CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 6:45-52 Jesus Calms the Storm

Perhaps it was a test of faith that Jesus sent His disciples across Galilee without Him. They had already experienced Jesus calm a storm, heal multitudes, and feed the 5000 men with five loaves and two fish. But for the disciples, seeing was not believing, because in Mark 6:52 their hearts are hardened and they don't understand the meaning of it all. Jesus sends them out to weather the storm as He goes up the mountain to pray. About three O'clock in the morning the storm had set in and the disciples had only rowed about halfway across the lake. Jesus walks on the water and walks just past the boat. The disciples don't recognize Jesus and believe they have seen a ghost and they cried out in terror. Jesus responds by calling out to them, "Don't be afraid, The I AM is here", using the name God gave to Moses in Exodus 3:14. We do well to remember that there is no storm God hasn't seen coming, and we need to understand that storms are for our benefit to learn wisdom to help others through their storms, and to experience God's deliverance from the storm. It is sad that their hearts are still hardened even after this experience - the Greek word for hardened literally means "petrified", turned to stone. Help us, Lord, to have our eyes and hearts opened to You even during the storms, knowing that the God of Creation is with us through Christ. Truth is, God has the opportunity to really shine during the storms, and in the wilderness, where we are struggling with life. Smooth sailing produces nothing but complacent Christians. Let's brave the storm, call out to Jesus, and watch God do amazing things!

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 6:30-44 Jesus Feeds the Multitude

In this text we again find Jesus seeking solitude in the wilderness. But the crowds follow. Jesus is moved with compassion because the people, " were like sheep without a shepherd" (vs.34). This same text appears in Numbers 27 and is a foreshadow of Messiah and His ministry. "Joshua" is the English version of Jesus' Hebrew name, "Yeshua'" יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēšūă‘): 

 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 17 Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” 18 The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people.

Now Messiah has come. Jesus is indeed the Good Shepherd, and teaches us here to minister to physical needs while we are ministering the deeper spiritual need. In John's report of this miracle Jesus gives His Bread of Life discourse to the crowd that was fed. Jesus says three times that He indeed is the Bread of Life.

 

"Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty...  “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him." John 6:35, 53-56

 
We must feast on Christ if we are to be a blessing to others. Time spent with Jesus is prayer, Bible study, worship, taking communion with the people of God, awareness of walking with Jesus throughout the day... are all ways of feasting on Christ for our life and joy, and that we also may be a source of life and joy to others.
 

With this miracle, Jesus demonstrates the laws of multiplication that he preached about in Mark 4 where a seed planted in faith produces thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was planted.  In the Gospel of John we learn there was a young boy nearby who gave his lunch to the disciples. Perhaps he heard the discussion between Jesus and the disciples when Jesus told them, "you feed the crowd".  Contrast the faith of the disciples to that of the little boy who offered the five barley loaves and two fish. The child offered what he had in faith, while the disciples gave nothing because they couldn't find a human solution to the problem. God wants us to come to Him in child-like faith, offering what we have. There is never a gift too small or too meager, given in faith, for Jesus to take and bless in miraculous ways. With the boy's offering of the five loaves and two fish, all the people were fed with an abundance left over. We can only give what we have, it is God that blesses and multiplies. Our simple acts of love, generosity, and faith-sharing can produce an abundant harvest in some one's heart through the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

Feast on Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, offer Him what you have, be a blessing to others, and expect great things!

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 6: 6-13 Returning to the Simplicity of the Gospel

Jesus sending out the disciples is a great reminder of the simplicity of the Gospel message. Their orders were simple: dress modestly, be gracious, preach repentance from sin and turn to God, bring healing to people who are sick and harassed by the evil one. Our churches and our lives are filled with stuff. For many of us it is "ministry" stuff. But we don't need most of it - the stuff can easily get in the way. People need a visceral connection with Christ followers who bring healing and truth in their lives through the Holy Spirit. Sharing our faith, acts of kindness and generosity, sitting with the sick or aged - these and many other simple ways are the things Jesus calls us to do. Jesus sent them out in pairs - and we need one another in ministry for accountability but also for the employment of our many varied gifts. Jesus wants us to rely on God for provisions - our daily bread - not on media, technology, or a new small group "how to" book. Christ followers, return to the simplicity of the Gospel - take an opportunity to share Jesus' love with someone.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 6:1-6 Cooperating with Grace

Amazement is a common theme in the Gospel of Mark. The people of Capernaum were amazed that Jesus spoke with authority (Mark 1:27) and healed many of their sick. Amazement gripped the crowd as Jesus healed the paralytic (Mark 2:12), and raised Jairus' daughter from death (Mark 5:32). In Nazareth the people were astonished at Jesus' teaching, but even so they rejected Jesus (Mark 6:1-3). When Andrew came running with excitement to tell his friend Nathaniel that they had found the Messiah, Nathaniel had replied, "can anything good come from Nazareth?" (John 1:46). The prophets had alluded to it as they wrote about the "Branch" (Hebrew 'natzer') which is where Nazareth derived its name (Zechariah 3:8-9, Isaiah 11:1-2). The people missed Messiah right in their midst. What's worse is that they assumed they knew Jesus, but sadly, they missed all the blessings that Jesus wanted to do there. Because we are free moral agents, we can resist God's gifts as a patient might reject their doctor's care. God will respond to our resistance by removing Himself. We are limited to God's gifts by our human will. In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis write, "There are two kinds of people in this world, those who say 'God's will be done' and those to whom God says, 'fine, have it your way.' Healing requires not only the power of the healer, but faith and cooperation on the part of the patient. Sadly, here it is Jesus who is amazed at their unbelief in Nazareth (Mark 6:6). I pray Jesus never says this of me. Let us not assume we know Jesus, but to strive to imitate Jesus and learn about Jesus. Let us be good disciples. Let us always cooperate with grace, inviting Jesus to teach, heal, and restore our lives and those around us.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 5:21-43 Offering Up Our Wounds to Jesus



The Synagogue at Capernaum



         In this text Jesus is on his way to heal Jairus' daughter. He was the leader of the synagogue at Capernaum and was responsible for the upkeep and scheduling of the synagogue. The Pharisees would have watched him closely. In spite of the scrutiny surrounding Jesus, he goes to Jesus to ask him to heal his little daughter. While on the way to perform this miracle the crowd pressed around Jesus. A woman who also needed healing reached out to touch him. She knew Jesus was passing by and this may be her only opportunity to touch the prophet. She had suffered 12 years from constant bleeding, and according to Leviticus 15:25-27, she had suffered much more than physical pain. Her condition made her ceremonially unclean: she couldn't go to worship, she couldn't entertain guests, she couldn't visit any one's home. Anything she touched or furniture upon which she sat were made unclean. In addition to her physical pain, she suffered isolation from family, community, and worship. She was not greeted with smiles by her neighbor's or in the marketplace, for she was unclean. Jesus stopped and turned so she would be restored. How often is our daily agenda interrupted by a "needy" person? By someone we don't want to see coming? We need to imitate Jesus, and allow the upsetting of our agenda to be an opportunity for ministry. Much like the woman's physical affliction, sin separates us from God and from one another, isolating people in hopelessness and despair. We are in the crowd, and we have the answer.

         The woman decided to risk it all, placing her faith in Jesus, "...if I could but touch the tassel of his robe I would be healed." In spite of the crowd, she came up from behind him and was indeed healed. So many were curious about Jesus. So many touched Jesus in this crowd, but only one touched him with faith. Faith was the catalyst that cooperated with grace to heal this woman. The story could have ended there, but Jesus wanted to heal the whole person, to restore her to community, to her family, to worship. So Jesus gave her the opportunity to come forward, and she did, telling Jesus the whole truth. Jesus made the pronouncement, "your faith has made you well." If we are to be healed and offer healing to others, we must bring our wounds to Jesus in faith and honesty. We have the living Christ within us and the power to touch and heal others, sharing Jesus' love, bringing restoration to the lost, broken, and hopeless. The next time someone upsets your daily agenda, remember it is an opportunity for ministry and Jesus wants to use you to bless someone. Become a part of someone's story of redemption by letting Jesus touch others through you.

           Jairus' prayers were answered and in a glimpse of Jesus' commentary on death, "she is just sleeping", we see the resurrection power of Jesus. He commanded them to give her something to eat, because the Jews feared ghosts, and Jesus wanted to assure them this was no ghost, but that the girl was alive and well. Jairus' could have let the Pharisees' criticism of Jesus stop him. He had much to lose by coming to Jesus: his position as leader of the synagogue, the respect of his peers, the increased scrutiny of the Pharisees. But he didn't let any of those things stand in the way of Jesus performing a miracle for his little girl. Again, faith cooperates with grace to accomplish kingdom work. It is through our wounded-ness that Jesus shines, because it is in offering our wounds that we see healing and restoration in Jesus' name!

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 5:1-20 The Healing of the Demon Possessed Man

In this story we find Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee for one purpose - to heal the demon-possessed man in the region of the Garasenes, on the South East side of the lake. People must had heard the rumor, of the crazy man living among the tombs, who broke all his shackles when people had tried to help him. The apostles must have wondered as Jesus gave the order to head to the region of the Garasenes what exaclty was in Jesus' mind, or was he out of his mind? this was no place for good Jews, for Gentile herdsmen watered their herds of swine numbering in the thousands on the freshwater shore of Galilee. Imagine the pig fodder from 2000 swine? Good Jews didn't go to this area, not to mention the rumored crazy man in the tombs. But Jesus crossed to the other side for this purpose, as he had also crossed the threshold of heaven to be born in a dirty shepherd's cave in Bethlehem - He came to save us.

There is no evidence in this text that the disciples even got out of their large commercial fishing boat. Jesus alone stands on the shore as the man comes running out of the tombs to meet Jesus. Whether it was the demon's repulsion of Jesus or something else, this man realizes only Jesus can help him, and he runs to Jesus. The disciples had just seen Jesus' power over nature in the calming of the storm, and now they would witness Jesus' authority and power over the supernatural world as he healed the man. The miracle caused the townspeople to fear, and they begged Jesus to leave. Jesus went out of his way to heal this man. What do we need to do in our lives to "cross to the other side" to bring Jesus' love to people? We can start by nurturing relationships with lost people, and venture out of our regular circle of connections. We may have to walk through "pig fodder" to help someone, it may be smelly and uncomfortable, even scary, but Jesus calls us to "cross to the other side" wherever that may be for you. I don't want to be like the disicples, still in the boat, never mentiuoned in this story.

In the area of the Decapolis (the ten towns) near the Garasenes an ancient Byzantine church has been uncovered. We know the man had wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go home and tell what wonderful things the Lord had done for him. And the text says he preached in the ten towns. Could this have been the man that started the Jesus movement in the Decapolis? That built a church there? Lost people are living among death, as the Garasene man was, and they don't know the way. The Adversary seeks their ultimate destruction, as demonstrated in the herd of swine that met their death. People are souls bound in sin and we must be the light and presence of Christ to bring healing. Pray, think, and brainstorm about ways to nurture relatinships with the lost and "cross to the other side".

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 4: 35-41 Jesus Calms the Storm

The boat in which the disciples were sailing was actually quite large compared to what most people have in mind.  I have a 14 foot aluminum fishing boat, that is my experience. Peter's commercial fishing vessel, however, was 27.5 feet long, 4.5 feet wide, and around 4.5 feet deep. We know this because a 1st century commercial fishing vessel was discovered and recovered during a 1986 drought in the mud of the Sea of Galilee. The boat was finely crafted - made without nails, but rather wooden pegs which when in water would swell perfectly to a tight fit so that the planks and boards held firmly together. We likened the boat to our lives: no matter how much money or education or things we have, the storm which causes us "poverty of spirit" will inevitably come, the storm that will cause us to put complete faith and trust in God. Five of the twelve disciples were seasoned fishermen, they had been in and experienced storms before, but none like this - they were terrified. Why did they wait until they were in true danger before they woke Jesus? Why did they wait till the last minute to call of Jesus? we do the same thing in the business of our lives, and we don't think of Jesus until the wave is already upon us. Jesus showed his power, got up and calmed the sea. Then he utters the words I hope never to hear from the Lord, "haven't you any faith?" It must have stung the disciples, but through the storm they got to see the power of God. While smooth sailing through life is nice, it is through the storms that God gets to shine, and we can experience His amazing power and presence! When you experience a storm, rouse the sleeping Christ within you to calm the raging sea!