Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 4 Study # 4
December 21, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(270)
1901 ASV
6:35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, The place is desert, and the day is now far spent;
6:36 send them away, that they may go into the country and villages round about, and buy themselves somewhat to eat.
6:37 But he answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred shillings' worth of bread, and give them to eat?
6:38 And he saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go [and] see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
6:39 And he commanded them that all should sit down by companies upon the green grass.
6:40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
6:41 And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake the loaves; and he gave to the disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
6:42 And they all ate, and were filled.
6:43 And they took up broken pieces, twelve basketfuls, and also of the fishes.
6:44 And they that ate the loaves were five thousand men.
- I. The Setting For The Miracle Of The Loaves/Fishes: The Attitude Of The Apostles.
- A. "And already many hours having come into being" (the day has gone by as He was teaching them many things, and it is being measured in the passing of "many hours").
- B. His disciples ("apostles" in this context) having come to Him were saying, "Because it is a deserted place and already many hours...".
- 1. Mark's focus upon "hours" (nine uses; only this one until chapters 13-15) has to do with events associated with critical issues, as "...in the hour of..." this or that. Mark repeats it in this one verse (6:35).
- 2. "Many hours", in the light of the promised "rest", seems to signal something of a loss of patience with the great crowd with all of its demands: "Get rid of them...". Note that this did not come up in the feeding of the Four Thousand even though they were present for three days. There is no comment on "How are they going to eat?" in that record.
- 3. Immediately after the double comment on the "many hours that have come into being", Mark says "having come to him the disciples of Him...". To say this Mark used an intensive form of "come", it having a prefix in the form of "pros". This particular word is used in five texts in Mark's record (1:31; 6:35; 10:2; 12:28; and 14:45).
- a. The use in 1:31 involves Jesus' first healing as Mark records "healings" when Peter's mother-in-law is laid low by a fever.
- b. The use in 10:2 involves Pharisees "coming up to Him" and challenging Him regarding "divorce" in an extended text that makes "divorce" a "hot ticket item". In the structure of the sub-section containing this topic, "divorce" is presented in collusion with the record of the self-righteous "ruler" who wanted to "do" something to inherit eternal life. The "Pharisee" section focuses upon "divorce" as a way to legitimize one's selfishness as a "prominent religious leader" and the "ruler" section focuses upon "earning salvation" by ignoring the inner selfishness that self-righteousness always ignores.
- c. The use in 12:28 involves a discerning scribe who "comes upon" the debate between Jesus and some Sadducees regarding "resurrection from the dead" and asks what is the most important command of "The Law".
- d. The use in 14:45 involves the betrayal by Judas as he "went up to Him" and identified Him to those who were to arrest Him by calling Him Rabbi and kissing Him.
- e. Mark's point seems to be that the disciples more or less pushed their way through the crowd to come to Him to urge Him to send the crowd away. There is an implication that it took some effort to approach (there is no point to an intensified verb otherwise).
- C. The disciples' solution to the "no caterer" problem.
- 1. Release them so that, having gone away in the surrounding country and villages, they may buy for themselves something to eat. The word for "go" in 6:36 is "apercomai", the same root word used above with a different intensifying prefix. Mark uses this word in 23 texts in his record. Again, the intensified form must have a rationale behind it. "Go away".
- a. Mark uses the term translated "send away" (apoluo) in twelve texts of his record. There are four uses in regard to the feedings of the great crowd (6:36, 6:45, 8:3 and 8:9); there are four uses in regard to "divorce" (10:2, 10:4, 10:11; and 10:12); and there are four uses in regard to Pilate's desire to escape condemning Jesus by "releasing" Him or Barabbas (Mark 15:6, 15:9, 15:11, and 15:15). This grouping of three fours is no accident. Together they form a sense of "escape" -- either the one "sending away" escapes, or the one "sent away" escapes. There is a strong sense of "wrong" in each of the three contexts. There is also a pervasive sense of "obligation being set aside" in each of the three.
- b. When "sent away" it is the "released" who must take care of themselves so that the disciples do not have to shoulder the burden. This, Jesus did not immediately allow, but, rather, saddled them with the burden.
- 2. This is, most likely, the way they had always handled the "food" issue for great crowds, but we are only told this at this point because it leads into Jesus' command. There is a possibility that the crowd's lack of food is a faux concern (rooted in a faux "compassion") of "His disciples"; it may well have been a way to "get rid of them" -- you promised us "rest". If Jesus intended to model "compassion", it didn't seem to "take" with The Twelve. Alternatively, Jesus "was moved by compassion" when He recognized how tired were the "apostles" and offered them a 'restful" break so that those men wanted His compassion to be their experience, but not the experience of the crowd.
- D. Jesus' solution to the need for food for the many.
- 1. Having answered, He said to them...
- 2. You give to them to eat.
- a. This is not merely a denial of the desire for "rest".
- b. This is a greater demand that goes far beyond their interests and it goes far beyond their capacities.