Mark 6:30-56

It's no fun, is it, trying to understand something that you just can't get hold of.

It's the experience, isn't it? Do you remember maths in school? You just couldn't grasp it, or I couldn't grasp it.

And you knew that you didn't understand it for your science.

And that's the experience of those who are struggling to understand, but they know they are struggling to understand.

But there are those of us out there who struggle to understand and we're not even aware of it.

You observe that too, don't you? There's sometimes somebody will crack a joke.

And people will laugh along, but they don't know why they're laughing.

Or somebody gives you an instruction and they just fail to take it on board.

And they're struggling to understand without really realising it.

And it doesn't come with the same level of frustration, does it?

If you don't know that you've not understood something, you're not frustrated.

But in lots of ways, it's a much worse situation to be in.

Because at least when you know that you're not getting something, you can seek to find ways to find out.

But when you're oblivious to your failure to understand, you just continue in your ignorance.

You just don't know.

And I'm never sure which camp Jesus' disciples are in.

Do they know that they don't understand?

Or are they just oblivious?

They are infamously slow to learn.

But I think it's difficult to work out how self-aware the disciples are.

Are they struggling to understand Jesus, who he is, and what he's come for?

And they know they're not getting it, so they're a bit frustrated, and maybe they're a bit impatient.

But then on the other hand, at different times, it seems they struggle to see Jesus for who he is.

And they're really oblivious to the fact that they don't get it.

One thing I do know is this.

We shouldn't be that quick to judge.

I have often heard sermons and read commentaries where people are very critical of Jesus' disciples for being slow on the uptick.

And it's possible, I think, to read the Gospels in a way where you think that the disciples are like dumb and dumber.

But who is not to say that you are not like them?

Is it really possible to be struggling to understand without really realizing it?

And I think it is.

And so maybe some of us should look in the mirror and see that we are as slow to learn as well.

And Mark's Gospel particularly picks out this strand of the disciples struggling to understand.

And this passage is very, very helpful.

Now I want to look at the four sections that we're going to see, and I've divided them up.

So verses 30 to 34, I want us to see the mission's fruit.

The mission that the disciples have just been on, we don't read about that on your sheets.

You can read about it earlier in chapter 6.

But our passage opens with a kind of feedback session.

Look at verse 30.

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they'd done and taught.

And he said to them, come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.

The many were coming and going and they had no leisure even to eat.

Twelve generated a lot of interest in the kingdom of God.

So people come very curious to find out more.

They come from the villages around and the crowds want to see and they want to hear more.

So much so that it was really hard for Jesus and the disciples even to get a dinner break.

So they try and get away from the crowds.

Verse 32, they went in a boat and they go to a desolate place by themselves.

But the appetite of the crowd is so insatiable that they predict where Jesus is going and they run ahead to the place where they went.

So verse 34.

And 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.

Now I think that is an amazing verse.

And there's three things in particular I think which are amazing about it.

First of all, Jesus who is exhausted and who is tired.

He saw the crowd and he had compassion on them.

If this story was about me, I can guarantee you there is one word that would not be in the middle of that verse.

And it's the word compassion.

When I'm exhausted and I'm desperate for a break from people.

And then I discover that some very persistent people interrupt me.

And they trap me down.

When I see them and I open the door to them.

I am not compassionate.

I am frustrated.

Sometimes angry.

Sometimes overwhelmed.

Sometimes even despairing.

But not Jesus.

He is filled with compassion.

And in the same circumstances, my default is to worry about my own needs and my own circumstances.

But Jesus' default is to look to the needs of others.

The second amazing thing is, look at how Mark describes Jesus' attitude to the crowds.

He says, they are as sheep without a shepherd.

And that's not only a really powerful metaphor.

But actually, it's a blast from the past.

It's talking about something in their history.

In the Old Testament, that phrase is used to describe what life was like for Israel when their leaders, spiritual and national leaders, failed them.

And so it's hard to miss the fact, isn't it, that Jesus sees himself as the leader of the people of Israel.

He's the leader the people of Israel have always needed.

They're not only a curious crowd, they are a shepherdless crowd.

And Jesus has come to shepherd them.

And the third amazing thing about verse 34 is what Jesus does with his compassion.

You see that?

With his compassion on them, they are like sheep without a shepherd.

And he began to teach them many things.

He could see deep into their hearts.

He could see them and then lead like no one else could.

He felt for them deeply.

And because he felt for them deeply, he fed them with God's word.

And he knows that what they needed more than anything else was God's truth.

And having fed them with the word of God, Mark then tells us that he fed them with food as well.

And so we see secondly the feeding miracle in verses 35 to 44.

And basically it's a really common problem.

People are hungry, they're out of the desert.

And Jesus has been teaching them.

It's very late in the day and the disciples think the crowd should be dismissed.

So they can head to a surrounding village.

They can go to a restaurant or the supermarket.

But Jesus had other ideas.

And to begin with, he suggests to the disciples that he could feed the crowd.

And it makes absolutely no sense to them.

So they explain to Jesus, listen, if you're going to feed this crowd,

it'll take nearly half a year's wage to feed these people and we can't do it.

And I'm guessing that is exactly what Jesus wants them to realise.

That they can't do it.

They can't do it.

But he can.

It's a common problem that meets with an uncommon solution.

And Jesus asks, what food do you have?

And they say, well there's a little kid here, he's got five loaves and two fish.

Jesus divides the group onto the grass.

And then he takes the bread and the fish.

He gives thanks to God and he asks the disciples to distribute the food.

Now note the astonishing thing we're told at the end of verse 44.

And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

He divides them up, doesn't he?

He divides them up.

And they ate verse 42 and were satisfied.

Now I've just given the game away.

But actually the whole point of Mark's narrative is you don't know how many there are until verse 44.

We know that it's a big enough group for people to be broken into groups of fifties and hundreds.

So it's much bigger than the average church picnic.

It's much bigger than school outing.

And we need to remember that the amount of food that Jesus had really on a hungry day I could probably eat myself.

And here he divides it up and everyone gets something.

Verse 42, they all ate and were satisfied.

And then we find out there are leftovers.

Verse 43.

And I think Jesus is just showing off at that point.

They took up twelve baskets of full broken pieces and a fish.

And to cap it all, verse 44, you see these five thousand.

And that's men, not including women and children.

It's a miracle of incredible proportions.

He's taken a scrap of food and he's turned it into a meal for thousands.

And they all have enough.

And there's some left over for lunch boxes the next day.

It's amazing.

But it's important that we're not so amazed by the miracle that you don't see what this means.

You need to see what this means.

And again, it's a blast from the past.

Because where did the miracle happen?

It happened in a desolate place.

It occurred in a desert region.

And here is an amazing provision from God.

And it's an amazing provision of God of bread from heaven.

And if you're familiar with the Israelites in the Exodus,

you'll have noticed there's close parallels, aren't there,

between the provision of manna for the Israelites in the wilderness.

Manna was a kind of bread.

You can read about it in Exodus 16.

And just as God supplied all his people's needs in the desolate place back in Exodus,

so now Jesus does.

And it's as if Jesus is doing something that God is famous for.

And that perhaps tells you and I something about the identity of Jesus.

And the next segment of the narrative,

the hints about who Jesus is,

start to come thicker and faster.

And this time it's the walking miracle.

And Jesus walks on the lake.

And that evening Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him by boat

so he could have some time alone to pray.

And when he was on the land,

Jesus can see his disciples rowing into the wind and straining at the oars.

So he goes to them.

And his intention,

which is so strange, isn't it?

That his intention was to pass them by.

Look at the end of verse 48.

It is astonishing.

It's a really strange detail for Mark to include.

It doesn't need to be there.

So why is it there?

And I can't help wonder whether we're meant to hear that phrase again and again

and we're meant to hear the echo.

In the Old Testament scene from Exodus 33 and 34,

in the narrative where God reveals himself to Moses

and God's glory passes by Moses

and Moses hides in the cleft of a rock.

And when they see him walking by on the lake,

the disciples are terrified and they think they've seen a ghost.

But Jesus responds by telling them,

verse 50,

Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.

And again, I think we see the echo.

We hear countless times in the Old Testament

when people caught a glimpse of God's glory

and they had to be told,

Do not be afraid.

And straight after that,

Jesus says something of immense significance.

Verse 50,

Take heart, it is I.

And again, the echo comes.

Literally, he's saying,

Take heart, I am.

And you think back to Moses at the bush which didn't burn in Exodus 3

and God says,

I am who I am.

And the child of the Israelites,

I am has sent you.

And Jesus is taking on his lips

some very significant words

that God used to reveal himself to his people.

And then we're told, aren't we,

that when he climbed into the boat,

the wind immediately died down

and we're back to Mark 4

where the stilling of the storm of the word.

And it's a reminder to you and I

that Jesus can do what only God can do.

The wind may have died down,

but the minds of the disciples are racing

and they're anything but calm

and no doubt they've got fear coursing through their veins.

And verse 51,

they are astounded.

But again, note the surprise.

Mark also reminds us

they were astounded

and they are confused,

verse 52,

because they did not understand about the loaves.

Isn't that astounding?

They've just seen Jesus walk on the water.

They were utterly astounded

for they did not understand

about the loaves.

And what Mark is saying to you there

is if they'd understood about the loaves,

they would not have been astounded

that Jesus was walking on the water.

If they'd understood the feeding miracle

about Jesus' identity,

they wouldn't have thought

the walking miracle was utterly remarkable.

They didn't get it.

And obviously their hearts were hardened.

They weren't hardened like the people

who rejected Jesus,

but nevertheless there was still

a stubbornness of their hearts

that needed to be overcome.

And no doubt their hearts were softening,

but they were still a long way

from seeing things clearly.

Then Mark records in the next section

the multiple healing miracles

in the days that followed,

verses 53 to 56.

And it's almost unavoidable for Jesus.

Jesus' reputation is growing at a rapid rate.

He's now officially famous.

Not famous in the sense

that he's won a Winter Olympics medal.

But famous in the sense

that every second person

stopping him in the street

asking him for his autograph.

It's frenetic.

They try to bring their sick relatives to him.

Friends that get closer to Jesus.

People who sold beds

that you could carry a sick person on.

Had never done so much business.

People were happy to touch

the edge of his garment.

Verse 54.

When they got out of the boat,

the people immediately recognised him

and they ran about the whole region

and began to bring the sick people

on their beds to wherever he was.

And whenever he came,

wherever he came in villages,

cities, countryside,

they laid the sick in the marketplaces.

They implored that they might touch

even the fringe of his garment

and as many as were touched

from the well.

There's growing recognition,

isn't there,

of Jesus,

but continued power.

Jesus' power to deliver people

from sickness and health

doesn't seem to be running out.

Mark makes no comment

on whether these people

had any interest in Jesus

apart from what he could do for them.

But nevertheless,

his compassion

meant that he continued to engage

with these desperate people.

And his divine strength

began to continue

to bring healing and release.

Now, what are they saying to us?

Three things,

as I conclude.

I think Mark wants you and I

to understand human need.

Need is everywhere in Mark's Gospel.

You find hungry people,

sick people,

curious people,

desperate people.

And they all want something.

But Jesus' verdict

is really worth reflecting on.

He thinks that the one thing

that all these people

had in common

is that they were sheep

without a shepherd.

And what they really needed

was a leader.

And not just a leader

who could point them

in the direction of food

or in the direction of healing

or in the direction of explanation,

they needed a leader

who would actually feed them.

Who would actually share

God's truth with them.

Who would actually heal them.

They needed the kind of leader

that their creator

had always intended them to have.

They needed a shepherd.

They needed a shepherd.

And they needed a good shepherd.

And the observation of verse 34

still stands today.

Doesn't it?

And it has great relevance

and significance for now

because Jesus' diagnosis

of the crowd

is his diagnosis

of your life and mine.

human need is everywhere

in our world.

People need feeding

and teaching

and healing.

They need compassion

and reassurance

and friendship

and hope

and many, many other things.

And Jesus knows us

better than ourselves.

And his verdict

is that what we really need

is leadership.

The leadership

that can actually

draw aside us

and supply what we need

and someone who can

satisfy us completely.

And we need the kind of leader

that our creator

always intended us to have.

We need the good shepherd.

And not only yesterday

who we are here today

but our family members

our friends

and our neighbors

and our work colleagues.

We all need a shepherd

Jesus is saying

whether people know it or not.

Whatever everyone needs

is not just what Jesus can bring

but actually Jesus himself.

And Mark wants us

to understand that.

He wants us secondly

to understand

the need of compassion.

The nature of compassion.

And I'm particularly thinking

of verse 34.

And it really is

just a remarkable

and mind-boggling verse

because what I find

most amazing

is what Jesus does

with his compassion

because it's not

what you expect.

He sees the crowd.

He knows they're curious.

He knows they want

to see miracles.

He knows that many of them

are desperate

to have their sickness healed,

their demons cast out,

their stomachs filled.

So what does he do?

He teaches them.

And Mark says

he began to teach them

many things.

His first instinct

is not to feed them,

not to heal them,

not to cast out demons.

His first instinct

is to make sure

that they understand

the kingdom of God.

Now I don't want

to overstate this

because

in the rest of the passage

Jesus is very interested

in feeding them

and making their

bodies whole.

But it is significant

that Jesus'

compassion

leads him to teach.

And again we see that

all the way through

Mark's Gospel

that Jesus teaching

the kingdom

is an act of compassion.

And that ought to

challenge the way

that we think of him.

I begin to notice

that very often

we draw a firm

distinction

between ministries

of teaching

and ministries

of compassion.

And we tend to think

that the ministry

of compassion

is meeting an obvious

and immediate need

but Jesus doesn't work

with that distinction.

Mark 6 verse 34

Mark 6:34

says that compassion

is seeing their true need

and seeking to meet it.

And that will mean

feeding hungry people,

it will mean

healing the sick,

but it will also be

feeding with God's word.

And showing them

how they can be

spiritually healed

and fed.

It is compassionate

to teach people

about the all-satisfying

shepherd of Jesus.

It's compassion

to tell people

about the wonderful

forgiveness that

Jesus offers.

It's compassion

to tell people

to help people

understand who Jesus

is and what

he's here for.

And that he

eventually came to

bleed his life

away on the cross

because he cared

for people so much.

Compassion is

seeing shepherdless

sheep and giving

them what they

really need.

And what they

most need

is Jesus himself.

And so yes

we must

clothe and

feed the poor.

Yes we must

be kind-hearted

communities.

But without

teaching the gospel

that is not

compassion.

and thirdly

and most

fundamentally

what Mark

wants us to

understand is

really Jesus

himself.

Jesus is

telling you in

this section

that Jesus

can do the

sort of things

that only God

can do.

He's telling us

that Jesus does

the things that

God himself is

famous for doing.

That he feeds

thousands in a

desert with

bread when

there is

little bread.

And he

passes by and

he reveals his

glory.

And he comes to

people that see

his glory and

says you do not

need to be

afraid.

And Mark is

multiplying the

hints that Jesus

and God have a

lot in common.

And he's showing

us over and over

again that when

Jesus speaks he

speaks with the

authority of God

and when Jesus

acts he acts

with the power of

God.

Who might that

suggest Jesus is?

Jesus is very

different isn't he

to the other

leaders that we

meet in Mark's

gospel.

And he's very

different to the

leaders we meet

today.

Jesus sees the

crowd and he

sees sheep without

a shepherd and he

overflows with

compassion like a

tap you can't

turn off.

He's the shepherd

all people need.

And he's the

shepherd that does

things that only

God can do.

And he's the

shepherd who does

the sorts of

things that God

himself is famous

for doing.

He's the shepherd

who speaks with

the authority of

God and he acts

with the power of

God and who

might that suggest

to you that

Jesus is?

And the disciples

are struggling to

understand all this.

And if we'd be

there we might

have struggled

too.

And maybe today

you still struggle

and that's okay.

Because Jesus is

in the business

isn't he of

patiently revealing

himself to people

as we see here.

He wants people

to understand.

He helps you to

understand if you

ask him to.

But what I've

discovered in this

passage this morning

is this.

But as each of us

grows in our

understanding

there is a sense

in which Jesus

ought to be less

and less amazing

to us.

It's really

shocking.

I know that sounds

strange.

But do you

remember what

Mark said about

the disciples in

verses 52?

They were

astounded and

they were amazed

because they

hadn't understood

about the loaves.

And the implication

is that if they'd

understood about the

loaves they wouldn't

be so astounded.

They would still have

known it was

incredible but it

wouldn't have

surprised them.

And so I think

in my own life

if I really believe

the things that

Mark is telling me

and if I really

believe that Jesus

was the good shepherd

and if I really

believed he had

the power

that Mark shows

as he has

I might be

less and less

surprised by Jesus.

I would be

deeply interested

in getting to

know him more.

If you're here

this afternoon

as somebody who's

curious about the

Christian faith

but you're not

sure can I

encourage you

don't let

be

don't let

don't let

being afraid

to let your

don't be afraid

to let your

curiosity

grow further.

Get to know

Jesus.

Keep struggling

to understand.

It's the best

struggle in the

world.

And if you're

following Jesus

if you really

believe that

Jesus is the

good shepherd

who lays down

his life for us

then I think

we need to be

a little bit

less surprised

by Jesus.

I wonder if

we really

believed

we might

stress a little

bit about

things a little

bit less

and we might

pray to him

a little bit

more and we

might be a

little bit more

confident about

the future

and we might

turn to his

words and listen

to what he says

a little more

readily.

And a little

less distracted

by the worries

of this life

and we would

be focused

on the things

that matter.

It's not as if

the disciples

hadn't seen

the miracle

of the 5000

they just

hadn't put it

together in

their minds

and hearts.

And I think

we can be

very easily

like them.

We've seen

what Jesus

can do

but we've

not understood

and so we

find ourselves

struggling

and surprised

and we need

to turn our

attention again

into Jesus

and keep

wrestling with

him until

we see him

clearly

and know

what it means

to be our

shepherd.

And so he

says to you

as you go

back to work

this afternoon

or whatever

you do

he says to

you like he

says to them

take heart

it is I

do not be

afraid.

Let's pray.