A Feast in a Desolate Place
Mark 6:30-44
July 22, 2018 – Redeemer
Jesus had sent the 12 apostles out with His authority. Authorized as agents of a foreign government, the Kingdom of heaven, they preached the Word and people repented. They confessed the name of Jesus and demons ran for their lives. They touched the sick and the lame danced, the blind saw their loved ones, and the lepers kissed their wives and hugged their children. The Apostles had infiltrated the enemy camp with the infectious good news of Jesus. They returned to Jesus excited by their victories, exhausted the battle, and exasperated by the sheer number of sinners they met.
So Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourself to a desolate place and rest a while.” It’s an odd respite isn’t it? Come away to a desolate place, not “come away to a resort” or “come away on an all-inclusive cruise,” but come away to a desolate place. No food, no water, no distractions, just Jesus and His men. In all the excitement, exhaustion, and exasperation the one thing needful for them and for us is rest with Jesus.
There would be no rest for the Apostles. They needed Him, but the crowds followed them and found Jesus. It’s a good thing there’s always more than enough Jesus to go around. If you don’t believe me keep your ears open for the leftovers in this story.
Jesus had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. Jesus taught them the Old Testament. He told them every promise of God’s salvation was found and fulfilled in Him. Jesus preached Himself, something no preacher should do, unless of course you’re God in the flesh.
Do you want to know what compassion is? Compassion is not ending the life of a suffering person. It is giving that person Jesus. Compassion is not ignoring or excusing sin. It is calling the sinner to repent and forgiving the sins of those who repent. Compassion is not letting your children make their own decision about church and faith. Compassion is teaching them that the one thing is needful for life is Jesus, His Word, His forgiveness, His presence, being with Him in His house.
Jesus began to teach them. You know how it is when a preacher gets started. Jesus taught all afternoon, through the supper hour, and now it was getting dark. (And you thought my sermons were long.) Remember where they are – a desolate place – the middle of Kansas. There is no Nelson Brother’s truck stop. It’s all Jesus’ fault they are there. Thankfully the Apostles are keeping an eye on the clock, “The hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
The teaching of the Apostles begins when Jesus says, “You give them something to eat.” Remember these were the guys whom Jesus told not to pack a lunch, or bring a money bag, or even carry extra clothes when they went out. They were to be fed and housed and clothed by the preaching of the Word. So even if they had 200 day’s wages they couldn’t buy enough bread for the crowd. They didn’t have the money. There wasn’t a bakery around! Jesus asks them to take inventory of what they can find. They end up confiscating some boy’s lunch – 5 loaves of bread and two fish.
So what lesson are the Apostles about to learn? Well, let’s consider the context. They had done well on their missionary journey. They had literally seen Jesus unseating sin and death and the Devil. Can you imagine the thrill when Peter touched a paralyzed girl and she got up and ran to her parents? Or when an angry and violent man suddenly became friendly and calm as the demons left him? Or when a troubled sinner looked up at Matthew with tears in her eyes said, “Really? I’m forgiven all my sins?” And Matthew said, “Yep, that’s what Jesus says – tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the Kingdom before the Pharisees and Scribes. It’s not about you – it’s about Jesus for you.”
When the Apostles returned from their journey they would learn that John the Baptist wasn’t so successful. His congregation killed him. What happens in the church when one pastor succeeds and another fails? When one congregation grows and another shrinks? When your neighbor’s kids keep going to church and yours do not? Perhaps the Apostles thought if only John had preached like we preached he would have succeeded. Pastors, Congregations, and Sinners are continually tempted to think it’s more about me, about us, than about Jesus. If we succeed we take credit. If we fail we believe it is up to us to fix it.
So in this desolate place Jesus teaches His men and that large congregation that everything from bread and fish to salvation is always and only from Jesus. Nothing they did on their mission trip was apart from Jesus. And nothing they ate was apart from Jesus either. If God the Father did not send His Son to save the world you wouldn’t have food either. We heard it in today’s introit, “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” Why did God clothe Adam and Eve after they sinned? Or provide food from the ground that their sin cursed? Why did he allow them to have children? Why has God given you clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home (maybe even two homes). It is all given for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ.
God feeds the Old Testament people so that they can live and have children. Eventually from them would come one baby named Jesus. He is God in the flesh. He can feed 5000 men with five tiny loaves of bread and a couple of pieces of fish. This Jesus will die for the sin of the world and rise again three days later so that you can live forever. In Jesus God provides us with life by forgiving our sins. The Father continues to provide your daily bread so you can receive Jesus, so you can give Jesus to your children, so you return some of what the Lord has given you to His church so the Word can be preached and sinners can be forgiven and infants can be baptized and people can be fed the body and blood of Jesus for life and salvation.
We often want to separate our blessings into material blessings and spiritual blessings. Scripture knows no distinction – God would not give you anything if He did not give you Jesus. If God the Father wasn’t merciful through His Son Jesus you wouldn’t have a roll of toilet paper or a toothbrush to your name. And because He is merciful in Christ – all of you have far more than that, just as those 5000 in the wilderness left twelve baskets of leftovers for the disciples. Why? So that the Word of Jesus would spread.
Jesus taught them as He teaches us. You don’t live by bread alone, but by every Word which proceeds from the mouth of God – and the final Word is Jesus. Jesus didn’t just give the crowd His Word, He also gave them supper, with enough for leftovers. The Apostles saw and heard and learned – it isn’t me – it is Jesus. The crowd saw and heard and learned – it isn’t us – it’s Jesus.
500 years ago the teaching and preaching of Martin Luther became so popular and successful that his followers were called Lutherans. In response to that Luther said, “What is Luther? The teaching is not mine. Nor was I crucified for anyone … How did I, poor stinking bag of maggots that I am, come to the point where people call the children of Christ by my evil name? … I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything. We do nothing, the Word does everything – from fish, to bread, to the forgiveness of our sins – the Word does and gives us everything in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Timm