TGBC Friday, 15 Jan 2021. Mark 6:30-44
Mark 6:30-44
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Jesus feeds 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish
30 And the apostles are gathered-together with Jesus. And they reported to Him all that they did and that they taught. 31 And He says to them, “Come, you yourselves privately, to a desolate place, and rest a little”. For the ones coming and the ones going were many, and they were not even finding-an-opportunity to eat. 32 And they went away privately in the boat to a desolate place.
33 And they saw them going, and many knew where. And they ran there together on foot from all the cities. And they came-ahead-of them. 34 And having gone out, He saw a large crowd and felt-deep-feelings [of compassion] toward them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
35 And already having become a late hour, having come to Him, His disciples were saying that “This place is desolate, and it is already a late hour. 36 Send them away in order that having gone away into the surrounding farms and villages, they may buy themselves what they may eat”. 37 But the One, having responded, said to them, “You give them something to eat”. And they say to Him, “Should we, having gone away, buy loaves worth two-hundred denarii and give them something to eat?” 38 And the One says to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go, see!” And having come-to-know, they say “Five, and two fish”.
39 And He commanded them to make everyone lie-back party by party on the green grass. 40 And they fell-back grouping by grouping, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And having TAKEN the five loaves and the two fish, having looked up to heaven, He BLESSED them, and BROKE the loaves in pieces, and was GIVING them to His disciples in order that they might be setting it before them. And He divided the two fish to everyone. 42 And they all ate and were filled-to-satisfaction. 43 And they picked up fragments— the fillings of twelve baskets, and from the fish. 44 And the ones having eaten the loaves were five-thousand men.
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Jesus Feeding the Five Thousand is an interesting story that in a film years ago I watched jumping fish magically appearing in baskets as the food was given out. Aside from the absurdity of handing out live fish to eat, it missed that Mark's story does not say Jesus created more fish and more bread; it says Jesus fed a crowd of five thousand using the five loaves and two fish at hand, and there was plenty left over. What could the story's point be, what is Mark teaching us from it? That Jesus has the power of the Creator? IDK, maybe so, look where we've just been:
Jesus calms the storm.
Jesus casts out the demoniac's demons.
Jesus cures the bleeding woman.
Jesus raises Jairus' daughter. Now,
Jesus feeds five thousand in a desolate place.
Mark's story brings to mind the 2 Kings 4:42-44 story of Elisha feeding a hundred with twenty loaves of barley bread and some heads of new grain and they had some left over. Also that in the desolate Wilderness, Moses fed the tribes of Israel with bread from heaven. In the gospels, greater than Elisha is here, greater than Moses is here. And look at the set of "parallel" stories Mark has for us coming up next:
Jesus walks on the sea.
Jesus cures a blind man.
Jesus cures the Greek woman's daughter.
Jesus cures a deaf mute.
Jesus feeds four thousand in a desolate place.
Take, Bless, Break, and Give are highlighted in the text above because they are the classic eucharistic actions: Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to us. In the synoptic gospels, every time Jesus hosts a dinner, supper, feeding story, these four actions are specifically there. It is obviously deliberate, and obviously, even whether the evangelists realize it or not (though I suspect at least Mark does), even before the Last Supper itself, a celebratory eucharistic event, Jesus himself the Celebrant.
But the flow of Mark's story: what's it all about? We're not there yet, but keep in mind Mark's agenda that Jesus' disciples never realize who he is. After feeding the four thousand, at Mark 8:13 Jesus gets in a boat with his disciples again, and they head out to sea. At Mark 8:14 the disciples suddenly panic because they forgot to bring food to eat, and have only one loaf of bread. Exasperated, Jesus says, "Why are you puzzling about your lack of bread? You still aren't using your heads, are you! You still don't get the point, do you! Are you so dense? You have eyes but you don't see. You have ears but you don't hear. Don't you remember? How many baskets full of scraps did you pick up after I broke five loaves and fed five thousand?"
"Twelve".
And when I broke seven loaves and fed four thousand, how many baskets of scraps did you collect?"
"Seven".
"You still don't get it, do you?!"
Halfway through Mark's story and they still don't see! What a bunch of schlemiels.
This is Mark's story: see what he's doing?
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