Feed My Sheep
Mark 6:30-44
Introduction:
Pediatrician David Cerqueira shares a story of how a little girl
showed his church the honor of serving God:
One Sunday my
wife had prepared a lesson on being useful. She taught the children that
everyone can be useful—that usefulness is serving God, and that doing so is
worthy of honor. The kids quietly soaked up my wife's words, and as the lesson
ended, there was a short moment of silence. [A little girl named] Sarah spoke
up. "Teacher, what can I do? I don't know how do to many useful
things."
Not anticipating
that kind of response, my wife quickly looked around and spotted an empty
flower vase on the windowsill. "Sarah, you can bring in a flower and put
it in the vase. That would be a useful thing."
Sarah frowned.
"But that's not important."
"It
is," replied my wife, "if you are helping someone."
Sure enough, the
next Sunday Sarah brought in a dandelion and placed it in the vase. In fact,
she continued to do so each week. Without reminders or help, she made sure the
vase was filled with a bright yellow flower, Sunday after Sunday. When my wife
told our pastor about Sarah's faithfulness, he placed the vase upstairs in the
main sanctuary next to the pulpit. That Sunday he gave a sermon on the honor of
serving others, using Sarah's vase as an example. The congregation was touched
by the message, and the week started on a good note... [S.N.: More of this story later].
Jesus
Himself came as a Servant. What a contrast between this scene in Mark’s Gospel and
the previous account of the death of John the Baptist. Both scenes involved
banquets. Both involved “kings.” Herod’s party and almost every aspect of the
story revealed the depravity of the human heart. Jesus’ ministry to his disciples, and to the
multitude, reveals the fruit of the Spirit and the grace of God. Jesus offers
life to those who will receive it. Herod brings death to a servant of God.
Remember that Jesus knows how this story will unfold, He came to lay down His
life for His sheep. He is preparing His disciples to continue the mission, in
His name, after His departure. At the
heart of this passage, Jesus turns to his doubting disciples and says, “You give them something to eat!” The
disciples have just returned from an itinerate ministry of preaching, healing,
and casting out demons. They still did not grasp what Jesus could do through
them if they would only trust Him. Our brother Herb M. used to say, “He saved
us on purpose, for a purpose.” The disciples didn’t understand that Jesus came
to give His life as a ransom for many. We are called to follow Him.
The Maine* Idea: Jesus alone can meet our
deepest need. He calls us to trust Him, and to follow His example, serving
others with compassion. That will be our focus in this study as we
consider: 1) Jesus’ concern for His disciples; 2) His compassion
on the multitude; and 3) His conviction of the doubtful:
provoking faith in some, revealing unbelief in others.
I. Jesus shows his concern for the
disciples. He knew them and was concerned for them, and He
knows us and is concerned for us. He cares for his sheep (30-32).
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that
they had done and taught. 31
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. 32 And they went away in
the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
Last installment
in this series we ended with verse 30, “The
apostles returned to Jesus and told Him all that they had done and taught.”
They were “apostles,” sent with
authority as the representatives of Jesus. The cultural idea was akin to our
word “ambassador,” someone who is authorized to speak on behalf of another.
Jesus would later say to his disciples, “He
who receives you receives Me” (Matt 10:40). That is part of what Jesus
is doing, preparing these men to go out in His name and continue the mission
after His departure. Their “short term mission trip” in the previous
context was a part of that training. The miracles that He continued to do
during this next phase of his ministry, as well as His teaching, both public
and private, would reveal the Truth, and would also continue their spiritual formation.
But after the exciting and no doubt exhausting mission, the Lord is concerned
that they needed some time for rest and reflection (31,32).
There is always more to do, but we can
learn from the example and the teaching of Jesus that we all need times of
rest, times when we can get away from our daily routine and reflect on what God
is doing. We enjoyed our week away, visiting family. Helping with the grandkids
can be tiring, but it’s also refreshing. We take a day off on Friday most
weeks, and usually are out doing our shopping for the week and other out of
town errands. It is a change of pace that might sound tiring, but is actually
refreshing. Jesus would at times
withdraw, and go up on the mountain to pray. He sees the need for the disciples
to do the same.
Do you have any margin in your
schedule? Jesus made time to retreat from the activity and pressures of the
daily ministry, spending time alone with Father. If we think we have more going
on than Jesus did, or that we are more indispensable because of the demands of modern
life, we’ve got a problem! Jesus told the disciples to “…come away by yourselves… and rest awhile…” He did it Himself and he
taught it. It’s God’s design that we include rest, and even solitude, in our
lives. Jesus knew the disciples, and he
was concerned for them. And He knows us and cares about us. Jesus alone can meet our deepest need. He calls us to
trust Him, and to follow His example, serving others with compassion.
II. Jesus demonstrates His Compassion
on the multitude. They were like sheep without a
Shepherd (33-34; cf. Ps 23; Ps 80).
33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they
ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 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.
The people seemed “hungry” for more of
Jesus (33). The crowds of people were
desperate to be with Jesus! There was something about Him, and they wanted to
hear and see more. Their need touches the Master. The background of the
shepherd/sheep imagery is pervasive in the Old Testament (Al’s message on Psalm
23!). One passage the comes to mind is
from the prophet Ezekiel,
2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of
Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord
GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not
shepherds feed the sheep? 3
You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat
ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4
The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured
you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have
not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because
there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. 6 My sheep were scattered; they
wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered
over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them... (Ezekiel
34:2-6).
Through Ezekiel the Lord was rebuking
the leaders of Israel for not “shepherding the sheep.” In contrast, Jesus,
the Shepherd of the sheep, is moved with compassion for the people (34a).
They were like sheep without a shepherd, and the Good Shepherd, the true
Shepherd of Israel, felt compassion for them.
Let’s pause here for a moment. Do
you see the heart of Jesus in his response to the multitude? Like lost sheep
they were wandering, scattered, “harassed
and helpless,” and He loved them and felt pity on them. Jesus modeled the
heart of a Shepherd, one who feeds, and leads, and protects the sheep. Their
need touched his heart. Do we feel the same way about the people around us,
the people in our sphere of influence?
Do we have compassion on the unsaved people
in our lives? Are they any less lost? Jesus is teaching his disciples, showing
them by example, that our mission is to go to the lost sheep around us and
point them to “green pastures,” to the “Bread of Life.” Notice what Jesus does
first of all…
“…He
began to teach them many things…” He
began to address their deepest need… spiritual food… He began to teach
them! We don’t have the details of His teaching in this context, but we can glean
some insights from other Gospels since this miracle is reported in all four of
the gospel accounts. Mark has emphasized the call to repentance and to the
coming Kingdom. It may be that some
reflected on God’s provision for the nation in the wilderness, and the promise
that the Messiah would bring bread from heaven (see John 6). That fits with
what we see in John’s account when some of the people, in response to the
miracle, want to make Him king by force. Mark tells us that before “lunch,” He
fed the people spiritually, “teaching
them many things.” I think this is a good reminder that it is good and
necessary to meet the physical and material needs of people if we are able.
Things like the food pantry and Car Care,
and community lunches and the like are important. But Jesus first
“taught them,” He shared the Word of Life with needy souls. We need to be
sensitive to the material needs of our neighbors and our community. But let’s
not forget there is a deeper need. Man
does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of
God. Jesus alone can meet our deepest need. He calls us to trust Him, and to
follow His example, serving others with compassion.
III. Jesus revealed His messianic
identity through the feeding. His
act of power brings Conviction to the doubtful: provoking faith in some,
revealing unbelief in others (35-43).
The disciples needed to better
understand His power. They were learning,
but they had a way to go. It almost seems sarcastic for the disciples to bring
such a meager lunch to Jesus in the face of such a need. 5000 men, plus women
and children! Let’s be conservative and assume some of the men were there
alone, and estimate at least 10,000 mouths to feed. But little
is much when God is in it! The
disciples were perhaps tired. Where was the “rest” Jesus had promised? What
happened to their retreat? They describe a problem created by the crowd…
35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and
said, "This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the
surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to
eat."
The crowds needed to eat physical
food as well as spiritual. Miraculous feeding is something that was known
in the past in Israel. The provision of manna in the wilderness spoke of God
sustaining His people (Exod 16; Num 11). During the time of the prophet Elisha the
Lord had miraculously multiplied bread…
42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God
bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in
his sack. And Elisha said, "Give to the men, that they may eat." 43 But his servant said, "How
can I set this before a hundred men?" So he repeated, "Give them to
the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have
some left.'" 44 So he
set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of
the LORD… (2 Kings 4:42-44).
A hundred men fed with 20 loaves was
miraculous. And they had some left! But how far could 5 loaves go among 5, 10,
or 20 thousand people? Little is much when God is in it! Those with
“eyes to see” would get a glimpse of the Kingdom.
41 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. 42 And they all ate and were
satisfied. 43 And they took
up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves
were five thousand men.
One of the blessings that Jesus would
have spoken as He prayed said, “Blessed
are you, Adonai our God, King of the world, who causes to come forth bread from
the earth…” (Alfred Edersheim, Messiah,
684). Notice that Jesus prays and then gives the loaves and fish to the
disciples who distributed it to the multitude. Not only were they all
satisfied, but each of the disciples picked up a full basket of leftovers! How
many of the people realized that a miracle was happening? Certainly the
disciples did, but many in the crowd probably didn’t know, only that they were
getting a free lunch! Elisha fed a hundred men with 20 little loaves, a
miracle. But now one greater than Elisha or Elijah was on the scene!
Do you see how Jesus was not only feeding the
crowd, but He was deepening the faith of the disciples, revealing himself to
them, fleshing out the answer to the question, “Who is this Jesus?” By the way, some will say that this wasn’t
really a miracle of multiplication, but that the crowd was moved by the
generosity of a boy giving up his lunch, and that the people began to spontaneously
share what they had with one another. Like a big pot-luck luncheon. That is
clearly not what the gospels say (and all four include this miracle
story). The God who made the universe out of nothing, who preserved a nation in
the wilderness for 40 years, can multiply a little lunch to feed a stadium
sized crowd of people!
What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus
alone can meet our deepest need. He calls us to trust Him, and to follow His
example, serving others with compassion.
What would God have me to do in
response to this passage? The little girl who put the
dandelion in the vase each week was honored to serve… There is a twist to that
story. Dr. Cerqueira goes on…
During that same
week I got a call from Sarah's mother. She worried that Sarah seemed to have
less energy than usual and that she didn't have an appetite. Offering her some
reassurances, I made room in my schedule to see Sarah the following day. After
Sarah had a battery of tests and days of examinations, I sat numbly in my
office, Sarah's paperwork on my lap. The results were tragic. [She had
leukemia.]
On the way home,
I stopped to see Sarah's parents so that I could personally give them the sad
news. Sarah's genetics and the leukemia that was attacking her small body were
a horrible mix. Sitting at their kitchen table, I did my best to explain to
Sarah's parents that nothing could be done to save her life. I don't think I
have ever had a more difficult conversation than the one that night. …
Time pressed on.
Sarah became confined to bed and to the visits that many people gave her. She
lost her smile. She lost most of her weight. And then it came: another
telephone call. Sarah's mother asked me to come see her. I dropped everything
and ran to the house. There she was, a small bundle that barely moved. After a
short examination, I knew that Sarah would soon be leaving this world. I urged
her parents to spend as much time as possible with her.
That was a Friday
afternoon. On Sunday morning church started as usual. The singing, the
sermon—it all seemed meaningless when I thought of Sarah. I felt enveloped in
sadness. At the end of the sermon, the pastor suddenly stopped speaking. His
eyes wide, he stared at the back of the church with utter amazement. Everyone
turned to see what he was looking at. It was Sarah! Her parents had brought her
for one last visit. She was bundled in a blanket, a dandelion in one little
hand.
She didn't sit in
the back row. Instead she slowly walked to the front of the church where her
vase still perched by the pulpit. She put her flower in the vase and a piece of
paper beside it. Then she returned to her parents. Seeing little Sarah place
her flower in the vase for the last time moved everyone. At the end of the
service, people gathered around Sarah and her parents, trying to offer as much
love and support as possible. I could hardly bear to watch. Four days later,
Sarah died…
I wasn't
expecting it, but our pastor asked to see me after the funeral. We stood at the
cemetery near our cars as people walked past us. In a low voice he said,
"Dave, I've got something you ought to see." He pulled out of his
pocket the piece of paper that Sarah had left by the vase. Holding it out to
me, he said, "You'd better keep this; it may help you in your line of
work."
I opened the
folded paper to read, in pink crayon, what Sarah had written: “Dear God, This vase has been the biggest
honor of my life—Sarah”
Life is an
opportunity to serve God by serving people. And, as Sarah put it, that is the
biggest honor of all. Remember the Lord’s words to Peter: “Peter, do you love me? ...Feed my sheep.” Ask the Lord to give you His
heart for the people around you. Show compassion… and care enough to tell them
what great things the Lord has done for you. After all, only He can meet our deepest
need. Amen.
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