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He had Compassion on them (Mark 6:30-34)
Popularity
In this passage we see Jesus and the apostles at the height of their
popularity. It seemed that everything was possible to them as we read,
"The apostles gathered round Jesus and reported
to him all they had done and taught". This followed their third
mission tour in Galilee and the work was so popular and successful we
are told "many people were coming and going".
Imagine their excitement and the sense of anticipation and hope they
enjoyed.
Less than two years later Jesus stood alone before Pilate, having been
betrayed by one apostle, denied vehemently by another and deserted by
them all. Even for Jesus popularity proved a fleeting thing. In a character
sketch of fellow playwright W E Henley Oscar Wilde wrote, "He
has fought a good fight and has had to face every difficulty except
popularity". Perhaps it was no bad thing that the man who penned
Invictus did not enjoy the popularity of Wilde. As Wilde found
out at great cost, to be popular is often to be deluded, and the temptation
is to think you are so special, and what you are doing so unfailingly
wonderful, that the winds of fortune that blast others will always waft
balmy breezes over you.
Yet popularity is the big thing in today's church. Church growth programmes, special platform speakers, personalities, events and conventions all aim at "packing them in" and the gospel can seem almost secondary to the ability to declare "that was a successful event".
Pressure
Jesus' view of these things was somewhat different. In John's gospel we read:
"Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover
Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed
in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew
all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what
was in man." (John 2 23-25)
Man's heart is "deceitful above all things"
Jeremiah tells us (17:9), Ecclesiastes says,
"The hearts of men are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts
while they live" (8:3). The pressure that comes with popularity
is the pressure of the crowds and can seem invigorating for a while.
But they are crowds whose hearts cannot be trusted, whose motives are
never entirely pure and whose whims will nail us to failure as sure
their sins nailed Jesus to the Cross.
Peace
Jesus understood such pressures and, unconcerned about being popular,
invited his disciples to, "Come with me by yourselves
to a quiet place and get some rest" So they went away by themselves
in a boat to a solitary place. The solitary place is shunned by today's
24/7 society. Have you noticed how difficult it is to get away from
noise? Yet a place of peace and reflection is what we need to help us
rest from our labours and gather our thoughts. Milton, writing to Cromwell
observed:
Peace hath her victories
No less renowned than war
Peace and reflection win many battles for us if we will allow it and what we often gain from such peaceful warfare is perspective.
Perspective
The rest Jesus sought was not to last as, "When
Jesus landed [he] saw a large crowd". However he already had,
indeed always did have the right perspective. Here was the same crowd
that offered him popularity but, while the disciples might have seen
"a burgeoning following" Jesus "had compassion
on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd". It
is such a tender trap, the acclamation of the crowds, but in truth the
gospel teacher realises that it is not about how popular they can make
you but how very needy they are for a true shepherd. Seeing this, "Jesus
began to teach them many things".
As we go into this week I pray we will make time to be by ourselves with him and get some rest and that we will gain strength and true