2 Samuel 7:1-14, Psalm 89:20-37, Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 23:1-6, Ephesians 2:11-22, Mark 6:30-34, Mark 6:53-56.
(A) HIS PLANS NOT OUR PLANS.
2 Samuel 7:1-14.
There are three main thrusts in our reading in 2 Samuel today:
1. There is a subtle difference between a good idea and God’s will (2 Samuel 7:1-4);
2. God’s presence cannot be contained in a building (2 Samuel 7:5-7);
3. The everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:8-16).
1. God’s purposes will never fail, but amongst men an idea is often marred by mixed motives. For example, Israel’s reason for wanting a king was that they “might be like the nations” around them (1 Samuel 8:19-20) - not a good motive for the people of God! They might have argued that things had not gone well without a king (Judges 21:25), but their sundials were not synchronised with God’s plan: Saul was admired for his stature, but God was preparing David, a “man after His own heart” (Acts 13:21-22).
King David may also have had mixed motives in moving the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6). There is no word of David consulting the LORD about this idea, and the disorderly way in which the plan was first attempted cost a man his life. The second attempt was conducted according to the pattern laid down by the LORD, and was therefore successful - and the king danced before the LORD.
Then the king had another idea, to which Nathan the prophet also initially agreed: let us build a Temple (2 Samuel 7:2). Sometimes a specific person is not the one to set forward a particular purpose, which is nevertheless of the LORD. It is also evident that Christian mentors sometimes agree too readily to the hasty misplaced zeal of those whom they are supposed to be advising.
2. It was the LORD Himself who vetoed the plan for David to build a Temple. The idea seemed good, but the timing was wrong (2 Samuel 7:5). This is sometimes the reason for our allegedly “unanswered” prayers!
First, David needed to learn that the LORD cannot be contained in a building (2 Samuel 7:6-7). Since the Exodus, the LORD had been content to dwell in tabernacles, but He “walked” (the word is the same as that in Genesis 3:8) whenever and wherever He willed. This was a fact acknowledged in Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 8:27).
Secondly, it was not David’s task to build the Temple, but his son’s (2 Samuel 7:12-13). The subsequent history shows that this referred in the first instance to Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:6-10). There is, however, another strand to the interpretation of this prophecy - where the supreme fulfilment is discovered in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ who told Peter, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18).
The presence of the LORD was not to be confined to a Temple, however fine or grand. Neither are the people of God to be defined by churches and buildings in our own day. The true Church is found residing with the people of God, washed in the blood of Jesus - whoever, and wherever, they are.
3. The LORD had taken David from the sheepfolds, and established the kingdom under his hands. The LORD was the giver, and David the recipient (2 Samuel 7:8-9). It was in the LORD’s gift to settle the people in the land, and give them rest from their enemies (2 Samuel 7:10-11) - rather than in David’s gift to make a permanent home for the LORD (2 Samuel 7:1).
David had wanted to build a house for the LORD, but the LORD intended rather to build the “house” - that is, the dynasty - of David. The singular “seed” (2 Samuel 7:12) refers to the promised seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), and the seed of Abraham, “which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).
The kingdom would be established forever under the hands of David’s son (2 Samuel 7:12-16) - ultimately, Jesus (Luke 1:33). The first part of 2 Samuel 7:14 is quoted in Hebrews 1:5, where it is applied to Jesus. The qualifications at the end of the verse evidently belong to the kings of the line of David, from Solomon to the carrying away into Babylon.
Solomon would build the LORD’s house, and the LORD would build the “house” (dynasty) of David. Even during the dark years of the Exile, when there was once more no apparent “King” in Israel, the dispersed Jews held on to the hope of One who would come to re-establish David’s kingdom. Then one day the LORD returned, and taking up a new tabernacle walked right back into the lives of His people (John 1:14).
(B) ANOINTED FOR AN EVERLASTING THRONE.
Psalm 89:20-37.
(I) The LORD's Anointed.
Psalm 89:20-26.
Psalm 89:20. “David my servant” becomes the LORD’s anointed. David is a type of our Lord. Jesus is also “anointed” (as the title ‘Christ’ indicates), and Jesus is the Servant of the LORD par excellence (cf. Mark 10:45).
Psalm 89:21. It is only by God’s “hand” + “arm” (= strength) that David is a victor. There is a little refrain, ‘and the LORD preserved David wherever he went’ (cf. 2 Samuel 8:6b and 2 Samuel 8:14b). Jesus became a victor by submitting His will to the LORD, ‘and there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him’ (cf. Luke 22:42-43).
Psalm 89:22. Because of the LORD, enemies would be unable to stand before David (cf. 2 Samuel 7:9-10). The “wicked” would no longer be able to afflict him, or his people. Jesus has overcome even the ‘last enemy’, which is death (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:26), on behalf of His people.
Psalm 89:23. Mr C. H. Spurgeon suggests, ‘God Himself thus fights the battles of His Son, and effectually overturns His foes’ (Treasury of David).
Psalm 89:24a. “My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.” This connects back to the covenant language of Psalm 89:1-2. The faithfulness of the LORD undergirds all of his dealings with His people.
Psalm 89:24b. David is ‘exalted.’ Jesus is ‘exalted’ above all (cf. Philippians 2:9-11).
Psalm 89:25. The picture here is of the sway that David would have in an Empire which should stretch from the Mediterranean “sea” to the Euphrates “river.” This is a type of Christ’s dominion ‘from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth’ (cf. Psalm 72:8).
Psalm 89:26. David “shall” cry to the LORD, “my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.” Jesus would address the LORD as His “Father” often in prayer. David never did, nor anyone in the Old Testament: but we can (cf. Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6-7).
Jesus addressed the LORD as “my God” when on the Cross (cf. Mark 15:34).
Jesus is THE Son of God (Mark 1:11; Mark 9:7), and we are sons in Him (cf. Galatians 3:26). HE is “the rock of our salvation,” and David’s too (cf. 2 Samuel 22:47). ‘Neither is there salvation found in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ (cf. Acts 4:12).
(II) An Everlasting Throne.
Psalm 89:27-37.
There is a tension in this Psalm, between the LORD’s promise of an everlasting dynasty for the line of David (Psalm 89:3-4; Psalm 89:28), and the complaint of the Psalmist (Psalm 89:38). However, the LORD’s “Nevertheless” (Psalm 89:33) trumps the complainant’s “But” (Psalm 89:38). The chastening of the LORD is given little mention (Psalm 89:30-32) when compared with the number of times, and ways, in which the LORD reasserts the permanency of the promise.
Psalm 89:27. “I will make him (my) firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.” Thus was David, the youngest son of Jesse, exalted to an unexpected place and privilege. It anticipates Jesus: Mary’s firstborn son (Matthew 1:25); ‘the firstborn from the dead’ (Revelation 1:5); ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’ (Revelation 19:16).
Psalm 89:28a. My mercy - “FOR EVERMORE.” Think of the number of times when the line of David was almost completely exterminated (e.g. 2 Kings 11:1-2). Yet it was not to be, and even through the exile the royal line survived (cf. Matthew 1:16-17).
Psalm 89:28b. “My covenant shall STAND FAST with him.” With David, yes - but ultimately with Jesus, whose blood seals for us the new covenant (Matthew 26:28). Covenant mercy flows to us from Jesus, the anointed One.
Psalm 89:29. His seed - “FOR EVER”; his throne “AS THE DAYS OF HEAVEN.” Jesus is the seed of David, ruling in heaven Psalm 110:1). And we who are ‘in Christ’ (Ephesians 1:4) rule with Him (Ephesians 2:6).
So what are we to make of Psalm 89:30-32? It is straightforward enough: royal privilege also carries with it a responsibility towards the LORD, and IF David’s sons fail in this, they will be disciplined (cf. Hebrews 12:6). Again and again this happened, and at last resulted in the Exile.
Psalm 89:33. What a relief, then, to hear the LORD’s “NEVERTHELESS my loving kindness (my hesed) will I NOT UTTERLY take from him, NOR SUFFER my faithfulness to fail.” The LORD reaffirms His own “faithfulness” (cf. Psalm 89:24) towards David in not annihilating his seed.
Psalm 89:34. So, despite their having broken His covenant, the LORD will not repay in kind: “MY COVENANT WILL I NOT BREAK, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” (cf. Numbers 23:19).
Psalm 89:35. “Once I have sworn by my holiness that I WILL NOT LIE TO DAVID.” We read elsewhere that when God makes a promise, because He can swear by no greater, He swears by Himself (Hebrews 6:13). Because He does this, we must surely know that there is no doubt about the matter.
Psalm 89:36-37. “His seed shall endure FOR EVER, and his throne AS THE SUN BEFORE ME. It shall be established AS THE MOON, and (as) A FAITHFUL WITNESS IN HEAVEN.” David’s line continues in Jesus, and in Jesus’ people (Isaiah 8:18; 2 Timothy 2:12).
As for the tension, it is resolved when we consider Jesus, the singular Seed who was yet to come: the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15); the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16); and the seed of David (Romans 1:3).
(C) A SHEPHERD ORACLE.
Jeremiah 23:1-6.
Peter writes to the elders of the church, ‘Shepherd the flock of God, exercising oversight… not as exercising lordship over them, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd has been manifested, you shall receive the unfading crown of glory’ (1 Peter 5:2-4). These were instructions which Peter had also received from the Lord Jesus: ‘Feed my lambs… shepherd my sheep… feed my sheep’ (John 21:15-17).
Jeremiah, in the passage before us, writes of shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep. “This is the word of the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:1).
They are shepherds who are not truly shepherding the people (cf. Psalm 23:5), pastors who are not leading them to pasture (cf. Psalm 23:2), gatherers who have driven them away and scattered them. Tragically, Jeremiah is writing of the Davidic kings of Judah, and has an ironic message from the LORD for them: because you have not dealt right with my flock, I will deal against you the evil of your doings. “This is the word of the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:2).
So what will God do with us when we lack leadership in our churches, and have in our midst those who would seek to devour us (John 10:10) and lead us astray (Matthew 24:24)? If we are truly His, He will discipline us (Hebrews 12:6), but He will not cast off forever (Lamentations 3:31-32). When we are as ‘sheep without a shepherd’ (Matthew 9:36), He will accept responsibility for the driving out (cf. Jeremiah 27:6), and will personally take care to gather again His people and bring them back to the fold (Jeremiah 23:3).
We are familiar with this idea from Psalm 23:3 – the LORD ‘restores’ us – or ‘brings us back’ – a concept which those who have been backslidden will well understand. The lost sheep is restored to the flock (Luke 15:4-6). The lost flock is restored to the land (cf. Jeremiah 23:7-8).
Furthermore, the LORD sets up shepherds who will do their job right: who will feed the flock. The sheep shall not fear any more (cf. Psalm 23:4), neither shall they be dismayed. Not only will they lack nothing (cf. Psalm 23:1), but none of their number will be lacking (cf. Romans 11:25-26). “This is the word of the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:4).
“Behold… the word of the LORD,” (Jeremiah 23:5). Now the prophet uses the image of a righteous Branch growing out of a felled tree – which so wonderfully typifies God’s dealings with His people. Just when the tree of David seems to be left without hope, without offspring, this Branch emerges to establish justice and righteousness in the world (cf. Psalm 72:1-2). At a time when it seemed that the kingdom of Judah was being cut to its very roots, there could be no greater reassurance (cf. Isaiah 11:1).
The last king of Judah was Zedekiah, whose name means ‘my righteousness is the LORD’ – which is somewhat ironic since it is on record that he did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet ‘who spoke the word of the LORD’ (2 Chronicles 36:11-12).
In a deliberate play on words, the name of the rightful king in Jeremiah’s prophecy – the one who brings salvation, and a safe dwelling place for His people (cf. Psalm 23:6) - is ‘the LORD our righteousness’ (Jeremiah 23:6). This King is Jesus, and He becomes our righteousness - making us righteous - when we put our trust in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
(D) THE SHEPHERD PSALM.
Psalm 23:1-6.
(I) The Lord is My Shepherd.
Psalm 23:1-3.
When King David was a boy, he used to look after his father’s sheep - so he knew what he was talking about when he spoke of the LORD as his shepherd. As we all know, a “shepherd” looks after sheep. David led the sheep, but the LORD led David.
Yet one day the LORD called David away from that life of looking after sheep, and after many adventures David became king of Israel (Psalm 78:70-71). Instead of leading sheep, he was to lead God’s people. Now, more than ever, King David needed to follow the leading of the LORD God.
King David could look back on his life as a shepherd boy, and remember the times when God had helped him. One time a lion tried to steal a lamb. Another time a bear tried to steal a lamb. Both times the LORD helped King David rescue the lamb (1 Samuel 17:34-35).
Psalm 23:1. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not lack anything.”
Another Psalm tells us that there is ‘no good thing that the LORD will withhold’ from the people who walk in His righteous way (Psalm 84:11).
Jesus said that when we seek God’s kingdom, and His righteousness, He will provide for us all that we need (Matthew 6:33).
Psalm 23:2. “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” For a sheep, this means delicious green grass.
“He leads me beside still waters” – rather than scary noisy fast-running water in which the sheep might drown.
Sheep sometimes do silly things. I can remember seeing a sheep that had wandered onto the shore because it saw a nice piece of grass in the shallow water. When the tide started to come in, that silly sheep nearly got drowned.
God does not give us permission to go into silly places.
Psalm 23:3. “He restores my soul.” The shepherd rescues the sheep from dangerous and forbidden places. The LORD restores the life of His people.
“He leads me in the paths of righteousness” – the shepherd knows where the right paths are, and leads the sheep there. The LORD has given us His Word, the Bible, to guide us and to teach us in His ways.
“For His name’s sake.” The shepherd looks after his sheep properly so that people do not think that the shepherd is silly. When we disobey God, we dishonour His name.
Jesus is the good shepherd, who gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11). The shepherd calls His own sheep by name, and He leads them out. Those who hear the voice of Jesus will follow Him, and He leads us beside the still waters, and into the paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:2-3).
Jesus is the Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 80:1): but His flock (His people) includes those out of every nation, throughout all of time, who follow Him.
(II) A Sheep's Response to the Good Shepherd.
Psalm 23:4-6.
‘All we like sheep have gone astray’ (Isaiah 53:6). Yet when we know Jesus as our Good Shepherd (John 10:14), we have full bragging rights (Psalm 23:1-3). One of the distinguishing marks of the Good Shepherd is His compassion towards an otherwise leaderless people (Mark 6:34).
Having told the other sheep about the Good Shepherd, the sheep now addresses Him in person. “You” are with me; “your” rod, and “your” staff comfort me (Psalm 23:4). “You” prepare a table before me; “you” anoint my head with oil (Psalm 23:5).
Finally, just in case the sheep still has fears in the dark valley (Psalm 23:4), the Psalm ends with the reassurance of a personal reflection (Psalm 23:6). The Lord is our Shepherd (Psalm 23:1), we might say, and His compassions they fail not (Lamentations 3:22-24). ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us’ (1 Samuel 7:12).
In the valley, death is only a shadow (Psalm 23:4). Since I am walking in the paths in which the Good Shepherd is leading me (Psalm 23:2-3), I need not yield to fear, for He is with me; His rod, and His staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4). Countless times in the Bible we hear the LORD, His angel, and Jesus saying, ‘Fear not’ (e.g. Isaiah 41:10; Luke 2:10; John 16:33).
The “comfort” of the rod and staff is that they ward off enemies, but also keep me on the right path (Psalm 23:4). We have the ‘comfort’ of the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). This includes both direction and discipline.
The “table” is a place of feasting (Psalm 23:5). For the sheep, this is a plateau, previously prepared by the good shepherd. Cleared of noxious weeds, it is lush with the best grass.
There are both literal and spiritual applications of this concept for the believer. Just as the LORD provided manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16:31), so He provides our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). Yet in the Bible He also feeds us with His words, and they are a delight to us (Psalm 119:103); ‘the words that I speak,’ says Jesus, ‘they are spirit, and they are life’ (John 6:63).
Enemies (spiritual predators) can only look on when I am in the care of the Good Shepherd (Psalm 23:5). Our adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, is pacing up and down, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Yet he can come no nearer than the Lord allows (Job 1:12; Job 2:6).
“Anointing” (Psalm 23:5) is salve for healing, and the application of oil to deter parasites. It is also grease for the rams’ horns, to stop them from battering each other to death! The Lord tends to our spiritual injuries, and daily applies the ministry of the Holy Ghost to our individual situations.
The “overflowing cup” (Psalm 23:5) speaks of the kind of medicine that the shepherd might administer to the sheep in times of chill. It is a metaphor for the abundance that the sheep finds when it rests under the good shepherd’s care. The concept of blessings ‘running over’ appears also in the New Testament, as a response to our obedience to Jesus (Luke 6:38).
The cup of Christ’s suffering, which he drank to the full (Mark 10:38; Mark 14:36), fills our cup with an abundant overflowing of spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3). Whatever we are suffering, He has been there already: rest in Him!
In the final verse, the sheep reassures itself that the mercy and love of the good shepherd have ‘got my back.’ David is saying, on our behalf, “my dwelling will always be with Him” (Psalm 23:6). This is a response of faith to all that has occurred so far, a response of confidence in the present, and a response of assured hope concerning all that is yet to come.
(E) FROM ALIENATION TO RECONCILIATION.
Ephesians 2:11-22.
EPHESIANS 2:11. Paul addresses the Ephesian church as being “in times past Gentiles in the flesh.” and he points to the historic antagonism between Jews and non-Jews. On the one hand, Gentiles were scorned as “the Uncircumcision;” on the other, Jews were mocked as “the Circumcision.” And yet, says Paul, this “Circumcision” is (only) “in the flesh made by hands” – inferring that this God-given sign was meant to point to a much greater reality: the circumcision, as he says elsewhere, ‘of the heart, in the spirit’ (cf. Romans 2:28-29; Philippians 3:3; Colossians 2:11-13).
EPHESIANS 2:12. Paul reminds his readers of five disadvantages that they had had as Gentiles These stand in stark contrast to the longer list of privileges enjoyed by his Israelite kinsmen (cf. Romans 9:4-5). First, the Gentiles were previously “without” or “outside of” Christ. [Now, of course, the Ephesian Christians were ‘in’ Christ: ‘seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus’ (cf. Ephesians 2:6).] Second, they were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel” – the only theocracy in the world. Third, “strangers from the covenants of THE promise” (Greek) – God’s promise to Abraham. Fourth, “having no hope” – hopeless, because they (we) did not then even know of the One in whom we now put our hope. Fifth, “without God in the world” – literally “atheists,” in that they had no true knowledge of the true God: ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (cf. Ephesians 1:3).
EPHESIANS 2:13. The reconciliation between Jew and non-Jew can only occur “in Christ Jesus” and “by the blood of Christ.” It was by Him, and Him alone that the “far off” have been brought “nigh.” And at the cost of His sacrifice on behalf of us all (cf. Ephesians 1:7).
EPHESIANS 2:14. The word “He” sits emphatically at the beginning of this sentence. He has not only made peace, but He “is” our peace, who has “made both” (Jew and Gentile) one, and has “broken down the middle wall of partition.” The reference is to a wall in the Temple precinct, beyond which no Gentile dare enter, upon pain of death. Although the physical wall was still standing when Paul wrote this letter, yet the separation between Jew and Gentile was no longer valid. Now “both” Jewish and Gentile believers have access to God “by the blood of Christ” (cf. Ephesians 2:13).
EPHESIANS 2:15. Of course, Jesus came to ‘fulfil’ the law, not to ‘destroy’ it (cf. Matthew 5:17). However, when He died for our sins, its purpose as ‘a schoolmaster unto Christ’ (cf. Galatians 3:24) was fulfilled. “One new man” is a collective term for the church (cf. Ephesians 4:13). ‘We are (all) His workmanship, created (anew) in Christ Jesus’ (cf. Ephesians 2:10). Thus Jewish and Gentile believers are ‘all one in Christ Jesus’ (cf. Galatians 3:27-28).
EPHESIANS 2:16. As we are each reconciled to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, so we each find ourselves also reconciled to one another. On the cross Jesus slew both the enmity between God and man, and the enmity between Jew and Gentile.
EPHESIANS 2:17. Jesus accomplished peace at the cross (cf. Ephesians 2:14-15), so now He “preached peace” after the cross. Beginning in the upper room with His first post-resurrection, ‘Peace be unto you’ (cf. John 20:19-21), He commissioned His apostles to go forth with the same message of peace, and He is still proclaiming it through His preachers and messengers to this very day. This good news is for both those who were afar off (Gentiles), and those who were near (Jews).
EPHESIANS 2:18. Because we have been, once and forever, ‘reconciled’ - both to God and to one another as Jew and Gentile (cf. Ephesians 2:16) - so we both now “in one Spirit” have “access” to God as “Father.” It is a nice Trinitarian picture: Christians living and walking in the Spirit, serving God together, all one in Christ Jesus.
EPHESIANS 2:19. “Now therefore” introduces a shift from being ‘aliens and outsiders’ to being “fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” This implies a right to all the privileges of full citizenship, and of membership in God’s family. To us, the Father’s door is always open (cf. Ephesians 3:12).
EPHESIANS 2:20. And we, with the ‘saints’ of old (cf. Ephesians 2:19), are “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (the Bible), “Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner” (cf. Psalm 118:22-23; 1 Peter 2:4).
EPHESIANS 2:21. “In whom” we are built into a “a holy temple in the Lord” (cf. 1 Peter 2:5).
EPHESIANS 2:22. “In whom ye also” includes the Gentile believers, who are “built together” with the Jewish believers, “through the Spirit,” as a “habitation” fit for God to dwell in. In other words, believers are God’s temple upon the earth.
(F) COMPASSION:THE HEALING TOUCH.
Mark 6:30-34; Mark 6:53-56.
It was with some measure of excitement that the twelve apostles returned from their first outreach. They had fulfilled their commission, and were keen to report to Jesus on all that they had said and done (Mark 6:30). If ever there was a focus for the Christian life, and for ministry, it is this: that in the final analysis we are accountable to Jesus (Luke 12:37; Luke 12:47-48).
Jesus was more composed in His reaction. Sometimes we need someone to calm us down a little after intense activity, especially when that activity involves spiritual warfare. Jesus cares that His servants should not suffer from burnout, and would have us come apart from our labours for a while, and rest in Him (Mark 6:31). Everybody needs a Sabbath.
Before the apostles drew aside with Jesus, there was much coming and going, to the extent that they had no leisure, not even leisure to eat (Mark 6:31). Life crowds in, but how shall we feed the thousands if we are not fed ourselves? Others have been refreshed in the wilderness - Moses, David, Elijah, the children of Israel… - so it is with some purpose that Jesus would draw His servants into “a desert place apart” (Mark 6:31-32).
Even if our short-term intention is thwarted - if we do not on this occasion reach a desert place where we are truly “apart” with Jesus - yet at least we can take the journey with Him across the sea of life (Mark 6:32). Mrs Wesley may not have had much leisure for prayer, being the mother of a small clan, but she would bury her head in her pinafore and commune with the Lord, nonetheless. Bible study and prayer are the very heartbeat of true Christianity.
Yet we need not be so rigid in our routines and rituals that we have no time for others. The needy continued to crowd the Lord and His disciples and - faced with different priorities - Jesus changed the plan, and began to teach (Mark 6:33-34).
Jesus’ motivation for this change of plan was that He was “moved with compassion” towards the crowds (Mark 6:34). The verb speaks of Jesus being moved with pity - not just sentimental sympathy, but heartfelt empathy, whereby He enters into the sufferings of needy lost people. They were ‘like sheep without a shepherd’ - but He is the good shepherd, who was already beginning to give His life for the sheep (John 10:11).
In our second selected section, we see the little band again taking to the water, and again the crowds pressing ahead of them (Mark 6:53-54). There was no lack of motivation on the part of the crowds, although perhaps their reasons for pursuing Jesus fell short of the ideal (John 6:26). Yet there was a genuine care for one another as they carried their sick on beds and mats to where Jesus was (Mark 6:55).
We are reminded of the friends who lowered a paralysed man to Jesus’ feet by digging through the roof where He was (Mark 2:4). That man received more than he and his friends had expected. The paralysed man was ‘forgiven’ when Jesus saw THEIR faith (Mark 2:5) - and was physically healed as they had hoped (Mark 2:10-12).
The sick were laid out in the streets wherever Jesus might pass, in the hope of an efficacious healing touch from the Lord (Mark 6:56). We are also reminded of the healing of a woman who pressed through a crowd to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment (Mark 5:28). She too was made whole, both spiritually and physically (Mark 5:34).
It is never a fruitless exercise when we bring others to Christ.
