Seeing Jesus – part 2
032 Seeing Jesus – part 2
Mark 6:30-52
April 12, 2026
Ok tonight we are coming back to these two miracles
Which Mark intentionally puts together.
JUST A QUICK RECAP OF THE POINT.
We have here a parallel of the wilderness wanderings in the Old Testament.
· There we had a people searching for rest in the wilderness.
· Here we have the disciples seeking rest in a desolate place.
· There God provided bread miraculously
· Here Jesus will provide bread miraculously
· Just as the people in the Old Testament failed to see God,
· So this crowd will fail to see Him too.
· Just as Moses failed to treat God as holy in the midst of the congregation,
· So also these disciples will fail to truly recognize the holiness of Christ.
Mark 6:51-52 “Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.”
While we can look at this miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000
Through many different lenses,
Mark’s point is that the disciples gained no insight from it.
They saw Jesus.
They knew Jesus.
And yet, they have failed to recognize Him fully.
More specifically,
· They have failed to see how much above them He is.
· They have failed to recognize His holiness.
· They have failed to see that He is set apart.
Mark uses these two miracles to show us
How Jesus reasserted Himself as the set apart and Holy One in their eyes.
WHAT A LESSON FOR EACH OF US!
God forbid we ever grow familiar or unenthused with Jesus.
It’s not enough to just know the truths about Him.
· We want to be ever amazed by Him
· We want to be in awe of Him
· We want to understand our constant need of Him
· We want to be continually trusting
We want to see Him rightly!
When this story starts the disciples don’t, but they will by the end.
May God do that same work in our hearts as we study this text.
LET’S BEGIN tonight by reminding of the context of this story.
(30-32) “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.”
Jesus had sent out the 12 in pairs.
· They have preached
· They have worked miracles
· They have healed
· They have cast out demons
Their success was so remarkable
That it caught the attention of Herod who could only explain such power as John the Baptist risen from the dead.
They have just done things they never thought possible.
But now they are back, and it is implied that THEY ARE EXHAUSTED
As we have found with Jesus,
· The ministry never seems to take a break.
· There are always more people with needs.
· There are always more requests.
We read earlier about Jesus:
Mark 3:20 “And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal.”
That event caused His own people to come and try to arrest Him
And take Him home claiming He had lost His senses.
This is relentless ministry.
And now the disciples are facing it too.
“(For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)”
And to some extent that is PART OF THEIR PROBLEM.
They have all of a sudden found themselves
To be in just as high demand as Jesus.
It is what happened to Moses.
It is a temptation to pride and self-importance.
They may be losing sight of who the truly special One is.
Anyway, Jesus has a solution.
(31) “And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while”
We saw the parallel this morning to this and compared it to
The children of Israel also entering the wilderness in search of rest.
The disciples are off to find rest.
(32) “They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.”
THAT IS THE BACKDROP TO OUR STORY.
We have exhausted disciples, who may be a little puffed-up,
Seeking to leave the crowds and find rest.
Let’s see how that plays out.
#1 A RELENTLESS CROWD
Mark 6:33-34
The crowd never ceases to amaze us.
· This crowd saw Jesus leaving in a boat,
· Figured they knew where He was going
· And decided to outrun Him around the lake.
And “they got there ahead of them.”
Predictably Jesus ministered to them.
(34) “When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.”
We certainly want to take a moment and recognize
Both the SCOPE and the CAUSE of the Savior’s COMPASSION.
Mark doesn’t mention it,
· But Jesus has just received word that John has been beheaded.
· Certainly a sobering reminder of where He is head, not to mention the grief of having lost a ministry ally like John.
We know that Jesus and the 12 are exhausted,
Not being able to catch a break from the crowds.
Think of it like VBS or Disciple Now or Youth Camp, and you’ve been going hard with the kids for days, and finally you have a reprieve and you just want to go sit down alone in the room for a second.
Then they find you!
And your temptation is to tell them to go away!
Jesus faced all of that, but still “He felt compassion”.
· He NEVER considered Himself as more important than others.
· He NEVER valued His time over their time.
· He NEVER valued His desires over their desires.
He gave and He gave and He gave and He gave.
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
That was Jesus wasn’t it.
But we also notice the CAUSE of His compassion.
Some might think it has to do with their hunger
Or their debilitating diseases or their physical infirmities.
But what motivated Jesus was that
“they were like sheep without a shepherd”
They had no one to guide them or teach them
Or lead them or protect them.
Psalm 23:1-3 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”
These people didn’t have that.
Matthew’s gospel gave a crystal clear picture:
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
“distressed” is (SKOO-lo)
It means “to skin” or “to flay”
“dispirited” is (RHIP-to)
It means “to cast away”
These sheep didn’t have a shepherd, they had a group of butchers.
Ezekiel 34:1-6 “Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”’”
YOU SEE THE PROBLEM.
· They were pawns in a greater game.
· They were lied to.
· They were abandoned.
· They were used up.
· They were cast aside.
They were “sheep without a shepherd.”
Well Jesus is by nature a shepherd.
Ever watch a genuine bonified Mama run across kids without a mother?
· Something in them wants to go and momma that child.
Jesus was a shepherd who could not help
But adopt shepherdless sheep.
So “He began to teach them many things.”
· What they needed was truth.
· What they needed was guidance.
· What they needed was instruction.
And Jesus could not help but give it to them.
· It didn’t matter how tired He was.
· It didn’t matter if He was spent.
· These sheep needed help and He was a shepherd.
WE CERTAINLY DON’T MISS THAT.
And yet at the same time we can’t help but notice
That for the 12, who were hoping for rest,
· It would appear that their journey for rest has been severely interrupted.
This is a relentless crowd.
While Jesus cares for them, they don’t care about you.
· They don’t care if you are tired.
· They don’t care if you want rest.
· They are here and they will not be denied.
I simply want you to understand that
From a human aspect
THIS CROWD HAS PUSHED YOU BEYOND YOUR LIMIT.
It’s not beyond Jesus’ limit, but it is most likely beyond yours.
A Relentless Crowd
#2 A RIDICULOUS COMMAND
Mark 6:35-38
This is where the story really gets interesting,
And where Jesus begins to challenge the growing arrogance
That the disciples have.
Remember what we read this morning
About how the children of Israel grumbled about water that second time?
· God told Moses to speak to the rock, and God would provide water.
· Moses made the arrogant statement (Num. 20:12) “Shall WE bring forth
water for you from this rock?”
Moses treated it like it would be a joint effort between him and God.
Well Jesus knows the hearts of these disciples
You can see Him set them up
To test this very same arrogance in their hearts.
Well, the relentless crowd isn’t leaving, and there is no food.
The disciples come up with a solution.
(35-36) “When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
There may have been some genuine concern for the crowd,
But it certainly feels like they just wanted their weekend of rest.
Incidentally, they call the place “desolate”
That lends to cause people to think it was some barren wasteland.
That is not so.
Mark points out later that the people sat down on the “green grass”.
· This place may have in fact been beautiful.
· This was a great place to relax.
The problem was it was remote.
There were no food sources readily available.
The disciples instructed Jesus to send the crowds away.
As we said this morning, their interjection alone speaks of arrogance.
Then comes the most ridiculous command
I’m guessing the disciples ever heard.
(37) “But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!”
Can you hear Him challenging the self-sufficiency of the disciples here?
John’s gospel makes it clear that this is exactly what Jesus was doing.
John 6:5-6 “Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.”
Jesus intentionally threw this problem at the feet of the 12.
Mark’s gospel records it with a sort of direct force
Almost as if Jesus is challenging them
To live up to their new estimation of themselves.
· Since they are now so big and mighty…
· Since they are now so capable…
· Why don’t they just step up and feed these people?
What do you say Moses?
· Can you bring water from this rock for the people?
What do you say Peter?
· Can you feed this crowd?
Immediately Jesus has thrust them up against their own weakness.
They can’t feed the crowd, and they know it.
“And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”
That’s 200 days wages.
It is worth noting that after this statement, Philip, the accountant of the group must have immediately interjected:
John 6:7 “Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”
Someone said it would cost “two hundred denarii”,
Philip immediately pointed out that their estimation was low.
Even if they wanted to, they could not do it.
They do not have that kind of power or ability.
And Jesus is proving that to them.
WE ARE NOT EQUALS
They cannot do what He can do.
They need Him, not the other way around.
AT THIS POINT Jesus takes inventory of what they do have.
(38) “And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
Credit the meekness and kindness of Jesus here,
Because if that had been me, there would have been a bit of trash talking going on.
· “Who did you expect to feed with that?”
· “Is that the best you could come up with?”
· “Now what is your plan?”
But not Jesus.
· There is no scorn
· There is no reproach
· He exposed their weakness, but He left it at that.
A Relentless Crowd
A Ridiculous Command
#3 A REMARKABLE CONCLUSION
Mark 6:39-44
You know the story.
That’s almost a tragedy that you do know it so well because it tends to make a story like this lose its luster.
· Jesus just took five small loaves and two small pickled fish and fed 5,000 men and their families.
· He just kept breaking the bread and kept handing out the fish.
· Every time He did, He created more…and more…and more…and more.
It is divine creation.
It is something only the God of the universe can do.
And the remarkable verse says (42) “They all ate and were satisfied,”
And we see an enormous amount of leftovers.
Moses could strike a rock, only God could make water gush forth.
The disciples could hand out bread, only Jesus could multiply it.
Jesus stepped up and saved the day.
NOW – LET’S MAKE SURE YOU GET THE POINT.
We said that the disciples set out on a journey for rest.
The temptation is to read this story and assume they didn’t get it.
· We think the crowd interrupted it.
· We think Jesus catered to the crowd over the disciples.
· We think the restful retreat got canceled.
· The disciples never got the rest they wanted.
NOPE!
It is apparent to us that the rest Jesus offered them
Was NOT some sort of physical siesta in a lush green pasture.
The rest Jesus offered them was rest from their own labors
As they learned to trust in His power.
This is the rest offered in Scripture.
Hebrews 4:9-10 “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”
It is the rest that Jesus routinely offered.
Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
The rest Jesus offers is a rest from our own works.
Certainly a rest from legalism to try and earn salvation.
But it is also a rest in ministry as we trust Him to do what only He can do.
The biggest danger we face in salvation or ministry
Is when we think that our success
Has anything to do with our own efforts, hard work, or ability.
But real success occurs when Christ works through us.
And real rest occurs when we know that.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7 “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”
The disciples certainly didn’t see it, but Jesus just gave them rest.
He gave them a command which they could not accomplish
And then accomplished it for them and through them.
The people were fed.
Christ did it all.
Oh sure they had to pass out the bread,
And I suppose in one sense they could say they fed the crowd.
But anyone with half a brain knows who fed that crowd.
It was Jesus.
He demonstrated the kind of rest that was available for them.
THERE IS THE LESSON.
· They needed to see who He was.
· They needed to recognize that their only source of success came through Him.
HOWEVER, AS WE SAID THIS MORNING,
Something is glaringly missing from this miracle.
· There is no amazement.
· There is no astonishment.
· Not from the 12.
· Not from the crowd.
Because the 12 failed to recognize
The greatness of Jesus and their dependence on Him,
So did the crowd.
The disciples didn’t lead the crowd to be mesmerized by Jesus
Because the disciples weren’t mesmerized by Jesus.
They just passed out that bread like they were Moses striking the rock.
· “Shall we give you bread to eat?”
· “Shall we give you fishes to eat?”
As though they were equal partners in this miracle.
THEY MISSED THE POINT.
And Jesus knows it.
So, time for lesson #2.
(45-46) “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.”
There’s another one of Mark’s infamous “immediately” interjections.
· He showed you the feeding of the 5,000,
· But he quickly moves on to make sure you see this next point.
· They work together.
Jesus is about to teach them what they failed to see.
#4 A RELENTLESS WIND
Mark 6:47-48a
“When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them…”
Mark makes sure you are aware of two things there.
1. The disciples no longer have Jesus in their midst.
2. They are once again met with an adversary.
This time it is the wind.
· It’s not so much a massive storm like previously,
· But it is an obstacle that is making crossing the sea incredibly difficult.
Living in west Texas,
I don’t have to go into great detail to explain to you
How the wind can be relentless and make any task more difficult.
And that is certainly true for sailing.
Wind makes all the difference.
#5 A RIDICULOUS WORK
Mark 6:47a
We also notice that they were “straining at the oars”.
They are laboring.
· It is taking all of their strength.
· It is taking all of their sailing experience.
· It is taking all of them working together.
· It is taking them never letting up.
They are simply trying to obey a command, and it’s hard.
This is continuous, all-encompassing, exhausting work.
I might also add that it is not working.
They are caught in the middle of the sea.
I know we don’t as easily see the analogy as in the first miracle where there is a people seeking rest, and God provides bread in the wilderness.
But this parable is the same point for the disciples.
Jesus is letting them go out and face a dilemma without Him
To make a very important point.
WITHOUT HIM THEY ARE NOTHING.
They are laboring.
And they are failing.
At the very least we can say there is NO REST HERE for the disciples.
THIS IS LABOR.
Earlier He commanded them to do something obviously impossible.
· Feed a multitude with no food.
But here the command is something they had done hundreds of times.
· Cross the lake.
BUT THEY CAN’T, AND HE IS MAKING A POINT
ABOUT THE FUTILITY OF THEIR LABOR.
#6 A REMARKABLE WRAP-UP
Mark 6:48b-52
“at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.”
So while the disciples were on the sea and Jesus was on the mountain, He was still watching them.
· Whether this is an incident of His divine ability to see, or just a vantage point high on the mountain doesn’t matter.
· Though the disciples had failed to see Him, He never took His eyes off of them.
And now Jesus is going to make a point.
These are wearied men.
These are exhausted men.
These are men who cannot win their current battle.
“at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them.”
“intended to pass by them” is misleading.
John MacArthur points out that the phrase is better translated “desired to come alongside them.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Mark 1-8; Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL, 2015] pg. 330)
Skipping them wasn’t the goal.
This was a calculated point.
They were laboring and accomplishing nothing.
The goal of Jesus is to reveal that
What is impossible for them is easy for Him,
Jesus came up walking beside them.
· He’s not trying to avoid them.
· He’s making a point about His power.
He has far more power than they do.
This man can walk on water.
This is miraculous.
This is a definite demonstration of deity.
WE ARE NOT THE SAME.
Well they were certainly amazed this time.
(49-50) “But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”
“They supposed that it was a ghost”
They knew it couldn’t be a man.
In all of their labors and fighting against the wind
It never occurred to them to get out of the boat and walk.
That would have been certain death.
Jesus did what no one expected.
And they were all “terrified.”
And you’re going to love the response of Jesus here.
“But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”
“it is I”
(i-MEE) (eh-GO)
You are more familiar with it as “I Am”.
Could there be a stronger illustration of the drastic gap between Jesus and His disciples?
· They are nothing like Him.
· They are human, He is divine.
(51) “Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished.”
“stopped” is that same word for when He calmed the storm.
The wind rested and so did the disciples
And this time “they were utterly astonished,”
They hadn’t gained any insight when He fed the 5,000
But they saw it here.
WHAT DID THEY SEE?
That Jesus is holy.
· He is set apart.
· He is different.
REST COMES WHEN HE DOES THROUGH US AND FOR US
WHAT WE CANNOT DO FOR OURSELVES.
It doesn’t matter if the command is impossible or routine.
Our strength is incomplete and our works will fall short.
Instead we recognize the holiness of our great Savior
And we rest as He works through us.
We don’t puff out our chest like Moses and say “Shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?”
There is no “we” to it.
It is He who does it.
So now, tonight, do you understand what we are talking about
When we talk about “seeing Jesus”.
It’s not just knowing the facts about who He is.
· It is seeing that He is holy and set apart.
· It is seeing that we need Him every day.
· It is seeing that all power is His.
· It is seeing that all authority is His.
We can’t accomplish anything without Him.
We certainly cannot secure our own salvation.
But we also cannot succeed in ministry.
What is failing labor for us, is easy success for Him.
Tonight, I would simply invite you to recognize the glory of Jesus.
To recognize the holiness and set apartness of Jesus.
We are not equals.
He is higher than us in every way.
DO YOU SEE THAT?
SO, DO YOU TRUST HIM?
· Or are you still out there trying to do it all on your own as though you can accomplish it without Him?
That is fruitless work.
· You can’t feed the multitude.
· You can’t defeat the wind.
· You can’t get water from a rock.
· You can’t provide for your family.
· You can’t win a dead soul to Christ.
· You can’t grow the church.
· You can’t protect your family.
· You can’t secure your future.
SO WHY ACT LIKE YOU CAN?