Compassion Enough For 5,000-plus

But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.  Mark 6:33-34

In Mark's gospel, the disciples had just returned from their first mission trips and Jesus led them to a deserted place to rest up a bit. However, multitudes saw them leaving, word spread quickly, and people ran from cities to get to where Jesus was going. The Lord Jesus steps out to minister to His twelve...and finds the eyeballs of five thousand men, plus their wives and children, looking back at Him. Adapting quickly to the circumstance, Jesus had compassion enough for the 5,000-plus and began teaching them all. And as people will do, they were hungry for His word but soon became hungry in body as well. Jesus had an answer for that hunger too. 

The story has become famous wherever the gospel has been told. The disciples were tested, 200 denarii of bread would not be enough. Today we figure conservatively that 5,000 men would also have a wife and children, or a minimum of 16,000 persons who would need a Swiss Mushroom Runza® each for a mere $105,440 at the current Sidney price on their online menu. No, no, these people were hungry! Double cheeseburger combo meal for sure, plus most of them wouldn't know a Runza® from a loaf of bread! Okay, big burger combo makes it $188,640 plus the Sidney 'good grief!' tax on hungry travelers, and a generous tip for the Runza crew who is even now weeping in the back, "He wants sixteen thousand of them?!!" 

I've been following the beginning of the start of our Lord Jesus' ministry for a bit now, and suddenly I skipped ahead a little to the feeding of the five thousand. There is a reason to share with you of course. Today, as soon as this is posted on Blogspot, will be the 5,000th posting from this little devotional message you read and share! 

Have a great big day in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Sins Forgiven, He Walks

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  Mark 2:5-7

The faith of those men gave Jesus a moment to teach a lesson to the scribes sitting there. He could have said other things as Jesus will point out later. He chose instead words that announced who He was. And the scribes knew it, and refused to believe it. Refusing to believe allowed them to say the 'B' word - blasphemy. Had the homeowner kept a bucket of rocks in the house, the scribes would have reached for them to stone Jesus, the Son of God. 

Watching this scene, you may be thinking, "Wait, miracle!" Exactly right. In their refusal, they missed the miracle of God right there in front of them. Paralyzed dude, picks up his bed and walks out. No months in rehab working to build muscle and coordination, sins forgiven by the authority of the Son, he walks. Authority, the born rebel in the fallen wants to refuse the authority of God's Son. And the scribes were all too ready to refuse to believe. Don't be like the scribes. 

Love and joy to you in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Bucky

Breaking Through

And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  Mark 2:4

Faith, a strange thing that comes upon us at times, while at other times it seems to desert us. Here five people, one of them paralyzed, had enough faith to begin the demolition of a house that was not theirs in the hope of getting this paralytic a chance at a new life. However, their faith faced a test when they arrived, a crowd large enough to block all normal ways into the house. Faith found a way around and over the crowd. Faith faced another test in that Jesus might have refused, or maybe an angry homeowner was on the way to knock them all off his roof. Faith in Jesus has its result though, as Jesus forgave the paralyzed man his sins. 

Oh yes, it seems that Jesus had to break through the unbelief all around Him too. Some it seems would go away still not believing in Him, even as they exclaimed, "We never saw anything like this!"

Faith in Jesus, not easy but so rewarding!

Bucky

Say Nothing, Go Your Way

As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Mark 1:42-44

The former leper had a startling message to tell, but Jesus strictly warned him to say nothing. Actions were to be his testimony for the time being. This man would not be the only one Jesus told to keep silent. Sometimes Jesus was obeyed in this, other times they went out and spread the news far and wide. This former leper was one of the latter, and it hindered Jesus. Soon He had to stay outside of towns and still the people found Him in the wilderness.

Easily we can see that to obey the man who had cleansed us of such a terrible affliction would be the way to follow. But from the day Eve first reached out to take that forbidden fruit and gave some to Adam, we have been a race of disobedient folk. Keep quiet, obey the law, get back to work are simple instructions, but like the leper we have probably mucked it up too. Fortunately for us and that former leper, a day will soon come in scripture where a risen Savior will issue a command to tell everyone of Him and His good news.

Great is the day of our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Moved With Compassion

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Mark 1:40-41

No judgment from the Lord Jesus, just a moving of His compassion to heal a leper who came to Him in faith. The question was not whether the Lord could, but a matter of willingness to do what faith said He certainly could do. And Jesus touched the leper. "Wait," the Pharisees would have cried had they been there, "Unclean!" But Jesus had the healing touch in His compassion. "Keep your distance," the disciples might have cried, "the Law!" Jesus reached for the man to relieve the hurting of loneliness a leper would know too well. From the first moments of His ministry, Jesus turned things upside down.

Happy Monday to you in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Going Forth

But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”
And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  Mark 1:38-39

After all the healings and casting outs, Capernaum really wanted Jesus to hang around for a bit. Simon and the gang had searched for and found Jesus alone out of town, but Jesus did not go back where everyone was looking for Him. His purpose was to preach in the next towns. And by now they would have heard of Jesus and His healing. All of Galilee received the Good News in their synagogues and benefitted from the reduction in demoniacs. 

Imagine the confusion among the census takers the next year when no one showed up to register as a demoniac. The tax collectors were happy though, all those former demoniacs had to go out and get paying jobs. Next thing ya know, Jesus will be cleansing the lepers too. Everyone will be getting back to work.

Have a great weekend in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

He Did Much More

Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. Mark 1:29-31

So, tra la la, He just lifts her up and off she goes to serve? As the miracles of Jesus go this one is stated quite simply, as they usually are. We know from a couple thousand years of further learning and discovery that a fever is but one of the body's reactions to an infection. Therefore Jesus didn't just lower the woman's temperature, but also cast out the infection, probably cleared up a runny nose or a nasty cough, and gave her the strength, suddenly and immediately, to get up and do work. And as we can imagine, with tremendous relief and gratitude, she serves Jesus and His disciples as honored guests. Which means that God's provision of food and drink was already in place as well.

The Lord our God has prepared the way for us too!

Bucky