When vacation time came growing up, we would often throw what we needed in the back of the old blue station wagon and head west, out to Colorado or Montana. One trip to Colorado included a two day camping trip by horseback. Each evening, the guide would hobble the horses to keep them nearby. He would attach a short piece of rope to the front legs of each horse, so that it could move and graze, but not get very far. Cattle are the same way. They can cover quite a bit of territory in several hours as they eat their way along. It is the same with sheep. They’ll graze in one area. Then, when they have eaten the grass down to a certain level, they’ll move on, not thinking about what direction they are going or how far. They can end up far away, even lost. That’s why they need a shepherd, to direct them to water and shelter, someone to care for them.
It’s not just horses and cattle and sheep that need a shepherd. The Bible says, “All we (humans) are like sheep; we have gone each one of us our own way, and the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) How we all need a shepherd, the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
The disciples of Jesus have just returned from teaching and healing in Jesus’ name. He sent them out to minister and serve on his behalf. They have returned, excited about what God has done through them. (verse 30) There is an excitement in the air as they relate what has happened. I think they surprised themselves seeing what God accomplished through them. Jesus recognizes they need rest. They are spent, worn down. He takes them away to a lonely, wilderness place to recover, just like the time God provides for us to recover and recharge. We call that time Sabbath. Jesus recognizes their need, so he shepherds them to a lonely place to be apart.
However, the crowds figure out where they have gone, so they set out to find them. When they do, Jesus recognizes their need, too. They are eager to learn and to hear more about the Kingdom of God. (I’ve likened the Kingdom of God to a teacher who urges students to come out of the crowded, chaotic halls into the classroom where the teacher’s manner and management oversees what goes on in the room, which is the teacher’s kingdom.) Jesus recognizes the crowd’s need. It says, “He saw the crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd….” (verse 34) So, he talks to them. He tells them of the magnificence and the sheer peace of entering the Kingdom of God and what it would be like to be a part of it right now on earth.
As evening approaches, the disciples come up to Jesus and ask him to end the session and dismiss the crowd so they can go find food. And, here’s the thing: Jesus recognizes the need and responds. He feeds them – 5,000 people. He asks the crowd to sit down by groups upon the green grass. Even though they are in the wilderness, there are places of pasture, especially after rains have fallen. Mark intentionally highlights this to refer to Jesus as the Great Shepherd of Psalm 23. (read verse 1-3)
You should know that some folks have trouble accepting the fact that Jesus multiplied the few loaves of bread and fish available to feed 5,000 people. They would say that the crowd took to heart the example of the lad who willingly shared his lunch pail of fish and bread with others, so that they, too, shared what they had with others in the crowd. In essence, it became a lesson in sharing – always a good thing to do. However, you might notice that there is no mention here of any boy who brings forward his lunch to share with others. The Gospel of John includes the personal note of a small boy with a lunch, but not Mark. There may well have been a boy involved, but, since Mark does not mention him, he’s not important to the point Mark is making; that Jesus is the Great Shepherd who recognizes the needs of his people, his sheep. Just as God gave bread, or manna, in the wilderness to the people of Israel on their journey from Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land, so Jesus gives bread to the people who crowd around him, eager to learn about the Kingdom of God and what it is like. The Kingdom of God is like a good shepherd who recognizes the need of his sheep and provides for his sheep. Just as God gave bread in the wilderness so that no one lacked, so Jesus, in the wilderness provides bread so that, ‘All ate and were satisfied.” (verse 42) Jesus is the great provider, who compassionately recognizes and provides for our needs. It is such a descriptive line, “he saw the crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd….”
You and I can forget that Jesus sees and perceives our need. Like sheep that nibble off, we forget that Jesus is compassionate. He sees our need because he has compassion. Compassion. What do you think about this definition for compassion by Jess Lair; “Compassion is your pain in my heart.” Isn’t this what God has done, sending his only Son, Jesus into our world, into our lives, into our pain. Jesus has compassion because he knows our pain in his own heart.
A person wrote on the internet on the most important question – from 1999. The person writes, “During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50’s but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last questions blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last questions would count toward our quiz grade. ‘Absolutely,’ said the professor. ‘In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care even if all you do is smile and say, ‘hello.’’ I’ve never forgotten that lesson. Her name was Dorothy.” (Compassion file)
We suffer amnesia when we drop the memory of Jesus, the Great Shepherd, who is compassionate, who knows our name, our pain in his heart.
The granddaughter did something the grandfather did not approve of, and words were spoken between them and now they stand apart from each other, neither talking to the others, neither breaking the stony silence and sometimes in our relationships we go nibbling away among the grass of pride and nursed hurt. We neglect to turn to Jesus, our compassionate shepherd, to break down our pride and provide ways of healing.
We have a physical condition we must live with; there doesn’t seem to be any cure. Like the Paul the apostle who asked God three times to remove his physical difficulty, we have asked God to heal it or take it away, over and over, but we don’t accept the answer God gave Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9) What kind of an answer is that, and we wander away grazing among the hills of depression and anger. But the Great Shepherd, who longs to draw us close to him, calls to us. It is the call of compassion.
The reason we forget and wander away seems to come down to faith; by this, I mean, a real trust in Jesus. Mark draws our attention to the disciples, who figure large in this account. After all, it begins with the disciples coming back from their ministry. When he pulls them away by themselves, it says that the crowd saw them going, (verse 33) not just Jesus, and got there ahead of them. It is the disciples who walk up to Jesus and ask him to dismiss the crowds. He tells them to give the crowds something to eat. Of course they have so little to give. That is Jesus’ point. They have little. They must trust God for the more. He directs them to find out how much bread there is. When Jesus blesses the bread, he then gives it to the disciples to distribute rather than himself. Each disciple receives a basket back of leftovers. They see what really happened. They see the significance. They recognize that it is Jesus who has prayed for the food and his Heavenly Father responds to Jesus by providing the bread. Jesus is not just a provider. He is Lord, Messiah, the chosen one, God.
And, when the disciples run into trouble – they strain against the oars as they make their way painfully and slowly back across the lake against the wind, he recognizes their need. In response to their need, it says Jesus “came to them, walking on the sea, meaning to pass by them…. (verse 48) He passes by in the same way God passed by Moses when God showed him just a corner of himself. Jesus passes by in the same way God passed by Elijah in the cave and Elijah knew it was God. Jesus comes, showing himself to be the Sovereign Lord, recognizing their need, coming to be with them in their time of distress and they miss it. They think he is some nighttime ghost and are terrified. They miss it, as it says, “They were utterly astounded,” verse 52, “For they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” They saw Jesus only feeding people, even though they should have recognized him for who he was. They saw him as a ghost, when they should have recognized him as God who calling. And, so, they did not trust.
Jesus reveals that to come under the Kingdom rule of God in our lives is to enter the watchful care of the Great Shepherd who with compassion acts in our lives. He is worthy to be trusted, even when life does not make sense because Jesus has earned our trust. As he himself said, “The thief only comes to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:10, 11)
Jesus’ death, for our sakes, and his resurrection reveal his utter compassion for our sakes. At the cost of his life, he has won our trust. Rather than wandering away, we can draw closer to Jesus and trust that he recognizes our need with compassion and is acting to give us what we need. May our trust be renewed this day to strengthen our living this week.