COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 85
“ Mark 8:4 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. 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. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.”
(Mark 8:4-8; Matthew 15:33-38)
THE FEEDING OF THE FOUR\ THOUSAND #2
INTRODUCTION
The multitude has been with Jesus for three days, and they have nothing to eat. Although Jesus did not come to the earth to satisfy the appetites of the flesh, or to be a Supplier of “daily bread,” He has compassion on the multitude because they have been with Him. It is their interest in Him that has given them the advantage in this case. Jesus did not search out the hungry, although there were no doubt many among the people. Nevertheless, those who remain in His presence gain advantage, even in the matter of their earthly lives. Everyone who came to Jesus did not enjoy a miraculous meal, but for those who chose to remain with Him, their earthly deprivation would be met with His great compassion. For those who stay with Him, Jesus will not sent them away with a fundamental disadvantage. No person will be worse off for following Jesus. Even in the case before us, although they had no bread, “they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel” (Matt 15:31). What they had seen dwarfed their appetite for bread, as three days quickly passed. They sensed the uniqueness of Jesus, and did not consider remaining with Him an inconvenience. Now, they will see that the compassion of Jesus even reaches into the ordinary and practical needs of the people.
AN OPPORTUNITY IS GIVEN TO THE DISCIPLES
“ Mk 8:4 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.”
HIS DISCIPLES ANSWERED HIM. Technically, Jesus has not asked His disciples anything. He has rather made some statements. 1-“I have compassion on the multitude.” 2-“They have now been with Me three days.” 3-“I will not send them away fasting.” 4-“If I send them away fasting . . . they will faint by the way” (Matt 15:32; Mk 8:2-3). Is that enough information to provide a basis for sound reasoning? Indeed, it is! Jesus has opened the door of opportunity to the disciples. He is, in fact, testing their faith – not so He will know their condition, but in order that they might see it. Not only has the multitude been with Jesus, the disciples have as well. They have seen Him heal the dumb, the maimed, the lamb, and the blind (Matt 15:32). They have just witnessed the healing of a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. Can they integrate all of these things into a sound conclusion? We will see.
FROM WHENCE? The disciples have viewed the mighty works of Jesus. Approximately three months earlier, they participated in the miraculous feeding of a crowd significantly larger than this one – 5,000 men beside woman and children (Mk 6:39-44). Surely they will be able to see the similarity of this occasion. They answer, “From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness” (8:4). Matthew reads, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” (Matt 15:33). It is as though they had not been in the presence of Jesus at all. About one year earlier, these men had been sent out by Jesus, empowered to do mighty works, healing “sicknesses,” and casting out demons (Mk 3:15). Yet now, they answer as though they had never witnessed the working of the Christ, nor participated in His mighty works. They could not associate this need with the power, compassion, and will of Christ. They failed to perceive the compassion of Christ as adequate for the need they are now facing.
We must be able to comprehend why this condition existed. From one point of view, it makes no sense that people could have such extensive exposure to the works of Christ, and yet think in such a manner. Their response is almost identical to that of Moses, when God told him He was going to give the Israelites flesh for a whole month, and that they would eat it until they came to loath its taste. Moses responded, “The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?” (Num 11:21-22). The Lord responded, “Is the LORD'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether My word shall come to pass unto thee or not” (Num 11:23). Why were such responses found among those chosen by the Lord?
We dare not stand in harsh criticism of either Moses or the disciples. Here is a confirmation that “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). These people had not been born again, because the sin of the world had not yet been taken away. That is why the Spirit says of such souls, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect” (Heb 11:39-40). By faith, a few noble souls rose above their peers (Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, etc.). However, even they did not have the benefits that have been realized since Jesus has been enthroned in glory.
We learn from this no matter how much the flesh is exposed to the working of the Lord, it cannot reason properly, or with spiritual understanding. It can be in the very presence of the Son of God for an extended period of time, and still fall miserably short of the “new creation.” It is alarming when those who profess to be in Christ reason, at their very best, like those who lived before the New Covenant. Such people are living and thinking in the flesh. That is why they cannot understand. However, such a posture is inexcusable in this day, when men are made “partakers of Christ” (Heb 3:14), and of the “Divine nature” as well (2 Pet 1:4). Jesus was not pleased with the flawed response of His disciples before He was glorified (Matt 16:23; 17:20; Lk 8:25; 9:41). How do you suppose He reacts now?
HOW MANY LOAVES? Both Matthew and Mark present Jesus as asking this question – as though He knew they had been thinking about this matter: “How many loaves have ye?” What do we have to work with? What is right here among us at this time? The disciples answer “Seven.” Matthew reads, “Seven, and a few little fishes” (Matt 15:34). That is more than they had when the five thousand were fed! However, the disciples say nothing more. They do not recall the feeding of the five thousand, or the twelve baskets that they gathered after the multitude was fed. Did they simply forget? Indeed not! The flesh cannot think properly or spiritually. Whatever is “born of the flesh is flesh,” and nothing more. The flesh cannot be trained to think and respond in a manner that is pleasing to God (Rom 8:8).
JESUS PREPARES TO FEED THE MULTITUDE
“ 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 Gospel writers provided no further details concerning the response of Jesus to His disciples. I do not doubt that this was the end of the conversation, for what purpose could be served by further dialog? Jesus had given the disciples ample opportunity to perceive, and even address, the situation before them, but they could not take hold of it. When men cannot take hold of the truth, there is no further need to talk about it. They are in the flesh, and flesh cannot receive Divine explanations. Jesus will therefore commence with the feeding, having compassion on the multitude. The disciples will be provided with sufficient evidence to think again about this occasion.
HE COMMANDED THE PEOPLE. Other versions read, “He directed the multitude,” NASB “He told the crowd,” NIV “He ordered the crowd,” NRSV and “He instructed the crowd.” NJB Three months earlier, when Jesus had fed the five thousand, there was “much grass in the place” (John 6:10), and therefore He had told the multitude to “sit down on the grass” (Matt 14:19). Now, however, it is a later season, and the multitude is told to sit down “on the ground” – the bare ground, for that is the meaning of the word. As you can see, compassion does not necessarily include convenience.
There is something else to be seen here. In order be advantaged by Jesus, there must be an appropriate response to His word. It is very difficult to conceive of the average American church member obeying the command, “Sit down on the ground.” Blessings are not always attended with great convenience. In order for Noah to save himself and his house, he had to build an enormous ark (Gen 6:14-16). Abraham had to leave his country, his father’s house, and his kindred in order to obtain the blessing (Gen 12:1-3). For Jacob, a blessing was experienced while using a stone for a pillow (Gen 28:18). Another time the blessing resulted in his thigh being thrown “out of joint” (Gen 32:25), causing him to “limp” thereafter (Gen 32:31). Joseph went through a pit, false charges, and prison en route to the throne (Gen 37:24; 39:17,20). Paul’s apostleship involved passing through all manners or peril and harm (2 Cor 11:23-28).
Believers must rid themselves of the motion that blessing means trouble free living, an abundance of earthly goods, and sweet convenience. Sometimes, like the multitude of our text, if we are going to be fed, we must, so to speak, “sit on the ground.”
HE TOOK THE SEVEN LOAVES. Even when resources are available, they must be put into Christ’s hand before they become useable and adequate. Resources without Jesus equal nothing. Resources with Jesus equal sufficiency. As was His manner, Jesus took the loaves and “gave thanks.” Matthew gives a summary of the account: “He took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks” (Matt 15:36). Although He was the Creator, He “gave thanks.” Although it seemed as though the supplies were very sparse, He “gave thanks.”
Jesus then “broke,” NKJV the loaves, breaking off piece after piece, apparently without the loaves diminishing in their size. The Lord had done this very same thing when He fed the five thousand (Mk 6:41), yet the disciples failed to recall the occasion. Bread did not always multiply when Jesus broke it. Such a thing did not occur at the Last Supper (Matt 26:26), or when He ate with Cleopas and his companion (Lk 24:30). Now, however, necessity had changed the circumstance, and compassion was at work.
This was the same kind of miracle experienced by the widow of Zarephath, who fed her, her son, and the prophet Elijah throughout a famine from a handful of flour and a portion of oil. It is written, “And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah” (1 Kgs 17:16) – even though supplies for daily meals were taken from them. A similar miracle took place when “a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets” found herself with a debt she could not pay. When she informed the prophet Elisha of her plight, he asked what kind of resources she had. When she said she had only “a pot of oil,” the prophet instructed her to fill her house with vessels obtained from her neighbors, shut the door, and begin pouring that “pot of oil” into the vessels. It is written, “And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed [stopped flowing NIV]” (2 Kgs 4:6). Resources used are resources maintained.
HE GAVE TO HIS DISCIPLES. As Jesus broke the bread, He “kept on giving them to His disciples to put before the people,” AMPLIFIED doing the same with “the few small fishes.” He was the Creator, they were the distributors. He supplied, they dispersed. That is still the manner of the Kingdom. Jesus provides nourishment for the soul, and the members of His body set it before the people. That is a detailed view of “edifying” (Eph 4:12).
THE MULTITUDE ARE FILLED AND SENT AWAY
“ 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.”
THEY DID EAT AND WERE FILLED. Whatever Jesus did was effective. He never experimented, or came short of what He intended to do. When He healed the blind, they saw. When He cured the deaf, they heard. When He restored the lame, they walked. When He raised the dead, they lived. That is an unquestionable mark of Deity – what is determined to be done, is done. As it is written, “I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it” (Isa 46:11). It should not surprise us, therefore, that when He made the people sit down, and took the bread and fish, they all “did eat and were filled.” Everyone ate, and everyone was filled. No one remained hungry. The meal did not simply take away the edge of hunger. It brought satisfaction.
This is another miracle that introduced men to the nature of Divine working – particularly regarding God’s “great salvation.” When the Lord saves a person, they are “satisfied” with His goodness (Jer 31:14). When a person becomes a “new creature,” old things really do pass away, and all things really do become new (2 Cor 5:17). When Jesus strengthens a person, they are able to “do all things” through Him (Phil 4:13). When grace teaches individuals, they can deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts,” and live “soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world” (Tit 2:12). The world has had its fill of powerless religion – “a form of godliness” that rejects its “power” (2 Tim 3:5). When sin continues in the church, it is like a multitude that has no food, and is not being fed by Jesus. He cannot be there, or they cannot be interested, for where such factors are found, Jesus has compassion and feeds the multitudes. If Jesus declares He will not send the people away fasting, and yet they leave the church knowing that they are starving spiritually, then Jesus has not been there. If this is not true, then the record of Jesus’ ministry has no relevance – a postulate no man can afford to accept. Jesus always fills the hungry, and sends those who think they have no need away empty. As it is written, “He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:53). Oh, that this were more fully known within the professing church!
SEVEN BASKETS. After everyone had eaten, and after everyone was filled, they gathered up what had not been eaten – pieces of bread that had been broken off, yet not required. The fragments were not gathered until the appetites of everyone had been satisfied. That is like the meal and the oil of the widow continuing to multiply as long as there was a famine, and the pot of oil of the widow in debt multiplying until the empty bottles were filled.
There were “seven baskets full” (Matt 15:37). When Jesus fed the five thousand He started with fewer loaves (five), and ended up with more fragments (twelve baskets). There is no standardization in the miraculous, for standards are one thing that makes things ordinary. Jesus does not work the same way in every case. This is because HE is the point, and not what He does!
Here is another picture of abundance, as well as Divine frugality. With men, an abundance justifies waste. With the Lord, this is not the case. As He said when He fed the five thousand, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost” (John 6:12).
Anything and everything that comes from Christ is precious. When you have been exposed to the truth, and have not been able to take it all in, gather up the fragments! This is what Mary, the Lord’s mother, did. When hearing the report of the shepherds, she “kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). When the twelve year old Jesus told her He had to be about His “Father’s business,” she gathered up the fragments: “but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart” (Luke 2:51).
It seems to me that an ideal assembly disperses enough food so that some fragments can be gathered up AFTER the heart has been satiated with God’s “goodness” (Jer 31:14). Many of God’s people must confess that they have not in any sense been satisfied, much less found an abundance of fragments to be gathered up for future pondering and meditation.
ABOUT FOUR THOUSAND. Numbers are so important to men, but they are often incidental to the Lord. As in this incident, they serve to confirm the compassion and abundance of the Lord, but they are really secondary. Mark says, “about four thousand.” Matthew says there were “four thousand men, beside women and children” (Matt 15:38). That would probably have made the crowd well over 12,000, and possibly as high as 20,000.
Keep I mind that, with this record, the Spirit has documented the miraculous feeding of over 9,000 men, possibly around 40,000-50,000 people. Yet, the supernatural feeding did not change their nature, or cause them to be consistently drawn to Jesus. They did not hesitate to leave Him. This is intended to show us Divine compassion and provision, not human gratefulness.
HE SENT THEM AWAY. Jesus said He would not send the multitude away fasting (Matt 15:32). He did not say He would not send them away. True to His word, Jesus did not send His real disciples away – those who came unto Him (John 6:37). However, others He did send away, because their purposes were less noble. Earlier, when He had fed the five thousand, He asked His disciples if they were going to leave also. Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Jesus did not send them away, either then or now!