse 34, it seems like Jesus is giving us permission to prioritize work over rest. And it seems justified...
When Jesus drops the rest for work, it says it was because “He had compassion on them, because they were like a sheep without a shepherd.” Last week, we talked about how our world is filled with broken and hurting people. A lot of them!!! Many of our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family are wandering around looking for hope. And we have the only hope that can truly change their life. So, how can we rest?
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
The Father is always at work. Jesus is always at work. We got to work too!
Now, one could make the excuse that, “Oh, but that’s Jesus. He didn’t need to rest. I’m not the God-man.” That’s true… but then we’re challenged by verses like...
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
And then verse 5 says...
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
In other words, the Scriptures encourage us to live just like Jesus did. Just like Jesus considered others needs as more significant as His own, so should you.
See! DANG IT!!! I knew I couldn’t rest!
And before those of you who were really looking forward to hearing more about the prioritization of rest in God’s Kingdom, the rest you really need, but now seems once again out of reach, hang in there. I promise it’s coming. But we must also deal with a very real, present reality. Right now, in the here and now, there are going to be times when we truly sacrifice REST for Kingdom work.
We truly need rest. God values rest. But, at times, we sacrifice that rest because, right now, God’s mission is too important. And what mission is that?
It’s the same mission Jesus and His disciples had, which was...
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.
Paul said it this way...
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
That’s our mission! And the salvation of souls deserves the sacrifice of sleep. That being said, let me assure you, it doesn’t not ignore the need and value for rest.
And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late.
Remember that phrase “desolate place...”
Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
At face value, this seems like a reasonable request. “Jesus, these people have been here all day and we have nothing to eat. It’s getting dark. We should send them to the neighboring towns so they can find food.”
And while I’m sure that was part of the reasoning behind the disciple’s statement, but the sense of the passage is actually, “Jesus, send all these fools away, so they can find something to eat. What they find, I really don’t care, because that ain’t my problem.”
And what’s really hidden under this statement is the disciples thinking, “I don’t care how broken these people are, send them away, because I’m tired!”
You ever notice it’s really hard to be compassionate when you’re tired? I’m gonna be honest: I’m a terrible Christian when I’m tired.
When I’m tired, I don’t want to be patient, compassionate, or sacrificial. I want to go to sleep!
And I get the sense the disciples are here too.
Then, Jesus really stretches them...
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?”
In case it’s unclear, the tone in the disciple’s response is disrespect. Being tired makes you respond in crazy ways, even to the King of Kings. They like, “Excuse me? Jesus, you trippin. How we gonna feed all these all these people. Even if we had a year’s salary, it wouldn’t be enough to feed all these people. Chick-Fil-A couldn’t feed all these people!”
And I get the feeling this story is starting to hit people a little too close to home. Because maybe you’ve been following Jesus. And you want to faithfully serve Him. But you’re tired. And following Jesus seems like a lot of work. Then, Jesus be comin along ask you to do crazy things and you’re like, “Are you serious, Jesus? I’m tired! And now, you ask me to do impossible things!”
And if that’s you, first off, know you’re in good company:
As we read, the disciples (who changed the world) experienced the same feeling!
Moses, one of the greatest leaders in the Bible, felt the same way too!
When Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, they started complaining because there wasn’t enough food. And Moses was like...
But Moses responded to the Lord, “There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you say, ‘I will give them meat for a whole month!’ Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?”
But secondly, hang in there… because Jesus is strategically setting us up for important lessons that we can’t miss!
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.”
First lesson, when we’re tired, the best way to serve with the compassion of Jesus is to start by giving what we have...
Maybe you’re tired and can only serve an hour. Give it.
Maybe money’s tight and giving $20 is all you got. Give it.
Maybe your church really needs help with Production (setup & breakdown) and you have no experience setting up sound equipment, but you can drive a trailer. Bring what you got!
And this is where the principle of rest starts to come back in....
When Jesus asks you to sacrificially serve, He only asks you to bring what you got. You don’t need to exhaust yourself getting better or doing more. Rest knowing what you have is enough.
Jesus is going to prove this to us, but before we get to that part, I want to speak to the younger people in our church. Because sometimes young people may believe they’re too young to make a difference in the Kingdom of God.
But look at an additional detail the apostle John gives about this same story...
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
You see, the five loaves and two fish the disciples found came from a boy give all he had. And, with Jesus, that’s more than enough...
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.
This is so good. Jesus takes the small offering and meets every need. And although it says 5000 men, there were likely families there, which means it was probably 10,000 people. Jesus took what they had and supernaturally multiplied it to satisfy every need.
The disciples were tired, cranky, had nothing to give but a small measure of faith.
A boy gave a couple Filet-O-Fishes he got 2 for $5.
But Jesus those small faith offerings and abundantly satisfied every need!
Imagine what Jesus could do with what little you have? If you give it to Him, He could radically change your world.
Because this story hints at how Jesus would one day radically change the entire world. Similar to our story, anyone willing to give the little faith they have to Jesus, would find every need met - specifically our greatest need - salvation from sin and death!
Isn’t that the gospel? The debt of sin against us is immeasurable. And because God is holy, He must judge sin. Someone has to pay for it. And if we can’t pay our debt, the consequence is eternal death - eternal separation from God.
And whether we want to admit it or not, we can sense this impending doom. Why else would we go thru this life trying to make up for our wrongs by doing good. Hoping to tip the proverbial scales of justice in our favor. Yet, realizing, we never seem to make a dent in our debt. And we’re flat out exhausted trying to be good (some of us give up), because it’s like trying to feed 10,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. It’s impossible!
But, Jesus says, bring all that to me - cast your cares upon me and I’ll meet every need. Because I care - I have compassion! And on the Cross, He met every need by paying for every sin. He did all the work, so we could rest forever!
And speaking of rest, did you notice verse 39?
Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.
Earlier, I said, “Remember the word desolate.” They had gone to a desolate place to rest (in the wilderness where no one would find them). So, what’s green grass doing there? It’s supposed to be desolate!
It’s there because the moment people start putting their faith in Jesus, is the moment everything begins to change.
It’s the moment lost sheep find their Shepherd.
It’s the moment hungry people are abundantly satisfied.
It’s the moment when creation passes from death to life.
It’s the moment David wrote about hundreds of years earlier...
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.
It’s the moment that everyone, including the disciples, experienced TRUE REST! You see, sometimes we need to just trust Jesus. Because when it initially seems like He’s asking us to sacrifice our rest, it’s also the moment He’s leading us into better rest. That’s what happens in verse 39. They sat down (rested) and Jesus went to work.
And that’s a rest far better than pure inactivity, because it’s dwelling in the power and presence of God, which is really what our tired souls needs. God isn’t commanding us to have self-centered rest, but divine-relational rest. That’s what’s important! To experience eternal, life-giving rest
And we can have that rest when we’re willing to trust God in every circumstance.
Response:
Response:
So, as we close, what kind of rest is Jesus inviting you into?
Do you need to prioritize rest? Are you tired because you never take a day off? Though this message largely involves an interrupted vacation, it doesn’t negate the importance of regular rest. Because like I said earlier, Jesus commands us to rest. Jesus rested Himself. We need to REST! Therefore, let the Spirit restore your soul through some sleep. Don’t worry, Jesus will fully take care of your life when you rest by faith.
But maybe you need a greater rest. A rest for your soul. Have you been hesitant to put your faith in Jesus because you still think your good works get you into heaven. And your soul is tired because it’s not working. Then remember, Jesus already did all the work on the cross. All you need to do is surrender your life to Jesus and receive His rest. He will abundantly satisfy your every need.
On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus came to the city He loved (Jerusalem) to offer rest for their souls. But they missed it. Today, Jesus is still offering eternal rest to the people He loves - to us! Don’t miss it. Turn from your sin and trust Him with your lives.
So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.
Let’s pray...
Father, we need your rest today. We need you to give our souls rest. We need you to give our bodies rest. Today, Jesus I offer what I have to you and say do whatever you need to do to restore my life. I’m tired. But I believe You are faithful to give my tired spirit new life! Forgive me for not trusting You. Thank you for your compassion towards me. In Jesus name, amen.
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Communion:
Communion:
Rest. This helps us not miss it...