Sun Kwak, “Sheep without a Shepherd”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDLsecZRopE

TEXT: Mark 6:30-44

[30] The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. [31] And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. [32] And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. [33] Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. [34] When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. [35] And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. [36] Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” [37] But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” [38] And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” [39] Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. [40] So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. [41] And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. [42] And they all ate and were satisfied. [43] And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. [44] And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

SERMON: “Sheep Without a Shepherd”

There’s an author by the name of Rebecca Solnit, and she wrote a book titled A Field Guide to Getting Lost. And to write the book, she did her research, which included talking to people involved in mountain rescue. One of the people she highlights is a deer hunter. And for these, the reason they get lost is because they follow their game. There’s one story of when a deer hunter was out venturing, and he wound up on a ridge and a plateau. And from there, when looking toward where he came from, the mountains looked identical on both sides. And so, it was hard for him to tell from which side he came from. And unfortunately, he ended up taking the wrong route back. And as he’s unaware of where he is, he finds himself losing strength and fatigued while remaining out in the cold. He eventually gets hypothermia. And when hypothermia gets severe, you get the delusions that your body is hot. And so, he starts shedding his clothing one article at a time. And days later, the rescuers were able to trace him through these clothes that were left behind. But due to his condition of hypothermia and the freezing conditions, when they found his body, he was naked and dead. For this deer hunter, his downfall came in overestimating his own ability to navigate his way back. One of the other stories that Solnit traces in her book is that of an eleven year old boy. He’s deaf and has degenerative eyesight. And he’s at camp, and his group is playing hide and seek. And he must have hid really well, because they didn’t find him during the game and even after. But he had this whistle that he would blow for occasions like this, because he was made aware of his physical limitations. And after a while, he started blowing the whistle. And it took a while but eventually, there was a search teamthat heard him and found him, because he blew his whistle in calling for help. And it’s not because this kid was more physically capable that he made it out alive, as opposed to this deer hunter — rather, it’s the exact opposite. And what Solnit teaches us is that when we are lost, the best way to finding our way back is not through self-willed tactic or by channeling into some deep inner strength. But rather, it’s to admit to own our deficiencies, to admit to our lostness, and to sound out for help.

And something we read in the Bible — all we like sheep have gone astray. And the way that the prophet Isaiah says this, it’s a universal all without exception. And just as we are all sinful, in the words of the apostle Paul, we are likewise all lost and unable to navigate our way out of our lostness. And you see, we will all be traced — either by the traces we’ve left when perishing of self-trust or through sounding out our cry for help.. And I don’t know how this strikes your pride, but we all have broken spiritual compasses. And the more readily we can admit that, the more readily we can escape the delusion that we’re okay when we’re actually not. Because you look at the great crowd that we read of here in verse 34. These are people who wouldn’t have categorized themselves as lost. In fact, they would say that they were exactly aware of what they wanted and sure of their convictions. And others wouldn’t have seen them as lost either. Because something that John’s Gospel informs us of in a parallel account is that this is during the time of Passover. And when you think about the Passover, this is a religiously packed event. This is a time to annually recall one of the seminal stories for the people of Israel, and it was a primary annual celebration and religious gathering. So, in our modern day context, these are church-going folks getting together for a large annual get together with other church people. But something about what they did or how they behaved let Jesus know that contrary to what they thought about themselves, they were actually completely lost. They were like sheep without a shepherd. And we’ll talk about that phrase a lot today, as we spend the first of two weeks on this passage and event. And here’s the warning that I find in today’s passage. There’s a way to be lost without seeming lost or even thinking you’re lost. But in the eyes of Jesus, it’s as clear as day that you’re wandering without direction.

And think about what Mark is saying and writing here. Jesus sees a great crowd. And what do you think when you hear about a great crowd? My first thought is usually asking — What are they gathering around? And why are they here? I remember when our kids first started playing sports. The first time I stepped into these kids’ sporting activities, I was wide-eyed with shock. I had never seen so many people in Camarillo gathered into one space with such enthusiasmand excitement. And I was stuck there wondering — This must be the shrine of idolizing your progeny. Meanwhile, there we were — wagon full of snacks, mats, chairs, umbrellas, and all. Because we’re a part of all of that. We do it all too. But if you want to assemble to see the lostness of a suburban culture, maybe that’s not where your mind races to. But the reason I bring this up, in particular, and not some place like the outlets, for example. And it‘s kind of died down over the years. Not nearly as hyped as it once was, thanks to Amazon. But do you remember passing by outlet malls on Black Friday? Or, maybe you were there yourself. But in these parking lots, you’ll hear honks, and if you’ve ever shopped on Black Friday, you see all kinds of shamelessly depraved behavior. You’ll find people casting all kinds of insults and slurs over a parking spot. Did you not see the blinker? Or, Of course, he has a Dodgers license plate, and he drives like he’s in LA. But with youth sporting events, the sin and the lostness isn’t quite as obvious. And for the most part, it’s unseen and unknown. And we do a good job covering it up.

One of the things on YouTube that I view with some odd regularity is animal rescue. And what you usually find with these dog rescuers is that they all have some formula or order that’s similarly executed. They find a lost or wounded dog. And in order to earn their trust to rescue it, they offer food or water. And upon doing that, they’ll pet it, hold it. And then, they’ll bring them to a vet, to make sure the dog is healthy or if it needs a longer stay with the vet for surgery or more intensive care. But after all of that happens, and when the happy music starts playing, they finally bring them home. And they wash the dog, and they start playing with the dog. And one of the very last things, if at all, is they start teaching them things — where to pee or poo or sleep, doing tricks, establishing routines. Something interesting with what we read in verse 34 is that Mark writes that Jesus sees this great crowd, he sees how lost they are. And he sees deep into their hearts — into their wounds, their hurts, what they’re covering up, what they’re blind to. And what’s his immediate response? He starts teaching them. This is probably the most overlooked part of this event — the fact that Jesus teaches them before feeding them. It’s an interesting scenario, because there are physical needs that are brought up. They’re hungry and thirsty. But tending to their physical and bodily needs, he tends to their hearts. Because that’s the real emergency, the real pressing need. When you’re seen by Jesus, and he starts seeing your needs, and you start feeling his gaze, what he’ll convict you of is that you have a deeper need than your physical well-being. Because our souls were created for more than the things in this world that will perish. Our souls were created for eternity.

And that’s what we’re getting in this passage. Because Mark highlights a few things. Jesus has them spread out across the green grass, which highlights the fact that it was around springtime. And perhaps the most well-recalled and recognized aspect of this event — he takes five loaves of bread and two fish, and he multiplies it to feed everyone there. And here’s something that I think is overlooked. The people not only eat their fill, but they ask for more of it. I don’t care how many Hot Pockets you put in front of me — there’s a limit to how many I’m willing to eat. And this goes not only with this event but with Jesus making water into wine. The most overlooked aspect of these miracles is not just the quantity but the quality of what’s consumed. It had to have been some really good bread. We’re not talking stale wheat Wonder Bread. We’re talking about croissants and English muffins with the perfect amount of butter — which is just a little bit more. And so much of this was multiplied that there were twelve leftover baskets. And while all of these things were surely to represent the generosity and the power of Jesus, for these Passover attending Jews on pilgrimage from wherever they came from, they would have seen parallels to an event they knew very well. Because if you peruse the passage, there is an emphasis. The word wilderness is used a total of nine times in this passage. And that’s not just Mark not knowing how to use other words — it’s intentional. Because I don’t know if you’ve been somewhere that’s a wilderness before. But usually green grass isn’t one of the occurrences. But oddly enough, we have a reference to green grass here in verse 39. Because this wilderness is an emphasis to this critical teaching moment. Because the event of God bringing manna from the heavens in Exodus 16 was something that was also in the wilderness, and it also happened in the springtime. And commentaries note that this manna was more like pastries and some form of tasty bread. But the twelve leftover baskets would have reminded these Jews of the Tabernacle and specifically of the bread of presence in the inner Tabernacle, to show the very presence and provision of God with and for his people. And in a way, what Jesus was showing was that God was still with them, he had never left their side, and he was with and among them now, as the true shepherd to guide their lost and hungry souls.

I remember when I was a college student, I used to visit Target and Walmart at very odd hours. And something that I never had any awareness of was what young children were doing in these stores in these odd hours. I just happened to know that they were there but didn’t think anything of it. But it wasn’t until I became a parent myself that when I would see children in odd hours that I would wonder — Why aren’t they in bed? And perhaps more observantly, noticing children wandering around the store and wondering — Is her mom or dad around? And as parents, you might know this, when you start seeing them turning their heads rapidly from side to side in a quicker than normal pace, you know right away — this kid’s lost, looking for mom or dad. Because as a parent, I can spot out a lost child when I see one, because I’ve had experiences of being concerned for my own lost children. And you see, when Jesus is observing the crowds here, with the definitive conclusion — that they were sheep without a shepherd — this isn’t just because he can look into their souls and know which belong to him and which don’t. But as he’s been observing them, he’s seen certain behaviors. And he can see through the way they move, the way they speak, the way they gather — that these exhibit behaviors of those without a shepherd, frantically looking for one.

And I just want to pause here for a moment. Because our age is no different, and sometimes, we’re no different. We might be attending Sunday worship service, we might pray before we eat meals, we might attend church functions, we might tithe regularly, we might read our Bible, we might even catechize our children. But all of us exhibit some behaviors, from time to time, that look like this crowd. For all we like sheep have gone astray. But I want us to take comfort in this. Because I know that for some of us, it’s not our deep desire but it’s our immediate comfort to hide our shepherd-less behaviors. We want to fit in with the pack, and we don’t want to be shamed. But the strangeness of this is that we all have a deep desire deep within that wants to be seen, even our yucky insides. The good news is that Jesus’ eyes have never left you. I recall a moment of darkness some time back. It was a moment where I felt particularly far from God. But a song really ministered to me at the moment, and it’s Shane and Shane’s Psalm 23. And the chorus of that song tells us — Surely goodness, surely mercy, right beside me all my days. And it might not seem like it at times, but God’s good promises for his people is that his eyes have never left his people. He’s right beside you all of your days, and you’re never alone. For some of us, it might be that we’re like the crowds around the soccer fields in Camarillo. Where we think we have it all together, and we don’t think we’re all that lost. I need to gently tell you — if you don’t regularly hear the voice of Jesus, as the shepherd, through his Word, then you’re lost. And I implore you — Come hear his voice. It’s right here, in this book.

Because here’s how I want to start closing. That phrase sheep without a shepherd — it’s something that’s most known for with Jesus’ reaction to seeing the crowds. But it actually isn’t original to this occasion in the New Testament. It originally came back in Numbers 27, with the reaction of Moses. You might remember that it was Moses who engaged the work of a shepherd before he was called into ministry and leading God’s people out of Egypt. And the specific phrase of sheep without a shepherd is recorded for us when Moses was said to look out at the mass of people towards the end of his ministry and Israel’s time in the wilderness. And this was right before they were to be lead into the Promised Land. But it wasn’t going to be Moses to lead them there, because he was to remain behind. And specifically his act of rebellion in hitting the rock twice at Massah and Meribah is something that God reminds him of — that because he sinned and disobeyed and deeply dishonored God as his servant, he was to remain behind and not enter the Promised Land. And Moses, as he acknowledges his sin, looks upon the crowd. Some of these people he knew from the time of the exodus, others were born after the exodus. But there were millions of them, and he’s wondering — Who’s going to lead them? Because they had never followed anyone else outside of Egypt.

And you see, like Moses, Jesus possessed the heart of a shepherd who regularly tended to his sheep. He’s always known his people and our whereabouts. And like Moses, Jesus would also be prevented from entering the Promised Land as he was. But unlike Moses, it wasn’t because of his own sin, his own act of rebellion. But it was the long list of sinful enactments that we were responsible for. And though he lead a perfect life, he committed to staying behind until he was able to pay for our clearance into the Promised Land, the land of milk and honey, the place of God’s favor upon his people. And for us who regularly wander beyond the pen in our sinful behaviors and sinful enactments, Jesus not only knows of our movements because he knows us as his sheep. But he knows of our actions, because he’s paid forevery one of those sinful enactments and thoughts and behaviors in full when he died on the cross for his sins of his wandering people. He would come to say that when the shepherd is struck, the sheep will scatter. And sure enough, when he was struck, his disciples fled. But it was he who went to look for them, even while they were seventy miles away, having run away from the scene mere days after. Even so, he pursued after them — because he had to cook them breakfast, because he had to redeem Peter’s memory, because he had never left their side. And that’s the same for us. We might have a history of fleeing Jesus. But if he’s claimed you, we can trust that his pursuit of you is far more aggressive than your flight from him. Trust in that, and trust in him. Because the best thing we can do is sound out our lostness and our helplessness. You and I cannot fix our lostness, so let’s not try. We lean into the voice of a shepherd who always leads us home.