The Pain Of Jesus

The Pain Of God's Servant

"Enduring Unbelief"

Book of Mark Chapter 8:1-21

It takes great patience on the part of the Lord in order for Him to teach us the truth of the Gospel!

So He asks us all, "How is it we do not understand" the simple "gift" of God?

In our last lesson we learned that Jesus was ministering in Decapolis. Remember, when Jesus had saved that one time Demoniac, and He had left him to be a missionary in this same region.

We should understand that in this area of Decapolis there lived some Jews BUT this region was the home to Gentiles much more than the Jew.

Matthew tells us bit more about this time period:

Mat 15:31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and "they glorified the God of Israel".

These Gentiles recognized that all these things were happening because the God of Israel had compassion on them.

The God of Israel meant that this was the God that the nation Israel worshiped and not some other false deity.

This area of Decapolis was a center for Roman and Greek culture at this time of Jesus, but there were also some Arabians living in this area!

The Greeks worshiped Zeus as king of their many gods.

The Romans worshiped Jupiter as king of their many gods.

The locales, the Arabs, worshiped Dushara as king of their many gods.

When they glorified the God of Israel, it was a very big thing to these people but most of them still just honored Jehovah God as one amongst their many gods.

This same area eventually became a hot bed of Islam as it is today.

But in these days, of the Lord Jesus Christ, large crowds gathered to Him even in this land of Gentiles!

Let's begin:

*****Mar 8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,

Before we get into this miracle let's look at a few things. We know that there are many who try to find contradictions in the Bible.

The feeding of the 5000 appears in all four of the Gospels but only Matthew and Mark record the feeding of the 4000.

But it is not difficult to show that these were two separate events.

The feeding of the 5000 happened near Bethsaida and involved for the most part Jews.

The feeding of the 4000 happened in the area of Decapolis and involved for the most part Gentiles.

Jesus Christ, Himself says that these were two separate events:

Mat 16:8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Mat 16:9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Mat 16:10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Mat 16:11 "How is it that ye do not understand" that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

What can we learn from this event?

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not;

We should learn that the Lord Jesus Christ is unchangeable!

His nature will not ever change.
His purpose will not ever change.
His promises will not ever change.
And His plan of salvation will never change!

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

In fact when we call on the Lord Jesus Christ we are saved, that very day, we are being saved everyday we live, and we are eternally saved!

So the moral laws of God, the Ten Commandments, apply equally to the saved and to the lost, everyone on this planet!

These are still our schoolmaster to teach us what God expects while we are still alive.

*****Mar 8:2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
Mar 8:3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.

This multitude of Gentiles had spent three days with the Lord Jesus and He had taught them the Word of God, along with healing all their sick.

We can see that no matter the makeup or the different cultures of the multitudes, Jesus always showed His love and His compassion for them!

To Jesus there was no such word as "race" in describing the different peoples!

This verse does not say that these people had not eaten in 3 days, it just states that they had nothing to eat and if they tried to go home many of them had a great distance to travel.

Christ Jesus shows His compassion, not only for the souls of men, but also these bodies of flesh of all mankind.

He had taught them His "Doctrine", the Gospel!
He had healed them of their diseases.
He showed His concern for them, even when they were about go back home.

The Bible says:

Heb 5:2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

You see God knows how we feel every single moment in our lives.

He has felt all our pain.
He understands all our circumstances.
He knows everything that we are going through, every moment we live in this flesh we call humanity!

Another thing that the Lord knows is from "how far we have come"!

Some of these people had come a long way just to see Jesus!

The greatest thing we can learn from this passage and those 12 chosen disciples should have learned, is this.

I have already said that those more than 5000 were Jews. These that will number more than 4000 are Gentiles.

We should come away from this lesson knowing that the Jesus Christ came to save "whosoever" will call on His name and He always will!

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that "whosoever" shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

*****Mar 8:4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?

We will soon see that there were only 4000 men old enough to be in this count, but this great multitude could have been nearly as large as when the Lord fed the 5000, when we add women, wives and children.

We could ask ourselves, "why would Peter and these others ask this question"?

A great lesson for us all is, this fact.

The world we live in is a "desert place", where nothing can be found to satisfy the soul of man!

It is only the salvation, the free gift of Jesus Christ, that can lead to all our fulfillment!

On this occasion it would not have mattered how much money that Judas Iscariot had in the bag, there was no place available to buy such a large quantity of food to feed this great multitude.

Jesus was not about to send this crowd away unfulfilled!

Every Pastor or Preacher, that prepares a sermon, should remember this lesson.

Psa 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

Every message preached in the pulpits should centered on seeking the Lord Jesus Christ because He is still our only fulfillment!

It is this message that brings fulfillment to the multitudes!

AND, Jesus never sent a multitude away empty, spiritually nor physically!

Our Lord had great patience with these 12 and we need to thank Him for that, because these 12 were to begin the Church, the Bride of Christ.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

We know that Israel had a relationship with the Lord, as sheep to a shepherd.

Jer 13:17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.

But we also should know that Gentiles are also part of that flock!

Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, "which are not of this fold": them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Jesus died for His Church and the Church is separate from Israel!

It took awhile for these 12 to get all this right, but praise God they did, and praise God for the patience He has with all of us, as He did with them.

The lesson here is that Christ Jesus has control over every situation that arises, period!

*****Mar 8:5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.

We should know that it is important "for us" to know how many loaves were available. There were 5 in the other miracle and 7 in this one.

It is very possible that these 7 loaves came from what these disciples had brought for themselves and for Jesus.
They probably did not look forward to sharing them with these Gentiles!

Remember Gentiles were no more than dogs, in the eyes of the Jews.

Another lesson for the Church is to, make all our sacrifices worthy of the Lord!

*****Mar 8:6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
Mar 8:7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.

What we should notice are these things.

1) God knows how to control a crowd. Jesus was methodical in resolving this need as He still does today.

2) Then the miracle of blessing. 7 loaves and a few fishes become a banquet for thousands.

3) Jesus made arrangements to deliver the food to this flock.

As disciples of Christ Jesus, we cannot control the crowd, that's the job of the Holy Spirit.

As disciples of Christ Jesus, we cannot perform the miracle or provide the blessing, that's the job of Our Father in Heaven.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we can deliver the "Bread of Life" to those of the multitude, this is why we were left behind after our salvation!

Jesus will put all His disciples to work!

And, the Lord Jesus will never do for us what we can do for ourselves!

Ministering the Word of God is the job of the Church!

*****Mar 8:8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.

Earlier, Jesus had started with 5 loaves and two fishes and fed a great multitude of more than 5000 of the Jews.

Here with 7 loaves and a few fishes, Jesus has fed a great multitude of more than 4000 of the Gentiles.

Earlier there had been 12 baskets of leftovers.

The Greek word for "basket" here was "kophinos" or small baskets.

This is the basket that each disciple can take with them.

In typology, the 12 disciples had their baskets prepared by the Lord, to begin the Church.

Here the Greek word for "basket" is "spuris" or a much larger basket.

How can we prove that?

Luke wrote of the Apostle Paul's escape:

Act 9:25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.

This basket was a "spuris" and this basket in typology represents the New Testament Church.

In each of these baskets, the fragments are the same, The Bread of Life, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

What does Jesus ask of all those that love Him?

Luk 24:41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, "Have ye here any meat"?

God expects, through the Church and through each disciple, that in every multitude, there should never be anyone leave His presence unfulfilled so they do not faint on their way home.

This is the challenge for the Church and therefore every house of God!

And once again, the Lord Jesus has shown compassion on those that are poor and hungry.

We should be hungry for the Word of God and we will be poor until we are filled with God's Word!

The Jews were in a "desert place" where there was very little life and the Jews are still in that desert place without the Lord even though they claim Jehovah as there God.

The Gentiles were in "the wilderness".

A wilderness is not the same as a desert place but a wilderness is a place suitable for pasturing sheep.

This "wilderness" is a type of the Church!

God intends that His Church to be a place to pasture His sheep until He returns!

And together, Jew and Gentile, we will all cross Jordan one day to get to the promised land!

Notice also there are "seven baskets" here and there are "seven Church Ages", spoken of in the Book of Revelation.

And there should be no doubt that we are in that last Church Age!

The Laodicean Church Age is a time of the "people pleasers".

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Those that are aware of the signs of our times, cannot miss this fact!

There are no more signs to be completed before the "Rapture" of the Church!

The only sign that remains is the blowing of the trumpet!

There are only signs that remain before The Second Coming of the Lord but they are few!

*****Mar 8:9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
Mar 8:10 And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.

When Jesus fed the 5000, He left them in the "desert place" and joined His disciples on the Sea of life but the Jews are still in that "desert place"!

But these Gentiles were sent away!

It is the Gentiles that God has sent to spread the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ in this world!

We can be sure that the Lord Jesus watched as they headed off in all directions, and He is still watching today to see if we are doing what He ask us to do!.

Jesus had already said that many of them had to travel a great distance and we know that the Word of God is still spreading throughout the entire world.

Psa 98:2 The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

We know that the Church will be "sent away" until the time of the "Rapture" when the Church will be gathered and Jesus will then resume His work with the Jew:

Psa 98:3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Dalmanutha was a place on the west side of the Sea of Galilee.

Matthew called this Magdala but these both are the place of the Migdols or a place of "watch towers".

Mat 15:39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

This is also the birthplace of Mary Magdalene or Mary from Magdala.

Jesus did not go to see Mary this day, He went to show Himself to a group that He had earlier called hypocrites!

*****Mar 8:11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
Mar 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

Many a church in our day are trying to reach out to the lost with worldly things, such as worldly music and many other such things.

Many reach out pacifying some, by saying God used evolution in His creation, which is a lie straight from Hell.

Many are accepting the gay life style in an attempt to be friends with this world we live in, but they are also wrong.

We can accept the gays, "as lost" and in need of redemption just as any other sinner, but that lifestyle goes against the Word of God and must be rejected just as the drunk, the murderer and the thief and any other sinful lifestyle that is described by the 10 commandments.

And, it is a fact that "religious curiosity" will rarely lead to salvation!

It is also a fact that "religious confidence" cannot come from stubborn refusal of any part of the Word of God!

It is a fact that "faith" must come from the heart!

God had given that generation the Doctrine of Jesus Christ!

God was about to give "His life" in propitiation for all our sin!

God was not about to become "some circus side show star" in front of these hypocrites and He will not do this in our day!

We cannot tempt God and nor should we ever try!

Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

AND GOD WILL NOT EVER USE ANY SORT OF TEMPTATION TO GET US TO BELIEVE AND BE PART OF HIS CHURCH!

GOD WILL NEVER USE TEMPTATION TO GET US TO ENTER ANY HOUSE OF GOD!

Those that use any sort of worldly temptation to get people in the House of God go against the character of God!

Any that think this way may find themselves to be left behind!

What will God do?

Psa 81:12 "So I gave them up" unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

*****Mar 8:13 And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.

What's going on in a world that is getting farther and farther away from God and the Lord Jesus Christ?

Zec 11:9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

We may have turned blind eyes to what Satan, the prince of this world, is doing to our world, but Jehovah God has not!

God says:

Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Our job is to reach out "to those that do not know and have never heard of the Lord Jesus Christ"!

They can be found on "the other side", away from these that teach a false doctrine!

We are not to argue with those that make their own selves righteous.

1Ti 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
1Ti 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
1Ti 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: "from such withdraw thyself".

So, Now God has to straighten these 12 disciples out just as He does us all some times!

*****Mar 8:14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
Mar 8:15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

Jesus always knows what is own our mind!

These 12 had witnessed Jesus as He had dealt with those Pharisees.

And they had not even thought to prepare for the next journey.

We must always be prepared in our work for the Lord!

This loaf they had, would not be a loaf as we think of that could be cut into many slices, but was only the round pocket bread of the Middle East, not even enough for one man.

So, while they were thinking about this small piece of bread, Jesus told them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.

Leaven is sour dough which, when mixed with a larger quantity of dough, makes heavy dough rise to form a softer bread.

But leaven, spiritually, can also mean anything evil, anything that goes against the Word of God!

In the Bible leaven sometimes means "something which corrupts or depraves that with which it is mixed".

This is the meaning of leaven that Jesus was using this day!

The Apostle Paul cautioned the Corinthians with these words:

1Co 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

We must beware of the leaven of this world and not allow in into the house of God. It becomes spoiled bread and mold and we all know how hard it is to get rid of mold!

The use of leaven was strictly forbidden in all offerings made to the Lord by fire!

Lev 2:11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.

And, God still expects us all to be a living sacrifice.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

What was the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees?

"Leaven" as used here is a symbol of "evil doctrine".

Paul said:

Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

This "evil leaven" has been used to remove the basic fundamentals of the Church which are:

1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

God came down from the Glory World, to be born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ died to pay a debt we could not pay!

Jesus Christ arose from that grave in a glorified body!

Jesus Christ has returned to Heaven to prepare a place for His children!

These are basic fundamentals of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of the Church!

These people had a complete Old Testament at this time but they were just picking it apart.

The enemies of the Church today are still trying to pick apart the Word of God!

We also know the Bible as "the water of life" but these Pharisees had converted "this water of life" into "fermented wine" and then began adding extra spice every chance they got!

Herod represents the government.

The followers of Herod, called Herodians, brought worldly compromise to the Word of God!

The government of our nation today is trying to bring worldly compromise to the Word of God!

We cannot allow this to happen!

No matter what we think, most governments are evil in the sense that they have rejected the Laws of Jehovah God!

John the Baptist was a dangerous man in the eyes of this government and the Lord Jesus Christ and those that follow after Him are even more dangerous than John who was murdered for preaching the truth of the Word of God.

Today, in our world, the Bible is criticized more than it ever has been it has been perverted through an untold amount of new versions, which are simply "perversions" of the Word of God!

But are the disciples of Christ paying attention, to what Jesus was saying?

*****Mar 8:16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
Mar 8:17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
Mar 8:18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
Mar 8:19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
Mar 8:20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.
Mar 8:21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

These 12, who would begin the New Testament Church, had missed this valuable lesson but the Lord would not allow that to continue.

When Christ Jesus mentioned the leaven, they could only think of "man made" bread.

In every lesson we learn from the Word of God, we need to see "the spiritual side" before we get caught up in "the material side"!

Yes, God has promised that He will provide all our needs while we are still living but this life on this earth is just to short for us to dwell on these things!

The disciples should have known that the amount of bread they had with them was not important!

Jesus had already proved He could feed any multitude, at any location, at any time He chose to do so.

They knew this, so why were they lingering on the thought of food?

Jesus said: "why can you not understand about the danger of false doctrine"?

We see that the Lord can get upset with us when we are "so blind" that we cannot see how the danger that "self interpretation", and "a world view" of Word of God can affect the Church.

The Laodicean Church Age is the time of the people pleasers!

Jesus says this age makes Him sick!

Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

This is the same doctrine of the Nicolaitan which He hates!

Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

This is what evil doctrine brings to the Church so Jesus asks us all:

How Is It That You Do Not Understand?

If the Church is that ship that is sailing in this lost world, it is a fact that when we allow the world into the ship "It Will Sink"!

All these things proceed the healing of a blind man which we will see next week!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Persistence of Jesus Christ

The Persistence Of God's Servant

Tolerating His Enemies and His Disciples

Book of Mark Chapter 7

As we have been seeing Jesus has been drawing a huge multitude of followers. He was not allowed to teach in the synagogues so they were basically empty on the Sabbath.

The Lord Jesus Christ had gotten the attention of the religious leaders in Jerusalem.

We should ask ourselves, What was the oral law or we could say "tradition"?

A tradition is any kind of teaching, whether written or spoken, that was handed down from generation to generation.

"Traditions", are not inspired by God!

God gave certain ordinances that were to be kept by all generations of the Jew but these "traditions" were laws of man!

Most of these traditions were arbitrary interpretations of the written Word of God.

God gave us one rule for these things:

2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

No true prophesy can come from private reasoning of man, oral or written!

We may not understand the meaning or the intent of God's Word in regard to our own situation but it's ultimate meaning involves far more than that.

This would be especially true of prophecy concerning the Messiah but this also applies to all scripture!

2Ti 3:16 "All scripture" is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

We simply cannot allow self interpretation to over rule the written Word of God.

*****Mar 7:1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.

Satan now begins this assault that will end with his defeat at the cross!

The religious establishment begins an all out assault on the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are wars and there are rumors of wars but there is still an unending all out assault on the Lord Jesus Christ going on still today. This I cannot understand from so-called non-believers.

They knew of His teachings.

They knew of the large crowds.

They knew that some wanted to make Him king.

They had heard of His miracles.

They did not come for the truth, they came to put and end to this One Called Jesus of Nazareth!

They had traveled 80 miles in an attempt, to ridicule and destroy the "Truth"!

*****Mar 7:2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
Mar 7:3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
Mar 7:4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

The Pharisees believed that the written law had been given of God to Moses!

But they also believed that "the traditions" passed down by the elders were also given by God Himself!

They allowed these traditions to box in the Word of God, making the written Word of God to have no effect.

It was "these traditions" that grew to control human actions to the Word of God.

We could look at this as just common sense. "It is" proper for our own health to wash before we eat but this was not the intent of these Pharisees.

Traditional washings had very little to do with dirty hands!

The sole purpose of ritual washings was because, as these super religious men went about their daily routine they may have come in contact with a Gentile at the market or some other ritually unclean person or thing.

Under these conditions they were required "by tradition" to wash away the profane and purify themselves and they made a great show of it!

This not a soap and water thing, this more just a dipping of the hands in water. (Baptizing the hands)

That word "defiled" meant "common" or in other words "unholy"!

What we should realize is, that these of false religion could not find fault in any thing Jesus did except for violating their traditions!

Job had a clear understanding that these ritual washings could never make a man clean in the eyes of God.

Job 9:30 If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
Job 9:31 Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

Nor could these ritual washings actually clean cups, pots, brass vessels, nor tables!

We can only be cleaned by the "Living Water" as Jesus told that poor woman at the well!

Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

*****Mar 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

These hypocrites believed they finally had something important to bring down the Son of God.

He allowed His disciples to eat with dirty hands!

Never mind Jesus was "that" Prophet, spoken of by Moses.

Never mind Jesus had spoken with the Authority from on High.

Never mind Jesus had shown the Power of God.

Never mind Jesus had fulfilled the written Word of God.

Never mind Jesus went about doing good.

Never mind no one could find faults in Him.

Jesus allowed His disciples to eat with dirty hands so there was no way Jesus could be the Messiah!

And Jesus said these words.

*****Mar 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Mar 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

What is a hypocrite?

2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Notice the Bible says we will see this more and more as we come to the last days.

2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

This cannot be denied!

As religious circles give over to accepting the gay lifestyle, accepting abortion, accepting the women behind the pulpits, removing prayer in the name of Jesus and allowing the world to come inside the Church, and so many other things and then saying they love God, they are hypocrites and liars.

God has these words for all these so-called Christians:

Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

I suggest to you these that do these things get them a new copy of the KJV Bible and read it again!

God says to stay away from these sort!

These people are in the hands of the Holy Ghost.

The Bible says:

2Ti 2:23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
2Ti 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
2Ti 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2Ti 2:26 And "that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil", who are taken captive by him at his will.

God does not stop there but adds these words:

1Ti 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
1Ti 6:21 "Which some professing have erred concerning the faith". Grace be with thee. Amen

And these words:

Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences "contrary to the doctrine" which ye have learned; and avoid them.
Rom 16:18 "For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ", but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

These hypocrites have an agenda that goes against the Word of God!

And Jesus added these words.

*****Mar 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

These are so called religious men reject the Word of God and make up there own version of commandments for all people!

How can we dare to sin against Our Savior by accepting His Words of Salvation and then reject His teaching?

How can we go to God in prayer and then refuse to serve Him?

God's Law amounted to nothing to these men when compared to their own man made laws.

We should totally understand what God says about this matter because this is another sign of the end times!

Isa 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

This is the "spirit of the Anti-Christ at work in our world:

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; "and even now already is it in the world".

What is the spirit of the Anti-Christ?

Dan 7:25 And "he shall speak great words against the most High", and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

2Th 2:4 "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God", or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

When will the Lord return to this Earth?

Psa 119:126 It is time for thee, LORD, to work: "for they have made void thy law".

There are so many perverted, versions of God's Word today and most everyone of them do exactly what these Pharisees and scribes were doing this day of Jesus!

They lay aside the commandment of God to hold onto the traditions of men!

When God's Law ceases to become our standard to live by, it becomes a system that man can manipulate and control!

And Jesus gives them an example.

*****Mar 7:10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
Mar 7:11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
Mar 7:12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
Mar 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

What had Moses said?

What was the 5th commandment?

Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

What is "honor"? To revere, to respect, and perform relative duties to!

This commandment comes with an added blessing. "That thy days may be long"

This law was as clear as could be, so there would be no misunderstanding!

Moses made this law even clearer:

Lev 20:9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

Every child could read the Word of God and understand what was said about their parents!

A choice could be made.

There was the prospect of long life or the prospect of swift and sudden death!

But God's law had been rejected for a new man made law.

"If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free"

What is Corban? This is a gift or an offering devoted or dedicated for God's use.

In this day of Jesus, when an offering was given to the Temple, by pronouncing that gift as "Corban" the gift then belonged to the Temple, "but only in word".

That offering or that gift remained in the possession of the person who made the vow!

A son would say to his parents that he had dedicated his abundance to God and had no extra to help them in their old age.

Remember this was the duty of the first born son and passed on to any other son at his death.

So, a tradition takes no commitment from the heart and is therefore not true worship!

What does God expect from us?

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

When a tradition is not true worship, then it becomes a precept of man and it is "Worship That Is Vain"!

This was only one example as Jesus ended here by saying that they had many such things as this that they did!

This tendency to distort or negate or even augment Scripture by our own self interpretation happens more today than this day of the Pharisee!

God sends us many warnings against tampering with His Inspired Word!

In fact God has given us His completed Word and He gives us this warning:

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

A child can also read this and find it very clear.

God is serious about any changes to His Inspired Word!

Then Jesus warned all who were within the sound of His voice this day.

*****Mar 7:14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
Mar 7:15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
Mar 7:16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

There was very little hope that the religious leaders of Israel would change their ways so Jesus spoke directly to the people.

We should also consider that the Jews also had a special dietary plan but Jesus still said this to them:

"There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him"

Jesus had just literally set aside the whole Mosaic idea of clean and unclean foods!

Jesus said to "Hearken" or "hear" and "understand".

Jesus was not talking about poisoned or tainted food.

Jesus was speaking of ritual defilement which comes from the heart!

There is nothing that comes from an external source that can separate us from God!

Only what comes from our inner being can prevent us from true worship of the Lord God Almighty!

Uncleanness comes from within and it cannot be washed away with ritual washing!

Uncleanness can only be washed away by the Blood of Our Lord!

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood",
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

And again Jesus cautions all within the sound of His voice to hear what He was saying.

*****Mar 7:17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
Mar 7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
Mar 7:19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

When we do not clearly understand what God is saying we need to ask for help.

The number one best place to look for the answers we need is the Word of God!

The Bible is it's own best commentary!

Observing some ritual does not affect nor change the moral state or the character of any man!

Only the body of flesh can be affected by rituals, Not the soul!

It is what is in a man's heart where we can find the true character of any man!

Matthew tells us that this was Peter who asked Jesus to explain this better but we should know that the other 11 would encourage Peter to be the spokesman for them all.

God expects us to think through what He says and not just act on impulse.

After all, "it is the truth that makes us free" and not "traditions"!

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The "draught" is only a toilet or the sewer system of that day.

*****Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

What is the true source of defilement?

The world we live today cannot seem to grasp what Jesus is saying because, the world does not want to hear these things that prove our guilt before a Holy God!

We live in a time of growing immorality and this shows the character of the world during these last days!

The source of all evil is the heart!

It is in the heart where sin develops before it is exposed by sight to the world.

1.) The first thing Jesus mentions is evil thoughts.

The mind is the intellectual part of man. When man's mind is continuously on evil, then that man is in a sad state. It is this state of mind that leads to this list of defilements.

What is the state of the world we live in?

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Jesus had these words:

Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, "That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her" hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

2.) Adulteries happen between the married. Our divorce rate in America is over 60% and this is the main cause.

3.) Fornications happen between the unmarried. Sexual immorality rules our young people. In fact according to the Greek word used here "porneia", this would also include adulteries and incest.

People refuse to get married and just live together. Separations from these unions are also more than 60%.

4.) Murders, people killing people. Some say murders are decreasing in America but sadly the incident of murder among people that know each other is on the rise.

Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

5.) Thefts means stealing!

6.) Covetousness means not just wanting what other have, but also fraud and extortion and greed.

7.) Wickedness is wickedness but also depravity and malice.

8.) That word "Deceit", comes from the word decoy and it also means crafty, guile, and subtlety.

9.) Lasciviousness means filthy wantonness and lewdness. (Hint: go to a "gay rights parade" and you can see this with your own eyes)

10.) An evil eye means someone who takes a degenerative and immoral view of all things!

11.) Blasphemy is speaking evil against Jehovah God, The Lord Jesus Christ!

12.) Pride is haughtiness having contempt for others. Making yourself to be better than all others.

13.) Foolishness means senselessness, egotism, recklessness. Stupidity!

What is God's answer for the believer?

1Pe 2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

Defilement in it's simplest form means spiritually unclean in the eyes of God!

*****Mar 7:24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

Tyre and Sidon were located in the old nation of Phoenicia. This land is now called Lebanon.

"And Jesus could not be hid"!

Some people cannot be hid because they are birthed into royalty, or they inherit a fortune, or they possess some great talent.

But Jesus Christ was only a poor carpenter from a despised region called Nazareth!

Why could Jesus not be hid?

1.) Jesus came to save the lost.

Luk 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

2.) Jesus came to fulfill all prophecy on Him.

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
3.) Jesus came to preach the "Gospel"!

Mar 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

4.) Jesus came to do miracles.

Joh 7:31 And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

Jesus Christ could not be hid because of who He was!

A Christian cannot be hid if we are truly like the Lord Jesus Christ!

But, there was another reason Jesus had come to this place.

*****Mar 7:25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
Mar 7:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
Mar 7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
Mar 7:28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
Mar 7:29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
Mar 7:30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

The Greek word used for this "young daughter" means that this was a little girl, certainly not yet a teenager or damsel but probably also not a toddler.

But the facts are that Satan's helpers, these evil spirits, will attack a child as well as those of any age!

This woman was a Gentile born in the Phoenician part of Syria and Jesus would simply test her "faith".

Jesus will still test our faith today!

This Gentile woman knew that Jesus had the power to help her, she just did not know if He was willing.

The world can look anywhere they want for salvation but salvation can only come through this Jew named Jesus!

We are to believe on who Jesus, in His Spirit and in His flesh!

The Atheist can say there is no God but just as the Jew, they have not realized they have a need for the real God!

Again without "faith" we can never please Our Lord!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

There will be no reward for those that do not seek The Lord Jesus Christ!

To the Jew, all Gentiles were as dogs, fit only for the scrapes of this world!

Some will say Jesus had not come for the Gentiles but we should still be aware that Jesus was still training these 12 who would begin the Church.

It is true "faith" God is seeking!

This woman had already shown some "faith" by openly approaching the Lord.

This woman would not now be rejected, because she knew of His goodness!

Jesus had sent these 12 out strictly to the Jews already but Jesus would soon be sending them throughout all the world!

They could have no doubt that "Faith" was the key to salvation!

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

This woman would not now run off because Jesus said she was a dog, because we are all nothing in the eyes of God!

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags"; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The woman knew what she was and she knew to remain humble!

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

We should not be afraid when God test our "faith"!

The Lord Jesus did not have to go to the home of this woman, her "faith" had made it unnecessary.

If the Lord said her daughter was free of the devil, then she knew that it was true and that is what she found when she got home!

This is what Jesus had come to do, and with this completed He went to see the fruit of Missionary Demoniac.

*****Mar 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

When Jesus was here last He was asked to leave:

Luk 8:37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.

Thank goodness for Jesus, the God of the "second chance"!

Mark leaves out some details that Matthew makes us aware of:

Mat 15:29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
Mat 15:30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
Mat 15:31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

Mark singles out one certain man for us to learn from.

*****Mar 7:32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
Mar 7:33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
Mar 7:34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
Mar 7:35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

These that brought this man to Jesus were anxious to see a miracle but Jesus only felt compassion for this man and wanted to heal him.

Jesus normally just spoke the the healing came.

This day He added something else!

This man could speak but was not easily understood.

The reason for that was because he could not hear!

Jesus wanted this man to understand that He knew he could not hear.

It's that personal relationship that makes Our Lord more real!

Not some idol on a shelf.

Not some prophet who no longer lives.

But our God is not afraid to come down to our level and touch our infirmities!

This man clearly understood before he was healed that the Lord knew all about him!

Here again there was no magic in the words the Lord used.

That word Ephphatha simply meant "be opened"!

Jesus sighed because these things are brought on by the Devil!

How did all healings actually occur?

Mat 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses".

As soon as Jesus said the word Ephphatha both ears of this man were opened. He then could hear his own voice and that of others and his tongue was also loosed!

And he spoke plainly!

*****Mar 7:36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
Mar 7:37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

Satan's power in this man's life was broken and this is what Jesus Christ can do for everyone who believes and has "faith" on Him!

This man's healing could not be hidden but Jesus told him and these around him that no one needed to know how this happened.

Remember Jesus was seeking a rest for Himself but more so for the 12 chosen disciples.

The more the Lord urged these people to keep it quiet, the more they told how Jesus had healed those that came to Him!

Jesus Christ indeed did all things well!

This is one of the strongest evidences of His deity!

No matter how much the Word of God is studied.

No matter how much scrutiny is shown to His deeds.

No flaw can be found in the things that Jesus did!

Jesus had nothing to retract.

Jesus was never deficient but always fulfilling.

Jesus did nothing one could change to make it better.

Everything Jesus did while He walked on this Earth was exactly right for each occasion!

AND, Not one of God's Words will go unfulfilled!

Questions?

Let's pray!

What Is The Gospel Of The Lord Jesus Christ

"What Is The Gospel According To The Lord Jesus Christ"?

Text:

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

What is the "Gospel"?

To me the "Gospel" is the "good message", or the "good news" that comes from the knowledge of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.

The "Gospel" is the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ has taken my place on that cross and paid a debt that I could have never paid!

Like the Apostle Paul, I am not ashamed of the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ. If not for God's mercy and God's grace, I would have surely been in shame, when I would have faced the Lord Jesus at the White Throne of Judgment.

Because of the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have been pardoned and will not face that judgment!

So when did the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ begin?

God said:

Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

I believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ begins with a personal relationship with My Lord Jesus and it cannot get more personal than at our Creation as written in the Book of Genesis!

Gen 1:26 And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness": and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

To be created in the image of God is a very special relationship that God Himself decided on before He made anything else.

In fact God decided my entire features before He made me, I was designed!

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

To me, this is where my personal relationship with my Lord must begin.

Since I now know the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I want to be more like Him.

I want to be in His "image" and only by the "Gospel" can I truly know Jesus Christ!

It is by the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ that I can be saved!

It is by the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ that I can live on this Earth, no longer in misery but at peace!

It is by the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ that I can make it to my real home which I now know is in Heaven and not on this Earth where I am just a visitor!

God did not make this a hard thing for me to understand!

God made this a simple thing and all He asked me to do was believe on all the things of His Son, the "Gospel"!

And, I now realize that it is the Devil who causes the problems in this world I live in!

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The "Gospel" changed me and I know that whosoever calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ can also be changed!

1) So how can the "Gospel" reach those that do not know the Lord Jesus?

Preaching!

When Jesus preached He said He was God.

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

We must accept this as fact before we can take any other step.

This is what is called "Faith".

Jesus gave these words to a grieving father whose daughter was on the death bed one day. Jesus said "be not afraid, only believe".

Mar 5:36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

If there 1000 steps between us and the Lord Jesus, Jesus Himself will take 999 of those steps, but we must find enough "faith" to take that last step.

Without this "Faith" we cannot begin to please God and we cannot go any further.

But with 'Faith" we can please the Lord and He will reward us with His free gift of "Grace".

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

It is by God's Grace that we are saved!

It is by God's "Grace" that He sent the Lord Jesus Christ!

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

These are free gifts and all that is needed is, to accept them, this is the "Gospel"!

It does not get any easier than that!

2) What was the "Gospel" as taught to the Apostles?

Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Life is all about the choices we make. Until we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior we will never choose life.

Our God is a Tri-Une God. The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost!

Jesus told all His Apostles to teach this message:

Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

But Jesus also gave them the message they were to teach:

Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things "whatsoever I have commanded you": and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The message that was to be taught was the Words of Jesus, the Word of God, the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ!

How can we trust the Word of God?

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Every word that is written down and preserved for our knowledge was inspired by God Himself, by His Holy Spirit!

We are created in His image and therefore also tri-une. The physical body, the spirit, and the soul.

While we are living, we must make a choice about our soul because to not choose is rejecting the truth of God.

Rejecting the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is the soul that is granted eternal life and it is the soul that is so precious to Our Lord!

It is the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ that will lead us to make the right choices!

1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

3) What was the Gospel that was taught to the Church?

Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Just before Jesus Christ "willingly" got on that cross to pay our sin debt that we could not pay, He said He was going back to Heaven to prepare a home for those sinners that had been converted.

Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Jesus said He has given us His "Gospel" so that we would not be confused and could know the way.

Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, "and the way ye know".

And just so we can never be confused thinking that there could be other ways to get to Heaven, Jesus clears that up for us also!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus Christ made His "Gospel" simple because He will not tell us anything that will cause confusion.

1Co 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

The church that is confused, is a church that has moved away from the "Gospel of Jesus Christ"!

4) How do I make a personal application of the "Gospel of Jesus Christ?

I must use every means available to me, to spread the "Gospel Seed".

When God created our world He made this statement.

Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit "after his kind", whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

When the "Gospel Seed" is spread, it will also produce fruit after "it's kind".

It is my job to be a "Sower of the Gospel Seed" after the Lord Jesus has been merciful enough to save my soul!

The parable of the "Sower" teaches me that I can only be the Sower. I must cast the seed in every direction and on every soil, realizing that the soil itself must be prepared by the Lord and it is He, and He only who controls the results.

BUT, if I will not sow the "Gospel Seed" then there can be no fruit and no results.

Hag 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

I must apply all these things to my own life that I may be more like Jesus Christ, who is my example!

5) What are the results of the Christian life?

Only by being like the Lord Jesus Christ can I be a Christian!

Jesus gave me this commandment:

Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

I will not be much of a witness if I cannot honor the Word of God with my life!

I certainly cannot consider myself a Christian unless I am more like Christ Jesus!

And if I walk as the world walks then I do not actually love the Lord.

I must come out from among those of this world, if I am to be in the family of God!

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

If we consider that we are in the last "Church Age", as all signs show, then this is the only way we can judge church growth.

God says that mankind will become more evil in the last days:

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

God says the last "Church Age" is a time when people will please themselves and forget Our Creator:

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

This the time when this world makes God sick:

Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

These are the days we live in now!

The truth of God may not bring in the great multitudes into the House of God during this time, so those that know the Lord and have a personal relationship with Him should be even more noticeable!

6) How can I know all these things are true!

I must believe in all the Word of God!

I must study the Word of God that I may not only help myself but I may be able to help others!

And I must live what I learn!

I will never be approved of God without these things!

This takes a workman like ethic.
This takes effort on my part.
This will also increase my love for the Lord.

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

I must believe that the Bible that God has given me is His truth:

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

This the only method that I have to be more like Jesus:

2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

7) So what are the facts of the "Gospel"?

Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.
Jesus Christ came to the earth that I might be saved.
Jesus Christ gave His life, (no one could take it from Him), on that cross to pay a debt that I could not pay.
Jesus Christ rose from that grave because not even death could hold Him.
Jesus Christ went back to Heaven to be my advocate before my Father in Heaven.
Jesus Christ sent me His Holy Spirit to keep me in His ways until He returns to take me home.

1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

And one day I will be like Him. Not as a God but as a part of His family!

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

8) How can you know what I know to be the truth?

You must admit that you are a sinner!

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

You must know that sin brings death apart from God but Jesus Christ brings life eternal!

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

You must not be ashamed to confess the Lord Jesus before this evil world!

Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

You must accept the free gift of salvation and you too can be saved!

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

We cannot only believe all these things are true but we can also know all these things are true!

1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; 'that ye may know that ye have eternal life', and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Why did Jesus come to this Earth, His own creation?

Luk 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Where is Jesus now?

Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Because this is the "Gospel of Jesus Christ"!

Amen!

The Patience Of The Lord Jesus

The Patience Of God's Servant

Teaching, Feeding, and Healing

Book of Mark Chapter 6:32-56

Though we took a quick look at some things last week, let's take a closer look at some things this week in Chapter six.

We have already see many times the compassion of Our Lord and we will see it again in this passage!

There is a saying that goes like this:

“People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

What we should realize is that the compassion Jesus has for the lost, is a reflection of His incredible love for all humans!

What is compassion?

According to the Webster Dictionary, compassion is suffering along with a sufferer or painful sympathy.

So compassion is hurting along with some one else who is hurting.

What was the ultimate show of compassion by the Lord?

Then said Jesus while He hung on the cross:

Luk 23:34 Then said Jesus, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do". And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

What is mercy?

Mercy is a tenderness that comes from the heart.

Mercy overlooks the faults of another person by showing love toward them!

What is God's ultimate show of mercy?

1Jn 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Mercy can best be understood as God's goodness!

*****Mar 6:32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

Why did Jesus and His chosen 12 depart for a desert place?

Mar 6:30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

Jesus had also gotten the word of the murder of John the Baptist and His disciples were preaching the same message that John preached.

It was time for a short rest!

God had already shown us the need for a period of rest at the time of His creation!

Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

But the world would not allow for God's rest!

Many of our pastors suffer from a lack of rest today!

*****Mar 6:33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.

A few weeks ago we saw a picture of the Sea of Galilee and we could see that on a clear day ships and boats on the this sea could be seen from the shoreline.

Jesus and the disciples could take a ship or a boat but they could not hide where they going if traveling by day time.

In some cases, a destination could be reached faster by land than as by sea which happened here in our verse.

This multitude also grew as it traveled toward Jesus!

And, this also proves that most of the religious leaders were too proud or too corrupt to teach the Word of God and no one taught like Jesus!

They were hungry for the Word of God!

But also anxious to see the "Miracle Maker"!

No matter how tired Our Lord was, we can see His "Compassion"!

*****Mar 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

A sheep is a symbol of meekness, and gentleness and submissiveness. Sheep require a lot of patience!

We may look but we do not find sheep that exists in the wild state. Sheep were created for man!

That being so, the sheep was the animal first used for sacrifice!

With these thoughts, we can understand the Lord is our shepherd and those that believe on Him, are His flock!

God is very aware of why He chose to use sheep to describe the Church.

Jer 23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
Jer 23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

God is very aware when so called Pastors do not properly lead His sheep!

Jehovah God is our Head Shepherd but in order to save His sheep, He had to become a Lamb!

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

We were introduced to this "Lamb of God" in a recent lesson:

Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

We should also remember the words of Abraham to Isaac:

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

That sacrificial Lamb, was The Lord Jesus Christ!

But we should always remember something else about Jesus?

Jesus the "Carpenter" was the builder of the entire Cosmos.

But most important, this Jesus this "son of the virgin Mary" was Jesus Christ the Son of God!

Jesus Himself said:

Joh 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

But Jesus also said these words:

Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

James had this to say:

Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

The voice of Jesus, is the Word of God and if we are not obedient to God's Word then we have not listened to Our Shepherd!

It was the True Shepherd that began to teach this great multitude!

*****Mar 6:35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
Mar 6:36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.

These people that had followed Jesus had not given any thought that Jesus might need some rest.

These people that followed Jesus had not given any thought that the chosen 12 disciples might need some rest.

In fact this great multitude that had followed Jesus had not even thought to pack a lunch and Jesus had intentionally led the disciples to a desert place where there were no towns or villages very close by.

We can see that a desert place is a place where there is very little or no life.

And, these people had no purpose!

The one thing they all had in common was that were all poor and they were all hungry!

But, we have a generous Savior, willing to bless all those that follow Him under any conditions!

The Lord will provide all things but we must be just as willing to receive His "Gifts"!

*****Mar 6:37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
Mar 6:38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

Philip responded that Judas had only 200 pennyworth in the bag where the money was kept.

Joh 6:7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

This was not enough money to buy a small quantity of perfume:

Joh 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

And it was certainly not enough money to satisfy the hunger of this great multitude!

So Jesus asked if their were any food available.

Thank God for moms!

There was one mother who had taken the time to prepare her son a lunch.

As I write today, my mom is not expected to live more than a few days, but she was like this mom!

Joh 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

The 12 disciples would have allowed this multitude of people just to leave hungry and thus unfulfilled but Jesus would not do this.

There is also another lesson our churches need to learn.

If there is not enough "Faith" in the Church, that God will provide, then the multitudes will drift away in search of fulfillment and Satan will take advantage of this!

2Co 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

*****Mar 6:39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
Mar 6:40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

Was this count important to the Lord?

Only if we consider that He wanted us to know how many were fed this day!

Our God is a God of order!

1Co 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

It would be impossible to have fed this multitude if God's servants could not pass amongst them!

But what is impossible for man is not even a simple challenge for the Lord!

Can The Lord feed such a multitude as this?

Psa 78:19 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?

There had been many miracles of healing every known disease.
There had been miracles showing The Lord's power over nature.
There had even been those that were raised from the dead.

Jesus had already performed many miracles but this miracle would be a miracle of "creation"!

This mighty work of the Lord was the only one that is included in all four of the "Gospels"!

God had spoke our world into existence and He would now speak to Our Father in Heaven and these people would be fed.

And Jesus knew what He was about to do!

Joh 6:6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

*****Mar 6:41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
Mar 6:42 And they did all eat, and were filled.
Mar 6:43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
Mar 6:44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

See if we can get this picture.

A young lad trusted the Lord Jesus enough to give Him all the food he had.
Jesus looked up into Heaven.
Jesus blessed this meager meal.
Jesus brake these 5 small loaves but we know they did not diminish.
Jesus brake the two fishes but they fed them all.

As the disciples set a basket before the Lord it was filled and this continued until much more than 5000 were fed.

They were not just given a meal!

They were given a meal that was much as they could hold!

These people were hungry!

These people were filled!

And, from 5 loaves of barley and 2 small sardines, there remained 12 baskets of fragments.

The blood scared hands of Jesus, can still deliver much more than we need with some leftover for those that have not yet come to the knowledge of Christ.

Jesus Christ is the "Bread of Life".
Jesus Christ gives of Himself, that we be nourished.
Jesus Christ gives more than we need so we can show others "His Mercy" and "His Grace".

There is great satisfaction in knowing Jesus Christ as Lord!

Psa 145:16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

*****Mar 6:45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.

The disciples were unwilling to leave Jesus alone with this great multitude but as always, The Lord can convince us the right things to do if we just listen to His Words!

God's "Will", will be done!

The Apostle John gives us a better description of what took place:

Joh 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Joh 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

There were some of those that had seen the miracle that realized the Jesus was indeed that Prophet that was to be likened unto Moses.

Moses had prayed for the "Manna" that had fed the children of Israel in their escape from Egypt.

This "Manna" had fulfilled God's purpose by preserving God's people in the wilderness for 40 years but it was gathered day by day.

But there was a "hidden Manna" that the Jew did not know and have not found even today.

Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

These men realized that only a prophet such as Moses could have brought this bread from Heaven this day.

They looked around at the 5000 men that Jesus had fed and they saw a 5000 men standing army that would have followed Jesus anywhere.

They "saw escape" from the tyranny of Rome and the Rome appointed rulers of Israel.

Christ Jesus knew what was in these men's hearts and He did not want the 12 He had chosen to start the Church, to get caught up in these things.

It was not time for Jesus to be King.!

This would only come after the "Rapture" of the Church!

1Ti 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

This will happen at the "Second Coming" of Our Lord:

Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

So Jesus sent these people away and He felt the need to pray for them!

*****Mar 6:46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.

Did Jesus pray for Himself? No

Jesus prayed for the lost, that they might come to believe on Him!

Jesus prayed for the saved, because He is Our Mediator!

Jesus could have prayed anywhere but He went up on a the mountain!

Though He knew what was going to happen to the 12 disciples, He went up onto the mountain so He could see with His human eyes.

Prayer is the pouring out of the "soul" before God!

Prayer is the drawing nearer to God!

Prayer is the "faith" that there is someone (God) who can do something about our problems!

And "Prayer" must be sincere!

Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

BUT, "Prayer" must be offered in true "Faith"!

*****Mar 6:48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
Mar 6:49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
Mar 6:50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

Even while Jesus was praying for the lost, His mind was also on His disciples.

Jesus was on that mountain top but even through the darkness He could see them!

We should be getting a picture of God's Church and the struggles that will happen in this evil world!

Most of our struggles are within our own selves!

Christ has given us a commandment to be like Him, but we are addicted to our own will and this brings with it failure!

Paul wrote:

Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

We should picture ourselves in this little fishing boat struggling with all our might against against the dark and stormy evil of this world.

We sometimes doubt and even forget God's Grace, His promise of Eternal Life, and even the Power Of God, and this burdens our soul.

These things rob of of our joy and our peace that God wants us to have!

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

God did not promise us an easy road after salvation, we will toiling while we are rowing in this sea of evil we call Earth.

BUT, God did promise that He would be with us every step of the way!

AND, you see God is watching over us all the time!

If it is getting dark and Jesus has not arrived, we must realize that He may have paused along the way to pray for us!

And if we look hard enough, we may see Jesus coming to stop the storm!

God has promised He will never forsake us for any reason after our name is written in the Lamb's Book Of Life!

Just as these disciples did not understand why Jesus was not with them at this time, we may not understand many of the things we are going through!

We should realize that for every good day, there will be some stormy nights and the darkness of the sin in this world, will magnify our fears.

We must know that we are not alone, every Christian will travel this same path, some more than others:

1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

All these things are God's training ground to make us better prepared for His purpose for each and every one of us:

1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

There is no force of Nature and no power of man that can come between us and Christ that He cannot, and will not overcome!

Walking on water to the Lord is the same as walking on pavement to us.

Notice that Our Lord never explains His absence, He just says, "It is I, be not afraid" because He knows we have these fears!

When the Lord speaks things happen!

*****Mar 6:51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.

Before Jesus went into the ship there was one more thing that happened that Mark does not mention.

Mat 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Mat 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Mat 14:29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Mat 14:30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Mat 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

When we add this incident to all these other things we can see why these disciples were so amazed and also another reason their hearts were hardened.

Peter wanted to do the thing that Christ Jesus was doing.

And this impulse of Peter was not some kind of test the Lord Jesus was performing with Peter.

This impulsive act of Peter could have led to his death if not for the Lord Jesus.

Man was never made to walk on water!

If our "faith" is strong enough, there is no sea that is too rough for us to travel.

BUT, It takes a special "faith" to do the things where no human power on this earth can help!

You see, it was not the water that was supporting Peter for that was impossible. It was his "faith"!

We must always be very careful not to try to prove the power of the Lord!

There was no real reason for Peter to walk to the Lord, but the Lord will use our own mistakes did to train us as He did here with Peter!

Peter was corrected by a merciful God!

Peter was allowed to test his own "faith" and then the Lord exposed his error.

"O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt"

I believe Peter got out of the boat for the wrong reasons!

They were so amazed in themselves, they did not know how to express what they had just witnessed!

I believe the other disciples hearts hardened because of this impulse of Peter to go to the Lord but most of all because he failed and this showed the weakness that they all had.

*****Mar 6:52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

It had only been a few hours since Jesus had proved that He was the "Creator" when He had fed many more than 5000 people by making the bread that was eaten out of thin air.

Remember there were 12 baskets of leftovers!

The Lord had not used those 5 loaves nor those 2 fishes!

These 12 were eye witnesses to this great miracle!

This had to be a wonderful time in the lives of these men but Jesus still said, "why do you have these doubts'?

*****Mar 6:53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.
The Apostle John said while these things were on there mind, the ship just landed on shore.

Joh 6:21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

The "Navigator" was back on board.

Gennesaret was on the western shore of Galilee and does not exist today.

This was the same area that was named after the Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee which was Chinnereth:

Num 34:11 And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the [sea of Chinnereth] eastward:

In the Greek is was called the Lake of Gennesaret.

Luk 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

And, This is the same sea that politicians had renamed the Sea of Tiberius.

Joh 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

*****Mar 6:54 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,
Mar 6:55 And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.

It did not take long for these people to realize that Jesus of Nazareth was in town!

And again prophesy is fulfilled:

Psa 9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

A day before Jesus had fed more than 5000 and no matter where Jesus appeared, great crowds would gather and the greater the size of these crowds, the more attention to Jesus came from the elders, the government, and religious system.

And they came from far and wide.

*****Mar 6:56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

They were from the villages.
They were from the cities.
They were from the country.

They were from all walks of life!

It did not matter where Jesus showed up except, for His home of Nazareth, He was able to some good.

These people had no doubt that Christ Jesus had the power to heal!

Again the garment they were seeking to touch was the fringes of the prayer shawl that Jesus wore.

Each and every Pastor would be overwhelmed with the results that Jesus had obtained!

He drew enormous crowds!

He was popular with all walks of life of the people!

He had unfailing results!

Jesus was becoming famous!

For at the touch of Jesus:

Blinded eyes can see
Broken hearts are mended
Captives are set free

When He speaks,
The mountains move at His command

At the touch of Jesus
Fallen lives can stand

Questions?

Let's Pray!