What a great account this is from the Bible. In fact Mark chapter six is a great chapter. In the reading of our scripture text we kind of broke in on the middle of the disciples day. So allow me to go back and give you the background of what is taking place here.
The disciples have just come back from ministering after Jesus sent them out two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits. They gathered around Jesus for some quiet time and rest but Jesus is so popular at this time that many people were coming and going and they had no leisure the Bible says.
Seeing this Jesus says, “Let’s get into a ship and go away privately.” It was a good plan but the people on land saw where they were going and decided to follow them on land to the other side. The Bible says that they ran afoot out of all cities and outwent them or arrived before them and came together unto him. When Jesus and his disciples arrived by boat there were many people waiting for him there.
Jesus looked at the people there and saw that they were like sheep that had no shepherd and Jesus was moved with compassion toward them and begins to minister unto them and teach them. The day was almost gone and they were in a desert place with nothing to eat. The disciples suggest that Jesus send the crowd away. But Jesus has other plans because you see he doesn’t like to send away people who are in need empty handed.
You see Jesus is always moved with compassion at the sight of a need wherever it may be and whoever it may be. I don’t know what your individual need is today but I do know that God is aware of your need. And it always touches his heart at the sight of a need. Whatever need you might have it has touched the heart of Jesus today. It could be a big need or it could be a little need. It doesn’t matter because you have got his attention today if you came here with a need or a problem in your life. It could be:
∑ A sickness
∑ A financial need
∑ A marriage problem
∑ A family problem
∑ A problem with your kids
∑ You need deliverance from drugs addiction
∑ You need to be set free from alcohol
∑ You need to be rescued from an immoral lifestyle
∑ You feel trapped by a set of circumstances in your life.
It doesn’t matter what the need is because we serve a great God that is well able to meet your need. There is nothing that is beyond him. There is nothing too hard for God. There is nothing that God cannot fix. There is no life too broken that God can’t put back together again.
So Jesus decides that he is going to feed the crowd. He commands his disciples to see if anyone has any food and all they come back with is five loaves and two fishes. The Lord prays over it and blesses it and breaks it and feeds five thousand men plus women and children. What a tremendous miracle that was. What a display of Gods mighty miracle working power. From just a few loaves and fishes he produces a miracle so big that it feeds the multitude and leaves twelve baskets full of leftovers. God meets their need and sends them home with more than they asked for. He goes above and beyond.
Now remember the disciples are still tired from a day of ministry and they need rest for their weary bodies. So Jesus makes them get into a boat and tells them to go to the other side and Jesus stays behind to send the crowds away. After the crowds are gone Jesus goes to a mountain to pray.
The evening gave way to the night and the disciples were caught “in the middle of the sea” by a storm. The gospel of John says that they had rowed only 25 or 30 furlongs. That is about 3 miles. On the Sea of Galilee from north to south it is twelve miles and from west to east was six miles which is the way they were going. It was nine hours after they started rowing and they had only rowed 3 miles or to the middle of the sea. The storm was so fierce that they thought they were going to perish. But Jesus came to them during the fourth watch of the night, which is between 3AM and 6AM.
Some of you that are here today perhaps feel like you have been rowing all night long in the storm that you are in. It maybe feels like you have been struggling for a long time now with that situation that has plagued you. It feels like you are losing your strength to row any longer and as you look out upon the scene in front of you it looks like you are out in the middle with a long way to go yet and the storm is still crashing all around you.
But the Bible says Jesus came to them during the fourth watch of the night. At the darkest hour Jesus came to them walking on the water. He stepped into their boat and the winds and the waves ceased and the Bible says in John immediately they were to the other side of the sea.
When God steps into a situation immediately there are results. When we make him the Lord of our life immediately he begins to work on our behalf. Just one touch of the master is all you need today.
But today I want you to know that we are forgetting something.
The Bible says the disciples were very amazed in themselves above measure and they wondered or marveled. Why did they do this? The Bible gives us the answer and goes on to say: “For they considered not the miracle of the loaves; for their heart was hardened.”
In other words their eyes were on the storm and not the great miracle that God had just performed. They forgot the miracle.
