What do I know with Isaac Carroll
What do I know with Isaac Carroll
Mark 6, Walking with Jesus: Lessons from the Feeding of Five Thousand
Compassion versus duty - it's a distinction that radically transforms how we approach our faith. Moving beyond the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand that we've heard countless times, this episode digs into the Greek word splagmizomai, which describes Jesus' compassion as "a spirit-wrought emotion in which the whole inner being is stirred towards a merciful action." This isn't just feeling sorry for someone - it's being moved to do something about it.
As we journey through Mark 6:30-56, we witness Jesus demonstrating this compassionate ministry - feeding the hungry, and healing all who touched just the fringe of his cloak. Yet amazingly, the disciples who witnessed these miracles firsthand still struggled with doubt and fear when facing life's storms. Their hearts remained hardened despite seeing the impossible unfold before their eyes.
This mirrors our own spiritual journey so perfectly. How many times has God moved powerfully in our lives, only for us to doubt him the very next day? We explore this paradox alongside the profound example of Abraham, who stood in the gap for Sodom and Gomorrah, pleading with God for mercy even for the wicked. In today's world where love grows increasingly cold and self-focused, we need this reminder of what compassion truly means - not just sympathizing with others but being moved to action on their behalf.
Are you merely going through religious motions out of duty, or is your heart stirred with genuine compassion that leads to action? Join us as we explore this question and more in today's powerful study. Share your thoughts or experiences with us - we'd love to hear how God is growing your heart of compassion!
May God bless you and lead you always.
Welcome to the podcast. I'm Isaac Carroll and this is what Do I Know. In today's Bible study we're going to be back in Mark, the sixth chapter, and we're going to pick up at verse 30, where we left off. The apostles gathered together with Jesus and they reported to him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while, for there had been many people coming and going and they did not even have time to eat. And they went away into the boat to a secluded place by themselves. The people saw them going and many recognized them and they ran there together on foot from all the cities and they got there ahead of them.
Speaker 1:When Jesus went ashore, he saw a large crowd and he felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things and when it was already late, his disciples came up to him and they said this place is secluded and is already late. Send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. But he answered them you give them something to eat. And they said to him Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give it to them to eat. But he said to them how many loaves do you have? Go and look. When they had found out, they said we have five and two fish. He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass and they reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties and he took the five loaves and the two fish and he looked up towards heaven, he blessed the food and he broke the loaves and he gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them and he divided the two fish among them all and they all ate and were satisfied and they picked up twelve full baskets of broken pieces of bread and of the fish and there were five thousand men who ate the loaves.
Speaker 1:Alright, let's stop here at verse 46. You know, when I first read this, something about it just you know it tickled the back of my mind. There was something there that I just felt God was trying to tell me and I didn't know what it was. I read the verse over and over and over again and I prayed about it, but it just didn't click.
Speaker 1:Well, I had the opportunity here a couple of nights ago to go to a football camp and at the football camp they gave the gospel message. After the gospel message was given, they asked if anybody wanted to talk or to ask questions. Me and a few other guys had the opportunity to go and hold our hands up if anyone wanted to come to talk, and I had a group of young boys come over and they stood in front of me and I had a chance to give them the message. I had a chance to speak into their life, and it was a moving night. It was very spiritual. There's a lot of things that happened that night and it led me to an understanding, one that I had missed, and it's actually in the passage. It says when Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd and he felt compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Speaker 1:The word compassion in this text comes from the Greek word splagmizomai and what it means. It means to highlight a spirit-wrought emotion in which the whole inner being is stirred towards a merciful action. We may find it easy to sympathize with somebody. We may even grieve with them or grieve for them, but compassion is so much more than sympathy, because compassion not only feels, it moves. You give them something to eat.
Speaker 1:You know, as a man I often get caught up in duty. I want to do what is right in the sight of my God. I want to do what the Word tells me to do. I have a duty to uphold my family, to teach my kids right and wrong, to work hard, to be contributing members of society. I have a duty to my wife to uphold her, to protect her, to show her love and affection and attention. I have a duty to my work duty to produce, to work hard, to accomplish everything they ask me to do. As a man. It's so easy because one of the love languages we have that comes so naturally is acts of service. And I'm not saying duty is wrong in any way. I think it's very much needed and I think God made us in this way. But it says Jesus felt compassion when he taught. He taught with the compassion to save. When he healed, he healed because he had compassion for them. His ministry became synonymous with the word compassion. He was moved in his heart for those who were in need. I was thinking about this and it brought back the lesson Jesus taught to his disciples.
Speaker 1:Matthew 25 talks about the sheep and the goats that Jesus separates in the last days. He separates one from another, sheep and the goats that Jesus separates in the last days. He separates one from another Like sheep from goats. And he says because you saw me hungry and you fed me. And they said when did we see you hungry and give you something to eat? He said when you did this for the least of these, you did it for me. Why do we feed people? Because they were hungry? Why do we feed people because they were hungry? Why do we give somebody clothes? Because we saw them naked? Why did we visit somebody when they were sick? Because we had compassion for them. We visited them because we loved them and we wanted them to get better, to show them that we cared in this day and them that we cared. In this day and time that we live in. We face a very serious problem. Jesus also teaches this in Matthew. Matthew 24, 12 says because of lawlessness is increased, most people's love will become cold. In the last days, sin is going to run rampant and because sin is rampant in the world, we're going to not want to cry out for people. Let me explain it like this In Ezekiel 2230, god said I searched for a man among you who would prepare the wall and stand in the gap before me on the behalf of the land that I should not destroy it.
Speaker 1:But I found no one. Who was we supposed to stand against God? To pray for the people? What do you think Abraham stood out so much among men? Why God called upon him.
Speaker 1:If you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, god came down to see how bad it was. God always knows. But God came down for a purpose. But he says should I hide from Abraham? What am I about to do? So he goes to Abraham and he tells him but what does Abraham say?
Speaker 1:Well, if you go to Genesis 18, verse 23, it starts. It says Abraham stepped forward and said will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous ones in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people? Can you even imagine speaking to God in this way? Abraham stood in the gap for Sodom and Gomorrah because he had a heart to save the people. Yes, I know that his nephew, lot, and his family were there and he wished to save Lot. But he didn't stop at Lot, he said would you not save the place for the few? He got God all the way down to 10. If you save 10 righteous people, he would spare the city.
Speaker 1:I believe this is a lesson that we all should come to learn that we're all lost without Jesus. At one time we needed prayers from people with a heart of compassion for us that prayed to God that we'd be saved. We need to have that same compassion for those who are sinners. Yes, they are doing wrong, and so did we. Should we not want them to be saved? Let's continue at verse 47.
Speaker 1:And when it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land, seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against him. At about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the land, seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them. At about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea. He had intended to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and they cried out, for they had all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke with them and he said to them Take courage, it is, I do not be afraid. Then he got into the boat with them and the wind stopped and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and moored at the shore. And when they got out of the boat, immediately people recognized him and they ran about the entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick to wherever they heard he was. And whenever he entered a village or a city or a countryside, they would lay the sick in the marketplace and imploring him that they might just touch the fringe of his cloak and all those who touched it were being healed all right. That comes to the conclusion of Mark 6.
Speaker 1:It astonishes me that these men could be amazed about anything that Jesus did. As I was reading this, these last passages, there were so many lessons that stood out to me. Jesus said the disciples on ahead of him, teaching us to go and obey Jesus, going away by himself to pray to the Father, teaching us to be alone with God and to cry out to him. We see the apostles afraid because they saw a ghost, but yet Jesus gave them power to cast out evil spirits and demons. They were utterly amazed when the wind stopped when Jesus got in the boat, because they didn't realize he was God. They hadn't learned the lesson yet, have we? How about the victory tour at Gennesaret? If you remember the last time we read about them, they begged Jesus to leave their country when he had delivered the man with the evil spirits. So many lessons to be learned, but the one that I most need to learn is the one that the disciples needed to learn in the boat.
Speaker 1:They walked with Jesus every day, yet they were afraid. They walked with Jesus every day, but they still had doubts. They saw the miracles and the things that he'd done, yet they still struggled. Are we no better? Jesus said I will never leave you nor forsake you. If we walk with Jesus today, what would we be emboldened to do? What would we be scared of? The creator of all things is with us. What do we have to fear? Yet how many times has God moved in our life and we still doubt? How many times have we saw Jesus in such a way that it just blew our mind and we were so thankful. Yet, even the very same day, we doubt that we're following God. Yet, even the very same day, we doubt that we're following God.
Speaker 1:I hear these stories all the time amongst believers. I know because I tell them my own. How can we see such a movement of God and yet have fear, doubt, worry that we're not good enough, wondering if we're saved, because we can't seem to get rid of a certain sin in our life? Why do we still have that sin when we have a God who's delivered us from it? If we would just believe so many things that we struggle with because we're still in this flesh of ours and this flesh is weak. But thank God, he's overcome the world. His promises are true. I'm going to end this one here. We'll be at Mark 7 in our next Bible study. I hope we. I hope we dwell on some of these things. Let our heart be moved, let us have compassion. I pray that most of all, that we are moved with compassion, that we don't just sympathize, that we don't just look at what needs to be done, but we're moved to do it. Love you guys. God bless, goodbye.