The Feeding of the Four Thousand
In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Yeshua called his disciples and said to them,
I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. And his disciples answered him, where in this wilderness can we get food for these people? And Yeshua asked them, How many loaves do you have? And they said, Seven. And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and broke the bread and gave to his disciples to set before the people; and they did set the bread before the people. And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed them, and commanded to set them also to be set before the people. So they did eat and were filled: and they took up of the broken food that was left seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
The Pharisees Demand a Sign
And immediately he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? assuredly I say to you, There will no sign be given to this generation. And he left them, and entering into the boat again departed to the other side.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
Now his disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the boat with them more than one loaf. And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, he said this because we have not brought bread. And when Yeshua knew their thoughts, he said to them, Why do you make conjecture about not having bread? Can you not understand? have you had your heart hardened? Having eyes, can you not see? and having ears, can you not hear? and do you not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? They say to him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? And they said, Seven. And he said to them, How is it that you do not understand?
And he came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to him, and invited him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell this to any in the town.
And Yeshua went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying to them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he said to them, But whom say you that I am? And Peter answered and said to him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he made this statement clear. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get behind me, Satan: for your interests are not for the things that be of YHWH, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people and his disciples too, he said to them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life will lose it; but whosoever
Teachings of Compassion
36For what will it profit a man, if he will gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38Whosoever therefore will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also will the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Yeshua called his disciples and said to them, 2I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: One of the distinguishing characteristics of all Christians is mercy, which exists in the face of misery, difficulty, or disadvantage. Mercy exists when something lesser or inferior or damages is received, accepted or forgiven by something superior or more powerful in a given circumstance. In the life of Yeshua, we find living mercy (compassion) as the only Son of God instead of responding to others with wrath, extended to all His love and grace. In this material story of actual food, Yeshua today provides to the starving masses spiritual food freely.
3And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. 4And his disciples answered him, where in this wilderness can we get food for these people? 5And Yeshua asked them, How many loaves do you have? And they said, Seven. 6And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and broke the bread and gave to his disciples to set before the people; and they did set the bread before the people. This feeding of the masses here is a type for Yeshua, the bread of life, offering up Himself for the sins of the world, and thereby offering the grace of God to all. This is a material type of what was to come in and through Yeshua spiritually to the world. It is not a coincidence that the Greek term translated to Yeshua “giving thanks” (eucharisto) is used by Orthodox Christianity to describe the communion offered in their Mass rite called the eucharist, which is a word created by uniting the Greek eu (good) with the term charis (grace) – meaning, good grace. When Yeshua “gave thanks” here it was for the good grace YHWH had bestowed on them there for the bread and fish, the gathering of souls, and what He was about to do in feeding the hungry masses; when Yeshua established his communion with his Apostles on the night of his passion, it was to be a symbol of the good grace God had given the world through His broken body and shed blood – a ritual they were to participate in “until he returned to them.” (see 1st Corinthians 11:26)
Feeding of the Four Thousand
7And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed them, and commanded to set them also to be set before the people. 8So they did eat and were filled: and they took up of the broken food that was left seven baskets. 9And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
A few weeks ago Mark presented us with the story of the feeding of five thousand men. This was a bit different with only four thousand which tells us it was a separate story.
10And immediately he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. 11And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. 12And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? assuredly I say to you, There will no sign be given to this generation.
The Sign-Seeking Generation
The sigh from the Lord was indicative of his weariness of this people. Among the Jews, sign-seeking was big. And no wonder – their history was filled with signs and wonders from God. Here they specifically asked for “a sign from heaven.” This was a specific request not necessarily just something from heaven but a sign in the sky – a sun or stars shifting, etc.
Yeshua
Insights into Faith and Understanding
Yeshua was correct in telling them that there would be no sign given from heaven – and there wasn’t. However, Matthew tells us that Yeshua did tell them that the only sign that would be given was that of Jonah. This is not a contradiction for that sign, of Jonah being in the belly of a great fish for three days, had already happened, was earthly, and pictured the sign of Yeshua’s approaching death and resurrection.
The Disciples' Lack of Understanding
What we are about to read is an interesting insight into the minds of the twelve (verse 13).
13 And he left them, and entering into the boat again departed to the other side.
14 Now his disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the boat with them more than one loaf.
15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.
16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, he said this because we have not brought bread.
Yeshua then, and now, was constantly dealing with people who did not have spiritual eyes or understanding. This was even the case with his chosen twelve – especially up until the Day of Pentecost. Here Jesus explains to them that they had no reason to worry about failing to bring bread – as evidenced by His multiplying loaves on two different occasions! He was working with them to learn to understand with spiritual eyes and trust not through suspicious thinking that is prevalent in the natural mind. (see 1st Corinthians 13:5) The same can be said of people today who experience the hand of God over and over again in their lives but continue to fear, and worry and wonder if He will come through on their behalf.
17 And when Yeshua knew their thoughts and he said to them, Why do you make conjecture about not having bread? Can you not understand? have you had your heart hardened?
18 Having eyes, can you not see? and having ears, can you not hear? and do you not remember?
19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? They say to him, Twelve.
20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? And they said, Seven.
21 And he said to them, How is it that you do not understand?
Spiritual Blindness and Healing
The difficulty of human beings seeing and hearing truth in this world as we are surrounded by influences and emotions that cause us to overthink or be suspicious or faulty in our thinking.
22 And he came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to him, and invited him to touch him.
23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Last week we talked all about Jesus healing in a number of different ways and this is yet another example of this. Because I believe that the physical healings are pictures and type for the way people are spiritually healed today, this healing makes some sense. How? When we come to see the truth in our lives some of us see readily, but some of us take time and see the world obscurely until things become clear. That’s how I see this specific healing anyway.
26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell this to any in the town.
27 And Yeshua went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying to them, Whom do men say that I am? 28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. What’s fascinating about this question is it is still asked this very day and the responses are often varied.
A Question of Identity
It is the question all people must ultimately ask themselves – who do YOU think Jesus is. At this point Jesus turns the question to His own apostles (verse 29).
29 And he said to them, But whom say you that I am? And Peter answered and said to him, Thou art the Christ. Jesus' question appears to have been asked of all the twelve but Peter supplied the answer Yeshua desired.
Messiah as the Anointed One
– that His apostles would identify Him as the Messiah.
The Greek term for Messiah is Christos, which means, the Anointed One. Contextually speaking, the Anointed One was expected to be anointed (or consecrated) as a Prophet, and a Priest, and a King of his people. In the other Gospels Jesus uses this time to tell people that His Father had revealed this to him, along with a number of other things, but Mark does not. (verse 30)
30And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. Again, for the third time and apparently for logistical reasons and perhaps for their own safety, Jesus makes this request but after Mark chapter nine he stops.
31And he began to teach them, (the twelve, saying) that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32And he made this statement clear.
Apostles' Misunderstanding
Though Yeshua taught them plainly, they remained ignorant of most his purposes throughout His mortal life. This was especially true of failing to understand His death and resurrection and things pertaining to the Spiritual Kingdom (see, Mark 9:31-32; John 13:7,19; John 2:22; Luke 24: 25-27). They were so closed off to this view that here Peter rejects it. (verse 32 again)
And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. Peter understood Jesus to be a temporal Messiah – this was the common view of Jews in that day. Jesus was only a temporal savior in that he would save them from the coming destruction He promised was going to fall on Jerusalem. What he was telling these men here was very troubling to them and Peter being Peter was not about to let the teaching go unchallenged.
33But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get behind me, Satan: for your interests are not for the things that be of YHWH, but the things that be of men.
The Cost of Following Christ
Verses 33-37 One of the most important principles taught by Yeshua is centralized in the idea that a person either does what they want, what the world wants, what the world expects and demands and rewards, or they suffer by walking with Him – which includes denying the self, taking up their respective cross, and following Him . . . to death of the flesh.
It is at this point and in this setting that Jesus delivers some very applicable words to all who call Him Lord. Ready? (verse 34)
34And when he had called the people and his disciples too, he said to them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever will save his life will lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same will save it. 36For what will it profit a man, if he will gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38Whosoever therefore will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also will the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
The principles shared here cannot be ignored for any Christian then or today?
We have been bought with a price. Our lives are not our own – if we follow Him. And the path we trod is not one of ease on the mind and heart. That’s why Jesus says plainly:
Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever will save his life will lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same will save it. 36For what will it profit a man, if he will gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
And then chapter eight ends with:
38Whosoever therefore will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also will the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
A careful reading of verse 38 proves that these words were to “them/then” and not to us. “Whosoever therefore will be ashamed of me and…
Mark 8: The Son of Man and His Glory
of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also will the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
And that was chapter 8!
Reflection
Comments/Questions/Prayer
