Let's take our Bibles and turn
to Mark chapter 6. This lesson and one other should
take us through the remainder of Mark chapter 6. The disciples had returned from
their preaching engagements. The Lord had separated them from
the others. He had a lot of disciples, but
he separated the 12 from the rest. And those 12 he sent out
into these cities where he himself would go and they preached the
gospel. And he gave them power to cast
out demons. They were given these things
Not so much to amaze men, but to confirm their calling. The
gospel age was about to begin, and nobody knew anything about
preaching as such. They had doctors of divinity,
teachers like Gamaliel and different ones, and each synagogue was
appointed a teacher. And basically that's what they
did. They read the scriptures and they would teach according
to their beliefs. But these men had gone out and
they're preaching something totally contrary. They're preaching that
Christ has come, that he's there, he's in their presence, he's
walking on this earth. been gone for quite a while,
and when they come back, they found multitudes coming to Christ,
so much so that they didn't even have time to stop and eat, and
they were tired. And the Lord saw that they were
tired. And he said, all right, we're gonna get on a ship, and
we're gonna sail down the coast, off to a desert place where we
can go off, and you can rest. And so they got in the ship,
and evidently they all laid down inside the ship, except for those
who were running the ship. But they were still inside the
land, and people could see him, and they knew who he was and
what he did. His reputation had preceded him,
and so they followed that ship. Now, I've heard workers say,
I put in my time and I'm looking forward to going home now and
rest. But the ministry is 24-7. It's 24-7. It don't ever stop. You don't work an eight-hour
day and then turn it off. It's continual. Continual. No starting, no stopping. You
don't just study a few hours and then turn it all off, go
about your business. No, it bleeds over into every
aspect of your life. No matter what else is going
on, that message is in your mind and in your heart, and your people
are in your mind and in your heart, and it never stops. It's
not a job that you, it is a job, but it's more than a job, it's
continual. There's nowhere to turn it off. I think about you all and your
children and the message I'm studying and what's going on
in our congregations and these other congregations. I think
about it all the time. All the time. I believe this is what is referred
to in the scripture as the burden of the ministry. It's a burden. And it is, at times, exhausting,
just absolutely exhausting. Now there's untold lessons here
in these 14 verses, but this morning I want you to see the
ministry of Christ as he prepares his disciples to be his ambassadors
to this world. And the lesson begins with a
picture of poor sinners coming to Christ, being drawn by the
Father. drawn by their own needs and
his gracious providence and drawn to his son and our savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 31, he said unto them,
come ye yourselves apart into a desert place. And I think it
was J.C. Ryle said, if you don't come
apart, you're gonna come apart. And he's right. We'll go into a desert place
and we'll rest a while for there were many coming and going. They
had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a
desert place, verse 32, by ship privately. Verse 33, and the
people saw them departing and many knew him and ran afoot thither
out of all the cities and out went them and came together unto
him. Now who in the world can explain
the drawing power of the Father? You can't explain what drew you. You look back in your past and
it's like a maze. This happened, that happened,
and the longer I'm in this, the longer I'm convinced I wouldn't
change a thing. Everything that happened to me,
happened to me to bring me to Christ. Good and bad, all of
it. Working together. You can't explain
this drawing power of God who draws poor sinners to Christ.
It's as mysterious as the gospel itself. But evidently the ship they were
on stayed in view of the land and those who knew him. They
followed. And seeing them run after him,
people from the cities, they pass through. Where you running?
Where you going? You see that ship out there?
That's the Christ. That's the healer. That's the
master. That's Jesus of Nazareth. And
all of a sudden, the crowd began to grow. And every time they'd
pass through a city or pass through a little community where people
were and could see them running, they just fell in line. They
were right behind them. And before you know it, there's
almost 10,000 people. I know that because he fed 5,000
men besides the women and children. And I think that'd just be a
conservative guess to say 10,000. Might have been more. But it
was a large multitude. And as the day was approaching
its end, the Lord came out on the deck of the ship and he saw
this great multitude following after him, verse 34, and was
moved with compassion toward death. Because they were a sheep not
having a shepherd. And so he comes to land in the
ship and he begins to teach them many things. Now I want to say something here
before we go any further. Can you with spiritual eyes see
a great multitude from the very beginning coming to Christ? Our Lord said in John chapter
six, all that the Father hath given me. How many is that? Well, they're pictured over in
Revelations, says it's a number that no man can number. But picture them coming to Christ. Never ending. Somewhere in this
world, 24 seven people coming to Christ. They're coming to
Christ. They always have, they always
will. They're coming to him. That's
what this multitude represents. They were sheep. That's what
he said, isn't it? He had compassion on them because
they were sheep. poor, ignorant, helpless sinners,
desperate sinners, men and women who had to come to Him. They
had nowhere else to go. Where else would you go? They
were desperate. They were needy. They were poor. They were bankrupt. Now I see
a few physically, and I have in my lifetime. I've seen a few
personally. But our Lord said, all which
the Father has given me will come to me. Every one of them. Can you see them? Thousands upon
thousands, great multitudes, until their numbers could no
longer be counted. Coming to Christ continually,
no matter what's going on, no matter what's taking place, in
spite of all of our limited ability, they just keep coming. They just
keep coming. Now that's the ministry of Christ. That's the ministry to which
we've been given a great privilege to minister to these sheep. Oh, what a privilege it is for
you and I to have a part in it. Now, here's the first thing I
want you to see. The Lord was moved with compassion
toward them because they were sheep. His sheep. given to him by the Father. He
said in John 10, 29 that his Father gave them me. He gave
them me. That's how I come to acquire.
They were blessed in him with all covenant blessings, all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, chosen in him, predestinated
to the adoption of children through him, accepted in him. And he saw this desperate multitude
of sheep. Sheep, because how did he know
they were sheep? They were seeking him. That's what sheep do. Nobody
else seeking him, but the sheep seek him. They'll seek him. All right, secondly, he saw them
as sheep without a shepherd. They had no shepherd. They were
sheep. It's the duty of a shepherd to
give his life for the sheep. That's what our Lord said. The
good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. That's not just
talking about laying it down in death. That's talking about
giving your life for the sheep. Your whole life. Physically,
mentally, spiritually, actually, continually. The good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. And he said, I'm the good shepherd. They had no shepherd to watch
for their souls. They had no shepherd to lead
them into green pastures or beside the still waters. They had no
shepherd to guide them, to comfort them, or when necessary, to fight
off the wolves. They had no shepherd to seek
their lost lambs and carry them back in his bosom to the fold. They were sheep. not having a
shepherd. Now Christ is our chief shepherd,
but here by his side he was preparing some under shepherds. And they were observing all this,
they were a part of all this. And it's the purpose of God throughout
this gospel age that all his sheep have a shepherd. He'll have them all to have a
shepherd. They had cities full of synagogues
and teachers and priests, but they didn't have any shepherds
appointed by God. No shepherds willing to give
themselves. All that come before me are thieves
and robbers, he said. They care not for the sheep. No shepherds depending on God
for all things and believing Him concerning all things that
had to do with these sheep. Seeing things as they are, not
as they ought to be. He saw His sheep. He who could see the very thoughts
and intents of their hearts could see their confusion and ignorance
and false concepts. But he could also see the power
of his father at work drawing these sheep to him. And the main
concern of Christ concerning these desperate sinners was not
their infirmities. They all had infirmities, he
goes on to tell us that. They all had problems, that's
why they were coming. But the main concern of Christ
as he looked on them were not their infirmities. It was the
fact that they had no shepherd. You might make light of me for
saying it so often, but you need a shepherd. Isn't that what our Lord's saying
here? He was moved with compassion toward them. What'd he do, just go home and
weep? No, he said he was moved with compassion because they
had no shepherd. So he taught them. He taught
them. And I'm gonna tell you, you can't
do what a shepherd does. A shepherd, he's an able minister
of God. God made us, Paul said, able
ministers of the New Testament. Our sufficiency is of God. This
ain't something you can just do. You don't just desire that. I wanna be a fireman one day.
Great. Go to school. Learn what you
can. Be a fireman. But you can't say,
I want to be a shepherd and then go to school and become a shepherd.
God has to appoint you a shepherd and gift you to do it. You can't do what a shepherd
does. You can't take his place or do without him. These people
were surviving, but look at their condition. They were in a terrible
condition. They were a spiritual mess. And
then thirdly, I want you to see in this a bad conclusion with
an ungodly remedy. The crowd was full of sick folks,
lame and halt and blind. Some were carried on stretchers,
some supported between two individuals. Some taken by the hand, blind,
had to be led. And they'd been running, that's
what the scripture said, they'd been running after him all day. They made no plans for where
they'd sleep, what they'd eat, how far they'd go. They didn't
bring blankets, pillows, The opportunity came, and they
saw him, and they went after him. It was Christ or nothing. Christ
or die. There were no alternatives. And
as I said before, these men were exhausted. They come to this
place to rest, and they'd rested some during the day on that ship
getting down there. And now they get there to escape
the crowd and what's there? The crowd. It brings me back to what I told
you at the beginning. This thing never ceases. You
follow the life of Christ and you'll find multitudes always
coming to him. It never stops. It's like a river. They just keep coming to him,
keep coming to him. Here was a crowd of people just
like the one they left, only bigger, needier. And now they're in a desert place.
They're not in the city. They're out here in a desert
place. And these disciples, surmising the situation, they said to Christ, the day
is about over. And we're out here in the desert,
nowhere to get any food, no stores, no houses, just desert. And he
looked at them as if to say, what do you want me to do? Now listen to what they said.
Send them away. Huh? Verse 36. Ain't that what
they said? Does that sound like something
a shepherd would say? Pen them away. I'm too tired. I don't have anything for them. A friend of mine asked a man
to come and preach for him, and when he got there, he didn't
have his, what do they call it, a candy stick? message that just,
you know, he didn't have it. And come time of preaching, he
said, Lord didn't give me anything. I don't have anything. And sat
down. That's what they would say. Send
them away. What if our Lord had saw us in
our need and said, send them away? Oh, my soul. Send them away. I don't have
anything for them. Leave them in their sickness
and hunger and ignorance. Send them away. I don't have
any comforting words for them. I'm telling you, this is a bad
summation and an ungodly conclusion. See, according to the word of
God, this great multitude coming to Christ, sinners all, every
one of them, needy, desperate. And in my lifetime, I might only
have to deal with some and perhaps just a few. So what am I gonna
do? What am I gonna do? When I get
tired, am I just gonna say, send them away? How shall I approach them? Well, that was their first conclusion.
But now listen, this is the fourth thing. Listen to what our Lord
says to them, verse 37. Give ye them to eat. There are 10,000 people out here. The town I grew up in only had
5,000 population in the whole city. Aircraft carrier I was
on, we only had 5,000 men aboard that whole ship. Here are 10,000. Give you them to eat. You see, it's the shepherd's
responsibility to feed the sheep. People get the idea that shepherds
are deacons. They're not deacons, they're
shepherds. Deacons see to the natural needs of a church. Shepherds feed the sheep. It
was so necessary for these men to study and preach, these very
men here that he's talking to in this passage, that in the
Book of Acts it says that they finally appointed some men, worthy
men, good men, men who could, if necessary,
preach the gospel. And he appointed them as deacons.
And he said, now you see to the needs of the widows and orphans
and all the natural needs of this congregation, it's not meat
that we need to wait on tables. Our primary job is to feed the
sheep. It's the shepherd's responsibility.
Now he's got other duties as well, but this is his chief duty.
Our Lord looked at Peter, who quit the ministry and went back
to fishing. And when the Lord appeared after his resurrection
to Peter, Called him in, called all of them in. He had some fish
prepared for him there on the fire to feed them. And he said,
Peter, he said, do you love me? Peter said, Lord, you know all
things. You know I love you. Feed my sheep. Isn't that what
he told him? Feed my sheep. Now I grew up in sheep country
up in northern Ohio. And one thing sheep like to do
above all else, eat. They love to eat. You look out
there at them sheep, they eat all day long, Jesse. They never
quit. They just eat and eat and eat until there ain't no grass
left. It's just nothing but dirt. That's why the cattle ranchers
didn't want sheep herders on their open range, because they
ate the grass down to the roots. Sheep eat. They like to eat. Sometimes they leave a pasture
bare. All right, fifthly. He gives them a command to take
inventory. He saith unto them, how many
loaves have ye? What you got to feed the sheep? All doing this, you know. He
said, go see. Go take inventory. And when they knew, they didn't
have anything. Not one of them had anything.
But one little lad had five fishes and two loaves, and they brought
that. Now, I'm no mathematician, but
here's all these thousands of people, and they come back and
they said, we've got five loaves and two fishes. But I don't think you'd feed
this multitude with five loaves and two fishes. It doesn't even
say what size the loaves are, but if a lad had them, and had
these two fishes, I'm guessing they were just little loaves. They'd already figured out that
they didn't have anything, and the desert didn't have anything,
but they left Christ completely out of the picture. Didn't they? We don't have anything. My soul, you've got the greatest
thing there is. You've got Christ. You've got the God-man. You've
got the Great Shepherd. Christ is all. He's the source
of creation. He's the reason for it and the
power behind its preservation. Instead of looking to Christ,
they just looked around and with their natural eyes and couldn't
see anything. And they said, well, what can
we do? Just send them away. Just send
them away. Now listen to me, and I'll deal
with this a little more in the next message. They did have something. They had five loaves and two
fishes. When God calls a man to be an
under-shepherd, he gives him what's required. He has something. He may not be aware of it, and
when he is aware of it, he's going to look at it like this
piddly little nothing that, you know, what is this? You think I don't think that
every time I prepare a message and look at it? It's just fishes
and loaves to me. It's pitiful. You mean I'm serving
the Lord of Glory? I'm serving Him who is in whom
all things are? In Him we live and move and have
our being? I'm serving Him and I can't come
up with enough to speak for 45 minutes? It's pitiful. It's just a few loaves and a
few fishes. That's all it is. And He wants
you to know that. He's teaching these men something.
He's going to prepare them for the ministry. And he wants them
to take inventory. And so they went, and they found
the loaves, and they brought them back. Men have something. They have
minds. Mine's little, but I have one. I have a mouth. It's not schooled very well,
but I have a mouth. Not much, it's just a few loaves
and fishes. Now watch this. This is the sixth
thing and I'll hurry. They brought what they had and
gave it to Christ. Huh? All my thoughts. Here it is. I'm gonna give it to you till
I give it to him. because it's not sufficient right
here. It ain't sufficient till I give
it to him. But oh my soul, he took them
five loaves and says he blessed it. He looked up to his father
in heaven and he held out those fishes and loaves and he blessed
them. And then he divided them as only
he can. to show thyself approved, a workman,
worthy of his name, able to rightly divide the word of truth. The
Lord took those pitiful things that this man had prepared, and
he said, now, I'm gonna show you a treasure, and he divided
them. And he gave it back to them. He gave them back to them, and
they fed them all to death. And it was so sufficient that
when they got done, they had more than when they started.
They had 12 baskets full of fragments. There's always fragments. There
are fragments in this mess you're driving now. You ain't eating
everything. A bunch of them falling on the ground. But it's OK. We'll pick it up, and you can
eat it another time. His word not gonna return unto
him, boy, but he's gonna use it, and he will use it. But boy,
when he divides it, it's sufficient. It'll feed every hungry sinner
that's there. Even his sheep could need it
all. Now, oh, what a motivation to prayer this is, both for me
and for you. You prayed for me that I won't,
Forget to take what I have. And look at it and acknowledge
it as pitiful. And then give it to him. And
I tell you, if he divides it, it'll feed every hungry soul
who's gathered to hear it. Let this poor ignorant disciple
learn to always look to Christ. Bring to him my pitiful contributions
and ask him to bless it for his sake and the sake of those who
gathered here.