阅读经文 

有些时候，我们似乎难以觉知我们真正的需要。例如，某人在一个刮着大风的海滩尝试生营火，他可能认为自己只是需要多添加些火柴，但事实上，他真正的需要乃是有人帮他挡风。

跟随耶稣的群众，很多都是想得到医治，以及因看见祂所行的神迹而感到兴奋希奇的人，然而耶稣却看到他们真正的需要乃是领受各样的教导。门徒是耶稣最亲密的跟随者，他们只想知道怎样获得食物供给群众吃，然而耶稣却看到，他们真正的需要是认识到祂是供应一切所需的好牧人。

门徒因为不知道怎样为那么多人提供食物而大感苦恼，但他们大概已留意到，耶稣就像好牧人那样怜悯众人，因为他们就像羊没有牧人那样。因此，在那个安静偏僻的旷野之地，耶稣吩咐他们坐在草地上，等候力量复原。如果你读诗篇第二十三篇，你便可以看到一幅类似的图画，耶稣像牧羊人那样照顾在场的每一个人。尽管门徒当时不完全明白祂所做的事，但祂还是为他们做了这事。

感谢主，祂像一位认识羊群真正需求的牧人，来悉心看顾我们。

Sometimes it can be hard to know what we really need. on a windy beach, as a man tries to start his campfire, he may think he just needs more matches. But what he ­really needs is someone to help block the wind.

The crowd that followed Jesus was full of people who wanted healing and people who were thrilled and amazed to see his miracles, but Jesus saw that they really needed to be taught many things. Jesus’ disciples, his closest followers, wanted to know how they could find food for the crowd, but Jesus saw that they really needed to understand that he was the good shepherd who provides.

The disciples were distressed over how to feed the crowd, but they might have noticed that Jesus, like a good shepherd, had compassion because the huge crowd was like sheep without a shepherd. So in that quiet, remote place he had them all sit down on the green grass in order to be restored. If you read Psalm 23, you will see a picture like this one, with Jesus taking care of all these people like a shepherd tending his flock. And even if the disciples didn’t fully see what he was doing at the time, that’s what he did.

Thank the Lord that he looks after us as the shepherd who knows what his sheep really need.