Mark 6:30-34
Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Sunday, July 21, 2024
“A Compassionate Shepherd’s Heart”
“It’s been a long day.” You know the phrase, right? Technically speaking, what you have to do doesn’t actually change the length of the day at all. But sometimes it can feel that way. The long days are those days that are full of stuff: emotional strain, physical work, effort, stress. The long days leave us feeling done. We’re tired, we’re exhausted. All we want is to rest, relax, and maybe get something to eat and some sleep.
Suppose you find yourself at the end of one of those long days. Maybe you are getting home late from work, or you could fill in details from your own personal situation. Then suppose someone asks you for a favor. “I need a ride from the airport.” “Can you help me move a piece of furniture?” “I need to borrow some money.” “Can you visit me in the hospital?” The specific request isn’t necessarily important, but how do you react?
Not just what do you do, but how do you feel in that moment?
I am not asking what you would want to do. Don’t tell me what you should do. Think about how you feel in that moment. That doesn’t look so great, does it? You want to help a friend. You would be happy to do it. Any other day. Not now, not in this mood, not after the long day that you have been dealing with. And sometimes, it is even worse than that. We get angry that someone would make demands of us at a time like this. And let’s face it, sometimes, we feel that way even when it hasn’t been a long day. Even when we don’t have an excuse for it, there are still times when we would just rather do our own thing.
What a difference we find between hearts like ours that can so easily be cold and uncaring and the compassionate heart of Jesus Christ. Today’s Gospel is just a few verses long, but it is rich with demonstrations of the compassionate heart of our Shepherd.
Our verses began with the disciples telling Jesus about their experiences. If you recall, Jesus had sent them out in pairs with authority to drive out demons and with a message that people should repent. After those mission trips, the disciples were reporting in. They had stories about demons defeated and people repenting. They probably had some stories about people slamming the door in their faces, too. The disciples had experienced some long days.
The compassionate heart of Jesus wanted to give them a chance to rest. The work of sharing the Gospel is extremely rewarding, but it can also be very tiring. God himself at the very beginning had established for people, even in a perfect world, a useful pattern of work and rest. It was time for the disciples to be refreshed. It was time for them to spend time just with Jesus instead of with the crowds. It was time to recover from activities so they could prepare for their next opportunities to work for the Lord.
They could only find that sort of rest by traveling to a secluded place. They needed to get away from the crowds. So many people were coming that the disciples didn’t even have a chance to eat. They had no way to refresh themselves as long as that continued.
So in the boat they went, and across the lake they sailed to find their quiet place. Jesus was helping his disciples because he was their compassionate Shepherd. They needed some quiet pastures, so they set off to find them.
But they didn’t really find them. The people saw the disciples trying to get away, and they wanted to see more from Jesus. They were ready to hear more. They wanted to see more miracles and hear more teaching with authority. They ran ahead and were able to arrive before the disciples and Jesus landed their boat. How’s that for the end of a long day? All this time the disciples have been trying to have their debrief with Jesus. All this time they are eager to eat and to rest. And just as the opportunity is about to come, the crowd snatches that chance away from them again. You have an idea what they felt like, don’t you? Sure, the disciples wanted to help people. They had been thrilled when they went out driving out demons and sharing God’s Word with people. But this was the end of a long day! They weren’t up for more people. They were trying to get away. I’m not sure the best way to describe how they would have felt. Frustration? Anger? Annoyance? Some measure or combination of all of these?
But here’s how Jesus reacts. When Jesus stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. His heart went out to them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things. Jesus saw sheep without a shepherd. He wanted to be their shepherd. He saw a crowd that needed help. His heart went out to them. Jesus had compassion.
We’ve been using the term compassion throughout our time together this morning. We have an idea what it means. It fits what is described here. Jesus sees people in need and he wants to, he is moved to help them. Our translation says, “His heart went out to them.” Nearly any other English translation you check will say something like, “He had compassion on them.” The Greek word that Mark uses talks about the inner parts of the body. At that time, that’s how people talked about and thought about emotions. They came from the gut, so to speak. Now we talk about hearts being the emotional center of a person, even though that may not be technically accurate.
But don’t you know that feeling, too? My heart goes out to someone when I am moved by what they are going through and I want to help. Sometimes you feel it. It weighs on you. You can understand why people would describe it as a moving of your inner parts or a going out of your heart. And it’s pretty much the opposite reaction to our feeling of it’s been a long day and I can’t help right now.
Compassion defines the way that Jesus always looks at the people who need him. When he saw the crowd, he saw that they needed leadership, direction, instruction. They needed to realize that their hearts were impure and that they could not help or save themselves. They needed to recognize how much they needed him and how much he would do for them. They needed a Savior. They needed a Shepherd.
And the compassion of Jesus reveals his Shepherd-heart. He not only cared about his own dear disciples. He cared deeply about the whole crowd.
This is the heart of God. From the beginning, when people fell away from God, he came to shepherd them back. He made a promise about a great shepherd. And you just heard in our service today how the heart of God was with his people. When the kings he put over them to shepherd them failed, he promised better shepherds. He promised spiritual leaders. And, most importantly, he repeated his promise about a perfect shepherd. The kind of shepherd that people needed would rescue them from danger. He would die for their sins. That’s the compassion that God displays toward his people.
In the verses in front of us, we see that glimpse of the shepherd-heart of Jesus. It is a model to us, but it is also so much more. The perfect compassion of Jesus means that he has saved us from our complacency and our annoyance, our lack of compassion for those around us. His compassion becomes ours through faith. With that in place, he also gives us the power to follow his model, to follow his example. We can become more and more like our Savior, not only in our actions, but even in our thinking and in our emotions. We can look at those around us and see them as Jesus does. Those who do not know him are like sheep without a shepherd. They may need some sort of immediate assistance, but their biggest need is the eternal assistance that Jesus provides. And you can help them with that.
You will still have long days. There will still be times when it is harder to serve and love and help than at other times. But you have a Savior whose heart goes out to you. You have forgiveness for all your sins. You have a heavenly home. And you have Jesus who models a compassionate shepherd’s heart. May that model be seen in your heart and in your life as well! That’s one more way God blesses your meaningful ministry.
The Text: Mark 6:30–34 (EHV)
30The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” For there were so many people coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat. 32They went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33But many people saw them leave and knew where they were going. They ran there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34When Jesus stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. His heart went out to them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things.