Mark 6:32-34
Sheep
need to be led. They need a shepherd to protect them, guide them, lead them to
food and water, and find them shelter. They are not resourceful. Left to their
own devices they will starve to death. They need a shepherd.
Despite
our ultra-independence here in the West, we need each other and we need
leaders. I know the popular politically correct beliefs teach that all beliefs
are of equal value, but this is just dumb. How can opposite and exclusive
beliefs both be true? You can’t believe the glass is full and empty at the same
time. One of those beliefs is incorrect. We need an outside arbiter of Truth.
There
was something about Jesus that caused people to run to hear Him. This, in and
of itself doesn’t make what He said true (the size of the following does not
prove the truth of what is being taught), but Jesus tries to get away from the
rush of the crowds and the rush follows him anyway. He takes a boat; they run
on foot.
When
was the last time you rushed to hear someone speak? Maybe you sat overnight in
a line outside the ticket booth to be sure you got the ticket. Or you clicked
at one minute past midnight. Or stood outside the entrance to the store on
Black Friday. Or were one of the first ten callers.
Notice
that Jesus doesn’t tell all the people who ran ahead to go home. He doesn’t
turn His back those who are honestly seeking Him. Although His plan was to pull
aside with His disciples and have some quiet and recuperation, He responds with
compassion for the crowd that has gathered.
We
don’t know what Jesus taught that day. But from His actions, the multiplication
of food to feed the crowd, I would be willing to bet the lesson was about
spiritual hunger and the only way for that hunger to be truly satisfied. We don’t
know if any were healed of physical illnesses that day, but it would not
surprise me, since Jesus often spent time healing and casting out demons.
But
Jesus also taught a lesson to the disciples that day, perhaps the more
important of the two lessons. They too were sheep without a shepherd, unless
they stayed close to Jesus. Jesus’ has many things to teach each of us. The
deeper the teaching, the more we need to pull aside, slow down, and find a
place of rest in Him.