Sermon Tone Analysis

Feeding the Five Thousand

Back in Mark’s Gospel, Pastor Calvin got us rolling with the story of John the Baptist’s execution...

Theme: Jesus is the Good Shepherd who feeds His sheep.

Intro:

Story included in all 4 Gospels.

This is an important story, no doubt many of you have a good idea about what happens from your Sunday School years.

It’s a puzzling story, it’s in incredible miracle.

Sometimes we try to wedge more symbolism into it than it needs, and if we aren’t careful we miss the point of the story altogether.

Sort of a “We can’t see the woods because we keep trying to study the trees” sort of thing.

But the point is simply this: Jesus is the Good Shepherd who feeds His Sheep.

The Shepherd provides for those who are in close Proximity to Him, who are Obedient to Him, and who find their Satisfaction in Him.

Proximity to Jesus

Notice Mark calls the disciples apostles here - I know it’s been a couple of months, but Jesus had designated the twelve to be His apostles back in chapter 3

And preach they did!

Jesus had sent them out, and now they’ve returned.

They’ve gathered around Jesus, likely at a place they’d agreed to meet at previously, and they reported to Him all that they’d done.

And the disciples are likely tired.

Wore out from their journey, but also from their ministry.

As they were preaching, as they were being used by God to cast out demons, heal the sick, the power of God flowed through their mortal bodies.

I believe it was Leonard Ravenhill who once said the true ministry of a pastor begins after the sermon, but that’s when he’s the most tired.

Because if - as a pastor - I am preaching the word of God right, the Spirit of God is moving through me, to pierce hearts, to change minds… and it wears a person out.

The disciples had experienced this, so Jesus told them to get to a remote place, a desolate place.

It’s the same word used way back in chapter 1, speaking of where John the Baptist had been preaching.

The “uninhabited” places.

Jesus says come with me to this remote place, where nobody normally goes, and rest for a while.

The Greek word for rest that is used here in Mark is the word anapauesthe (αναπαυεσθε) and it means to be refreshed, to regain their strength.

Now, stop right here.

Where were they going?

Somewhere where other people normally aren’t.

They intend to get away from the world, and get some time with just them and Jesus.

Isn’t that the best place to find refreshment?

To find rest?

To be refueled?

Get alone with Jesus, get alone with His word, get alone in prayer.

Get the distractions farther away and get your focus solely on Him, and you find rest.

He promises this.

When we come to Jesus, we leave our old lives behind, we leave the world behind, we find ourselves in close proximity to Him, and there He sustains us, He nourishes us, He refreshes us, He revives us.

The disciples experienced it then, we can experience it now.

I know those weeks, those times I feel most beaten down, most wore out, most burned out, if I can take an hour, two hours, half a day, and just spend time in prayer and in my Bible, I feel rested.

Not gonna lie, either, sometimes I find myself falling asleep, and it’s usually some of the best sleep I have.

Because my mind and my heart are focused on Him.

All the stress, all the problems, all the worries, begin to fade away.

Not to say they’re gone, but the darkness of this world pales in His light.

This is what He is trying to show the disciples in this moment.

This remote place, Luke tells us, is Bethsaida (Luke 9:10).

Again, they are leaving Capernaum, likely in the same boat Jesus used in chapter 5, when he crossed the Sea of Galilee into the country of the Gerasenes.

But don’t miss this.

They went “by themselves”.

It’s just them and Jesus.

It’s not the 70, not the 500, it’s just Jesus and the twelve.

Some may call this a retreat.

They’re getting away to likely get some teaching just for them.

Some time for Jesus to pray with them, time to eat together, maybe laugh, blow off some steam by venting their frustrations with their ministry to the only Person who’d understand - the One who had sent them.

Where do we see this today but in the church?

When we come together, when we fellowship.

When we “consider one another in order to provoke love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24), as we encourage each other all the more as we see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25).

When the church comes together, we are encouraging one another.

I saw where a church, some big megachurch, they said they care more about the unbeliever than the believer, or something like that.

And I kind of understand what they’re saying, but the purpose of the church is to fuel the believer, to refresh the believer, so that they can

Matthew 28:19 (CSB)

Go, therefore, and make disciples...

The role of a minister within the church is

Now, that’s not to say we don’t care about unbelievers, please don’t misunderstand me.

We absolutely do, but the goal is to take an unbeliever and convert them to becoming a believer, that they grow and mature in Christ - it’s called discipleship.

99% of the time, converts aren’t made on Sunday mornings - they may pray a prayer, they might make an official declaration of faith on a Sunday morning, in a church service, sure, but the work was put in by a believer, who was equipped by the church, the week before.

Sometimes weeks before, months before.

You see, the disciples got in that boat with Jesus because they needed rest, they needed to be refueled, refreshed.

Because they were excited, they wanted to get back out there and do more ministry, spreading the Good News of Jesus.

The church is that place for His disciples today, as is the prayer closet, the study, the home office, or wherever you make your alone time with God.

WE get in close proximity to Jesus, so we can take others there, with us.

Yet, not all goes according as the disciples might have hoped, as we read on.

Many saw them leaving and recognized them.

How?

Because they were initially so busy with the crowd they couldn’t even have time to eat!

So this crowd sees Jesus heading off with His disciples and they watched the direction they were headed, and they were so desperate to be near Him, too, they ran on foot to meet with Him.

And this does something within the heart of our Lord.

He sees them and has compassion on them, becaues they were like sheep without a shepherd.

This isn’t the only time Jesus feels this way.

Matthew tells us Jesus was going around in all the towns and villages, teaching, preaching, healing

This is an Old Testament way of thinking.

When Moses was getting old, he asked the Lord to appoint someone over the people of Israel, and Moses said:

and so God tells Moses to anoint Joshua as his replacement.

The idea is that Israel needs a good leader to direct them.

When we get to Ezekiel 34, God promises the people of Israel, who were abused by their shepherds, the priests and the prophets who were taking advantage of them, God says they were even getting fat off the sheep, ruling them with violence and cruelty.

And as we have walked through the Gospel of Mark, have we not seen the Pharisees doing the same thing in the time of Jesus?

Lording over the people their knowledge, their rules, their traditions?

They weren’t tending the sheep, they were building them pens and caging them.

They weren’t letting them grace and learn, they refused to teach them instead they would ridicule people who would give all they had, because all they had - according to the Scribes and Pharisees - it wasn’t enough.

So Jesus has pity on them.

He feels a deep compassion for them.

I imagine he saw the crowds rushing on the shoot and looked at His disciples, smiling saying, “Guys, looks like the work is just getting started.

We’ll rest later, now we must tend the sheep.”

And these people who were so desperate to be close to Jesus, will again sit down and be taught by Him.

The hearts and minds being fed by the Good Shepherd.

As Jesus feeds His sheep who are close to Him.

Obedience to Jesus

The sun is starting to go down, the disciples are tired, they’re in an uninhabited area.

There’s no Dollar General nearby, there’s no Walmart.

There’s no place where they can grab a snack.

So, the disciples finally go to Jesus and they say “Hey, you need to send these people away.”