Soul and Body Servant

Synoptic Gospels 2: Servant of the Lord (5)

Pray Psalm 107.1-3.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.

Sing Psalm 107.1-3.
(Faithfulness: Great Is Thy Faithfulness)
LORD, You are good, we give thanks and we praise You!
Your steadfast love will forever endure.
Let the redeemed, who from trouble You rescue,
gather and say that Your mercy is sure!
Refrain vv. 1-3
LORD, for Your wondrous works, and for Your steadfast love,
we give You thanks, we exalt Your great Name!
We who from east and west, north and south gather,
boldly redemption in Christ we proclaim!

Read Matthew 14.12-21; Mark 6.30-44; Luke 9.10-17; meditate on Mark 6.30-44.

Preparation
1. What was the setting for this miracle?

2. How did Jesus prepare to serve the people?

Meditation
Soon enough, Jesus would do a good work for all this great multitude. But when He saw them, as they gathered and thronged Him, His compassion moved Him to teach them many things (v. 34). Food reaches the body for nourishment, refreshment, and strength. Teaching reaches the soul for comforting, encouragement, enlightenment, transformation, and hope. The soul is the first priority. 

The body comes next. The disciples had recently returned from a successful mission for which Jesus had given them authority and power. They trusted Him and obeyed His Word, and He bore fruit through them. Now He was responding to a need they had identified (vv. 35, 36), but not in the way they thought. 

He enlisted them to serve this multitude, not send them away (v. 37). The disciples besought Jesus to send the people away, while He instructed them to meet the need they had identified. He would empower them by His Word, just as He had done before. 

When Jesus opens our eyes to a need, we should look to Him to use us, according to His Word, to meet that need, as far as He enables us. He will give us all that we need to serve others. But we will only do that if our souls are “fat” with Jesus. We’ll always choose not to be bothered by the needs of others until the compassion of Jesus, welling up from within, moves us to serve them however we can.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
The disciples were returning from a time of ministry—rejoicing at having been used by God, albeit tired. 

Jesus had departed to be by Himself—having just gotten the news of John the Baptist’s beheading—rejoicing in John’s work, albeit sad about his death. And probably tired.

Enter a multitude of people, a throng of five thousand men and their families. Eager to hear Jesus’ words and receive healings and blessings; albeit tired and already hungry from their journey to find Him.

So many emotional and physical needs were represented in that group. Everyone was expectant, needy, and maybe a tad on edge. And yet Jesus’ calming Presence, His overt compassion, and His ever-present empathy overrode any potential downside. 

He even had compassion for the town inn keepers and restaurant owners. Can you imagine being inundated by thousands of visitors you weren’t ready for? Either with lodging or food? Jesus’ love encompassed every aspect of this miraculous event. They even picked up after themselves when the giant picnic and revival meeting was over.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 
Who comforts us in all our tribulation, 
that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, 
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, 
so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 
Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, 
which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. 
Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 
And our hope for you is steadfast, 
because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, 
so also you will partake of the consolation” (2 Cor. 1.3-7).

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil; for You are with me; 
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23.4).

“…You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me” (Ps. 86.17).

And in all this comfort, as with all God’s provisions, we first need to thank Him—as Jesus did.
“And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled” (Mk. 6.41, 42).

Thankfulness to God proclaims our dependence upon Him for everything (Jms. 1.17).
“Let us come before His Presence with thanksgiving…” (Ps. 95.2).
“Be thankful to Him, and bless His Name, for the LORD is good…” (Ps. 100.4, 5).

“…with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…” (Phil. 4.6).

Jesus taught His disciples by example. He was sad, He was comforted, He comforted others.

He, with compassion, saw the needs of others and filled them.
He was thankful. He was prayerful. He is The Soul and Body Servant.

We are called to follow Him likewise, in similar endeavors within our Personal Mission Field. Making sure to keep our eyes open to all the needs and circumstances around us—assiduously picking up after ourselves.

Reflection
1. Whom have you served lately by the ministry of the Word?

2. Whom will you serve today by the ministry of good works?

3. Whom will you encourage today to follow Jesus in serving the souls and bodies of others?

The people sought the spiritual food of Christ’s word, and then he took care that they should not want bodily food. If Christ and his disciples put up with mean things, surely we may. And this miracle shows that Christ came into the world, not only to restore, but to preserve and nourish spiritual life; in him there is enough for all that come. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Mark 6.30-44

Pray Psalm 107.17-22.
How many ways has Jesus served you already today? Recount them back to Him with thanksgiving. Ask Him to fill your soul with Himself and to prepare you for serving others today.

Sing Psalm 107.17-22.
(Faithfulness: Great Is Thy Faithfulness)
Foolish and sinful, afflicted and dying,
all of our ways with iniquity fraught—
You hear our moans, our laments, and our crying.
You sent Your Word and to us mercy brought!
Refrain vv. 1-3
LORD, for Your wondrous works, and for Your steadfast love,
we give You thanks, we exalt Your great Name!
We who from east and west, north and south gather,
boldly redemption in Christ we proclaim!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Other columns of interest this week: Our Read Moore podcast is concentrating on praying the psalms to seek revival—why we should and what we might expect. Do you ever wonder about what God’s will for you is? Patrick—echoing Paul—makes it clear, as you can see in last week’s Crosfigell. Our current ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church”, teaches us how to pray for the ministries of our church, beginning with worship. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.

And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.

Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.