we're looking at Mark chapter 6 verses 30 through 44, a portion of Scripture that records for us what is called the feeding of the 5,000. And so we're going to begin reading at verse 30. I'll read verses 30 through 32 and we'll get into our study as I normally do. I'll give you some information to kind of help to give you a context and lay a foundation, a platform, and then we'll go through our study as we look at the feeding of the 5,000. So beginning at verse 30, reading to verse 32, Mark writes, then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things both what they had done and what they had taught. And he said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile, for there were many coming and going and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. Now let's begin by considering something that we read in the Gospel of John. When you read the Gospel of John, John concluded his Gospel by referring to the miracles of Jesus Christ. In John 21 verse 25, he had said this, as he was concluding the book, he said, there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. And so he speaks concerning the many miracles of Christ by saying the world could not contain books with a detailed account was for emphasis. There were so many works in other words that only a small part of his actions were actually recorded in Scripture. When you read your Bible, you'll note that there are no less than 37 miracles recorded that Jesus performed. You'll see how he healed various diseases, including those who were blind and paralyzed, those who were mute or deaf. And he also cleansed the lepers. He cast out demons, he raised the dead, he made water into wine, he walked on water, he multiplied fish and loaves on two different occasions. And so you'll see that Jesus Christ performed many miracles, but sometimes we have to ask ourselves what the purpose of those miracles were. Why did Jesus perform miracles? Well, there are various reasons. Let me give you a couple as we begin our study. One is that they established his spiritual as well as his messianic authority. He had said in John 536, the works which the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. Why did Jesus perform miracles in order to establish his messianic credentials, this messianic authority? Second, he performed miracles because miracles drew people to himself. We remember the story of a man by the name of Nicodemus who had come to him by night and had said to Jesus, Master, we know that you are a teacher. Come from God for no man does the works that you do unless God is with him. And so Jesus's miracles would draw people, Nicodemus being one, but others who would come to see what he had done and that would draw the attention and he would be able to proclaim his message to them. In John 1411, he said, believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father's in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. And so he would perform miracles to establish his authority. He performed miracles to draw people. He also performed miracles because they deepened the faith of those who followed him. We saw this in chapter 4 here in the Gospel of Mark verses 36 through 41 where he had still the windstorm and his disciples had reacted in a certain way. We saw that in chapter 4 verse 41 that they feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be? That even the wind and the sea obey him. And so the miracles were performed for a variety of reasons including causing people who believed in him, in him to have even a deeper faith. One of the other things that miracles revealed was not so obvious and that's what I want to begin by sharing with you. One of the reasons that he performed miracles revealed something to us about the God of this universe, the God that we serve. His miracles revealed his compassion for those who are in need and for those who are hurting. In Psalm 103 verse 8, the Bible says, the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. In Psalm 103 verses 13 and 14, he goes on to say, just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him, for he himself knows our frame, he is mindful that we are dust. And so his miracles revealed compassion for those who are in need, those who are hurting. Out of all of the miracles that you see recorded in the four Gospels, it's interesting that only two of them are recorded in all four Gospels, the resurrection of Jesus and the feeding of the 5,000. Now as we've seen, John the Baptist has yielded his life in his service to the Lord and in doing so, John became a visible lesson on the cost of discipleship. He demonstrated that there's nothing in this world worth losing heaven for. In Matthew 16, 26, the question is asked, what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? What can anyone give in exchange for their soul? And I see that people will sound their soul very cheaply. I see that others have a higher cost, but they are selling it nonetheless. They may have millions and sometimes even billions of dollars and they use it for their own means to influence others to do what they want. But in fact, they're actually selling their soul for something that will last maybe 70 or 80 years and 90 if they're healthy. And so some people sound their soul very cheaply and all, but Jesus asks the question, what good is it if you gain the entire world and yet you forfeit your soul? Well, see John knew that his soul was worth more than anything the world had to offer and he was faithful even to the very end. And the reward of his faithfulness, well, the reward from the world, was to take his life. That was the cost that John was prepared to pay and John paid it faithfully. Now remember after John had been beheaded, verse 29 tells us that his disciples took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb. I mean, we can't imagine the pain they felt as they carried the decapitated body of John to burial. How could they feel? What would they feel? This is the one that they respected. This is the one that they trusted in so many ways. This is the one that they followed. This is the one that they prayed with and prayed for others. They learned to do so through him. John had taught his disciples to praise. Matter of fact, John's disciples were such prayers that that Jesus, his own men said, Jesus, the only thing they ever asked him to teach them, teach us to pray even as John taught his disciples. John was a very, very godly man. Can you imagine what the men felt when they were carrying this decapitated body placing it in a tomb? And Matthew tells us in chapter 14, verse 12, the second portion of that scripture is disciples went after doing so and told Jesus. Now Jesus had sent his men out in teams. We saw that in chapter 6. They went throughout Galilee. They were preaching. They were healing. Scripture says they were casting out demons. And now they're finally getting an opportunity to report their activities to the Lord. Verse 30 says the apostles gathered to Jesus and told them all things, both what they had done and what they had said and all. So they had gone through Galilee preaching, teaching, healing, casting out demons. And now they're sharing with him what had occurred on the journey. They're sharing with him what they had done. And notice they're sharing with him what they had taught. This is because they're accountable to God. They're accountable for what they have said in his name. Some people don't seem to understand that when you stand up and speak in his name, you ought to be accurate. And so these people are coming back. These men are coming back to Christ and giving an account of what they have said because they may have said something that needs correction. If they've done anything, Jesus isn't pleased with, he's going to correct them, which he does. An example of this is found in Luke chapter nine, verses 49 and 50, where it reads, Master said, John, we saw a man driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us. Do not stop him, Jesus said, for whoever is not against you is for you. So they came and gave an account to let Jesus know these are the things we did. And these are the things we said. So if there's a need for correction, Jesus could have corrected them. And so as this is taking place, verse 31 says, he said to them, come aside by yourselves to his deserted place. Rest a while, for there were many coming and going. They did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. And so they departed notice to a deserted place. Luke nine, verse 10 tells us that he took them into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. And so they've been very busy. And so they need some time to rest. We know that ministry sometimes is quite busy. It can be very hectic. The disciples need to rest. And that's something that the Lord wants to provide. And he wants to provide that for his children. Like it says in Psalm 23, verse two, he makes me to lie down in green pastures. After such strain and fatigue and busyness, the men need some rest time. But that's not always possible. Because as they're on their way for this needed rest, notice verse 33, the multitude saw them departing. And many knew him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to him. So these people saw him leaving. It wasn't as if he was trying to sneak away. They saw where he was going. And they hurried up and went up the coast there of the Sea of Galilee up into this particular small village, Bethsaida, in order that they might be able to meet him there. Now, in this particular crowd, there are people who need a touch from the Lord. They needed to be healed. They needed him. They were desperate to receive from him. And as we've seen already, there are always people who would need seeking a touch from Christ. But amongst those people in this group that are going up there are those who are only interested in his signs. They're not interested in his message. They don't want to turn from their sins. They're wanting to be entertained. They want to see something fantastic, fantastic. They want to see a miracle. John chapter 6 verse 2 says, a great multitude followed him because they saw his signs which he performed on those who were diseased. So these people were more interested in what they might get from him. They didn't care to listen to his call for repentance. They didn't want to learn about sacrifice. They wanted to see exhibitions of power. They were the ones who enjoyed a good show and they're the ones who needed a lot of excitement. So they saw the direction he was traveling in and they ran ahead of him. Well, in verse 34 it says, and Jesus when he came out saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things and so he comes out and he sees this great crowd. Notice in verse 34 how it says he was moved with compassion. They were pursuing him. Many of them were pursuing him for the wrong reasons but he was still moved. They were pursuing him to see some exciting sign but he still had compassion. And even though they were pursuing him for the wrong reasons he still taught them. Now it's interesting how it says he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. That's an interesting phrase and we who don't live in a kind of agricultural society as they did. Some of us might understand that I don't but some may. What it means when it speaks of a sheep without a shepherd and so I decided to read something on sheep and shepherds and the relationship so I could find some illustrations and understand this a little bit better. And one of the writers that I looked at spoke concerning the fact that sheep desperately need a leader. He spoke of something that occurred in the Middle East where there was a flock of 1500 sheep and the 1500 sheep were out there in a meadow and all and the shepherd and his crew were together making lunch for themselves and didn't notice that the sheep had begun to wander off until the sheep had wandered off towards a cliff and this guy was writing and saying how that before the shepherds were able to react the sheep went over the cliff because the sheep in the front just walked up to the cliff and apparently didn't have a realization of what they were about to do and stepped right off the cliff and fell down and 400 of those sheep died. All of them went over but the others landed on top of the dead sheep and they were able to survive it but 400 of them had died and so the writer was saying that sheep seemed to have an instinct to pursue a leader and follow them even to their own hurt and so sheep need a shepherd. They will follow someone follow anyone even if it leads them into danger. I read that if you have sheep in a pen and stretch a rope across the door of the pen the first few sheep will jump over the rope but if you cut the rope the remaining sheep will still jump over the invisible rope because that's what the rest of the flock did and so when Jesus calls us his sheep read into that one you see the sheep when they have a good shepherd have one that will lead them into safety secure pastors places of grazing and rest and so I had read about how that when when a lamb was born how often that the shepherd would take the lamb and would hold the lamb right from the beginning and would actually dry it off and hold it and speak to it and as the shepherd began to speak to the lamb the lamb would connect with his voice and so from that point on as he would hold and care for the newborns the lambs who were becoming sheep became aware of the way he spoke and so they would follow his voice and in John 10 27 Jesus said my sheep hear my voice and I know them they follow me they will not follow the voice of the ungodly the harling they follow the true shepherd so when they have a good shepherd their life is blessed but when they have an evil shepherd their lives can be difficult I remember hearing the story of someone who went to Israel for the first time and while they were in Israel they saw the sheep as they were going through a pathway and what he perceived to be the shepherd was behind with the with the stick hitting the sheep and driving them forward and and he turned to his guide and he said I've read the scriptures that say that the shepherd goes before the sheep and the sheep follow him they know his voice he said that's true he says then but I just was looking and I saw that guy with the stick hitting the sheep he said that's not the way I read the bible is that what they do now and the guy says well yeah yeah that one is driving them and and abusing them because he's not he's not the shepherd he's the butcher and that's what the butcher would do they drove the sheep but the shepherd walks before the sheep and as a good shepherd Jesus loved the people and he knew they needed a shepherd so he felt compassion what does this compassion cause him to do notice verse 34 it says he began to teach them many things Luke in chapter 9 verse 11 says when the multitudes knew it they followed him he received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who had need of healing so he performed physical healings but he emphasized how to enter God's kingdom he taught them about how to enter the kingdom of God and he cared for their physical needs and the physical healings provided evidence that he could give them spiritual life and so that's what he did he taught them concerning the kingdom of God and met their needs well verse 35 says to us when the day was now far spent his disciples came to him and said this is a deserted place already the hour is late send them away that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread for they have nothing to eat and so Jesus is teaching them but now he's going to be teaching his disciples something a little deeper he's going to now personally give a lesson to his disciples as he ministers to these who are in need I I refer to this as ministry 101 or fundamentals of ministry he had begun this kind of teaching earlier when he had sent them out and remember he had sent them out in teams he had given them spiritual power he had taught them to live by faith he told them to trust in his father to provide to see the urgency of the task he gave him a message of repentance and power over demons and diseases and what he's doing is he's training them concerning what true ministry is and where it begins what he's doing is he's teaching his men as a ministers to these people he's teaching them what I call the heart of ministry we need to understand what the heart of ministry is and in again in verse 34 it says when Jesus Jesus when he came out saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion the heart of ministry the heart of ministry is to genuinely love other people ministry is to be built on a love for people true ministry is never built on possessions or positions it's not even built on preaching true ministry begins with a heart and a compassion for people my mama used to love to talk to people about Jesus she was quite the evangelist and one day my mom was speaking to me very early in her christian life and my mom said to me honey she said I love ministry it's just people I can't stand and I said you know mama I think you got it backwards there baby mama people are ministry because ministry is people and his men need to have a heart to care for those who are hurting and ministry in the heart of a christian will always begin with a god-given compassion again it's built on love and Jesus is teaching these men that if they're going to truly represent his kingdom they need to truly love love people it's a loving concern for people they keep them from using people to achieve their goals sometimes we might see somebody come into the church and we might say to ourselves well we could really use them and then the holy spirit says that's exactly what you'll do if you don't love them you'll just use them Jesus wants us to love to love people and they're never in ministry especially ever to be used just to achieve a goal in Ephesians 5 1 and 2 Paul said be inventators of God therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God we're to be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live a life of love as Christ loved us and that's what he's teaching his men because loving God will always be evidenced by loving those he loves in 1st John 4 11 beloved if God so loved us we also ought to love one another and so Jesus is going to teach them what a heart of compassion is and how to minister so again verse 35 the day is now far spent and his disciples come to him and said this is a deserted place already the hour is late send them away that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and by themselves bread they have nothing to eat now when it speaks about the evening it's already the hour is late the Jewish Jewish people would divide evening into two sections or two parts there was an early evening it was from three to six and then there was later evening from six to nine p.m. the event that we're looking at is occurring between three and six his disciples are extremely tired and they're ready to rest Jesus has already ministered throughout a full day it's late the men are tired and so he's already begun to teach them what compassion is they noticed it enough for it to be recorded in scripture but this is now a second lesson that he's going to emphasize and that is ministry always includes personal sacrifice they need to understand that that ministry isn't innate to five that it goes longer sometimes much longer now Paul spoke of that when he was speaking to the elders of the church of Ephesus and acts 20 verse 31 when he said to them therefore watch and remember that for three years they didn't cease to warn everyone night and day with tears night and day i was with you constantly ministering to you constantly well the disciples are understandably tired they're ready for a much desired rest but Jesus is going to teach them that ministry to people doesn't always follow a clock it it always involves personal sacrifice and so they're coming to him and and they're saying it's a deserted place it's time for us to you know to send them away we're in a remote area there's no way to obtain the needed supplies to care for them and there's a great group of them it's a great idea to send them away so they can find food for themselves again remember we read that Jesus had compassion on them he saw them as sheep without a shepherd he saw them as sheep without a shepherd but the disciple the disciples saw them simply as problems there's too many people there's too little supplies so in their minds sending them away to find supplies is the only solution it makes sense but they need to see beyond the situation they need to grow in their understanding of what god can do so he's going to teach them another lesson he's teaching them that challenges are not obstacles but opportunities they approach him and they gave him advice on how to solve his problem i know that none of us have ever told god how to run the universe i know we haven't i know that in our prayers we've never said lord if you would only do this um i have many times i've said you know lord if you would orchestrate it in this way i think this would be the result well i he hasn't asked me to give him advice in romance 1134 the question is asked who has known the mind of the lord who has become his counselor i'm supposed to allow him to tell me what to do i'm not to tell him what to do but in their minds they have good reasons for sending the people home they give them the reasons that deserted place the hour is late so the problem can be solved by sending them away but that's not acceptable to jesus his men saw this great multitude as a problem that could be dealt with later but jesus saw them as people with needs that needed to be met now and so his desires to train his men to minister to multitudes and now he's going to train them to do that he's going to give them three lessons first he's going to expose their inadequacy to meet people's needs second he will show them that he is completely adequate to meet their needs and third he's going to teach them that they're to work together with god in ministry to meet those needs so first he's going to expose their inadequacy how's he do that well he has them check their resources notice verse 37 and 38 he answered and said to them you give them something to eat and they said to him shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat but he said to them how many loaves do you have go and see and when they found out they said five two fish take inventories what he had them do they were to calculate or compute the cost it was beyond their resources he's exposing their inadequacy they computed the cost it was much too much it would have cost somewhere it says in verse 37 around 200 days labor if they paid out of it out of paid for it out of their own pockets so we don't have 200 days labor worth of money so verse 38 well how many loaves do you have go and see so what they're doing is they're walking through this crowd and they're checking on resources and it's an immense crowd by the way and so they're going through the crowd to determine the resources what he wanted them to do is to realize that there was no human solution to the situation in John 6 5 through 7 Jesus lifted up his eyes and seeing a great multitude coming toward him said to Philip where shall we buy bread that these may eat but this he said to test him for he himself knew what he would do Philip answered him 200 denarii worth of bread it's not sufficient for them that every one of them may have a little so in verse 38 they found out they told them they said five and two fish in John 6 verse 8 Andrew Simon Peter's brother spoke up here's a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish but how far will they go among so many so they had walked through the crowd nobody had anything except for a little boy a young boy and he had brought his lunch he had barely enough to feed himself he had five pieces of what is called flat bread and a fish bread if you will he was making tuna sandwiches that was his lunch while Jesus had already begun teaching his men to trust in God to provide their needs remember he had sent them out from ministry and he told them don't go with any extra resources in mark 6 verse 8 he said take no bag when he said take no bag no bag that you're going to carry food in no bread which speaks of extra supplies and no money because they were going to be cared for because the laborer was worthy of his food he had already begun to teach them to trust God he gave a lesson on God providing for them and now would see God provide for others it's obviously very important for us to understand our limitations we need to come to the own to the end of our own resources and other than that we might see what God can do we have to come to the end of our own resources very often one of my favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 33 3 call unto me and I will answer they and show the great and mighty things which thou know us not call unto me and I will answer you and I will reveal things to you that you're not even aware of you come to your end the end of your own resources you have to because it's at the end of your resources that you discover the greatness of his and that's a spiritual principle in 2 Corinthians 12 9 and 10 Paul spoke of how he had asked God to remove his thorn in the flesh and he had asked him three times but he goes on to say he said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness and so his response was most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak then am I strong is when you come to the end that you discover where his strength actually is and so verse 39 goes on and and says he commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass and they sat down in ranks in hundreds and in fifties 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 my goodness with such a great number of people organization was necessary we need to remember something I think sometimes the church forgets is that the God we worship is what has been called the God of order in 1st Corinthians 1433 Paul said it like this God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all the churches of the saints God is a God of order and so what he's doing is he's having him sit in companies it makes it easier for him to minister to them and that's what he's about to do first thing we pointed out is he made them aware of their inadequacy they had calculated their resources they knew they couldn't meet the need but now he brings them to understand a second ministry principle and that is that God is able in Ephesians 3 20 God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think what cannot be accomplished through the flesh is made possible by the spirit in Jeremiah 32 27 behold I am the Lord the God of all flesh is there anything too hard for me Zechariah 4 6 not by might nor by power but by my spirit say at the Lord of hosts Philippians 4 19 my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus there's nothing he cannot do shall there be anything too hard for me my God shall supply all your need not all your greed all your need my God will supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Jesus Christ and then he revealed to them that they were going to work together with him you see these disciples needed to learn that they were working with God in his ministry in 1st Corinthians 3 verse 9 we are God's fellow workers you are God's field God's building but we are his fellow workers you can't do this on your own you need to work together you had already sent them out in teams so that they would understand that they needed to have unity in the body of Christ to do the work of ministry requires more than a single person you need to have a team you need to have people around you we need to hold each other's hands up we need to pray for one another we need to love one another comfort one another we need need to be there for one another have fellowship with one another we need to do all of these things because we're the body of Christ and one of the things that is the sickness in the church today is many Christians don't understand that they were saved to be part of a body we were not saved to be by ourselves we were saved to be with others when God created Adam he said it is not good that the man should be alone therefore he created a woman for him Adam had relationship with God but he needed a human being to have relationship with too and that's why he was created and they had a perfect thing going until they had kids we'll talk about that some other time and so there to learn to work together the church is not built on a man other than the man Christ Jesus the ministry is carried on together every member is a minister God gave amen God thank you and well I'll talk to you for a while but God gave apostles prophets evangelists pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry it isn't built just on an apostle or a prophet or an evangelist or a pastor teacher those are all parts of the workings that God has to make the structure of the organization work Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone the teaching the doctrine of the apostles being the foundation of how we live the pastor teacher teaching the word of God to equip the saints so we together can do what God calls us to do be very careful and I don't think any of you in this church is guilty of this but I say this because others are watching online right now be very careful that you don't make the pastor the superstar that'll destroy him he's just a man like everybody else he needs Jesus like everybody else that's how it works in ministry now he ought to be mature and he ought to you know be an example I can teach on that I'm teaching on that right now in the book of Titus but he is just a person the one we look to is the perfect one Jesus Christ and together we work to do the work of ministry God has a way of doing that and we need to understand that and Jesus is teaching them that it's not going to be built on just one person outside of Christ himself it's going to be a team of people working together and so as he's training them in this and revealing to them that they're going to work together with him verse 41 says that he looked up to heaven he blessed and he broke the loaves then gave them to his disciples to set before them and the two fish he divided among them all so he looked up to heaven giving thanks he's he's pointing in his is thanks to God obviously to the origin of the miracle it's it's a heavenly miracle but when it speaks about him giving and and and he looked at me blessed and broke the loaves and gave that's giving us the insight that they they were going out amongst this whole crowd and they were coming back there 12 of them and they're going into the different sections they're they're giving and they're coming back and he's still he's still giving how's that happen there were only if you know little fish and loaves how is can you imagine how you would feel nothing about that put yourself there for a moment and Jesus is still handing you things and you think this is impossible and it is this is impossible then you go and then you come back and he's still giving that's amazing they're participating with him in the work as he's showing the work continue and then they gave to the others they're they're learning to serve in a practical way and as this is taking place verse 42 it says they all ate and were filled that that word filled speaks of completely filled they were so filled they they couldn't eat anymore they were filled like you were on thanksgiving they just oh no more is that pie no they're they're filled like that but the food that he provided completely satisfied their hunger and there was enough to satisfy every single one now that's what Jesus said he'll do for you by the way and for me that he'll completely satisfy in John 6 35 Jesus declared I am the bread of life he who comes to me will never go hungry he who believes in me will never be thirsty he went on in verse 51 of John 6 and said I am the living bread that came down from heaven whoever eats this bread will live forever this bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world they had as much as they wanted they had as much as they needed they had so much that they were completely filled Psalm 23 5 my cup overflows and notice verse 43 they took up 12 baskets full of fragments and the fish 12 baskets each apostle received a portion individually they along with Jesus were completely cared for and once again Jesus is teaching them that he supplies their need as they serve in 1st Timothy 5 18 scripture says do not muzzle an ox while it's treading out the grain the worker deserves his wages and so verse 44 says those who had eaten the loaves are about 5000 men well Matthew 14 21 gives us even greater insight the number of those who ate was about 5000 men besides women and children the guesstimate when you include the average number of children the amount of that 5000 who would have been married the guesstimates as to the actual size of the crowd is more between 15 to 20 000 it's 5000 men but a good portion would have been married and a good portion would have had children and they would have had an average of two to three children at least we already saw one young boy who was there and therefore there were quite a number of others and so the actual magnitude of this is beyond our initial 5000 it's probably 15 to 20 000 people who are there on this hillside that's a long day but it's a lot it's a lot of service but you got to be I would I would be I know I'd be just like I don't I don't believe this this this is crazy this is really crazy I keep coming back and he keeps giving me more I can't believe this and then he says now pick up the mess get the rest put it in your baskets because I'm taking care of you too you served but you also get cared for now John gives us some insight into the effect that this had on those who were fed in John chapter 6 verse 14 it says those men when they had seen the sign that Jesus did said this is truly the prophet who is to come into the world the prophet was another term for Messiah so men were saying that this is the prophet who has come into the world but verse 15 of John 6 says that they were about to come and try to force him to be their king they tried to make him into a political king who would heal them and feed them he was giving them things he was giving them medical aid and food and they wanted him to be a political king they wanted his kingdom to be modeled after the world system I mean think about it what if we had a ruler who provided every single need I have made sure that I ate and made sure that I was cared for physically that's what they wanted it's no different now than it was then the same desires are in the hearts of people to this day give me something that satisfies me physically but Jesus didn't come to be that kind of king he didn't come to rule a kingdom modeled after the kingdoms of this age he didn't come to be a political ruler he came to be their spiritual king and the way he would be their king was through salvation he came to seek and he came to save the lost he came to give his life a ransom for many that's why Christ came he didn't come to wear the crown he came to wear a cross in order that they might come to salvation these people got their stomachs filled and they saw people being healed and they said that's exactly what we want and indeed that's a wonderful thing but the salvation was more important than the food and being healed and when Jesus saw that John tells us that he left it says in John 6 15 when they tried to take him he went to a mountain alone and left them why because he didn't come to rule a kingdom of man he came to rule the hearts of man and that comes through yielding his life on a cross what are you teaching us lord i'm teaching you that i can supply that i am the same yesterday today and forever and that i still do things to show you how good i am you know many times many times i've gone to mexica a number of times to take care of the babies there there's so many children to have nothing and this fellowship for many years has supplied gifts and what always blesses me every time they come back from such a trip they will say we didn't know if we had enough gifts and we always had enough to the very last always had exactly the amount that was needed now i'm not saying that god is multiplying barbie dolls what i'm saying what i'm saying is that he always provides the exact need he always does our god supplies our need according to his mercy he does he does and so jesus what is the point of this i am the bread of life you eat of this bread you will hunger again but if you had my flesh which i'll provide for you you will never hunger nor will you ever thirst again i want you to work as teams to take the message out to let people know that the savior of the world has come i want you to let them know that the god of this universe is a god with a compassionate heart who sees the need of people but you guys are going to need to be my hands you're going to need to go out and reach and touch and help many years ago there was a statue that was in in a town center in a small village in france it was the a statue of jesus that that the town was very proud of but during world war two there was there were bombings and and damages to that whole square had occurred and and the hands of the statue that that reminder of who jesus is the hands were were broken off through the the the repercussions of the the the bombs and all but the village decided never to repair the hands they left the statue there as a reminder he had no hands but as a reminder to all the people that we are the hands that christ uses in this day that we are to be those hands reaching out touching in his name ministering in his name and maybe that's something the church needs to always remember is that though it's a blessing when others are able to minister to us it is an exceptional blessing when are able to minister to someone else for jesus himself said it's more blessed to give than to receive and so that's what god has called us to do is to remember so jesus feeds the 5000 but he's teaching his men that the job they have is to feed them with the living bread jesus christ and father we ask


Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third-party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Recently on Reddit, people shared stories of supernatural interventions, preventing them from going to jail, getting hurt or doing something illicit in the first place. People encounters with ghosts might come in the form of loud noises, mysterious apparitions, ethereal warnings or just a powerful sense of intuition. Are these reports all true stories of otherworldly assistants? We'll leave that for you to judge. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome Weirdos, I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up in this episode Weirdo family member Atreida tells of a horrifying series of nights when she and her sister encountered a demon under one of their beds. In York County, Pennsylvania, a suspected witch is murdered and thus began the dark story of the Hex House. Was there a conspiracy to murder Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe? But first, creepy paranormal encounters sometimes cause people to stop short of committing an action they might regret. We begin there. If you're new here, welcome to the show. While you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, my newsletter, to enter contests, to connect with me on social media. Plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you're struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com.  Over a couple of weeks one summer, me and some friends, all middle school, grade 7 through 8, stuck into a nearby school at night and just messed around, nothing damaging. Eight candy out of desks, eight ice cream out of the teacher's lounge, wrote notes to teachers and hid them in desks. The first night we went in, I was going to go into the library. Had the door open, but a friend said no, don't. He claimed it wasn't him who said it though, so we didn't go in. After that night, the library doors were locked, so we couldn't go in even though we wanted to. Then, one night about nine days later, our entrance, the rooftop hatch, was locked and we couldn't get in anymore. The very next night, some guys got busted after climbing in through library windows. It seems they had motion detectors inside the library, pointing away from the door that we would have entered, into the main area, connected to a silent alarm. We would have been busted if not for whoever said those words. My friends and I used to climb the rooftops of buildings a lot in our early to mid teens. One of our favorite spots was the library by my house. It had a ladder on the backside with a gate blocking off the rungs, but you could grab the top of the gate and pull yourself up if you jumped high enough. We're all pretty tall, so this isn't much of a challenge for any of us. We got to the top and we're about to light our joint when we heard someone say, you boys better get down right now. We all jumped and turned around but couldn't see anybody. I hesitantly looked around the AC units and electrical boxes but couldn't find anyone. I walked to the edge of the roof and looked down to the sidewalk below but couldn't see anyone there either. My friends and I scanned that entire rooftop but couldn't find a single person. It was a rooftop so it's not like they could have had that many places to hide in the first place. It startled us enough though that we decided to leave and get high somewhere else. We still have no idea who or what told us to get off the roof. Me and my crime partner did a lot of stuff burglaries, robberies, thefts, etc. for like five years. We're both Orthodox Christians so once in a while we would go to church. Anyway, we're walking up the stairs and I see people entering the church. The second we try to open the door, it's locked. Tourists around us were taking pictures and we were the only ones trying to get in. We walk away 20 meters or so and see people walking in there. Guess God didn't want any thieves in there that day. This is something I'll never forget. So I used to work as a security guard at a large office building. I often stole things, like computers, desks, chairs, etc. from the offices. I was very careful and never took anything during my shift. There were only cameras in the lobby and on the outside of the building, not in any tenant spaces. One day I found a wallet in a desk and it had a few hundred dollars. I took the money and left the wallet. I wasn't on that night, no one saw me enter or leave the building and I wasn't on any camera. A few weeks later a lady I'd never seen before came up to the security desk and told me that she saw me take the money and even knew the exact amount. She said that she wanted me to know that she knew. Then she left and I never saw her again. There is just no possible way she could have seen me. This one night I was boosting some silverware from an old lady's house. She was home but old people are pretty deaf and dang slow so I really didn't care. I hear this strange sound coming from the room where she's watching TV. Volume was way loud, grandma. So I go look and she's like having a seizure or something.  They answer. Crap, I don't know what to say now. Hi, I was just robbing this old lady's house and she's having a seizure. So I freeze and I say nothing. I wait with her but she stops seizing and then I hear sirens so I hide in her tiny front hall closet with the foldy doors and shutters. Before the EMTs arrive she stops seizing. So by the time they get to her door she seems fine except confused why they're at her house. They make nice, apologize and leave. As soon as they're gone she starts seizing again. Dang it! So I call 911 again just in case.  Same thing, sirens, she stops seizing, answers the door.  The bad guy with a heart of gold. But I'm not about to pop out and say but she was having a seizure. So they leave. Just as they drive away with her waving an old lady goodbye she falls down and starts seizing again. Now it's just sad slash funny. Gotta call 911 again for grandma. This time I'm thinking about leaving a note or something because I want to get out of there. So I call, wait for the sirens, then she stops breathing. I'm thinking if I don't get out of here murder charge now. I hide as the EMTs come through the door, put an oxygen mask on her and take her away. By this point my adrenaline is through the roof and screw it. I feel like I've earned the right to take as much crap as I can and walk out the door with it since the house is now empty. I could take my time going through her stuff, silverware jewelry, cash in the shoebox, you name it if I could find that it's mine. A fee for being a good Samaritan. And wouldn't you know it, the EMT comes back. Who knows why? I hide again. He walks into the living room, turns the TV off and grabs a bag off her chair. This is the part that really messes me up. As he turns to go, an old man just appears out of nowhere, pats him on the back and whispers something to him. But the EMT doesn't react at all, doesn't turn around, doesn't pause, just heads back out the door like the old man wasn't even there. Then the old guy glides to the front window and stands there waving goodbye. Then he disappeared. I'm standing in the closet, frozen, wondering what just happened. And when I feel it, somebody's breathing down my neck. Get out of my house. I started running, praying, crying right out the door. I didn't care who saw. I ran like a little girl. To this day, whenever somebody says scared straight, I try not to remember the sound of that old man's voice. But I always do. I was 17. I had decided on the way home from school I was going to slam my car into a light pole, hopefully killing myself. As I revved my car, I hear a loud shotgun sound. My back right tire blew out. My dad came to help me change it shortly thereafter, without me calling anybody. I thought that oddly coincidental. When I was 14, I'm 33 now, I used to boost cars for this car theft ring in California. I did it for several months and never got caught. It was more of a thrill and lack of direction from living in a bad area and lack of supervision and authority in my life. I'd never been arrested or got caught. I was always a good kid, but I rebelled after my parents split up. Anyway, there was one car that I needed to pick up and get delivered that day. The boss man was extremely insistent that the order needed to be filled within a few hours. It was another job like any other. But when I was about a mile away from my order, I got a very uneasy and disturbing feeling. Nothing was out of the ordinary or different from the dozens of other jobs I'd done. But I couldn't shake the feeling. As I got closer to my destination, it was as if it just got noisier and more distracting. In my head, finally that unsettling feeling overcame me and I bailed out. I saw the car and acted like I just wasn't paying attention. I didn't do the job. I kept going and knew I was in deep with the boss guy, but I decided to lay low because not filling an order was seriously bad news. That guy was not someone you disappoint or you would feel it. He was wrathful and on drugs, so I knew I had to hide for a while. Two days of him blowing up my pager, yeah that's how long ago it was, I had a pager, then he calls and pages and it just suddenly stopped. Come to find out word on the street was that the cops pulled a big sting operation and that car I was supposed to steal was being monitored. My old boss sent some other kid to get the car when they followed the kid back to the scrap yard and did a big bust. That guy got arrested. That kid got arrested. A whole boatload of people got arrested. But no one ever came for me. To this day I know God was looking out for me at that moment, at that time, and I listened. Since that incident I never pulled anything like that ever again. I straightened up, got back into school and graduated with honors. It was all because of that weird supernatural moment. Back in high school a group of friends and I would break into recently built houses in our subdivision and use it for small parties and smoking before school.  I was alone in the house and it was maybe 7.30 am. Being the little rebel I was and legitimately confused as to who would be in the house so early, I went and checked the rooms. Of course there wasn't anyone inside and I never went back to that particular house. I've lived in that same subdivision for years and multiple families have moved in just to move out months or even weeks later. I was helping move Coke allegedly to Queens. I was about to get on the subway on 14th street when I bumped into an ex who is into tarot and spirits. Long story, after missing a couple trains we parted ways. When I arrived at the building in Queens the cops raided the room five minutes before I got there. I bought a pack of tarot cards just out of respect. Criminal here. Partner and I were scouting out a house to rob. Elderly guy, nobody had seen him in a few days, mail overflowing in the mailbox, missed a doctor's appointment, car hadn't moved, etc. We both know we're about to find a body or an empty house which we could easily rob. We arrive on the scene, look through the window and sure enough we can see his foot on the floor in the living room. My partner is a seasoned robber and pulls rank and makes me go first. Door's unlocked and as soon as we open it we smell a mostly fresh dead body. Almost relieved we both enter and he tells me to check vitals on the dead dude.  So I go to stand over him and see if I can get a pulse, at which point he takes a deep breath, rolls over and asks why we're in his house. At this point we both start screaming and run out of the house. I only managed to grab one silver spoon. I think he died a week later in the hospital.  I used to grow a little weed and party on a plot of farmland in Wisconsin. We'd have friends up every memorial day.  Canoing, partying, binge drinking. One night I took my 89 Chevy Blazer with a carload of people to the river for a swim. On the way back I was driving like a bat out of hell, sending people bouncing all over, on purpose, and continued driving like that around the loop past the camp spot when somebody from the back grabbed me and pulled me back in my driver's seat and yelled, Stop! Well, I slammed on the brakes and everyone went flying forward. Through it reverse made a three-point turn to pull in and park at the camp spot. The passengers had had enough and didn't want to pass up the tents and fresh beer. All poured out of the car laughing. A few minutes go by and Mike is yelling at something on the trail. I go over there and in the dirt passed out cold with mud on his face from my front tire was this drunken friend of ours. I immediately started freaking out screaming how if Mike didn't see him and told me to stop, he'd be dead. If I didn't pull in reverse after stopping, he would be dead. I was kicking him and ticked until Mike stopped me to say that he didn't see anything. Nobody saw anything. Nobody grabbed me. But sure as hell, I swear on my children, something grabbed me and yelled me to stop and saved his life that night. I don't consider myself a criminal. In fact, I pride myself in being a very ethical person. But one time I committed a minor crime that led me to think there might be some supernatural involvement here. I went to Hobby Lobby, a clearly Christian establishment, bought some balsa wood, needed four or five pieces, saw a six-pack and picked it up. When I went to the register, I realized that the cashier was charging me for only one piece of wood. I guess it was not a six-pack, it was probably the bulk packaging that came from the manufacturer and the employees just never put them up. When I realized I was getting charged for one piece only out of the stack of six, I decided to let it slide. I didn't point it out. I walked out with six pieces for the price of one, so really I stole five pieces. Fast forward a few days, I am using a table saw to cut grooves in the wood to make some small gift boxes. I am doing a pretty decent job until I stop to chat with a friend and have a couple of glasses of wine. I don't know what possessed me other than boredom to return to the table saw. The first cut took some skin off the tips of three of my fingers. So I go to the ER for some emergency stitching, get my tetanus shot, etc., have surgery to reconstruct my fingertips using cadaver skin. Shout out to whoever's fingerprints I now have. Thanks, man. Shortly after, surgical wounds become infected with MRSA. More hospitalization and antibiotics. At this point, I am starting to feel God's wrath. Mind you, I am not a Christian. I was only very superficially Catholic long enough to get my first communion and then drop the whole idea at bat, but thinking about the chain of events that unfolded from five stolen pieces of balsa wood, I could not help but believe that this was a sign from a higher power. So I went back to Hobby Lobby with one of the pieces of balsa wood. I asked to speak to a manager and I explained the situation to him and told him that I want to pay for those other five pieces of balsa wood because I really needed to be done with it. I said it was a real load off my shoulders and I felt better after telling him that. He said it made him feel like a priest receiving confession. That was my first confession. It was not after a series of catechism classes, nor at the indicated age, but it did happen as a result of learning a lesson. So I guess that counts, even if I am no longer Catholic. Once I stole this kid's doll. When I got home I was bored and thought it'd be kind of funny to chant a demonic incantation over it. Suddenly my roommate dropped dead and the doll actually stood up and ran out the door. I didn't mention anything about the doll to the paramedics because I didn't think they'd believe me. My roommate's death was ruled natural causes, but I still can't help feeling responsible that maybe I actually did tap into some sort of spiritual curse. Back in high school me and my friends liked to go places we shouldn't and smoke pot. So on April 20th, 420, one year we all go to our old elementary school at like 1030 at night to blaze it. Since it was so late we were kind of trespassing. On the way there my friend, whose mom worked at the school, told us about how one of the old janitors told his mom that a long time ago a girl died in a landslide on the hill behind the school. So we're walking around the buildings when suddenly we hear a very loud, clear little girl scream coming from the direction of the playground, which would make sense if it wasn't 1030 on a school night. It was one of those moments out of a movie. We were all just looking at each other, mouths agape. We booked it out of there as fast as possible. I broke into this one abandoned house once. It sat on the edge of the block and was behind a tall white wall so you only saw what the yard looked like once you climbed over. Old shopping carts, toys, old dog house, kind of dreary. Doors of the house had boards on it so I had to pry those off with a crowbar. Once on the inside everything was black. Looks like the entire inside had been coated in soot from the ceiling to the bathtub to the windows just all black. Thought that was weird. Anyway, I spent a whole week there in the darkest part of winter and I'm sure that there was more than one reason I never got a good night's sleep. I remember a creepy story with a similar theme like this. A guy was talking about how he'd squat in a house that had been put on the market. He had a key to get in because he knew the owners and he'd sleep and shower there after work. He talked about how one night while he slept the phone started ringing. He couldn't figure out where it was coming from and then he saw police cars pull up in the driveway. He hid while they scanned the windows and doors then booked it after they left. He later came back and said that the locks had been changed. He looked at the whole thing like the house was warning him that he was about to be kicked out. I tried to kill someone. I had it out of body experience while doing it. I'm not exactly a faithful person but I think something actually did stop me from killing him. I'm a pretty talented pickpocket, slight kleptomania. I lifted a wallet from a man as I came up behind him on the street. Almost zero contact. No one should have noticed a thing but the man spoke out very calmly as I passed him. Could I have that back please? I turned around to see he was wearing sunglasses. He lifted them up and revealed he was blind. I was so completely dumbstruck and baffled that I apologized and gave him back the wallet. Wasn't too worried about him picking me out of a lineup anyway and didn't want to be that guy that steals from the handicapped. I guess his sense of touch was sharpened by the loss of sight or something like that but for a brief second I was sure this man was a warlock. Something similar happened to a friend of mine. He worked at an expensive liquor store and decided to steal some bottles of wine one night. Just a minute or so after opening the back door and walking into the darkness, he claims to have heard a voice say, what are you doing? He immediately felt frightened and left without the wine. Wow, I've never heard another person's story like this. A buddy of mine was driving to college and got pulled over, mass traffic stop after just finishing a bowl. I know, irresponsible and dangerous.  He pulled up behind another car and stopped. Then the cop who was talking to the other car walked past my buddy's truck.  Then my buddy says he just hears a voice in his head say, go and he pulled away just like that. He spent the remainder of his drive back to school just waiting for the cops to show up on his butt. But they never did. I'm pretty sure that's when he decided to quit smoking pot. I always believed his story. He's one of my oldest friends and sitting just about at the top of my list when it comes to godparents for my future kids. I trust him with anything. Still hard to believe though. One day I went to rob a house of an old lady. Got to the door, thought it was my lucky day because it was unlocked. So I quietly made my way to the living room and almost crapped my pants. The old lady was sitting in silence staring at some unknown presence in the garden, not moving at all. I didn't want to be ghost food so I left. And now I only rob young ladies. Changed my life, man. I grew up in a small town and me and some friends made it our goal one summer to break into every building possible at night. We didn't want to steal anything or actually break anything to get in. It was more of a test of our ability to pick locks or create ways during the day that would make it easy to get in at night. We got into the elementary school one night. There was rumors of a bomb shelter in the basement so we just had to check it out. It was true. The basement janitor closet had a big metal door and inside there was some bomb shelter warnings and instructional stuff along with regular janitor equipment. Nothing interesting or crazy happened while we were in the school and we left after a short period of time. We hung out on the playground equipment afterwards. Around 1 am while we were just hanging out there, a tapping sound from the third floor window of the school started. We all stopped talking and looked up. I couldn't see anything in the window and then BAM BAM BAM three incredibly loud slams against the window. The window was shaking but still nothing to be seen.  We forced an entry into an abandoned and dismantled psychiatric asylum. We wandered the halls and had a look in all the various rooms, some nice and open with windows and bathrooms, some small and cell-like. The rec room had iron bars over the window frames and in the center of the whole building was a quiet little courtyard with a few drill holes where benches used to be. There wasn't the sense of being watched or a presence, but somehow I could feel the history of fear and confusion of the place. The urge to leave was strong and I was caught in a weird place of moving fast but remaining consciously calm. I had to keep reminding myself that everything was fine and that I could go outside at any time. Up next, weird family member Atreida tells of a horrifying series of nights when she and her sister encountered a demon under one of their beds. In York County, Pennsylvania, a suspected witch is murdered and thus began the dark story of the Hex House. These stories and more when Weird Darkness returns. Strange creatures, gruesome murders, oozing organisms, unfathomable abductions, enigmatic expeditions, an age-old malevolence, and much more. Author JC Moore delivers a collection of dark horror tales that are both chilling and poignant. Dark Intrigue's Book One is filled with horror fiction for fans of short story anthologies, horror collections, ghost fiction, suspense, possession, and more. Dark Intrigue's Book One by JC Moore, available on Kindle or as an audiobook narrated by Darren Marlar. Find Dark Intrigue's Book One on the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com. When I was younger, my sister and I shared a bed and a room. We were generally happy and healthy with vivid imaginations despite what happened to us for one solid week in our past. I was about seven at the time. My sister was nearly ten and we were just snuggling down to sleep in our new room in the house our parents had just spent the last two days moving us into. We were happy and expecting to make new friends in the quiet community of Sunray, Texas. As we closed our eyes and drifted off to sleep, something very unnerving happened. The bed began to shake, knocking into the wall of the shared wall between our room and our parents' room. It was violent and loud and knocked my sister and I into each other's arms. Just as the bed finally stopped shaking, our mother opened the door and turned on the lights. Just what are you two up to? she said in a very exasperated manner. Apparently our brother had just gotten to sleep and the shaking bed had woken him and our mother from their sleep too. My sister and I both claimed innocence. After all, we had not moved the bed. It was a huge bed and we barely weighed 100 pounds together. This continued over the next couple of days, always ending with our mother coming in to chide us for being so loud and knocking on the wall. On the fourth day my sister and I determined not to go to sleep until we saw what was making the bed move. We sat huddled together in the darkness. My sister hoarding the flashlight she had liberated from dad's toolbox waiting for the bed to move. Some time after mom went to sleep, we were still watching, even if our eyes were growing heavy with the need to sleep. I was sure that it would not happen that night, mostly because we were waiting for it to happen, but my sister was absolutely sure it would. Just as I was about to give up and turn over for sleep, we heard a knock that came from above our heads. My sister clicked on the flashlight, aiming it in the direction of the sound upon the headboard, and there we saw the most frightening thing our little brains could have seen at that time. A hand rising up from between the bed and the wall from beneath the bed.  The sound was cut off only by the banging of the bedroom door opening and mom turning on our bedroom light. We both jumped up from our bed and ran into our arms, blabbering like babies, scared to death. Mom took us into the living room, and although she was very irritated by being awakened by two of her children screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night, she let us sleep in bed with her until dad came home and carried us back into our bed. The next night our parents decided that we were just scaring ourselves silly with telling ghost stories. We were put back in our room and were both scared to death as the bed began shaking once more. This time, however, my sister did something that's very much not a part of her character. She leaned over the side of the bed and clicked on the flashlight as the bed began to shake. When she did, I saw the thing that lapped up from under the bed and ran out of the room as our mother turned on the light with a very irritated and exasperated look on her face. It's something I will never forget, nor will my sister. This thing that was beneath our bed. Looking at each other, we both silently agreed not to mention what we had just seen. Instead, we said it was the boogeyman. The truth, however, was much different. What was beneath that bed was, in my sister's definition, demonic. It was definitely in the guise of an old man with creepy, glowing eyes and long, talon-like fingers. He didn't have hair but strings of long, nearly transparent locks hung here and there about his shoulders nearly corpse-like than bald. His teeth were sharp and broken and his ears stuck out at odd angles from his head. Besides that, he was dressed in rags but his feet were bare. Since that night, my sister has refused to sleep without a light on in the room. She also has refused to speak about it, with the idea that just talking about the demonic beings will bring them into your life. I respect that, even if I believe differently. I can't help but wonder though if anyone else has been visited by this boogeyman. In York County, Pennsylvania, there was a place called Spring Valley County Park. Before it was given that benign designation, however, it was known by the ominous name of Hex Hollow. In 1928, a local man and suspected witch named Nelson Ramire was murdered in his home in an effort by another local man to remove a curse. Though the so-called Hex House was set on fire in the aftermath of the murder, it survived the blaze and still stands today. In 2007, Ramire's descendants opened it to the public as a museum, featuring displays about his life and death. The killer, man named John Blimer, believed that Nelson Ramire was a witch who had placed a curse on him. This wasn't unusual at the time. Many people in Central Pennsylvania in the 1920s practiced a kind of folk magic called powwow, with mixed elements of Christianity and European folk remedies. In fact, Blimer himself was a powwow doctor. After a string of illnesses and bad luck, Blimer became convinced that he was laboring under a curse. Unable to figure out the source of the curse, he turned to another local witch, Nelly Knoll, known as the Marietta River Witch. She confirmed his fears and told him that the author of his misfortune was none other than Nelson Ramire, who had once secured Blimer of a childhood illness using his powwow magic. According to some accounts, it was Nelly Knoll who told Blimer that in order to break the curse, he needed a lock of Ramire's hair, which he had to bury six feet in the ground. Then he had to burn Ramire's copy of The Long Lost Friend, an 1820 book of folk magic written by John George Holman and commonly employed by powwow practitioners. On November 26, 1928, Blimer and a friend visited Ramire's house in search of his copy of The Long Lost Friend. The story goes that they spent a peaceful night there, with Blimer holding back on his attack after realizing that it would take more than two men to subdue the witch. The next night, Blimer and his friend returned with another accomplice and the three of them assaulted Ramire. The struggle is said to have lasted only about a minute and at the end of it, Ramire was dead. Perhaps because they were unable to find Ramire's copy of The Long Lost Friend, the three men attempted to burn down the entire house of the witch. The fact that the Hex House survived the blaze was cited as further evidence of Ramire's supernatural powers. Blimer would later attest that the Hex placed upon him was broken the moment that Ramire died. All three men were captured and the murder cast national attention upon the area, as papers all over the country ran stories about the York Hex Slayers. Blimer and his first accomplice, John Curry, both received life sentences for their roles in the murder, while the other accomplice, Wilbert Hess, was given a sentence of 10 to 20 years. All three were eventually released without having served out their full sentences. The region's strange medical tradition, which some still practice even today, as well as the murder, partly inspired a series of books by horror author Brian Keane, himself a native of central Pennsylvania. In 2015, a filmmaker named Shane Free released a feature-length documentary about the murder called Hex Hollow, Witchcraft and Murder in Pennsylvania, which features interviews with surviving relatives of those involved, as well as with folklorists and experts in the pow-wow tradition. When Weird Darkness returns, was there a conspiracy to murder Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe? That story is up next. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, dark thoughts or addiction, please visit the Hope in the Darkness page at WeirdDarkness.com. There, I've gathered numerous resources to find hope and solutions. For those suffering from thoughts of suicide or self-harm, there is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, as well as the Crisis Text Line. Both have trained counselors at all hours to help those in need, and the page even includes text numbers for those in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. Those struggling with depression can get help through the Seven Cups website and app, and there's information for anyone to read more about what depression truly is and how to identify it through our friends at ifred.org. There are resources for those who battle addictions, be it drugs, alcohol or self-destructive behavior, along with help for those related to addicts. The page has links to help you find a therapist or counselor, to find help for those who have a family member with Alzheimer's or an adventure, help for those in a crisis pregnancy and more. These resources are always there when you or someone you love needs them on the Hope in the Darkness page at WeirdDarkness.com. In the early hours of Sunday, August the 5th, 1962, psychiatrist Ralph Greenson broke into a bedroom of a house in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. On the bed was the body of a lifeless young woman, nude, clutching a telephone. It was Marilyn Monroe. Greenson immediately phoned for Monroe's internist Dr. Hyman Engelberg, who upon his arrival pronounced her dead. It was 3.50 a.m. News of the death reverberated around the world. The actress was, already at the age of 36, a Hollywood legend and the most famous and photographed woman in the world. The official verdict was suicide. An array of empty pill bottles were found on the bedside table. The tabloids reported the suicide story in lurid front page headlines. So huge was her star when Rose apparent suicide even inspired a wave of copycats around the United States. The coroner's report offered an insight into the troubled actress' mind. Miss Monroe has suffered from psychiatric disturbance for a long time. On more than one occasion, when disappointed or depressed, she has made a suicide attempt. On these occasions, she has been rescued. It is our opinion the same pattern was repeated, except for the rescue, it concluded. Some, however, were less sure the tragic star's death was suicide. Numerous suspicious inconsistencies and contradictory witness testimony have fueled persistent rumors that the star was actually murdered. The first policeman to arrive, Sergeant Jack Clemens, wasn't called until 4.25 a.m., more than 30 minutes after Monroe was pronounced dead. This unexplained delay in calling the police was just the first troubling detail of the crime scene. Clemens immediately felt something was wrong. He thought it obvious the body had been moved, and whilst there were empty pill bottles on the bedside table, there was no water or glass with which to take them. Why, too, was there no vomit? Monroe had taken a massive overdose of nebutol, a barbiturate that should have caused vomiting. Most suspicious of all, Clemens noticed Monroe's housekeeper, Eunice Murray, was washing sheets in another part of the house. Had there been a clean-up of the crime scene? And if so, why? The autopsy report only added to the confusion. Monroe had taken a massive overdose of drugs, but no trace of the pills were found in her stomach. By all accounts, the actress was in turmoil at the time of her death. Addicted to drink and drugs, she was unraveling trying to cope with her tangled life, her failed marriages, the Kennedys, the Mafia, her fading Hollywood career. Perhaps it had all gotten too much for the tragic star. She had a history of suicide attempts. Was this just one where she had finally succeeded? Or, as some suggest, was the overdose accidental and covered up to disguise the gross negligence of her doctors? Witnesses would later emerge to attest that Monroe had died hours earlier than in the official story, and, most sensationally of all, that Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and his brother-in-law, Peter Lofford, were at the house that night. Rumor had it that Monroe had been threatening to go to the press with details of her scandalous romantic liaisons with both Bobby Kennedy and his brother President John F. Kennedy.  Was Bobby Kennedy there that night to locate the diary? And did he take the most extreme measures to silence her and stop her from going to the press? Was Marilyn Monroe murdered? Although the official story is that Marilyn Monroe was pronounced dead by her doctor around 3.50 a.m., much evidence exists that she was found dead long before that time. Eunice Murray was Monroe's housekeeper and had been placed in the actress' employ by her psychiatrist, Robert Greenson. Murray is the main witness to the time of Monroe's death. She initially told police that she knocked on Marilyn's door around midnight but got no reply. Concerned, she alerted Greenson, who arrived at the house shortly, followed by Monroe's internist Dr. Hyman Engelberg. According to Murray, after breaking through the French windows of Marilyn's bedroom, Greenson and Murray discovered Marilyn's dead body laid out on the bed. After a long, unexplained gap, Greenson, Murray and Engelberg then notified the police at 4.25 a.m. This timeline is somewhat consistent with the undertaker Guy Hockett, who arrived at the house around 5.40 a.m. From the state of Rigor Mortis, Hockett estimated the time of death between 9.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m. But then it got complicated. Murray, Greenson and Engelberg quickly changed their story. Now, Murray says, she went to bed at 12 and didn't knock on Monroe's door until 3 a.m., after noticing the light on in her room. In this revised timeline, Greenson found Marilyn dead at 3.40 a.m., and Engelberg pronounced her dead at 3.50 a.m. Why the huge disparity in stories? Was it to conceal a clean-up of the crime scene? Or worse? Sergeant Jack Clemens, the first policeman at the scene, was called out at 4.25 a.m. He was immediately suspicious that the crime scene had been altered. According to Clemens, the body looked to be in an unnatural position, as if it had been posed. The bedroom was strangely tidy and most mysterious of all, there was no glass of water. Monroe had supposedly then swallowed upwards of 60 pills without water. The actress had always had trouble swallowing pills and required copious amounts of water to do so. And why, Clemens wondered, was Eunice Murray running the washer and dryer in the middle of the night as her employer laid dead in her bedroom? There was clearly a problem with the story coming out of the house, and more evidence would emerge to cast doubt on what the trio was saying. According to Natalie Trundy, she was attending a Hollywood Bowl concert with her future husband Arthur Jacobs, who was Monroe's agent at the time. Jacobs received a call from Monroe's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, and it was shocking. Marilyn Monroe, Jacobs was told, was dead. The actor Peter Lawford, Monroe's friend and the Kennedy's brother-in-law, was also told by Rudin that Monroe was dead, before her body had supposedly even been discovered. If Monroe's agent and lawyer already knew she was dead at 10.30pm, then this discredits both stories coming from the house, indicating a cover-up was already in action. The new 10.30pm timeline is also most consistent with Guy Hockett's estimate of the time of death of around 9.30 to 11.30pm. It was clear then that something was very wrong with the official story coming from Monroe's house. Was there a cover-up? If so, what was its purpose? Eunice Murray's accounts of what happened that night have been contradictory and evasive over the years. According to author and investigative journalist Anthony Summers, Murray finally came clean to him about what really happened in an interview in 1985. The reason for the cover story, Murray told Summers, was because Robert Kennedy was at the house that day and an ambulance had been called much earlier when Marilyn was still alive. Summers asked her why she had lied. I told whatever I thought was good to tell, Murray told him. Attorney General Robert Kennedy was, officially, in San Francisco on the day of Monroe's death, but Eunice Murray's shocking revelation to Summers was not the only evidence that this was a lie. 20th Century Fox publicist Frank Neal saw Kennedy arrive by helicopter at the studio's heliport near Stage 14 early Saturday afternoon, where he was whisked away in a limousine driven by his brother-in-law, actor Peter Loughard. This limousine was later stopped by Beverly Hills traffic policeman Lynn Franklin, who says he observed Loughard at the wheel and Robert Kennedy in the back with a man he later identified as Ralph Greenson. Whilst the sightings of Kennedy could perhaps be dismissed as hearsay, they were confirmed by L.A. police chief Daryl Gates and other senior L.A. police detectives through their surveillance of the airport. The truth is, we knew Robert Kennedy was in town on August 4, Gates later said. We always do when he was in town. Kennedy, it seems, was certainly in L.A. that day and lied about it. Could there be another reason unrelated to Monroe for him to be there that he didn't want to disclose? Some have speculated that Kennedy may have been meeting with mob bosses, and this was his reason for lying. However, there are reasons to doubt this was the case. Kennedy was seen in the presence of actor Peter Loughard, a friend of Monroe's, and numerous witnesses place him at her house on the day and even night of her death. Whatever this reason for being there, it seemed to center on the actress. Aside from Eunice Murray's statement to Sumners in 1985, there are several other reasons to believe Robert Kennedy visiting Maryland that day. Murray's son-in-law, Norman Jeffries, confirmed Murray's story. Kennedy had arrived that afternoon with Peter Loughard, and there had been a violent argument between him and Monroe. According to Jeffries, Kennedy came back with two men at around 10 p.m., a fact confirmed by neighbors of Marilyn Monroe who also saw Kennedy enter the property with the two men. This is where the case against Robert Kennedy takes a very dark turn. Jeffries and Murray were ordered out of the house. After Kennedy and the man left, they re-entered the house to find Marilyn Kometos in the guest bedroom. What was the purpose of Robert Kennedy's visit to Monroe's house, and was he really responsible for her death? One obvious motive was Marilyn's threats to go to the press over her relationship with Bobby and his brother President Kennedy. This could have destroyed both men's careers. Even worse was the diary she was said to keep. In it was not only the scandalous details of her sexual adventures with the two men, but incriminating accounts of conversations she had had with them about the plot to murder Castro. Marilyn had become a security risk. Furthermore, her relationship with a Mexican man who was a suspected communist agent had peaked to the interest of the FBI. One way or the other, the star had become a major security risk. Did Bobby Kennedy then take matters in his own hands and attempt to persuade Marilyn to hand over the diary and keep her mouth shut? Evidence supports this scenario. According to Norman Jeffries, Monroe's filing cabinet had been broken into on the night of her death. Had Kennedy been searching for the diary? Private eye Robert Otage claimed to have bugged Monroe's house, probably on behalf of the FBI. Papers that emerge after Otage's death reveal sensational details about what he had heard. Recounting Kennedy's visit to Monroe on the day of the murder, Otage described a violent struggle between the pair. Kennedy was heard to shout, where is it? Whilst Monroe complained about her treatment by him and his brother. Had Kennedy and the man he was with deliberately murder Monroe or had an attempt to restrain or sedate her gone badly wrong? It's difficult to reconcile the image of the inspiring progressive Robert Kennedy with a murder go-so-grubby and desperate, but the evidence he was presented at her home that fateful day is persuasive. And soon after, Marilyn Monroe was dead. The coroner's report labeled Marilyn Monroe's death a probable suicide, indicating even they were not quite sure what had happened. The toxicology report findings suggests she died of a massive overdose of barbiturates. The amount of penobarbital in her blood was three times the fatal dose. There were also large concentrations of the drug in her liver. It is estimated she would have had to take somewhere between 25 and 50 of her nebutol pills to reach these levels. On top of this, there was also near-lethal levels of chloral hydrate in her blood, accounting for almost 20 capsules of the drug. The enduring medical mystery behind the death of Marilyn Monroe is how these drugs got into her body. At her autopsy, not a trace of the drugs or pill capsules were found in her stomach. It has been argued that the yellow nebutol pill wrappings could have broken down and left no trace in her stomach. But Thomas Noguchi, the pathologist, could find no traces of the fine refractive crystals which should have also been present. In a standard textbook on drug-related deaths, toxicologist Robert H. Cravey studied over 1,500 cases. In every case of a drug overdose through oral entry, I've always found drugs in the stomach, Cravey said. The findings from the autopsy only echoed odd details from the crime scene. Jack Clemens, the final police officer to arrive at Monroe's house, could find no glass or water in her bedroom. How had Monroe swallowed so many pills without water? The police report also noted the lack of vomit which would be expected from someone who had orally overdosed on barbiturates. Also missing was the accurate, paralike odor characteristics of chlorohydrate overdoses. With no evidence that Monroe had injected the drugs, this left a real mystery. Clearly, if she had not administered the substances herself, then it could not be suicide. John W. Miner, former deputy district attorney of L.A. County, was present at the autopsy. He believes Marilyn may have been killed by an enema, with 30 or more of the nebutols dissolved in water and administered anally. If Miner's right, then whoever administered the enema was Monroe's killer. Marilyn Monroe was one of Hollywood's brightest and most vivacious stars. Few would suspect that beyond her glamour she was plagued by intense feelings of isolation, inadequacies and loneliness. She once wrote, Help, help, help, I feel life coming closer when all I want is to die. Playwright Arthur Miller, Monroe's third husband, once described her as the saddest person I know. Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926. She never knew her father, a fact which preoccupied her for much of her life. Her mother Gladys suffered from mental illness and depression, which led to the young Marilyn spending much of her early life in foster homes. In some of these foster homes, Monroe was sexually abused. She was brave enough to tell of the abuse, but she was not believed by those she trusted.  She would continually seek father figures. Her three marriages were all to older men and Clark Gable, her much older co-star in The Misfits, was someone she clung onto. Many psychologists think Monroe's promiscuity and constant search for father figures were due to her traumatic childhood experiences. Her behavior also had classic hallmarks of suicide. Sexual abuse, abandonment, isolation and a family history of mental health issues are all warning signals. Indeed, Monroe had attempted suicide on numerous occasions when she was younger. She tried to kill herself twice when she was a teenager during her marriage to James Doherty. She tried again in 1950 after a failed relationship. Another suicide was attempted during her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller. Many psychologists today believe Monroe suffered from bipolar disorder, a syndrome characterized by extreme shifts in mood. This, along with her chronic insomnia and drug use, are classic risk factors for suicide. Hollywood columnist James Bacon saw Marilyn just days before her death. She was drinking champagne and straight vodka and occasionally popping a pill, Bacon told the LA Times.  And she said, it hasn't killed me yet. Then she took another drink and popped another pill. I know at night she took barbiturates. Even on the night of her death, despite recently receiving a prescription from her doctor, she was phoning friends for more pills. If we discount the suspicious elements of her death, Monroe's psychological problems, along with her excessive use of prescription drugs, make the official suicide verdict all too plausible. Whilst it is fairly certain that Robert Kennedy was in LA and in all probability at Monroe's house the day she died, the idea he killed her is highly problematic. If Kennedy was behind any kind of premeditated plot to kill the actress, the last place in the world he would be is at her house the day of the murder. Logic dictates he would ensure there was as much distance, figuratively and literally, between him and Monroe as possible. The fact he was seen by numerous people at her house that day seriously discounts the possibility that he was involved in any planned operation to murder her. A recent investigation for Court TV made a convincing case that Monroe's death was a tragic medical accident. According to Court TV, her psychiatrist Ralph Greenson gave the actress a sedative enema of chloral hydrate to help her sleep and to try and wean her off the barbiturate nebutol. The program argues that Greenson was unaware that her internist Dr. Hyman Engelberg was continuing to prescribe her nebutol and the lethal interaction of the drugs caused Monroe's death. Monroe's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, reportedly heard Greenson say that night, gosh darn it, he gave her a prescription I didn't know about. The program suggests the cover-up and suspicious behavior of Greenson and Eunice Murray were to cover up what would have been a damaging case of medical negligence for the psychiatrist. You can email me anytime with your questions or comments at darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Darren is D-A-R-R-E-N. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find all of my social media, listen to free audiobooks I've narrated, visit the store for Weird Darkness t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, phone cases, and more merchandise. Sign up for monthly contests, find other podcasts that I host, and find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on Tell Your Story. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. All stories in Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and you can find source links or links to the authors in the show notes. Supernatural Intervention was written by Anna Lindwasser for Ranker. Man Beneath the Bed is by Atreida, submitted directly to Weird Darkness. Dark Magic in Hex Hollow was by Oren Gray for the lineup, and Killing Marilyn was posted at the Unredacted. Weird Darkness is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Proverbs 10, verse 14. Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.  Marilyn Monroe I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. Sharing this video with someone you know who loves all things strange and macabre. If you want to listen to the podcast, you can find it at WeirdDarkness.com.