“TIME TO EAT!”
Mark 6:30-44
INTRODUCTION:
6 year old Mark walked into the kitchen just as his mother was cleaning out the freezer. There happened to be some ice cream left over in a carton and Mark asked if he could eat it. His mother gave him permission to eat the ice cream. After he had eaten 1 bite, his 8 year old brother Matt walked in. Seeing the remaining ice cream, Matt wanted a share. A huge argument ensued over the remaining ice cream.
Hoping to convince Mark to share the ice cream with his brother, his mother asked, “Mark, what would Jesus do in this situation?” Mark immediately responded, “Well Mom, he would just make some more!” And, that is exactly what Jesus’ disciples found to be true. If there wasn’t enough food to go around, Jesus would just make some more.
In our passage, today, Jesus found another teaching moment. Jesus was awesome at using teaching moments. He wanted to be sure his disciples were prepared to carry on his ministry after he was gone. Jesus was teaching his disciples that they always needed to feed lost/hungry people. And, that is the lesson for us, today. We too, as Christ’s disciples, need to feed lost/hungry people. We are going to answer the question “Why?” this morning—“Why should we, as his disciples, feed the lost/hungry people of this world?” The 1st reason is:
JESUS HAS COMPASSION FOR LOST PEOPLE:
I don’t think anyone could ever argue against the compassion our Lord had/has for lost people. Let me start with the reason he came to us in the 1st place. Our Bible is a record of God Almighty redeeming lost souls. God loved His people so much that right after we rebelled against Him in sin, He began a process of redemption.
That process began in Genesis. And, it goes all the way through the OT with God interacting with His people. He gave us laws to create community. He gave us covenants to live by. He gave us prophets to teach us. He gave us grace when we needed it. He gave us a Savior to wash our sins away. Because of God’s great compassion for us, that Savior died on a cross; he was resurrected back to life defeating death/sin forever. That process of redemption continues today, and it will continue until Christ’s 2nd advent when he returns to claim his bride, the Church.
In our passage, today, Mark tells us of Jesus’ compassion for these particular people because they were like sheep without a shepherd. As we have been going through Mark’s Gospel, we see what kinds of shepherds these people had. Their shepherds, the religious leaders, were leading them astray. And, Jesus knew it. That is why he said they were like sheep without a shepherd.
These shepherds were teaching laws, customs, ceremonies—wash this, sacrifice that. Eat this, don’t eat that—rules, rules, rules! Jesus came and said, “It’s not about all that; it’s about love. Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus began his ministry preaching,
“The time has come. The
A few weeks ago, I preached a sermon from John 13:34-35 where Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” When Jesus said these words, he was in the Upper Room with his disciples. He was just hours from being crucified. And, he wanted to make sure they/we got it—love other people. Have compassion for them, just as he did.
Do you think Jesus wasn’t concerned about his sheep being fed? In our Call to Worship, today, we heard Jesus ask Peter 3 times if he loved him. And, 3 times he told Peter to feed his sheep. Let me read that dialogue again from John 21:15-17: “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’
Again Jesus said, ‘Simon, son of John, do you truly love me?’ He answered ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ The 3rd time he said to him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the 3rd time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’”
Do you feel the compassion in Jesus’ heart? You can’t miss it, can you? He wants us to have that same compassion for his lost sheep. He is saying the same thing to us, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep!”
I like the story of the shy teenager who had a crush on a girl who walked by his house every day on her way home from school. Every day, he would get home 1st and go to the living room window to watch her pass by. He was “in love”. After months of watching her go by, he finally decided to try and break the barrier—to tell her how he felt. So one afternoon, he planned it just right. He ran home from school as fast as he could. And with chalk, he started drawing his feelings on the sidewalk that he knew she would walk over. That way, he wouldn’t have to tell her face to face.
First, he drew an eye. Then he drew a heart. And, finally, he drew a female sheep—a ewe. His heart seemed to be jumping through his chest as this specimen of beauty walked by. She stopped, looked, and said, “Oh, you love sheep. That’s nice.” And, she then continued her journey home.
Jesus loves sheep, too. And, he wants us to love them also. And, he wants us to feed them for him. A 2nd reason we should feed the lost/hungry people of this world is:
JESUS COMMANDS HIS DISCIPLES TO FEED LOST PEOPLE:
Is there anyone here who doesn’t know Jesus’ “Great Commission” found in Matthew 28? Let me read it: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have COMMANDED you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
Does anyone hear Jesus asking? “Pretty please with sugar on it. Will you go and make disciples of all nations; will you please baptize them; and I really need you to teach them; will you do that—please, please, please?” No! Jesus is commanding that his disciples do it—and that includes all of us. These were pretty much Jesus’ last instructions before he went back to heaven to prepare a place for us. And, Jesus was leaving no questions as to what he wanted done in his absence.
In our passage, today, his disciples did become concerned about the people’s welfare. V.35-36 reads, “By 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. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’”
Well, it was great that the disciples were concerned about the people. They had certainly acquired their master’s sense of compassion. But, their ideas on how to go about feeding them were all wrong. Jesus had a better plan.
Jesus simply commanded them in V.37, “You give them something to eat.” I love the directness of Jesus and the simplicity of that command. But, it was a pretty tall order, wasn’t it? They could only round-up 5 small loaves of barley bread and 2 fish. How were they going to feed 5,000 men and probably 2-3 times that amount in women/children? It sure seems like Jesus commands a lot sometimes, doesn’t it?
But, do you remember our sermon from 2 weeks ago when Jesus sent them out for the 1st time? Jesus never commanded them and he never commands us to do anything that he doesn’t provide a way for us to do it. “You give them something to eat!” Jesus says matter of factly. And he provided the food.
Do you see lost/hungry people in this community? We are surrounded by lost sheep, aren’t we? They are all over the place—sheep that need emotional, spiritual and physical food. As a small church with limited resources, it is pretty easy to be like Jesus’ disciples in our story.
It’s much easier to say, “We don’t have enough food to feed you; we don’t have enough people to help; we don’t have enough money; we don’t have enough time; we don’t have enough of this/that. We can’t help you emotionally; we can’t help you spiritually; we can’t help you physically. You need to go someplace else to get help. But what is Jesus commanding us to do? “You give them something to eat!” he says.
A man went to the doctor after weeks of being sick. The doctor examined him carefully, then called his wife into his office. “Your husband is suffering from a rare form of anemia. Without treatment, he’ll be dead in a few weeks. The good news is, it can be treated with proper nutrition.”
“You will need to get up early every morning and fix him a hot breakfast—pancakes, bacon and eggs—the works. He’ll need a home-cooked lunch every day, and then an old-fashioned meat-and-potato dinner every evening. It would be especially helpful if you could bake frequently. Cakes, pies, homemade bread—these are the things that will allow your husband to live.”
“One more thing. His immune system is weak, so it’s important that your home be kept spotless at all times. Do you have any questions?” The wife had none. “Do you want to break the news, or shall I?” asked the doctor. “I will,” the wife replied.
She walked into the exam room. The husband, sensing the seriousness of his illness, asked her, “It’s bad, isn’t it?” She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “What’s going to happen to me?” he asked. With a sob, the wife blurted out, “The doctor says you’re gonna die!”
I hope we never get like that woman—not going the extra mile—not doing all we can to feed lost sheep. Jesus commands us to feed lost/hungry people. And that brings us to the 3rd reason why we should feed lost/hungry people.
JESUS EXPECTS HIS DISCIPLES TO OBEY HIS COMMANDS:
Let me read a passage from Matthew’s Gospel that I think reinforces that point. READ!! Matthew 25:31-46
Does that sound like Jesus expects obedience to his commands? He was even nice enough to continue the sheep metaphor so even us slow learners would get it. As Christians, we all have a mandate to obey the commands of our Lord. We can’t pick and choose—obey this command but not that one. I’ve told you before that part of the definition of being a Christian is to be useful to Christ. And, in order to be useful to him, we must obey him.
As ridiculous as it must have seemed to his disciples to try to feed that crowd with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish, they obeyed his command. And guess what? There was even food left over after they were full.
CONCLUSION:
I hope, this week, you will seek out with a compassionate heart, just one lost and hungry sheep. And I hope that you will listen to Christ speaking to your heart, commanding you to help that lost sheep. And I pray that you will obey that command. Jesus says, “You give them something to eat!” Remember, he’ll provide everything you need, including the courage to reach out.