Following Jesus (7)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Scripture: Mark 6:30-44
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/12/2017
If you’ve been with us all this year, you know we began a sixteen-week journey that will take us from the banks of the Jordan River to an empty tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and points in between.
The Gospel of Mark has guided us on this journey, as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Even though Mark is the shortest of the Gospels, Mark actually records more events than any of the other Gospels—making it a very fast-paced, action-packed biography of Jesus and the ideal starting point for anyone wishing to get to know Jesus a little bit better.
When we think about Jesus, we usually picture Him arguing with the Pharisees at the temple, or on a preaching circuit in some dusty Judean town, or healing the sick and casting out demons, or performing some other serious task. He did all these things, and more. But He also did "fun stuff." He attended a wedding. He played with children. He visited the homes of friends. And on two separate occasions, He even threw an impromptu picnic for thousands of followers.
The first of those two picnics—often referred to as the feeding of the five thousand—is recorded in the second half of Mark 6. But it’s also recorded in Matthew 14, Luke 9, and John 6. Jesus worked hundreds of marvelous deeds during his life on earth. Many are not recorded except by a summary statement. Several are mentioned only once. Others are recorded twice. A few are described three times. Other than His resurrection, however, the feeding of the five thousand is the only one that is found in all four Gospels. For some reason the Holy Spirit thought it was especially important. So if you have a Bible, open it to Mark 6.
The story begins with Jesus and His disciples trying to escape the crowds for a little rest and relaxation and ends with Jesus and his disciples sharing a picnic lunch on a grassy field with more than 5,000 men and their families! Certainly, there are many lessons we can learn from the day Jesus prepared a picnic for five thousand people. I’d like to highlight four in particular. You may see others as well, but these four stand out to me. First, Jesus taught a lesson in compromise.
• COMPROMISE
A horde of more than five thousand people had been following Jesus for several days. He was so busy healing diseases and teaching God’s Word that He and His disciples didn’t even have a chance to eat. So, Jesus says, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31 NLT). Thus, He and his followers climbed into their fishing boat and set sail across the lake for a little peace and quiet. But Mark says, “But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them” (Mark 6:33 NLT).
Can you believe this!? I can only imagine the exasperation on the face of the Apostles as their tiny boat approached the shore. They were tired, hungry, trying to get away from the crowds and hoping for just a moment’s rest. Instead, when they arrived, they saw a massive crowd waiting. You might expect Jesus to get aggravated. This picnic was not a part of his itinerary and these “party crashers” weren’t invited.
Frustrated, he could have ordered the Apostles to turn the boat around and head for some other shore; he could have simply sent everyone home, telling them that he wouldn’t be doing any more healings or miracles. It certainly would have been understandable—but that’s just not Jesus. Jesus wanted his followers to learn a valuable lesson: “Blessed are the flexible, for they won’t get bent out of shape!”
If you’re a planner, someone who knows what you want, loves your “to-do” list and feels a small rush of adrenaline when even small tasks are completed as expected, it can be fairly frustrating when life diverts your plans and sends you on a detour. It’s no fun being so set in your ways that the slightest little thing sends you into a stress-filled panic mode. It sets you up for a very stressful life because things rarely go according to plan.
Life is full of small surprises. You get a flat tire on the way to work. Your in-laws showed up unannounced. One of the kids gets sent home from school after throwing up all over the classroom floor. Then there are the bigger disappointments. The pink slip comes. The doctor calls. The divorce papers arrive. The check bounces. The life that had been calm is now chaotic. Just when you think you’ve got life figured out, something happens that throws a monkey wrench into your plans and knocks you off-center. But that doesn’t mean you should get freaked out or bent out of shape by every little thing that happens during your day.
Jesus demonstrated a willingness to compromise, to be flexible and adaptable. Learning to be flexible allows you to stay calm and just deal with life as it happens. You’ll stay in a positive mindset, feel more confident in your ability to handle a crisis, and be a lot better off because of it. Most importantly, Jesus demonstrated that people are more important than our plans. That leads into the next lesson Jesus taught his followers—a lesson in compassion.
• COMPASSION
As I said, Jesus could have easily sent the crowds away or simply turned his back on them, but the heart of Christ is a heart of compassion. The Bible says, “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34 NLT). When Jesus saw the people gathered on the shore, he didn’t see them as a maddening mob, but as distraught, destitute individuals. Matthew says the crowds that followed Jesus “were harassed and helpless” (Matthew 9:36). Weather-beaten faces, tattered clothes, tangled beards, and gap-toothed smiles—each one in need of a miracle. Rather than send the crowds away, Jesus welcomed them. Jesus wanted to be their shepherd—to enfold them in his arms as a shepherd would his sheep.
This word, compassion, is one of the oddest in Scripture. The New Testament Greek lexicon says it means, “to be moved as to one’s bowels…” Compassion, then, is a movement deep within—a kick in the gut. Jesus looked harassed and helpless humanity right in the face and felt it in his gut.
It’s hard to look hunger and hurt in the face, isn’t it? We’d rather turn away, wouldn’t we? Stare in a different direction? Fix our gaze on fairer objects? Human hurt isn’t easy on the eyes. The dusty cheeks of the Pakistani refugee. The wide-eyed stare of the Peruvian orphan. The 1.75 billion people who live on less than $1.25 a day.
I once heard of a church sign that read: “We care about you—Sundays 10:00 am only.” I don’t think that was their intended message, but unfortunately, that pretty well describes some churches and Christians. Let’s not be like that. Let’s be like Jesus. Let’s look at the hurting until we hurt with them. No hurrying past, turning away, or shifting of eyes. No pretending or glossing over. Let’s look at the face until we see the person. The Bible says, “The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion” (Psalm 116:5 NIV).
Jesus demonstrated that compassion on the shores of Galilee, literally feeding the hungry. But it all began with a sincere look and a sympathetic heart. Maybe this is God’s strategy for human hurt. First, concerned eyes meet desperate ones. Next, compassionate hearts move deep within. Then, the miracle of God.
As the story continues Jesus demonstrates the principle of cooperation.
• COOPERATION
Jesus wasn’t the only hero that day. Late in the afternoon the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat” (Mark 6:36 NLT). But Jesus said, “You feed them.” (Mark 6:37 NLT). Jesus wanted the disciples to be part of the solution.
So Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, went in search of food and returned saying, “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” (John 6:9 NLT).
Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the grassy field. And, the Bible says, “Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted” (Mark 6:41-42 NLT).
One of the many morals of the story is—none of us can do alone what all of us can do together. A little boy shared his lunch, the disciples waited tables, and Jesus provided the miracle. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something.
When we look at the needs arounds us—whether you want to help feed the hungry, or house orphans, or rebuild tornado ravaged towns, or clean up your community, or share the gospel—we discover pretty quickly that teamwork is essential. Many of us are heartbroken by the distressing times in which we live. War, famine, and disease run rampant through many parts of the world. Thousands of children die every day from preventable diseases and malnutrition. Alone, there isn’t anything you or I can do about it. But by partnering with organizations like World Vision or Samaritan’s Purse or Lifegate Africa, we can help bring life-changing basics like nutritious food, clean water, healthcare, and education to needy children all around the world. A mere 2% of the world’s grain would be enough, if shared, to feed everyone on the planet. American Christians alone have the wherewithal to house every orphan in the world.
The point is—we don’t have to do everything ourselves. But we all have a role to play in helping those in need and something as simple as sharing your lunch can make a difference.
Finally, Jesus has one last lesson to teach—a lesson in copiousness.
• COPIOUSNESS
There was nothing small about the Lord’s provision. Jesus miraculously multiplied the bread and the fish so that every person there—perhaps 10,000 or more men, women, and children—could eat as much as they wanted. But when they had eaten their fill, the Bible says, “afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish” (Mark 6:43 NLT).
Jesus didn’t let anything go to waste. They saved the leftovers and each one of the twelve disciples had a whole basket full of food. What’s really interesting is that Jesus performs the same miracle a few chapters later with similar results. In Mark 8, Jesus uses seven loaves to feed 4,000 people. And, again, the disciples gather several baskets of leftovers.
There’s a lesson in the leftovers. But, we have to jump ahead in order to learn the lesson. Later, in Mark 8, the disciples began to worry because they once again set sail and forgot to bring bread with them. So Jesus says:
“Don’t you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”
“Twelve,” they said.
“And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
“Seven,” they said.
“Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them. (Mark 8:18-21 NLT)
Understand what? The leftovers. The leftovers were for the servers. In fact the first time there were twelve servers and twelve basketfuls left over (Mark 6:43). The second time there seven basketfuls left over—the same number of individual loaves.
What didn’t they understand? They did not understand the meaning of the leftovers, namely, that Jesus will take care of them when they take care of others. Those leftovers were the tangible grace of Jesus left for them to touch. Nothing could be a more powerful reminder that their meager resources, touched by Jesus, could meet the needs of so many with so much left over.
The Bible says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV). You can’t outgive Jesus. When you spend your life for others, Jesus will meet your needs too.
Conclusion
So, of all the lessons Jesus’s followers could have learned that day, these four principles seem unmistakable:
Compromise: Flexible people don't get bent out of shape.
Compassion: Let’s look at the hungry and hurting until we feel it in our gut.
Cooperation: None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something.
Copiousness: You can’t outgive Jesus! There will always be enough.
Who would have thought you could learn so much at a picnic? Next week, we’ll continue following Jesus through the Gospel of Mark.
Invitation
In the meantime, maybe we could learn one last lesson from the crowd. They were so eager to be near Jesus, they ran around a lake on foot so they could greet him on the other side. We could use a little of that enthusiasm, don’t you think? Maybe you’re here today feeling like them. Maybe you’re feeling harassed and helpless and you know that Jesus is the answer. If that’s you, I want to invite you to come to Jesus this morning. He stands ready to receive you, to enfold you in his arms like a shepherd would his sheep. Let’s stand and sing together.
