As I'm writing this, Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching. As you are reading this, it may be an anniversary, Birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas, or some other day you have to buy a gift for that special someone. Are you struggling on what to get or what card to buy? Let me ask you a question - did you struggle when you first met this person? Are you stressing and worrying about the day approaching? Did you stress and worry when you first fell in love? Probably not. Why? Maybe it was because you were so passionately in love with that person that you couldn't wait to celebrate their day. Expense? How many people go in debt to buy an engagement ring?
After years of a relationship, sometimes you need to rekindle that passion. It is the same with Christ. Many of us have been in a relationship with Him for years and honoring Him with our lives can become habitual and rote. This is the goal of our rapid paced study through Mark. We are trying to rekindle that passionate love for Christ that we had at the onset. If we go back to the beginning and find out what is so awesome about Jesus that we fell in love with in the first place, this can help us to fall back in love with Jesus again. We have looked at His meekness, that He is our rescuer from religion, that He is our brother, that He is with-in us, that He is unaffected by the world, and this week we will learn about His compassion.
CHAPTER 6
1. Read Mark 6:1-13. This is the second time Jesus goes back to Nazareth. The first time is in Luke 4:16-30. Read this account. How did the Luke account end for Jesus?
Were the disciples with Him in Luke? Why is that important in the Mark account (vs.11)?
What passage does He quote in Luke? Look it up. Why do you think He stops reading there?
Read John 3:17. What is a major difference between Christ's first coming and second?
Name two ways you see Christ's compassion in Mark 6:1-13
A. _________________________________________________
B. _________________________________________________
2. Read Mark 6:27-44. In verses 30-32, why did Jesus take the disciples aside?
Read Matthew 14:12,13. What insight does this give you on Jesus taking His disciples aside?
Name 2 areas of our life that Jesus understands and shows compassion;
C. _________________________________________________
D. _________________________________________________
Read verse 34.(and 53-56) So Jesus decides to take his disciples away for some debriefing, physical rest, and mental rest and mourning and from a distance He sees crowds coming so His plans of being alone are gone! Have you ever tried to get alone only to be interrupted?
Name a time.
How did you react; like Jesus?
What was Jesus' secret (besides being God)
List how this shows the compassion of Christ
E. ____________________________________________
Then Jesus feeds the 5000. Read Matthew 6:25-34. How does the feeding show His compassion?
F. ________________________________________________
Although we didn't discuss it when He sent the disciples off as missionaries, how does his instructions on what not to bring relate to the feeding? (Phil. 4:19)
In response to this miracle in John 6, Jesus calls Himself "The Bread of Life". He also compares Himself to manna that God gave through Moses. Explain what you think He means by "The Bread of Life" now that you have studied this passage in Mark.
3. Read Mark 6:45-52. It was 3AM (approximately) and Jesus saw His disciples 2-3 miles away straining in a storm. How do you think He did that?
What does that tell you about when you are straining?
Read Genesis 16:13. What name of God describes this?
What does this tell you about the compassion of Jesus?
G. _____________________________________________
Summary
Although there are so many qualities to focus on of Jesus in Mark 6, I chose compassion. We see His compassion as He knows His disciples are going to encounter rejection as they go tell about Jesus. He wanted them to see that He experienced it too; He understood and had empathy. As we are rejected today for being "Jesus freaks", we can take comfort in knowing that Jesus hurts for us as our sympathetic High Priest. And when we speak of hurting, it is a deep ache "in His gut". This is literally what the Greek of "compassion" is. Splancnizomai is the greek word used in verse 34 and it is the word from we get Splanchnic artery, mesentery, etc. in the intestinal area. That's why the KJV translates it "bowels of mercy" quite often. So as we are rejected, he aches for us. As we are hurting and ill and diseased and crying out for a touch - he gets a stabbing pain for us.
Jesus had compassion for His disciples and their physical and emotional well being. He knew they were exhausted from their mission. He knew they had much to tell Him about their successes and failures and even maybe some questions they were asked that they didn't have answers to. He also knew they had to be mourning for John the Baptist as a number of the disciples started out with John and shifted to following Jesus at John's urging. Therefore Jesus took them away for their well being.
Unfortunately, the much needed rest didn't come because from a distance they saw the crowds coming. Even in chapter 7 we see Jesus going to gentile regions to rest and He can't keep that a secret. Jesus sees the crowds and has compassion for them and heals, teaches, and feeds them. How does He do that? How can we do that when we keep getting interrupted by people when we need space? By looking past the superficial needs and see them as lost, confused, needy eternal souls in need of someone to touch them and point them toward the Good Shepherd. That is easier said than done and even Jesus needed to spend hours in prayer for strength and interceding for His disciples to have strength also.
Are you worried about your physical needs? Maybe your finances aren't going well and you are worried about mortgage, credit card bills, school bills, etc. Did you know Jesus is aching for you? He told His disciples don't worry about clothing, food, shelter, all their needs. If you are following Jesus, He has you covered. He is Jehovah Jirah - your provider. You might say, "Oh, yeah, where is He"? Did you see in this passage how at approximately at 3AM in the pitch black He saw his disciples straining at the oars 3 miles away? How did He do that? That is the oft missed miracle inside the miracle. He is El Roi - the God who sees. Jesus will come to you when the time is right. Maybe He is waiting for you to come to the end of your strength so you are ready to humble yourself. Maybe He is waiting so everyone around you can see His power and He wants to use your plight to glorify Himself. Of course, it sure is nice to know that the plight you are in is because He was the one that sent you into that "boat".
Lastly - what causes storms - isn't it when two fronts collide like a high pressure and low pressure collide? Here is how I would illustrate this..
The Holiness of God has collided with the sinfulness of man and this is the condition we find ourselves in- the storm of life where holiness abuts sinfulness. We see the disciples in the boat where these fronts are colliding. But God, in His compassion becomes the God - Man through the incarnation and lives His life in the midst of that storm and in his death forms the bridge between two worlds. Or if you want, since He often refers to the sign of Jonah, He is the Jonah, buried in the depths of man's sinfulness to stop the storm of God's wrath. The ultimate bowels of mercy. Jesus came to Earth living in the midst of our sinfulness and alienation from God and lived a perfect life and incurred God's wrath and separation on the cross so we could be forgiven of our sins and live forever in His presence!
Who am I God, that You would send Your only Son to die for me? Why do You care about me that You meet my physical and emotional needs. Often people say things like, "Your loved one isn't here but they are looking down on you from Heaven." and I think, no they aren't, they have better things to do up there. And then I think of You and You , in the midst of the glory of Heaven are actually looking down from Heaven on me and aching?? Wow! Who are You anyway? Oh, the magnificence of My Father in Heaven.
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