I am a pretty modern woman with some old fashioned edges. On one hand I have a full time job, I’m a single parent, I manage a house, I deal with the problems, I keep calm and carry on. On the other hand, I like manners. I like good customer service, I like men to hold doors and are creative with romance, just to please her.
This is of course all superficial stuff. What it boils down to is being comfortable with my personal abilities, at the same time as being comfortable to be lead by another.
But not just anyone. Someone who believes in me. Someone who supports me, even though they lead me. Someone who will never let me down.
Today’s passage shows us Jesus as the man who leads us – and how he does it. Not with inappropriate power or harshness, but with complete gentleness. In Mark 6:30-44, we see the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus as shepherd. In Mark 6:45-56 we see Jesus walking on water. This second story shows Jesus has the power to be as harsh as he wants. And yet in the first story we see he uses his power to love and support with tenderness and compassion.
Jesus, before the death of John the Baptist, had sent out his disciples to preach in his name. Now the apostles return to Jesus and recount everything they’ve done (Mark 6:30). They go to a remote place but people follow them there and Jesus had compassion on them because “they were like sheep without a shepherd”. What does he do in response? He begins to teach them. This is their need, and it’s the need he provides. They may have come for healing miracles, but it does not say this (and it usually specifies that’s why the crowd is there). He expresses his compassion for them through his teaching.
As sheep without a shepherd, it’s not that they are confused. As a popular Old Testament reference, sheep without a shepherd are scattered and vulnerable to attack by wild animals (Ezekiel 34:5). Spiritually, the people are lost and vulnerable. They need a shepherd. And this is what Jesus is. He teaches them. He guides them.
Later in the day, Jesus has compassion on them again, this time in the face of their immediate physical needs. They are hungry. Jesus gets the people to recline in small dining groups as though it were a banquet. Then the five loaves and two fish become enough to feed 5,000 men (and an unknown number of women and children) to a level where all are satisfied and there is enough leftover to fill 12 baskets.
This points us backwards and forwards. It points backwards to God feeding the Israelites in the wilderness. The people are in a remote place, much like the wilderness. In addition, it is God’s miracle and Moses is his hands and feet, just as here it is Jesus’ miracle and the disciples are his hands and feet.
It also points forward to the end of times banquet, when we will be in his presence as foretold in Isaiah: “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.” (Is. 25:6-9).
After this, Jesus sends his disciples away in a boat while he goes to pray. The boat is stuck in a storm and Jesus goes to meet them, walking on the water. Despite having seen the feeding of the crowds, the disciples see Jesus and think he’s a ghost. But Jesus doesn’t berate them. He merely says “Have courage. Don’t be afraid. It is I”
Compassion expressed in teaching. Power expressed through gentleness. Jesus is God. He could do anything. He could smite everyone if he wanted. But he doesn’t. He shepherds them. Even when their hearts are hardened, even when the disciples are being dull and thoughtless, he shepherds them with gentle compassion.
Here’s the thing. We are so modern. We like to be independent and powerful. And yet one of our greatest cultural icons is Captain America – someone who has super strength and amazing powers. But he exercises these powers with complete gentleness. Culturally, this is something we seem to be craving.
And here is Jesus, the most powerful person in the universe, the one who could do anything. And he expresses his power through compassion and gentleness.
Yes, this is the one I want to lead me and I am not ashamed to admit it. He is there when I am hungry and lost, he is there when I am dull and hard hearted. He is powerful when I am weak. And always, gentleness and compassion.
He is my leader. He is my shepherd. I know his voice, and I follow him.
This blog is a stand alone piece but is also part of a weekly online bible study. If you have missed any or would like to reference back to the beginning, the links to each individual week can be found here, in Bible studies in Mark.
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