Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 4 Study # 3
December 14, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: The "compassion" of Jesus was
present and
at work with
no regard for any "disqualifiers".
Introduction: So far in our studies of this paragraph we have considered the issues of why Mark called The Twelve "apostles" only in this one text of his entire Gospel, and the "problem" of Jesus summoning these "apostles" to a "time of rest" and, then, not only did not provide it for them, but was Himself the reason that they "got no rest".
This evening we are going to look into the reason the "rest" was nullified. On the one hand, the "great crowd" forced itself upon both Him and The Twelve, and on the other hand, Jesus' "compassion" overrode the earlier "plan".
- I. The Bible Teaches A Kind Of Indiscriminate "Compassion" That Is Here Illustrated.
- A. In Deuteronomy 15:4-9 Moses told Israel what God had to say about this "indiscriminate compassion".
- 1. There was a "promise" that, then, was not allowed to come into play for a long time to come, just like the summons to 'rest' without it being given.
- 2. There is a clear implication that "compassion" and "self-righteousness" cannot co-exist.
- B. In our text/context, Jesus illustrates this reality for The Twelve.
- 1. There are multiple reasons why the "great crowd" did not deserve to have the "compassion of Jesus" to be exercised by Him.
- a. There was, in the crowd, an overpowering selfishness that dominated the actions of the people of which the "great crowd" consisted.
- 1) They were people who "saw" that Jesus and His "apostles" were "departing": there is no good reason for this "seeing" to be "unaccompanied" by a willingness for Jesus and the "apostles" to leave them.
- 2) They were people who, intriguingly, "knew" where Jesus and His "apostles" were heading: this is a significant mystery, especially since this "knowledge" included the fact that Jesus wanted some "alone time" for Himself and His "apostles".
- a) These who "knew" had a fairly significant amount of "certainty" that enabled them to get to this destination ahead of Jesus (2:8; 5:30; 6:33; and 6:54).
- b) These who "knew" came from "all the cities" of that general area.
- b. These people are described by Jesus as "sheep without a shepherd".
- 1) Sheep are notorious for their "blindly casual attitude regarding where they are, what they are doing, and what the potential for disaster is".
- 2) That "men" are like "sheep" is significantly problematical because they have a great deal more of "capacity" to "see" and "know" than do sheep.
- c. These people are a very large demonstration of humanity in general (five thousand "men").
- d. These people have something about themselves that moved Jesus to "immediately" get into the boat and leave (John 6:15 and 26).
- 2. The "compassion" of Jesus exists in the face of all of this "demerit" that is inherent in the large crowd.
- a. The issue of "compassion" is the "inner turmoil of the gut when one sees and knows of a significant disaster in the making" (1:41; 6:34; 8:2; and 9:22).
- b. This issue of "compassion" is addressed by Jesus by "teaching them many things".
- 1) There is no escape from present/impending disaster that does not begin with an awareness of the issues of "Love" and "Faith", the two most difficult issues of the efforts of men to actually "help" others.
- 2) All such efforts are vain which do not "begin" with the effort to get men to "see" and "know" the really important things.
