Savior of the Nations

Well, good morning, church. Would you turn with me to Mark chapter 8?

Mark 8 · chapter mention

Our sermon text today is Mark chapter 8, verses 1 through 10.

Mark 8:1–10

You can find that on page 792 in the Pew Bible.

Mark chapter 8. Let me pray for us, and then I'll read.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

Amen.

Our Father in heaven, we ask that as we come to your word now, your spirit would come and guide us into all truth.

Lord, help us to see clearly who you are and who you've revealed yourself to be and who you've called us to be in your word.

Lord, we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

All right, Mark chapter 8, verses 1 through 10. Let me read for us.

Mark 8:1–10

And his disciples answered him, How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?

And he asked them, How many loaves do you have?

And they said, Seven.

And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground.

And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people.

And they set them before the crowd.

And they had a few small fish.

And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them.

And they ate and were satisfied.

And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

And there were about 4,000 people.

And he sent them away.

And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Well, if you've been following Mark's gospel up to this point, his account of the life of Jesus,

this particular story probably sounds familiar.

There's a great crowd in a desolate place.

Jesus is teaching them.

The people are hungry.

And miraculously, thousands are fed with just a meager amount of food.

Very similar story to what we heard back in chapter 6.

Some lessons, it seems, have to be learned more than once.

And so again, we see the compassion and the power of Jesus to work savingly and satisfyingly for the hungry crowds.

We're told again, they ate and were satisfied.

But if we are careful readers of the gospel of Mark,

we realize that this isn't just a retelling of the same story that we heard before back in chapter 6.

There are differences.

There, the crowd was 5,000 men.

Presumably plus women and children on top of that.

Here, the total crowd is 4,000.

There, the disciples raised the issue of the hungry crowds.

Here, it's Jesus who takes the initiative.

There, the leftovers filled 12 small knapsacks,

which is what the word basket means in chapter 6.

Here, the leftovers fill seven large bins.

It's actually a different word for basket here in this story.

But perhaps the most significant difference between the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000

is found when we consider the context.

In chapter 7, verse 31, remember,

we learned that Jesus has been ministering at this part of his ministry in the region of the Decapolis.

That is an area on the northeastern side of the Sea of Galilee

that was known to be a largely Gentile region.

And as chapter 8 begins, Mark says,

So consider then what Mark is showing us.

And it's something that's actually been brewing all of chapter 7.

Remember, in chapter 7, Jesus was debating purity laws with the Pharisees,

and then he was commending the faith of a Syrophoenician woman,

and then healing a man in the Decapolis who was deaf and unable to speak.

What we see here is the compassion and the power of Jesus

extending beyond the boundaries of Israel

and reaching to the nations.

Of course, this is just a foreshadowing of what was to come.

You know, the Gentile mission won't begin in earnest

until after Jesus' resurrection and ascension to the Father's right hand.

Then the risen Jesus tells his disciples to carry the gospel,

the good news of the forgiveness of sins,

to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

But that mission to the ends of the earth is seen even here.

Jesus is the Savior for the whole world,

not just for Israel.

The bread he came to supply wasn't just for insiders,

for religious people, for folks who knew their Bibles

and lived what seemed to be a good life.

No, Jesus had come for everyone,

for the outsiders too,

for folks who didn't know much about religion or God,

for folks who couldn't find their way around the Bible

unless someone gave them a page number, right?

For folks whose lives were mixed up and broken

and in obvious need of help.

Jesus came for everyone.

He's the Savior of the whole world.

So consider what this means for us today.

You don't need me to tell you that we live in a city

where most people aren't really that familiar

with Christianity or with the Bible

and not really familiar with what it means

to live a life in line with the truth and goodness

of who God is in Christ.

And maybe that's you this morning.

Maybe you're just beginning to explore spiritual things

and maybe you're not sure what to make of God

or Jesus or any of it.

Well, if you get nothing else

from your time this morning,

I hope you see this from Mark chapter 8.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

That Jesus sees you,

loves you,

has compassion on you,

and is willing to feed your hungry soul

if you come to him.

It doesn't matter where you're from,

which side of the lake or tracks

or what side of the educational spectrum you're from.

Whether your life has been good or bad or in between.

Of course, if there is a God,

he sees everything about you.

Everything that's beautiful

and everything that's selfish and petty and broken.

And you know, the truth is,

we humans,

we're actually much worse

than we think we are.

But what we see in Jesus Christ

is that we're also much more loved

than we think we are.

Jesus knew how far away

some of these people had come to be with him.

And he knows how far away you've been

and how far away I've been.

And how does he view us?

With compassion

and with mercy.

You see, this is the great truth

that every follower of Jesus

learns sooner or later

and that all of the apostles

came to learn in time, certainly.

That what puts someone right with God

isn't their pedigree

or their family history

or their law-keeping

or their moral record

or their religious fervor.

It didn't matter

if you were from

the heart of Jerusalem

or from the pagan cities

of the Decapolis.

None of that

put them in a right relationship with God.

At the end of the day,

the most devout, law-abiding Jew

and the most pagan, immoral Gentile

were both utterly and equally lost.

Both had sinned against a holy God

and both needed a radical rescue

that only God could provide.

Now, that's hard to wrap our minds around, right?

I mean,

does our moral record

really not make any difference

in getting us right with God?

I mean, imagine a swimming contest, right,

between me and an Olympic athlete

like Michael Phelps or something.

I know Michael Phelps is retired,

but he would still like

totally trounce me

in the swimming pool, right?

Obviously, he would blow me

out of the water.

But what if the contest

was to swim, you know,

not a few laps in the pool,

but from New Haven Harbor here

all the way to London, England?

Well, on a good day,

I might make it to East Haven, right?

Maybe I'd hit Lighthouse Point.

Probably not.

But maybe a really great swimmer

would go like 50 or 60 miles

to Mystic, Connecticut.

And yet,

neither of us

have even made it

out of Long Island Sound.

If the goal is getting to England,

we're both dead in the water.

Spiritually speaking,

it's the same.

The good swimmer,

the bad swimmer,

everyone falls short.

You know, the real danger,

the real danger

is that sometimes

if we think

we're a good swimmer,

we don't realize

how much trouble

we're really in.

If we think

we can make it

across the ocean

without any help,

well, we're actually

in worse trouble

than the person

grabbing for the lifeline

the first chance they get

because they know

they don't have a chance.

In other words,

perhaps the worst place

you can be spiritually

is thinking

you have it all together.

Better to be like

these crowds.

Better to be just hungry

for the words of Jesus.

Better to know

you need something

you don't have

and to look for it

in Him

than to think

you have to perform

and pretend

to try to be accepted.

real salvation

is always

and only

by grace

through faith

in Jesus,

not by works

and not by

your ethnic background

and not by anything.

He's not asking you

to come to Him

with a cleaned up life

and a moral record.

He's asking you

to come to Him

hungry

and to let Him

feed you

with the living bread

that only He can give.

Jesus is the Savior

of the whole world

and that means

you too

if you'll come to Him.

Of course,

this was God's plan

all along, you know.

God's plan was always

to bring His salvation

to the ends of the earth.

So what we see here

in Jesus

is really the fulfillment,

the beginning

of the fulfillment

of what God had planned

all along.

It started all the way

back with Abraham

and Abraham's family.

You know,

the salvation story

began with Israel

but the goal

was always

to rescue

the nations as well.

Consider the promise

even to Abraham

at the very beginning.

Remember,

God tells Abraham

in Genesis 12,

I'll make you

a great nation

and I'll bless you

and I'll make your name

great so that you'll

be a blessing

and in you

all the families

of the earth

will be blessed.

And when Isaiah

foresees the coming Messiah,

he hears God say

of this coming servant

of the Lord

in Isaiah 49,

it is too light a thing

that you should be

my servant

to raise up

the tribes of Jacob

and to bring back

the preserved of Israel.

I will make you

as a light

for the nations

that my salvation

may reach

to the end of the earth.

God's plan

was always

for his salvation

to reach

to the end

of the earth.

To be not just

for Jews

but to create

a Jew plus Gentile

people of God

around the one

Savior and Lord,

Jesus the Messiah.

The bread he came

to offer,

the people he came

to create,

the forgiveness

and new life

he came to purchase

is for everyone

who believes.

And so consider

what Mark

is telling us

also here

about the majesty

of this Jesus.

In the ancient world,

you know,

every nation,

every people group,

they had their own gods.

You know?

And if you were savvy,

like the Romans,

for example,

you would be quite

pluralistic about it all.

You know,

you would say,

well, that's fine.

You worship your gods

and you worship your gods

and just make sure

you acknowledge

the Roman gods

and we'll all be fine.

But Mark is hinting

at something quite

different here.

Jesus isn't just

one more

cultural god

to be placed

alongside

all the other gods

that might have been

worshipped in the Decapolis.

In fact,

those so-called gods

were just lifeless

idols

who will only

leave you hungry.

but there is one

who can satisfy

the hungry soul,

one who is great enough

and powerful enough

and compassionate enough

to meet the deepest

longings of every culture

in every nation

in every human heart.

And this is exactly

who Jesus proves

himself to be,

majestic

over all gods.

Jesus is the savior

of the whole world.

You know,

it was just a few months ago

that many of us

were glued

to our screens,

our TVs

or our phones

or our laptops

or our tablets

or whatever

watching the World Cup,

right?

And as each round

went by,

we eagerly waited

to see who would

come out on top,

who would be

the world's best,

who would get

the glory

of being crowned

the World Cup winner,

who would rise

victorious

above all the rest.

But notice the difference here.

Notice that with Jesus,

he shows his worldwide

majesty

not through conquest

but through service.

He shows up on foreign shores

amidst Gentile cities

and how does he demonstrate

his majesty

and greatness.

Is it a military campaign?

Is it a political takeover?

No.

He has compassion

on the crowds

and he feeds them.

He demonstrates

his glory

through service.

Of course,

the service he renders

is miraculous.

Thousands are fed

with just seven loaves

and a few small fish.

But even the miracle

is surprising

by its simplicity.

He doesn't wow

the crowds

with a fiery display

of cosmic power.

I mean,

come on.

If you had

the kind of power

of the living God

and you showed up

on earth

and you wanted

to demonstrate

your greatness,

you'd find some

pretty awesome ways

to do it.

Right?

I know I would.

And how does Jesus

do it?

He serves them

their daily bread.

And if we can start

to see this,

then we're starting

to see the biblical Jesus

in all his majesty.

The one Lord

of all the nations

powerful enough

to make kingdoms rise

and kingdoms fall.

And yet he comes

not to be served,

but to serve.

And as Mark

will go on

to show us

in his gospel,

to give his life

as a ransom

for many.

Jesus is the Savior

of the whole world

who came to display

his glory

in compassionate

service.

And if this is true

of Jesus,

then it ought to be true

of his followers.

Our glory

as the people

of Christ

will not be seen

in acts of power

and deeds

of conquest.

No,

our glory

is shown

through Christ-like

service

and compassionate

love.

And notice,

this service

is not just

for those

who love us

and who are like us,

but compassionate

service also

for those

who do not love us

and who are not like us.

Many Jews

consider the Gentiles

their enemies.

And yet,

even to our enemies,

we must show

compassion

and mercy

and service.

This is greatness

in the kingdom of God.

That is real

glory

and majesty

because this is what

no other God

has done.

Plenty of gods

tell a story

of conquest

and victory,

of enemies slain

and campaigns won.

but what other God

sends his only son

not to destroy

his enemies

but to die

for them?

What other God

lands in outsider

enemy territory

and gives himself

to be broken

so that those

very rebels

might be made whole?

Behold the majesty

of the one true God

in Jesus Christ,

the Savior

of the whole world.

And so we see then

that the feeding

of the 4,000

isn't just a repeat

of an earlier story

but a demonstration

by Jesus

that he is the Savior

not just of the Jews

but of the Gentiles too.

He's not just Israel's king

but also the world's

true Lord.

And yet how often

are we like the disciples

in Mark 8?

We look at the size

of the crowd,

the depth of the need,

the limitation

of our own resources

and we think

there's no way

we can feed this crowd.

How could we possibly

see spiritual renewal

in our day?

How will our friends

and our neighbors

and our co-workers

ever come

to know Christ?

I mean look at

how far away they are.

Look how stiff

the cultural headwinds

blow

against the biblical gospel.

After all,

a lot of people

don't just think

Christians are weird,

they think Christians

are the problem.

How could we ever hope

to see our city

one for Christ?

How can one feed

these people

with bread here

in this desolate place?

We shake our heads

at the disciples

because just a couple

chapters earlier

Jesus had done

just that.

You read the story

and you think,

come on guys.

In fact,

Jesus fed

an even bigger crowd

with an even smaller

amount of food

just two chapters ago.

How could they be

so forgetful,

we think?

Don't they remember

who they're with?

Don't they remember

who they're with?

And in fact,

this is exactly

what Jesus will ask them

in the coming verses.

Pastor Matt will

take a look

at this next week.

But if you look ahead

at verse 18,

Jesus says,

do you not remember

when I broke

the five loaves

for the 5,000,

how many baskets

full of broken pieces

did you take up?

And they said to him,

12.

And the seven

for the 4,000,

how many baskets

full of broken pieces

did you take up?

And they said to him,

seven.

And he said to them,

do you not yet understand?

Is any mission field

too hard for the Lord?

Is any cultural moment

too irreligious

for the gospel of grace?

Brothers and sisters,

when the apostle Paul wrote

that the gospel

is the power of God

for salvation

to those who believe,

to the Jew first

and also to the Greek,

he was not writing

to a comfortable church

in a nice moral city

where everyone held

mostly Christian beliefs.

The city of Rome

in the first century

celebrated violence

and sex

and power and greed

in ways

that would make

even the most libertine

among us

more than a little uneasy.

And yet,

did that stop the gospel?

As those Christians

prayed and preached

and took bread

Sunday after Sunday

and gave thanks

and broke it

and shared it,

could even the Roman Empire

stand up

against the Savior

of the whole world?

Could all the armies

and the wealth

and the decadence

of Rome

stand a chance

against the risen Lord Jesus

whose power

is made perfect

in weakness

and who's made known

to us

in the breaking

of the bread

and in the proclamation

of the cross?

how quickly we forget.

How quickly we forget.

Time would fail

to tell us

of great awakenings

and revivals

and movements

of the Spirit

that God has done again

and again

and again

and yet how quickly

we forget.

do we not remember

who we are

with?

The Savior

of the whole world.

And so Jesus

is asking us again

how many loaves

do you have?

Show me

what little you have.

Give me

all your weakness,

all your failures,

all your fears

and doubts.

Surrender it all

to me

and then

like those loaves

I'm going to bless you

and break you

and send you out.

And then you'll see

in the words of Zechariah

that it's not by might

and it's not by power

but by my Spirit

says the Lord of hosts.

And then that verse

from Isaiah

that spoke first and foremost

about the ministry

of the Messiah

now it will become

true of you as well

just like it became

true of the disciples

in Mark 8.

I will make you

as a light

for the nations

that my salvation

may reach

to the ends

of the earth.

And if you think

that's a stretch

in applying that verse

that way

the Apostle Paul

does the exact same thing

in Acts 13.

That he sees

that in and through

the church

we're extending

the mission of Jesus

to be a light

to the nations.

Are we forgetful?

Yes.

We must confess

that too often

we are.

We are forgetful

but the Lord

never forgets.

The Savior

of the whole world

will not forget

his promise

or his word

and he will not

forget his people.

For as the Lord

said to Paul

in Corinth

so he says to us

today

I have many

in this city

who are my people.

And so as we look

at the crowds

in this seemingly

desolate place

friends let us

remember who we are with.

The Savior

of the whole world

the crucified

and risen Lord Jesus

and let's pray

that what was true

that day

in the Decapolis

might be true

in ours too.

That they all ate

and were satisfied.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Our Lord Jesus

we pray

that by your Holy Spirit

you would come

and you would encourage us

with this text.

Lord for those

who feel like

they are far off

would they be encouraged

by your compassion

and your love

to draw near.

Holy Spirit

for those of us

who are feeling

weary

and weak

and battered down

by the battle

Lord would we remember

who we are with.

The mighty one

who can feed crowds

and who can bring

renewal

and who can bring

deep and lasting change.

Lord Jesus

we pray

that you would be known

in our midst

as the Savior

and as the Lord

and we pray

that many would come

to taste and see

that you Lord

are good.

We pray this

in your holy

and mighty name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.