[0:00] Mark chapter 6, we're going to begin reading together in verse 30, and we're going to read through the end of the chapter. So hang with me and you'll soon understand why we're going to take such a big chunk of this.
[0:11] Not because I'm in any way eager to get through and to the end of Mark, but it's appropriate to deal with it together this morning. So beginning of verse 30 of chapter 6. The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
[0:26] And he said to them, And he said,
[2:56] This is God's word to us written for his glory and our good. We would all do well to listen to it and obey it this morning.
[3:10] Let's pray together. Father, we do praise you this morning for the gift of your word. And we pray now that you will bless us together as we come and meet around it.
[3:23] As we come to look and to gaze into it. As we come to see what it is you would say to us this day by it. Father, we desire to look more like your son.
[3:34] And you accomplish that by your spirit and the preaching of your word. And we pray that that will be done in us this day. Make us more like him that we might exalt his name. And we pray this in Christ's name.
[3:46] Amen. Amen. So, we're coming to the end of chapter 6. And we have now seen miracle after miracle after miracle. In fact, Mark has been driving that kind of in comic book fashion.
[3:58] He's just been laying them out to us again and again and again. And here we see three more miracles. Rather magnificent ones. Two specific. And then a summary of Jesus' healing ministry.
[4:10] We've seen so far in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus' power over sickness. Over demons. Over creation. Over death. And over sin. And what Mark is doing for us in here is he's crying out to us.
[4:21] Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the anointed one of God. Believe in Him. This is the point of his Gospel. That we might recognize Him for who He is.
[4:32] And follow Him accordingly. That is the cry. We have come now as we've been kind of marching through here. We've seen at the end of chapter 4. Jesus calming the Sea of Galilee.
[4:43] These massive waves that would rise up. Up to 10 feet tall. He simply speaks and it's calmed. He then lands on the shore. Casts out an army of demons out of a man.
[4:53] Puts them in pigs who drown in the sea. We've seen countless healings. Even summary of healings. Many, many people were being healed. It said that illness was altogether eradicated from Israel in this day.
[5:08] We've seen Him raise a young girl from the dead. We've seen Him rejected in His hometown. Which He then goes and sends out the Twelve on their first journey apart from Him.
[5:20] And then we saw last week the death of John the Baptist. And this is where we come. And we see the apostles are returning. They do a one verse debrief.
[5:31] I'd love to know some of the details of all that they had done and taught. But this is the detail that Mark gives us at this juncture. And Jesus says, Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.
[5:43] Which is a plan that's interrupted. And then we see this coming series of miracles that are performed. These are the last miracles that Jesus will perform in Galilee.
[5:53] These two specific, the walking on water, the feeding of the 5,000. And then this kind of summary at the end of chapter 6 of this great number that's being healed.
[6:04] And after this, He leaves. He goes off to the Mediterranean coast, to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He doesn't return to Galilee. This is His third time He's kind of made a sweep through the region.
[6:15] This is, if you will think of it in this way, kind of His last sermon presentation. This is His last days in this region, preaching the good news of the coming kingdom of God.
[6:27] So we would be remiss today if we didn't spend some time certainly talking about the amazing, incredible nature, awesome nature of these miracles. We see the first one that feeds all these people that are gathered.
[6:42] We see 5,000 men. Matthew makes it a little more explicit for us. It says 5,000 men besides women and children. Likely that every man there would have had a wife and some kids.
[6:53] Most scholars estimate somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 people had followed them around the side of the sea and met them where they landed. There are only two miracles that are recorded in all four Gospels.
[7:07] There's only two. First is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All four Gospels speak of that miracle. The second is this one, the feeding of the 5,000. Which means that it has some special significance.
[7:19] It's amazing. It's an incredible feat that He accomplished. But He's also done some other very incredible things. He's raised people from the dead. He's cast out legions of demons. He's calmed a storm. He's done all of this with the power of His Word.
[7:30] He's going to walk on water right after this. Incredible, incredible things. But all four of the Gospel writers were inspired to record this particular miracle. Next we see Him walking on water.
[7:42] Again, having dominion over creation. I, just for fun, was looking around on the internet a couple months ago and found a group of guys that are trying to run on water.
[7:52] This is like their new sport that they're doing. And they've managed to run fast enough that they can get about three steps out into the water before they sink. And it's kind of hilarious because they have to capture it on high-speed footage to even know that they're staying on top of the water.
[8:05] Because it's fairly, when you watch them do it, you're like, Yep, I've done that before. Run and crash into the water. But Jesus Himself took a stroll in a storm out on the sea. In fact, the record is that He intended just to pass by them.
[8:18] He was just going to walk on past as they were trying to tack in this storm, try to sail against the wind and arrive on the other coast. But when they see Him, He enters the boat with them.
[8:29] And then again, as I said, at the end here we see, after these things happen, this summary of healing. Anybody who heard coming to Him that they just might touch Him.
[8:40] He had that kind of power radiated out of Him. If somebody would just touch Him, they would be healed of whatever infirmary they had. So incredible miracles. Incredible.
[8:51] We have said time and time again, look at these miracles. Look at the way in which they lend evidence to the message that He was preaching. And that was the point all along. Jesus worked in these supernatural ways to say to people, listen to what I am telling you.
[9:08] People thronged around Him. Many thousands of people. Here we see likely 20 to 25,000 people. And if you'll catch this, they're kind of dumb.
[9:18] They've left and chased Him around the Sea of Galilee and have no provision for the day. Right? They're sheep wandering about and they've wandered together to meet Him on the other side of the sea.
[9:29] He's constantly pressed around. But He did all of this that people might hear the good news of the coming kingdom of God. We would do well to hear that from Him today.
[9:39] So I want us to note three things from the text. Firstly, notice Jesus' compassion. Notice His compassion.
[9:49] Verse 34 says, He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Now I just want you to put in your mind kind of what's been going on and where Jesus is at.
[10:02] He's just been rejected in His hometown. Small town. Very little town Nazareth was. Everybody in Nazareth knew Him. And in fact, this wasn't the first time He had been rejected.
[10:13] This is the second time He had been rejected. He had been there about a year prior and they tried to throw Him off a cliff. And seemingly in some miraculous way, He passed through them and got away. So this is the second time He returns and He's once again rejected.
[10:24] And it actually says that He marveled at their unbelief. That He was amazed by the fact that they wouldn't accept Him as the Christ. We talked when we looked at that text that He did this to set an example for the apostles.
[10:37] He's about to send them out. He's going to give them some instruction on what to do when they're rejected. So He's a living example in that way. And He goes and says, See? People are going to reject even the Christ.
[10:48] Of course they will reject you. And He sends them out. And then we get this story interjected in the middle of all of this. It kind of... It's almost like you go to a different scene altogether. And we get this story of Herod beheading John the Baptist, which Kyle did a wonderful job with last week.
[11:05] And this is the end of that. This is the finality of that. We see in verse 29 of chapter 6, When His disciples heard of it, they came and took His body and laid it in a tomb.
[11:16] And then we see the record that the apostles returned to Jesus. And certainly, Jesus, if He hadn't already heard the news that John the Baptist had been beheaded, heard it at this point. The apostles returned to Him and He knows at this point what has happened to His cousin of some relation, some type of cousin, friend, the one who came before Him and heralded His coming.
[11:37] This man meant a lot to Him. And the response is, Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while. And note that at this point, He is with them, also going away to a desolate place to rest a while.
[11:53] And they're interrupted in this plan to go and to be still and to recharge by a throng of people. And I have to tell you that this text has particularly ministered to me over the last couple of weeks because I get this way sometimes.
[12:09] I get just so drained. And I'm just so tired. And then the phone call comes. Right? And you just go, Oh, not another phone call. I don't know if I can handle another thing.
[12:20] I don't know that I have anything else to give. And I imagine that this is the place that Jesus is at at this time. Right? Perfectly human. Perfectly God. I'm sure He had much more energy than I'll ever have in my life.
[12:32] However, He was, in fact, human. He felt pain. He felt sorrow. And here He's experiencing the loss of John the Baptist. He's been rejected in His hometown.
[12:42] And rather than turning the crowd away, rather than getting back in the boat and sailing someplace else, that's what I would have done. I would have taken off in the sea and stayed out there to rest. He sees the people and He has compassion on them.
[12:56] He sees them in their state. They're like sheep. And if you don't know much about sheep, sheep are fairly dumb animals. They need a shepherd. Sheep are left to themselves. They get slaughtered.
[13:07] Wolves come in and they kill them. They need a shepherd. A shepherd protects them. A shepherd leads them to good grass and clean water. They don't do that on their own. They wander around hoping to find good grass and clean water.
[13:21] Sheep are dependent on a shepherd. And this is how He views them. He has compassion. He has compassion. Another wonderful example of this is when He's coming into the city of Jerusalem.
[13:33] These are His people who are apostate. They have rejected what God has told them in the Old Testament of the coming of the Christ. They are about to reject Jesus Himself. It says that when He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it.
[13:46] A heartfelt compassion. A man who was God, who knew how it was that God was going to play out redemptive history in the world. And yet we see Him with the people who were coming to seek just what they could get from Him.
[14:00] Heal us. Do miraculous things for us. Give us food to eat. And He had compassion on them. He provides for their needs here. Their temporal, or if you prefer the word physical, He provides for their temporal needs.
[14:14] And Mark doesn't record this, but in other accounts, like in Luke 9, verse 11, it says that He cured those who had need of healing. So He does some healing at this time as well. Matthew 6, verse 31-33, which precedes Matthew's account of the feeding of the 5,000 in chapter 14.
[14:34] Jesus teaches this, which Wes alluded to earlier. Beginning verse 31, Do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear?
[14:44] For the Gentiles, or those outside of the kingdom, seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
[14:58] So He provides for their need. They're there stupidly wandering into the wilderness to follow Him without provision. And the apostles are smart in this regard. They see the time that's growing late.
[15:10] Very pragmatic. Send them away. Send them back to town. They've got to buy provision so that they can survive. And Jesus instead, in this incredibly miraculous way, in a creation from almost nothing, creates food to feed 20,000 to 25,000 people.
[15:28] And that is a staggering number of people. I don't know if you can even wrap your mind around. I can't think of a gathering we have that's 20,000 to 25,000 people. But do that in terms of wedding plate cost.
[15:42] Some of you are young, married, caterers come and cater. Let's say $10 a plate. $200,000 worth of food. That is a lot of food. This was an abundance of food.
[15:55] This was no small snack split up amongst people. They ate until they were full. And there was food left over. The food abounded, which is the point of the gathering of baskets.
[16:06] Jesus not only provided for their need, but He went above and beyond in His blessing as He created food for them. So He provided for their temporal, their physical needs.
[16:16] But more importantly than that, He was looking to meet their spiritual needs. And herein is a lesson. Those of us who are ministers of the gospel of God, and I don't mean in a special position like I hold, but those of us who are Christians, who are ministering the gospel of God, what we need to give to people is their real needs, not their felt needs.
[16:37] Some people think they need a certain, have something that they need met, but it's not necessarily what they really need. And what people really need is their hearts addressed. People really need the good news of the kingdom of God to get inside of them and work in them.
[16:50] And this is what we see Jesus doing. Verse 34, the second half. And He began teaching them many things. 20 to 25,000 people. He sits down on the shore with them and begins to teach them many things.
[17:03] What was His message? It was the good news of the kingdom of God. What are God's ways? How can you bring yourself under them? How can you have life and life everlasting? Now there's some other keys in this text for what He was doing and why we can know that He was looking to meet their spiritual needs.
[17:21] Because we see some typology play out here. Now let me explain quickly to you typology. This is a super brief summary. A type, if we talk about an Old Testament type of Christ, we're not saying a version of Christ.
[17:34] That's the way we use the word type in our modern English. We're not saying a version of Christ. We're talking about a character who prefigures or who supersedes Christ. To speak in the typology terms, the anti-type, right?
[17:47] Which is the greater thing. So it shows us a shadow of something that is to come. And they're all throughout the Old Testament. David is an example of that. Moses is an example of that.
[17:57] The ark. Noah's ark is an example of that. Jesus. The ark is a type of Christ that saves us from God's condemnation. These things run all throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. So, he does a couple of things that are interesting here that point to this.
[18:12] Right? So we know that Moses led God's people out of captivity as God's instrument leads them out of captivity. This great picture of God's people being led out of slavery to sin and into redemption and to living in his kingdom.
[18:28] And so, we see them gathering together. You can see this in Exodus chapter 18, verse 21, in 100s and 50s. And Moses presided over the people in this way.
[18:39] He divided them into thousands, into hundreds, into fifties, into tens. That was the way in which he governed over the people. Jesus does the very same thing. So, Jesus is saying to them, I am the better Moses as he divides them up to distribute food amongst them.
[18:55] He's also, we see David as a type. Ezekiel 34, 23 says, And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
[19:09] And herein we find, perhaps, this is my very best guess at this, perhaps the significance of verse 39. Why did Mark record that he had them sit down on the green grass?
[19:22] Is that important in any way to the story? I believe it is. I believe that Jesus had them sit down in these groups on the green grass to say to him, I am the good shepherd.
[19:35] I am the better David. I will lead you to the good grass. Maybe coming to your mind is Psalm 23, verse 1-3.
[19:45] The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
[19:59] I would hope that if we were there, being sat down in green grass, being fed, being put in these groups in this way, and that this man who claims he's the Son of God, that he is the Christ, is teaching the coming of the kingdom, we would remember Psalm 23, 1-3, this inspired text.
[20:18] They would have known these words. And we would go, ah, Jesus. Jesus is the Christ. Look at all the things he's doing. He's fulfilling prophecies. He is the greater Moses.
[20:29] He is the greater David. John 10, verses 11-16. Famous. I hope you're familiar with this. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
[20:42] He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
[20:55] In relation to that, in contrast to that, verse 14, I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep.
[21:09] And then praise God for verse 16. This is us. This includes those of us who are not of Jewish descent. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice so there will be one flock, one shepherd.
[21:24] Do you see what he's doing for them and he's painting this last picture in the land of Galilee before he moves off to the coast to call them to himself.
[21:34] We see a great gospel proclamation in this miracle. So what for us is the application then of this? It's certainly to believe.
[21:45] To be clear. It's certainly to believe that Jesus is in fact the Christ. To recognize that all of these miracles are led to point us to the validity of his message and we're going to address that later.
[21:57] But speaking specifically of his compassion we ought to emulate Christ and be compassionate. We ought to have the same type of heart in us. In fact, Colossians 3.12 Paul says, put on then as God's chosen ones his sheep holy and beloved compassionate hearts.
[22:15] The objects of that compassion are the church and the world. Those who are yet to be part of the church. So we want to go and we want to share the gospel far and wide. We want to be compassionate. We want to remember where we once were the sin that we were delivered from the death that awaited us and have compassion on others who are awaiting the same thing.
[22:34] Do you have eternal mindset when you look at your neighbors and your classmates and your co-workers? Do you look at them and say if they don't have Christ their eternal doom is damnation?
[22:45] It'll be miserable forever and you break your heart break for them. I don't think that we including myself have hearts broken enough for the lost. We don't remember what we were delivered from.
[22:56] We don't actually understand the weight of our sin. We have a hard time wrapping our minds around what eternal separation from God would look like. We don't have compassionate hearts but we should.
[23:07] That should be the response to the compassion of Jesus Christ. Jesus finalized this for us on the cross. He went so much further than a little interruption in his rest.
[23:18] Christ. He died on our behalf. He died a miserable death. The worst death that's ever been created in the world he died. And above and beyond that he bore the wrath of God that was due our sin in himself that we might have life.
[23:32] That we might put on his righteousness. That when God looks at us he sees Christ beloved this should make us compassionate. This should warm our hearts to the purposes of Christ.
[23:45] we should love what Jesus loves because Jesus first loved us. You know what Jesus loves? He loves his church. He loves his sheep. He's gathering them in even now.
[23:58] So compassion. Secondly notice the need for communion. Now I'm not talking in this case of the church ordinance that we more commonly call the Lord's Supper here.
[24:12] I'm not talking about that type of communion. I'm talking about the communion the being with God. The charging that we get when we plug in to the source.
[24:23] This is such a wonderful picture in this text of Christ's co-existent humanity and deity. We see his need to step away from things.
[24:33] We see the human need for it too. Verse 31 and then again in verse 45 we see that Jesus is teaching the apostles to take times of restorative rest.
[24:46] Verse 31 he says come away by yourselves a desolate place and rest a while. It's an imperative. It's a command. You've gone off. You've been doing works. You've been sharing the gospel. Now rest.
[24:56] You need it. You're human and you're frail and you will fall and fail at some point if you don't get restorative rest. And then after this account he goes and he's teaching the apostles get very involved in this process.
[25:10] They're handing out food. It would have taken hours I would imagine to hand out that much food and after that it says immediately he made his disciples get into a boat verse 45 and go before him to the other side to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd.
[25:26] Now I think that this happened primarily because if you look in the other accounts like John's account it records that they were looking to take him by force to make him king. This group that had traveled out into the wilderness seemed to be rebels against Rome and they wanted to grab Jesus and make him king that he might lead them.
[25:44] He'd done miracles right? This must be the one that's going to lead us in triumph in a war against Rome. And so he sends the apostles away he gets them out of that scene he gets them gone right?
[25:54] He was the hubbub like he was the one attracting all the attention and they were able then to go and to rest so he sends them away. But what does he do when that happens? So they take this time of restorative rest and we must do the same but that's what we can learn as he's teaching them go and rest take some time with your family get some sleep college students it's very important I believe that Christian people ought to be the busiest people because we're working on the kingdom of God but take time for rest eight hours you know that most people need eight hours of sleep to be charged I think I average about six which is not healthy eight hours get some rest restore get away take vacations do those types of things but the greater lesson we learn is what Jesus goes and does he steps away on the mountain to pray so we see restorative rest we also see private prayer now you've got to keep in mind Jesus is constantly setting for us example but it's not that he didn't need it it's not that he didn't need the private prayer and he's just setting an example for us but he needed it as well he needed to abide with the father he was getting every directive from the father he needed to step away he needed to spend time in the scriptures and in prayer with God communing with him
[27:09] John Owen wrote a wonderful book called Communion with God and in it he said the love of God is like himself equal constant not capable of augmentation or diminution our love is like ourselves our love is like ourselves unequal increasing waning growing declining his like the sun always the same in its light though a cloud may sometimes interpose ours as the moon has its enlargements and straightenings if we're meant to love like Christ this is what we're called to do we must spend much time alone with God if we are to be of any value for anyone in this world we must first value God above everything and everyone in this world you know how you come to value him to make him your treasure above all else you know him I promise if you know God not just know things about God list of facts about him but if you know him if you spend time abiding with him if you are in communion with him in this way and you know him you will treasure him above all else here's the greatest thing by very definition if he is God he made all things and therefore he is better than all things and not in a slight way but if we put him on the scale it would tip dramatically right there's no comparison to the thing the things of the world go strangely dim in the light of his glorious face this is the picture that we're getting there we must commune with God to be good for anything in this world
[28:46] Jesus said it like this in John 15 5 I am the vine you are the branches whoever abides in me and I in him he it is that bears much fruit now hear this just let this resonate in your brain for apart from me you can do nothing apart from me you can do nothing so if we love our Christ for what he's done for us if we want to serve him if we want to be effective in the kingdom we must abide with him this is the very first step in the process we must and if you find yourself in a place where you struggle with that as I do quite often I find myself constantly day in and day out doing the work of God and everything I'm doing is arranged around that leading a church and studying and doing those things and I find sometimes that imperceptibly I drift off course and suddenly I'm just academic or I'm just a businessman planning and plotting a course right I step away from the fact that I need to soak in who he is right that when I do that I can pour out a sponge
[29:47] I can soak up and be squeezed out and soak up and be squeezed out but I let myself get squeezed out and I don't soak again right I step away from that it's like a compass many of you know the way compasses function if you just turn in a little degree and walk ten feet you're really in the same place it's imperceptible you can't even notice that you're off the course but if you go a mile that way it's suddenly you're getting further and further and further away from where you need to be we must come back to private prayer we must spend time knowing God if you find yourself in that place there's some there's some great rest for us there's some great promises psalm 46 verse 10 God says be still and know that I am God be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the nations I will be exalted in the earth this is a great comfort to my soul my great desire is that God be exalted among the nations my great desire is that God be exalted in this entire world and then I go what I gotta do to get that done what is my part to play in that what do I have to do and I can become exhausted because of that and he says to me be still you're not God
[30:58] I am be a tool in my hand I've got it all under control Psalm 127 Song of Solomon verse 1 and 2 unless the Lord builds the house those who build it labor in vain unless the Lord watches over the city the watchman stays awake in vain it is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest eating the bread of anxious toil for he gives to his beloved sleep and the teaching here is not sleep in right and go to bed early it's not the teaching it's all he's trying to say get up early there's much value in getting up early but when you do so because you know you've got to do it you know you've got to accomplish you're anxious about the work that's ahead of you he says no sleep sleep and rest the Lord is building a house the Lord is keeping watch over the city so we need these things we need private prayer we need restorative rest and that's the application for us as we labor for the kingdom we must also rest in the goodness of God in the face of Jesus Christ that's how you charge for spiritual work you remember the goodness of the gospel
[32:10] Matthew chapter 11 28-30 Jesus says come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light how do we do this practically how do we do this spend time in the inerrant sufficient powerful word of God right this has been given to us that we might know God stop neglecting it it is a gift to us it is a grace you have copies upon copies on your shelf I was at a conference this week where a group in the third world country they had a program where when you went to the bookstore you could buy a bible and then take it and go stick it on a pallet and they were going to pack them up and send them because the pastors didn't have bibles in this country right we were worried about the people at this point the members of the church it was the pastors that were having a hard time accessing bibles in this country we have got them in abundance we've got copies upon copies upon copies you can access the internet and get any translation that you want with helpful study notes right stop neglecting it it is a gift to you and pray respond to what God is saying as he speaks to you speak back to him
[33:30] God is available and wants a relationship with you draw near to him and he will draw near to you in A.T. Pearson's biography of George Mueller called George Mueller of Bristol which I would really commend to you it's a wonderful read he wrote the most intimate knowledge of God it's possible on one condition that we search his holy scriptures prayerfully and habitually and translate what we there find into obedience there are promises a wonderful promise that comes if we will devote ourselves to this the study of the scripture prayerfully habitually and be obedient in this there's a promise that's found in both testaments Psalm 1-3 after he speaks of the man who delights in the law of the Lord it says in all that he does he prospers in James 1-25 it says but the one who looks into the perfect law the law of liberty and perseveres is obedient to the end being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts he will be blessed in his doing do you want the work that you do for the kingdom of God to be blessed to be fruitful to be beneficial if you love Jesus you'll want that if you love Jesus rightly you will want this to be the case this is what we must do this is what we must do and it is a joy to do it so we see the compassion of Christ we see our great need for communion with God but we also see condemnation thirdly we also see condemnation there's this massive group of people and we are seeing this time and time again in the gospel of Mark this great throng that surrounds Jesus and they're coming to him for what Jesus can do for them in this world they want healing they want to show they want to see some new miracle some display of power we would be the same way we hear that some guys in Dahlonega healing sick people like people who can't walk or walking we'd want to go see that kind of thing and they never hear the message they never hear what he's actually trying to say and we know this because after Jesus is crucified and resurrected we see a very small number of disciples still gathered 150 in the upper room
[35:50] I'm sure that there were more there were probably some in the Gentile region but we don't see much record of this where did they go you go from 20,000 to 150 it's a fraction of that were these disciples were these true followers of Jesus Christ no they were coming to him for what they could gain they wanted the promises the benefits without the obedience of it this is a dangerous thing and this is what speaks to our church in a great way do you find yourself in that position you come for the benefit what you think Christ can accomplish on your behalf but you're not willing to be obedient you're not willing to see that the kingdom of God is not not on a scale but it's a difference you become a new person right you no longer live in the realm of this world serving the father of that the devil of lies you now serve Jesus Christ and everything in your life bows to who he is I fear that that's the case in many many many churches and possibly in ours look further down we see this this massive group of people we know that not all of them are true disciples of Christ but look even at the apostles down in verse 52 verse 51 and they were utterly astounded they were utterly astounded at what had happened he had walked on water he had gotten in the boat they had already seen so many miracles they were utterly astounded!
[37:19] for they did not understand about the loaves but their hearts were hardened and that phrase they did not understand about the loaves really vexed my mind these last couple of weeks what?
[37:34] I believe that Mark was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these words in this way the original text means that I looked it up that's what it means they did not understand about the loaves so here's this interjection for him to help us understand what was going on why did they not understand and I will tell you that the question in verse 51 of chapter 4 they said after he calmed the storm on the sea of Galilee who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him they were still questioning who Jesus was they've already been sent down on a mission trip and they still don't have it clear in their minds who Jesus is Jesus is the Christ and they didn't quite get it at this point so I want you to go with me we're going to do a little work in John chapter 6 starting in verse 22 I want you to turn with me there John chapter 6 verse 22 this is
[38:35] John's account what followed right after the same story right so we're looking if you look at chapter 6 Jesus beats 5,000 Jesus walks on water and the beginning of verse 22 here's kind of the story following this okay so verse 22 on the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples but that his disciples had gone away alone other boats from Niberius came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks so when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus so there was only one boat and they knew Jesus didn't get in it he dismissed the apostles while he was dismissing the crowd they got in they took off they knew he didn't get in that boat but then where did he go so some other boats come by and they get in and they follow him over to Capernaum to look for him verse 25 when they found him on the other side of the sea they said to him rabbi when did you come here Jesus answered them truly truly
[39:36] I say to you you are seeking me here we go not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves do not labor for the food that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life which the son of man will give to you for on him God the father has set his seal then they said to him and this sounds like a really good honest question what must we do to be doing the works of God what must you do to be doing the works of God but look at Jesus' response as he knows what's going on in their hearts Jesus answered them this is the work of God that you believe in him and whom he has sent so there's the work of God that we believe that Jesus is the Christ this is not what they wanted was to be able to do!
[40:24] what must we do to also turn loaves into more and more loaves to eat our fill so they said to him then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you what work do you perform our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written he gave them bread from heaven to eat so they quote some old testament scripture right the sign of Moses was that God gave manna for them to eat what sign do you do as if what he had done the day before wasn't enough Jesus then said to them truly I say to you it was not Moses!
[40:55] who gave you the bread from heaven but my father gives you the true bread from heaven for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world they said to him sir give us this bread always they still had no idea what he was talking about right now they're saying please this manna that came down and constantly fed and provided for the people of God give us bread constantly right what a great world that would be if food just dropped in our laps in that way Jesus said to them I am the bread of life whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst but I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe all that the!
[41:39] Father gives me will come to me what a beautiful gospel coming kingdom of God presentation that is here's the response so the Jews grumbled about him because he said I am the bread that came down from heaven right there's another type for you the manna is a type of Christ they said is not this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know how does he now say I have come down from heaven Jesus answered them do not grumble among yourselves no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day it is written in the prophets and they will all be taught by
[42:43] God everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me not that anyone has seen the father except he who is from God he has seen the father truly truly I say to you whoever believes has eternal life I am the bread of life your fathers ate the man in the wilderness and they died this is the bread that come down from heaven so that is my flesh already begins to speak of his death now do you see now why the apostles mark records it because they didn't understand the loaves because this is what Jesus was preaching to them giving them sustenance of the bread is that he was teaching to them I am the bread of life verse 52 the Jews then disputed amongst!
[43:36] themselves saying how can this man! give flesh to eat so Jesus said to them truly truly I say to you which is a way of saying no seriously unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day for my flesh is true food and my blood whoever feeds on me he also will live because of me this is the bread that came down from heaven not like the bread the fathers ate and died whoever feeds on this bread will live forever Jesus said these things in the synagogue as he taught at Capernaum when many of his disciples heard it they said this is a hard saying who can listen to it but Jesus knowing in himself the disciples were grumbling about this said to them do you take offense at this then what if you were to see the son of man ascending to where he was before it is the spirit who gives life the flesh is no help at all the words that
[44:43] I have spoken to you are spirit and life but there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus knew from the beginning those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him and he said this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the father so here we have kind of centric circles we have a larger group right a group of Jews it says that are debating this having a very difficult time with the teaching and it narrows down a little bit because the disciples a bigger group he's not speaking of the twelve at this point a larger group they say this is a hard saying and who can listen to it and his response to them is not all of you believe you don't understand what I'm saying to you because not all of you believe that's why I told you no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the father and then we see a smaller circle the apostles right verse 66 after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him they proved themselves to be apostate they had received the good news of the kingdom and they turned it away they were rocky soil they sprang up for a while remember our parable the!
[45:49] sower in chapter 4 sprang up for a while and then some tribulation comes a hard teaching a difficult thing to understand and they walked away verse 67 so Jesus said to the twelve do you want to go away as well Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life and we have believed and come to know that you are the holy one of God praise God the closest to him of course we see the account of the twelve really eleven he addresses that in the following verses but they had gone from seeing this amazing miracle getting in a boat seeing Jesus walk on the water not understanding the loaves they didn't get what was going on there and sometime in between they're able to make this proclamation we get this response from Simon Peter to whom shall we go if we leave where would we go you have the words of eternal life and we have believed and come to know that you are the holy one of
[46:57] God you are the Christ and here we see that great realization of that happening here so we see in our text you can turn back there if you'd like we see these two condemnation people who do not believe Jesus is the!
[47:12] the! that is the guilt that gets placed on them the weight of their sin has bought this penalty and they don't believe and they're damned forever what's the application there?
[47:30] what's the application? believe that's the application believe don't be found in that number if you don't know that Jesus is the Christ and that includes all things of the gospel if you don't get the fact that your sin is separated from you God eternally and that Jesus is the way back into relation with him to be who we were created to be to have joy to have satisfaction to have peace to be able!
[47:58] to worship God as we were created! for you are more human more as you were meant to be when you believe in Christ believe I plead with you believe John 16 5 through 11 Jesus said this we see an amazing picture here of people that witnessed incredible things in person I would love to be able to jump in a time machine and go and get to be a bystander and witness all of these things but you know that we have something better than that this world has something better than Jesus in person John chapter 16 beginning of verse 5 this is Jesus speaking but now I'm going to him who sent me and none of you asked me where are you going but because I have said these things to you sorrow has filled your heart he said to the apostles
[49:01] I'm going away sorrow has filled your heart nevertheless I tell you the truth it is to your advantage that I go away for if I do not go away the helper will not come to you the helper being the spirit of God but if I go I will send him to you and when he comes he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment concerning sin because they do not believe in me concerning righteousness because I go to the father and you will see me no longer concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged we have the inerrant authoritative sufficient word of God who speaks of Jesus Christ these wonderful accounts historically voracious accounts of the life of Jesus Christ more than that we have the spirit of God who brings conviction in this world who shows us the way concerning the truth believe and if you find yourself this morning in any sense in any dark place in your life you know that you're a
[50:05] Christian the call to you is to believe as well repent and believe repent and believe this is the cycle of the Christian life turning from our sin and turning to God he is worthy to be!
[50:19] and he is praised through the person and the work of Jesus Christ the greatest display of his love and of his power was accomplished on the cross death resurrection right it's the great culmination the high point of the story believe that Jesus is the Christ let's pray together