Will You Rest Like This? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: The rest we have in Jesus might not be what we expect, but it will be what we need--and it will be incredible.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 6:30-44
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Happy Thanksgiving! A few weeks ago I was looking over the passages we’d likely be covering for the next little bit, and when I realized we’d come to the feeding of the five thousand on Thanksgiving Sunday, I was blown away, yet again, by God’s timing. Of course, I’m not going to lie, in my very simple mind, the connection was more about food than giving thanks. Nonetheless, this passage gives us so much for which to be thankful. It’s familiar. In fact, other than the resurrection, this is the only of Jesus’ miracles recorded by all four gospel writers. And this miracle is an amazing display of Jesus’ person and purpose. He is God, and He came to meet our deepest need, salvation--to provide for us in a way only He can.
As I read the passage this week, what really hit me was the context. That’s one of the reasons I love working through an entire book like this. I’ve heard this passage taught many times, but it’s usually in an isolated setting, so I’m not really thinking about what was going on right before, or what happens right after. Yet, we know from last week that this passage happens right after the apostles were sent out by Jesus to proclaim the gospel throughout Galilee, and right after we’ve been reminded of what that same mission had cost John the Baptist. Here, the disciples come back together and tell Jesus everything that had happened...and Jesus perceives that they’re exhausted. Ministry is exhausting anyway, but they’ve been so pressed by crowds, just like we’ve seen with Jesus, they’ve barely been able to eat on this journey, which would compound this exhaustion. So, Jesus tells them to come away with Him and rest. He knows they need this!
Oh, how that speaks to my heart! In fact, stopping there would be a nice warm fuzzy before going down to the great gorge. Yet, what hit me this week was that this great miracle of healing the five thousand came after Jesus said, “Let’s go rest.” This would not have seemed restful for the disciples! So, here’s the gist for this morning: The rest we have in Jesus might not be what we expect, but it will be what we need--and it will be incredible.
I. THE REST WE HAVE IN JESUS MIGHT NOT BE WHAT WE EXPECT
I think I’ve already established this point a bit ☺, but let’s just quickly look at what is happening here from the surface.
Tired Apostles. The twelve apostles have been traveling around proclaiming the gospel, casting out demons, and healing the sick. Though we can assume they met with some hostility, the response was such that they were constantly at work. These are good things, but they would be physically and emotionally drained. I think many of us can relate to that feeling. In fact, and this was not a coincidence, during our Wednesday morning faculty prayer meeting this week, we all basically admitted to feeling like this. These were ordinary men. They were excited by the work Jesus was doing, and excited to be part of it. Yet, they were tired...and probably a little bit grumpy, as we’ll see later☺.
Massive Running Crowd. So, Jesus takes them aside in “the boat” (apparently there was one that was always being used by them) for some rest in a desolate place. Only, when they arrive, it isn’t desolate any more. Where did all these people come from? Well the passage tells us they’re from all the surrounding towns, and that they saw Jesus and the twelve get into the boat, likely because they had already been pressing around them, and ran ahead of them. The picture here is of this great multitude on the shore running along watching to see where the boat would land. We know that eventually this crowd numbers 5,000 men, which is not including the number of women and children. So, to say the least, this would have been an incredible sight as thousands of people raced along the shore to meet this boat. Also, it’s unlikely that this level of commotion went unnoticed by those in the boat. It’s possible that the crowd took a shortcut that hid them from view...but unlikely.
Needless to say, this is not the rest the apostles were expecting.
II. BUT IT WILL BE WHAT WE NEED
Jesus Sees the Needs. So, they get out of the boat, and Jesus sees the needs of these people, just like He saw the needs of the apostles. And here we have a flood of Old Testament imagery that really points again to who Jesus is here. He sees this great crowd and has compassion on them. He’s not frustrated by their presence. Instead, He looks at them and sees sheep without a shepherd. Does that ring any bells? Throughout the Bible, God’s people are referred to as sheep. This summer, we even looked at one of the more famous Old Testament passages which uses this imagery, Psalm 23, where God is referred to as our Shepherd who makes us lie down in green pastures, which, by the way, is exactly what Jesus has these people do in this passage. In verse 39, when He commands them to sit on the green grass, the word there means to lie down or recline.
It would be worth your time to look over the following passages to get a glimpse of how this imagery was used in the Old Testament: Ezekiel 34:1-31, Psalm 23, Numbers 27:17, Deuteronomy 18:18. In that Ezekiel passage, God condemns the false shepherds of Israel for not feeding His sheep. His promises of judgment are strong. Yet, He also promises to be their true shepherd: “14 I will feed them with good pasture...15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak…” And that is precisely what we see happening here. Jesus is the good shepherd.
Jesus Meets the Needs. Seeing these needs, Jesus meets them. Notice what He does for these shepherdless sheep. We remember the feeding part, but that’s not what He does first. Look at verse 34, “...he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.” He started by teaching them. We’ve talked about this before, but we need to remember this. Meeting physical needs is only of secondary importance. Even this week, I read interpretations of this passage which made it about the food. It’s not. There’s a balance here for sure. Jesus doesn’t ignore their physical needs, but Jesus’ primary means of helping these shepherdless people was to feed them the truth. Teaching the truth without care for physical needs is insincere. Care for the body without teaching the truth has no lasting effect.
So, He starts by teaching them many things. During this teaching, it got late, and people were getting hungry. At least, we assume they were getting hungry. The people don’t actually ask for food; it’s the apostle who bring it up to Jesus. Now, some interpret this as compassion. The disciples cared about these people, so they wanted to send them away to get something to eat before it got too late. Others see this more as the disciples trying to get rid of these people so they can finally have their expected rest. I tend to agree with the later take given what follows, but either way, their proposal assumes that these people leaving is the only way they can be fed.
Here is where Jesus gives the disciples a startling command: “You give them something to eat” (verse 37). Their response is not a high point for them. Again, like I said earlier, they might have been a tad on the grumpy side. They snap back at Jesus, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” Basically, they’re saying, it would take almost a year’s wages to feed all these people, how do you expect us to pull that off? Jesus’ response is awesome--go see what you have. We’re going to come back to this in a second, but just chew on that. So, the disciples go and find five little rolls (that’s the equivalent of what the loaves would have been here) and two fish. We know from the other accounts this was the sack lunch of a small boy, who John MacArthur points out must have had the only responsible mother in the bunch--at least she sent him with food☺!
Jesus then commands everyone to lie down in groups on the grass. Why? Well, for one, we get that awesome shepherd imagery, but also organization here ensures everyone will get something to eat (Hobbs). In a mob, people get pushed aside, especially the timid. Jesus wanted to feed them all. He then takes this little food, blesses it, and uses it.
Not only is this then meeting the physical needs of these people, but it is also meeting the needs of the disciples. They came here looking for rest, and this is the rest they needed. They needed to see that even in the midst of chaos, Jesus is God. Even when they are overwhelmed by the impossibility of the situation, Jesus is in control. They needed to rest in the understanding that it is ALL HIM, not them. Don’t we need that same reminder?
The rest we have in Jesus might not be what we expect, but it will be what we need-->
III. AND IT WILL BE INCREDIBLE
5,000+ We’ve heard this story so often that it’s easy to miss out on how astonishing it really is. This isn’t a myth or a fairy tale. Like Elijah with the jar of oil, Jesus takes this bread and fish..and breaks it...and breaks it...and breaks it. It never runs out! We know there were 5,000 men here, but the other accounts record that there were also women and children. Since women and children typically outnumber men, most estimate the actual crowd being somewhere around 25,000 to 30,000. Even if there were only as many women and children as men, we’re still talking 10,000. And even if somehow this little boy was the only non-man in the crowd (which we know isn’t the case), we’re still talking 5,001 people fed with five rolls and two pickled or salted fish! AND they were full! In fact, the word satisfied here can also mean gorged. So they all not only ate, but ate more than enough...and there were 12 baskets left over. These would have been the equivalent of 12 lunch boxes. You know, like the 12 apostles☺. This. Is. Incredible. It’s not what the disciples expected...but it’s better!
Parallel to Lord’s Supper? Likewise, it is also reminiscent of an even greater miracle. Look at verse 41 again. “41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people….” Does this sound familiar? “26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26) The Jesus who provides this abundant meal is the same Jesus whose sacrifice provides us an opportunity for abundant life!
TAKEAWAYS
1. Jesus is the only source of true & lasting rest.
To the Exhausted Servant: Trust. These disciples were tired because they had been busy about the work of Jesus, but let’s not be too quick to excuse their grumpiness. Next week, we’re going to see them reprimanded for not understanding this miracle. How could they have missed it? It wasn’t the rest they expected. Don’t doubt Him because His work isn’t according to your plan, but trust Him even when it seems too much to bear. Don’t try to carry it all on your own; let Him be the one who bears it!
To the Uninvolved: Get Properly Tired☺! Some of you here might not be in that boat. You might be exhausted, but it might have nothing to do with your service for Christ. You might just be like a dog chasing his own tail. You’re doing a lot, but to what end? I’m not saying everyone should become full-time, church-employed ministers. Yet, “23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24). You want to experience this kind of rest? Get tired for Jesus☺.
To the Unbelieving: Come and Rest. Stop trying to do the impossible without the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is no rest apart from Him.
2. Give God what little you have and let Him use it.
You don’t have much to give? Good. You’re like the rest of us. It’s not stretching this passage to say He can take your measly lunch and do something incredible with it. Give Him everything you have. He’s not limited by your limitations. A lot of people here would have completely missed the miracle part of this. Those close by would have seen the little boys lunch being blessed...maybe even wondered why Jesus was about to eat this kid’s food☺(MacArthur)... but those in the back would have just seen the food. He told the disciples to feed these people, knowing they could not do it on their own. He wants to use you; let Him.
3. This should fuel your thanksgiving. We serve Jesus who is more than able to meet our every need, and, in fact, died to provide for our deepest one.
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