#DailyDevotion Jesus Has Bowels Of Mercy Towards Us or Why Are There No Pictures Of Jesus’ Sacred Bowels?
Mark 6:30–34
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him everything they had done and taught. 31 “Now you come away to some deserted place,” He told them, “where you can be alone, and rest a little.” So many were coming and going there wasn’t even time to eat. 32So they went away in the boat to a deserted place to be alone. 33But many saw them leave and recognized them. And they ran there from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus stepped out of the boat, He saw a big crowd and felt sorry for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things.
So you might remember that Jesus had sent the twelve out by twos to preach the good news, the kingdom of God was at hand. Jesus had given them authority to heal and to cast out demons. Well now they have returned and they were reporting to Jesus all they had done and taught. After such work they needed a rest. God had created the Sabbath because man cannot work 24/7. He intends for man to get some rest and be restored and get re-centered.
Unfortunately, there were so many people coming to Jesus they had to leave the place to go to a deserted place away from everyone. Not only that, but when they left to go there, others had seen them leave and they left and got to the place ahead of Jesus and his disciples. They were not going to get the rest they needed. Not only were the original people at the spot but as those people went throughout all the towns to get there, they picked up people along the way.
When Jesus stepped out of the boat, he saw the big crowd and felt sorry for them because they were without a shepherd. That feeling sorrow for them in the Greek is splagchnizomai. It means to have one’s bowels to be stirred up for someone, or bowels of compassion. Certainly you have felt this way before at least at a heart touching movie scene. The Hebrew equivalent is racham and tends to be translated as mercy in the Old Testament. I am reminded in 2 Chr. 30:9 “When you turn back to the LORD, your relatives and children will find mercy from their captors and will return to this country. The LORD your God is kind and merciful and will not turn His face away from you if you turn to Him.” Here the people are turning to Jesus. They are turning back to the LORD. As such, Jesus, the LORD, cannot turn his face from them but rather is kind and merciful to them. So he begins to teach them.
Jesus’ kindness and compassion towards the crowd also brings to mind, because this passage says, “they were like sheep without shepherd,” Eze 34:15, the LORD says, “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.” In the same chapter, the New David is also the shepherd of God’s people. We saw in Jeremiah ch. 23 how the LORD is Israel’s shepherd and as well Psalm 23. Jesus is also our shepherd. He has seen our state and had mercy on us. He had his shepherds teach us, baptize us, feed us with his word that we may be gathered unto him and be saved. He is still having mercy and compassion on us, gathering us an teaching us with his word through his shepherds, i.e. pastors, missionaries and evangelist. He does not leave us or forsake us even as he had compassion on the crowds that met him on the other side of the lake.
Heavenly Father, may the bowels of your mercies ever extend to us that you send your Shepherd, Jesus Christ to gather us, feed us and have us be at rest in him. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.