Good Shepherd
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Scripture: Mark 6:30 – 34, 53 – 56
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told Him all that they had done and taught. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
Wherever Jesus went, people flocked to Him. In Mark 6:33 we’re told that many people saw Jesus going somewhere in a boat with His disciples, somehow figured out where they were going, and raced so fast to meet them that they arrived before Jesus and the disciples.
This makes me tired.
Jesus’ disciples (and probably Jesus Himself) were exhausted. The disciples had just returned from an incredible experience performing miracles like Jesus did. I imagine their adrenaline pumping with the excitement of it all. But into that celebration came the devastation of John the Baptist’s execution by Herod. John was Jesus’ cousin. His disciples and Jesus’ disciples probably knew each other, at least in passing. The grief would have been raw.
So Jesus decides it’s time for them all to go somewhere quiet to rest.
But the people make it impossible. They’re desperate. They’re hurting. They’re hoping. And Jesus “had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34).
This, I think, is one of the truest portraits of Jesus, who is the embodiment of God, in all of Scripture. He saw the people; He saw their desperation; He saw their vulnerability; He saw their value; and He had compassion. And out of that compassion He started to teach. I imagine these people had no idea that they were precious to God – that they were of immeasurable worth, created in God’s own image. Can you imagine what it would have been like for people like this to hear Jesus speak about God’s love and grace, to hear about God’s kingdom, in which they would find belonging? No wonder people raced to wherever Jesus was going next.
As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps consider the various characters in the story from Mark 6:30 – 34 and continued in verses 53 – 56. Are you one of the disciples, fresh off a spiritual high because of what you’ve just witnessed or participated in? Are you one of the crowd racing to meet Jesus, desperate to hear Him, touch Him, be healed by Him? Are you an on-looker, not really involved in the goings on at all, perhaps curious, perhaps frustrated by the crowds making it difficult to do what you need to do? What is it that you need from Jesus today? Perhaps spend some time imagining Him seeing you like He saw the crowd, having compassion on you. What do you need to say to Him?