Year 2 Day 298

Year 2 Day 298


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 6:53-56


Message - Alan Burke


Remember back to how the the account of the feeding of the five thousand began, as Jesus went with the apostles to a quiet place, to a solitary place (v32/32), was because he had compassion on them, to give them rest (v31). Since then they haven’t had much of a chance, in feeding of the five thousand, then hours on the boat. Finally after all of this, after the wind and the waves die down, and they had crossed over, they land at Gennesaret. They had been on the way to Bethsaida, an hours journey from where the feeding of the five thousand took place, but they end up not going north to Bethsaida but cross the lake to Gennesaret. They go there later but now they need some rest after the night that they have had. But it’s not as simple as that. 


There as they, get of the boat people recognise Jesus. This wasn’t because they had seen him before, but because news of him had spread, the miracle worker from Nazareth. While the disciples did not know who he was, the people of Gennesaret are convinced that this man who has just got of the boat is Jesus and that he has power to heal. They may not fully understand who heals them either, but their great faith in Jesus’ power contrasts with the little faith of the disciples. To them he gave hope, they trusted that they would be healed even if all that they could do was touch the edges of his cloak. What we are told is that all who touched him were healed. 


Even though they were pursuing Jesus for what he could do for them, as they brought even the sick on mats, Jesus continued through the region, we went into villages, towns and the countryside and where ever he went they brought their sick to him in the marketplace. For the marketplace was the main gathering point of the people, there in the open air as he went from place to place Jesus would have taken the good news to the people, teaching them just as he had been doing throughout  about the kingdom of God, proclaiming the good news of God and what was that good news, “The time has come” “the kingdom of God is near, repent and believe the good news” (Mk 1:14). In his compassion he fed and healed them. 


As we close I want to ask you this, where is your hope today? The people flocked to Jesus, they placed their hope in him, but it wasn’t hope of anything more than healing from the temporal ailments that they faced. The people wanted to be healed but they had not understood the real reason that he had come, for the healing that they needed was not physical but spiritual. These people would have went home, they would have been freed from their ailments but they would get sick once more and they would like all of us will one day, face death. What they needed was before them, they needed a saviour, a saviour not from their temporal affliction, we don’t need a saviour from the temporal we need a saviour from the eternal consequences of our sin. For this is why he came, to save, save us from our sin.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q58 What is required in the fourth commandment?
The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God such set times as he hath appointed in his Word; expressly one whole day in seven, to be a holy Sabbath to himself. (Deut. 5:12–14)
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