Gospel of mark
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS 1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. During Jesus’ ministry in the Decapolis region another large crowd gathered probably comprising both of Jews and Gentiles, as this was a Greek influenced area. After listening to Jesus’ teachings for three days and having had nothing substantial to eat they were weakened by hunger so that if Jesus would send them home hungry they would probably collapse on the way as some had come from quite a distance. They are hungry for the Word of God and will do without food for days to hear it. This was quite normal for this day, and no-one thought too much about going hungry to obtain a greater thing than food, but the time comes to pay attention to it or you will fall over. Jesus had compassion on their physical need, and called the disciples attention to it. He took the initiative to feed the multitude who chose to forgo food in order to be nourished by His words. Having fed the 5000 before why had not the disciples paid attention to the physical state of the crowd before this point? Why had no-one noticed that there was no food for the masses? The Lord draws their attention to the people’s plight. Ever the teacher, the Lord is making a clear point – always be attentive to the people to whom you are speaking. If they need food or drink ensure they have it, or they will not learn much over their rumbling tummy! Psalm 103:13-14, 145:8-18, Isaiah 40:28-31. 4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. The disciples’ question highlighted their slowness in understanding who Jesus actually was. They have forgotten the earlier situation, or perhaps they were worried because they only had seven bread loaves this time – they couldn't even manage enough fish! They cannot meet the need of such a large crowd, and the Lord wants them to sit with their inability long enough to come to him and ask – what do we do Lord? They have indirectly referred the problem back to Jesus, but he seeks their more honest and robust “dumping” of the problem on him. 1 Peter 5:5-10. Jesus’ question concerning the amount of bread available clearly indicated His intentions, and was an invitation to the disciples to make available all their resources, which in this case was seven loaves and a few small fish, but in the hands of Jesus would be multiplied. They have forgotten that Jesus is in the multiplication business. Psalm 78:17-20, 107:8-10. 6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. The feeding of this crowd occurred much like the feeding of the 5000 and a similar over all number of in excess of 15,000 is involved. The Greek Participles associated with “taken” and “given thanks”, and the verb for “broke”, in the aorist, express three decisive acts. The verb “gave”, is in the imperfect tense, showing that Jesus kept on giving the food to the disciples for distribution. He did the same with the few small fish. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away. Mark completes his reporting on the feeding of the 4000 men by stressing the sufficiency of the miracle in the fact that all were fed and satisfied. In addition the abundance of the provision is shown by the fact that seven basket full of food were left over after feeding the large sized crowd. The baskets on this occasion differ from those of the feeding of the 5000. These were rope formed baskets sometimes large enough to carry a man thus while there were less baskets they were likely to hold more than the twelve baskets used for cleaning up after the feeding of the 5000. At the end of the meal Mark says that Jesus sent the crowd away back to their homes. They have heard the word of God and now they need to put all things into action in daily life. We cannot stay in Bible College, we must advance with application into life itself. APPLICATION The response of the disciples should give us encouragement that the Lord can and does use all sorts of people including those who do not understand easily. God does not help those who help themselves, he helps the helpless in grace when they come to him. We can do nothing for salvation other than trust in what God has done. We can do nothing without Christ in the Christian life. The fact that this is not just a repeat of the feeding of the five thousand is shown by the fact that the Lord refers to both incidents as separate incidents in Matthew 16:9,10, and Mark 8:19,20. Another item of difference was in their baskets where in the feeding of the 5000 the Greek word used was Kophinos which was a wicker basket used as a measuring device while in the feeding of the 4000 it is Spuris which is a large plaited reed basket sometimes large enough to hold a man. A third basket type noted in the New Testament is Sargane which is a rope basket like that used by Paul to escape from Damascus. Luke calls this one a Spuris showing that the last two basket types can be used for the same basket. DOCTRINES GOD: ABILITY OF GOD 1. The declaration of Divine Power - Matthew 19:26 2. God is able to save forever those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ - Hebrews 7:25 3. God is able to supply every need - 2 Corinthians 9:8 4. God is able to deliver all who are tempted - Hebrews 2:18 5. God is able to sustain the weak believer and make him stand - Romans 14:4 6. God is able to keep us from falling and make us blameless - Jude 24,25 7. God is able to surpass all expectations and requests - Ephesians 3:20 8. God is able to raise us up in resurrection in the likeness of His Son - Hebrews 11:19 FEEDING OF THE CROWDS CONTRASTED While the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand resembles that of the feeding of the four thousand there are a number of differences. In addition they are cited as separate incidents by Jesus in Matthew 16:9,10 and Mark 8:19,20.
CHRISTIAN LIFE: FASTING 1. The true purpose of fasting is to spend time ordinarily spent in things such as eating and sleeping to prayer and Bible study. 2. Fasting is not only the denial of food, although it often involves it. 3. The Jews fasted on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31; Numbers 29:7). Fasting in these passages is covered by the words, "afflict their souls". 4. Fasting with the wrong attitude becomes human works, and therefore is unacceptable to God (Isaiah 58:3-4, Jeremiah 14:12). 5. Fasting should always reflect an attitude of humbleness toward God (Psalm 69:10). 6. Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights during his temptation (Matthew 4:2). 7. When Christians fast it should be a matter between the individual and God (Matthew 6:16-18) The fasting Christian should not make a public spectacle. 8. Fasting in the form of extra time in prayer and bible study is beneficial: [a] for major decisions in the Christians' or church's (Acts 13:2,3) [b] to remove certain types of demons (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29) [c] in revival (e.g. the post-war revival in South Korea). PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES REQUIRE ANOTHER SIGN MARK 8:10-12 [MATTHEW 16:1-4] see HARMONY 74-11 10 And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. 11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. KEY WORDS
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS 10 And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. 11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. Having dismissed the crowd Jesus and His disciples immediately embark and cross the Sea of Galilee to the region of Dalmanutha, which is situated near Tiberius on the lake’s western side. The religious leaders come out to meet him, and begin to question him. They wish to test him to get him to give them clear proof of the source of his authority. They were seeking from him a sign that His ministry was from heaven with divine authority. The Pharisees did not demand a spectacular miracle, but that Jesus would give unmistakable proof that He and His mission came from God. However they came to Him in unbelief and they have already avoided looking at several serious sign miracles that unmistakably prove he is Messiah. There is no miracle strong enough to convince people who do not want to accept the truth. Jesus sighed deeply, saddened at their on going unbelief, and asked them a rhetorical question reflecting His distress at their persistent and deliberate unbelief. The words “of this generation” is aimed at the nation of Israel represented by these religious leaders. Jesus rejects their demand saying that no specific sign will be given to this generation because o their unbelief. However He notes that all will see the miracle of resurrection which is classified as “the sign of Jonah” as seen in Matthew 16:4. APPLICATION The failures of the disciples to understand the truth, and the loving patience of the Lord, should both be of great comfort to us, as we often fail to respond to the Lord’s leading. The disciples have been consistently wrong yet the Lord persists with them, and keeps on teaching them. Often natural enemies within a group will bury their differences long enough to form a joint attack on a person who is living by grace and the Word of God. Religious and rationalistic people cannot stand the fundamentalist. Doctrine from the Word of God is more powerful than miracles, as it is based on the perfect character of God and miracles can come from another sources than God. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12. A person who is able to look at the weather or other natural signs should be able to look into the evidence in the Word of God and know that Jesus is the Lord of all. The criterion against which we must judge all things is the Bible as tradition, experience and rationalism will pervert our judgment and cause us to miss the person of Christ or particular areas of His plan for us. DOCTRINES SIGNS 1. A sign is something which stands for, or looks forward to something else. a) Things such as- The Temple, Regalia, Stars and Uniforms. b) Festivals such as the Jewish Feasts which spoke of the Plan of God. c) Sacrifices such as Levitical Offerings which spoke of the work of Jesus Christ. d) Customs such as Circumcision. e) Names including the names of People and Places. f) Supernatural Acts such as Miracles.
a) The virgin birth itself, in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy; the visitation of the angels both to Mary and Elizabeth, were all miraculous events. (Luke 1:26-38) b) The attendant birth of John the Baptist is also described with its associated signs, and the recognition by the baby in the womb of Elizabeth was a sign of things to come. (Luke 1:5-25, 43-45 cf Psalm 110:1) c) Mary's prophecy of her son's role as Saviour and Sacrifice. (Luke 1:54-56) d) The signs associated with John's birth. (Luke 1:65-66) e) The prophetic song of Zachariah. (Luke 1:67-80) f) The angelic visit to the shepherds. (Luke 2:10-11) g) The song of Simeon. (Luke 2:25-35) h) The song of Anna. (Luke 2:36-38) i) The sign of the prophet Isaiah in the preaching of John the Baptist. (Luke 3:3-18) 10. Seven signs in John. a) Wedding at Cana at Galilee. 2:1-11 b) Healing of the Nobleman's son. 4:46-54 c) The Cripple by the Pool of Siloam. 5:1-16 d) The feeding of the Five Thousand. 6:1-14 e) The healing of the Blind Man. 9:1-38 f) The raising of Lazarus. 11:1-46 g) The resurrection of the Lord. 20,21 DISCIPLES WARNED AGAINST THE LEAVEN OF PHARISEES MARK 8:13-21 [MATTHEW 16:5-12] see HARMONY 74-11 13 And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. 17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. 21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand? KEY WORDS
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