Mark Sermon 6: You Give Them Something to Eat.

At this point in the gospel of Mark, Jesus moves his disciples to the front line. How will they respond after being the people doing the healing and casting out spirits? Will they continue to lean on the power of God or continue to operate within human limitations? Thanks for joining us. 

What is Eagle Community Church of Christ?

Teaching podcast from the Eagle Community Church of Christ in Mont Belvieu, TX.

John Gunter: 00:15

Hi, friends. Welcome back to the Eagle Community Church of Christ. My name is John Gunter. This week we are in Mark sermon number 6. It's crazy how fast it's gone.

John Gunter: 00:24

This week we're talking about Jesus moving from doing everything to moving his disciples to do things. And so, we explore how they respond when they are the ones healing, when they are the ones casting out spirits. They continue leaning on God and his power or are they constrained by human limitations? Find out as we go through the sermon today. And again, come see us sometime.

John Gunter: 00:49

I don't know. Robert, did you mention these boxes this morning? No. Okay. Okay.

John Gunter: 00:56

Well, I've got it, or I think I do. Connie can fill in any gaps that I have. We assembled 5056 boxes, for different children yesterday. I came in late. McDonald's was slow, that's my explanation.

John Gunter: 01:12

But Connie and all I'm not going to mention everybody because I will leave somebody out and they will be mad at me. But Jess did a wonderful job of organizing and setting this up, and a lot of families are going to be blessed because of it. So, please, take a minute after service to hug Connie. She's a hugger, so I can say that. But, and thank her for putting the time in for this, because this is, again, going to be such a blessing to, to some families, 56 of them.

John Gunter: 01:41

So, again, thank you, Connie, for doing this. This morning, we are, again, continuing our study of the gospel of Mark, and we start with a reading from Mark 6 starting in verse 7. And he called the 12 and began to send them out 2 by 2 and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not put on to tunics. And he said to them, whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.

John Gunter: 02:18

And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent, and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. So far in the gospel of Mark, it has been the Jesus show, hasn't it? Jesus has been teaching, Jesus has been doing different things, and there's always people out to trap him. Now, the disciples, the followers, those who he called were always there with him.

John Gunter: 02:53

Not always understanding what was going on perfectly, but they were there with him. Now the time has come for Jesus to kind of push them out of the nest. Have you ever seen a a video where a bird will actually push the young out of the nest? Scares me every time. I've seen parents who teach their infants how to swim.

John Gunter: 03:13

That gives me high anxiety. I don't wanna do that. But at some point in our lives, we have to move from not just hearing and being around, but to doing. And notice in the first part of this, Jesus told them, Don't really take anything with you. This needs to be a life of faith.

John Gunter: 03:35

Now, how many of us, if we were planning to do exactly what they did, would have so much baggage it would weigh us down? Right? You go to take an airplane flight, you gotta weigh your baggage. We're taking so much stuff. We don't necessarily live on faith because we don't have to.

John Gunter: 03:52

We're we're blessed with so many things. Alright? That's what we do. We carry those with us, but Jesus is trying to teach his disciples a very important lesson. Do you remember a few weeks ago when I told you about the early Jewish blessing?

John Gunter: 04:07

May you be covered with the dust of your rabbi. May you be so close to your teacher that you are getting dust from him, that you follow him so closely, that that is your life. You are covered with his dust because you have chosen to walk so closely to him. Well, it's not all about walking closely. It's not all about, for us, coming and just listening.

John Gunter: 04:30

Right? If we are not changed, if we don't if we are not moved into doing or to following God so closely that we become his hands and feet in the world around us, we've missed it, haven't we? And so that's what Jesus is trying to say. And and notice, it says, so they proclaimed that people should repent and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. Have you done any of this?

John Gunter: 04:59

What would you think if you were able to do it? If you went out today and you know somebody who's sick and you anointed them with oil and prayed over them and they immediately were healed, Would your faith be strengthened? What would you think? Would you think, well, my hands are so great. Right?

John Gunter: 05:15

Would you be shocked in awe? Would you feel like you were closer to God? What are the emotions you would have? Think about that as we read this next part. Verse 30 from Mark chapter 6.

John Gunter: 05:26

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 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. They were surrounded so much by people that didn't have time to to take off for lunch. Right? And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

John Gunter: 05:47

Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. Well, what had just happened? What had just happened was the disciples were sent out and did great things. Right? Not just Jesus who people followed, but all of a sudden his disciples are able to heal people, cast out spirits, and all of that.

John Gunter: 06:08

And so it's almost like seeing a famous person. Anybody ever seen a famous person out in in real life in the wild? You did a double take? That way, should I talk to them? Should I go over there?

John Gunter: 06:19

Should I interrupt their dinner? Don't interrupt their dinner. But they they noticed Jesus. They say, okay. We're gonna run ahead of them.

John Gunter: 06:26

Well, we think we know where he's going. We're gonna run ahead of them to have an encounter with Jesus, you know, for the Instagram. Right? 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.

John Gunter: 06:42

And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, this is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. The disciples looked around and said, Logically, these people need time to get out and go get something to eat. And Jesus says this, You give them something to eat. Now, the disciples had just experienced something miraculous, that they are able all of a sudden to do these things, to heal, to cast out demonic spirits, do all these wonders that led to people chasing them around the lake.

John Gunter: 07:21

And now, as soon as they are confronted with something like this, where there's not enough food, they say, they need to go get something to eat. They're not thinking the way Jesus thinks. They are still thinking logically instead of, kind of, spiritually. You understand? And Jesus is not being mean to them.

John Gunter: 07:44

Jesus is reminding them, you have also been given the gift to do things for these people. You give them something to eat. Why are we sending them out when you have the power? You think they would know that, right, all of what just happened? It says, you give them something to eat.

John Gunter: 08:01

How many of you, when something goes on in your life, the first thing you do is try to fix it yourself without praying? Raise your hand. Yeah. John Gunter is one of those people. It's not something I brag about, but a confession.

John Gunter: 08:14

Because I I feel like, okay, I am my mind works that way. Okay. What can I do to fix it when the first thing I should do is give it to Jesus? Often, it's after, you know, time has passed where I have failed over and over again, where the light bulb finally goes on. Oh, I haven't prayed about this.

John Gunter: 08:36

I haven't even given it to given it to Jesus. God says, lay your burdens on him, and I'm over here trying to work myself to death fixing the problem that I should have been given to him given to him anyway. And so Jesus says, you give them something to eat. And he continues, they said to him, shall we go and buy 200 denari worth of bread and give it to them to eat? Again, logically.

John Gunter: 08:56

Right? That kind of money, Lord, do you see this crowd? Jesus, did you see them saying this with some kind of sarcasm? I don't think this is just straight, straightforward. How would we do that?

John Gunter: 09:10

He said to them, how many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they found out, they said, 5 and 2 fish. Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. Notice how Jesus teaches here.

John Gunter: 09:22

He just starts doing. He doesn't say, and here's what I'm going to do. He just says, you go sit down. I'll show you something. So they sat down in groups by 100 and by fifties, and taking the 5 loaves and the 2 fish, he looked up to heaven.

John Gunter: 09:37

What they should have done first. Right? 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 2 fish among them all, and they all ate and were satisfied. Did they all get little shards of fish?

John Gunter: 09:54

No. They all ate and were satisfied. How much does it take to satisfy you? Depends on depends on what I've been doing for the day. Did I just wake up?

John Gunter: 10:03

I've been working hard. You said low blood sugar, a little hangry. Right? No. They all ate and were satisfied, and they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.

John Gunter: 10:16

And those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men. That's crazy. Isn't it? Can you even wrap your mind around that? That there were still if you're thinking, well, he just probably broke them into small pieces.

John Gunter: 10:32

Well, how were there 12 baskets full left? What kind of fish were these? Right? Will they go out and catch humongous tuna? No.

John Gunter: 10:43

Well, Jesus has done something miraculous in their midst. And notice notice that this happens. And the next story Mark tells do they get it? Immediately, he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, where he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up to the mountain to pray.

John Gunter: 11:06

And when the evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. They're out there rowing into a headwind. They're not making much much progress. It says, about the 4th watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea.

John Gunter: 11:24

This is probably 3 AM. He meant to pass them by, and and this could be translated, he meant to come to them, pass their way, pass them by. Sounds like Jesus is just gonna keep on going. It sound sounds odd in the in the context of this. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified.

John Gunter: 11:50

But immediately he spoke to them and said, take heart. It is I. Do not be afraid. And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

John Gunter: 12:05

Jesus is trying to teach them lesson after lesson, and they're not getting it. I'm glad we all get everything Jesus teaches us, right? No. Jesus tries to teach them, alright, you give things to God, you are able to do these things, and they don't get it, even though they have been able to heal and cast out demons. Well, they just saw Jesus do something miraculous, that he was able to take these fish and loaves and turn it into everybody was full, and we have 12 baskets left over.

John Gunter: 12:39

And immediately, while they're on the lake, they become worried again. Not only are they worried about their lives, they see Jesus and are spooked by that. It must be a ghost. I don't know what I would say if I saw someone walking across a lake. Maybe I would say it was a ghost.

John Gunter: 12:55

I don't know. But what it says here is, as Jesus got into the boat, he came to them. He says, don't worry about it. It is me. It is I.

John Gunter: 13:04

And all of a sudden, the wind ceased. Jesus has already done this in the boat. Do you remember? When they thought, Well, you don't care anything about us, Lord. You don't care if we die or if we live, and he calms the storm.

John Gunter: 13:17

He shows that He is Lord over all. When He gets back in the boat this time, again, the wind ceased. He has authority over everything, and they still don't get it. Notice, they did not understand about the loaves. Why?

John Gunter: 13:33

Their hearts were what, church? Hardened. So what we should do with with a verse like this, with a a teaching like this is to say, okay, God, what is it that I have hardened my hearts to? What am my heart. What is it that I don't understand because I have just said within myself, either I don't care or don't tell me that or something?

John Gunter: 13:57

Because probably for all of us, there is something. There's some hard teaching or something you you perceive as hard within God's word, and you don't want to do it. For us, a lot of people I'll I'll have people say, well, I don't know how to share the gospel. And so instead of desiring to learn more, desiring to learn how, we don't do that, we stop and we cut it off and we say, well, maybe that's for somebody else. And so Jesus' desire is not to just teach his people, it is to lead them, to be an example for them so that they go and do and have do so with the same mindset that he had.

John Gunter: 14:37

That we go out into the world and don't go, oh, my goodness. There's so much stuff. What do I do? I'll just sit in my house. But we go out with the understanding that we go out with God, that He is with us, that Jesus is with us, and He's shown you over and over that He has authority over everything you're worried about.

John Gunter: 14:57

Right? Is that right, church? That He has the power, that He has the authority, and still, sometimes, we don't get it. In verse 53, it says, when they had crossed over, they came, to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.

John Gunter: 15:23

Jesus can't get anywhere without people following him at this point. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment, and as many as touched it were made well. The thing you should notice in that last section is that everyone else seems to get it. Whether it's by just desire for their loved ones to be healed or whatever, they see that Jesus has the power. It's the ones closest to him, the one that should understand, that are always just missing the point.

John Gunter: 16:08

Did you see that? Everyone else is bringing people to Jesus. The disciples are the ones that said, Let's send them away so they can help themselves. We should be bringing people to Jesus, shouldn't we? To tell people about Jesus' authority over everything, that he can we can lay our burdens down on him.

John Gunter: 16:32

But often, we are hard hearted. Often, we shut down, we don't know enough, or we don't feel like we can do it. Or maybe there's something in our lives that we've really given more attention to, that I'd really rather be doing this or that. And so instead of bringing people to Jesus, we wish and we hope and we say, Why don't more people come? Well, why don't more people go?

John Gunter: 16:58

Jesus said to pray for more people to go out and harvest. Right? The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Jesus, as He tries to teach His disciples, say, go and do. I will be with you.

John Gunter: 17:14

So, church, this week as you go, wherever you go, as you go to lunch in a few minutes, as you go to work this week, you don't go and do alone. You go with Jesus. Jesus sent his Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, to indwell us and to be with us wherever we go. And so this morning, I just want to ask you and encourage you, if you haven't begun that walk with him, that you do so. That if you feel like you have strayed away from God, come back to him.

John Gunter: 17:49

Lay your cares on him. Walk closely with him, and may you all, in our church at Eagle Community, be covered with the dust of your rabbi, Jesus Christ.