by by Pastor Paul Rendall

Gospel: Mark 8: 1-10

Last week we looked at the compassion and sympathy of our Lord Jesus Christ in relation to the healing of people's bodies, with applications on how also to minister to their souls. Today we look at the compassion and sympathy of the Lord Jesus in relation to the feeding of people's bodies. And we will attempt to further apply this truth also to those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness; to those who want to do good works. Once again, we will hope to see how this affects our ministry as Christians and as a church, to the many people around us who are in need. We learn from this passage that the ministry of the Christian Church (represented by the apostles and disciples of our Lord, here) is to feed those who are, as it says in this text, "continuing with Him". It is the obligation of every individual Christian and every Christian church to think seriously about how they can help other Christians, or those who are interested in becoming followers of Jesus; people who are "continuing on with them". The people of this passage that we just read, were not people who were not working, and down and out. Probably many of these people were those who could work, desired to work, and probably did have jobs that they were going back to, in the next days. Their need of help had come from their following Christ closely; so closely that they ran out of the resources that they had brought with them. That was what was happening here. This multitude of people were following Jesus, and they were listening to the teaching of His word. And because of their attendance upon His word; having come from afar; they needed to receive the hospitality, and the temporary help of Jesus and his disciples, because they did not have enough of their own resources with them at that time to supply their needs.

This leads me to point out to you this morning that which may be obvious to you; but maybe not so obvious. This act of the Lord Jesus to minister to these dear people who were following Him into the wilderness to hear His teaching, was a supernatural miracle. The disciples could have never fed all these people without Him. The disciples did not have the resources which they needed to minister to the needs of this multitude. But Jesus wanted to teach them that they should believe that they could minister to the multitudes with His miraculous help. It was a lesson, therefore, which was repeating the truth of what He had done before in feeding the 5,000. And yet; Jesus knew that the disciples needed this repetition to build and strengthen their ability to minister to others after He had finished His ministry, and when they were beginning theirs. Jesus orchestrated this miracle for the multitudes, not only that they might fed, but that the disciples might be taught. This was for the training of the twelve, but it is also for our instruction as well. Both Jesus and the disciples who were closest to Him ministered to these people in this miraculous way in the wilderness so that each of us will grapple with what we can do for others around us. So let us think together, first of all this morning, about the compassion of Jesus. Then 2ndly we will think about the question of the disciples. And 3rdly, we will think about the meal and the leftovers.

1st of all - Let's think together of the compassion of Jesus. (Verses 1-3)

"I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat." "And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar." The Compassion of Jesus is that which flows from His watchful care over His followers. He marks down every service done for His name's sake and all the expenditure of personal resources, and every bit of strength which is used in following Him. He has compassion. If we turn to the 1828 Webster's Dictionary, which is one of the best of all dictionaries in my estimation, we find that compassion means, "A suffering with another; painful sympathy; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or the misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration. Compassion is a mixed passion, compounded of love and sorrow; at least some portion of love generally attends the pain or regret, or is excited by it. Extreme distress of an enemy even changes enmity into at least a temporary affection. "He, (God) being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity." (Psalm 78: 38) His father had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. (Luke 15: 20) To compassionate someone means that you have a temper or disposition to pity; an inclination to show mercy; having a heart that is tender, and easily moved by the distresses, sufferings, wants and infirmities of others." "There never was a heart truly great and generous, that was not also tender and compassionate." This is what the Lord Jesus had. We must ask ourselves if we have it as well; we who are his followers. Let us ask ourselves whether we have a disposition to pity people in need? Let us ask ourselves whether our heart is easily moved by the distresses and sufferings of others; the needs and weaknesses of people around us? Let us ask ourselves if we have a generous heart? The Lord Jesus had all of these. He sympathized with the plight of those who were following Him. He felt what they were feeling. He put Himself in their position.

I would like to say, by way of application, that it is entirely possible for any Christian to become a person who is intensely observant, and yet at the same time, to so lack the sympathy and the feeling necessary to go about to help a person in need; that they do not go on to help them. They give themselves good reasons, they think, in their heart, as to why they should not, or cannot help them. Even if that person is a brother or a sister in need. Compassion is the only thing that will bridge the gap. A person having true compassion does not just make the correct observations. They deliberately go to the next step, and they think about what they can personally do to help that person in need. They reason with themselves; what will happen if I do nothing to help? Listen to the holy reasoning of Jesus again. "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat." "And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar." The Lord Jesus convinced Himself that it would not be the right thing to do; to do nothing. "They have continued with Me three days." They have used up all the resources that they brought with them. They will faint trying to get back home, because they have come a long way. You and I need to think about the implications of the faith and obedience of other Christians around us. If they are being faithful; even if they do not have the organizational skills that you might have; to see what the practical implications are; will you not compassionate them in His name? Think about the words of 1 John 3: 17 with me for a moment. "But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" If you have the ability to help, and you shut up your heart from him, the love of God is not abiding in you. If you know the right thing to do, and you do not do it, it is sin to you. This shutting up of the heart is closing the door of our heart to show compassion. This is something that Jesus did not do; and it is something that we dare not do, unless we want to prove that the love of God is not something abiding in us.

Jesus could have reasoned to Himself in this way. He could have said, "Well, why is it that these people have stayed so long here, when they live so far away?" "If they knew that they were running low on food, why didn't they think simply think about leaving sooner to go back, so that they will not faint along the way?" He could have blamed them for their lack of organizational skills, and left them to the implications of their own poor planning. But he did not do it. He thought about their good intentions and their desires in following Him, and learning from Him. He saw that there was a holy abandon in them; a holy forgetfulness of the time, when they were with Him. He didn't look down upon this. He used it as a reason why He should have compassion, and why He would help them out. Ah, brethren, let us think of the sacrifices of those who continue with Christ, and even the inability of those who continue with Christ to provide for themselves, to be a reason why we will show them compassion. Let us remember the words of James in James 2: 14. "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" "Can that faith save him?" "If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?" "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead." You see, Jesus could not do this with the people who were continuing with Him, because He had compassion. He could not simply give them the verbal blessing of "be warmed", "be filled", and then send them away. He would do what He knew that He could do for them. You and I, if we are becoming more like Christ, will do the same. We will have compassion.

2ndly - Let us think together about the question of the disciples and the question of Jesus to them. (Verses 4 and 5)

"Then His disciples answered Him, 'How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?" "He asked them, 'How many loaves do you have?" "And they said, "Seven." They are confessing to Jesus how impossible it will be for them to be able to obtain the amount of bread necessary for all these people to be satisfied. Where were they going to get that bread when they were so far from a city? Now I do not think that they had forgotten the time before, when Jesus fed the 5,000. I do not think that this is a case of their entire forgetfulness and their entire unbelief. But I do believe that there was in them a mixture of faith and unbelief, as there often is in ourselves, in relation to the Lord Jesus' repeatedly doing some amazing and miraculous work, in relation to the needs of people around us. I think that they did believe that Jesus had the power to work this same kind of miracle that He did before, for the 5,000. The real question was; would He be willing to do it once again here? They did not want to presumptuously assume that He would do a miracle, when He might have some other reason in His mind why the normal means should be used. The disciples, it is evident, truly wanted to help Jesus show them compassion. They did not know how they could help Him. When they ask their question, they are confessing their own inability. "How can one satisfy these people with bread…?" They pose it as an objective question with the implied answer that no one but Jesus could. But here we see the gentle and humble way that Jesus draws them into helping Him, in showing the multitudes compassion. He does not say, "I will do what I did before." The thought of Jesus, here, is to bring the disciples to do what they should do in anticipation of what He would do for them and through them, to feed the multitudes. He asks, "How many loaves do you have?" He would have them bring what resources of food, that they did have, to Him. Then He would do the miracle. Here is the lesson of the feeding of the five thousand repeated once again, but in this second incident the truth becomes more personal for the disciples. In the other incident, it was a little boy's lunch that was brought to Jesus. In this incident, it was the collective resources of bread and fish of those disciples closest to Him. Jesus is saying that whether you are a little boy, or whether you are an Apostle of the Lord, you are to bring what resources that you have to Him. What resources do you have to truly help and feed others with? You are to bring those resources, no matter how meager, to Jesus; and He will multiply the reality of them and the effects of them to those in need, in your giving of them to Him. You see, in our unbelief we would say to ourselves: "Really, there is no use bringing the little that I have, to Jesus. Why would such a little amount as I have, make any real difference when there is a multitude to be fed? But when we are asked by Jesus to examine and think about what we do have; we see that even a little will go a long ways in helping the real needs of others, when He can multiply it. Whether it is one person that you are trying to help, or a multitude; if you are trying to help them in Jesus name, He expects you to take stock of what you have and to bring what you have to Him that He might use it. This is how the Christian ministers to others in need, even though He Himself may have very little in the way of resources. He believes and knows that God has great resources, boundless resources, infinite resources; and so He can trust that Christ will multiply the little that is given to Him. It does not matter if you are small, or if you are great in the eyes of men; it is all the same. It is Jesus by His power and His grace who is multiplying the effects of the little that you have in comparison with Him. He has entrusted you with the little that you have. He expects you to make good use of it. He uses all your good intentions to help, and everything that you actually bring to Him, to help others with.

You remember the parable of the talents that Jesus told in Matthew 25: 14- 30? In that parable the kingdom of heaven is describe to be like a man who is traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them." "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey." "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents." "And likewise he who had received two gained two more also." "But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money." "After a long time the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them." The ones who had received 5 and 2 talents, both gained as many as they were given because they had faithfully used them. But then in verse 24, it says, "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, "Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed." "And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground." "Look, there you have what is yours." "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed." "So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest."

You see, the reason that this servant who had received only one talent, failed to use it wisely, was because of two reasons. He thought that His master was a hard man. He did not know how compassionate and loving a man he really was. He had a misconception of him. And the second reason that he failed was that he failed to use it at all, in trading for anything. He didn’t even put it in the bank; he rather hid it in the ground. The lessons apply to what we are studying today. How do you see the Lord Jesus Christ, your Master? Do you see Him as a hard man? Do you see Him as reaping where He did not sow and gathering where He did not scatter? Do you see Him expecting you to do all these acts of service on your own; and He, not coming to you to help you with what you give back to Him? And then, how do you see yourself? Do you see yourself, only in terms of the limited resources that you have to give to Him or to others, and so you take those resources, and as it were, and hide them in the ground so that they are never used for the master's profit in any sense at all? Wouldn't it be better to bring them to bankers, those persons who are wise in the ways of the use of money, so that they could have helped you to see how you could wisely use them? Let us see how great is the compassion of our Lord Jesus. Let us see how greatly He can multiply even the little that we give to Him, so that we can help others in need.

Then finally - Let us think together about the meal and the leftovers in the baskets. (Verses 6-8)

"So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground." "And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before the multitude." "They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them." "So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Here, once again, we need to reflect and marvel at the idea that 4,000 men, besides women and children, were fed that day; probably 8-10,000 in all. A few moments before, the disciples could not comprehend how they could do it. And now, they were doing it. Now the multitude is told to be seated. Now the disciples see their Lord take the 7 loaves and give thanks. Now they see Him bless the meal of fish. Now they see their Lord's hands busily continuing to break the bread the seven loaves until the disciples had distributed it to them all. It was very obvious to them that the Divine Creator of all things had become flesh and manifested His power to create and to provide. Is it evident to you, dear believer? "So they ate and were filled." They ate and were satisfied. It was enough. And this is always the way that it is spiritually for all those following Jesus. Jesus was enough for them then. And Jesus is enough for us now. Jesus is all your soul needs to be satisfied, both now and forevermore! He is the bread of life. The person who comes to Him shall never hunger and he who believes in Him shall never thirst. "Break thou the bread of life, dear Lord to me." "As thou didst break the loaves beside the sea." "Beyond the sacred page, I seek thee Lord." "My spirit pants for thee, O living Word."

What were all these leftovers for; which the disciples collected? Seven large baskets of leftover fragments. It is to show us that they ended up with far more than they started with. When Christ multiplied the loaves and the fishes, they were not only fed and satisfied for that meal, but there was enough there that any who needed more to sustain them on the trip home would have meals for that journey. The same is true in the way that Christ provides for those who continue with Him today. His grace and the compassionate miracles of His love and mercy which are shown to us now in these days, are not going to stop any time soon. As we trust in Him, He will surely give us all that we need to bring us all the way safely home to glory, in the days to come. He will never fail us, nor forsake us.

by John Mark Hicks

Gospel: Mark 8:1-10

Jesus resumed his kingdom ministry when he returned to the sea of Galilee from the regions of Tyre and Sidon. After some time (“in those days”) Jesus was followed by a large crowd (4,000 people) into a remote place where food was not easily accessible. Mark describes this area as a “wilderness” (8:4) and uses a cognate of the term he has previously employed to describe Jesus’ time in the Judean desert (1:12-13), his moments of solitude (1:35, 45) and the previous feeding of the 5,000 (6:31-32, 35).Israel, following Jesus, once again finds themselves in the wilderness.

It is uncertain where this “wilderness” is. Jesus is probably ministering in the Decapolis on the eastern or northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Whatever the region, at the close of the story Jesus gets into a boat and crosses over to “Dalmanutha.” But this place name is unknown in any other source. The parallel in Matthew (15:39) names it Magadan (which may be another name for Magdala located on the west side of the sea). Presumably, then, Jesus is still on the eastern/northeastern side of the lake in the Decapolis.

As with the feeding of the 5,000 (Mark 6:30-44), the remote location creates a problem. No food is readily accessible for such a large crowd. Many had come from a “long distance” to be with Jesus and they had been there for “three days” without food. These notes may be purely situational in order to describe the desperate situation of the people, but they may also have theological significance about the Gentile mission (“far off”) and typify “three days” in the wilderness just as Jesus was three days in the tomb (cf. Mark 8:31; 14:58; 15:29).

Jesus shares his feelings about the situation with his disciples: “I have compassion on these people.” Loving people entails feeding people as well as teaching them. Compassion moved Jesus to postpone his rest in order to teach the 5,000 (Mark 6:34), but here it moves him to feed them. The missional nature of this event is evident: compassion is part of the motivation for kingdom ministry. We teach and feed people because we love them. To love our neighbor is not only to teach them but to feed them as well.

The disciples, however, are confused by Jesus’ statement. How are they going to feed 4,000 people? Well….duh. One would think that they might remember the previous occasion and trust Jesus. But the disciples can only look at their own resources—they are in the “wilderness.” Food is not available. They only have seven loaves and a “few fish.” But was that not enough previously? And it is enough this time.

The people are asked to “recline”—“sit down” does not give the full impact of this language. This is a festive meal that is characterized by reclining. It is celebratory, relaxed–a meal among friends. Jesus is hosting a banquet for hungry people in the wilderness. Like at the Last Supper (Mark 14:22), as well as the previous feeding of thousands (Mark 6:41), Jesus eucharistically breaks bread at the table with his disciples.

The abundance of the meal is signaled not only by the fact that everyone was satisfied (“filled”) but by the huge amount of leftovers. Seven basketfuls of food remained. But is that not less than in the previous feeding which had twelve basketfuls? Actually, it isn’t. The word for basket in Mark 6:43 refers to something like the size of a lunch box but the word in Mark 8:9 refers to a basket large enough to lift a person over a wall (cf. Acts 9:25). The leftovers could have fed hundreds more. God’s provision is overflowing.

The parallels between the feeding of the 4,000 and the 5,000 raise the question about why the different numbers: twelve “baskets” in Mark 6 and seven “baskets” in Mark 8. Why the difference? It may simply be a factual report, but even then why these “facts”? Are we to suppose the twelve in Mark 6 is a significant symbol for Israel but the number seven has no symbolic meaning? It may be that “seven” symbolizes “wholeness” and inclusiveness and thus symbolizing the Gentile inclusion in this meal.

Some have suggested that the 4,000 included both Jew and Gentile. This is partly based on the fact that this happened in the Decapolis (a Gentile region but where many Jews lived) and the statement many “came from far” may allude to Joshua 9:6, 9 and Isaiah 60:4. This was a typical way of referring to Gentiles (cf. Acts 2:39). Others also note that Mark substituted “giving thanks” (8:6) for “blessing” (6:41) which is more typical of Gentile audiences than Jewish, and that the number seven rather than twelve may represent an inclusive number in contrast with a typically Jewish numeral. Perhaps Mark intends to paint an inclusive picture here that prefigures the Gentile mission though one wonders if he might not been more explicit about it as he was with the Syro-Phoenician woman (7:26). Allusions to Gentile inclusion seem present and it is difficult to imagine that no Gentiles would be present among the 4,000 on the eastern or northeastern side of the lake.

If this is the case, the meal setting points us toward the inclusive nature of the Lord’s table. Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks it and gives it, just as he does at the Last Supper (Mark 14:22). Mark’s first readers would not miss the literary and linguistic links as well as the theological linkage. After three days, Jesus rose from the dead to host his table in the kingdom of God. Those who are “afar off” are invited to this table as well as the people of Israel. In his compassion Jesus feeds those who have followed him into the wilderness, and he continues to feed disciples today through the Eucharist. Disciples still sit with Jesus at the table.