Jesus: The Eternal Shepherd

In we saw Jesus as the King of the Kingdom, one, who grew the faith of his disciples and showed his authority in gentile lands and love for the highest and lowest. Last week: Rejection at home, sending out of the twelve and the death of John.

Last week: Rejection at home, sending out of the twelve and the death of John.

What we have tonight is three accounts of miracles that Jesus performed.

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The scene is set with the return of the disciples. They are happy to report to Jesus everything that happened since he sent them out. Jesus shows his love for this disciples in inviting them to a desolate place. A desolate place really means empty, void of anything, not necessarily a desert. We get the idea of a wilderness, we’ve been here before in Mark with John the Baptist being a voice in the wilderness and Jesus going into such a place for 40 days.

1 QUESTION: Where else do we see the wilderness in the Bible?

ANSWER: We also see a strong allusion to the wilderness that the Israelites traveled through after the Exodus. REFS HERE

They depart for much needed isolation where they can grab a bite to eat, at least that's the plan. Others see him, easy to spot a ship as it moved around the harbors.

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Seeing these people when trying to get off to a nice quiet spot to enjoy a meal must have given the disciples a sinking feeling, I know it would have been upset. You’re expecting some food and rest and you get a multitude of people instead. And, while this may have mad most people grumpy, not so with Jesus.

We see this phrase “like sheep without a shepherd”, and I'll tell you it is not a phrase that Mark pulls out of thin air.

2 QUESTION: Where else in the Bible do we see this phrase and what might that tell us how to interpret this passage?

ANSWER: Cf We see it mainly in reference to the Exodus in the transfer of leadership from Moses to Joshua. Jesus is being compared to Moses here, as well as to other shepherds.

Jesus shows concern for the people much like Moses showed his concern for the people before his death.

Even though he was probably exhausted himself, Jesus still took the time to teach the people.

SEE ALSO: ;

Vs. 35-38

The disciples were not as eager as Jesus to spend yet more time teaching instead of resting and eating, and they show perhaps more of themselves than they wish.

The disciples show their concern for themselves over the needs of the multitude, they are not being like their master.

On the surface, the disciples’ statement in v. 36 seems reasonable and even compassionate, since they are concerned about the people’s need for food. It is Jesus’ response that seems unreasonable (v. 37a): “You give them something to eat.” Where could they possibly come up with food to feed five thousand people? But in the context of the story, the disciples have just returned from a mission in which they have exhibited the authority of Jesus to teach, heal, and cast out demons (vv. 12–13). They went without money or bag or food (v. 8), yet God provided. Here Jesus is challenging them to even greater faith and greater action. - Mark Strauss ZECNT Mk

They voice their concern with Jesus, and he responds emphatically, you yourselves give them something to eat. And the ultimate sarcastic response of the disciples. This was several months work of wages that would be required to pay for the food for everybody, no way.

And then we move into the miracle territory, with Jesus response. We know from that the loaves and fish came from a little boy.

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The command to sit down in the grass tells us it is the spring time. The summer heat does cause the grass to fade so it is earlier in the year. This actually helps us date when this even takes place, the spring in the year before Jesus is crucified. Also, we see Mark continuing the theme of the Shepherd as we think of , The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes me to lie down in green pastures. And of course we can see this here in the aspect that Jesus is providing for the sheep, no want of anything, and also the leading to green pasture. Jesus really is the perfect shepherd!

The people are arranged in groups that are both for ease of distribution of the food, and also to picture a dining party, a meal with the Lord. We’ve looked at the past, Moses and the prophets, but this passage also calls us to look to the future, and this future is both future in sense of our future and events that were yet to take place in the gospels.

3 QUESTION: What are some passages in the New Testament that show a meal with Christ?

ANSWER: , ,

The bread is broken and the fish is distributed to the people. The people were satisfied, something that we in America take for granted. The number given lets us know just how significant this miracle was. 5,000 men would likely mean ~10,000 people total.

4 QUESTION: Why is this miracle here, after the account of John’s death, and what does it tell us about Christ?

ANSWER: We can think of which depict the scattered sheep waiting for a new David, who is Christ. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who unlike Herod or the pharisees, cares for the sheep, he is not a perverse shepherds like in . He is greater than Moses, indeed he is the one who gives bread. .

5 QUESTION: How does the attitudes / actions of both Jesus and the disciples instruct us today?

ANSWER: We should seek to emulate Jesus here, not as just a moral story, but see that God is able to provide and often uses simple means to do so. “God does not usually lead us to see a need, unless it is in his mind to meet that need, often through us, unwilling though we may be.” - Alan Cole TCNT: Mark.

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What follows is another account of sea travel much like in . Jesus again shows care for his disciples by sending them away to their boat. And for people who have spent much of their life on boats, this is likely a relaxing thing for them. Jesus retires to pray, showing that he seeks first the things of God, communion with his Father.

Sees disciples, comes to them between 3-6 am

Here we have something interesting in the phrase “He meant to pass by them”. It seems like in Vs 48, that Jesus was coming to help them, rescue them, so it is odd that he would pass by them. But we don’t have to take the phrase pass by them to mean he was trying to beat them to the other side of the lake. I think the best explanation is back to Moses and Elijah, when Yahweh passed by them to show his glory. and

The disciples are scared to death, we would probably be too, so Jesus does call out to them, “it is I” as most translations put it, but in context of the passage, it is better translated as I AM, creating another link to Yahweh in the OT. This is the first of 2 or 3 I AM statements in Mark, in John there are 7 I AM statements, but Mark there are only 2 or 3.

Jesus is continuing to answer the question of the disciples from . However, not until the confession of Peter do they fully understand.

Jesus rescues them, and then we have perhaps the most puzzling verse in this passage Vs 52

6 QUESTION: What does this passage teach us about who Jesus is?

ANSWER: Jesus is Yahweh from the OT, being Yahweh, he would be everything Yahweh is revealed to be in the OT.

7 QUESTION: What does the disciples reaction mean and how does it teach us to live today?

ANSWER:

This was not because they were particularly stupid and unresponsive; it was because they were just like us.

Cole, R. A. (1994). Mark. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., pp. 961–962). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.

Mark The Disciples’ Astonishment and Lack of Faith

In stark contrast to Jesus’ mastery over nature and divine self-revelation stands the disciples’ failure to respond. First stymied by the wind, they then react in terror at Jesus’ numinous presence. From a human perspective, this might seem like a natural response. Yet these are the disciples who have seen Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. They have just witnessed Jesus’ divine authority to feed multitudes with a few loaves and fish. By now their faith should be strong, yet they react with fear and disbelief.

At the end of Matthew’s version of the story, the disciples cry out, “Truly you are the Son of God,” and they worship him (14:33). Mark has a different slant. This is the beginning of a downward spiral that will bring the disciples to a dangerous turning point. In 8:14–21 (an episode again involving a boat, bread, and “hard hearts”), Jesus will warn the disciples against having eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear. Their faith is in the balance.

The disciples’ problem is not that they are unable to make headway against the wind or that they are not rowing hard enough. It is that they have not learned the lesson of the loaves—that God is at work through Jesus to accomplish his saving purpose. Disciples of Jesus are not expected to be fearless in every circumstance, but they are expected to learn from God’s faithfulness in the past and to grow in their faith for the future.

Application: We too need to be aware of our own spiritual dullness, and seek to have a soft heart to the things of God. If we stop to reflect on what God has done through Jesus we would be less likely to doubt his love and care for us. Through personal devotion, prayer, reading the Word, the bride and the Lord’s Supper we can combat hardness of hearts.

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Jesus is in Isreal and people recognize him, and seem to do anything to get to him.

8 QUESTION: What does this final section mean for Jesus and his mission?

ANSWER: His popularity is growing, which puts more pressure on him politically from the religious leaders of the day.

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