Countryside Vineyard Church
Mark - Atittudes Toward Human Needs and Resources Pt. 35
  • Because He Lives
  • How Great Is Our God
  • this is the air I Breathe
  • The More I Seek You

      • Mark 6:30-32ESV

      • Mark 6:33-34ESV

  • Attitudes Toward Human Needs and Resources

    Good morning and welcome to Countryside Vineyard. My name is Joe Fager, and I’m one of the pastors here.
    We are in our series through the Gospel of Mark, and today we come to one of the more famous stories in the New Testament: Jesus feeds the 5,000.
    We will be looking at Mark 6:34-44
    Over the last few weeks, we have been watching Jesus train His disciples. He called them. He sent them out. They preached. They healed. They cast out demons. Then they came back and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught.
    Last week, Bill helped us see what happened next. The disciples were tired. They needed rest. And Jesus knew that. He cared about that. Bill said it really well: “Jesus cared. Jesus was a man of compassion for the disciples and for the crowd and for you.”
    So last week we saw that Jesus has compassion on tired disciples.
    This week we will see that Jesus also has compassion on hungry sheep.
    And what Mark wants us to see is bigger than just a miracle with bread and fish. Jesus is not just giving people lunch. He is showing us who He is. He is the true Shepherd. He is the one who leads His people, teaches His people, feeds His people, and gives them what they cannot give themselves.
    Mark 6:34–44 ESV
    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.
    Let’s pray...
    This story is so important that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all include it. That should make us slow down. Of all the miracles Jesus did, all four Gospel writers wanted us to see this one. Why? Because this miracle shows us who Jesus is.
    But we would never see it in that sort of depth without knowing a little something about the Bible that Jesus read, what we call the Old Testament.
    And that brings us to the first point:

    I. Recognize the Shepherd

    Mark tells us in verse 34 that when Jesus saw the crowd, “He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
    Now, if you are brand new to the Bible, you can still understand that.
    Jesus saw people who were tired, hungry, confused, and needy. He did not push them away. He had compassion on them.
    That alone is beautiful.
    But if you know the Old Testament, this story gets even deeper.
    You start hearing Psalm 23: “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Verse 39 he had them sit in groups on the green grass
    You start hearing Ezekiel 34, where God says, “I myself will shepherd my sheep.” verse 34 sheep without a shepherd
    You start thinking about Moses and manna in the wilderness. Deut 18 I will send a prophet like you John 6:14 He is the prophet
    You start thinking about Elisha feeding 100 men with bread and having some left over. 2 Kings 4:42-44
    And then you look at Jesus, feeding thousands in a desolate place, with twelve baskets left over, and you realize Mark is not just telling us that Jesus can do miracles.
    He is showing us who Jesus is.
    This is one of the reasons Christians should never neglect the Old Testament.
    Because without the Old Testament, we can still see that Jesus fed hungry people. And that is true, and good.
    But with the Old Testament, we begin to see the whole picture.
    The Old Testament trains our eyes to recognize Jesus.
    And we desperately need that.
    Not just because it helps us understand a passage better.
    Not just because it makes Bible study more interesting.
    We need that for at least two reasons.

    First, it strengthens our confidence that this book really is from God.

    One of the things that has most strengthened my own faith over the years is seeing how connected the Bible is.
    Think about what we are holding in our hands.
    This is not one book written by one author over a few years.
    This is a library of books written by many authors, in many places, over many centuries. Different backgrounds. Different personalities. Different locations. Different circumstances.
    And yet from Genesis to Revelation there is one unfolding story.
    One plan. One promise. One Savior.
    The themes begin in one place and are fulfilled in another. The questions raised in one book are answered later in another. The shadows become realities. The promises become fulfillments. The threads keep weaving together until they meet in Christ.
    Human beings do not create something like that by accident.
    The more you see the whole Bible, the harder it becomes to explain it away as merely human.
    You begin to see the fingerprints of God everywhere.
    You begin to realize that this book was not stitched together by accident.
    It was authored by the God of the universe.
    And when you become convinced that Scripture is truly God’s Word, you stop approaching it as a collection of suggestions.
    You stop treating yourself as the final authority.
    You stop assuming that God must agree with whatever your culture happens to believe this year.
    Instead, you begin to trust Him.
    Even when He says things that are difficult.
    Even when He confronts your desires.
    Even when His commands run against the grain of the world around you.
    The question is no longer, “Do I like what God said?”
    The question becomes, “Do I trust the One who said it, and do I believe he had a good reason for saying it?”
    And seeing the unity and depth of Scripture helps us answer that question.
    Because we realize we are not listening to random religious opinions or suggestions.
    We are hearing the voice of the God who has been revealing His plan from the beginning.
    We are hearing the voice of the Shepherd.

    Second, knowing the whole story of Scripture makes us more resistant to deception.

    And we need that today.
    Deception is easier to spread than ever. People can take a verse, twist it, post it, preach it, and make it sound spiritual.
    But when you know the story of Scripture, you begin to recognize the voice of the Shepherd.
    You begin to see what is true.
    You begin to see what is false.
    You begin to notice when someone is using Bible words but not telling the Bible story.
    So this passage is calling us to more than just admire a miracle.
    It is calling us to see Jesus clearly.
    And once we see who is standing in front of the disciples, verse 37 becomes even more powerful. Because when Jesus says, “You give them something to eat,” He is not asking them to solve an impossible problem without Him. He is teaching them to look at Him before they look at their lack.

    II. Bring Your Lack

    The second thing I want us to see is this: Jesus teaches us to look at Him before we look at our lack.
    Verse 37 is so important.
    The disciples say (35-36), “Send them away.” But Jesus says, “You give them something to eat.”
    Now that sounds impossible.
    And to be fair to the disciples, we probably would have thought the same thing they thought.
    “Jesus, do You see how many people are here?” 10,000
    “Do You know how much money that would cost?” 8 months wages
    “Do You know how little we have?” (5 loaves, two fish)
    And that is exactly where their minds went. They looked at the crowd. They looked at the cost. They looked at the lack.
    But they did not first look at the One standing in front of them.
    And we do the same thing.
    Maybe not with 5,000 hungry men sitting on a hillside, but we do it in daily life.
    Jesus tells us to forgive, and we think, “I do not have enough strength for that.”
    Jesus tells us to serve, and we think, “I do not have enough time.”
    Jesus tells us to give, and we think, “I do not have enough money.”
    Jesus tells us to speak, and we think, “I do not have enough courage.”
    Jesus tells us to disciple someone, and we think, “I do not know enough.”
    And maybe we are right.
    It’s true we don’t have enough.
    But that is not the end of the story, because Jesus never asks us to obey apart from Him.
    When Jesus commands something, He is not ignoring our lack. He is inviting us to trust His abundance.
    The disciples saw an impossible command.
    Jesus saw a teaching moment.
    He was training them to learn that obedience will often look impossible if we only look at what we have. But with Jesus, what looks impossible becomes the place where faith starts to grow.
    That is why Jesus asks them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
    He does not ask them what they do not have.
    He asks them what they do have.
    That matters.
    Sometimes we do nothing because we think our little bit does not matter. We look at our little strength, our little wisdom, our little money, our little opportunity, our little obedience, and we think, “What difference could this possibly make?”
    But not enough does not mean not useful.
    The question is not, “Do I have enough to meet the whole need?”
    The question is, “What do I have that I can place in the hands of Jesus?”
    Because in my hands, it may stay small.
    But in His hands, small things become kingdom things.
    Brenda Bowers story...

    III. Carry His Provision

    The third thing I want us to see is this: Jesus makes His disciples conduits of His provision.
    Notice how the miracle happens.
    verse 39 Jesus takes the bread. Jesus blesses the bread. Jesus breaks the bread. But then He gives it to the disciples, and the disciples give it to the people.
    That matters.
    The disciples did not create the miracle. They carried the miracle.
    They were not the source. Jesus was the source.
    They were not the abundance. Jesus was the abundance.
    But Jesus still used their hands.
    And that is still how Jesus works. He does not ask us to be the miracle. He asks us to be available to carry what only He can give.
    I hope that this a huge encouragement to you.
    You don’t have to produce anything. If Jesus is going to heal he only asks that you pray.
    If he’s asking you to go somewhere scarry or do something scarry, he’s gonna do what it takes through you.
    Even if you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, he’s walking right there along side of you giving you the strength and abundance you need.
    Yu don’t have to be enough, You don’t have to have enough, becasue you are just the conduit.
    You are just the instrument he’s playing His music through.
    But we do have to be willing.
    Willing to bring Him what we have.
    Willing to obey when He says, “You give them something to eat.”
    Willing to carry His mercy, His truth, His love, His provision, and His gospel to the people in front of us.
    We are not the Savior.
    We are servants of the Savior.
    Call up worship and communion.
    I want to close by reading the last two verses of the passage.
    Mark 6:42–44 “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.”
    12 Baskets ?
    Verse 42 says, “And they all ate and were satisfied.”
    That is not a throwaway line.
    Jesus did not give them just enough to keep them moving. He fed them until they were satisfied.
    And that is the heart of the gospel.
    We have a Shepherd.
    We have a King.
    We have a Savior who sees hungry sheep, has compassion, teaches them the truth, feeds them with abundance, and gives them what they could never give themselves.
    And this points us forward.
    Isaiah saw a day when the Lord would make a feast for all peoples. A day when death would be swallowed up forever. A day when the Lord would wipe away tears from all faces.
    That day is coming.
    There is coming a day when...
    every hunger will be satisfied.
    Every wound will be healed.
    Every tear will be wiped away.
    Every enemy will be gone.
    Every promise will be fulfilled.
    And God’s people will sit at the table of the King forever.
    But here is the good news: we do not have to wait until then to know the Shepherd.
    We can know Him now.
    Jesus satisfies us now.
    Not because every problem disappears.
    Not because every prayer is answered the way we want.
    Not because life becomes easy.
    But because we have Him.
    And He is enough.
    So this passage has called us to see Jesus clearly.
    The Old Testament trains our eyes to recognize Him.
    Our lack teaches us to trust Him.
    Our obedience gives us a chance to carry what only He can give.
    And verse 42 reminds us that when Jesus feeds His sheep, He does not leave them empty.
    They all ate and were satisfied.
    So let me ask you today: are you trying to satisfy your soul without the Shepherd?
    Are you trying to feed yourself with things that cannot give life?
    Are you trying to be enough, have enough, do enough, fix enough, or prove enough?
    Jesus is not asking you to come full.
    He is asking you to come hungry.
    Come to Him.
    Come with your sin; your weakness; your lack; your need.
    Come to the Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep.
    And that brings us to Communion.
    In this story, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples to feed the crowd.
    Later, on the night before the cross, Jesus took bread again. He blessed it. He broke it. He gave it to His disciples. But this time He said, “This is my body.”
    So we do not want to overstate the connection, but we do not want to miss it either.
    Jesus does not only give bread.
    Jesus gives Himself.
    He is the Shepherd who feeds His sheep.
    He is the Bread of Life who gives life to the world.
    He is the Savior whose body was broken and whose blood was poured out for us.
    So as we come to the table today, come hungry.
    Come needy.
    Come aware that you do not have enough in yourself.
    But come with confidence, because our Shepherd has not left us empty.
    He has given us Himself.
    1 Corinthians 11:23–25 NKJV
    23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
    Let’s pray
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