Mark Series 5,000 Reasons To Trust God Mark 6:30-44 *Show eclipse slide while I start talking... How many of you have ever seen a lunar

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1 Mark Series 5,000 Reasons To Trust God Mark 6:30-44 *Show eclipse slide while I start talking... How many of you have ever seen a lunar eclipse? Pretty amazing thing, right? Ok - next question. How many of you have ever woken up in the morning, and saw on the news or in the paper that you missed a lunar eclipse? Isn t that annoying? Especially when the headline says that particular kind of eclipse happens every 100 years or so... Your first thought had been, I will just have to catch the next one... And then you realize it will be in It is disappointing to miss such a magnificent display of God s power. This morning we are looking at a miracle that was designed to show the power of God, and yet the disciples miss it. Like the person who sleeps through a lunar eclipse, they were unaware of the beauty and majesty of God unfolding right before their eyes. Turn with me to Mark 6 (p. 996 pew Bibles). We have been following Jesus Christ s ministry through the book of Mark, and we have seen some pretty amazing things. Jesus has healed the sick - the leprous, those with fevers, some who were paralyzed. We have even seen Jesus raise a girl from the dead. Jesus has shown His power over creation by calming the raging storm. Jesus has exhibited his power over Satan by casting out demons. Of course a large part of Jesus ministry is His teaching. No one has ever spoken with such wisdom and power - and yet the responses by people are not always favorable. Some have rejected Him - starting with those in His hometown. Persecution has begun, and John the Baptist is beheaded. Yet still there is quite a following developing as we see in John 6. Let s begin reading in verse 30. Mark 6:30 44 (NIV84) 30The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. 32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 35By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. This is a remote place, they said, and it s already very late. 36Send the people

2 away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. 37But he answered, You give them something to eat. They said to him, That would take eight months of a man s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat? 38 How many loaves do you have? he asked. Go and see. When they found out, they said, Five and two fish. 39Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42They all ate and were satisfied, 43and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. If the number of men was 5,000, the total number of people is probably upwards of 20,000 when you factor in women and children. That is a lot of people; especially when you consider that the nearest towns were less than 3,000 in population. This is a huge crowd. Question is - why are they here? We find out later in the book of Mark that most of the people who were following Jesus were doing so with the wrong motives - for what they could get. They missed the heart behind Jesus teachings. But it wasn t just the crowds that missed it. Even the disciples did not learn what God was teaching them through this miracle. Immediately following the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus sends his disciples ahead of him in the boat while he goes up to the mountain to pray. While the disciples are on the Sea of Galilee, a storm comes upon them, and their travel becomes difficult. Jesus decides to come to their aid, and so He walks out to them on the surface of the water. Another amazing miracle! When His disciples see him, they are terrified. Then Jesus calms the storm, and Mark tells us that the disciples are utterly astounded. Then we read these words: Mark 6:52 (NIV84) For they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Apparently they were supposed to learn something from the feeding of the 5,000 that would prepare them for the storm. But they missed it. Then in Mark 8, we find the disciples worrying because they forgot to bring bread. Seems like a reoccurring problem. But regardless... we read this: Mark 8:17 19 (NIV84) 17Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don t you remember? 19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basket-fuls of pieces did you pick up? Twelve, they replied. Clearly Jesus was trying to teach the disciples something important when he miraculously fed the 5,000. In fact, as we read the text, it seems that it

3 might have only been the 12 disciples who were aware that Jesus was supernaturally multiplying the food. Everyone has been seated on the grass and divided into companies. Jesus distributes the bread and fish to the disciples and then they take it to the people. It could be possible that only the 12 observed what really happened here. We know for sure that Jesus was trying to teach his closest followers a lesson. What was that lesson? We do not want to make the same mistake as the disciples and miss what God has for us to learn from this miracle that He performs - and it seems to me that the truth we are supposed to glean is that our God is powerful and worthy of our complete trust. The disciples should have trusted Christ when the storm was raging, and they shouldn t have been that surprised when He walked on water or when He calmed the wind and waves. They should not have been worried when they were without food - Jesus had already created food on two separate occasions. We can trust our Savior, and we must. I know my title says 5,000 reasons to trust God, but have no fear - I am actually going to give you just 3 this morning. :-) 1. WE ARE LOST, BUT JESUS LOVES US. Let s look back to the beginning of our passage. Jesus and His disciples had been ministering tirelessly, and a much needed rest was in order. In fact, the disciples had just returned from a missions trip. If you have been on a missions trip, remember how you felt when you got back? I will never forget returning from a trip to Romania about 5 years ago. We rolled into the church about 8pm where we were met by a bunch of people from church who had dessert and refreshments for us. It was very kind of them. Except to our bodies it was about 2am, and we had been traveling all day. Everyone wanted to know all about the trip, and so I talked with them trying to smile on the outside, but inside I was in the fetal position weeping. :-) Ministry and traveling ministry especially can be exhausting. Jesus knows this, and He knows the fragility of his disciples, so he calls them away to a desolate place. The NIV says quiet, and there is that connotation too, but the word literally means desolate. They need to get away from people. And so they get in the boat, sail over to a nice little desolate place called Bethsaida, where they are greeted by about 20,000 people. So much for that plan. Jesus is tired, the disciples are tired, and no one has eaten. But notice how Jesus responds to this massive crowd. Let s look at vs. 34. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. WE ARE LOST, BUT JESUS LOVES US.

4 I don t know that the emotion that would have welled up within me would have been compassion. My family and I had the wonderful opportunity to take a vacation a couple weeks ago, and I praise God for that. Now had we been on the beach and one of you Ebenezer students would have ran into us and said, Pastor Mark, I need to talk. I have a problem. I think I would have asked you what was wrong, and if it was legitimate I would have taken the time to be there for you. If it was I can t decide whether to buy Justin Beiber s remix album, I would have either thrown you in the ocean or buried you in the sand. :-) As a matter of fact, even if you asked about a good musical album I still would have told you to get lost and we can talk about that another time. :-) Jesus and the disciples could have thought, This is our time. They could have gotten angry. But instead we see Jesus heart well up with compassion. This word compassion is an intense word. In the Greek it means to be moved in your inward parts - your lungs, heart, liver. This is a strong feeling that Jesus has towards the people, and it is because He sees them as a large group of sheep without a shepherd. He looks past their annoying persistence, and is struck with their lost condition. Here are thousands of people wandering around, with no one to guide them or show them the way to God. How many thousands are all around us wandering through life, with no real certainty of where they will spend eternity after they leave this earth? Do we notice their desperate plight? Or do we just see a ocean of traffic and get angry. Do we see that line of people in Walmart as a nuisance, or do we take a moment to look in some-one's eyes and see a soul that is dangerously lost? How about your neighbors or co-workers? Have you forgotten that they are sheep without a shepherd? Have you also forgotten there is a wolf out there? - and he never takes a vacation. I wonder if you are here this morning and you feel lost? Maybe your whole life is falling apart - your relationships with those closest to you are imploding, or perhaps your job is killing you. And it s just par for the course, because inside you feel empty anyway. Or, perhaps your job is fine and your family is still intact, but still deep within your soul feels without direction, confused and hopeless? If any one of you feels this way, may I invite you in the quietness of this morning to push pause on the crazy movie that is your life, breathe, and take a long look at Jesus. He can be trusted, because He is a loving Shepherd. True love builds trust.

5 When we know that someone loves us, we trust that they have our best in mind. I have learned over the years that when I put together what I think is a nice outfit, and then my wife says You re not thinking of wearing that?, I should just find something different. Part of it is she doesn t want my bad taste to drag her down, but more so it is because she really does love me and wants what s best for me. So, even though I don t really agree, I trust her. Usually. There was one time where I wore a pair of bright white sneakers when she told me they looked ridiculous (basically out of spite), and the whole day I felt like a tool. How much more important is this though when we talk about the God of the universe. If we believe that God is all-powerful, then it is essential that we also remember His love for us. God is sovereign over all, and we can trust what He allows in our life because we know He loves us. It is love that sent Jesus to earth in the first place. He left the splendor of heaven to be born in human form and live here on earth. It was His love that drove all of His ministry that we read about in the gospels, and it was His love that compelled Him to lay down His life on the cross. And who did He lay down His life for? John 10:15 (ESV)...I lay down my life for the sheep. Jesus can be trusted because He loves us. This is basic stuff, right? But unfortunately, as basic as it is, far too often we trust in ourselves instead of Jesus Christ. Problem is, we cannot be trusted because our sense of direction is off. Our compass is perpetually flawed because we are sinners. Apart from the corrective grace of God we are lost sheep off somewhere running in circles, bleating cluelessly and eating poisonous berries. That is actually my paraphrase of Isaiah 53:6 - Isaiah 53:6 (ESV) 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way... Some of you may joke about being the black sheep of your family. But we are all black sheep! We are all sinfully lost. But praise God for the rest of Isaiah 53:6! - and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. In fact vs. 4-5 says - Isaiah 53:4 5 (ESV) 4Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

6 That is sacrificial love. And because of this sacrificial love, we can trust Jesus. We should also put our trust in God because He is the only one who has the resources that we need. 2. WE ARE POOR, BUT JESUS IS RICH. Let s look back at vs. 35. (Read 35-38). The disciples did not have what they needed to feed the people. In fact they had nothing. It seems unbelievable that out of 20,000 people only one boy had a snack with him. I mean - no one has even a pack of Fig Newtons? Perhaps God sovereignly allowed for there to be only 5 loaves and 2 fish to show off His incredible power. Not only did the disciples lack the resources they needed, they couldn t even go get the resources if they wanted to. It would take them more than half a years wages to pay for all the food. And Jesus knows this - yet He still says You give them something to eat. I can t help but think Jesus is highlighting their inability here. It would be like me taking my family out for a nice dinner and then when the bill arrives I hand it to Preslie and say You pay it. Knowing Preslie she would probably look at me with some silly face and say Uhhhh... yeah... ok... She has no financial resources whatsoever, just like the disciples in our passage. But wait... - there is a boy with a couple fish and some barley loaves - a peasant s meal by the way. Can you imagine the sarcastic comments coming from the disciples when Jesus tells them in vs. 39 to seat all the people in preparation for the meal? I mean, He is holding one boy s lunchbox. I can hear Peter saying Is this a joke Jesus, because it s honestly not that funny?! Or Thomas saying Well this is going to be embarrassing! Or maybe Thaddeus is saying, I hope you guys brought your appetite! But then - I imagine as Jesus starts to distribute the meal to the disciples the sarcastic comments and the chuckles begin to stop. Every time a disciple returns to Jesus he is able to fill his basket and return to the crowd with food. How can this be? Is it some kind of David Copperfield illusion? No. The disciples have forgotten that their leader is not merely an influential man, but God of the universe. All of creation is at His beckon command, and He created the barley and fish to begin with, so it s not that hard for Him to multiply this lunch. Isn t it interesting though that Jesus even bothers with the boy s lunch to begin with? Why not just speak the word and poof!, everyone has a basket full of food in their lap. Why go through all the trouble of multiplying this food and make his disciples shuttle it to the people?

7 Jesus wants His disciples to be keenly aware of something. As they minister and do the work of the Kingdom, as they shuttle the gospel to the world - they absolutely must rely on the resources of their Master. They do not have what it takes. Sure, they have their bodies that they can offer as living sacrifices. But honestly in the economy of the kingdom that doesn t amount to much more than a peasant boy s lunch. However, if the Spirit fills our bodies and empowers us to do the Father s work, watch out! Just read Acts 2! Those of us who are followers of Christ are called to a very high calling - to be His ambassadors. Pastor Jason and I both used this verse in our sermons recently - 2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV) 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Paul says earlier in the same letter when referring to sharing Christ with the world, who is equal to such a task? I m not. You're not. And neither were the disciples. We must not rely on ourselves. Instead we must mine the riches of God s grace, a source that will never run out. We notice the emphasis on Jesus abundant provision when we consider how much is left over after the thousands are fed - 12 over-flowing baskets. Way more than when they first started. We could never even begin to exhaust God s resources. Romans 11:33 (ESV) 33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! Let s consider one more reason to trust in God and not ourselves. 3. WE ARE HUNGRY, AND JESUS OFFERS HIMSELF. Obviously the main thrust of the passage is that Jesus provides sustenance for these thousands of people. But I would like to suggest to you this morning that the physical meal that Jesus serves is symbolic of a greater spiritual meal that is to be had. Why do I say that? Remember what we considered in vs. 34. Jesus is consumed with how wayward these people are. He has compassion, and notice the first thing that He does - He began teaching them many things. Jesus realized that these people s greatest need was Himself. And so He begins to pour out His teaching, which has the power to save their souls. Another interesting thing about this account is the allusion to the Last Supper. Mark 6:41 (NIV84)

8 41Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. Mark 14:22 (NIV84) 22While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take it; this is my body. It is unmistakable. Just as Jesus symbolized the giving of Himself in the sacrament of communion, He also symbolized the giving of Himself by giving bread to the 5,000 that day at Bethsaida. We are often physically hungry, and God truly cares about that hunger as we see in Mark 6. But there is a deeper hunger in all of us. Something that all the food in the world won t satisfy. It is what Blaise Pascal referred to as the God-shaped vaccum. Pascal was a Frenchman who pursued many avenues in search of satisfaction - mathematics, physics, writing, philosophy, inventing things. Yet He never was satisfied until He met Christ. And so he wrote these famous words - There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled with any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus. Haven t you felt this? A deep hunger? And nothing satisfies it. More money doesn t make it go away, a better job doesn t make it go away, having a family doesn t eliminate it. It is always there, because it is a hunger of the soul. The only way to find satisfaction for the soul is to be filled with Jesus Christ. And here is the good news - Jesus freely offers Himself. I believe I can make the definitive statement that every single person in this room is hungry. Not the growling in your stomach as you think about the pot roast at home, but a deeper hunger that won t go away. I plead with you this morning, be filled with Christ! If you have never ever turned from your sin and embraced Jesus, you need to be filled with Christ. It is no wonder that you have always had a nagging dissatisfaction - because only Jesus satisfies. Today is the day of salvation. Please, please talk to me or one of the leaders here so we can share the riches of Christ with you. If you are God s child this morning, you also need to be filled with Christ. Don t settle for the junk food that the world has to offer. While it might be sweet to the tastebuds it does not bring sustenance. Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV) 13for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. John 6:35 (ESV) 35Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

9 Let us learn from the pages of Scripture what it is that God has for us to learn. Our God is worthy of our trust. We can never rely on ourselves, for we are lost, poor and hungry. But Jesus loves us, offers us the riches of His grace, and He fills our souls with salvation.

JESUS PROVIDES. What was something provided for you as a child that you didn t appreciate at the time? #BSFLJesus QUESTION #1

JESUS PROVIDES. What was something provided for you as a child that you didn t appreciate at the time? #BSFLJesus QUESTION #1 6 JESUS PROVIDES What was something provided for you as a child that you didn t appreciate at the time? QUESTION #1 #BSFLJesus BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 53 THE POINT Jesus cares and meets the needs in our