Bible Study series: Mark 6:30-44. The apostles report back after their short-term mission trip. Then they go on a retreat. Afterwards, he feeds the five thousand.
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Scripture: Mark 6:30-44
30 The apostles had gathered around Jesus and reported to him everything which they did and what they taught. 31 He said to them, “You come by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a little time.” For many people were coming and going, and there was no suitable time to eat. 32 So they departed in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
33 And the people saw them going and many recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns there and arrived ahead of them. 34 And getting out of the boat, Jesus saw a huge crowd and was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep who did not have a shepherd. He began to teach them many things.
35 The day was getting late. His disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. 36 Send them away, so that they may go out into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy for themselves something to eat.” 37 But in reply, he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go out and spend two hundred denarii for bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How much bread do you have? Go and look.” When they found out, they said, “Five and two fish.” 39 He ordered them to have everyone sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the bread and two fish and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves and gave it to his disciples. They set it before them and apportioned the two fish for everyone. 42 Everyone ate and was satisfied.
43 They picked up the pieces that filled twelve baskets and also with the fish. 44 Those eating the bread were five thousand men. (Mark 6:30-44)
Comments:
30:
“apostles”: The term means “sent ones” or “commissioned ones.” It is probably used here to distinguish the twelve from John’s disciples, who were mentioned in the previous verse. See v. 13 for more discussion of the term.
At final judgment, Jesus will require all of us to render an account of our leadership (Heb. 13:17). Here they are reporting to him what they did and taught. It was a time of rendering an account. No doubt they asked him questions, as well. He learned a lot about them. Would they go the distance, even during and after his death, when they weren’t sure he would be resurrected?
31-32:
People were coming and going all the time, and they were draining their energy. There is everything right about taking some time out and retreating. Go for it. So they withdrew to a deserted place.
Luke adds the detail that he went near the town Bethsaida, which was a town on the northern side of the Lake of Galilee (9:10). John 1:44 says that Philip, Peter and Andrew were originally from the town. Bethsaida was not a deserted or isolated place (v. 15), so we should understand that Jesus led the crowd away from the town.
33-34:
But their retreat was not to be. The crowd recognized them and ran ahead and got there before Jesus and the twelve did. How would you or I react? Exasperated? “Go away! We’re on a retreat right now!” Jesus did not react that way (no word on how any of the twelve felt about the encroachment!). However, in v. 45 he himself does send the crowd away, so he is not enthralled to them.
He was moved with compassion. The verb could be translated as “felt compassion,” but this attribute which God shares with us cannot remain static or unexpressed. It has to be active, or else it cannot be compassion.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Compassionate and Merciful
“They were like sheep without a shepherd”: In Num. 27:17 Moses prays to the Lord:
15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd. (Num. 27:16-17, ESV)
The Lord answered his prayer and appointed Joshua. See also 1 Kings 9:4; 22:1; 2 Chron. 18:16; Ps. 78:72; Jer. 23:1-6; Ezek. 34:22-23; Mic. 5:2-4; Zech. 13:7, for more on the theme of people needing a shepherd. Thank the Lord that many good shepherds are serving well without recognition and fanfare.
Jesus taught them many things. Luke says Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom of God (9:11). Matthew and Luke add the detail that Jesus healed the people too (Matt. 14:14; Luke 9:11). People need shepherds today and thank God there are numerous ones out there nowadays, but too few overall
35-36:
Now the time is getting late. It was later afternoon, when Jews of that time ate their meal (France). Jesus had been teaching them about the kingdom for as long time. (I wonder if we would have the stamina.) The disciples note the late hour, so they spring into action. They inform Jesus that it’s time to wrap this thing up. He should send them away to buy food. However, most were poor, so would they have the money to buy what they needed? Maybe some would, but not many.
“disciples”: see v. 29 for more discussion of the term.
37-38:
Now it was Jesus’s turn to spring into action. He challenged the disciples to give them something to eat. “You give them something to eat”: “you” is not needed grammatically, so it could be translated as “You give them something to eat,” for extra-emphasis.
Would they catch on? Would they ask the Lord to multiply however much food was out there? No. They replied that they had two hundred denarii (one denarius was about a day’s wages for farm work, but that amount is a little misleading because an agriculture worker had seasonal work, so he had to stretch what he got during the harvest). How could that amount pay for the necessary food? He asked his disciples to take inventory, “Go and look.” They came back and gave their report. Five loaves and two fish. Now it was impossible for that small portion to feed so many people. But they are thinking logically and naturalistically. They did not factor in the Lord’s power, even though they saw him calm the storm and were awe of him (4:35-41).
When Jesus issued this challenge, the disciples must have thought he was detached from everyday reality. He was too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. It is true that he was heavenly minded, because he had a miracle in mind. He was in constant communication with his Father, and he expected a miracle. The twelve were not in such a deep and close communication.
They retorted. I’m convinced that they doubted they had the money to buy loaves of bread to feed five thousand men, not counting women and children (Matt. 14:21). but that is a little misleading because an agriculture worker had seasonal work, so he had to stretch what he got during the harvest. Perhaps not even Joanna and the other women (Luke 8:1-3) could buy that much in one day for one meal. But if they did so regularly, the community fund would have depleted fast, since Jesus spoke to many crowds, many times. And no doubt the twelve did send them away on other occasions. But not here, not now. Jesus would not allow it. A miracle was in the offing.
“loaves”: the bread was flat and about eight inches in diameter.
39-40:
Jesus organized them in groups. This would make the distribution easier. There is no need to clamor after the food and watch the strong get there first and take the most. Instead, they sat down on green grass, which indicates the springtime, and it may echo Ps. 23:2, which says the sheep have a shepherd and makes them lie down in green pastures. There is nothing wrong with organizing people. Efficiency is not a sign that man has taken over to the neglect of the power of God. Both are needed. In contrast, sometimes the more fiery evangelists despise or at least ignore such earthly and ordinary matters. Their meetings can become chaotic. Order and calm are not bad things (1 Cor. 14:40).
41:
So we see a chain of command. Jesus broke the bread and distributed it to his disciples, and they in turn set it out before them, in groups, to prevent rushing and pushing. Once again, organization is not a bad thing.
“bless”: it literally means to “speak well.” Some translations have “he gave thanks.” Being grateful even for food shows gratitude and an acknowledgement that God is the source.
Traditional form for blessing bread: “Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the world, who bringest forth bread from the earth” (France).
42-43:
“satisfied”: I have heard too many miracle stories about food distribution. The kettle of soup would not feed the surge of people who came into the soup kitchen, but the soup never ran out until the last person was fed. Apparently, the miracle was so great and powerful that the disciples picked twelve baskets full of fragments or leftovers, in abundance.
“twelve baskets”: this number matches the number of disciples. The leftovers were for the disciple’s advantage and use. No doubt they used it for themselves, sold some of it and also gave some of it away. In your paycheck from work, it is good to give some, save some and spend some, like paying the bills or buying necessities and some luxury items.
44:
This number does not include the women and children ate apart from the men, which Matt. adds in (14:21). In other words, five thousand men plus women and children. There had to be well over 10,000 people in total, probably over 15,000. Commentator Lane tells us that the towns of Capernaum and Bethsaida had 2000-3000 people, in each. The people came from miles around to add up to 10,000-15,000. This was truly a miracle.
One more theological point: Jesus indirectly shows himself to be the bread of heaven—indirectly because he does not announce it, as he did in John’s Gospel (6:35), after he fed the five thousand (6:1-14). This refers to the manna from heaven that fed the ancient Israelites going through the wilderness (Exod. 16). Jesus is our bread of heaven. He is our sustenance.
Another theological point: this feeding probably refers to the messianic banquet at the end of the age (Is. 25:6-9).
It is further interesting, in discussing the miraculous feeding, that he did not pray for them to receive supernatural strength to walk home without fainting or collapsing along the road. He fed them. God works miracles, true, but he also recognizes the human conditions and limitations. They may not have had faith to sustain their journey back home. They needed to be fed. It was a fitting solution to a long and happy three days of teaching and healing. They ate and were satisfied.
And I note that he worked these miracles without the faith of the people or the disciples, but he certainly had faith. In the miraculous feeding, it carried all of the five thousand men plus women and men and the twelve disciples. He also had compassion on them. So his faithfulness (connected to faith) and his compassion led to the miracle.
Faith has to be present somewhere, even if it comes directly from the Father to one small child. In this case, Jesus alone had faith.
GrowApp for Mark 6:30-44
1. Have you heard of a miracle of provision at a soup kitchen? How about in your life? Tell your story.
RELATED
10. Eyewitness Testimony in Mark’s Gospel
2. Church Fathers and Mark’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
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