Feeding the Four Thousand - Mark 8:1-10 - June 14, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for June 14, 2020. We are now meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Returning to Worship plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

Mark 8:1-10 Feeding the Four Thousand

Welcome back! We are returning to our study of the Gospel of Mark with chapter 8, verses 1-10, page 843 in the pew Bibles.

I am tempted to entitle this sermon, “What a Bunch of Idiots.”

We are going to look at Mark’s account of the feeding of the four thousand, otherwise known as the Assistant Pastor’s crowd feeding sermon text, Senior pastor’s get to preach on the feeding of the FIVE thousand…

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Let’s pray.

So does this account sound familiar to you? Didn’t we go through this just a few weeks ago?

In fact, we did. Mark chapter six details the account of Jesus feeding five thousand men, and here we are again in chapter eight with a very similar account. Some scholars believe that they are the same but both Matthew and Mark make it clear in their Gospels that they were in fact separate instances. The feeding of the five thousand took place near Bethsaida in Galilee and the people were predominately Jewish where this account takes place near the Decapolis and involved mostly Gentiles. Instead of five loaves and two fish, here Jesus started with seven loaves and a few small fish. In the earlier account the disciples picked up twelve small baskets (kophinus) full of leftovers, where in this account they picked up seven hamper sized baskets (spuris) full of leftovers.

Later in this same chapter, chapter eight, Jesus also refers to both events as separate instances.

As we talked about in the last instance of Jesus feeding such a large crowd the frail humanity and powerlessness of the disciples is put on full display. At the feeding of the five thousand the disciples were pretty high on themselves after coming back from a very successful ministry trip where they had proclaimed that people should repent, and cast out demons and healed a lot of sick people. When they returned from their trip and were faced with a shortage of food Jesus challenged the disciples to feed the people since they were so powerful, but of course, they couldn’t.

Here at the feeding of the four thousand Jesus doesn’t ask them to feed the people He just simply points out that the people who had been with Him for three days in the wilderness had nothing to eat and if He sent them away with no food that they would faint on the way.

So how do the disciples respond? “Hey Jesus, you’ve fed more people than this before!”

This is why I want to title this sermon, “What a Bunch of Idiots.” 

The disciples don’t mention the feeding of the five thousand at all, they just said, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”

How quickly they forgot. 

They were the living embodiment of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29…

27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

And we should be thankful for that because that’s us too, we are no different. How quickly we forget when the Father answers our prayers, how quickly we forget when He miraculously provides for our needs.

How quickly they forgot – but so do we. The truth is, there is one major difference between believers today and the disciples here in Mark 8. The only reason any of us who have faith in Jesus have a clue at all, unlike the disciples here, is because we have the Holy Spirit living in us. So don’t get too down on these idiots, we are all in the same boat without the Holy Spirit.

So we can learn from the disciples here, pay attention to what the Lord has done and look for Him to do it again. But also be mindful of asking for more before being thankful for what we have been given.

We can also learn from the Lord Himself here: a lesson in compassion.

Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowd, they had been with Him listening to His teaching and witnessing His healing for three days and now had nothing to eat when the time came for Jesus to move on. He was concerned that they’d faint on the way home.

He also had compassion on the disciples, He didn’t expose their arrogance like last time by insisting that they feed the crowd since they were so powerful.

Jesus paid attention to the needs of the people. He had love and sympathy for the distress of each one. He trusted in the Father for provision and translated physical care into spiritual care.

Here is the example set for each of us. 

We are all surrounded by needy people, we ourselves are needy people, we need to pay attention to the needs of the people around us, we need to have love and sympathy for the distress of each one, we need to trust the Father to provide for those needs even if it’s through us, and translate that physical care for spiritual care.

This is what ministry looks like for all Christians, this is the framework, this is the pattern. Compassion for people that translates from physical care to spiritual care.

The disciples remind us to be mindful and thankful, Jesus reminds us to be compassionate, and the people remind us, that like them, we will have our bellies fed by the Lord.

I don’t mean necessarily that Jesus is going to buy your lunch today, though it’s not out of the question. What I do mean is that when we feed on the Lord He will fill us up.

Jesus said in John 6:53-58,

53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 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.”

What Jesus meant is that if we take Him in through faith, He will abide in us by His Spirit. Those four thousand plus people were fed physically, their bellies were full. Our bellies will be filled, we will be spiritually fed if it’s Jesus that we’re hungry for.

Is it Jesus that you are hungry for? Feed on Him, feed on His Word, feed on Him through prayer. He is all sufficient, He will provide everything that we need. Though we starve to death in this life, if we feed on the Living Bread, that is Jesus, we will live forever in his eternal kingdom.

So our lessons for today:

From the disciples, look to what the Lord has done and be thankful not forgetful.

From Jesus, look with compassion to the needs of those around us, every person and every need holds an opportunity to serve and glorify the Lord.

From the four thousand plus, Jesus has and will supply all of our needs, we can trust Him.

So what has the Lord done in and through you? What are the needs around you, who do you know that needs your help? And, do you trust the Lord Jesus, with your life, with your sin, with your eternity?

Let’s pray.

A Blip on the Radar - Mark 7:31-37 - May 31, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for May 31, 2020. Watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

Mark 7:31-37 A Blip on the Radar

We are returning this morning to our study in the Gospel of Mark with chapter seven, verses 31-37. This account is only recorded in the Gospel of Mark, the other Gospel writers opted to leave it out. 

Let’s pray and then look at it together.

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

You’ll remember from last week that Jesus and His disciples were in the region of Tyre and Sidon which were Gentile territories on the Northwestern border of Galilee. Now, in verse 31, we read that Jesus returned to the region of the Decapolis. This was on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus had cast out the legion of demons from the guy chained up and living among the tombs. 

This was not a quick trip, this was a long walk! Some scholars believe that verse 31 took eight months!

At first glance this account of the healing of a man who was deaf and had a severe speech impediment as a result is kind of innocuous, kind of just a blip on the radar and then we move on. 

I admit, when I sat down to study in preparation for today, I thought to myself, “What could be here worth preaching on? What’s in here that could possibly be of use?”

But the Lord impressed this on me: “Think this account is no big deal? Imagine you were the deaf man!”

In truth, I have to imagine what it would be like to be deaf, it’s beyond my understanding what it’s like to live in that condition. I can, however, relate to the speech impediment part! But there is actually a lot more going on here besides any emotional response to this man’s sad condition. There’s a lot of layers to this onion!

If you recall from Easter Sunday we talked about how the Bible is not just a collection of random stories about God and Jesus and a bunch of other people, it is all on story, all one meta-narrative, the narrative of God’s reign and work of redemption in His creation. And this account here is part of that grand narrative.

Isaiah 35:4-6 recorded hundreds of years before this man was brought to Jesus:

Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. 

He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

This brief but important account is the partial fulfillment of that prophecy, Isaiah was writing about Jesus unstopping the ears of the deaf and causing the tongue of the mute to sing for joy!

So the top layer of the onion, the meta-narrative layer, is a proof of Jesus as the promised Messiah that would eventually bring about the redemption of God’s creation.

So if we peel back that layer we can see how the gospel works, really we see an example of the Holy Spirit’s work in the gospel.

 Look at verse 32, 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

And THEY brought to HIM a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they BEGGED Him to lay His hands on him.

So who all is involved here? 

Jesus, the deaf man, and the nameless “they” who begged Jesus to help their friend. 

This is the prominent way that the Holy Spirit affects the gospel in the world. The work of the gospel is brought on by people with a passion for their needy friends. We can share that same passion, we can bring our needy friends and family and coworkers and neighbors to Jesus, maybe not physically but certainly in prayer. We can display the love of Christ in how we love them, we can introduce them to Him by telling them who Jesus is and what He did for them, we can invite them to join us each week as we gather around God’s Word for study and worship. Even just sharing this video is a small step we can take to get our friends to Jesus.

The work of the gospel is brought on by people with a passion for their needy friends.

And how does Jesus respond to their impassioned request to help their friend?

First, Jesus takes him aside privately. He doesn’t make a spectacle of Himself or the man, Jesus wasn’t seeking glory for Himself by meeting his great need.

Matthew Henry wrote, “Let us learn of Christ to be humble, and to do good where no eye sees but His.”

33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Now we come to the place where we cannot ignore the question, “What’s with the fingers in the ears and the spitting and tongue touching? There must be some hidden meaning there, right?”

To this I can only respond by quoting John Calvin:

“By touching his tongue with spittle, [Jesus] intended to point out that the faculty of speech was communicated by Himself alone; and by putting His fingers into the ears, He showed that it belonged to His office to pierce the ears of the deaf. There is no necessity for having recourse to allegories; and we find that those who have amused themselves with ingenious discussions on the subject are so far from bringing forward anything of real value that they tend rather to hold up the Scripture to ridicule. Readers of sobriety and judgment will be satisfied with this single instruction: that we obtain from Christ, in answer to our prayers both speech and hearing; for He pours His energy into our tongues and pierces our ears with His fingers.”

Instead of some secret meaning behind Jesus’ actions we can clearly see that Jesus was simply communicating with this man in a way that he could understand.

Put yourself in this man’s shoes. You couldn’t hear Jesus’ instructions, but you could certainly see His intentions.

33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”

This man could see what Jesus was doing, he could feel it, he could observe Jesus’ deep sigh of compassion with His face toward heaven. He could even read His lips when He said the word, “ephphatha!”

“Ephphatha,” [an Aramaic word that means], “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

These passionate friends could not help but tell people what Jesus had done for their friend no matter how adamant Jesus was that they keep it to themselves.

Jesus charged them to tell no one so that He could still move about the countryside freely without throngs of people seeking miracles and signs and wonders, but they zealously proclaimed what He had done all the more.

There is a lot we can learn from this account.

First and foremost is that Jesus is the promised Messiah, he is the One who was to come into the world and make peace between God and Man, the only source of salvation, the only way to God the Father.

We can learn that we should passionately and persistently bring our needy friends to Jesus, earnestly pleading with Him in prayer to save them and help them.

We can learn to do our work humbly, to do good where no eye sees but God’s. And to communicate the gospel in language that people can see and understand.

I’ll close with the words of Isaiah 35…

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2 it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. 

3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf [EPHPHATHA] unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. 

For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 

10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Amen.

The Faith of the Little Pet Puppies - Mark 7:24-30 - May 24, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for May 24, 2020. Watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

Mark 7:24-30 The Faith of Little Pet Puppies

Good morning! I ‘d like to say, welcome back, to all of those who are brave enough to return after the beating we all took in last week’s sermon!

We are returning once again to the Gospel of Mark, chapter seven, verses twenty four through thirty.

To some it may seem as if Mark had turned the page and changed the subject in his Gospel account here in our text, but that isn’t really the case. Jesus didn’t move on from this teaching about what defiles, or doesn’t defile a person.

In this chapter Jesus has shown us that it is not the keeping or breaking of tradition that defiles a person or makes them clean, it is not what a person eats or avoids eating that make a person clean or unclean, and now, in this morning’s text, He shows that it is not a person’s race that makes them clean or unclean.

This is a very important text for us to consider this morning and there is a lot for us to learn here from Jesus, from the Gentile woman, and about the expansion of the Gospel. So let’s read the text together.

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. Let’s pray.

Jesus and the disciples had been near Capernaum in Galilee previous to this account and now traveled to the Northwestern border of the District of Galilee. The cities of Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, today this is Lebanon. In going to this region Jesus hoped to avoid the crowds and be able to teach His disciples, and on its face, this account shows, once again, that Jesus could never be hidden, people always found Him and brought their troubles to Him. But that isn’t to say that He wasn’t able to teach His disciples. This account teaches a great deal and we would do well not to miss it.

So what do we know about this woman? She was a Gentile, Matthew calls her a Canaanite, and she was. She was born in Phoenicia which was in the province of Syria, and she had a little daughter that was possessed by a demon.

In Matthew’s account of this event it shows how she initially tried to play by the Jewish rules in order to get Jesus to meet her need. Matthew 15:22-24 says,

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

She calls Jesus, “Lord, Son of David.” This is the Jewish reference to the Messiah. But Jesus did not answer her a word, He kept silent. The disciples tried to get Jesus to grant her request so she would go away but He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

It was only after she dropped the pretense and simply said, in Matthew 15:25 “Lord, help me,” that Jesus responded.

Mark skipped those details but we don’t have to, I think that they’re very important.

What’s also important is that this was the first act of salvation in the Gentile world, this was a prophetic and symbolic representation of the future progress of the gospel from Jews to Gentiles. Those of us that are not descendants of Abraham can have saving faith in Jesus Christ and it started right here!

Now all through this chapter of Mark we have been dealing with cleanness and uncleanness, uncleanness due to the lack of following traditions and washing your hands correctly, uncleanness due to eating the wrong kinds of food and drink, but as we saw last week, defilement comes from within a person, not from without. Jesus goes to the region of Tyre and Sidon to continue to teach this point to His disciples and to you and me.

The Jews taught that uncleanness came from breaking tradition, from touching the wrong thing, from eating the wrong thing, and from being born of the wrong people. The Jews were not allowed to interact with Gentiles, they couldn’t eat a meal with them, they weren’t even allowed to go into their homes or use a dish that a Gentile had used without being considered ceremonially unclean and disqualified from worship until they were ritually washed. 

But Jesus shows us here that a person’s race has nothing to do with whether or not that they could come to Him in faith, sin remains condemned but faith is available to all.

Now, I don’t know if this lady was trying to trick Jesus into thinking that she was Jewish by referring to Him as the Son of David, but I do know that Jesus knew that she wasn’t and He made that pretty clear in Matthew.

So she dropped the pretense and humbly said, “Lord, help me.”

This woman crossed the lines of race and social stigma and looked with longing to the Savior. She begged Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

Jesus’ response at first looks pretty harsh but it did offer a glimmer of hope.

27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

Yikes!

Some of the Jews, in their pride, referred to all Gentiles as dogs, but not the same type of dog that Jesus meant here. Jesus used the diminutive form of the word to mean more like little pet puppies, not dirty, scavenging street dogs that are common in Palestine even today.

Let the children be fed first, for it’s not right to take your children’s bread and throw it to your puppy.

So where is the kernel of hope? Let the children be fed first, meaning, the pets will get their chance later.

Notice how the woman responds. She doesn’t say, “How could a loving God allow bad things to happen to my daughter? God is love, now give me what I want!” These are demands of pride, demands we hear far too often today.

Instead she responds in humility.

27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

1 Peter 5:5 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” And that’s exactly what is happening here. The woman recognized that she wasn’t owed anything, another lesson we all could learn, She didn’t want the children’s meal, she didn’t want the children’s bread, she only wanted a crumb of God’s grace to heal her daughter.

She looked longingly to the Savior, she waited in humility for help, she persisted though she recognized that she was owed nothing, and when Jesus granted her request she held fast to that hope with confidence.

29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Notice that she had no evidence that Jesus had done what He said. This was one of two miracles performed by Jesus from a distance. She left with no evidence that her daughter had been healed, just hope. But her hope was not just a wish, she held fast in confidence that Jesus did what he said He did.

She didn’t leave there saying, “I hope He really healed my daughter.” That’s not hope, that’s wishful thinking. She left with a confident expectation that Jesus did what he said he would do. That’s what hope is. 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

I’ve said before that what is recorded in Scripture is strategic and is put there on purpose, it’s not just a collection of random stories. So why did Mark record this account?

First of all, this account was the glimmer of hope that salvation through faith in Jesus Christ would not be for the Jews only but for the whole world, Gentiles included.

Secondly, this account shows just exactly how people should come to Christ for salvation and help in times of trouble. 

Like this Syrophoenician woman, we should look with longing to the Savior, bringing to Him our needs, whether it’s for forgiveness and salvation, or for help in times of trial and trouble. 

We should come to Him humbly and persevere in our prayers recognizing that we are not owed anything but are totally dependent on His grace.

And we should hold fast our hope with firm confidence in Jesus, not that we will always get what we ask for, but that He will always do as He said.

I hope this has been an encouragement to you today, and if there is anyone watching that hasn’t put their trust in Jesus that you would come to Him just like this woman did, humbly, confessing your sin to Him, confessing your need for forgiveness, and accepting His death on the cross was for you.

Let’s pray.