Sunday
Morning Bible Study
December 5, 2004
:30-32 Getting away to rest
Earlier in the chapter (Mark 6:7-13) Jesus had sent His twelve disciples
out by twos on their first mission trip. They went out and preached that men
should repent. They cast out demons. They anointed sick people with oil and
they were healed.
Based on Matthew’s account (Mat. 14:12-13),
it seems that while the disciples were out on this first trip, John the Baptist
had been executed by Herod. Perhaps the event of John’s death might have even
brought their trip to a sudden close.
:31 Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while
desert place - eremos - solitary, lonely, desolate,
uninhabited
Lesson
Rest
Sometimes we can drive ourselves into a frenzy thinking that there’s
something unspiritual about taking a day off or spending an evening with the
family.
Jesus is telling the guys to take a break.
Things have been so busy they weren’t even able to sit down and enjoy a
meal together.
When God created the world, He created everything in six days and on the
seventh day He rested.
He didn’t rest because He was tired. He rested to give us an example so we
would learn to take time to rest as well.
Illustration
Vacation
A newspaper writer, after working for 7 long years, was finally granted two
months of leave, during which time he would be fully paid. However, he turned
down his boss’ kind offer. The boss asked him why? The newspaper writer said
there are 2 reasons. “The first,” he said “is that I thought by taking such a
long leave it might affect the newspaper’s circulation.” The boss asked him
what is the other reason. “The other reason,” replied the writer, “is that it
might not affect the newspaper’s circulation.”
It’s okay to rest. God can take care
all those people who need you.
It’s okay to get away from the pressing needs.
It’s even okay to get a break from ministry every once in a while.
Keep in mind that they’re not going to actually get the break they’re
expecting to.
:32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
Luke identifies the place as being near the city of Bethsaida
Julias, located on the northeastern corner of the Sea
of Galilee (Luke 9:10).
:33 …and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities…
Capernaum is at the northwestern
end of the Sea of Galilee. It’s only about six miles wide so you can see
all the way across the lake. It wouldn’t
be hard for the people to get an idea where they were going. So they ran along the shore, perhaps even gathering
people as they went as they might have passed through the towns of Korazin and
Bethsaida Julias. Keep in mind that the
disciples have all just finished their own preaching tours and so the combined
crowds may have been big to begin with. By
the time Jesus and His group land, there’s quite a crowd waiting for them.
So here’s Jesus and His disciples, all worn out, needing to get away from
the people, and the people get to their quiet retreat spot before them and are
sitting them waiting for them when they arrive.
:34 And Jesus…was moved with compassion toward them…
moved with compassion – splagchnizomai
– to be moved as to one’s bowels; the bowels were thought to be were love
and pity came from, so this is why we
translate this “moved with compassion”.
I may not be very nice in saying this, but if I were one of the disciples, I
wouldn’t be moved with compassion, I’d be pretty ticked off at the crowds of
people. Here Jesus has offered to take
the fellows away from the hectic life of ministry and give them a chance to
rest, but when they get there they are faced with more crowds!
Though I can identify with the disciples, I’m sure glad Jesus is different.
Lesson
A Good Shepherd
(Ezek 34:1-16 KJV) And
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, {2} Son of man, prophesy against the
shepherds of Israel,
prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be
to the shepherds of Israel
that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
The shepherds of Israel
were the leaders – the kings and princes of Israel.
{3} Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them
that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
The shepherds benefit from the flock but the flock doesn’t benefit from the
shepherds.
{4} The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed
that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither
have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that
which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. {5} And
they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all
the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. {6} My sheep wandered
through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was
scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after
them. {7} Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; {8} As I live,
saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became
meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my
shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my
flock; {9} Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; {10} Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my
flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither
shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from
their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
God was speaking about the leaders of Israel
in Ezekiel’s day, but the principal applies to Jesus’ day and our day as well.
People will let you down. Leaders will let you down.
The people in the Roman Catholic Church are going through
a difficult time as they wrestle with this huge issue of sexual abuse within
the church.
This was in yesterday’s Register:
The $100 million settlement between the Diocese of Orange
and 87 people alleging sexual abuse covers accusations against 17 previously
unnamed church employees and explicit new charges against a dozen previously
accused priests.
Diocese officials say the settlement closes the books on
accusations against 31 priests, two nuns and 10 lay people from the 1960s to
the 1990s. It is the largest settlement of clergy sexual abuse charges in history.
The settlement, the first of any consolidated cases in the
state, sets a baseline for the handling of future cases against the Catholic
Church, including at least 533 claims against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
More than 800 lawsuits have been filed against dioceses across the state, and
there are more than 10,000 nationwide, according to a study released in
February.
I would imagine there might be some people feeling a bit
lost through all of this.
{11} For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both
search my sheep, and seek them out. {12} As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in
the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my
sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered
in the cloudy and dark day. {13} And I will bring them out from the people, and
gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed
them upon the mountains of Israel
by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. {14} I will feed
them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel
shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture
shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
{15} I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord
GOD. {16} I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was
driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that
which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them
with judgment.
Yet Jesus is the Good Shepherd who loves His flock. He is looking for the
lost sheep. He wants to heal those that have been broken.
He promises to “feed” His flock.
He starts by teaching them.
Are you a broken and hurting person?
You need a new Shepherd. You need
the Good Shepherd. You need Jesus.
:35 And when the day was now far spent…
It’s probably after 3:00 p.m., in
a little while the sun will be going down.
:36 Send them away…
If I were one of the disciples, I’d be thinking of lots of reasons for
Jesus to send the people away so they can get on with their vacation.
:37 …two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
pennyworth – denarion – A
Roman silver coin in NT time. One coin was thought to be roughly equivalent to
one day’s wage for the ordinary laborer (Mat. 20:2-13). 200 denarii would be about seven month’s
wages.
John records:
(John 6:5-7 KJV) When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a
great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread,
that these may eat? {6} And this he said to
prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. {7} Philip answered him,
Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of
them may take a little.
This was a test. Jesus was testing
the disciples.
Lesson
Money isn’t always the answer.
Illustration
Winner of $149M Lottery Faces
Divorce
Sat Dec 4, 4:12 PM ET U.S.
National - AP
NEW YORK -
Money — not even $149 million — can't buy you love. Juan Rodriguez, who
collected the huge windfall in the Mega Millions lottery last month, is now on
the outs with his wife, the New York Post reported Saturday. Iris Rodriguez
wants a divorce from her husband of 17 years, and she filed the paperwork just
10 days after Juan bought the winning ticket on Nov. 19. Iris Rodriguez is seeking a portion of her
husband's huge lottery check, the Post said. Rodriguez, 49, opted to take his
winnings in a single lump-sum payment of $88.5 million before taxes. Although the couple appeared together at a
news conference after Rodriguez matched the winning numbers, his wife had
previously given him the boot over his financial difficulties. Rodriguez had
filed for bankruptcy a month before his lottery win, and court papers showed he
had just 78 cents in a savings account and owed $44,000 to creditors. The Colombian immigrant bought the winning
ticket at a store near the midtown Manhattan
parking lot where he worked double shifts as an attendant, earning about
$28,000 a year.
Are you so sure you want to win the Lottery now?
King Amaziah faced a time of testing.
When he became king, he began to work on national security, building up
his army in order to face an upcoming war.
(2 Chr 25:5-9
KJV) Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over
thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their
fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty
years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to
go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. {6} He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel
for an hundred talents of silver. {7} But there came a man of God to him,
saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not
with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. {8} But if thou wilt go,
do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for
God hath power to help, and to cast down. {9} And Amaziah said to the man of
God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the
army of Israel?
And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.
Instead of trusting in the best hired army that money could buy, Amaziah
was encouraged to trust the Lord instead.
It cost him, and there were some repercussions from it, but in the end
Amaziah did win the battle with the Lord’s help.
Illustration
The other day on the radio I heard Pastor Chuck tell the story of what
happened back in the days when they were outgrowing the church they had built
on Sunflower (the old Maranatha Village).
He shared how a man came to visit him who had been building a financial
portfolio for the purpose of investing in God’s work. The money in the
portfolio had grown quite large and the man was looking to put the money into a
ministry. He had chosen Calvary Chapel as a place he wanted to give to. He
offered Chuck a million dollars. Chuck said that they needed the money, but he
told the man that he would need to pray about it first. He spent a lot of time
praying about it, and felt like the Lord told him to turn the money down. The
Lord told Chuck that if he accepted the money, then as God continued to do His
work at Calvary Chapel, people would point to the man’s gift and say that it
was all because of this man’s money. God promised Chuck that if he would reject
the gift and trust God, that God would provide for their needs and they would
never have a lack of funds. That’s what they did, and God has kept His promise.
Some wise person had the following words put on our dollar bills to remind
us: “In God we trust”. That’s the way it should be – trusting God, not money.
:38 Five, and two fishes
John tells us just where the bread and fish came from:
(John 6:8-9 KJV) One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother,
saith unto him, {9} There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two
small fishes: but what are they among so many?
The only person with any food is a little boy. The entire crowd is going to
be fed from a little boy’s lunch.
:39 sit down by companies upon the green grass.
sit down – anaklino – to
lean against, the people usually ate in a semi-reclined position
:40 And they sat down in ranks
in ranks – prasia – a plot
of ground, a garden bed; as Peter is telling this to Mark, Peter can remember
the day as the people reclined, looking like colorful garden plots on the green
grass.
:41 brake the loaves, and gave them
to his disciples
gave – imperfect tense, was continuously giving. It seems the actual multiplication of food
happened in Jesus’ own hands after He broke the loaves and when He started giving
out the food to the disciples.
:42 And they did all eat, and were filled.
were filled – chortazo – to
fill or satisfy men
It wasn’t like when we serve communion and everyone only gets a little
sliver of a cracker. Each person was
full.
Illustration
There’s a commercial on TV for Taco Bell where the idea is to make you
amazed that people actually get full by eating the food on the Taco Bell value
menu.
:44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
It seems that the language Mark is using indicates that the count only
included the men. Matthew records that
there were women and children present.
This is why some feel there may have been 10-15,000 people there that
day.
Lesson
It doesn’t take much.
You may not feel like you have that much to give, but if you give it to
God, He can do amazing things with what little you have.
The little boy was willing to give up his lunch.
Illustration
The 57 Cents That Made History. A
true story by Dr. Russel H. Conwell
A sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been
turned away because it ‘was too crowded’. “I can’t go to Sunday School,” she
sobbed to the pastor as he walked by. Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance,
the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and
found a place for her in the Sunday School class. The child was so touched that
she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to
worship Jesus. Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor
tenement buildings and the parents called for the kind-hearted pastor, who had
befriended their daughter, to handle the final arrangements. As her poor little
body was being moved, a worn and crumpled purse was found which seemed to have
been rummaged from some trash dump. Inside was found 57 cents and a note
scribble in childish handwriting which read, “This is to help build the little
church bigger so more children can go to Sunday school.” For two years she had
saved for this offering of love. When the pastor tearfully read that note, he
knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red
pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion.
He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger
building. But the story does not end there! A newspaper learned of the story
and published it. It was read by a Realtor who offered them a parcel of land
worth many thousands. When told that the church could not pay so much, he
offered it for a 57 cent payment. Church members made large subscriptions.
Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl’s gift had
increased to $250,000.00 - a huge sum for that time (near the turn of the
century). Her unselfish love had paid large dividends. When you are in the city
of Philadelphia, look up Temple
Baptist Church,
with a seating capacity of 3,300, and Temple
University, where hundreds of
students are trained. Have a look, too, at the Good
Samaritan Hospital
and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of Sunday scholars, so
that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside at Sunday school
time. In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet
face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such
remarkable history.
When Greg first shared this story with the church, my parents were greatly
moved because my dad’s parents met at Temple
Baptist Church. In a sense, you could say that our own church
has a little bit of a connection with that little girl’s 57 cents.
You may not think that what you have to offer to God is very much, or very
significant.
What do you have to offer the Lord?
It may be your 57 cents.
Perhaps it’s a love of music – you may not be very good,
but you can pick out a few chords on the guitar. I remember my first time leading worship in
a home Bible Study with High Schoolers almost thirty years ago, with a cheap
old nylon string guitar and barely knowing more than four or five chords.
Maybe it’s a skill at sports. Spike it for the Lord.
Maybe it’s a love of cars.
But you have to give it to the Lord before you’ll see something happen
with it.
Could God use your love of video games? Give it to Him and see what He’ll do.
Maybe He’ll give you the opportunity to make new friends –
friends that you can bring to Jesus.
But when you give what you have to God, just watch and see what He’ll do
with it.
Sometimes He may just keep the things you give to
Him. Perhaps you didn’t really “need it”
anyway.
Oftentimes He’ll give it right back to you. When the little boy gave his lunch to Jesus,
over five thousand people ate lunch, including the little boy.