Mark chapter six, starting at verse 30. Mark six. Verse 30, before we, if you’re reading about the Word and it’s preaching and it’s accepting, that’s the word of blessing on those hands. God, let’s pray together. Heavenly Father, we come again before you. We just wanted to hear from you. We praise you that you have given us such a rich treasure. to know what to think and how to think, and that you’ve given us a sure word regarding basic truths and profound truths. We thank you and confess this is your word, breathed out by you and given to us as your covenant people. And yet, Lord God, we are often so hard of hearing, and so we ask, Lord, that your gracious spirit could grant us grace this day, that you give us ears a deed to hear in hearts that are ready and willing to believe and receive from you. We pray, Lord God, that you would magnify your son in our midst and that the good news of the gospel as it is presented in him would come to us. Lord God, that we would find hope and life in believing. And so, dear Lord, we come once again. We ask grace for your people and for the one who speaks on your behalf, that your name might be magnified in all the earth. We all, as God’s people, said together, Amen. Mark chapter 6, verse 30. Please give your full attention. This is the Word of God. 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. Many were coming and going, and they had no leisure, even to eat. And they went away in a boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. And 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. And when it grew late, the disciples came to him and said, this is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. But he answered them, you give them something to eat. And they said to him, shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat? And he said to them, how many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they had found out, they said, five and two fish. And he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. And they sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all And they all ate and were satisfied. And he took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen. You may be seated. May our Lord be with you. Well, as we’ve been working through Mark, particularly the recent chapters, section of passages, we’ve seen Jesus rejected by his hometown, and he’s left from there, and he’s preached and taught throughout the countryside. And he also, we saw, sent his disciples two by two with his authority and message and power. And just prior to receiving the disciples back from the mission, Christ hears of the murder of his relative and herald, or forerunner, John the Baptist. And Christ’s disciples returned and told him all that they did and taught on this journey, this trip that he sent them on. And Christ, at this point, was surely exhausted, emotionally if not physically. And knowing that his disciples were also exhausted, Christ suggests that they get away by themselves to the other side of the Sea of Galilee so that they can rest. The people seeking Christ discovered that he and his disciples were going across the Sea of Galilee, so they ran to the other side where they were waiting for him. And so what was supposed to be a time of rest and recuperation, right, R&R, quickly became what? It turned into an outpouring of love and compassion by Christ on the people of Israel, as he saw them in need, as he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. This is also one of the most well-known passages in all of Scripture, the feeding of the 5,000. And so often, We see this passage purely in terms of the miracle that it was, right? The miraculous feeding from such a small quantity, 5,000 people, right? From five loaves of bread and two fish, and certainly it is a miracle. However, this is one of the richest passages, perhaps, in all of the New Testament. It’s filled with allusions and connections. not just surrounding the context that it was right there, but these connections and allusions to the Old Testament. It’s filled with these. There are a number of images and layers that we see, and we find in the Old Testament that point forward to this event, Christ’s provision and care for his people. And so let’s keep that in mind and work through this amazing passage that shows us Christ’s love, his compassion, his care, as well as his fulfillment of the Old Testament. and all that was promised there. As I said, most of us are certainly familiar with the basics of this story, right, in outline form. The crowds follow Jesus. He teaches them all day, and when it’s time to eat, there’s no food to be found, right? He even says they had no time even for leisure, even to eat, the busyness of which they were. The disciples tell Jesus about the problem, and they suggest, send them away, go into the surrounding, Countryside villages invite themselves something to eat. They seem to forget, right, the disciples notoriously. They seem to forget again that they’re in a desolate place. And it would take time to travel, and energy, and money for the people to feed themselves. And so Jesus tells his disciples that they should give the people something to eat. And his disciples, once again, seeming to have forgotten that Jesus has just, what, calmed the storm, He’s just healed a man with the demon. He’s healed another woman. And he’s raised that little girl from the dead, I remember. And you would think after all that, that they would say, okay, what’s he gonna do now, right? And wait in anticipation on this powerful Lord and all that he’s done. But they don’t do that. They ask him, how can we feed so many people? And then the comment to Jesus that it would take 200 wages to buy enough bread to feed this large crowd of 5,000. This is 2 thirds of a year, roughly, of earnings for them to feed this crowd. And by the way, this crowd, this 5,000, does not include the women and children that were with them. Remember, the passage ends with an indication that it was the men. And those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men. And then Jesus, what, he asks them how many loaves and fish they had, and he answers, they had five loaves and two fish, right, verse 38 tells us. And Jesus took the bread, he molested it, he broke it, and he gave it to his disciples to distribute to this large crowd. And as we all know, Jesus miraculously fed this crowd, again, of more than 5,000 people. It was probably double that amount, perhaps, as many as 10,000 when we count the women and children that surely were there. But brothers and sisters, we have to see that in this story, in this historical event, it is far richer than just these basic facts and this outline. The passage is so rich. and it’s there, this richness is there for us to see as we read it. So what I want us to do is to go back through the passage, focusing on the Old Testament background, and the connection that Mark is making there, that the Spirit is making through Mark. And so let’s consider first the location, where we’re told they are, the location. This is unfortunate, it’s lost in our English versions, But what it literally says in verses 31 and 32, and then I think in verse 34 as well, it says that they went into, not a desolate place, but into the wilderness. That’s what it says. They went into the wilderness. Same word used in Mark 1, chapter 12, that Christ was led into, by the Spirit, into the wilderness. Right? And so this should pique our interest. This should bring to our remembrance, wait a second, what does this mean? What does this mean that they went into the wilderness? At first glance, this might seem like not a big deal, but if you’re paying attention and if you’re tuned in to the tie-ins and the connections to the Old Testament so far that we’ve seen over and over again from the first verses of Mark, we see this location grounds us in the direction of Israel’s history. And when we hear that word wilderness again, we should automatically think of Israel in the wilderness, in their wilderness wanderings, right? And remember also what Mark’s done so far in this gospel. He’s maintained from the very beginning this theme of second exodus. That he will lead his people on the second exodus. And that in the first exodus, Moses led the people into the wilderness. Right? And so location is key here. And also key, also important to begin is the way that Mark describes the crowd. Right? So you have the location and then the crowd and how it’s described there. Once again, verse 34, it says, when he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them. Because why? Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And so before we go on, let’s look for a moment in Christ’s compassion. We need to be correct in some of the sentimentality, in some of the anemic reading of scripture and teaching that we’ve surely all been exposed to. Very often we hear this passage explained like this, that Christ often uses imagery of sheep and a shepherd because it’s something they would have been familiar with, something that their culture and their people would have recognized. They would have been around a sheep herder, for instance, and they would have said, oh, I understand. This is a good analogy. I understand this. But we should abandon that. We should forget that because that’s not really primarily what’s going on. Remember that this gospel and this passage is steeped in the Old Testament. And the suggested language from our passage here concerning the Old Testament background is prominent. And how do we know this? We know this when we look at the Old Testament, of course. And so let’s look at some passages, and we can see for ourselves that this indeed is the case. It’s not merely a connectional, cultural thing so that they understand it. So turn to which Numbers chapter 27, Numbers 27, and we’ll see how Moses describes this role, this role of leading the people of Israel. And he says there, beginning in verse 15, Numbers 27, starting in verse 15, Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and shall come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd. So we see this language is significant. It’s the same phrase that’s used. So there may not be a sheep that have no shepherd, right? Being told here, the soul of leading God’s people. And notice that Moses wants the Lord to appoint someone. And obviously the one that he appoints, right? We know in the Old Testament, in the trajectory and the flow of redemptive history, the one that he appointed was the successor of Moses. And that, of course, was Joshua. But notice how Moses describes Israel. He said, He does not want them to be as sheep without a shepherd. Right? And so Moses was concerned about this, that they would be shepherdless people. And he was considered Israel’s shepherd, Moses was. Right? And so from there, let’s go to Psalm 78. Psalm 78, yes? And I’ll begin at verse 51 of this, yeah. Psalm 78, verse 51 and 52. Psalm 78 through 51. He struck down every firstborn and injured, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham. Then he let out his people like sheep. Notice how the psalmist here describes God himself leading his people like a shepherd. Yahweh leading his people as a shepherd. And notice where this is. This is in the wilderness. In the wilderness. And if we go down a few verses, in Psalm 78 verse 70, he says this, he chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds. From following the nursing ewes, he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people. Israel, his inheritance. With upright heart, he shepherded them and guided them with a skillful hand. And notice here how David was called a shepherd of Israel. Notice the picture here that the Old Testament is painting in that all of these people, like Moses, like David, even Yahweh, they are foreshadows of Christ, right? The good, the true, the final shepherd. And we see here, regarding Yahweh, we turn to Ezekiel chapter 34. Ezekiel chapter 34 is this passage, this chapter, about Israel’s wicked shepherds. Israel’s wicked shepherds. And maybe later this Lord’s Day, you might want to read this entire chapter, verses 1 to 10, for sure, along with our passage. But I’m going to read right now. And that is Ezekiel 34. verses 12 to 16. Again, the whole chapter is worth reading in regards to the wickedness of Israel’s shepherds and the failure and the fallenness of the leaders, those who were supposed to lead Israel. So Ezekiel 34 verse 12 says, As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places. where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries. And I will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture. And on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There shall they lie down in good grazing land and on rich pastures. They shall feed on the mountains of Israel. And verse 15 says, I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. And I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost. I will bring back the strayed. And I will bind up the injured. And I will strengthen the weak. And the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. What an incredible passage. God Himself, how He will care for His people, how He will lead them as a shepherd. He will make us to lie down. He will make His people… He will seek the lost. He will bring them back. He will bind up the injured. He will strengthen the weak. Incredible. Incredible passage, brothers and sisters. And we see that Ezekiel here is prophesying the time when God Himself would shepherd His people and He would feed them and care for them. And what do we see unfolding in our moral text from this story? Christ again, he says, from this crowd, they are like sheep without a shepherd. And then what does he do? He works to feed them. He works to feed them. my 50. It says, my people have been lost. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. So what a contrast we see in these passages, particularly in all the Old Testament, between these wicked shepherds throughout Israel’s past and the faithfulness It’s incredible. So what we have in our text, dear brothers and sisters, we see these promises of Yahweh that he would lead Israel himself. And now within this big picture of Mark’s Gospel, in the scheme of the second exodus, we see this confirms that Yahweh, in the flesh, Jesus Christ, is now leading them out in the wilderness on this grand second exodus, out from under the bondage of Satan and death and sin. as he goes out and he goes to feed them. Just as Moses, the shepherd of Israel, led Israel into the wilderness and fed them manna from heaven provided by God, so also Christ, the true shepherd, feeds this crowd of Israelites with bread and with fish in the wilderness. And also we see, incredibly, this is particularly awesome, notice in verse 42, And we’re satisfied. They ate and we’re satisfied. Where else do we hear this language, right? They ate and we’re satisfied. You hear the same thing in the Exodus, regarding the Exodus. Exodus, the book of Exodus chapter 16, regarding the man that fell from heaven. And so in 1618, whoever gathered much had nothing left over. And whoever gathered little had no lack. They had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. So in other words, the Israelites in the wilderness ate to their satisfaction. This wasn’t just enough to get them by. They ate their full. And the Israelites did the same here as Christ fed them. They too ate to their satisfaction. So we have Jesus here. He’s leading them into the wilderness. He’s shepherding them as the Old Testament prophets promised that Yahweh would do and as Moses and David foreshadowed what the Messiah would do. And that is He fed them just as Moses fed the man from heaven. And then one more element here that displays the richness of this passage. Jesus divided this crowd, the way he divided Israel. You might not think this is significant, but we know there’s no filler in the scriptures, there’s no fallen words as we read in the Old Testament. No random thoughts, no random preserved texts. So they sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties. You see the significance of this background, right? All this parallel between the first and second Exodus, and between Moses as shepherd and Christ as true and final shepherd. And we see it in the numbers that were used to divide Israel into wilderness. Think of all the different ways that this could have been done. Christ could have ordered that this happen. He could have told them to make one long line. And come and take. He could have ordered them to make 12 lines. One for each of the disciples there. He doesn’t do that. Rather, he has them divided into groups. Groups of hundreds and fifties. And some of you may be making the connection in your mind. Right, in keeping with the Old Testament, Exodus, wilderness, connection, we’ll be talking about the marsh, the shallow forest. We see this in Exodus. It says in the book of Exodus, chapter 18, verse 21, it says, moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy, who hate, abribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And so Mark again is borrowing language here as he records what happens there. He’s telling us certainly what happened. And even here we see the parallels. And what happened was that what Christ was doing was showing that Jesus, the Messiah, his time had come, his kingdom had come. He was fulfilling all that Israel went through, though he was doing so successfully, without failure. Because He is the Messiah of Christ, the true and better prophet, the true and better king, the true and better Israel. And that’s awesome. That’s an amazing thing. And then notice also, lastly, the amount of leftovers. The amount of leftovers after the feeding. Mark tells us in verse 43 that there were 12 baskets of leftovers. Leftovers. 12 baskets full. number of leftovers? I think no, it’s not. And if the exodus is a backdrop of the feeding of the 5,000, and it seems clear that it is, then we should realize a few things when we look at this even, that which is leftover after the feeding. We should realize, and I heard this line of reasoning first from a good friend of mine, a former professor of mine, we should recognize first, given that the provision of food was miraculous, It also seems likely that the amount of left-fielders are not just random, but they would be part of the miracle, not simply as a coincidence. And to be clear, coincidence isn’t a Christian category. Coincidence, happenstance, these aren’t things that fit into our worldview, because God is sovereign. And then second, given the symbolic significance of the number 12, obviously throughout all of scripture, it seems that it’s just like before, Christ is sending a very public message that he is reenacting these events out of Israel’s history, to send a message that he, that the fulfillment of the Old Testament has finally arrived, he is here, the Messiah has come, his kingdom has come. And then third, recall that the Israelites were not allowed to store any of the camels, right, as we mentioned earlier. When they tried to store it, they found what? They found the next day, they didn’t block it, and it eroded by morning. So what is the intended message of the leftovers here? Well, it’s quite possible that the message is that Christ’s provision for Israel as her shepherd was not only for the crowd who was present, it was also for the rest of God’s people, even those who were not present. And remember, when we look at these things, this is a better and fuller and eschatological Exodus. Its sacraments are fuller and more inclusive. So it would stand to reason that its provision is more and beyond and better. And it’s clear that there was an abundance of food beyond the needs of the crowd. So brothers and sisters, let’s step back and look at all pieces of the puzzle once again as we look at this background and look at these passages. You see the crowd of Israelites come out into what Mark calls the wilderness. It begins to be shepherded by Jesus, by Christ, like Moses, and especially like Yahweh in that Mosaic exodus, the first exodus. Not only does Christ shepherd and teach them, but He, as in the first exodus, divides them, the fifties and the hundreds. He feeds them, He clutches all of them. So is there more going on in here than this miraculous feeding, than simply multiplying the bread and the fish to feed these people? Of course we’re going to say yes, there is more going on there. Christ is telling Israel, and he is the true shepherd of Israel. And unlike the wicked shepherds of Israel in Christ’s days, who were the Pharisees and religious leaders, Christ indeed does for real truly provide for his people, and he continues to provide for his people even down to this very day here and now. And let’s not forget the overall scope and design of the Old Testament, that it points to Christ as its fulfillment. Scripture is Christocentric and it’s Christotelic, and its goal is Christ, and its end is Christ. Regarding shepherding, in the first Exodus while Moses did intercede on behalf of his people, what did he never do? He never laid down his life for his people, for the Israelites. But by contrast, The fulfillment of a far greater and more meaningful way Christ is a true shepherd of Israel and He does lay down His life for His people. He does lay down His life for you who belong to Him. How much fuller and more meaningful in regards to all these things and all this background do passages like John 10 become to us? become dear to us, they’re truly precious, and draw the praise of our Savior from us. John 10, verse 14, you know it well. Jesus says, 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. And I have other sheep that are not of His foal. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. Do you see all that’s going on here, brothers and sisters? Do you see the glory and wonder of it all? Jesus Christ is our shepherd, lays down His life for us as sheep. So the question must come, are you His? And have you dealt with the reality of your sin and your future? Because if Christ does not lay down His life for you, you will lay it down for yourself. And it will merit nothing for you, except for His Father just right now. Choose Christ. Even today, choose life, choose peace, and forgiveness and wholeness and relief for your soul. Flee to Jesus. broken and dirty that you are, that we all are, flee in faith and admit to Him that you are lost and needy, that you want to trust Him for the forgiveness and cleansing and life that He provides. And the glorious thing is, He will not turn you away. He will surely receive you if you come to Him in faith and sincerity. And to you, dear Christian, surely this is a pinnacle of Christ’s compassion for us, And as a good shepherd, Christ provides for our redemption and also for our spiritual needs. Notice, as we look, it’s not just a feeding with all the connections to the Old Testament and Exodus. But Mark tells us in verse 34, this very thing, that when Christ saw the crowd and he likened them to a sheep without a shepherd, that he immediately, what? Began to teach them. Began to teach them many things as he saw their need. So remember, brother and sister, the context here. It should help us to see the extent of Christ’s compassion. Christ, remember, just recently rejected by his family in his hometown. And then he gets news of the death of his relative, and would herald his coming, John the Baptist. And they’re looking for some rest, he and his disciples, to get away from everyone for some rest and recuperation. And we think, what would most of us do in this situation? But we see the people there, right? Our mind is, we’re gonna go rest, get away from people. And we see the crowd there. And most of us would probably, like, hit reverse and pretend not to see that anyone was there, and just move on by, right? We want a break. But Jesus gave Israel and his people the spiritual bread that they needed in this time. He preached and taught them the truths of the gospel. He fed them what they needed. for food, and brothers and sisters, Christ continues to feed us, Lord’s Day by Lord’s Day by Lord’s Day, spiritual bread through His Word, through the reading, preaching, and teaching of that Word, and its application by the Holy Spirit. So not only does Christ, as our Shepherd, provide for our redemption, not only does He provide for our spiritual need, but in a very real way, He provides for our physical needs. Even now, to this day, He continues to provide for the physical needs of His people, the church, through His omniscient and powerful hand. We should thank Him for those material, physical needs that He meets, for His gracious provision in regards to our employment, our families, or the places we live, the vehicles that we drive. These are things for which we should be thankful to the Lord. And so in all these ways, we see for certain that Christ indeed is the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep and provides for them physically, spiritually, eternally. And regarding the great compassion of Christ, we see in this passage before us, we who have been redeemed are to reflect the righteousness of Christ. And we have to ask the question, do we show the compassion of our shepherd in our lives to the lives of those around us? Do we provide for them redemption, redemption of those in our lives, all who the Lord brings us by pointing them to the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep? Do we point them to Christ with our lips and with our living? Do we provide for the spiritual needs of those around us? many of which you are. Do you think of your children, of your parenting in this way? And especially you fathers, are you conscious of this most important part of your life as a father and as a husband? Do you feed your children and your wives the manna from heaven? Do you feed them for their spiritual needs by leading them in joyful family worship and in prayer. You pray for your family’s spiritual needs and for the spiritual needs of your church family. These are searching questions. These are hard questions for us at times, but they’re questions we all must encounter, all engage with, and provide for those who have physical needs, right? to do so when we seek one another for help, for accountability, for encouragement. We are the family of God. When we go from this passage of Scripture, dear Christian, seeing the compassion of Christ, our Good Shepherd, and when we know that because we are reconfirmed into His image, that we are marked by that compassion ourselves, and therefore it is for us to pour out that compassion on others. May we leave this place having a greater appreciation and understanding of this very well-known passage, the feeding of the 5,000. Seeing in it, not just the surface level of what’s going on, but the magnitude of the Lord’s love and care, the extent of His sovereignty and His providence in the history of redemption, of Christ fulfilling all those pictured in the Old Testament. And that it is Jesus Christ who is the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep. And also that it’s not only life eternal to which we look for His care and presence, but in every moment of this life, here and now, we seek to walk with Him moment by moment by moment. May we relish in His promise. and His provision and His presence with us, and may we indeed reflect His love in our lives as we walk as those who have been given new life, united to Him in confidence and joy in all the issues of life that come our way, all for the praise of His glory. Amen. Holy Father, we thank You and praise You. We praise You for Your work and redemption, for we are awed at Your sovereignty. Lord, we thank You that though we are weak and forgetful and so foolish in so many ways, that yet You have given us the ability to comprehend, even if it’s just a taste, of all these connections that you give us in your word, of all this, the reality of your interworking, of all these things, Lord, we pray that we would indeed be conscious that our Savior, our King, is leading us into his kingdom. Lord, we indeed are being brought, brought out of the wilderness of our sin and death and the harassment of Satan on Exodus. Well, we truly are, as we have a foretaste of the now. We are finally, one day, united, fully, to Jesus. We pray, Lord, give us hearts and believe. Be with us as we continue to worship you now. It’s in His name we pray.