THE GOD MAN, THE WAY OF TRUTH

Mark 6:34 NLT
[34] “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”

Why were these “sheep” running after Jesus? Why did He see them as “sheep without a shepherd”? How did He show them compassion?

These questions are all answered in Jesus Himself.

Tied to the leadership of the Pharisees, God’s people were in perpetual bondage, becoming more entangled and more enslaved as time went on by laws and rituals that could never set them free. The more their “shepherds” enforced the law and all their additions, the more helpless the sheep became. Their own shepherds were lost in bondage to their own sin and, in turn, by lies and deception, they led their sheep into deeper confusion and fear.

There was only one way to set them free…truth…and only one person who had the power to set them free, Jesus, the one who is truth.

The sheep, it seems, saw something in Jesus, heard something from Him, that drew them to Him. As even the temple guards testified, when sent to arrest Him, “No one speaks like this man!” Great crowds trailed after Him, from towns, villages, and countryside, to hear His words. They recognised, in His teaching, truths their souls yearned to hear.

So, Jesus gave them His weapon to destroy lies and His tool to set them free, His truth! He did not choose to battle their sin, or to fight their family issues or their marital conflcts, or even their issues with Rome or their religious overlords. He saw their pain. He felt their despair. He heard their soundless cries…their undefined and unspoken longings.

They were a mixed bunch. Some hung on every word, others examined, criticised, judged His words. Some were delighted, others enraged by His teachings. Some attacked Him, only to be confronted with the truth they hated to hear. Jesus warned…

John 12:47-49 NIV
[47] “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. [48] There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. [49] For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”

To those who listened with earnest hearts, He said,

John 8:31-36 NLT
[31]…“You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. [32] And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Still others, incensed by His implication, argued…

[33] “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

With the insight of a skilled physician, Jesus diagnosed…

[34]…“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. [35] A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

Though the people were not aware of it, their dilemma was neither bondage to Rome nor enslavement to their false shepherds. Their bondage was much deeper, within themselves…to sin that enslaved their hearts as surely as prison doors locked wrongdoers into prison cells. The freedom they craved was not freedom from external forces like Roman overlords or religious slave-drivers, but freedom from their own self-destructive lives. As much as they tried, no amount of rule-keeping could ever or had ever achieved real freedom.

Only one thing could ever set them free – truth! Truth frees heart and conscience, regardless of earthly circumstances. When the heart is free, there is nothing of consequence in daily lives that can mar the inward peace of true freedom.

Jesus knew that what the shepherdless people needed was not another shepherd, not another equally lost person to lead them, or more lies to confuse them or more laws to enslave them.

They needed truth to enlighten them, the Good Shepherd of truth to guide them, to show them the way…to freedom from guilt, shame, and fear…to the Father, the only place of perfect peace.

The wisdom of His compassion amazes me. Jesus could have shown His compassion by engaging in great healing and deliverance campaigns. He could have sent His disciples across the land, calling people to “Come and get your miracle!”

Oh, He healed, but not primarily to relieve His people of suffering. He cast out demons, but not specifically to free them from demonic oppression. His works were always bound to His identity and His mission. He came as king to usher in the rule of God and to show His people, by fulfilling every prophetic fingerprint in the Old Covenant, that He was the legally appointed king of God’s kingdom. His works were done to confirm His identity and to build trust in His words so that they would believe in Him and experience the truth that would set them free.

John 14:11 NIV
[11] “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”

God’s nation, for centuries since Abraham, their founder, had been led astray by a lying, deceiving usurper and his minions. The devil had convinced them, despite God’s intimate involvement with them, that they could sidestep God’s rule and set up their own laws and standards. In fact, the less they were obliged to live righteously, the better, so they thought.

Together with the surrounding nations and under the influence of their kings and rulers, they threw off God’s protective yoke, worshipped the gods of their imagination, and sank into the worst of depravity. The results were catastrophic.

Instead of reflecting God’s nature to the surrounding godless nations by obedience to His covenant, they reflected the wickedness of the gods they worshipped. Depraved, enslaved, and condemned, they came under the same wrath as those who were not in covenant with God.

The descendants of these same people dragged behind them, like a ball and chain, the terrible legacy of their ancestors. Then, to add to their enslavement, they were ruled by religious bullies who enforced on them more rules than they had ever tried to escape in their past.

Yes, Jesus had chosen His fight, not to confront every issue but to give His people the keys that would open their own prison doors. The prophet Isaiah predicted that He open prison doors and set them free.

Isaiah 61:1 NIV
[1] “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners… “

It’s no wonder, then, that Jesus’ heart was broken for His people because of their suffering. To them, the God they were supposed to worship had become, under the influence of their” shepherds”, nothing but the head “bully” of the bullies they feared, a strict disciplinarian who waited to catch them out at every turn for breaking His laws.

There was only one thing that could rescue them from this load of lies they had come to believe. Truth! No amount of healing, deliverance or even feeding at Jesus’ expense could save them from their plight.

So, Jesus “taught them many things”, the epitome of His compassion.

To be continued…