Mark 6:34
When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
When Jesus landed
This phrase indicates the physical arrival of Jesus, emphasizing His intentional presence among the people. The Greek word used here, "ἐξελθὼν" (exelthōn), suggests a purposeful action, highlighting Jesus' commitment to engage with the crowd. Historically, this setting is near the Sea of Galilee, a region where Jesus frequently ministered, demonstrating His dedication to reaching diverse communities.

and saw a large crowd
The Greek word for "saw" is "εἶδεν" (eiden), which implies more than just a casual glance; it denotes a deep, perceptive observation. Jesus' ability to see beyond the surface reflects His divine insight into the needs and conditions of the people. The "large crowd" signifies the widespread recognition of Jesus' ministry and the deep spiritual hunger of the people, reminiscent of the multitudes that followed Him throughout His ministry.

He had compassion on them
The term "compassion" is translated from the Greek "ἐσπλαγχνίσθη" (esplanchnisthē), which conveys a profound, visceral empathy. This word is often used in the Gospels to describe Jesus' response to human suffering, illustrating His divine love and mercy. Compassion is a central theme in Jesus' ministry, reflecting God's heart for humanity and His desire to alleviate suffering and provide guidance.

because they were like sheep without a shepherd
This simile draws from the pastoral imagery common in the Hebrew Scriptures, where leaders are often depicted as shepherds. The phrase underscores the vulnerability and directionlessness of the people, akin to sheep who are prone to wandering and danger without a shepherd. Biblically, this imagery is rich with meaning, as seen in passages like Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34, where God promises to be the shepherd of His people, guiding and protecting them.

And He began to teach them many things
Teaching is a fundamental aspect of Jesus' ministry, as indicated by the Greek word "ἐδίδασκεν" (edidasken). This verb suggests a continuous, deliberate act of instruction. Jesus' teachings were not merely informational but transformational, aimed at revealing the Kingdom of God and calling people to repentance and faith. The "many things" He taught likely encompassed parables, moral teachings, and insights into the nature of God, reflecting His role as the ultimate Teacher and Shepherd.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
The central figure in this passage, demonstrating His compassion and role as a teacher and shepherd.

2. The Large Crowd
Represents the people who were seeking Jesus, illustrating their spiritual hunger and need for guidance.

3. Sheep Without a Shepherd
A metaphor used by Jesus to describe the spiritual state of the crowd, indicating their lack of direction and leadership.

4. Teaching
The act of Jesus imparting wisdom and guidance to the crowd, addressing their spiritual needs.

5. The Land
The setting where Jesus and the crowd are located, emphasizing the physical and spiritual journey of the people.
Teaching Points
Compassion as a Core Attribute of Jesus
Jesus' compassion is not just an emotion but a driving force for action. As followers of Christ, we are called to emulate His compassion in our interactions with others.

Spiritual Leadership and Guidance
Just as Jesus provided guidance to the crowd, we are reminded of the importance of seeking and providing spiritual leadership within our communities.

Recognizing Spiritual Hunger
The crowd's eagerness to follow Jesus highlights the universal need for spiritual nourishment. We should be attentive to our own spiritual needs and those of others.

The Role of Teaching in Discipleship
Jesus' response to the crowd's need was to teach them. This underscores the importance of sound teaching in the growth and development of our faith.

The Shepherd's Heart
Understanding Jesus as the Good Shepherd helps us trust in His guidance and care, especially in times of uncertainty or when we feel lost.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jesus' compassion in Mark 6:34 challenge us to respond to the needs of those around us?

2. In what ways can we identify with the crowd as "sheep without a shepherd" in our own spiritual journeys?

3. How can we actively seek out and provide spiritual leadership and guidance in our communities?

4. What are some practical ways we can ensure we are receiving sound teaching and growing in our faith?

5. How does understanding Jesus as the Good Shepherd influence our trust in Him during difficult times?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 9:36
This verse also describes Jesus' compassion for the crowds, using the same metaphor of sheep without a shepherd, highlighting His consistent care for the spiritually lost.

Ezekiel 34:5-6
The Old Testament prophecy about sheep scattered without a shepherd, which Jesus fulfills by being the Good Shepherd.

John 10:11-14
Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd, who knows His sheep and lays down His life for them, providing a deeper understanding of His role.

Psalm 23
The Lord as the Shepherd, providing guidance, protection, and care, which parallels Jesus' actions in this passage.

1 Peter 2:25
Refers to believers returning to the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls, connecting to the idea of Jesus as the ultimate guide and protector.
The Shepherdly Emotion of ChristA.F. Muir Mark 6:34
Rest and WorkE. Johnson Mark 6:30-34
Miraculous ProvisionJ.J. Given Mark 6:30-44
The Miracle of the LoavesR. Green Mark 6:30-44
Christ's Pity Embraced the Unconscious Suffering of MenT. T. Munger.Mark 6:32-34
Christ's Sympathy for MenA.F. Muir Mark 6:32-34
Christ's Teaching the World's Great NeedH. Bonar, D. D.Mark 6:32-34
Pity More Unselfish than LoveT. T. Munger.Mark 6:32-34
The Compassion of ChristScottish PulpitMark 6:32-34
People
Elias, Elijah, Herod, Herodias, James, Jesus, John, Joseph, Joses, Judas, Jude, Mary, Philip, Simon
Places
Bethsaida, Galilee, Genneseret, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee
Topics
Ashore, Compassion, Crowd, Felt, Forth, Got, Heart, Keeper, Landed, Large, Leaving, Mass, Moved, Multitude, Pity, Proceeded, Sheep, Shepherd, Ship, Teach, Teaching, Throng, Towards, Vast
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 6:34

     2015   Christ, compassion
     2045   Christ, knowledge of
     2048   Christ, love of
     2330   Christ, as shepherd
     4831   largeness
     5781   affection
     6668   grace, and Christ
     6689   mercy, of Christ
     7760   preachers, responsibilities
     7789   shepherd, church leader
     8235   doctrine, nature of

Mark 6:1-56

     5357   journey

Mark 6:32-44

     4418   bread

Mark 6:34-45

     5279   crowds

Library
January 6 Evening
The apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things they had done.--MARK 6:30. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.--The Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.--Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. When ye shall have done
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

September 4. "Come Ye Yourselves Apart" (Mark vi. 31).
"Come ye yourselves apart" (Mark vi. 31). One of the greatest hindrances to spirituality is the lack of waiting upon God. You cannot go through twenty-four hours with two or three breaths of air, in the morning, as you sip your coffee. But you must live in the atmosphere, and you must breathe it all day long. Christians do not wait upon God enough. It needs hours and hours daily of spiritual communion with the Holy Spirit to keep your vitality healthful and full. Every moment should find you breathing
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

January 8. "It is I, be not Afraid" (Mark vi. 50).
"It is I, be not afraid" (Mark vi. 50). Someone tells of a little child with some big story of sorrow upon its little heart, flying to its mother's arms for comfort, and intending to tell her the story of its trouble; but as that mother presses it to her bosom and pours out her love, it soon becomes so occupied with her and the sweetness of her affection that it forgets to tell its story, and in a little while even the memory of the trouble is forgotten. It has just been loved away, and she has taken
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Herod --A Startled Conscience
'But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.'--Mark vi. 16. The character of this Herod, surnamed Antipas, is a sufficiently common and a sufficiently despicable one. He was the very type of an Eastern despot, exactly like some of those half-independent Rajahs, whose dominions march with ours in India; capricious, crafty, as the epithet which Christ applied to him, 'That fox!' shows; cruel, as the story of the murder of John the Baptist proves; sensuous
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Master Rejected: the Servants Sent Forth
'And He went out from thence, and came into His own country; and His disciples follow Him. 2. And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands? 3. Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary, the Brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon! and are not His sisters here with us? And they
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Martyrdom of John
'For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. 18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. 19. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21. And when
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The World's Bread
'And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31. And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33. And the people saw them departing, and many knew Him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ Thwarted
'And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.'--Mark vi. 5,6. It is possible to live too near a man to see him. Familiarity with the small details blinds most people to the essential greatness of any life. So these fellow-villagers of Jesus in Nazareth knew Him too well to know Him rightly as they talked Him over; they recognised His wisdom and His mighty works; but all the impression that these
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On Attending the Church Service
"The sin of the young men was very great." 1 Sam. 2:17. 1. The corruption, not only of the heathen world, but likewise of them that were called Christians, has been matter of sorrow and lamentation to pious men, almost from the time of the apostles. And hence, as early as the second century, within a hundred years of St. John's removal from the earth, men who were afraid of being partakers of other men's sins, thought it their duty to separate from them. Hence, in every age many have retired from
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Epistle of Saint Jude.
V. 1, 2. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James, to those that are called to be holy in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. This Epistle is ascribed to the holy Apostle, St. Jude, brother of the two Apostles, James the Less and Simon, by the sister of the mother of Christ, who is called Mary (wife) of James or Cleopas, as we read in Mark vi. But this Epistle cannot be looked upon as being that of one who was truly an Apostle,
Martin Luther—The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained

The First Sayings of Jesus --His Ideas of a Divine Father and of a Pure Religion --First Disciples.
Joseph died before his son had taken any public part. Mary remained, in a manner, the head of the family, and this explains why her son, when it was wished to distinguish him from others of the same name, was most frequently called the "son of Mary."[1] It seems that having, by the death of her husband, been left friendless at Nazareth, she withdrew to Cana,[2] from which she may have come originally. Cana[3] was a little town at from two to two and a half hours' journey from Nazareth, at the foot
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Chronology
45. The length of the public ministry of Jesus was one of the earliest questions which arose in the study of the four gospels. In the second and third centuries it was not uncommon to find the answer in the passage from Isaiah (lxi. 1, 2), which Jesus declared was fulfilled in himself. "The acceptable year of the Lord" was taken to indicate that the ministry covered little more than a year. The fact that the first three gospels mention but one Passover (that at the end), and but one journey to Jerusalem,
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

The Friend of Men 223 in Nothing Does the Contrast Between Jesus and John the Baptist Appear More Clearly than in their Attitude Towards Common Social
I The Friend of Men 223. In nothing does the contrast between Jesus and John the Baptist appear more clearly than in their attitude towards common social life. John had his training and did his work apart from the homes of men. The wilderness was his chosen and fit scene of labor. From this solitude he sent forth his summons and warning to his people. They who sought him for fuller teaching went after him and found him where he was. They then returned to their homes and their work, leaving the prophet
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Twelve Baskets Full of Fragments Gathered from the Miracle of Christ Feeding the Multitude.
1.--MAN NEEDS HELP. "They have nothing to eat." (Mark vi. 36.) 2.--GOD IS BETTER THAN GOOD MEN. "Send them away," said the disciples. (Mark vi. 36.) "They need not depart," the Lord replied. (Matt. xiv. 16.) 3.--MINISTERS SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR THE CHILDREN, THEY GIVE HELP AS WELL AS TROUBLE. Andrew said, "There is a lad here." (John vi. 9.) 4.--YOUTH CAN GIVE TO JESUS WHAT NO ONE ELSE POSSESSES. "There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves." (John vi. 9.) 5.--UNBELIEF
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The Historical Books. 1 the New Testament...
CHAPTER XXIX. THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 1. The New Testament, like the Old, is not an abstract system of doctrines and duties, but a record of facts involving doctrines and duties of the highest import. This record does not constitute an independent history, complete in itself, and to be explained in its own light. It is rather the necessary sequel to the record of the Old Testament. It interprets the Old Testament, and is itself interpreted by it. The two constitute together an organic whole, and can
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Right to Privacy
"There were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."--Mark 6:31 "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them."--Matthew 9:36 I had just come back from a strenuous month in the country. Mr. and Mrs. Sprightly, the young married couple who were in charge of the mission station, and I were relaxing around the tea table. I told about the work I had been doing, and answered interested questions. Finally the talk drifted into lighter channels, and
Mabel Williamson—Have We No Rights?

Set at Liberty.
(MARK VI. 27.) "Hush my soul, and vain regrets be stilled; Now rest in Him who is the complement Of whatsoe'er transcends our mortal doom, Of baffled hope and unfulfilled intent; In the clear vision and aspect of whom All longings and all hopes shall be fulfilled." ARCHBISHOP TRENCH. The Genesis of a Great Crime--The Strength of Evil Influences--An Accomplice of Satan--The Triumph of Hate--The Baptist Beheaded--A Place of Repentance The evangelist Mark tells us, in the twenty-first verse of this
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

The King's Courts
(MARK VI.) "The number of thine own complete, Sum up and make an end; Sift clean the chaff, and house the wheat; And then, O Lord, descend. "Descend, and solve by that descent This mystery of life; Where good and ill, together blent, Wage an undying strife." J. H. N. Under Royal Surveillance--"It is not Lawful."--The Revenge of Herodias--The Upbraidings of Conscience--Devotion to Truth--"A Sin unto Death." Our story brings us next to speak of the Baptist's relations with Herod Antipas, son of the
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

Rejected in his Own Country
"And He went out from thence; and He cometh into His own country; and His disciples follow Him." MARK 6:1-6 (R.V.) WE have seen how St. Mark, to bring out more vividly the connection between four mighty signs, their ideal completeness as a whole, and that mastery over nature and the spiritual world which they reveal, grouped them resolutely together, excluding even significant incidents which would break in upon their sequence. Bearing this in mind, how profoundly instructive it is that our Evangelist
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

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