The Feeding of the 4,000 | Mark 8:1-10 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Series)

If you have a copy of God's word in your hands, please meet me in the gospel of Mark in chapter eight. Brother, thank you for your precious prayer. Forgive me if I pray once again. I think I have permission. Jesus said, my house shall be called the house of prayer.

Mark chapter eight, we will read these verses, and then we will pray and invoke the name of the Lord and ask for his help because we need the Holy Spirit of God. In Mark eight one, we read, in those days when again a great crowd had gathered and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, I have compassion on the crowd because they had been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away. And his disciples answered him, how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?

And he asked them, how many loaves do you have? They said seven. And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish, and having been having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied, and they took up the broken pieces left over seven baskets full.

And there were about 4,000 people, and he sent them away. Lord, this is your word. We believe with every fiber of our being that your word has power. But, Lord, we also know that you promised the Holy Spirit the gift of God. Yes, to indwell us.

Yes, to seal us. But Lord to empower us, to be witnesses, to give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation to understand these things and to declare them with boldness and courage. And we pray that in this moment as we are exposed to the voice of God, that we would experience the presence of God. And that Lord, the end result of this message would indeed be a simple yet glorious thing that you would draw us closer to you in an intimate way. What is the point, oh God, if we just hear platitudes?

What is the point, oh God, if we just learn information, but our hearts do not come alive? And so Lord, we call upon your name in this service, and we ask that you would be merciful to us, and that our eyes would be open, that you would perform a miracle for the soul, and that we would be able to behold the absolute beauty and the infinite glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bring us there, oh God. No charisma, no personality, no craft of a message can do that work. Only the Holy Spirit.

And we ask that he would be ever present, please, oh God, to be in our midst. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Another miracle of bread and fish. Yes.

And there are some skeptics, some liberal scholars who would say that this is the same event that you and I studied not too long ago when Jesus fed 5,000, not including women and children. And there are others who would rightly acknowledge, no, this is a different occurrence and that is accurate. It is a different occurrence. And though you and I might confess that, we might not know with confidence the purpose of it, especially because it's so similar to the former. But the very fact that this account is tucked in our bibles should give us enough encouragement to take the time to investigate it with great attention.

Despite the resemblance, what you and I have here is an invitation from God to consider his mind and his heart. And I think what you and I need to do in coming to this text in order to draw as much sap from it as possible is to compare it with what we studied a few weeks ago. And so as you have your hand there in Mark chapter eight, as I'm speaking you can go to Mark chapter six and place your finger there at verse 34. Because we are going to go back and forth in order to look at key distinctions between what seems to be so similar, but containing enough contrast for us to see, oh, there is truth for conviction. There are truths for comfort here in this very account.

Can I pause here and give you a word of counsel? Whenever you come to your bibles, and I pray that you read your bibles, as you read through this systematically from cover to cover, you will indeed come into contact with what seems to be repeating text. You may see something that mirrors something that you had just read or something that was in another neighborhood in the word of God. When you come to that point, please resist the temptation to glare over it. Do not bypass it.

Do not dismiss it. Recognize that God has put it in there for a reason. And instead of just skimming over those verses, just so you can soothe your conscience and say, I didn't skip over this part of the bible, pause, pull out the text that you know resembles it, and read it carefully and comparatively. And as you do that, you will see things begin to surface and you will begin to see joy filled, life changing truths that will bless you. And I pray that as you see that discipline being exercised with this very chapter right here, you'd be inspired.

That again, whenever you come to a text that seems to be common or familiar or repetitive, it is actually an invitation from God for greater revelation. And so we come here and there are four main points that I wanna make in light of this text in comparison to the other. And the first thing that I wanna bring to your attention is number one, the one who made the predicament known. The one who made the predicament known. In those days, when again a crowd had gathered and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them.

Now go to Mark chapter six and verse 35, and you'll see at the feeding, the introduction of the feeding of the 5,000, something different. In Mark six thirty five, you'll see, and when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, this is a desolate place and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. It's quite clear, isn't it? When you come to the 4,000, you see that it is Jesus who introduces to the disciples a dilemma.

When you think back at the 5,000, it was the disciples who approached Jesus and made their problem known. And when you see that, you realize that it's it's not uncommon for people, including the disciples, to make their needs known to Christ. What is uncommon though is for Jesus to bring up an issue to his followers. He went to the 12 and he said, I have compassion on the crowd because they've been here for a few days and if they head back, they might faint on the way. Why is that difference important?

What do we learn from these things? What do we see with these two references? Well, Mark chapter six, through the illustration of the disciples coming to Jesus, you and I were encouraged to bring our needs to Jesus. Bring your needs to Jesus. Bring what you've observed to be a problem, and come to the one who can solve it.

But when you come to the feeding of the 4,000, what you are prepared to know is be ready for Jesus to come and test you. The 5,000, come to Jesus with your need. The 4,000, believe that Jesus will come to you with a test. Was there a test included in the 5,000? Yes.

But the emphasis of Jesus testing the faith of his own is in this chapter. And this is what we have to understand. Christ is not seeking the advice or or the counsel of his students by approaching them in this way. His goal was to measure the growth the growth and the strength of their faith. You know, when Jesus gives his test, it's not like how teachers commonly give their exams to their students.

The Lord is in need of no evaluation to discover where you're at. So why does he give his test then? Why does the all knowing one bring us through trials in order to examine our faith? Well, it's just for that. It is for you.

Listen carefully. It is for you to discover the quality of your faith. It's for you to see it. It's for you to recognize it. It's for you to be able to observe it and to be able to say honestly, where where is my faith?

And nothing proves the sincerity. Nothing proves the strength of one's faith more than trials. You can sing beautifully. You can preach powerfully, but when a trial comes, your faith will speak the loudest. And they will come.

And when they do come, it is then that you will know the true condition of your convictions. And, oh, when it shines through, I pray that your faith does shine through. There are manifold blessings as a result of it. What are those manifold blessings? Well, number one, when your faith stands, when it is not moved, when it is only strengthened as it goes through that fire, you're strengthened.

You personally will know a greater peace. You personally will know a greater assurance. You know, a wise pastor made a very brilliant observation when it comes to believers who struggle with the assurance of their of their salvation. And he had said this, that it is usually younger people who struggle with where they're at in their stance before a righteous God. And when I heard that, I thought to myself, that's actually true.

When when I've encountered people who've said, how do I know I'm saved? It's usually those who are fresh in the faith or those who haven't had much life experience. What do you mean by that? Because when you go through life following Jesus, you will encounter various trials. And when you go through those various trials and your faith still stands, your assurance grows.

It grows. This is real. This is in me. This is true. This is not fake.

This is not shallow soil here. Oh, no. This is the real deal. I still love him though I cannot see him. I still hope in him though he slays me.

You're strengthened. What about the other believers who are watching you in your trial and your test? They're encouraged. Look at brother so and so. Still loving the Lord, still serving the Lord.

Though there's so much trouble in his marriage, though there's so much trouble with their children, there they are still giving everything they have to Christ. Oh, surely if it's possible in them, it's possible in me. What about a watching unbelieving skeptical blasphemy world when they see your faith shine as a result of that fire and draw and we see their dross being removed by the the surgeon's hand, are they not challenged? Do they not at least question and examine themselves to some degree while they see your hope in the invisible but living God? That that's what Peter talks about in first Peter one seven when he says that there is the tested genuineness of your faith.

And he said right before that that there are various trials. Don't be grieved by them because those trials are means to reveal, are you genuine? And you see that. The believers see that. And the world sees that.

And ultimately, at the end of the day, Christ will praise it and commend it as your faith endures until the end. But let's slow down with the verses that we just read. Did you notice how the Lord in verse two of chapter eight expresses his compassion? Verse two. I have compassion on the crowd.

Mark in six with the 5,000 mentions Jesus' compassion as well, but not directly from the mouth of Jesus. When compassion is mentioned in Mark chapter six, it is narrated by Mark. When we come here to Jesus with the 4,000, he himself says it, I have compassion on the crowd. And when you compare again these two references, you realize the absolute beauty of the nature and the character of God namely in his compassion. What was the object of Jesus' compassion with the feeding of the 5,000?

We'll go back to Mark six and look at verse 34. Mark six thirty four. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them. Because this is the reason why he had compassion. Because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.

The trigger for the deep seated feelings of care and concern for the people in Mark chapter six with the 5,000 was spiritual. The spiritual need of the people. With a heavy heart, the Lord perceived the masses, and he was able to discern that these people, like sheep without a shepherd, are lost. They're lost. They're vulnerable.

They're exposed to danger. They are malnourished, and they're in trouble. And that's what moved him. And when it moved him, he provided for them by teaching them. He taught them.

But when you come to Mark chapter eight, when Jesus says himself, I have compassion, you see that the object of his compassion is a little different. Verse two of Mark eight, I have compassion on the crowd because, well, what is it Lord? Because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. In the former account, Jesus' compassion was for the spiritual need. In the second account, Jesus' compassion is for the physical well-being of the people.

Why? Because Christ is not merely the shepherd of your soul. He is the provider for your body as well. We must not think for a moment that because we are spiritual people who worship in spirit to our God who is spirit, that he overlooks the material necessities of your existence. He's keenly aware of all our needs because he is the master of the whole man.

Of all that you are, spirit, soul, and body, he is Lord. And if anything coming to this passage, we have the right to contemplate on his compassion as you and I manage and engage our day to day affairs. Your eating, your clothing, your living, your traveling are not outside of his tender care. We tend to think Jesus is compassionate and sympathetic for my eternity. Not just your eternity, your daily activity.

That is the extension of his love. That is the breath of his care. That he actually can look not just at your empty soul, but he can look at your grumbling stomach and still be moved in the same way. It's hard for you to believe. Well, welcome to the realm of faith.

What a glorious thing about the mindfulness of Jesus. And what's so glorious here is that it's not just for the immediate, it was for the future. Notice that Jesus said, they've been with me now three days and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. On the way they will faint. I'm I'm thinking about their tomorrow.

Not just their today, their tomorrow. And we need to believe that. That he's the shepherd that yes, walks by our side, but he's omnipresent. He's ahead of us as well. And if you do not believe that, then you're in trouble just like the Israelites were in trouble when they didn't believe that as they were being led into the promised land.

Speaking about that, can I show you something quite amazing about God's leading in the promised land? It's not in Exodus. It's not in Numbers. It's in Ezekiel. Do you know where that is in your Bible?

Ezekiel? Well, go there. Don't be ashamed to go to the index if you need to. Ezekiel chapter 20. I remember when I was first walking with the Lord, I heard a preacher and he said, turn to the book of Hebrews, and I thought Hebrews is Jews, so I went to the Old Testament.

The person next to me said, no, no, no. New Testament, right side of the Bible. Ezekiel chapter 20 verse six. Look at this wonderful commentary. That's why you gotta read the whole Bible, man.

You gotta see it all or you're gonna miss something. Ezekiel 20 verse six. On that day, this is the Lord speaking, on that day, I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land now look at this, into a land that I searched out for them. A land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. You know what that word searched is in the original?

In its description, its in its definition is to spy out. The same word that is used in numbers 13 when 12 spies, one chief from every tribe, were raised up to go into the land of Canaan to spy it out. Long before those guys went in there, the Lord spied it out himself. He already investigated it. He already determined it.

He already prepared it. They were just gonna discover it for themselves. And you think about your life and that car that you prayed about and that house that you finally were able to get in this crazy market and that opportunity, that job that seems to have just fallen fallen into your lap, and you burst out in praise and thanksgiving, can I tell you something? God god searched searched it up for you a long time ago. He's not surprised with you.

He's not catching up with your life. He's not overwhelmed with all his children and he's trying to manage it all, breaking a sweat while he sits on the throne. He searched it out. And all you get to do as you walk through these paths in this life as a pilgrim is figure it out yourself, something that he's already established long ago. What a way to live.

What a way to live. Not just comfort for the unknown, but when I come to something that seems to surprise and shock my plans, maybe even my prayers, I can be absolutely at rest knowing he searched it out. He knows why this is happening. He already spied it out for me. He's ahead of me.

So here's the Lord saying, I'm concerned about what's gonna happen to them if they faint on the way. So here's the mindfulness of the shepherd ahead of your steps, ahead of your plans, ahead of your thoughts, ahead of your worries, he's already there. But did you notice something else in that same sentence where Jesus says, I have compassion on the crowd? Go back to it. Verse two.

I have compassion on the crowd because this moved me tremendously. Because they have been with me now three days. The compassion of God, the care of God, the mercy of God is for all. It does dispense with common grace to the just and the wicked. But at the same time, do you realize that the Lord takes into account those who sacrifice for him?

This blessed me because it shows that Christ sees what you do for him and it moves him. These people were in attendance for three days in a row. Not thirty minutes beyond the service time. Three days in a row. And when you come to crowds in the gospels, they're not really seen in a in a great light usually.

But I argue that this is a different case. Here these people come with unbroken presence of mind, presence of body, sleeping overnight exposed to the elements out in the open, seeing their resources evaporate hour by hour, and yet what is keeping them in place is this deep interest in Christ. And so deep was that interest that it swallowed up their concern for physical bread. This is not the people protesting to Jesus, we've been here three days. Do you have something in your lunchbox?

This is Jesus looking at the crowd and recognizing at what length they were willing to go to be there under his ministry and then caring for them accordingly. Do you believe that Jesus Christ regards what you do for him? Good. Because you should. Because you should.

He actually considers how early you came. He actually takes into account how late you stay. Oh, believe that he knows the distance you drove here and the gas that you had to put in your car to get here. He knows when you're doing this out of a pure heart, not under compulsion, but out of genuine desire, not out of convenience, but out of genuine desire to serve him. He sees it.

He sees it all, and not only does he see it, he has special feelings in his heart for you. They have been with me here now for three days. Well praise God, he knows. He doesn't miss it. Others might.

He's aware of it. How far? How long? How much? And it moves his heart.

Do you wanna move his heart? Then just love him and put him above everything, even your food. And see the special attention that he will give you. I know that that's not we don't like that stuff. Right?

No. No. No. No. Don't tell me that.

Grace. Grace. Grace. Grace. Yeah.

Grace. Good. You can be saved by his grace. But how you know him is not necessarily by grace. You walk with him.

You choose to live for him. You make the sacrifices for him. And he considers every single one. So we look for us here at the one who made the predicament known. We come now to the second point.

The second difference is between the 5,000 and the 4,000, and it is this, the number of resources at hand. Verse four, and his disciples answered him, how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place? And he asked them, how many loaves do you have? They said seven. They said seven.

When it came to the 5,000 and the same question was asked, it was a different response. We have five loaves and how many fish? Two fish. Fish are included in this, but you come down to verse seven and it is a number not known to us. And they had a few small fish.

So they had fish and bread. The same ingredients, different numbers, though not much of a difference. And so people like to play around with the numbers and try to get some deep mystical meaning and you don't have to go there. It's very simple. The assets are different.

But the encouragement you and I can draw is simply this, whether you have less or more today than you did yesterday, what what ultimately makes a difference in your life is not what you have, but whose hand holds it. That's the difference. If these resources remain in the hands of the disciples, no impact would be made. But the moment that they consecrated what they had to the Christ, anything is possible. Anything is possible.

And there should be no doubt that if Christ wanted to, that he could have made bread and fish appear out of nothing. He made this world out of nothing. He spoke this universe into existence. And so why didn't he do it with bread and fish? Because he wants to teach his disciples then and his disciples now this valuable lesson.

Give it all to me and don't rely on your resources. Rely on my creative compassionate power if you're gonna make an impact for anything. These people weren't gonna be touched if they trusted in their own wisdom. Even back there with the feeding of the 5,000, if they went to the grocery store to try to buy all that they could for these people, it wouldn't be enough. And that's the point.

Here are these people who have a need and here are these disciples who are agents of God's message and heart. How are they gonna make an impact? Not in your own strength. Not in your own ideas. Not by bar borrowing marketing schemes from the best selling Christian book.

No. From looking at him. Keeping your eyes on him. Believing him. Putting it all in his hand.

And trusting that he could do miracles with it. Where where was the focus of the disciples? Look back at verse four. And his disciples answered him, how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place? That's where their focus was.

This is a wilderness. There's no jewel anywhere near here. There's nothing that we can do to make this happen. And that's the point, disciples. You're looking at the wrong thing.

Look at the one who's done it before and keep your eyes there. Keep your eyes there. The one who calls into existence the things that do not exist according to Romans four. The one who actually can make it all happen in a moment. This is a desolate place I thought about, you know, they believe that about the region that they were in and we can say the same perhaps of the city of Chicago.

This is a desolate place. We're so grateful for this church opening the doors to us to be able to meet here regularly, but we have plans, God willing, to have our own place. How are we gonna do that with this kind of a market? How are we gonna do that with a government that doesn't give property so easily especially if it's tax free, tax exempt in some way? This is a desolate place with all the craziness and inflation.

Even if that time comes, how will we pull out the resources to ensure a purchase or a plan that will keep us out of trouble in the future? Well, don't look at the desolate place. Don't look at the lack of resources. Don't look at the opposition. Look to him and keep your eyes there.

His disciples didn't for some reason, and some people have so much trouble believing that the disciples doubted at this time, that they reinterpret this whole story because they think to themselves, how you saw the same it's like the mirroring scenario. Right? It's part two. This is this is copy paste. There is no way that the disciples were doubting Jesus here.

To the point where they reinterpret verse four to mean that they were kinda sarcastically nudging to Christ. Oh, how are we gonna feed these people unless somebody does it? That's how they interpret this verse. How do you read that? Is it so hard to imagine that the disciples lost sight of the faithfulness of Christ so quickly?

Answer, no. It's not. It's not difficult. Because you and I know very well if we're honest with ourselves that we don't learn things the first time around. I've seen it.

I can preach a message on forgiveness and it takes 10 more of them before it says, oh, okay. Yeah. Forgiveness. Seen it for myself reading scripture, dealing with situations. Doesn't always happen the first time around.

And we see here that these disciples, believe it or not, didn't get it. Spiritual amnesia is not uncommon among the saints. You know, Jesus says something so convicting to one of his disciples. I wanna show it to you. It's in a different gospel.

In John chapter 14, the disciple Philip asked Jesus a question, and Jesus answered something that should move us. In John fourteen eight, Philip said to him, Lord, show us the father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the father. How can you say show us the father?

What a question. Have I been with you so long and you still don't get it, Philip? After all the miracles, after all the teachings, after all my sayings, after all the parables, and it still hasn't registered yet. If you've seen me, you've seen him. Lord, spare me.

I don't want the Lord to have to say that about me. Daniel, have I been with you so long that you still don't understand who I am? It's been ten years, son. It's been ten years. And yet, you can hear this, and it can convict you.

And if you're not careful, that conviction can translate to condemnation, and your hope is slaughtered. Don't go there. Because even in this, you and I are encouraged. You're saying, how can you encourage not to be lighthearted about your stagnation, not to be lighthearted about your unwillingness to move with urgency and growth and grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. To be encouraged in this, that even when the disciples should have responded so much differently.

Right? If they really did believe Jesus, I mean, this is what I would expect. How can these people be fed? Right? How can these people go home hungry?

Lord, Lord, we've seen you do this. We've seen you just give us the word. Do you wanna know what's in our pockets? Do you wanna know what's in our bags? Do you want us to go look around to see how many bread and fish are here?

You say the word, we trust you Lord. That didn't come out of their mouths. Doubt, unbelief. And what does Jesus do? Does he scold them?

Does he sigh and put them aside and says, you know what? I can't trust you guys. I'm gonna deal with this myself. You clearly didn't get the lesson. No.

Look here at verse six. And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took seven the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He still used them. Despite their limitations, despite their mountainous doubt, they should have had mountain sized not mustard seed faith. They should have had mountain sized faith.

After all, they were exposed to. And what did they give him? A question of unbelief. And what does Jesus do? He works with them still.

And he uses them to be extensions vessels of his love. Why does God do that? Why does he even use us at any capacity? And I'll give you an answer because the apostle Paul gave the answer when he talked about how God used him. In Ephesians three eight, he writes, to me though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Paul loved to teach on grace. He loved to preach on grace. But the idea of grace was not limited to salvation. Paul understood that the very fact that he was a minister was an expression of God's grace. Now you tell people, right?

I'm sure, maybe you've said it to your own family member or loved one or your husband or whatever. Maybe a dear friend that you can speak freely with and the Lord uses them. There's fruit in their lives and there's greater exposure in their ministry and, brother, be careful. Don't let it get to your head. Sister, be careful.

God has gifted you. His hand is clearly on your life. Just be careful. Don't don't get puffed up. And I'm sure that's sound advice.

That is sound advice and it's possible even in your spiritual pursuits to become arrogant and prideful. But you know what Paul is showing me here? This is what he's showing me. The more God used him, the more humbled he was. The more the Lord used him, the more he was aware of the grace of God.

Because he understood, this this doesn't make sense for me to be in this position. And so whatever God did through him, it only brought him lower. How is that possible when you understand his holiness, his righteousness, his standards, our unworthiness, our inconsistencies, our sin, our temptation to rebel against them, and yet still he makes us participations into his purposes and plans. So any episode in which God uses you, and at at least in Paul's mind, he was brought lower and lower and lower. God doesn't need us.

He doesn't. But in his great delight and pleasure, he wants to. And it's a gift for you to enjoy, to see what God can do through you so that he can receive all the glory. It's a grace. It's a grace.

These disciples here are are even experiencing God's grace in the midst of their doubt. Number three, not just the number of resources, but the amount of leftovers gathered. Look here at verse eight, and they ate and were satisfied. What a phrase. And they took up the broken pieces left over seven baskets full.

Mark chapter six, when they had fed the 5,000 plus, Jesus sends them out to get leftovers and they they grab the pieces and there were how many baskets? 12. Good. 12. 12 baskets.

Why? Because when they went to that region, they went for a retreat and the retreat was suspended in order to serve strangers. And as they sacrificed, suspended in order to serve strangers. And as they sacrificed to serve these people, God honored them and gave them each a basket. I'm taking care of you.

I didn't forget about you. They could have felt that. The Lord brought us out here so that we can rest rest with him. We just came back from traveling and preaching, and and now what do they come to? They see, the hills covered with people, and it's very easy, very easy to see your schedule interrupted and see your plans obstructed because of ministry, because of serving the Lord, because of opportunities to be like Christ and that costing you something.

And you think the Lord's forgotten me. And no 12 baskets, each in the hand of those disciples. But then you come here, they're serving people, and you're thinking, okay, 12 baskets are show up. That's what's gonna happen. Right?

No. There there's five short. There's seven baskets. And I must admit, this might be more challenging for us English readers because if you read the Bible in Greek, if you knew how to read it, and you had a Bible that was spelled out in the original manuscripts, you would see it without question. The word for baskets is two different words.

And Jesus even communicates that here in Mark chapter eight. Scroll down to verse 19 when he speaks to the disciples in another scene. He says in Mark eight nineteen, when I broke the five loaves and the 5,000, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up? He's speaking about Mark chapter six. They said to him, 12.

And the seven for the 4,000, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up? And they said to him, seven. So right there, if you believe it's the same occurrence, how do you explain this? He's talking about two different things. Side point.

How many baskets when he talked about the five and the two? That word baskets is different than the word baskets when he says how many for the 4,000. And the word for baskets for the 4,000 is a basket much larger than what they had in Mark chapter six. In fact, it's the same word that Luke used in Acts chapter nine verse 25 when Paul in Damascus was able to escape by being placed in a basket and was brought down scaling the wall. It's the same word there.

That's not the word used in Mark chapter six. And the word in Mark chapter six is I believe. And here we see that the word for the bigger baskets is spouris. I'm not here trying to give you a Greek lesson. I barely can pronounce the words.

Okay? What I'm trying to show you here is something quite important. There's something that you can take out of this. Right? Even though these baskets were fewer in number, the container sized proves that they were taken care of amply.

They were more than okay. All of them were covered. And I meditate on this and I thought, well, the Lord could have just given them 12 personally sized baskets like he did earlier, but the idea here is that his provision may not always look the same. It may not always look the same in every season, but one thing you can guarantee that it is always, always, always enough. Always.

God didn't take care of me the same way he did in college that he is now. But you know what I can rejoice in? He took care of me all the way through. And the same for you. It's the same for you.

We look here and we think, okay, the packages might be altered from time to time. Things might shift, things might be different. But the purpose is the same, to never leave us, to never leave you in your need as long as you serve him with your heart. So one instance is twelve, the other is seven, but here's the same result. They were taken care of.

Things might have shifted recently. Right? Things might have been taken. Things might have been replaced. It might not be what you thought it would be, but one thing is for certain, he's behind it.

And he has compassion for you, which brings us to the final point of our message today. We talk not just about the one who made the predicament known, not just the resources at hand, not just the amount of the leftovers that were gathered, but finally the people that were ministered to. Verse nine. And there were about 4,000 people and he sent them away and he sent them away. Mark chapter six tells us how many 5,000, not including women, not including children.

Here we have 4,000 people. K. The number is different. No. No.

No. No. No. Read carefully. Where is Jesus and where are his disciples geographically speaking?

You would know if you were here last week. That's why you gotta come to church every week. You come here in Mark chapter seven. Let's be reminded in verse 31. Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea Of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis.

That's where they're at and there is no mention of them transitioning from that place. And what is the Decapolis? It is the 10 city region heavily populated with gentiles. Jesus heals a deaf mute man and it might be that that was the cause for the multitudes to flood towards him. And that's what we're seeing here in Mark chapter eight.

That was common, a miracle brings about the masses. And so you have these crowds that come to Jesus And here's the thing, he has compassion on them. But who are they? They're not Jews, at least primarily. The 5,000?

Jews. Jews. John chapter six, they recognized him as the prophet that Moses spoke about and they wanted to make him king. Gentiles still has compassion. He didn't treat them any different.

Yes. The the focus of his ministry was for the Jews at least during his time. It would be different when the apostles would be sent out, but here we see a glimpse of what's to come. Jesus having compassion on all. Not some, not the chosen people who had the privilege of knowing the oracles of God, the manifestations of God, the messengers of God.

No. Even these pagans, these idol worshipers. We're able to taste something of the compassion of Jesus because it was always there from the beginning. You know what that word compassion is in the original? To be moved in one's bowels.

A deep seeded feeling of sympathy that you can actually feel in your gut. Not just I feel bad for them, you know, I have some extra virtue in me today. Let's just perform a miracle. No. He was moved and it was turning him inside.

You know, you think about the Jews, they they had so much privilege. Their history and the resources, the divine literature that was at their disposal, and Jesus has compassion. You know, you could have grown up in church and testify to that same kind of experience. You've known it. You've heard it.

You've seen it. You've memorized it. You're trying to fight to stay awake because you're so familiar with the scene. And just like the Jews who had so much just by their heritage, Jesus still has compassion on them. And we tend to think, right?

We tend to think that Jesus favors those and he moves in those lives that, had parents who were faithful, have a lineage of people who are in ministry serving him. No. You come here and you realize he has compassion even on those who have no connection whatsoever to him. It's very hard to preach through the gospels and not get evangelistic. Very hard.

So just give me a couple minutes, and we'll get packing, putting our shorts, and going to the picnic. But this isn't a job one, two. This isn't, we're not playing games here, right? And in these days, there is no time to play any games. In the days that we're living in, not one service should be wasted.

I heard a pastor say, when he started his church with his ministers, we will never ever have a throwaway service. Never. Just let's just get this through. I'm tired this week. Never.

Souls hang in the balance. And I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim to you the compassion of God for your soul. Christ has a heart filled with compassion for you. And he longs for you not just to know satisfaction in this life. There is a satisfaction that goes beyond that reaches deeper than your pockets being full and your body being free from disease.

No. You have a spirit that is fractured, that is disconnected from the living God who created you. But Christ came as the bridge. Christ came as the great physician. Christ came to heal you.

Not just to open your eyes. Not just even open your ears, to make you walk, but to bring you back to life from the core of your being. He has compassion for you. He's not indifferent in heaven. He's not trigger happy, waiting to send you to an eternal torment.

He's not looking for you to trip so he has one more reason to pour out his wrath on you. No. No. No. No.

He left glory, and he came into this stinking filthy putrid world that saw the holiest man who has ever lived. That who did nothing but good, who never made a mistake, who never slipped, who'd never done anything wrong. And they spat on him, and they dragged his name in the mud, and they dragged his body through torture, and they nailed him there like an ornament and celebrated his death. Gambled for his clothing. Blasphemed him until his final breath.

Why? Because he's filled with compassion. And he has compassion for you. You, yes, here in 2023 with your with your nice job and your nice car and with your privileges here in The United States Of America, even here now the living Christ is moved for you. And he wants you.

He doesn't wanna just use you. He doesn't just want you as a servant. He has a myriad of angels who sing in perfect pitch, who don't hesitate to obey him. Seraphim who cover their face, who cover their feet, and with two other wings who are flying ready to move at the moment he gives them a command. He doesn't need your service, but he wants your heart.

Because out of love, the God who is self sufficient, who is not lonely, who doesn't need anything from you still wants you. For what? He loves you. Well, why? I don't know.

He loves you and he wants you and he wants intimacy with you. He wants you to be in heaven with him forever and ever. And though we see through a glass dimly, he wants you to walk with him in this life. You were created to walk with God. Not for a career.

Not to find the most beautiful wife or husband you can find. Not so that you can stuff your closet with clothes and get the newest edition of that phone. That's not your purpose. That's not why you're here. To know God and to enjoy him forever.

To glorify him. And in glorifying, he would be blessed and you will be satisfied. Amen. Because that's why you were created. And in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, this gospel, this good news, it was responded to in one single way, repent and believe.

Amen. Recognize what your sin has done. Recognize what your sin will bring you to. Recognize what sin is, turn from it. Because he took the sin, your sin, the sin of the city of Chicago, the sin of the state of Illinois, the sin of every state of this nation, the sin of the world upon his shoulder.

And God poured out his wrath on his son in your place so that you would by faith, a repentant faith, would drink the cup of his fellowship and know his pleasure. His mouth was dry and was thirsty so that you would know living water. His brow was pierced with thorns so that your mind could be renewed and renewed and renewed. His hands were pierced so that whatever you've done with those hands would be cleansed. His feet were penetrated so that wherever your feet have gone where they shouldn't have gone, he will remember no more.

This is the gospel. This is the good news. There is no other god like this god and there is no other way to be saved but through his name. Amen. And so I invite you today to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior.

I invite you today to realize that everything can change today. Even if you have to miss that picnic, we're gonna have plenty more. Give your life to him. Sit down, ask questions. If your heart is already convinced and convicted, then cry out to the living God.

Cry out and trust that as you do with a sincerity and with humility. The spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. You will know when you've been born again. Lord, we thank you for the service. We thank you for bringing us in this place.

We thank you for the lessons from the miracle of the feeding of the 4,000. Thank you that your word has been beautifully authored by the perfect one. There is not one corner of this bible, not one period mark, not one word that is by accident. Everything has been placed for our instruction and our insight concerning you. We pray, Lord, that as we worship you, that our hearts would be given to you in a fresh way.

And for the heart that is not surrendered to you yet, we pray that today would be the day where they can say, not physically but spiritually, I was hungry but now I'm satisfied. I was empty, now I'm full. I was lost but now I'm found. I was confused but now I see his compassion. Lord, may that be the testimony of those in here who don't know you.

And Lord, for those who know you, we thank you that you've searched it out for us. That we can leave here more encouraged that our tomorrows are taken care of. That you care for us in every way possible and that there is no God like our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Oh, we just stand. Yes. Stand. You can get excited. It's the house of God, and worship the Lord Jesus.