Bible Passage: Mark 6:30-34
Pastor: Michael Willitz
Sermon Date: July 25, 2021

Bulletin July 25, 2021

Mark 6:30–34

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.

Your Good Shepherd Delivers Rest

1. Rest for busied shepherds
2. Rest for burdened sheep

Dear fellow redeemed, fellow sheep of Jesus, our Good Shepherd,

It was nothing like this. The twelve apostles of Jesus were not able to sit down, and take a load off, and enjoy the outdoor serenity around them. They weren’t able to bask in the sunlight, they weren’t able to enjoy the songs of the birds. They weren’t able to grab a hot dog and a bag of chips and dig into a picnic lunch. As Mark tells us in today’s text, those apostles couldn’t even find time to eat, there was so much commotion around them. They had just returned from their first preaching tour. The fields had been ripe and the harvests had been waiting when Jesus sent them out two by two, but now as they returned, two by two, it seemed as if the harvest had followed them home. They had gone out as shepherds representing the Good Shepherd, and now, as they returned, they found a very large flock converging on Jesus. People were coming and people were going: sick people, troubled people, needy people on every side, and the apostles had needs too. They needed rest. They needed refreshment. They needed to report to the Master who had sent them out in the first place.

Undoubtedly, these men were tired after all their travels and all their labors. Undoubtedly, they were troubled by the reports that John the Baptist had been beheaded at the orders of the cruel tyrant, Herod Antipas. Undoubtedly these men were looking forward to having Jesus’ undivided attention so they could tell him all the wonders God had done through their service, so they could find encouragement in response to all the trials they had endured, so they could lay before him all their cares and all their worries and all their fears. It must have sent a surge of elation and relief through the veins of those twelve busied shepherds when Jesus turned to them and said, “You twelve, come with me. Let’s escape for a moment. Let’s get out of the commotion. Let’s go somewhere private. Let’s get you some rest.”

Now, you and I know what’s going to happen when Jesus and the twelve step off of that boat. The crowd is going to be there ahead of them, having traveled by foot and having picked up people along the way. But still, those hours in the boat, that moment with Jesus was his gift of rest to shepherds who needed it.

What a blessing it is to have such a Good Shepherd who knows exactly when we need a moment of rest. Do you ever find yourself busied in the work to which Jesus has called you? Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by the needs of those around you? Sometimes pastors will tell stories of vacations that have been postponed because the phone rang and something had happened and their service was going to be needed. But it’s not just pastors who feel the tug of being needed by those around them. What about parents struggling to provide all the attention and the help that their children require? What about children whose parents get older and now need a full dose of graceful guidance and gentle care? What about friends who always find themselves serving as the counsellor when others need someone wise and trustworthy to talk to? We give ourselves gladly in service to others, but it gets tiring. It takes a toll. There are needs all around us, and we have needs too. We need rest, and Jesus delivers it.

Time may be a scarce commodity, but God does give us moments for rest and refreshment. He gives times when we can report to our Savior just like the twelve report to him in today’s text. Take those free moments and talk to your Savior. Tell Jesus about the work that you have been doing. Thank him for the blessings and the successes that he has given to your work. Lay your frustrations and your cares and your fears before him. Confess the wrong that you have done in your work. Confess the good that you have not done. Receive the forgiveness, the true rest, which he delivers through his Word.

Your Savior can take being surrounded by needy people. He can take having people on every side tugging for his attention. He doesn’t just see a mass of humanity around him. He sees burdened sheep in need of a Shepherd.

After Jesus and the twelve execute their stealthy escape, people recognize their boat from the shore, and they figure out where the boat is heading. In an impromptu stampede, they all begin running together. Along the northern shore of the lake they go, scanning the water periodically to locate that familiar boat. Finally, they reach the destination, ahead of Jesus and his disciples. Now, what reaction would you expect the Savior to have? He just tried to lose the crowd, but it turns out the crowd is sticky. He tried to go somewhere secluded, but when he arrives, it’s bustling with people. But Jesus does not show frustration. He does not sigh and complain. He doesn’t turn around and step back into the boat and instruct the disciples to head the other way. Instead, when the Savior sees these people who have gathered to be near him, he has compassion on them. This is how our text says it, “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,” [34].

The sight of needy people does not drive the Savior away. It draws him. It moves him. It compels him to act. Like a fireman plunging into a burning building, Jesus offers himself forward to help and to save. When he sees the poor people around him burdened like sheep without a shepherd, his heart goes out to them. He cannot help but give to them. And no amount of his attention or his generosity is ever too much. Jesus does not stop giving until his heart has stopped beating and his lungs have stopped breathing and his body and blood have been offered, and every sin of mankind has been paid for.

It was the compassion of our Good Shepherd that brought him down from heaven and drove him to the cross for our salvation. And it is the same compassion of our Good Shepherd that drives him to care for each burdened sheep. There, in that desolate place, Jesus took care of the needs of all those people who came to him. He healed the sick. He fed the hungry. In fact, the verses following this text tell how he fed more than 5,000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. He was a Shepherd there in a desolate place, a Shepherd tending to the needs of his flock. And he saw to it that they had what they needed the most. As our text says, “He began to teach them many things,” [34]. The Word was what these shepherdless sheep needed the most of all. And their teachers and scribes had withheld it from them, but Jesus had come to give it.

Jesus is your Good Shepherd too, and his compassion moves him to care for all of your needs. He already redeemed you from sin and death by his own death on the cross. He already showed you that heaven is open to you by rising from the dead and ascending into heaven. From his throne there in heaven, even now he provides for all of your needs. He who feeds the ravens and the sparrows also provides daily food for you. He who commands legions of holy angels also protects you and defends you against every danger. And, as he once taught the crowds that had gathered around him, he still teaches you and me in his Word.

Through his holy Word, our Shepherd guides us and corrects us. Through his holy Word, our Shepherd tells us all he has done for us. Through his holy Word, our Shepherd promises us peace and forgiveness and life eternal. It is in the Word of Jesus that we receive the rest that we need the most.

So pray to him. Gather with his flock. Hear his Word and believe all that he says. Until our life in this world ends, there will always be work before us. There will always be people who need us, and it will be our privilege to serve them. For all that we need, Jesus is there as our Good Shepherd. Our true rest is always and only in him.

Amen.

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