An Appointment with Christ: Multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Mark 6:30) Part 5

We have seen this wonderful story that takes us from one truth to another. In our last meeting we talked about the compassionate Christ that when he saw this needy crowd that had gone ahead of him and his disciples who were in need of a time of rest, the Lord instead of rejecting them and sending them back because they were encroaching on his personal time, had compassion for them and took time to teach them many things.

Thus Mark tells us, Chapter 6, verse 34: "The Lord took time" says here to teach them, that is added in verse 35 that: "when the Now his disciples approached him saying: the place is deserted and the hour is already very advanced, send them away so that they can go to the surrounding fields and villages and buy bread because they have nothing to eat. But answering He said to them: Give them something to eat.”

The contrast between the attitude of Jesus and the attitude of the disciples is revealing here. The attitude of Jesus, as we have seen, is an attitude of compassion. The Lord identified with the pain of the crowd, with their need to receive a word. These people were spiritually hungry and knew that in Christ they would find someone who would meet their need. The Lord identified with the crowd, he was able to get in tune with the needs of these people and he felt within his being the anguish and the need for peace that these people felt and that is why he dedicated time to minister and speak to them.

And I love that the Lord Jesus Christ puts himself in our place. There is a very revealing passage in the scripture where it says that a deaf man approached Christ to ask for healing. The Bible says that the Lord, in a very strange gesture I admit, took his fingers and put them inside the ears of the deaf man. The Bible says that then the Lord groaned and said "Efata" which meant in Aramaic "Be healed" and says that immediately the deaf man was healed. In that image I see something wonderful. The Lord put his fingers inside the ears of this deaf man, something that we could say is actually unhygienic and even unpleasant, but I see that Christ as in a common sense, as if he plugged in, physically penetrated with the place of sickness and need of this man and what he felt; I believe that the groan that came from within Jesus felt at that moment the sickness of the deaf, he felt the discharge of this man's pain and his groan was a groan of identification. As He inserted His fingers He felt the need, not only did He transfer His power to this man, but the weakness and sickness of this man was transferred to Jesus, and from that total rapport between this man and Jesus came a work of healing.

It is so important to see that Christ who identifies himself, that compassionate Christ because when I see Jesus in my mind as a being that gets inside me and walks in my own shoes, that gives me courage to come before the Lord. I am not afraid of Jesus, quite the contrary, I know that in Him I can come and be transparent, I do not have to be disguised, with disguises, I do not have to be pretending that I am holier than I am nor more just of what I am I can be perfectly transparent with Christ. I can confess to him my weaknesses, I can confess to him my sins, I can confess to him my personal limitations as a man and then ask him to heal them. There are many people who do not receive healing from God, do not receive healing in their inner being because they are presenting a screen of self-sufficiency, they are hiding their needs because they believe that they have to "screen" before God when God wants us to be transparent. When we are transparent then He can identify with us, deal with us and address that need that we have. The Lord Jesus Christ is a compassionate God, he identifies with us. The Word says that He took on his own being our ailments and our sins, by his wounds we were healed.

How wonderful it is to know that the Lord identifies himself in that compassionate way, that He walks where we walk. That is why the Lord came down from his glory, stripped himself of his glory, assumed the form of a man, because he wanted to identify himself with us, he wanted to feel what we feel. And now the Bible says that He is a perfectly adequate priest for our lives because He knows our condition, He lived it, He experienced it within his own being. He does not know her theoretically because he is God, but he knows her because he was also human and he retains the vivid memory of those experiences where he experienced thirst, hunger, temptation, pain, loneliness, sadness, fear, rejection. All those common experiences to the human being, He felt them. That is why the Lord can identify with us and that is why His Word tells us to confidently approach the throne of grace to receive help in whatever need we have.

Now, unfortunately, the position of the disciples is very different, it is very superficial. Night has approached, the disciples are already fed up with the crowd, there is no store nearby, it is a secluded place and the disciples say: Lord, the time is getting late and send them away and get rid of them so that they can go and buy food because it is already very late in the day. But here we see something, that instead of getting rid of the crowd, the Lord says "You give them something to eat", and the disciples are surprised and say: how is it possible that we can give them something to eat, no, we can't, there are too many.

You know that the Lord does not want you to be a superficial person when it comes to compassion. He wants you to have the same compassion for others that He has. He wants you to be an agent of his grace.

There are many people who live a selfish life, thinking only of themselves. There are so many Christians who only think of themselves and do not care about being agents of God's blessing. God wants you to be an instrument in his hands. Unfortunately most of us have a very personal attitude towards the Gospel. God blesses you, God calls you to serve. God wants to dwell within you so that you can be an instrument in his hands. The Bible says that every Christian has been made a king and a priest. God has redeemed us so that we may announce the virtues of him who called us out of darkness into his admirable light. If God cleanses you, heals you, strengthens you, redeems you, it is so that you can be an agent of his grace. God wants you to be a man, a compassionate woman, full of mercy, that you can also identify with the pain of others.

And you know what, when you love that way, when you are that way, loving others, serving others, identifying with the conviction of others, God cares about you. Truly happy people are those who love as Christ loves. May we love each other, may we be instruments of his grace, may we always live healing the pain of others. Many people do not find true happiness because they do not think of others. You know that when you think only of yourself, you lose the opportunity to be happy. The Lord Jesus Christ says: "If the grain of wheat does not fall to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit, the one who loses his life will gain it and the one who wins his life will lose it." Many people live trying to earn their life, to preserve it, to increase it, to improve their comfort and belongings every day, and they do not have time to worry about others and end up unhappy, miserable, infertile, arid, uncomfortable with themselves because God has put in the human being a law that when we care about the good of others, then God cares about us and we are blessed. There is no one happier than the one who thinks about the happiness of others. If you want to be happy, be a compassionate person, be a generous person, give yourself to others, bless others with your goods and do things in the name of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ says: "Not even a glass of water that we give to someone in his name will not be rewarded one day, on the day of judgment." So be a compassionate person, don't expect God to be the one to help others, but help yourself, give yourself, bless yourself, shepherd others and God will then shepherd you. God bless you!