“So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things.” (Mark 6:32-34 NLT)
Have you ever been picked on, bullied, or castigated by people whose opinion of you didn’t really matter? Yes, of course, you would have preferred they liked you or at least ignored you, but, in some settings, it’s almost expected. But it’s not nearly as bad as having someone you really liked, admired, or even counted as a friend tear you down, or worse, treat you as though you didn’t exist.
The verses at the top of the page reflect a time shortly after the twelve returned from a ministry tour. Jesus had commissioned them to go out, taking nothing with them, sharing the Good News that people should repent and turn to the Lord. The Bible tells us in Mark 6:12-13 that they cast out demons and healed many sick people. As you might imagine they were excited to be reconnecting with the Lord and couldn’t wait to share all the Lord had done in and through them.
Yet, as excited as they were to finally be alone with the Savior, the Lord had to prioritize the hungry crowds, to whom He likened “sheep without a shepherd.” Put yourself in the Apostles sandals for a second. You’re tired yet filled with excitement you’d never imagined. The power of God has flowed in and through you in ways you’d never experienced, and you are bursting at the seams to tell the Lord, yet, at least in your mind, He was setting you aside for all these strangers who were craving His attention. Yes, of course, He was showing compassion to THEM, but what about US – ME?
Ever felt that way? Left out by the Lord? After a “Mountain Top” experience with Him, it’s like He’s forgotten all about you. What’s up with that? Sometimes compassion is a hard lesson to learn because we too often believe it’s just for us. The above scenario led to the feeding of the five thousand men, plus their wives and children, an unprecedented experience in the lives of the disciples and for the people whose lives were changed because of it.
In some ways it’s like the Lord was saying: “Yes, what you were allowed to experience is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. What I have in mind for you is far greater than you have the capacity now to imagine, but you must put lost people first, not your feelings or your longing for the flow of God’s power in and through you. Lost, spiritually hungry people are the context of the Spirit’s overflowing and your compassion for others must far outweigh your desire for personal recognition.”
Francis Schaeffer wrote: “Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.” What that means to me is we can get everything right: our doctrine, our stance on Biblical inerrancy, abortion, and many other things, yet feel no compassion for those whose lives are being consumed by lust, greed, impurities, sexual sin, including but not limited to homosexuality, and all the rest. We can so focus on our goodness because of what Jesus has done for us that the overshadowing “badness” of lost people turns us away, rather than draws us to them with broken hearts bent on being Jesus to them!
Compassion is a broken heart for the lostness of those who don’t yet know Jesus, whose hearts haven’t been changed, renewed, and made alive by His powerful presence at work in and through their lives. My sense is, Jesus was teaching His disciples what He longs to teach each of us, that no matter how tired, weak, sickly or desperate we are to be left alone, to rest, relax, to just be with Jesus, if an opportunity arises for us to be Him to someone who desperately needs Him, we’d better get over ourselves and serve them as though they were Jesus Himself. To do otherwise is among the ugliest things in the world to the Lord.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 