I invite you to turn with me to Book of Mark. We are looking at doing a jet tour through Mark. And as I mentioned, kind of in Sunday school, it's kind of becoming more of like a blimp tour, a little bit slower, but still bird's eye perspective. And as I was getting into Mark and trying to trace the themes that I really wanted to emphasize, particularly, I really wanted really bring out a few of these themes and today the theme is going to be of shepherd and suffering servant and so doing I didn't want it just to just do like a let's just go through each scene and okay here's what's happening I want to connect it to these themes see them in the Old Testament as well and draw them together. And I think it really helps us see Christ and how Mark wanted us to see him. And so often when we just go through each little scene, we lose track of the forest. We lose track of the big picture. So I wanna do that. And as I was going, it was just like, man, I just wanna camp here for a while. So for time's sake, as we get into chapter six, don't freak out. The majority is gonna be hammering on six and then it's gonna go through there. But next time we will go further as well. So next time I'm hoping to go a little bit more. Today we're gonna get through six through maybe nine. So next week we'll go a little bit more. Remember last week where we were, Mark was presenting Jesus as the King who is ushering in the new and greater Exodus. And as we saw, he was in fulfillment with many prophecies. He came proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. And as he was doing so, he was liberating the captives, he was proclaiming good news, and he is freeing those who were bound. And that should sound familiar because that's from Isaiah. That's exactly what Jesus is doing. And as his kingdom is expanding, he's proclaiming the kingdom, what we see is he's overcoming the effects of the fall. He's overthrowing the kingdom of Satan, as well as bringing in his new kingdom. And where the king is, the kingdom is present. It is inaugurated, and he will one day consummate it when he comes again. What we saw is Jesus's power was on display. He's doing miracles. He's doing signs and wonders. He's also teaching and giving people wisdom about what God has for them. But in so doing, in the midst of these miracles, recall that it was foreshadowing the kind of death that Jesus would go through. So as he's healing the lame, as he's healing the sick, as he's cleansing the lepers, as he's giving sight, as he's raising the dead, what he's doing is giving a picture of what's gonna be accomplished on the cross. He's showing he's not only gonna heal the symptoms of sin, but ultimately he's gonna heal death itself. And in so doing, it's gonna come through the cross. What we saw was something that was odd. As he's healing, as he's doing these things, he's commanding them to silence. So he's doing this miraculous work. Those who have been mute, who haven't even been able to speak, he says, don't say anything. After he frees them from the bondage, after he gives sight, after he heals a lame man, don't tell anyone. Why? Because the message isn't fully been accomplished yet. The cross hasn't fully happened yet. They might follow for the wrong reasons. They might follow for a political missile. And so as he's casting out demons, what do we see? overthrowing the kingdom of Satan and freeing the captives. His authority has been on full display from Mark one through six. So now we're gonna continue. Mark wants to show us a few more themes. He wants to show us in light of the new Exodus, Jesus is the shepherd who's leading him through it, but also he is fully a king who does have full authority, but this king has a different mission than glory. He has a suffering servant mission right now. So let us go, Lord, in prayer as we seek to look at these things and then we'll further dive in. So Lord, we come to you today, thankful and hungry to feast on your word. We wanna see Christ, Lord. Put him on full display for us. Help us to see that he is truly the Messiah, the one whom the scriptures foretold and who fulfills all these things, Lord. So we thank you for him and the salvation we have in him. We pray in Christ's name, amen. The big idea Mark wants to show us today is that even though Jesus is the King, he is a shepherd who will suffer as he leads his people on the way to the cross. Today, we're just gonna look at that in two points. First point is gonna be seen in the first two chapters, the shepherd's authority and provision. And then lastly, we'll see the shepherd's leading and mission. So turn with me to chapter six, and we're just gonna dive in, and I wanna start flushing out these themes that we see And notice that where we saw last time, as Mark showed Jesus coming to his hometown, everyone has been seeing the miracles, the signs, the wonders, the teachings, and Mark has been trying to convince us, who is Jesus? Who exactly is Jesus? And he told us he is the Christ, the son of God. Now he's gonna convince us. So now we have a decision to be made. In Mark chapter six, he comes to his hometown, and how are they gonna receive him? Well, we saw how they received him. They rejected him. A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown. And so Jesus is rejected in his hometown. In so doing, he starts to teach in the various other towns around there. Notice it said, he marveled at their unbelief, and he went among the villages teaching. So he teaches all around that area. But Jesus is one teacher. He has a great message, he's a king, but as all kings do, good kings do, is they like to delegate and accomplish more. So what does Jesus do? We see in verse seven that he starts to delegate his message and authorities to those whom he trusted. What we're gonna see here is Jesus is the chief shepherd who entrusts under shepherds to carry about his mission of kingdom expansion. Look at verse 7. It says, He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and to not put on two tunics. He said to them, wherever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. If any place will not receive you, they will not listen to you. When you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony. against them. So Jesus, as you recall, has called his disciples. We saw that back in chapter one, where he says, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Well, from that point, he's been training them. He's been teaching them what they are to do. Remember, they're gonna go and have this amazing mission as they go out. After the resurrection, they're gonna proclaim the Christ. They're gonna establish the foundations of the church and do many miracles. Well, here's a foretaste of it. And so Jesus here has been training these men. He's called them. These are men who will go on to help build Jesus's church, Jesus being the chief cornerstone of that church. And they go out as Christ's ambassadors or as under shepherds, entrusted with a message. Jesus is giving them an opportunity here, a foretaste of it. Now notice he tells them, as you go on this mission, take no provisions. Don't take any kind of, extra cloaks, don't try to take extra tunics, don't try to take all these extra money. Instead, go with the bare necessities. Go with what you have on you. No provisions. Right? So we see, notice he says, don't, you know, we just wear sandals and don't even have any money bag, no bread, nothing. In other words, he's telling them, you need to rely on the Lord. You have a mission and your mission requires diligence. It requires promptness, and you're to go in the name of the Lord, and as you go, rely on him. And what this is teaching them is teaching them that God will provide for their needs. They need to trust. As they go out as ambassadors, Christ is telling them to go as he came, right? We see that with 2 Corinthians 2.8. It says, for you know the grace of our Lord. Though he was rich, he became poor for your sake. And as they go out reaching into these towns, these villages, To other poor, he says, you go like I'm going. You go as one who has no home to call. You go for them. And notice he prepares them as well. Another thing that we should see, no surprise here, because Mark is tracing this theme of Exodus, right? Recall another way in which they took no provision. That should bring to mind the Exodus, in fact, right? They're to go very quickly. They're to take just the bare necessities, the bare essentials. There's no time to pack. You have to travel light. And Jesus says, you disciples, as we're ushering in a new and greater exodus away from the slavery of sin and death, you likewise go in the same manner. There's urgency to the mission. And he says, you need to be prompt. So notice what they did as they followed Jesus's mission. It says, verse 12, so they went out, proclaimed that people should repent. cast out many demons, and appointed with oil many who were sick, and he healed them." So they listen to Jesus's mission. They go out, they proclaim the good news of the gospel for a time, and what they do is, he prepares some. Hey, there's gonna be some that reject you. There's gonna be house that you enter, and as you enter that house, some may reject you, and as you go, just shake off the dust of your sandals. And as we trace that kind of theme of dust in the sandals, that's an act of judgment. That's to say that judgment will come on this house later on. They're rejecting the ministers of God. And remember how beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the good news of the gospel. He says, if they reject you, they reject you. But no, they're not rejecting you personally, they're rejecting the one who sent them. They're rejecting Christ. And in so doing, he gives them authority. Authority over the spiritual realm, authority over the physical realms, the same kind of authority he's already shown to have, right? He's cast out demons. And as the gospel of the kingdom continues to go forward, it's met with demonic opposition. And so what they do is Jesus gives them authority. And what that authority is to do is to establish their message, to make them to be credible, to show that God is truly with them. And so what does he do? He gives them the authority even over the unclean spirits. And as they go out, they cast out demons. Now that could be easy to get to their head and say, oh man, we're really powerful. We went and did these things. But this is authority Jesus delegated. They're under shepherds. Jesus is the chief shepherd. They need to remember that. They even had authority to heal the sick. Jesus has been doing those things. He's been overthrowing the effects of the fall. And now as these kingdom ambassadors, these under shepherds are going doing the same thing, the kingdom is advancing. And this sick, the effects of sin, sick, death, disease, those are being overturned as the message goes forward. But this isn't unique to the disciples. While it is unique for the disciples to have miracles and establish their authority, because that's what Jesus was doing to establish the foundations of the church and everything, to establish their message. So there's a time for miracles here. While we don't have that today, we're still commissioned in a similar calling, if you think about it. All right, Matthew 28, 19, go therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. So we too are entrusted with a message to go out and proclaim. It's the same message they're proclaiming, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent, believe in the gospel. So we too are ambassadors for Christ. We too are sent out bearing Christ's image, proclaiming his name of freedom to a lost and dying world. And if you think about it, well, you know, do I have to be a missionary to go do that? No, we all have spheres and circles of influence, even in our own towns by which we're able to do those things. So as we remember these things, we are entrusted to proclaim the good news of the gospel to our friends, to our colleagues, and notice just as he prepared them, some might reject you. Some may not like your message. You know, rejection isn't fun. Sometimes we can grow timid and think, well, I'm just not going to say anything because I just want to be liked. And he says, well, to be a faithful witness for me, you're proclaiming repentance, which means you're showing people their sin. You're proclaiming the good news of the gospel. You're proclaiming law and showing how Christ is the fulfillment of the law. In so doing, he's saying, you need to expect to be received how they received me. Some will reject me. They just rejected him in his hometown, his own family. He says, you proclaim the good news of the gospel. I've redeemed you. You know, you were bought as a price, at a price. And we too will face suffering. We too will face rejection as we proclaim the good news of the gospel. But for those who receive it, we'll be embraced. They'll be good. But that's how kingdom advancement happens. And so notice, we then come to another story here. Notice we see here the death of John the Baptist. And this kind of just seems like a random fact. In fact, it doesn't even match in the chronological events that happened in the order. Mark inserts this scene here. And it might just seem random, but as you know, as we've studied Mark, nothing's random with Mark. He does everything for a purpose. And the story is about John the Baptist who was arrested from King Herod. When King Herod was committing adultery, he took his brother's wife. It wasn't lawful to be with her. And so he came preaching the message of what? Repentance for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Same thing that he's commissioned his disciples. John the Baptist is proclaiming truth. And what does he do? He comes to someone who has authority, Herod, who is in sin and he calls it like it is. It's not lawful to take your brother's wife. He's preaching truth. He preaches him to repent. And what does that get him? Well, ultimately, he gets locked in prison. And when his wife gets an opportunity to silence John the Baptist, she takes it. She silences the messenger, right? She puts him to death. Again, this might seem random. What's going on here? But no, this is what Mark likes to have, his gospel sandwich. And remember the gospel sandwich that we talked about, right? You have the bread. Then he switches to another scene where it's the meat, where he teaches the core lesson that connects everything. Then you have the bread revisited. And what do we see? Verse 30, the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. So here we have the bread underneath with the middle being the persecution of a faithful messenger who was killed for proclaiming truth. And Jesus, goes back to the disciples. And what Mark wants us to see is, see, this is all one unit. See, this is what the cost of faithful preaching could entail. It could cost you. These two stories aren't opposite at all. They're meant to be taken together. And the middle helps us learn that lesson of the two outer portions. Mark uses this to reinforce his theme of rejection in the face of the proclamation of the gospel. To be a follower of Christ, you're entrusted with gospel proclamation, and that might come at a cost. The cost could be even very great, as it cost John the Baptist. He says, that doesn't change the message. That doesn't change the charge. The shepherd is charging his under shepherds to proclaim the good news. And Mark wants Christ's messengers to understand that. And Jesus is teaching his disciples that as well. In John 15, 20, he says, remember the word that I said to you, a servant's not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they'll also persecute you. That's what happened to John the Baptist. Now, not all of us, it might cost us our head, some it may, but there always is some kind of cost to taking up your cross and following Christ. So what might that cost you to follow Jesus, to proclaim that, your family. Some of you may already be facing costs like that. So he says, in light of this story, in light of the chief shepherd commissioning his ambassadors, count the cost. So after this teaching at time, after Jesus is delegated this time, they come back to tell Jesus, notice, here's all that we did. It's almost like they're taking the credit for the demons that they cast out and the things that they healed. when Jesus gave them that authority in the first place. So Jesus needs to teach them more lessons. They're still being equipped for the future ministry they're gonna have. And so what does he do? It seems like he's saying, let's go to the other side. Let's go on this boat ride. And we're gonna go on this area and we're gonna have a nice rest, right? And so what happens? He takes them and here we see the feeding of the 5,000. feeding of the 5,000. Jesus here takes his disciples and there's 5,000 people there. And here we get an amazing picture. So easily we can look at this picture and think, oh yeah, Jesus, this is a proclamation of Jesus's deity. He's truly God. He created bread and fish out of nothing. That's what we're to learn here. And that's true. He is very much the God man, but there's a bit more here specifically about his shepherding. Jesus is the chief shepherd. And notice he sees these people, and they have a need. These are people who have been hearing Jesus' teaching all day, and it's all day, and it's time for them to eat. And so the disciples are like, you send them away, let them go to the town, let them get their own food. It's long. Anyways, what happens here is Jesus then tells the disciples, you get them something to eat. And they struggle with this. Notice they're trying to go to the towns, they're trying to come up with the money. They're like, how can we do this? How can we feed them here? Well, notice Mark gives us some interesting details to help us connect the dots. Notice first, he takes him to a desolate place. A desolate place. Three times we see this in here, in this verse. The Greek word here is wilderness. which in the Septuagint should start bringing some dots to connect. What happened in the wilderness? Well, there's significant things that happened in the wilderness, particularly after the Exodus, what happened? Well, Israel's in the wilderness. They're led in the wilderness, particularly by Moses, who's considered the head shepherd. And what we see here is just as Moses led the people into the wilderness from the Exodus, so too we have Christ here, the greater Moses, who is ushering in a greater Exodus. And right now he's in the wilderness with his people to lead them out of the bondage of slavery of sin and death. But there's a need. There's a need here that these people have in the wilderness. Isaiah 63 reminds us about this, that there's gonna be a time like Moses had, where Moses led the people that actually God's gonna lead the people. Listen to this in Isaiah 63. It says, then he remembered the days of old of Moses and his people who he brought out of the sea with shepherds of his flock, where he has put into the midst of them his Holy Spirit, who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them. So this is all Exodus talking, going into the wilderness here on the way to the promised land. It says, then he led them through the depths. And it says, like livestock that go down into the valley, the spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So you led your people and make them for yourself a glorious name. This is God speaking, who's leading the people here. And Isaiah is saying, there's gonna be one who comes, who's gonna lead his people in the wilderness. And what Mark tells us, by the way, this is the wilderness they're in. Here we have the shepherd. And so it's no surprise here that we read in verse 34, another not random fact. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So it's not like they're sitting there all in white gowns and he's like, oh, they look like sheep. No, he sees them as people who have no shepherd. who the Jewish leaders are supposed to be their shepherd and teach and guide them, but they're not being faithful. They're like the unfaithful shepherds of Ezekiel 34, who need a true shepherd that God will provide. Well, here is the true shepherd on display to lead the people. So to lead the people is to be likened to a shepherd. In Psalm 78, verse 51, it says, he struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the first fruits of their strength and the tents of ham. When did that happen? That was the Exodus. Then he led his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. Here God's described as the chief shepherd who's leading his people from the Exodus. And here's Jesus now, the God-man, who is in the wilderness to be with his people and he sees sheep without a shepherd. Here's Jesus, the true shepherd, which reminds us of Ezekiel 34, the prophecy of God, who's gonna send the shepherd to shepherd his people. It says, Ezekiel 34, 12, as a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered. So I will seek out my sheep and rescue them from all places where they had been scattered on the day of the clouds of the thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries. I'll bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel by ravines and all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with a good pasture on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land on a rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be their shepherd of my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord. What we see from the rest here of Mark to chapter nine is a fulfillment of that. The various scenes are all going to show us that Jesus is that true shepherd who's shepherding his sheep, who's leading and guiding them and making them lie down in the true promised land and he will feed them. So God will feed the shepherd. Jesus, the true God-man is here to shepherd the people. Notice first off how he feeds them. Notice it says he taught them many things. So before he gives them physical food, he gives them spiritual food. This is the word of God. This is instruction. This is more teaching about the kingdom. Remember he's proclaiming the kingdom is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. That's just a summary of everything that he taught. And so now he's giving them the spiritual food that they need. This is the first need of them, the need of their soul, before he sees their physical need. Jesus, the great shepherd, provides. Notice how, now in verse 39, he commanded them to sit down in groups on green grass. Sounds familiar. Green grass, again, not a random fact. Mark is connecting the dots for us that Jesus is the true shepherd here. And just as we read in Psalm 23, He maketh me lie down in green pastures, right? This is the wilderness and now there's green grass here. Jesus has scouted, he's led them to this green area and he's making his sheep lie down. He's making them here be in an area that is plentiful for them. Notice what else that further establishes this. Mark gives us the interesting fact, verse 40, they sat down in groups by hundreds and fifties. This also isn't a random detail, but it connects us all the way back to Exodus. When Moses was the shepherd, and then what does he do? He actually has under shepherds, and he assigns the people, notice it says, Moses chose able men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the chief people, thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. So they gathered the sheep, from the Exodus in the wilderness, Moses, the chief shepherd, and that's exactly what Jesus is doing here. Mark is showing us that Jesus is truly leading his people on a new and greater Exodus and that he is the chief shepherd. So many details that we can easily just graze over. But when we look at these things in fulfillment of the Old Testament, It shows us exactly who Jesus is supposed to be, and upon reading that, Marcus went on to say, you should surely be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the promised Messiah. Jesus is the greater Moses, leading his people on a new and greater exodus to a greater promised land where there is true rest, ultimately accomplished by his life, death, and resurrection. And notice how he then provides physically, verse 41. And taking the loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He divided the two fish among them all and they ate and were satisfied. So Jesus here provides for them. He creates fish out of nothing. Fish that have never gone through the ordinary process, right, for those in Sunday school. He uses ordinary means to accomplish things, but sometimes he works outside of those means or above them or even against them. And this is an example here. Fish that have never developed, fish that have never swum in a stream, who've never grew up and ate and all that, just created right there in an instance. Same too with the bread. Wheat that never was grown in the ground and processed and all that, he created instantly. And it's a testament of his deity, yes. but also further solidifies some more Old Testament fulfillment. Notice this phrase, and they ate and were satisfied. That's to remind us more of the wilderness and how God provided for his people, his sheep in the wilderness. If you recall Exodus 16, eight, he gave them manna from heaven and they ate and were satisfied. They had to their fill. In similar fashion, Jesus, the chief shepherd is feeding them here with true bread. And he gives them and satisfies their need. No one is left hungry. In fact, they're so provided abundantly, there's leftovers. Notice verse 43, they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces of fish. And those who ate those were about 5,000 men. So notice it's just 5,000 men, not counting the women and children. So there's probably double those amount of people and there's still tons of leftovers. Everyone's provided for. And just as Moses led the people in the wilderness, fed them with manna from heaven, Christ, the true shepherd, is feeding his people in the wilderness with bread and fish, ultimately from the hand of God. This is just a foreshadow of how Jesus is caring for his sheep. Jesus tells us, in fact, how he ultimately cares for his sheep, right, as a true shepherd. John 10, 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. How he provides provision and great care ultimately for his sheep is he's going to go to the cross. He's gonna die a gruesome death. The shepherd will lay down his life for his very own sheep. This is where Jesus provides for our greatest need. It shows his love, his care, his compassion on us. He's a true shepherd who gave his life for his sheep. In fact, Isaiah 53 says, we are like sheep, who've gone astray, everyone turned to his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all, so that we can be brought into the fold, so that we can be sheep with a true shepherd. Jesus, the shepherd, provides for our greatest need, and paying for our iniquities. And Mark here wants us to see Jesus is, in fact, the true shepherd, the shepherd of our souls. This theme continues to develop. The next scene, what do we see? Jesus wants to teach the disciples a further lesson, preparing them for ministry. Let me show you that I care for my sheep. See if you got the first lesson. So what does he do? He takes them for a boat ride. In fact, Jesus initiated it. Notice he tells them here, immediately, he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him. He knew what was gonna happen. In his divine providence, he orchestrated everything. He's in control. And he puts them in a situation, full knowing he's caring for them, full knowing what they're gonna encounter, but he knows it's for their good, right? Notice what happens. A massive storm develops. And as a result, they're struggling. These are expert fishermen and it says they're not making any headway. Well, Jesus went up to the mountains to pray. And so he has a good outlook on the sea there to see what's going on. He sees them struggling. And notice it says, verse 48, and he saw them that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. Even in their struggle, Jesus' shepherding eye was still over them, watching them, protecting them. But he didn't abandon them. Notice, about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea. He meant to pass them by. If you're like me, the first time you read this, it's like, that's kind of awkward. Jesus is taking a stroll, and he meant to just pass them by, but they saw him, and they're like, what's going on? That's not very nice, Jesus. Why would you just pass them by in their struggle? Well, that's not what Mark wants you to see. In fact, he's using rich Old Testament language to talk about theophany, right? When God wanted to reveal himself to his people, what did he do? He passed by them to reveal his glory. And that's what Mark wants us to see. And in fact, consider Exodus 33, 18. Moses said, please show me your glory and I'll make all of my goodness pass before you, he says. And then God hits Moses in the cleft of the rock and what happens? The Lord passed by and Moses beheld his glory. Why? Because you cannot see the full glory of the Lord and live. And so Jesus meant to just pass him by, just give him a glimpse of his glory. When God revealed himself to Elijah on Mount Horeb, he said, go and stand on the Mount before the Lord and behold, the Lord passed by. And this is what Jesus is doing here in the sea. He's showing him, I am God. The shepherd who is taking care of you, who's watching over you is truly God in flesh. And he is showing you this in a gracious way. He's saying the shepherd has complete control of the situation. Are you gonna trust in his provision and his care? And what this does is then Jesus appears in the boat. He decided to walk on the sea to show him his glory, and then he appears with them to comfort them. Notice Job 18. The reason he's walking on the sea, we see, is to further emphasize that he is God in the flesh. Job 9.8 says, it is the Lord who alone stretched out the heavens, who trampled the waves of the sea. Or Psalm 77, your way was through the sea. Your path was through the great waters. Your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses. Jesus is further illustrating his point. I am the shepherd who cares for you. In fact, I am the shepherd who is God in the flesh. How would they respond? Verse 49, but when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it's a ghost and cried out for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, take heart. It is I, do not be afraid. Of course, they're terrified. They see this, this is going against all natural understanding. No one walks on water, right? This is beyond here, but Jesus showing him, remember how I cared for you. Remember my provision. And remember, I'm caring for you now. And he cares for them and comforts them. Notice, take heart. It is I. Literally, we can translate that this way. Take heart, I am, do not be afraid. That should further emphasize what we see here. Old Testament, who is called the I am? Well, it's Yahweh. It's how he reveals himself to his people, right? Isaiah 43, three, for I am the Lord, your God, right? When he reveals himself to Moses, say to the people, I am sent to you. And Jesus is connecting the dots here and saying, look, take heart. I am. And I'm right here in the boat with you. The I am of the Old Testament. The Yahweh God is with his sheep in the boat protecting them. And he's guiding them. And he got into the boat with them. The wind ceased and they were utterly astounded. Jesus calmed everything. He provided for them. He comforted them, right? Psalm 23, I will fear no evil for you're with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Jesus is a great comforter, the shepherd who protects even in the midst of difficulty of life, right? We're never outside of the divine shepherd's providential control and hand. In fact, he might even lead them into the difficult situation, but in the midst of the difficult situation, he's with them and he's watching and he's caring for them. And the same is true with us. The care that we have is from the watching eye of the Lord. Sometimes we fear that he's way too far, but he's always there. In fact, we can understand these. If you're a believer, he's in the boat with you. And we can trust him in the face of hard circumstances. We have a good shepherd who guides and protects us. But then we see this interesting statement in verse 52. For they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened." What's about the loaves that they didn't understand? Well, did they not understand, you know, you need this much grain and this much kind of wheat and water to mix to have a bread? No. Mark's point is he's connecting the dots for us. Remember what just happened, how Jesus showed himself to be the good shepherd, how he provided for the needs and showed his care. He multiplied the loaves and there was leftover loaves. There were 12 baskets left over, in fact, one for each disciple. And what they did is they each had their own provision, their own special care from the Lord. And in the midst of that, in the midst of their struggle, it's in the boat the whole time to remind them that God cares for them, that Jesus cares for them, that he's the shepherd who protects them. And they should have, in the midst of their struggle, recognized, remember how the Lord provided for us and cared for us? He can get us out of this situation. But in the midst of the difficulty, they rested in their own strength. They've seen miraculous things. They've seen the sick healed. They've seen the lame cleansed and brought to life. The dead, they've heard his teaching. They've seen all these things, and so they should have recognized, yes, upon looking at the loaves, cried out to Jesus for help, rather than resting in their own strength. But their hearts were hardened. In other words, they fully weren't seeing yet. They fully didn't understand who Jesus was, that he truly is the good shepherd, but he is God in the flesh. And the bread was meant to serve as the reminder of that. Remember how God provided for you in the past. In the midst of your current difficulty, remember how God providentially provided and cared for you. Never forget these things. In fact, we're forgetful people. We constantly need reminders. And in fact, if you read the Old Testament, you see Israel constantly needed reminders of God's goodness and how he redeemed them from the house of slavery, sin, and death, so they could worship God and not forget that and not rest in their own strength. We too need reminders. These disciples needed reminders and the bread in the boat served as that reminder of God's provision for them. From there, we see the next scene. Jesus continues to heal the sick, the lame that are brought to him, and many flock to see him and hear his teaching. Some even try to grab his cloak as he passes by because they heard about the lady from last week that we heard. The lady with the flow of blood who just grabbed the end of his robe and was healed. Words getting out. And so as he's going, Jesus is showing he's still caring for his sheep. And notice it says that he healed many who were there. And this is further emphasis that Jesus is truly our good shepherd. that He is our God who is here to care and to heal. And it reminds us of Isaiah 35. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God, strengthen the weak hands, make firm the feeble knees, and say to those who have an anxious heart, be strong, fear not, behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you, and the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, the tongue of the mute sing for joy. Jesus is saying, I am the good shepherd who cares for my sheep, and I provide for their needs. And as he's doing, he's expanding his kingdom, because he's a king's shepherd, and what he's doing is overturning the effects of the fall, as he leads his people in a new exodus. You can see Mark's further emphasizing these themes, connecting the dots for us. Which brings us to chapter seven. Jesus shows himself again to be the true shepherd, and that's going to bring about responses In fact, Ezekiel 34 tells us that there are false shepherds who look to feed themselves, who don't feed the people, who are entrusted with feeding the people, but do a bad job of that. And now these false shepherds here come on the scene and they hate the true shepherd. What do we see here is they want Jesus dead. So they come here to have an encounter and have opposition with him. They see Jesus and his disciples not holding the tradition of the elders, so they want to call him out on it. Why don't your disciples wash their hands like the elders do? Why don't they hold to this tradition? And they try to bring this charge against Jesus because the people are starting to follow him and they want to show that, hey, he's not doing what ought to be done. Don't follow this man. But Jesus replies and says, I'm not following your man-made rules. I'm following the rules that my father gave. And notice it's not a matter of mere externals, Pharisees. You guys are just concerned about the outward appearance, where inwardly your heart is the wicked thing. It's a matter of the heart. That's why he says in verse 15 of seven, there is nothing outside of a person that's going in him that can defile him. But the things that come out of a person are what defiles him, verse 20. And he said, what comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual morality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within. They defile the person. So Jesus is instructing and says, it's not about these man-made traditions that look, just look at outward appearance and say, this is clean. In fact, it's the matter of the heart. And these scribes and Pharisees are so concerned with looking holy and finding accusation on the Holy One of God, that inwardly their heart is depraved. They're seeking to kill the Son of God. He goes, you need to stop being so concerned about your traditions and be more concerned about honoring God in the heart. Jesus, the true shepherd, is the one who's actually teaching and feeding the people. He's giving them the true words of God, what these Jewish leaders are supposed to do. Jesus is giving them true food for the soul, where these religious leaders just want to follow him. They just want prestige. From here, Jesus is then led to a Gentile region. And he encounters, he has some unlikely encounters that we think, from a Jewish perspective. Notice he encounters a Gentile, Syrophoenician woman. And this woman has a daughter who has a demon. And Jesus comes to her and begs Jesus to heal her. But Jesus responds in an interesting way. He said to her in verse 27, let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. But she answered him, yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. And he said to her, for the statement, you may go your way. The demon has left your daughter. And she went home and found the child laying in the bed and the demon gone. Jesus here in this saying, is saying that my mission here is to first feed the lost sheep of Israel. I am to feed the lost sheep of the house of Israel. These are the children that must first eat. But also he is saying, I have sheep who are outside of that fold that I must gather to. First, you know, my mission is to the Jews first, but then it's going to extend to the Gentiles. And in so doing, we see a taste of that, a foretaste of that. Right now they're having crumbs. They have the leftovers where Jesus is here. And we see that through this episode, Jesus is willing, that he's a shepherd who cares, that he's willing to heal. And this woman would be an outcast of all society, the lowest of the low. And Jesus saying, you can even be included in my fold because you believed, because you had faith in the true shepherd. And this is kind of an example of really all of us spiritually, right? We are spiritual outcasts, we are depraved in soul, but we've been brought into the family of God by the chief shepherd. And how did he do that? Well, ultimately it's through him being treated as an outcast, through him going to the cross, being cast out for our sake so that we might be included. So again, we see a foretaste of what he's gonna do on the cross here in this, but we also see that Jesus cared and shepherded and welcomed those in his fold, even the Gentiles. The next scene we see is the healing of a deaf man. But this deaf man is also an outcast, and he's also a Gentile. Notice he's in the Decapolis region. And Jesus is showing that his kingdom is expanding, not only in Israel, but also in Gentile regions. Jesus restores his hearing of his Gentile man and makes him part of the kingdom fold. Notice the people then, and they were astonished beyond measure, saying, he has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. And if you recall what we just read in Isaiah, this is exactly the fulfillment in Isaiah 35, right? Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. This is what the suffering servant would do, the chief shepherd. And here, God is present in the God-man, Jesus Christ, the chief shepherd, and now we have a Gentile death man who hears. Jesus is the true shepherd who cares for his sheep. That brings us to chapter 8. And here we see another scene that's kind of something we wouldn't have expected at first. Notice we see another feeding. It's a feeding of the 4,000. And if you run the parallels, these are very much paralleling each other. And so some have confused, well, Mark's just making a mistake here and he's reemphasizing something that's already occurred. Well, that's not very likely the case. I think if you read it in that light, you're not really giving precedence to how Mark is presenting his gospel, right? And how can we see that? Well, we can see that it says notice in those days. Well, what days are those? It's the days where he was in the Gentile region. So this isn't just any old feeding like the old one. This is a feeding of 4,000 now in Gentile land. Last time it was in the Jewish land with Jews. Now he's feeding with the Gentiles. And again, we're to see the same similar things. Jesus is a shepherd who cares, who seeks to feed his sheep. And as a response, notice again, we see these things here. We see that, again, Jesus tells the disciples, feed them, feed these people. But they react a little bit differently. They don't try to go to the towns. They don't try to add up their money. They don't try to do these things. Notice how they respond, verse, let's see. Notice they respond here, and they're adding these up, verse four. The disciples answered him, how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place? So you might be asking yourself, come on, disciples, here's another test. You remember, Jesus just fed the 5,000. How can you think he's not able to do this? Remember the bread that was in their boats, how he provided and cared for them? How can you think he can't do that again? Are you so forgetful that you don't remember this last feeding that just occurred? Come on, disciples, you remember how he multiplied, he just healed people, he's healing the sick, he's casting out demons, he's doing all these things. But I think it's more than that, it's not that they're just forgetful disciples, it's the region in their in. They can't see how Jesus is going to treat these Gentiles just like how he treated the Jews. In fact, it might be read this way, how can one feed these people These Gentile people in this desolate, in this Gentile region, this good for nothing place. How can anyone do that, Jesus? That's not the first way they responded in the first feeding. It's as if saying, are you really gonna do the same thing you just did for the Jews? Are you gonna provide for them and give them the food and bread? These Gentile dogs, what does Jesus do? He multiplies the bread. He feeds them in the same way. He teaches them about his kingdom. And what he's showing is the kingdom of God is not just for the Jew, but also the Gentile. And those are included into the sheep fold as well. And the interesting thing we see is where the Syrophoenician woman, she had breadcrumbs. Now they feast on bread. Jesus provides for them. Isaiah 25 tells us this, on this mountain of the Lord, of the host, I will make all peoples a feast of rich food. A feast of well-aged wine, a feast of rich food full of marrow and aged wine well-refined." He goes, this feast that I give, the bread that I offer, isn't limited to the Jews alone. It's limited to all peoples, the Gentiles included. Jesus is the Savior of the whole world. He's an indiscriminate Savior. And Jesus is teaching his disciples that fact, because what are they gonna do? They're gonna go and take the gospel to the nations. And so he's teaching them here. From here, we see that the Pharisees want to argue with him again. The Pharisees come, in verse 11, the Pharisees came to argue with him, seeking from a sign from heaven to test him. Jesus here points to their heart and he says, why does this evil generation seek a sign? You know, you're not seeking a sign asking so you may believe, you're seeking to just put me to the test. And so he calls them out. And in so doing, he teaches and leads his sheep to further emphasize that he is the true shepherd who cares. He's exposing the false teachers to his disciples. So notice what he says. He says, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware their false teaching. They masquerade as shepherds of the people, but they're teaching wrongly. They're not really feeding the people. They're not true shepherds. In fact, Jesus is saying he's the true shepherd. And hearing this, you're hearing about leaven, that provokes them. What happens is notice all of a sudden they realize we don't have a lot of bread. What happened here, we are short of bread. We are short of loaves. We just had the feeding of the 4,000 and someone forgot the loaves that we have. We just have one loaf. And so they're arguing and bickering about these things amongst themselves. And Jesus said to them in verse 17, why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have you not learned the lesson I've been teaching you? You've failed the test the first time. You didn't remember the loaves. This time you remember the loaves, but you don't come to the right conclusion. Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? Do you not remember? Do you not remember how I provide it? Why are you arguing about this one loaf of bread when I can easily multiply and feed thousands? I'm the good shepherd who provides, and the shepherd is on your side. He's with you. but the disciples are still a bit confused. They don't understand the identity of Jesus yet. They're still learning, they're still growing, but what we see is they're not fully seeing yet. They don't see Jesus despite all these miracles of who he truly is and what his mission is, but that's about to change. That's gradually, in fact, about to change. And we see an illustration of that with the next miracle in our next point, the shepherd who that leads and teaches about his mission. Jesus heals a blind man in the next scene. And if you recall, this blind man, it's not a normal healing. There's something different particularly about this healing. And the thing that's different is he doesn't heal this man instantly, even though he very well could. He could have said, have sight. But what does he do? He doesn't heal him instantly. Instead, it's gradually in stages. Notice verse 23. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out in the village. And when he spit in his eyes, he laid hands on him. He asked him, do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see people, but they look like trees walking. And Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. And he opened his eyes, and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. So this man, he doesn't see right away. And Jesus comes to him and tries it again. And then he sees. Again, his disciples are watching the whole time. Why this way? Jesus isn't just like losing some of his divine power where he can't just heal right away. Jesus is doing this for a purpose. He's teaching his disciples a lesson about faith. These disciples are struggling with Jesus's identity. And they are kind of blinded. Remember, do you not see? Do you not get it, disciples? Have you not been given eyes to see? Well, no, they haven't, not yet. But he's about to open their eyes, but he's going to do it gradually. He's about to give them a glimpse of who he is, but it's still not going to be full 20-20 vision just yet. They once were blind, but now they're about to have an eye of faith. Way in which they have this miracle is a picture of the faith of the disciples. And really it can be a picture of all of us. Jesus will grow our faith. We don't all come to one understanding all right away. We don't have all the doctrine of God, understanding, and everything the first time we're saved. Why are we growing that? We understand, we begin to worship Jesus all the more the more we understand and see him for who he truly is. There's reasons, books are written that talk about the glory of Christ. The more you behold his glory, the more you wanna worship and honor him. The more you see him for who he is, the less you're gonna see the enticement of the sin that entices you. And so, to give a next illustration, of this miracle, he asks his disciples, who do the people say that I am? These disciples have walked with Jesus. They've heard all these different outcomes. They've heard people talking as Jesus is doing miracles and teaching. In fact, they probably have their own opinions and they probably thought some ways similar to the people earlier on, but now Jesus is about to let them see a little bit. They've seen his authority. They've heard his preaching. They've seen the miracles, the signs, the wonders. But up to this point in the gospel of Mark, they are not yet fully seeing. They're struggling. Remember, they're responding, who is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? Wow, everything, the sea's calm, the wind stops all of a sudden. We were scared for our lives, but who is this? They're struggling. And they told him, nope, John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Others say one of the prophets. But he asked him, who do you say that I am? So he starts to pin them down. That's what the popular opinion around town is. But who do you specifically say I am? Well, Peter has been given eyes to see. He's seeing dimly, like this blind man once did. But he's still seeing, and that's good. Notice he said, Peter answered him, you are the Christ. And he strictly charged him to tell no one about it. This is where Mark's been trying to drive us to, right? This is the son of God. This is the Christ, Jesus. Now here is Peter who professes Jesus as the Christ. Yes, Peter, you got it. But he's still a little confused. In fact, we see that in the very next scene. But first, he tells no one to tell no one about him. Why? Because people are thinking, well, if Jesus is the Christ, he's this political revolutionary, he's gonna come and help us free from a Roman oppression, and that's not what Jesus came to do. In fact, Jesus is gonna start to teach them that, yes, I am the good shepherd, yes, I am a king, but I have this particular mission, and it's not like any other king. It's not like any other worldly king. The mission involves suffering. The mission involves a cross. And so he says, don't tell anyone yet. But Jesus wants to clarify to them because he loves them and he wants to teach them. And he wants to lead them in the proper way in which they should go. So now they profess. He says, you know what? Now I'm going to tell you who I am. In fact, he credits Peter here for a little bit. It's kind of like he's patting him on the back. Good. Good answer. Right? Matthew says, Jesus answered him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. So he says, Peter. You answered correctly, but don't try to think and, you know, that's all because of you. It's actually because you've been given those eyes to see. You've been given your eyes to see that, yes, Jesus is that, but you're not fully seeing 2020 yet, and it's gonna show by the next scene. Verse 31. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests and the scribes would be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. So Jesus isn't speaking in parables anymore. He's not hiding any truth. He's not concealing anything. He's just plainly, here's what's gonna happen. It's not all fame and glory right away. Yes, I'm the Messiah. Yes, I'm the Christ. But I'm not coming to bring political revolution. It involves suffering, betrayal, death, then glory. Peter shows he's not fully seeing rightly. He says, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, get behind me, Satan. For you're not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. Peter shows he's not fully seeing clearly yet. He doesn't see Christ. in his full mission. I don't understand that yet. He sees him as a Christ, but he's seeing blurry. Just as Jesus gave the illustration. And he got a harsh rebuke because of it. He said, get behind me Satan. Jesus knows exactly why he came. He came on a mission to fulfill the plan of his father. He came to earn redemption for his sheep. He came to lay his life down for his sheep. Which means he must suffer and go to the cross. The Good Shepherd is leading them towards this mission. In fact, they're on the way to Jerusalem. They're headed that way, as we're gonna see in the next week. But he calls them to follow in a similar fashion, but what he's doing is Peter's trying to prevent that mission. Out of love, right? But he knows that that's his mission and he can't be diverted. In fact, it kind of resembles the kind of temptation that Satan gave Jesus in the wilderness, right? Right? He says, you know what, Jesus, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world. Just bow down to me. You can have the glory right now before the suffering. You don't need to go through the cross. I'll give you what you're promised, but just bow down to me. Jesus didn't fall to that temptation. He exposes the root of the true temptation. It's coming from Satan to try and prevent him from going to the cross. But Jesus, the true shepherd, who knows he must lay down his life for his sheep, sticks to the plan. And in fact, he says, if you're going to follow me, you must follow me also. to your cross. Notice he says, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever will lose his life for my sake in the gospels will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? Or what can man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous generation sinful generation, so the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with holy angels." Jesus is saying, look, following me isn't all sunshine and rainbows. It's hard work. It's, in fact, it might mean you might suffer. It might mean you take up your cross, and it doesn't mean just wearing a necklace cross. It means going to, probably marching to, your death. That's what it implies. Remember, it says, remember the word I say to you, a servant's not greater than his master. If they persecute me, they'll persecute you. But if they keep my word, they'll keep yours. Jesus is reminding him about what he just said in the beginning of chapter six. Remember, people are gonna receive you, people may not. But they're rejecting me. And now you're called to follow me. Cross bearing comes in many forms. Right? Peter's literally gonna carry his own cross later and be crucified upside down. But he's gonna suffer. And Christians can bear their crosses in many ways. Maybe it might come in the form of suffering, but maybe it might come in the form of shame from the people we care about and love. Maybe it might come in the form of persecution and hostility. Maybe it might come in the form of silencing or shunning. Whatever the way, We're all called to live godly lives. And in 2 Timothy 3.12, it says, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ will be persecuted. In other words, take up your cross. But Jesus says, whoever doesn't follow me isn't worthy of me. Whoever doesn't take up his cross daily is not worthy of me. So I'm gonna wind it down here, and we'll pick it up next time. But I wanna leave with this question. Are you seeing Jesus for who he is? Are you seeing clearly he's the Christ, he is the chief shepherd, he is the one who suffered for us, who gave his life for his sheep? And if so, are you willing to follow him, take up your cross? True disciples don't follow blindly, they follow knowing what Jesus encountered, knowing that we too may encounter suffering and hardships. But at this point, Jesus isn't just telling them he's walking it out. He's living it out. What is he doing? He's about to head to the cross. He's about to head to Jerusalem. He's saying, being a follower of me might come at a cost. And he's walking the road to suffering and death. And Paul says in Philippians 1, he says, for it's been granted to you for the sake of Christ that you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake. Paul saw that as a privilege. an honor. And Jesus wants us to know if we're to be his disciples, we need to be willing to follow him whatever the cost. If we truly see him as the chief shepherd, the one who provides and cares for us, who laid down his life for us, we'll follow him. We'll be witnesses to him in this town, in this world, in this nation. We'll proclaim the good news of the gospel. We'd be willing to be like the faithful ministers, like John the Baptist, who proclaim truth, yet it costs him. And Jesus saying, if you follow the chief shepherd, it'll be worth it. It'll be worth it. So are you following Jesus? Are you seeing him as a shepherd? If you're not, just know that you will pay for your own sins, that the wages of sin is death. And we've all sinned. We've all fallen short of the glory of God. But Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for his sheep, to pay for their sins. And if we place our trust in him, his righteousness is credit to our account. and we are forgiven of our sins. We are welcomed into the sheepfold to repent and believe in the gospel. So that is my plea to you, repent and believe, embrace the son, and kiss the shepherd, the chief shepherd who cares deeply for us. So even though Jesus is king, he will also be a shepherd who will suffer. as he leads his people on the way to the cross. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, you are a good God. You have given us your provision of Jesus Christ, our ultimate need to help us, to lead us from the slavery of sin and death to Help us to live for You in newness of life. So Lord, help us to just rest in Christ and His goodness, to trust Him in the midst of our difficult circumstances, knowing that His watchful eye is never far from us, that He's with us. In fact, He's given us His Holy Spirit to show us that He's with us. Lord, help us to not lose sight of that. Help us to not be distracted from the many things of this world that help us forget those things. but like the disciples need a remembering. Help us remember your goodness. We pray in Christ's name, amen.