Mark 8:1-9
(A Bible Study Led by Dr.
Larry Reynolds)
July 26, 2012)
This is the second time in our
journey through Mark that we see Jesus miraculously feeding a great
multitude. When we looked at a similar
event in Mark 6:33-44, we saw that one reason the early Christians may have placed
so much emphasis on these incidents of miraculous feeding is that there was an
expectation among Jewish people that when the Messiah appeared he would provide
food for the multitudes in much the same way Moses provided food for the
Israelites during their wilderness wanderings.
Jesus’ feeding the multitude was one clear sign that He was the long
awaited promised Messiah. So, from that
perspective, it is not surprising that we come across another account of a
miraculous feeding. While the two accounts
of Jesus feeding the multitudes in Mark’s Gospel have some similarities, there
are also some significant differences:
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Mark
6:32–44
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Mark
8:1–9
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5,000+ people, mostly Jews
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4,000+ people, mostly Gentiles
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With Jesus one day (6:35)
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With Jesus three days (8:2
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Took place in Galilee
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Took place near the Decapolis
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Five loaves, two fish
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Seven loaves, a few fish
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Twelve baskets left over
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Seven baskets left over
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(small lunch baskets)
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(large hampers)[1]
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The following notes are from Bob Utley’s excellent study
guide: The Gospel According to
Peter: Mark and I & II Peter:
8:1
“In those days”
This account occurred in the mostly Gentile Decapolis area (cf. 7:31).
“there
was again a large crowd”
This characterized Jesus’ ministry during this period.
8:2
“I feel compassion for the people”
This term “compassion” comes from the Greek term for inward lower organs of the
body. In the OT the Jews assigned the seat of the emotions to the lower
viscera.
Jesus loves people (cf. 1:41;
6:34; 8:2; 9:22; Matt. 9:36; 14:41; 15:32; 18:27; 20:34; Luke 7:13; 10:33).
These people had been rejected by rabbis all their lives. They swarmed to
Jesus’ care.
“they
have remained with Me now three days”
This was an extended teaching time. The Jews counted days from evening twilight
to evening twilight. Any part of a day was counted; therefore, this does not
necessarily refer to three full, 24 hour days. They could not pull themselves
away even to buy more food. They had now eaten all they had brought.
8:3
“if” This is a
THIRD CLASS CONDITIONAL sentence, which speaks of potential action. Jesus is
not asserting that they are all on the point of physical collapse, but some are
sick and weak and might faint.
“they
will faint on the way”
This fainting would be caused by lack of food. See Jdgs. 8:15 and Lam. 2:19 in
the Septuagint. They had used all the food they brought and had been fasting.
“some
of them have come from a great distance” This shows how Jesus’ fame as a miracle worker had
spread. Desperate people go anywhere, try anything for help!
8:4
“ ‘Where will anyone be able to find
enough bread’ ” Even
if they had the money there was still no place to purchase food. Jesus was
testing the disciples’ faith in His provision! They failed again (cf. 6:34–44).
8:6
“sit down” This
refers to a reclining position, which implied get ready for food.
8:6–8
“bread … fish” This
was the normal daily diet of the people of Palestine. This is so similar to
6:34–44.
“gave
thanks” This
prayer of blessing over food acknowledges God’s daily care and provision (cf.
Matt. 6:11). Jews always prayed before eating.
“broke
… served” This
is an AORIST followed by an IMPERFECT TENSE. The miracle of multiplication
occurred when Jesus broke the bread (cf. 6:41).
8:8
“seven large baskets full of what was left over” This is a different word for
basket from 6:43. These baskets were very large (cf. Acts 9:25). These
remaining pieces were collected for later use. However, from v. 14 we learn the
disciples forgot and left them.
8:9
“About four thousand”
Matthew15:83 adds “men,” which means the crowd was larger. There were probably
not a large number of women and children in this isolated area, but there were
surely some.
8:10
“immediately” See
note at 1:10.
“the
district of Dalmanutha”
There are several variants in this phrase. The problem is that no place by this
name was known in the Palestine of Jesus’ day. Therefore, scribes changed the
place name to match Matthew’s “Magadan” (NKJV “Magdala”).[2]
What is it that we are to learn from this event? While there are obviously many ways to answer
that question, I want us to focus on what this event reveals to us about the
nature of God. It iss one thing to know about God on the intellectual level,
but it's quite another thing to experience God on the emotional level. It is not enough for us just to say God
exists. That's a conclusion we can reach
intellectually but by itself it is not really very satisfying to us. There is something in us which demands more. We must know God. We must have a personal understanding of Him
and relationship with Him.
It is this second level of knowing on which the Bible
focuses...the Bible does not really make a case for God's existence...it
assumes that God is...that's the great underlying premise of all of
Scripture...can be seen in the very first statement in the Bible... "In
the beginning God..."...if you happened to be an atheist, the
Bible is not really for you...that's because it begins at a place the atheist
has not yet reached...
Instead of focusing on the question "Does God
exist?" the Bible focusses on questions such as "What is God
like? What difference should God make in
my life? What does God expect from
me?"... throughout the Scripture we see God revealing Himself, making
Himself known to the world...first through the patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, and Joseph...then through Moses and the Law...then through some of the
great kings of Israel such as David and Solomon...then through the
prophets...and finally, God revealed Himself ultimately and completely in
Jesus...
As Paul put it in Colossians, "...in Christ
there is all of God in a human body..." or as John so beautifully
said it, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God
and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."...therefore,
whenever we look at anything Jesus said or did in the Bible, there is always
something to learn from that word or deed about God...for that is why He came
to our world--to show us what God is like and to provide us a way to live in
personal relationship with God...
This account of Jesus feeding the multitude in Mark 8
reveals to us some significant truths about God.
I. God does not play favorites
1. One of the primary differences between the
miracle of feeding the 5000 in Mark 6 and the miracle of feeding the 4000 in
Mark 8 is the location in which the events occurred...the first miraculous
feeding took place near Bethsaida, somewhere near the northern shore of the Sea
of Galilee...but this miracle took place in the region of Decapolis, an area
south of the Sea of Galilee which was made up of 10 Roman cities...and
significant thing about that is Bethsaida is primarily a Jewish area...the 5000
fed in Mark 6 were Jewish people...but Decapolis was primarily a Gentile
area...the 4000 fed in Mark 8 were primarily Gentiles, non-Jewish people...
2. That Jesus would care enough about Jewish
people to provide them food would not seem strange to the disciples...after
all, at that point it time they held the popular misconception that when the
Messiah came, he would come only for Jewish people...but that Jesus would care
enough about Gentiles to do the same kind of miracle for them was an eye
opener...these were people they had been taught to refer to as "dogs"
but Jesus went out of His way to provide them both spiritual food for their
souls and physical food for their bodies...
3. And in doing so Jesus was revealing that with
God there are no favorites...once we grasp that, the implications are mind
boggling...understanding that God does not play favorites, will revolutionize
how we relate to other people...it means we have no right to degrade any
person...to manipulate or use people for our selfish purposes...to play one
person against another...to demean those who may differ in some way from us....
II. God wants us to share our needs with Him
1. The conversation between Jesus and disciples
in vv.2-5 very interesting...in vv.2-3 Jesus stated His concern about the
hungry multitude...the hunger of the people had not slipped the disciples'
attention and it appears from text they were just waiting for Jesus to bring it
up...they remembered the previous miraculous feeding, and they were ready for
another...
2. In v.4 they didn't come right out and ask
Jesus to feed the crowd... perhaps they felt that would be presumptuous...but
they did ask an obviously leading question..."Where would anyone be
able to find enough to satisfy these men with bread here in a desolate
place?"...kind like when Carol looks at me and says, "I
wonder who I can get to take out the trash?"...not really a
question...it's a statement and I know the appropriate response...and that's
how Jesus took the disciples' question in v.4...
3. Now notice what happened next...Jesus asked
in v.5, "How many loaves do you have?"...same question
He asked them in chapter 6 when fed the 5000...but there's an important
difference in the disciples' response...before when He asked the question Mark
tells us they had to go find out...but this time they already knew...they
immediately answered "seven"..
4. What want you see in all that is disciples
were prepared...they knew would have opportunity of sharing their need with
Jesus..
1. That's how God is toward us...He wants us
turn to Him in time of need...desires for us to seek help from Him...
--Psalmist
said it well in Psalm 46:1 - "God is our refuge and strength, a very
present help in trouble..."
--Jesus
put it this way..."Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden,
and I will give you rest." [Matt.11:28]
--Peter
put it this way in I Peter 1:7 - "Cast all your anxiety upon Him,
because He cares for you."
2. And when we take our needs to God, we find a
God who is willing to help...not like man read about this week whose wife
became ill in middle of a stormy night...called family physician and said,
"Doc, you must come to my house right now.
My wife is sick!"...doctor said, "I'll be glad to come, but my
car is in the shop so you will need to come pick me up."...as listened to
wind howl and rain come down man said, "You mean, you want me to come out
on a night like this?" [The Issachar Factor, p.34]
3. Most of us are more like that man than care
to admit...talk about helping people, but when comes right down to it don't
want go out of our way do anything for anybody...and because we're that way, we
tend assume God is that way...but this story reveals God desires share needs
with Him and He is ever willing to help...
III. God's provisions are always adequate
1.
There are two significant things about God's provision
for our needs in this story which we must not miss...
·
First, look at what is said in v.6...tells us Jesus took
the loaves of bread and "...gave thanks and broke them, and started
giving them to His disciples to serve them, and they served them to the
multitude."...that is, Jesus didn't just miraculous produce a huge
pile of bread all at once...the disciples started serving with the little they
had and has they had need for more, the Lord provided it...had I been among the
disciples that day, I'd probably been worrying about what we were going to do
when we ran out of bread...I'd wanted to see a big pile and divide it up so as
to be sure it would meet the need...but more often than not, that is not how
God provides... instead, He tells us to step out in faith, using what we have,
and trust Him to provide more...and that principle can be seen time and time
again in the Scripture...
·
Second thing that is interesting about God’s provision is
what was left over...Mark tells us in v.8 that they picked up "seven
large baskets full"...if compare to the 12 baskets full collected
after the Jewish people were fed in ch.6, might conclude God provided more for
the Jews than the Gentiles... but that's not the case...as we saw earlier, tshe
word for basket in ch.6 means small wicker lunch basket...but the word for
basket in this story is different...it means large hamper, big enough to hold a
man...one commentator says the 12 baskets left over after feeding the Jews
represents God's full provision for the 12 tribes of Israel ...and the 7
baskets (seven being the biblical number of fullness and completion) left over
after feeding the Gentiles represents God full provision for the whole world...
5. Point is that God's provision for our every
need --spiritual, physical, and emotional-- is adequate...
CONCLUSION
1.
Samuel Shoemaker, who served as a pastor many years in
New York City and Pittsburgh and was the spiritual father of Alcoholics
Anonymous, wrote the following little poem after taking a walk with his first
grandchild:
He takes my hand, my little boy and feels as safe as safe
can be;
Talking as we walk along, I with him, and he with me.
I take my Father's hand in faith, Though where He leads,
I may not see;
My hand is given into His. I trust Him as my child trusts me.
2. The feeding of the 4000 in Mark 8 reminds us
that with confidence and child-like trust we can give our hand to God because
He is a God--
--Who does
not play favorites...He loves us all...
--Who
desires that we bring our needs to Him...
--Who
responds to our need with adequate provision...
