MARK 6:30-34
WEARY WAYFARERS WELCOMED
I. RESPECTFUL: Mark 6:30-32
A. Receiving.
B. Remonstrated.
C. Retreating? Mark 6:32
II. RABBLE: Mark 6:33
A. Recognized.
B. Responded.
C. Rendezvoused.
III. REDEEMER: Mark 6:34
A. Received.
B. Remorseful.
C. Recited.
Good news from afar-that is the way Mark opens this part of his gospel story regarding Jesus, His disciples and the many who came to seek Him.
They, the disciples, had been away on a preaching tour and they come back to Jesus with their good news about what they had seen and did. While telling Him of their good news, there were other events unfolding as the disciples were busy trying to handle the many needs of the people who constantly flocked around the Master and His followers, even as they were telling Him of their success. In their excitement, Jesus saw something which had escaped the disciples-the wear and the tear that their work was bringing upon them. He saw the signs of exhaustion, of physical overexertion and of the consequences that these things would have upon His beloved if they did not stop and rest a bit.
Regardless of the many demands of the people that still were not met, He told His men that they needed some good R and R and commanded them to do as He ordered. It was in their best interest to follow what He was trying to tell them and so they complied with His instructions.
As I study the passage before us, I see three things about this Scripture that intrigues me. The first thing I note is how RESPECTFUL Jesus was to those whom He loved so dearly. The next thing of note is that the RABBLE did not know that they were part of the reason for the group’s departure, and decided to follow the Master and the disciples when ever they could. Lastly, I note that the Lord, although still tired, rose to the occasion as the REDEEMER of the world and put aside His wishes and began to help the multitude again. Surely, there was no rest for the weary in this passage of Scripture.
* THE RESPECTFUL: Jesus was always the Gentleman of the Bible. He always took others’ welfare into consideration and always wished the best for those whom He met-even His enemies. These verses of Scriptures give us further insight into how Respectful He was to those with whom He worked.
The first thing I note is that He Received the good news from His followers in a joyous manner. He listened intently as they told Him of the exploits that they had done. They must have reminded Him of little children who run home to tell dad about something that they encountered which made their day and dad listens with great interest in their telling him of the simplest joys that they just received.
Next, I noticed that He soon Remonstrated with His followers by stopping their excessiveness and commanded that they should cease and desist their work immediately and go away for some rest. This was the farthest thing from their mind at that time-to stop what they were doing and go away for some quiet time. They were having the time of their lives and were so into their charges and to stop all and go away was not on the agenda. They must have wondered if Jesus had really been listening to them after all. Yet, without questioning Him, they complied and got into a boat and began to sail away. I wonder how much of a chatter they continued even on the water?
The third item of this Respectful Man’s habits was His concern for His disciples’ safety. He had just heard how Herod had beheaded John and He knew His time had not come. Why put the disciples at risk now by Him being captured and maybe them also? In order to avoid the chance of ruining everything now, He Retreated across the waters to safety-for Himself and His followers.
** THE RABBLE: The scene now shifts from the Respected one to the Rabble. They were with Him and His disciples and were enjoying the company of these thirteen dedicated men. Suddenly, these miracle workers, these kind men, these hard working men were leaving without any explanation. In Mark 4:36, Jesus and the disciples sent the people away, while a few of the many got into boats and sailed with the Master and His devotees, but here, the Master and His followers simply got into boats and left by themselves.
However, the Rabble, the crowd, was not going to give up so easily. They really wanted to be with Jesus and His disciples and they were determined to find them.
Mark says that they saw them-the disciples and Jesus-they saw them leave. In the midst of so much going on, with this one coming and that one going and another asking and another repeating, while others were bringing friends and neighbors to these kind men, suddenly, the thirteen began to shut things down and made their way to a nearby, moored boat. The Rabble stood and looked with amazement as Jesus and His disciples pushed away from the shore. Still standing and still watching, the Rabble saw which way the boat was heading and the people knew the area well enough to discern which way that that particular boat load of passengers were going to land. Their Recognition of Jesus and the disciples in that one boat must have been phenomenal. There were many boats on the lake like always, yet this mob of people zeroed in on one boat and they Recognized Him from the shore. They were not going to be easily dissuaded and once they determined where His landing area was going to be, they responded accordingly.
They did what everyone else would have done-they ran after the Master and the Disciples. The Response of these people along the shore watching the boat moving across the water was to run as fast as they could, to tell others that Jesus was headed for a certain spot and to make haste to get to Him as fast as they could. Mark says that people came out of the towns and flocked to see Jesus. Evidently there was some time for Jesus and the disciples to rest before the people began to filter out of the towns and join these others who were running and walking their fastest to see Him once more. It must have been a sight to see as the Rabble recognized Him from the shore, making sure that it was truly Him in a boat that looked like so many others, then wheeling and running as fast as they could spreading the news in the nearby villages and to those along the shore that, “Jesus is sailing and He will be at a specific landing.”
Mark does not tell us how long Jesus had to rest but soon the Rabble had a Rendezvous with Jesus. He left them once, stranded along the shore, but they were not going to let Him get away this time. Not only did they meet up with Him, but they spread the news and others joined them. Now, the situation was more complicated than before. I wonder what the disciples must have thought when they looked out of the boat after a brief R and R and saw the crowd forming, only this time there were more people than they had just left!
*** THE REDEEMER: Oh, how these next few verses show the compassion of Jesus. It can be fairly assumed that all of the thirteen did not gain near the rest that they needed-especially Jesus. He, in His humanity, needed rest and solace as we all do, and a very brief time of resting was not long enough for Him to fully recuperate His much needed strength and stamina. Yet, I notice what He did.
What did He see when He stepped out of the boat that day? He saw haunted who were hungry, homeless, and haunted; He saw the tired, the thirsty, the tested; He saw the lost, the lonely, the languished; He saw the dying, the desirous of some kind words of welcome and wisdom; and, He saw the crippled, the cowed, the crutches. He knew there were among the lot that day those that were deformed, depressed, despised, and the dejected. In that motley crowd that gathered around Him that day, there were some who were possessed by demons, some who were griped with despondency, and suffered under despotism. These demoralized dwellers of dark denizens were desperate to see a kind face, feel a gentle touch, see a warm smile, hear words of comfort, compassion, and compliments and Jesus was the man who could do all of that for them.
Mark says that He Received them willingly. “When He stepped out” of the boat, He never berated them, castigated them or scolded them-He Received them. He never told them to go away and to leave Him and His men: instead, He received them. He was tired, and no doubt longing for another day of rest. Maybe He was wanting another two or three hours of rest and solitude, but seeing the people and a great many of them, He put himself and His needs aside and “stepped out” to greet them: what a Man!
Next, I notice that He became Remorseful when He saw them. Mark does not tell us this at the first part of this story-he tells us that Jesus simply leaves the people and sails away. But now, the crowd has increased and He views them not as a mob of people but as sheep without a Shepard. What a commentary on the religious leaders of His day. These people were hungry-true they were hungry for bread-but He knew they were hungry for spiritual teachings. They were not following Him now for bread-they wanted to hear Him teach them about God, about Heaven, about how to get there and they were desperate for the truth. They were surely, sheep without a shepherd.
Lastly, I see that the Great Communicator began teaching them and they listened. Mark says that as Jesus began Reciting His teachings, He taught them “many things.” It would be interesting to know what many things He taught them. Yet the words, “many things” imply great teachings and many truths. These people who came from afar and from the near by villages listened to Him teach and they could echo the soldiers who later said, “No man spoke like He did.” We do not know when the people began to meet at the shore and caused Him to “step out” and great them, but we know it was getting dark when He begin to wind down His teachings for that day. Yet, they stayed and stayed. They were absolutely enthralled by what He had to say. They could not move away from Him, They dare not leave Him lest they would miss some gem of truth, of hope, of assurance, of solace to their troubled hearts and minds; so, they stayed and stayed. Oh that people would do that today when they hear Jesus speak as He speaks through His Word, His Church, the lives of His saints. Oh that we who claim to be followers of Him could speak so eloquently to a lost and dying world that our words would arrest the attention of the needy and they would stay, listen and learn.
Although we were not there to hear Him speak that day, someday, we will get to sit at His feet and listen to Him speak through out eternity and we will stay all day feasting on what He has to say to us over there. We will have our Rendezvous with Him and we will not be in a hurry to leave; we will truly be home at last, and He can and will have “many things” to tell us then. He will not leave out anything of that which will be for our betterment.
