THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Mark: Jesus The Perfect Servant Of God

Part II: The Perfect Service Of Jesus, The Perfect Servant Of God, Mark 1:1-10:52

W. Christ's Work To Counter "Burn Out" By Increasing His Discipler's Faith In His Help

(Mark 6:45-56)

I. Introduction

A. We learned in our first lesson in this series that Mark's Gospel presents the perfect service of God's Perfect Servant, Jesus, with Mark's focus of having rebounded unto upright service from personal failure.

B. Sometimes such failure arises from what various Christian organizations call "burn out," human exhaustion and emotional collapse from being stretched too thin with too few resources in a variety of realms in life.

C. The most important part of avoiding "burn out" is to trust in Christ's ability and will as God to help one minister as Jesus implied in Matthew 28:20b with 28:18-20, a truth revealed in Mark 6:45-56 for our insight:

II. Christ's Work To Counter "Burn Out" By Increasing His Discipler's Faith In His Help, Mark 6:45-56.

A. After Jesus equipped and commissioned His disciples to minister to Israel and they had returned to tell Him all they had done and taught (Mark 6:7-13, 30), He worked to counter their potential "burn out" in Mark 6:31-44. As we learned in recent lessons, this involved (1) cutting back on ministry efforts if facing a lack of time to address one's livelihood needs, (2) exposing oneself to Scripture teaching if leadership is lacking, (3) handling a lack of material goods by trusting God to begin to use what we already have and (4) organizing well.

B. Yet, the disciples had failed to learn the greatest lesson on avoiding "burn out," so it came in Mark 6:45-52:

1. Mark 6:52 notes that the events in Mark 6:45-51 occurred since the disciples had failed through spiritual hardness of heart not to consider the lesson of the feeding of the five thousand.

2. That lesson, the most important one in avoiding "burn out," was to trust Christ's ability and will to help them succeed in ministry, Mark 6:45-51 (G. Campbell Morgan, The Gos. Acc. to Mark, 1927, p. 153-154):

a. Though Jesus had demonstrated His great power and willingness to use that power to help his disciples accomplish the miraculous feeding of the five thousand with a few small fishes and loaves (Mark 6:35-42), the disciples' hearts were spiritually hardened, and they did not learn this lesson.

b. Knowing this, one reason Jesus sent the disciples across the sea by boat right after this miracle had occurred was to teach them of His power and will to use that power to help them in ministry, Mark 6:45.

c. So, as the darkness of night fell on them, the disciples were out in the midst of the sea and Jesus still on land in prayer, and Jesus saw them toiling at rowing since the wind was contrary to them, Mark 6:46-48a.

d. However, to emphasize His lesson on "burn out" even more, Jesus waited until the fourth watch, until 3 to 6 a.m., after they had rowed for most of the night and were exhausted, before He walked on the water to them, Mark 6:48b; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Mark 6:48; Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 131.

e. The disciples were terrified at seeing Jesus, thinking they saw a spirit, so they cried out, Mark 6:49-50a, and Jesus immediately spoke to settle them, saying, "Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid," Mark 6:50b.

f. When He got into their boat, the wind stopped, leaving the disciples "out of their minds" (existanto) in amazement at Jesus' power, Mark 6:51. The disciples had failed in spiritual hardness to learn the lesson of the previous day's feeding miracle that Jesus was willing and able to help them, Mark 6:52.

C. However, to make this lesson against "burn out" even more effective, Jesus continued to demonstrate far more of His great power and will to help needy people in the events that immediately followed in Mark 6:53-56:

1. After the boat with Jesus and the disciples had finished crossing over to Gennesaret, they were met at the shore by many people who knew them, and who from the entire region quickly began to carry the sick in their beds to Jesus that He might heal them, Mark 6:53-55.

2. Wherever Jesus and the disciples then entered into villages, cities or out into the country, throngs of people laid the sick in the streets and besought to touch even the edge of His garment to be healed, and as many as touched Him were made whole, Mark 6:56.

Lesson: In the feeding of the five thousand, in helping His laboring disciples on the sea and then in healing the throngs of sick folk, Jesus in grace repeatedly taught His disciples the most important lesson on avoiding ministry "burn out," to trust in His divine power and will to help them succeed in God's ministry assignments for them.

Application: May we who heed God's call to serve Him remember that Christ is both able and willing to help us succeed in those ministry assignments regardless what we face in them, that we then might trust Him to that end!