1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,000 A lot of people are open to religion. 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,280 They're at least open to believing in a higher power. 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,440 They might even see the official modern religion of secularism as 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:18,480 empty and hollow. But they might struggle with how 5 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,240 specific Christianity's claims are. 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,040 One God. One scripture that teaches true 7 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:31,480 Revelation 1 Savior. How can you be so confident that 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:36,080 this one human being who lived 2000 years ago in a backwater of 9 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,080 the eastern regions of the Roman Empire is the key to the meaning 10 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,120 of the universe and to everlasting happiness? 11 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:46,520 Seems arbitrary. It seems narrow. 12 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,120 It seems like a lot to load up out of what could be a wide 13 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,640 range of potentially plausible options out there. 14 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,760 One very intelligent person who feels this struggle is Derek 15 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,320 Thompson, who's a staff writer for The Atlantic. 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,120 He has a podcast that usually focuses on technology, economy, 17 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,280 culture, and he's got a departure from his usual affair 18 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,560 coming up. He's got a episode coming out 19 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,560 where he interviews a Christian apologist about a new book in 20 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,000 which this apologist makes a case for belief in God in 21 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,400 general and Christianity in particular. 22 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,440 Thompson wrote a little preview of that episode, and he said 23 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:24,240 he's excited for people to hear it. 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,040 He says I find myself thinking about religious belief a lot 25 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,160 these days. Thompson describes himself as a 26 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:37,200 secular Reform Jew, and he says he wants a deeper relationship 27 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:42,040 with the divine and a congregation of believers. 28 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,960 On the one hand, Thompson says he feels wonder at the cosmic 29 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:52,280 miracle of experience, but on the other hand, he feels an 30 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:57,880 absence of faith. So he feels like he's too many 31 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:03,000 steps away from a specific and sincere belief in a singular 32 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:09,520 divine author of that wonder. What's the result in his own 33 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,160 words? I find myself at a precipice 34 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:19,880 without feeling the final necessary pull toward a leap of 35 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,600 faith. If you're not a believer in 36 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,600 Jesus, do you resonate at all with Derek Thompson's feeling of 37 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,800 being pushed toward faith yet pulled away from faith? 38 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,200 If you are a believer in Jesus, what would you say to Derek? 39 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,800 How would you try to persuade him of the reality of 40 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,920 Christianity? I know what I would tell him, 41 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:46,960 and I'd love to get the chance to tell him. 42 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,000 Like some of us, he moved from DC to the Durham Chapel Hill 43 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,240 area just a few months ago. I'd love to meet him. 44 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,200 Trying to find a way. If I had the chance to sit down 45 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,480 and talk to Derek Thompson, I would tell him, I want you to 46 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:04,920 meet Jesus. I think meeting Jesus in the 47 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:08,240 pages of the Gospels is the only thing that's going to give a 48 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:14,000 magnet big enough to pull you across that chasm of unbelief. 49 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:21,200 Do you know Jesus? That's the question our passage 50 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:22,960 for this morning confronts us with. 51 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,440 Do you know Jesus? Jesus does a whole lot of stuff 52 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,680 to reveal who he is, and even some of the people who see it 53 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:37,560 most up close and personal don't actually get it, don't actually 54 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,080 come to know him. This morning we'll be studying 55 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,240 the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verses 30 to 56. 56 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:47,720 If you need a Bible, you can raise your hand and somebody 57 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,000 will bring you one. In our passage, Jesus continues 58 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,760 to do astounding things that no mere human being can do. 59 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,440 But his powerful deeds aren't mere fireworks or special 60 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,760 effects. They all bear witness to who He 61 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:08,720 is and what He came to do. As I read the passage, let this 62 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,240 pair of questions echo in your mind and heart. 63 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:17,399 Who is Jesus, and do you know Jesus? 64 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:24,640 Mark 6, verses 30 to 56. The apostles returned to Jesus 65 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:26,880 and told him all that they had done and taught. 66 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,760 And he said to them, Come away by yourselves to a desolate 67 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,360 place, and rest a while. For many were coming and going, 68 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,520 and they had no leisure even to eat, And they went away in the 69 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,960 boat to a desolate place by themselves. 70 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,560 Now many saw them going and recognize them, and they ran 71 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,160 there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of 72 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,240 them. When he went to shore he saw a 73 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:55,560 great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they 74 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:57,200 were like sheep without a shepherd. 75 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:00,720 And he began to teach them many things. 76 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,520 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, 77 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:11,240 This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late, Send them 78 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,440 away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy 79 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:19,240 themselves something to eat. But he answered them, You give 80 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,520 them something to eat. And they said to him, Shall we 81 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,120 go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to 82 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,400 eat? And he said to them, How many 83 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:32,920 loaves do you have? Go and see. 84 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,880 And when they had found out, they said five and two fish. 85 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,240 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green 86 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,680 grass. So they sat down in groups by 87 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,800 hundreds and by 50s, and taking the five loaves and the two 88 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,160 fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the 89 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,600 loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the 90 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,280 people. And he divided the two fish 91 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:02,160 among them all, and they all ate and were satisfied. 92 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:06,160 And they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces and of the 93 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,040 fish. And those who ate the loaves 94 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:13,480 were 5000 men. Immediately He made his 95 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,440 disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side 96 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,440 to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 97 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,080 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain 98 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,920 to pray. And when evening came the boat 99 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,400 was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 100 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,200 And he saw that they were making headway painfully for the 101 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,240 windows against them. And about the fourth watch of 102 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,160 the night He came to them walking on the sea. 103 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,960 He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the 104 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,280 sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they 105 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:54,160 all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them 106 00:06:54,160 --> 00:07:00,280 and said, Take heart it is I do not be afraid. 107 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,120 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. 108 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:09,560 And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand 109 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:14,160 about the lows, but their hearts were hardened. 110 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,560 When they had crossed over. They came to land at Knesset and 111 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,400 moored to the shore. And when they got out of the 112 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,560 boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the 113 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,680 whole region, and began to bring the sick people on their beds to 114 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:33,440 wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in 115 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:38,640 villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick 116 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,720 in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even 117 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:48,800 the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were 118 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:53,600 made well. Our passage is 3 sections. 119 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,720 Verse 30 to 44 Jesus miraculously feeds 5000 people. 120 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:03,720 And verses 45 to 52, Jesus comes to his disciples in the middle 121 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,440 of the storm on the lake by walking on the water. 122 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:13,240 And in verses 53 to 56, Jesus heals a ton of people, sometimes 123 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,200 just by touching them, or even them touching a piece of his 124 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,560 clothing. Each of these miraculous works 125 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:24,640 reveals something much deeper about who He is. 3 sections of 126 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:26,440 the passage will have three points of the sermon. 127 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,560 I'll give you to them upfront. Do you know Jesus? 128 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:34,400 That's the question. If you really know him, if you 129 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,280 trust in Him to save you, if you have a personal relationship 130 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:45,040 with Him, then you know that he is .1 the Shepherd who satisfies 131 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:52,320 .2 the Creator who calms .3 the healer who makes hole. 132 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:58,160 I'll say those all again, .1 the Shepherd who satisfies .2 the 133 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:04,560 Creator who calms .3 the healer who makes hole. 134 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,120 The first point will be long. The Third Point will be short. 135 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:14,120 I guess that means second point will be just right .1 the 136 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,640 shepherd who satisfies. That's the deep significance of 137 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:21,680 Jesus feeding of the 5000 in verses 30 to 44. 138 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,520 In other words, Jesus is the Lord of Psalm 23. 139 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:32,760 Look first at verses 30 to 32. The apostles returned to Jesus 140 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,360 and told him all that they had done and taught, and he said to 141 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,840 them, Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a 142 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,440 while. For many were coming and going, 143 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:45,480 and they had no leisure even to eat, and they went away in the 144 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,440 boat to a desolate place by themselves. 145 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:54,080 In our last sermon on Mark 2 weeks ago, we saw Jesus send out 146 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:55,720 his apostles on a preaching mission. 147 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:59,400 Here they returned from that mission and we can infer that 148 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,320 the mission was a success because of all that they report 149 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:04,240 to Jesus that they did and taught. 150 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,200 But they returned from this mission into the Press of an 151 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,480 intensely busy ministry. It was so busy with so many 152 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,160 people demanding Jesus attention, so many people coming 153 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:16,520 and going that they had no time to eat. 154 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:22,400 So Jesus initiated a retreat for him and his disciples. 155 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:27,240 He wanted them to rest and so they go away in a boat in search 156 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:33,720 of peace and quiet. No one has ever been more 157 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:41,720 zealous to do God's will than Jesus, and no one has ever been 158 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:46,000 more compassionate toward human limits than Jesus. 159 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:52,600 Zeal to do good and compassion toward human limits and weakness 160 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:57,200 should coexist in harmony in each of our hearts. 161 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,480 Jesus and his disciples slipped away looking for peace and 162 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:03,760 quiet, but that is not what they found. 163 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:07,280 Verses 33 and 34. Now many saw them going and 164 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:09,600 recognize them, and they ran there on foot from all the 165 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,560 towns, and got there ahead of them. 166 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:14,360 When he went to shore, he saw a great crowd, and he had 167 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,080 compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a 168 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,200 shepherd. And he began to teach them many 169 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,480 things. Retreat plans foiled, word of 170 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:27,480 mouth spread around too quickly, and a massive crowd gathered as 171 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,480 soon as they landed. How did Jesus respond to this 172 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,960 crowd, spoiling his plans for peace and quiet? 173 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,800 He had compassion on them because they were like sheep 174 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,240 without a shepherd. That phrase occurs a few times 175 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,720 in the Old Testament when God's people either lack godly leaders 176 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,120 or are in danger of going leaderless. 177 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:53,120 For instance, in Numbers 27, the Lord condemns Moses to die 178 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,640 outside the Promised Land because of his outburst of anger 179 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:58,560 and unbelief. And Moses appeals to the Lord 180 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:01,800 about the future of God's people, saying in verses 16 and 181 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:06,000 17, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a 182 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,720 man over the congregation, who shall go out before them and 183 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:12,880 come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, 184 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:17,160 that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that 185 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,040 have no shepherd. How does the Lord answer Moses's 186 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,520 prayer? By raising up Joshua. 187 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:28,960 Joshua's name in Hebrew. Is Yahoshua, the same Hebrew 188 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:33,760 name as Jesus. Jesus is the true and greater 189 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,680 Joshua. Jesus is the ultimate answer to 190 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:40,760 Moses's prayer that God's people would not be like sheep that 191 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:46,000 have no shepherd. So Jesus has compassion on the 192 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,320 crowds and he undertakes to be their shepherd. 193 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:51,480 How does he show them compassion? 194 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,400 By healing all of them. By providing for some sort of 195 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,800 longer term economic solution to their problems or poverty. 196 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,120 He shows them compassion by teaching them. 197 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,680 We might think that healing them of physical afflictions would be 198 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:09,200 a more obvious or urgent way to show compassion. 199 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:16,920 But Jesus has other priorities. Every person's deepest need is 200 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,520 spiritual life. Every person's deepest need is 201 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,960 reconciliation with God. Every person's greatest problem 202 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,800 is spiritual death and darkness being condemned before God. 203 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:34,440 Jesus's most compassionate response to these sheep without 204 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:36,720 a shepherd is preaching the gospel to them. 205 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:41,240 And that is the most compassionate thing we can do 206 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:43,680 for the people around us who don't know Jesus. 207 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,960 Now Jesus will provide for this crowd's physical needs. 208 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:52,920 Jesus does care about people's suffering, and so should we. 209 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,480 Jesus prioritize the greater need and still met the lesser 210 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:58,360 need. So should we. 211 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:02,640 But still addressing people's spiritual needs should be our 212 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,520 priority. As the biblical counselor Ed 213 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:11,480 Welch put it, suffering hurts more, but sin is more serious. 214 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:16,440 Suffering will not last, but sin has consequences that reach into 215 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,400 eternity. Teaching God's Word is an act of 216 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,680 compassionate love. Whether it's parents teaching 217 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,680 their children, whether it's fellow members of the church 218 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:30,400 getting together to study scriptures and encourage them 219 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:32,720 like we like we talked about in our Sunday School class on 220 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,840 discipling this morning, or whether it's pastors teaching 221 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:40,400 publicly like I'm doing now. Teaching God's Word addresses 222 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:44,760 our deepest eternal needs. By God's grace, we've just 223 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:46,920 nominated two men to serve alongside Michael and me as 224 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,120 elders. If our congregation recognizes 225 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,400 Ashok and Brandon as elders in two months time, what should we 226 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:54,920 expect from them? What should we want from them? 227 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:58,720 We should want them to shepherd us by teaching us God's Word and 228 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:00,200 applying it to our spiritual needs. 229 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:03,760 We should expect them to feed our souls in public or in 230 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:09,280 private with God's Word. But Jesus's spiritual act of 231 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,560 compassion allows a physical problem to mount up. 232 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,520 The longer he teaches, the hungrier the crowd gets. 233 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,560 Verse 32 tells us they're in a desolate place. 234 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,720 That doesn't necessarily mean a desert, but it means a place 235 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:26,080 that is uninhabited. There are no cities or towns 236 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,240 right there around them. So the disciples come and remind 237 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,880 Jesus of the problem. Verses 35 and 36. 238 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,480 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, 239 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,320 this is a desolate place and the hour is now late. 240 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,400 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and 241 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,320 villages and buy themselves something to eat. 242 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:54,920 This is a real problem. Huge crowd, desolate place, late 243 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,120 hour. How are they supposed to address 244 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,400 it? The disciples solution is not a 245 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,560 brilliant one. It's not like there were fast 246 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,040 food restaurants open late into the night and all the 247 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:09,200 surrounding villages. Sorry Chris, no Bojangles. 248 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,840 Now the disciples have given Jesus their best idea. 249 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:20,240 That's not a very good one. So what is Jesus going to do? 250 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:26,600 Verse 37 But he answered them, you give them something to eat. 251 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,960 And they said to him, shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of 252 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:31,360 bread and give it to them to eat? 253 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:34,880 Jesus performs a little bit of spiritual jiu jitsu here and 254 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,360 throws the problem back on the disciples. 255 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,640 You guys solve this one, but before we get to Jesus solution, 256 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,280 it's worth pausing here and considering the challenge that 257 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,360 Jesus throws at his disciples. They come to him saying big 258 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:53,120 crowd, no food, big problem. You fix it. 259 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,880 They pass in the ball and Jesus passes the ball right back to 260 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:00,480 them. He says Nope, this one's on you 261 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:05,720 guys, what is he doing? I think Jesus has at least two 262 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:09,200 purposes and passing the ball right back to his disciples. 263 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:13,400 I think he's both testing their faith and preparing them for 264 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:17,280 ministry by putting the problem back onto them. 265 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,960 He's like a teacher who asks their student a question rather 266 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:23,560 than just giving them the answer. 267 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,560 It's a little mini test. It's putting it back onto them. 268 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,160 They have to feel the weight of it. 269 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,880 They have to figure it out. He's teaching them more deeply 270 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:37,600 by involving them in the solution, and I think he's also 271 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:39,760 preparing and equipping them for ministry. 272 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,520 They will be involved in his solution to the problem, just 273 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,440 like they will be involved in his spreading the gospel to the 274 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,920 ends of the earth. They need to learn now, 275 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:57,080 beforehand, that Jesus's work gets done by Jesus's power when 276 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,760 human means are utterly insufficient. 277 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,840 He's teaching them that lesson by experience or at least trying 278 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,840 to teach them because they failed the test. 279 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,280 Their failure is a theme that's going to become more and more 280 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:15,160 prominent in this passage and in the next few chapters of Mark. 281 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,400 They say, shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and 282 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,280 give it to them to eat? The disciples here, Jesus 283 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,920 command is impossible, unreasonable. 284 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,320 What do you mean we got to feed these people? 285 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,880 They didn't have eight months wages on them. 286 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:31,880 That's about what 200 denarii would have been. 287 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,400 Even if they did, should they blow it all on one massive meal? 288 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,600 So Jesus replies in verse 38, How many loaves do you have? 289 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:42,280 Go and see. When they had found out, they 290 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,240 said five and two fish. But at this point the disciples 291 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,480 are thinking, So what? Why bother to count the number 292 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:52,680 of loaves when we know it won't be enough? 293 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,320 All the disciples can see is how big. 294 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,200 The problem is. Their attitude is just like 295 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:05,400 Moses in Numbers 11, when God tells Moses that an answer to 296 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,880 the people's grumbling cries, he's going to provide meat for 297 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,200 them. Numbers 1121 to 23. 298 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:18,200 But Moses said, The people among whom I am #600,000 on foot, and 299 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,960 you have said, I will give them meat that they may eat a whole 300 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,320 month. Shall flocks and herds be 301 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,160 slaughtered for them and be enough for them? 302 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,880 Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them 303 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:33,280 and be enough for them? And the Lord said to Moses, is 304 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:38,720 the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my 305 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,040 word will come true for you or not. 306 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:48,760 I think Moses cry here about the fish is one reason why Jesus 307 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,280 provision includes both bread and fish. 308 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:55,240 He's providing a feast for his people in the wilderness just 309 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:59,360 like God did at the Exodus. This shows us that Jesus is not 310 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:04,760 just a prophet like Moses. But the Lord Incarnate leading 311 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:09,920 his people through a new exodus. But his disciples don't get it. 312 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,200 They can't see it. All they can see is massive 313 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,920 problem, tiny inadequate human means. 314 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:21,720 The disciples unbelief shows itself in looking to human means 315 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:28,840 when only divine means will do. They could have said, Master, we 316 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,200 don't have nearly enough food, but we know that you can do all 317 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:36,320 things, Master, we, we have hardly anything, but we know 318 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:40,880 that you can always make enough. But they didn't say that. 319 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:47,800 Do you ever look for a human solution when only a divine 320 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:51,280 solution will do? One evidence of that would be 321 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:53,840 thinking about something, worrying about something, 322 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,560 getting anxious about something, maybe even talking to friends or 323 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,200 family about that same something, writing it down, 324 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:01,760 making plans, scheming, trying to figure it out, staying up 325 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,360 late, worrying about it and not praying, right? 326 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:09,480 That would be looking for a human solution when only a 327 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,960 divine solution will do. The number one way we look for 328 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,520 divine solutions to whatever problems are beyond our ability 329 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:20,160 is prayer. More on that soon. 330 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,160 So the disciples let Jesus know what they have. 331 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,680 It's not much, but they're willing to give it to him so he 332 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,280 can do whatever he will with it. What does he do with it? 333 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:35,080 Verses 39 to 41 Then he commanded them all to sit down 334 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:39,360 in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups by 335 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:43,080 hundreds and by 50s and taken the five loaves and the two 336 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,280 fish. He looked up to heaven and set a 337 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,880 blessing, and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples 338 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:52,440 to set before the people, and he divided the two fish among them. 339 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:57,120 All the green grass tells us that it was springtime, around 340 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:00,000 the time of the Passover. By summer, the grass would have 341 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,680 been blasted brown by the heat. But it's also a clue to what's 342 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,440 happening here. Jesus had compassion on them as 343 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:13,560 a shepherd, and he makes them sit down on green grass, and 344 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:17,320 he's about to provide for and satisfy them. 345 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,400 As we read earlier, the Lord is my shepherd. 346 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,640 I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green 347 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:28,520 pastures. Jesus is the Lord Himself come 348 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:30,440 to shepherd His people in person. 349 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:33,080 He's the fulfilment of God's promise that we read earlier in 350 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:38,400 Ezekiel 34 verse 15. I myself will be the shepherd of 351 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:42,680 my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord 352 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,600 God. Even in that one passage in 353 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,880 Ezekiel, there's a promise both to send David his servant to be 354 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,560 their shepherd, that is to say, an offspring of David. 355 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,280 According to God's promise to David, I'll send David to be 356 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,960 their shepherd, and I myself will be their shepherd. 357 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,840 How can it be both? It's because Jesus is both son 358 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,440 of David and son of God. Jesus, both the human descendant 359 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,400 of David, and God himself come to shepherd his people. 360 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:08,840 There's a tension in that promise. 361 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:11,400 Is David the shepherd? Is God the shepherd? 362 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:16,040 It's both in one. Now, the passage here doesn't 363 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,000 tell us how Jesus did this miracle. 364 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,640 It just tells us that he did it. We were reading this passage at 365 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,520 a meal this week and our son William came up with a pretty 366 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,000 good, you know, guess what? If it was like the the disciples 367 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,520 and they're passing out the food, it's like whenever they 368 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,040 turn away to give give somebody something, poof, there's like 369 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:32,600 more in the basket. They didn't even see it. 370 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,680 That was pretty good. I don't know how Jesus did it, 371 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,560 but he did it. The text doesn't need to explain 372 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:41,200 it. It is clearly proclaiming a 373 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,400 divine miracle. It's beyond our comprehension. 374 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:46,360 Even if you could have been there and seen it with your own 375 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:48,600 eyes, you wouldn't fully have understood what is happening 376 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:52,960 because Jesus is putting forth divine power to make bread from 377 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:55,680 nothing. Who can do that? 378 00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:00,480 Only the God who makes the wheat grow in the first place. 379 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,960 Jesus prayer in verse 41 may well have been the standard 380 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:07,680 Jewish blessing before a meal, which was likely used in his 381 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:09,720 day, and it's still used even up to the presence. 382 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,160 Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the world, who makes 383 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,480 bread to come forth from the earth. 384 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:24,040 As man, Jesus prays as God, He brings forth food not from the 385 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:28,960 earth, but from nothing. Notice the sequence of four 386 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:37,200 verbs in verse 41. Took, blessed, broke, gave, 387 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:43,080 took, blessed, broke, gave. Sound familiar? 388 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,720 Where else do we hear that same sequence of verbs in the same 389 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,840 order? Mark 1422 at the Last Supper. 390 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:55,240 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it, 391 00:24:56,280 --> 00:25:03,360 broke it and gave it to them, and said, take, this is my body. 392 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:08,960 This miraculous meal in the wilderness is a preview of the 393 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,480 Lord's Supper, which in turn points ahead to the messianic 394 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,600 banquet, the Supper of the Lamb. In Isaiah 25. 395 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,280 The Lord promises that on the day when he will swallow up 396 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:22,320 death forever, His people will feast with him. 397 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:28,080 Jesus miraculously fed a multitude in the wilderness and 398 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,160 in the Lord's Supper that he ordained for us. 399 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,320 He feeds and nourishes our faith in the wilderness that is this 400 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:37,120 whole life. The same Jesus who kept a 401 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:42,120 multitude from fainting in the desert keeps our faith from 402 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:46,080 failing in the wilderness of our sojourn. 403 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:51,120 One way he does that is by presiding over and meeting us in 404 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:56,840 the Supper he ordained for us. Look at verses 42 to 44. 405 00:25:58,120 --> 00:25:59,880 And they all ate, and we're satisfied. 406 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:02,760 And they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces and of the 407 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,440 fish. And those who ate the loaves 408 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,800 were 5000 men. That the fact that the text has 409 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,840 5000 men likely implies that they're also women and children 410 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,680 present, so the total number would have been much larger. 411 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:21,040 The fact that verse 4312 tells us that 12 baskets were leftover 412 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,160 points to Jesus providing for his 12 apostles. 413 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,440 Jesus miraculous provision ensures that the servants will 414 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,520 be served. It also shows us that the 415 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:36,400 leftovers were far more than they started with, underscoring 416 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,880 the miraculous character of the provision. 417 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:48,240 Looking at verse 42 and they all ate and were satisfied, it's 418 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:52,200 easy to skip over that phrase. In the modern West, we are often 419 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,400 used to the feeling of total fullness and satisfaction after 420 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,760 a meal. But in an ancient agrarian, 421 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,480 hardscrabble economy, a lot of people would have walked away 422 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:06,720 from a lot of meals with their hunger blunted, not fully 423 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,680 satisfied, much less being so full that they left a whole 424 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,040 bunch of leftovers lying around like they did here. 425 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,360 This wasn't just enough, it was abundance. 426 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:20,920 This didn't take the edge off their hunger, it satisfied them. 427 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,520 On one level, this further attests the miracle Jesus 428 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,800 provided enough and more. But it also has a deeper 429 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,360 significance. Jesus is the new Moses who feeds 430 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:37,040 God's people in the wilderness. Jesus is the new David who 431 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,200 gathers and restores God's scattered flock. 432 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:46,560 Most of all, he is God himself, come in the flesh to shepherd 433 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:51,880 his people in person. And what does God do for all who 434 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:55,560 trust in him? He satisfies them. 435 00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:00,280 Jesus is the shepherd who satisfies. 436 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,560 Listen again to David's famous words that we've read from Psalm 437 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,800 23. He restores my soul. 438 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,920 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my 439 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:15,320 life, and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever. 440 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:17,560 What's that a picture of? It's a picture of intimate 441 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:22,440 communion, of satisfying face to face fellowship. 442 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:28,400 David is confessing that his divine shepherd satisfies. 443 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:31,440 He's confessing that God is his greatest good. 444 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:36,880 He's confessing that God is his all sufficient joy and all 445 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:42,960 satisfying delight. Do you know Jesus? 446 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:48,080 One evidence that you know him is that you're satisfied in him. 447 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,920 How long does satisfaction after a meal last? 448 00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:00,320 How long does satisfaction after an accomplishment last? 449 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:06,240 How long does satisfaction last after you receive some long 450 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:14,440 sought after good, like a job or a house or getting married or 451 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:20,360 having a child? If you're not a believer in 452 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:24,600 Jesus, what's the most disappointing satisfaction 453 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,760 you've ever experienced? What's the best thing you've 454 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,320 gotten that disappointed you most quickly? 455 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:38,160 All earthly satisfaction flees away far faster than we wanted 456 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:42,320 to. Satisfaction in earthly goods 457 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:45,400 disappears so fast that it's absurd. 458 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,880 Why? Because our hearts were built to 459 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,880 be satisfied by an infinite good. 460 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:58,840 As Thomas Aquinas put it, man's ultimate end is uncreated good, 461 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:04,760 namely God, who alone can fill the will of man to the brim 462 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:08,120 because of His infinite goodness. 463 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,240 After Jesus fed the 5000, he would find another way to show 464 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:17,200 his disciples something of His infinite goodness, but it was in 465 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:23,000 a way that they were not at all prepared to accept, .2 The 466 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:27,600 Creator who calms. The Creator who calms. 467 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:33,040 That's who Jesus shows Himself to be in verses 45 to 52. 468 00:30:38,540 --> 00:30:45,800 Look first at verses 45 to 46. Immediately he made his 469 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,880 disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side 470 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,840 to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd, and after he had 471 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:56,640 taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 472 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,080 Jesus sent his disciples away so that at last he could have some 473 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,080 time alone with his heavenly Father. 474 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:08,120 Jesus plan for the retreat was delayed by the crowds, but he 475 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,840 turned to prayer the minute his work was finished. 476 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:18,680 If Jesus prayed privately, so should we. 477 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:25,840 If Jesus needed to pray, so do we. 478 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:33,240 If Jesus could make time to pray, so can we. 479 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,800 JC Rowell reflected soberly on this verse. 480 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,400 There are a few things that may be feared in which Christians 481 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:44,560 come so far short of Christ's example as they do in the matter 482 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,400 of prayer. Are masters strong crying and 483 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:49,040 tears? Is continuing all night and 484 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,400 prayer to God His frequent withdrawal to private places to 485 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,160 hold close communion with the Father? 486 00:31:55,200 --> 00:32:00,880 Are things more talked of and admired than imitated? 487 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:08,560 How can you pray privately if you can't find time? 488 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:12,360 Make time. If you can't find 20 minutes in 489 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:15,640 your day to pray, start your day 20 minutes earlier. 490 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,440 If you can't find a place, make a place. 491 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,920 When you arrive at that time and place, make yourself 492 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:30,280 undistractable. How close is your phone to you 493 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:33,080 during your devotional time? For many of us, the only safe 494 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:35,960 place for our phone to be what we're trying to pray is across 495 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:40,640 the other side of the house. But what if you make time for 496 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,920 prayer? You come to pray and you try to 497 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:48,000 remove all distractions, but then you still struggle to pray 498 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,080 at all. What can you do? 499 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:55,080 A few practical suggestions. First, take in Scripture and 500 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:59,960 send it back to God as prayer. You can read psalms and make 501 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:01,960 their praises and petitions your own. 502 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:06,000 You can read proverbs and just pick one or two proverbs to pray 503 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,600 that the Lord would make true in your life. 504 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:12,120 You can study Paul's prayers and pray Paul's prayer lists for 505 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,640 yourself and for other believers. 506 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,800 You can also take the very things that most draw your heart 507 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:20,160 away from the Lord and turn those into prayer lists. 508 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:23,840 What are you most anxious about? What are you most upset about? 509 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:29,760 What are you most angry about? Turn all of those things into 510 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:34,840 prayer lists. Finally, in addition to praying 511 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:37,120 privately, we should also pray together. 512 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:41,360 That's the main reason we gather every week on Sunday at 5:00 PM. 513 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,040 If you're visiting the church and you're considering joining, 514 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:46,880 I'd encourage you to start attending our evening service. 515 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:48,800 We expect members to attend both. 516 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:53,760 One of the best ways to learn to pray is to pray with God's 517 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:57,240 people. So Jesus retreated to pray by 518 00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:59,760 himself. But even when he was alone with 519 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:02,560 God, he did not ignore his disciples. 520 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:08,320 Look at verses 47 and 48. And when evening came, the boat 521 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,159 was on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 522 00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:15,880 And he saw that they were making headway painfully for the 523 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:18,639 windows against them. And about the fourth watch of 524 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:22,159 the night, he came to them, walking on the sea. 525 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,760 The disciples had been running for hours and making hardly any 526 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:27,159 progress. They were in trouble. 527 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:33,199 So what did Jesus do? He came to them as we sang 528 00:34:33,199 --> 00:34:38,080 earlier. Jesus said, if I am lost, he 529 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:43,800 will come to me. Despite the darkness and the 530 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:50,000 distance, Jesus saw his disciples in their distress. 531 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:55,080 The same Jesus who saw through darkness and distance into his 532 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:58,360 disciples distress sees into yours. 533 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:01,760 How can he do that? Because he's divine. 534 00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:06,200 Why does he do that? Because He loves you. 535 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:09,160 And when he sees your distress, what does he do? 536 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:15,480 He comes to you. If you want proof, He came to 537 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,360 give himself for you on the cross, and he came back from the 538 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:23,000 grave to bring you with him into glory. 539 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:26,360 Do you ever feel like God doesn't see you? 540 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:30,080 You know, theoretically he's omniscient, He knows everything, 541 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:32,600 He sees everything. But it just seems like God has 542 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:36,400 his attention busy elsewhere and he cannot spare a thought for 543 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:38,920 you. Look at this picture of Jesus. 544 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:45,360 He sees them, He comes to them. He sees you and comes to you. 545 00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:49,920 How did Jesus come to his disciples? 546 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,240 I'm just walking on water, no big deal. 547 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:58,760 The God who sustains all the so-called laws of nature can 548 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:03,240 suspend those at will. The Incarnate God who ordains 549 00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:07,480 and maintains gravity can defy gravity when it suits his 550 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,320 purposes. Who can walk on the waves of the 551 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:13,320 sea? Only God. 552 00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:16,360 Consider the confession of Job 98. 553 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:20,760 Job says that God alone is stretched out the heavens and 554 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:25,440 trampled the waves of the sea. But then Job continues just a 555 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:31,920 few verses later in verse 11. Behold, He passes by me, and I 556 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,800 see him not. He moves on, but I do not 557 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:39,920 perceive him. Behold, he passes by me. 558 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:44,280 Look at the rest of verse 48 into verse 51. 559 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:49,280 He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the 560 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,920 sea they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw 561 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,000 him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them 562 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,760 and said, take heart, it is I do not be afraid. 563 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:00,560 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased, and 564 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:03,280 they were utterly astounded. We'll get to that part in a 565 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:06,600 second. He meant to pass by them. 566 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:10,680 Why, what does that mean? Commentators have said all sorts 567 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:14,240 of strange and wondrous things to try to explain that, but I 568 00:37:14,240 --> 00:37:18,360 think the key comes from Job 911 in the Old Testament. 569 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:22,560 What does God do when he reveals himself specifically to one of 570 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:25,160 his servants? He passes by them. 571 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,800 Exodus 34, Six. The Lord passed before him and 572 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:33,200 proclaimed the Lord. The Lord, a God merciful and 573 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:35,920 gracious. Or again on Mount Sinai with 574 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:42,520 Elijah and 1st Kings 1911. And behold, the Lord passed by. 575 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:47,080 That verb passed by became kind of like a technical term in 576 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:51,640 Scripture for what scholars call a theophany, God revealing 577 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:55,040 himself in a special, visible, personal way. 578 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,240 So what did Jesus mean by intending to pass by the 579 00:37:59,240 --> 00:38:02,000 disciples? It's telling us that he intended 580 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,800 to manifest his divinity to them. 581 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:07,120 He intended to show them somehow, some way, that he is 582 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:10,920 God Incarnate. But they cried out in distress. 583 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:14,560 So instead of passing by the boat, he goes to the boat. 584 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,080 He gets into the boat and immediately calms the storm, 585 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:20,320 just like he did at the end of chapter 4. 586 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,160 But the emphasis isn't on what he did, but what he said. 587 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:27,640 Verse 50. Take heart, it is. 588 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:31,280 I do not be afraid. Why? 589 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:35,240 Shouldn't you? Be terrified in a storm because 590 00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:40,480 God is with you. The middle phrase. 591 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:43,920 Of what Jesus says is crucial. Take heart, it is I do not be 592 00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:46,360 afraid the Greek phrase behind the Esvs. 593 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:50,640 It is I is ego Amy literally translated I am. 594 00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:55,280 When God revealed his name to Moses in Exodus 3, Moses asked 595 00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:58,160 what should he say when the people ask who sent me to you? 596 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:04,120 The Lord said tell them I am sent you here. 597 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:07,280 Jesus claims that divine title for himself. 598 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:11,800 He's saying I am the God who is the I am. 599 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:16,640 This raises an acute question. How can any of us encounter that 600 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:20,320 God face to face and not be afraid, but instead be 601 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,760 comforted? Throughout Scripture, when 602 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,040 people meet God face to face, they are terrified. 603 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:31,120 Isaiah says, when I saw the Lord, I fell down at his feet as 604 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:34,600 though dead. That's the. 605 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:39,800 Right response. To meeting a perfectly holy God. 606 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:45,600 A face to face encounter. With God can only be good news 607 00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:51,480 if your sins are forgiven. Jesus is proclaiming comfort to 608 00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:55,240 his disciples now, and he's. Going to purchase that. 609 00:39:55,240 --> 00:39:59,080 Comfort for them on the cross. He's going to bear the weight of 610 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:03,160 all of their sins and all the sins of all those who would turn 611 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:05,600 and trust in Him. That's the ultimate way he 612 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:08,040 fulfills his plan to rescue them. 613 00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:12,200 Jesus rescues us from a fate far worse than a storm at sea when 614 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:17,200 he goes to the cross, willingly dies there, suffers God's wrath, 615 00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:19,520 and rises again on the third day. 616 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:25,520 He invites you, He commands you, He summons you to turn from sin 617 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:28,160 and trust in Him. If you want to be comforted by 618 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:29,960 God, turn from sin and trust in Him. 619 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:34,240 If you want your sins forgiven, turn from sin and trust in Him. 620 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:38,240 If you want to be right with God as only Jesus can make you, turn 621 00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:43,640 from your sins and trust in Him. Because Christ has died for our 622 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:46,880 sins and risen from the grave, His divine presence with us is 623 00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:50,080 the best news. Christ is the I Am, and He is 624 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:53,280 for you. What storms are you in the 625 00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:57,960 middle of right now? What makes you afraid here? 626 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:01,320 To paraphrase, this passage is what Jesus says to you. 627 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:06,400 I am the one who gave myself for you on the cross. 628 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:12,080 Your sins are forgiven. Take heart, Do not be afraid. 629 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:15,000 I am the one who conquered death. 630 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:20,560 Take heart. Your death is only safe passage 631 00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:23,480 to heaven. Do not be afraid. 632 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:27,120 I am the one who intercedes for you before the Father. 633 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:32,400 Take heart, He loves you more than you love yourself. 634 00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:36,880 Do not be afraid, I am. The one. 635 00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:44,600 Who is making all things new? Take heart, no good thing will 636 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:50,640 finally be lost. Do not be afraid. 637 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:57,000 That Jesus is. The divine I Am should give us 638 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:03,080 astonishing and endless comfort. But the disciples did not 639 00:42:03,240 --> 00:42:07,120 receive comfort. They just didn't get it. 640 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:10,320 Look at the end of verse 51 into verse 52. 641 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:14,520 And they were utterly astounded, for they did. 642 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:16,440 Not understand. About the loaves. 643 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:20,760 But their hearts were hardened. What lesson should they? 644 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:23,840 Have taken away from Jesus, multiplying the loaves. 645 00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:29,440 It's that while creatures can make bread from scratch, the 646 00:42:29,440 --> 00:42:31,760 Creator can make bread from nothing. 647 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:34,760 And if he can make bread from thin air, he can make water 648 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:38,160 serve as a sidewalk. They should have discerned that 649 00:42:38,160 --> 00:42:42,280 Christ is the one true God who both can and will deliver them 650 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:45,160 from all their distress. But they didn't. 651 00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:50,400 Jesus's divinity stared them in the face and they didn't get it. 652 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:56,440 Seeing is not believing. Why not? 653 00:42:57,160 --> 00:42:59,520 Verse 52 tells us their hearts were hardened. 654 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:02,440 God had not yet given them hearts. 655 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:06,240 To understand the supernatural truth of Christ's person 656 00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,000 requires supernatural insight to receive it. 657 00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:13,320 That supernatural insight does not come from us, it comes from 658 00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:16,640 God. Only God can enable someone to 659 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:20,040 come to know Jesus as He really is. 660 00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:26,120 A new heart is not something you can give yourself, but it is. 661 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:30,480 Something you can ask for. A new heart is not something you 662 00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:33,400 can give to somebody else, but it is. 663 00:43:33,400 --> 00:43:36,120 Something you can ask. God for them. 664 00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:41,840 Do you know Jesus? If you do know Him truly 665 00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:46,960 personally, then you know that He is the Creator who calms. 666 00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:49,760 He can calm every storm in this world. 667 00:43:50,640 --> 00:43:53,160 He can calm every storm in your heart. 668 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:59,960 Point. 3 The healer who makes hole. 669 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:03,720 Do you know Jesus? If you do, you know that he is 670 00:44:03,720 --> 00:44:07,120 the healer who makes hole. That's the point of the last 671 00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:10,480 little bit of our passage, verses 53 to 56. 672 00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:16,880 When they had crossed. Over they came to land at 673 00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:20,080 Ganester and moored to the shore, and when they got. 674 00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:22,120 Out of the boat. The people immediately 675 00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:24,680 recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring 676 00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:29,200 the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was and 677 00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:32,960 wherever he came in villages, cities or countryside, they laid 678 00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:36,360 the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might 679 00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:40,320 touch even the fringe of his garment, and as many as touched 680 00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:45,040 it were made well. This is a frenzy of activity 681 00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:49,600 around Jesus, and what's driving the frenzy is faith. 682 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:52,120 These people believe in him. At least they believe in him 683 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:54,760 enough to know that he can heal their sick. 684 00:44:55,520 --> 00:44:59,080 So they rush him. They swamp him from all sides. 685 00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:02,120 Wherever he goes, people bring those who are sick and beg him 686 00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:04,120 to heal them. And he does, all of them, even 687 00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:06,560 those who simply reach out and touch the fringe of his garment, 688 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:09,640 which is kind of string hanging down from the corners of his 689 00:45:09,640 --> 00:45:12,200 robes. Last week at the end of his 690 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:16,000 sermon, Michael taught us about the tassels that God commanded 691 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:17,840 his people to wear on their clothing. 692 00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:20,360 That's in the last few verses of Numbers 15. 693 00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:25,640 The word translated fringe in verse 56 here is the same Greek 694 00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:27,880 word that translates tassel. It's the same thing. 695 00:45:28,200 --> 00:45:30,640 It's described in the same part of clothing. 696 00:45:31,560 --> 00:45:35,520 This shows us first of all that Jesus is a faithful Torah 697 00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:39,360 keeping Jew. But it also might show. 698 00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:42,880 Us something more often. In the Old Testament, God. 699 00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:47,000 Is said to spread his wings over people as a sign of protection, 700 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:51,240 care, healing. There's also a. 701 00:45:51,240 --> 00:45:55,080 Prophetic promise in Malachi 4 two right at the end of the Old 702 00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:58,640 Testament after promising the judgment that the day the Lord 703 00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:03,320 will bring in verse one verse 2 says But for you who fear my 704 00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:07,760 name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its 705 00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:10,720 wings. Tassels are a little bit like 706 00:46:10,720 --> 00:46:14,200 wings extending out from the arms. 707 00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:18,200 It turns out that this Son of righteousness prophesied by 708 00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:21,040 Malachi is not a what, but a who. 709 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:23,840 The Son of righteousness is God's son. 710 00:46:24,720 --> 00:46:28,040 The Son of righteousness is Yahweh Incarnate, whose 711 00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:32,000 miraculously powerful tassels show. 712 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:36,520 That he is divine. He comes with healing in his 713 00:46:36,520 --> 00:46:39,920 wings. The verb at the very end of. 714 00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:44,200 Verse 56 is also revealing. As many as touched it were made. 715 00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:48,840 Well, a couple sermons ago we saw that this same verb can mean 716 00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:53,240 heal or save. It can mean make well or make 717 00:46:53,240 --> 00:46:56,160 whole. The point is that Jesus restores 718 00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:58,200 people. He renews people. 719 00:46:58,600 --> 00:47:02,640 He is in the business of putting people back together. 720 00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:07,280 The physical healing Jesus. Provides Here is a picture of 721 00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:09,360 the spiritual healing He provides to all who trust in 722 00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:12,880 Him. It's also a pledge of the 723 00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:16,160 complete healing. He will bring all His people on 724 00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:19,200 the last day when He makes all things new. 725 00:47:20,280 --> 00:47:23,680 Jesus is himself the healing presence of God to this broken 726 00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:26,320 creation. In the age to come. 727 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:32,200 He will make every aspect of creation whole again, and He 728 00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:36,360 will make all His people whole again. 729 00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:39,000 Whether? You're a believer in Jesus. 730 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,960 Or not. What's the biggest disconnect in 731 00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:44,400 your life? What's the thing that's most 732 00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:48,160 broken, most ruptured? Is it your body breaking down 733 00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:51,840 and not doing what your mind and soul want it to? 734 00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:57,040 Is it a frustration at the gap between who you are morally and 735 00:47:57,040 --> 00:47:59,480 who you want to be, Who you know you should be? 736 00:48:00,480 --> 00:48:02,960 Is it broken relationships in a sense that you just don't 737 00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:07,920 belong, whether in your family or among friends or at school or 738 00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:14,280 even in church? Jesus is the healer who makes 739 00:48:14,280 --> 00:48:20,720 well and makes whole. He does so spiritually now, and 740 00:48:20,720 --> 00:48:24,520 one day he will make everything whole. 741 00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:32,640 Do you know Jesus? Is his compassion and power and 742 00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:37,120 healing enough of a magnet to pull you across the chasm of 743 00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:40,680 unbelief? Jesus is the shepherd who? 744 00:48:40,680 --> 00:48:43,720 Satisfies. He's the creator who comes. 745 00:48:44,240 --> 00:48:48,680 He's the healer who makes whole. If you're open to a higher power 746 00:48:48,680 --> 00:48:51,360 being out there. If you're open to this life not 747 00:48:51,360 --> 00:48:54,160 being all there is. If you're looking for who or 748 00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:59,560 what you should believe in, how could you possibly do better 749 00:49:00,200 --> 00:49:02,960 than Jesus? Let's pray. 750 00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:10,640 Heavenly Father, we thank you. For sending Jesus so that all 751 00:49:10,640 --> 00:49:15,400 who lay hold of him would be made well, we pray that we would 752 00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:18,720 each lay hold of him in faith and keep clinging to him. 753 00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:21,000 We pray these. Things in Jesus. 754 00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:22,760 Name Amen.