Feb 3: Mark 6:30-34
Key Verse: Mark 6:34
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
Devotion:
When we go through the Gospels we find all manner of secrets which Jesus showed us and shared with us. I think this is one of them and one we often miss because we are too busy with life or ‘doing church!’
Wherever Jesus went He found time to be with people from all walks of life, from the disciples, to ordinary people, to sinners and even to the teachers of the law (though they did not tend to like Him teaching them!) Jesus always seemed to be faced with crowds who wanted to either be healed or to be taught, or both. In this instance the people saw Jesus and the disciples get into a boat to go to a quieter place so they could relax and eat. The people ran ahead of them and were waiting when they landed…
What would be going through your mind at this stage if this happened to you: you are weary of the crowds in town so you jump in the car and head off to a quiet village to have a nice quiet tea and cake in a cafe. But, when you arrive at the village it is overcrowded with people waiting for you!
Ordinarily I think we would all just keep on driving to find a quite place where the crowds have not yet made it… But Jesus had compassion on the crowds because He knew they wanted to learn more from Him. He could see they were lost and needed a Shepherd to guide them; so He set aside His own quiet time and gave that time to the people as He taught them more about God!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get sick of crowds at times?
What if those people were crying out to learn about Jesus?